Page 38 of The Incubus and the Bodyguard

Delphine dipped her chin curtly at the Shaman. “Delphine Dubois.”

Mrs. Son-Ha’s gaze flitted from Delphine to Vlad. Her expression turned shrewd. “I see.”

Vlad decided not to ask her what she meant by that.

The amused gleam in Cortes’s eyes had him swallowing a groan.

It was bad enough being ferried around by Delphine. Having the Columbian witness his fall from grace wasn’t helping the situation.

“My spirits are quite taken with you,” Mrs. Son-Ha said. Curiosity sparkled in her eyes as she observed Delphine. “They can sense a hint of divine energy coming from your soul.”

Delphine’s shoulders knotted fractionally. “What do you mean?”

Mrs. Son-Ha cocked her head. “You’re one of them super soldiers, aren’t you?”

Delphine narrowed her eyes with an expression that probably made a lot of people quake in their boots. “You know about super soldiers?”

Mrs. Son-Ha waved a vague hand, clearly unimpressed by her threatening stare. “I heard about that Serena chick. And I know about Immortals. You smell a little like one.” She paused. “You also smell of something alien. Something…not quite natural.”

Delphine hesitated.

“That would be my nanorobots,” she admitted grudgingly.

“Oh. Is that so?” Mrs. Son-Ha’s gaze switched to Vlad. She grimaced. “As for you, that’s a hell of a nasty curse you’ve got on you.”

Vlad’s pulse jumped. He exchanged a startled look with Cortes and Delphine.

“I’ve got a curse on me?” he asked, mouth dry.

His mind raced. Though people assumed sorcerers and witches used curses all the time, they weren’t something routinely encountered in the world of magic.

“Not just you.” Mrs. Son-Ha eyeballed Tarang. “The tiger’s been cursed too.”

Tarang made a worried sound and pressed against Vlad’s leg.

Mrs. Son-Ha turned and headed down the passage. “Let’s go to the kitchen. I’ll make you kids some hot cocoa.”

“We’re a bit old for hot—” Delphine started.

Mrs. Son-Ha stopped and squinted at the super soldier over her shoulder. “You’re gonna drink the hot cocoa and you’re gonna enjoy it, missy.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Delphine responded automatically.

She blinked in the next instant, surprised.

Cortes patted her shoulder. “You get used to it. We think she was a drill sergeant in her other life.”

They followed Mrs. Son-Ha to a cozy back kitchen that smelled of incense and ginseng tea. Tiny bells hung from the ceiling here and there, their gentle chimes causing wariness to creep onto Delphine’s face as she took a seat at the kitchen table.

Vlad sympathized with her discomfort. The Shaman’s place had an eldritch vibe that would make even the Pope jumpy.

Mrs. Son-Ha flicked a light switch and put the kettle on.

Steaming cups of hot cocoa appeared in front of them a moment later.

Their host took the chair at the head of the table.

“So what the heck did you do to get yourself cursed?” she asked Vlad sharply.

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