Page 8 of Accidentally Summoned an Incubus

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I never realized how much I missed my childhood home until I was staring up at it. It was somewhere between a mansion and a log cabin, with overlapping wooden slats painted black, offset by the thousands of flowers and creeping vines, all miraculously still in full bloom, even though it was the end of October.

The door creaked open, despite no one being there to open it. My mom ushered me inside, and I dropped my bag to the floor. I stared at it stupidly for a few seconds, but it didn’t disappear. All the houses in Briar Coven were magicked to cater to your every need. Or, at the very least, what theythoughtyou needed. Usually, the moment my bags hit the floor, the house would have magicked them up to my room and unpacked everything for me.

“Is there something wrong with the house?” I asked Mom.

“Literally moments before you rang, a pipe burst in the bathroom and your room got flooded, honey.”

I groaned. Great! Where was I supposed to sleep? Of the three spare bedrooms the house had, one was an office, one was a gym, and the other was my mother’s spell room.

Mom shrugged nonchalantly while directing me toward the living room. “Your grandma said she’d sort something out for you.”

“Is that you, sweetie?” my dad called from the kitchen.

“Which one?” my mom answered.

“Either!”

I walked into the kitchen, and it was exactly the same as I remembered it, miraculously untouched by one of Mom’s DIY binges. The floor wasa mismatch of ancient stone. The cupboards were shaker style (“A classic,” my mom had said when she won the coin toss against my dad when picking the cabinets over a decade ago), the black marble countertops flecked with gold, and a small table with four chairs. We only ever used the main dining room across the hall when we had guests, but this small table held so many memories, most of which usually involved my brother staring blankly into space while chewing with his mouth open.

The air was filled with the smell of rosemary and thyme, making my mouth water.

Dad pulled off his oven mitts and crossed the room in a flash, pulling me into a bear hug and smacking his lips against my cheek.

“I missed you very much, Lex,” he said, cooing down at me before finally releasing his death-grip. “I hope you’re hungry—roast chicken dinner!”

“I could literallymurderone of your dinners.” Squeezing his hand, I said, “I missed you too, Dad.”

Dad beamed from ear to ear. “Okay, go get your brother and we can catch up while we eat.”

My brother, I didnotmiss. Jake was the most annoying little shit to ever walk Hecate’s green earth. I swear, he was only put on this earth for the sole purpose of annoying the shit out of me. Two years my junior, he quickly learned every way possible to annoy me, from slurping loudly to making it his life’s mission to learn every secret I possessed, only to hold it against me like some fucking spy years later.

Male witches were rare in our coven—like, think shiny Charizard rare. About one in one thousand rare. Jake could get away with murder, and he knew it.

“Jake!” I called up the stairs.

“What?” he cried back, over the sound of whatever genre of noise he considered “music” coming from his bedroom.

“Dinner!” I yelled back.

I was met with nothing but louder music coming from his room.

I stared into the empty hallway. “Help me out, House? For old time’s sake?”

A split second later, a series of loud curses emanated from Jake’s room, followed by angry footsteps and the slamming of a door. Jake, nostrils flared, stomped down the stairs like a moody teen instead of the twenty-five-year-old PhD student he supposedly was. He was covered head to toe in his underwear, which he peeled off with every step, the house magicking them back to their drawer above the moment they touched the floor.

“Seriously, Lex? Getting the house to do your dirty work for you? I hate you,” he grumbled, slinging an arm over my shoulder in a half hug.

“Hate you too,” I replied sweetly.

Chapter 4. Lochran

It was the day of the Samhain summoning, and I struggled to open my eyes. Finally, I pried them open, but remained in my bed, staring up at the smoky ceiling. I never had the energy to imagine this room as anything more than a square box with a bed. Occasionally, I’d conjure a kitchenette. Not that I needed mortal food to survive, but there was something relaxing about just getting in from an exhausting day in the mortal realm, pulling out the flour and milk and making an imaginary breakfast of pancakes and bacon. It felt homey.

The moment I got out of bed, I was fully clothed. Today, in a white T-shirt, jeans, and a leather jacket that made me look like I was auditioning for a part inGrease. My legs felt like lead as I crossed the room and made my way into the small bathroom. I didn’t have to brush or floss in this realm, but it felt grim not to, especially as I had to do it so often in the human realm.

The door to my bedroom opened directly onto the dark street as I couldn’t be bothered imagining the rest of the house.A few of the demons walking slowly toward the town hall nodded enthusiastically at me. Some wore optimistic smiles, hoping that today would be their day to be summoned. Most, however, were indifferent. These were the young demons, all born of the shadows less than eighteen years ago and whose fated mates weren’t yet legally allowed to summon them.

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