Page 29 of Signed in Incubus

I carefully handed my little witch over to her friends and cracked my neck.

“Stay behind me. They may be small, but they're vicious.”

Gigi rolled her eyes. “Classic little man syndrome. Don’t worry. We’re not defenseless.”

They chanted something, and a bubble formed a shield around the three of them. Good. I didn’t need to worry about them accidentally getting hurt during any fight.

The first gnarled-looking goblin lunged at me, his claws out. I knew better than to scoff at the little man-goblin. Goblins were nasty, filthy creatures, and wounds from their claws had a tendency to fester and rot before the infection eventually took over the entire body. Most people underestimated them, believing they’d won the fight only to die of infection days later because they’d failed to treat their wounds adequately.

Luckily, it wouldn’t affect someone like me.

I made myself incorporeal, and the creature passed right through me, slamming into the wall with the force of his charge. I formed a giant fist with my hands, solidified just the fist part, and punched the creature in the face. Damn. He acted like he hadn’t even felt it.

“Watch out!” Penny called as their friend threw something at me. At least I knew she was still partly aware of what was happening.

Knowing I couldn’t dodge in time, I tried to pop out, but an invisible blanket fell over me. Suddenly, I was rendered fully corporeal. The nearest goblin jumped me, its claws latching onto me moments before it bit my leg with its sharp teeth. I roared and kicked out. It went flying.

I turned to face the other two only to see the man, who had far more magic than he’d let on—definitely a wizard, and he must have been shielding his magic from detection—and hisother goblin friend advancing on the three beauties inside their magical shield. I was still unable to use my demon powers, but I didn’t care. That male was after Penny, and I was not losing her to him. Penny was mine.

I might not be able to phase out or form claws and teeth right now, but I still had demonic strength. With the wizard focused on the three ladies, I snuck up behind him. He noticed me too late. Before he could cast another spell, I punched him square on the nose. There was a loud crack.

Oww! My knuckles. Without my demonic powers, I couldn’t make them unnaturally hard. And despite the fact that some people thought demons couldn’t feel pain, we most certainly could when we were in our solid forms. Like right now.

I turned my attention to the goblin just in time to see it lift magically into the air. It kicked its feet and screamed like a toddler who had just been told he couldn’t go into the candy shop as the two witches held it aloft. No, three witches. Penny might not be fully here, but she was helping a little. She giggled as she helped her friends carry the flailing creature over to a dumpster in the nearby alley. They dropped him in and slammed the lid shut.

“Stupid demon,” the wizard hissed, still holding his bleeding nose. “You will never be good enough to be ‘the perfect man.’ You’re her plaything, nothing more. That’s what your kind always has been and always will be. She’ll use you like every witch before her and toss you aside when she’s had her fun.”

Strange, I’d always thought that was a good thing before. So why did his words sting now?

“I’m still a better choice than you. What type of loser has to drug a woman to win her?”

He stepped back, shock evident on his face. “What are you talking about? You’re such a horrible protector that you allowed the witch to be harmed. See? I am clearly the better man.”

“Not if you’re fucking dead,” I said, advancing on him.

His cocky look faded, and the color drained from his face. But I noticed his eyes weren’t focused on me.

“What the hell?” Lily yelled from behind me.

I felt it now, too: something big, something not of this world. I whipped around.

The dumpster they’d thrown the goblin into was glowing and shaking. Strong magic emanated from it. The lid suddenly blew off entirely, and a ground-shaking roar came from within. A giant hand with fingers the size of large sausages gripped the edge as a troll hauled itself up and over the side. The goblin clung to its fur, shaking like a leaf.

Even hunched over, the troll towered over the rest of us. He was obscenely muscular with brown fur mottled with green moss. The fur covered much of his body, forming a mantle over his shoulders and covering his crotch. Sharp teeth protruded from his mouth. He cast his beady eyes around, looking for something. Then, his eyes landed on Penny.

“Mine. Mate.”

I knew to pick my battles, and in my current condition, temporarily stripped of my demonic powers, I was definitely unable to take on a beast like that. The wizard must have realized the same because he turned and fled, taking his friend with him. The second goblin, still hanging on to the troll’s fur, dropped to the ground and skedaddled as well.

“Eyes sharp!” Lily called. “Our ride’s here.”

Sure enough, an SUV pulled up, and the window rolled down. The demon driver grinned, showing a mouth full of sharp teeth.

“Looks like you’re in a spot of trouble, friends. Get in.”

The three females were already opening the back door and starting to pile in. This demon was our ride?

“You know this guy?” I asked suspiciously.

---