Page 13 of Signed in Incubus

I’d never needed to bring anything around with me in the past. This was a modern problem for a modern incubus. One I hadn’t found a solution to yet.

I shoved the rest of the last pastry into my mouth and stepped outside to take the call.

Chapter 7

Prax

“The appraiser is hereto see about your collection,” Desmon said when I picked up.

“I’d also like to speak with you about a few pieces I want to purchase.”

That was very good news indeed. I’d been a tad worried the dragon and his wizard would just claim my treasure for themselves, which was why I’d only shown Seth one of the caves.

“I’ll pop right over.”

I was in my room on Desmon’s estate a fraction of a second later. I made my way down to the drawing room, which was where he received guests who were not close friends. It was also where Seth, Liam, and I had left my collection.

The appraisal took all morning and part of the afternoon. I went from owning nothing to being a well-off incubus in a matter of hours! The problem was that I couldn’t pay for things with Spanish doubloons or some long-dead princess’s necklace, even though I had obtained them completely legitimately.

It turned out that even things that hadn’t been worth all that much but that I’d kept simply because I liked them as reminders of past sexual conquests were valuable due to their age and near-pristine condition. My pretties were a collector’s dream!

I sold Desmon all the swords and weapons in my collection. All of them had the same story: they’d been wielded against me by fools who didn’t know better. I also parted with a few pieces of jewelry but kept most of those since they represented better memories.

“There’s an auction for antiques and collectibles next weekend if you’re interested in liquidating any more of your stuff,” Desmon’s auburn-haired mate Carly said after the appraiser had left. “The Curio Collectors’ Dinner & Auction gets bigger every year and draws private collectors and museum curators from around the country. They’d be all over this.

“The auction itself is open to anyone who wants to attend, but the dinner is invite only. It’d be a great place to meet potentialclients if you ever wanted to sell any part of your collection on your own. I can get you a ticket, if you’re interested? Get you hooked up with the auction house?”

I could continue living on the fringe of society like my kind had for millennia. I’d get by perfectly fine since I didn’tneedfood or water to survive and could shelter anywhere. In the past, I’d claimed a giant knot hole in a massive oak as my place of rest. But there was one thing I couldn’t survive without: entertainment.

Boredom could drive an incubus insane, which was why I’d elected to sleep through much of my imprisonment even though I didn’t require sleep. Ennui and monotony had driven me to play with fire once, chatting up a powerful wizard’s daughter on a bet just to see if I could get an invite into his abode. That had been a costly mistake. The wizard had ended up entrapping me.

So now, the plan was always to have enough funds to keep myself entertained.

“Yes, please get me in contact with the auction house. There are a few pieces I’m not that fond of that can go. In the meantime, I’ll need to borrow Seth again to return anything I’m keeping back to my caves.” Until I had a place to call my own, the caves were still the safest spot for my stash.

As if on cue, the wizard sauntered into the drawing room with an older witch, his mother, behind him. Elana lived here with Desmon and Carly, rediscovering her magic and working wonders in the kitchen after a lifetime of servitude to her wizard husband. She was a kindred spirit, and I quite liked her.

She’d taught me a lot about living in the modern world, and she was a great teacher, mostly because she’d had to learn much of it herself recently. Unlike me, however, her freedom wasn’t completely assured. She still couldn’t safely spend time outside the dragon’s estate by herself unless she had strong magic to protect her from her ex-husband and his wizard friends.

Seth must’ve accompanied her on an outing to the farmer’s market today, as evidenced by her rustic raffia market bag brimming with fresh fruits and vegetables. I gave her a friendly nod.

Seth glanced around the room curiously. “Did I miss the appraiser? I was hoping to see his eyes bug out of his head at your mini hoard. Are you sure you’re not a dragon in disguise?”

Desmon grunted. “Hmph. Not nearly enough to be a dragon’s hoard. You would have been a failure as a dragon. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“I guess since you’re Mr. Moneybags now, that means you won’t be interested in a job with the EA?” Seth said.

Carly and Elana drifted away, chatting softly, and Desmon went into another room to initiate the transfer of funds to my account, leaving Seth and I free to talk.

“The EA?” It was so strange to think they worked with demons now.

“Yeah. They’re hiring. But it’s hard to find reliable people. You’d come with a recommendation from both me and Desmon.” Helooked around at all my stuff. “Except you really don’t need a job if you liquidate part of this and invest the proceeds well. That's what I did with Liam’s mini-stash.”

“Butyoustill work for the EA occasionally, even though you don’t have to.”

“It’s not about the money for me. It’s about helping out.”

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