All Chapters of Under the incubus' protection: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Oh no, I had brutally insulted Madame Meredith Long within ten seconds of our first meeting.“Cassidy. What are you saying?” Elaine rebuked me. “Pardon her language, Madame Long. She is unfamiliar with the rich culture of our people. Your markings are a symbol of power. She must have mistaken it for evil.”“Yes. Madame. Forgive me for my ignorance. Your markings are a work of art. They are exquisite. The blood and other related stuff drove my mind off the edge, not you,” I said.To my defense, her eyes lacked iris’ and pupils a minute ago. The hunchback might be a birth defect, but her cultural markings resembled the insane body modifications one would see on social media. What regular person wouldn’t be scared when a witch presented herself in such a way?Madame chortled. “These weaklings, or humans, whatever you modern witches call them nowadays, never fail to entertain me.”“Uh, I didn’t know you find her comment amusing,” said Elaine.“I pulled a trick on her by making my eyes all

The desert winds were howling. I watched them gracefully carry sand from one place to another under the luminous glow of a striking full moon. It wasn’t the only thing that had my attention. My eyes were oscillating between the golden sandy lands and Madame Long’s hut.Elaine and I were to stay at her friend’s hut while Madame Long was crashing with someone else. As I couldn’t catch a mere second’s worth of shut-eye, I had just exited the hut to arrange my thoughts and make sense of the day’s events.Madame Long’s words about Desmond being protective of me were stuck in my head like a song. He cared for me regardless of my awful behavior. By now, he had saved me multiple times. Protecting me from Madame Long wasn’t even part of our contract. Why was Desmond going out of his way to take care of me?There was something more meaningful than just a contract between us. Unrecognizable and unnamed feelings were playing a game with our minds and hearts.An apology was in order before we could

Love?! Was it so easy to feel so strongly about someone?Desmond had professed his love for me faster than a teenage boy experiencing attraction for the first time.“Why are you looking at me as though I've told you something about death, not love?” He snapped his fingers to get my attention.I removed his hand from my waist and sat up. Bewilderment had fogged my brain and clogged my decision-making ability. How could he not see what was wrong with it?His soft lips brushed against my shoulder and neck, sending tingles down my body. “What is it, my love? Why are you behaving like this?”“Why am I acting like this?” I reached for the blanket and covered my exposed chest. “You can’t be in love with me. It’s too early.”“How is it early? It’s not for me,” he said.“Well, I don’t know how it works in the spirit world, but it is early as per human standards.”Desmond grinned. “Why are you humans so afraid of love? Feelings can’t be calculated, forced, or delayed. It's different if you for

My sluggish brain was barely aware of its surroundings and the time. Where would it find the energy to deal with Madame Long's lunacy? Her monstrous appearance had already given me a heart attack, and I couldn't endure more.I moved my eyes around the room in search of answers. Sunlight pouring through the gaps in the hut's door hinted at morning. And the camp, which was brown-colored, looked like Elaine's friend's hut.My curious gaze stopped at Madame Long's face, which was still stretched into an unsettling grin. Her serial killer eyes were staring into my soul. I wanted to scream for help but stopped upon remembering what she had said about Desmond."Wait, what!" How do you know that I spent the night with him?"The size of Madame Long's grin shrank. "Lucky guess. Thank you for confirming it, little duckling.""Young passion hits differently. I remember once such a sizzling affair from my younger years." Her tongue circled her lips lecherously while she was taking a trip down memor

We had crossed the hustle and bustle of the city and were about to enter my suburban hometown, Wneebeach Springs. With my head leaned against the window, I watched the houses pass by me like a fade while lost in thought. My thoughts were predominantly about Desmond. The exhilaration of seeing him soon with my family made me feel like some love-struck teenage girl from a movie.My brain replayed our passionate love-making session next to the campfire. A broad smile almost touched my ears when I thought about the loving words he had said to me.Dad was the one who made us feel safe. The cruel world didn’t seem so scary when he was looking after us. After his passing, Desmond was the first and only man who had promised to protect me and my family. For a moment, I forgot that it all started with a contract. Desmond didn’t care about the contract, so why should I? Although it might be too soon to fall in love, Desmond's protectiveness was already warming my heart. In my previous romantic