------------------------------
Incubus
by Lianne Burwell
January 1999
------------------------------

"Here is our next investigation," Matt Praegar said, looking around at 
his team. They were a good group. There were times when he wondered why 
he had let the OSIR lure him away from private industry, but most of the 
time he was glad he had. The work had been fascinating in the way that 
his old job had never been. And now that the others had finally started 
to accept him, it was even better.

"The town of Watstown, in Northern Ontario. They have reported a series 
of... encounters -- seductions and rapes --  over the last few months."

Anton Hendricks frowned. "Why call us in? It would seem more a case for 
the police."

"Ah, but the police *have* investigated. Especially the reported rapes. 
However, in every case, the attacker or seducer was a different person, 
and when those persons were questioned, they *all* had easily confirmed 
alibis. But the victims are quite sure, even to the point of taking and 
passing lie-detector tests."

Peter Axon scratched at his notepad, all business. "Are there any common 
factors between the incidents?"

"One very obvious one," Matt said with a grin. "They all happened in the 
same building, the town's hotel. We're booked in for a week, starting 
tomorrow night. Better get packing. And Peter, you and Lindsay better 
make sure you bring all the equipment you might need. We're driving."

* * * * *

Well, Matt thought to himself, if nothing else it would be nice vacation. 
It was early spring and the snow was melted, but the mosquitoes and black 
flies hadn't hatched yet. He shuddered at the thought of being in the 
area at the height of black fly season. Spring was much better.

He climbed out of the van they'd used to transport themselves and their 
equipment and stretched. His back wasn't too crazy about the long drive, 
but the destination was worth it.

Watstown was a pleasant little town, the sort that dotted the province. 
The hotel had no doubt been one of the largest residences at one point. 
Now it was a bed-and-breakfast, designed to lure the yuppies from the big 
cities along with the half-dozen 'antique' stores that dotted the town. 
Matt always wondered why small towns always had so many antique stores, 
but that was a mystery he doubted that anyone could solve.

They were met at the hotel's door by an older woman, probably sixty years 
old and all white hair, smiles and rosy cheeks. She looked like the 
original model for Mrs. Claus.

"Mrs. Jeffries?" Matt asked, holding out his hand.

"Yes. You must be the people come to find out what's been going on. I 
can't believe it. How could this be happening in *my* place?"

"You live here?"

"No, there's a small guest house out back, just the right size for an old 
lady like myself."

"Please, you're not old," Matt smiled, pouring on the charm while the 
others unpacked the equipment and carried it in to set up. They were 
already starting to draw a small crowd.

Matt took a deep breath, enjoying the lack of any obvious pollution.

Yes, a nice little vacation with a little puzzle to add spice. What could 
be better?

* * * * *

By dinner time, all the equipment had been set up and the initial scans 
had been taken. Sensors and cameras were placed in each of the rooms that 
had been reported as event sites, but since there was more than one, it 
didn't sound like it was limited to a specific area.

Matt leaned over Peter's shoulder to look at one of the screens. Peter 
had been the most difficult member of the team to win over, between his 
guilt over the previous team leader's death and the feeling that *he* 
should have been made Case Manager. He didn't seem to resent Matt 
anymore, but there was still an element of friction between them. 

"Anything?" Peter shook his head.

"No cold spots, unexplained noises or anything else you might expect from 
a haunting. I doubt that's we're dealing with, though. They don't usually 
change appearances."

"True. And there was only one case where the reported seducer was the 
same. One of the town men, who was at home in bed with his wife both 
times."

"Right. No, it's got to be something else."

"An incubus, perhaps?" Matt and Peter both looked up as Anton came into 
the room.

"Incubus?" Matt asked, one eyebrow going up.

"Yes. The male version of a succubus. A demon in human form who seduces 
women. Some stories say that it can take the form of someone that the 
woman desires. If the two women who saw the same man both saw -- and 
liked -- him, it would explain the duplication."

Matt considered the idea. "We've seen crazier things. Do some research. 
See if we could be dealing with something like that."

Then he grinned. "But first, dinner. Mrs. Jeffries says that she's making 
pork chops so tender that the meat will melt in your mouth. With homemade 
apple sauce to go on top."

"Sounds good to me," Peter said, setting his machines to monitor. "I'm 
hungry."

* * * * *

Dinner was as delicious as had been promised, and Matt went through his 
nightly routine feeling like everything was right with the world. His 
team was working together like a well-oiled machine, the work was 
fascinating. He didn't have time for dating, but he didn't even missed it.

All in all, life was pretty damn good, he thought to himself as he 
climbed into bed.

Sleep was fast in coming, and deep and dreamless.

* * * * *

Matt rolled over in his sleep and cuddled up to the warm body next to 
him. In a corner of his mind, he knew this was wrong. No one had shared 
his bed for a while now. And there was something wrong with his 
bedmate... something about his build... his...

He was in bed with another man? That wasn't right.

Matt pulled away, half-waking up, but hands quickly stopped him.

"Shhhh," a deep voice crooned in his ear. "There's nothing wrong. Shhhh."

He tried to bat away the hands stroking his chest, but his wrists were 
caught in an iron-strong grasp. The other hand continued to caress him, 
tweaking his nipples until he groaned. Then the fingers were replaced by 
a mouth and he gasped, arching up into the moist heat.

"Yessss," the voice crooned back to him. "Let go. Let me make you feel 
good. I'll make you feel sooo good. So good you'll never want to leave."

Matt voiced a wordless protest, but the fingers had reached his cock and 
were coaxing it to full size. The lips were tracing a path down to his 
erection, leaving a trail of saliva behind.

"noo..." he moaned as the mouth swallowed him down. This was wrong.

Suddenly he realized that his hands were no longer being restrained, and 
he reached down to pull the other man away. But when his hands reached 
the head slowly bobbing up and down on him, his fingers carded through 
the short spiky hair instead, resistance fading fast.

"please..."

The suction grew stronger, until it felt like all of his insides were 
being drawn out through his cock. With a last whimper, he pushed up into 
the mouth and came harder than he could remember ever having come before.

Boneless, he collapsed, his body trying to merge into the soft mattress 
beneath him. The hands were back on his chest, and the voice was crooning 
in his ear again.

"So sweet, so sweet."

Everything was slipping away. Sleep reclaimed him with a vengeance. As 
his thoughts slipped away, he heard one last word.

"Mine."

* * * * *

Matt woke to a fist hammering on his door. He rolled over thinking nasty 
thoughts, then called out, "What?" in an irritated voice. The door swung 
open and Peter stuck his head in.

"My, we're in a cheerful mood this morning. Coming to breakfast?"

Matt pulled the pillow over his head and groaned. "It's too early to be 
up."

"What? Are you feeling all right, Matt? It's nearly nine o'clock."

Shocked, Matt looked over at his little battery-operated travel alarm 
clock. It really *was* nearly nine o'clock. The alarm going off at seven 
hadn't woken him.

And after more than ten hours of sleep, he felt even more tired than when 
he'd gone to bed.

"I'm moving," he assured Peter, and pulled back the covers. Peter closed 
the door and left him to get dressed.

Looking at his reflection in the mirror, Matt was surprised by the bags 
under his eyes. He may have overslept, but he obviously hadn't gotten 
much rest. Maybe it was the lack of city noises had kept him restless, 
never quite falling into deep REM sleep.

But he'd dreamt.

Matt paused in the middle of brushing his teeth. He'd dreamt, but he 
couldn't quite remember... It was strange. Usually he remembered his 
dreams quite clearly, but not today.

He shrugged. Maybe he really *did* need a vacation.

* * * * *

Ten minutes later, Matt joined the others in the hotel's dining room. 
Cold water on the face had finally woke him the rest of the way up, but 
he still wasn't running on all cylinders. Hungry, he ordered a large 
breakfast before turning to the rest of the team.

"So, anything get picked up overnight?"

Peter swallowed his mouthful, then gestured to the printouts in front of 
him. "There was a blip on one of the monitors, but I'm not sure what 
caused it yet. It could be the northern lights for all I can tell. It's 
too small a blip to be able to determine anything from it. However, it 
wasn't mechanical failure, since the sensors in some rooms show it 
stronger than in others."

"Any pattern?"

"I'm still checking it out."

Matt closed his eyes, suddenly exhausted again.

"All right. Keep monitoring. See if there's anything in the OSIR files 
that might seen related."

Peter nodded, scribbling notes to himself.

"What about you, Matt? You don't looks so good. Maybe you should go back 
to bed," Anton said, Lindsay nodding with him.

"No, I've slept enough. I'm going to take a walk, see if the locals have 
any theories. I'll also see if I can find out when these events started 
happening."

* * * * *

It was a sunny, pleasant day with just enough chill in the air to 
refresh. All around, people were out preparing gardens for planting and 
repairing winter damage. Matt took the time to just wander, getting the 
feel of the land and shaking off the last of the cobwebs before starting 
to ask questions.

Once you filtered through the gossip, hints and innuendo, it looked like 
the first confirmed incident had happened in the fifties, when the 
daughter of the previous owner of the house had gotten pregnant. When 
ordered to identify the father of her child, she'd named a young man 
who'd denied being involved with her at all.

The fourteen year old had been sent out of town to have the baby, and 
there were vague rumors that it had been deformed in horrifying ways. 
She'd committed suicide soon after.

Matt shuddered at the tale, thinking of his own daughter. Having her come 
to him saying she was pregnant would be bad enough. Her not being able to 
identify the father would be worse. Still, he would be there for her, he 
told himself. No matter what, he'd be there for her.

Finally, around mid-afternoon he started getting hungry again, and headed 
back to the inn to check with the others.

Peter was still fiddling with his beloved machines, Lindsay kibitzing. 
Anton was going through the medical reports on the victims. No one had 
any ideas yet.

* * * * *

Matt pounded his pillow into proper shape, then put his head down. The 
energy that had returned during his walk had quickly disappeared in the 
evening, so he'd decided to call it a night early.

He settled a little deeper into the mattress, mentally going over 
everything they had learned so far. There wasn't much to go on yet, just 
hiccups in some of the readings and stories of a pregnant teenager in the 
fifties.

He forgot to ask Anton if he'd found anything on his research into 
Incubuses. Incubi?

Still pondering the plural of Incubus, Matt drifted off to sleep.

* * * * *

Lips were moving over his face, nibbling at his jaw line before pressing 
down to possess his mouth. Matt gave a little whimper and responded. 
Whoever was in his bed, he was a great kisser.

He?

"noooo... wrong..." he mumbled, and tried to push away the hands that 
were exploring him. Where were his pajamas? Where did the blankets go.

"Shhh," crooned a familiar voice. "We've been through this before. I'm 
here to make you feel good. You'll love it."

"not right..." Matt whispered, but he didn't have the strength needed to 
back up his protests.

This had happened before. He just couldn't remember... when...

Fingers tickled their way down his chest, feather-light touches that were 
impossible to ignore. An erection rubbed against his hip. Matt opened his 
mouth to protest again, but was silenced by a kiss, accompanied by 
fingers wrapping around his cock, stroking it into full size despite his 
fatigue.

It wasn't until the other moved to straddle him that he realized that the 
caressing hands had been slick with something. Then his... lover? 
seducer?... sat back, and he whimpered as heat engulfed him.

"oooh..." he groaned, hands coming up to rest on strong thighs as the 
other moved up and down on him, the tempo increasing until he gasped, and 
thrust up once.

His strength draining away from the force of his orgasm, consciousness 
faded. Matt whimpered again in confusion.

What was happening to him?

* * * * *

Light was shining on his face. Fingers pried open his eyelids and a light 
was shone into them.

Matt groaned, and rolled over in bed. At least he *tried* to roll over. 
For some reason his limbs were not cooperating with him. He moaned, 
realizing that he ached all over.

"Matt?"

The concerned voice gave him the energy to pry his eyes open. He promptly 
regretted it.

During the brief period that his eyes *were* open, he'd seen that the 
entire team was clustered around his bed. "What..." he croaked. He 
stopped and worked up some saliva before trying again. "What time is it?"

"Nearly one in the afternoon," Lindsay said. He knew that if he could 
open his eyes he'd see a concerned frown on her attractive face.

"One?" Matt tried to push himself up into a seated position, but the bed 
swum around him. Hands immediately pushed him back. Familiar hands.

Flashes of a dream lover went through his mind, and he opened his eyes to 
see Peter's face hovering above him. Peter... Matt shook his head. There 
was something he should be remembering...

"Readings?" That was better. He didn't sound so weak this time.

"Same blip as the night before, but stronger this time."

Matt tried to sit up again. Peter pushed him back down and the touch 
again awoke a feeling of familiarity.

"Stay right there. You might be coming down with something. We can deal 
with the investigation. Let Anton check you out, and someone will bring 
you something to eat. Soup maybe."

Matt felt his lips curve into a smile. "Yes mother," he said in faintly 
sarcastic tone, but not resisting. Besides, rest sounded good.

Then he frowned. Something else wasn't quite right. "Why's it so dark?" 
he asked, realizing that there should be more light coming through the 
window.

"Spring storm," Anton told him, wrapping a blood pressure cuff around his 
arm as the others left the room. "It's going to hit this evening. 
Supposed to be pretty nasty."

After checking his blood pressure, Anton stuck one of those quick 
thermometers in Matt's ear, and he winced at the resulting beep.

"Hmmm. No fever, pulse is good. Have you been eating properly?"

"Like a horse."

"How about sleeping?"

Matt opened his mouth to say 'fine', then changed his mind. "I've been 
sleeping, but it hasn't been restful, if you know what I mean."

The older man nodded. "Stress can often do that. I'll leave some 
sedatives for you. A good night's sleep will help. Once we get home, 
maybe we should do some tests on your sleep patterns."

Matt yawned. "Sure thing, Anton. Whatever you say."

* * * * *

Sometime later, after Anton packed up his little medical bag and left, 
there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Matt called out. The door swung open to reveal Peter, a 
covered tray in his hands.

He put the tray on the bedside table and helped Matt prop himself up 
using pillows. Peter perched on the edge of the bed, placed the tray 
across Matt's lap and the lid lifted to reveal a big bowl of...

"Chicken soup?"

Peter grinned at him. "Good for what ails you. Even medical studies say 
so now."

Matt sniffed. There was a plate with warm buttered bread on the side and 
a large glass of orange juice. "I don't care if it's helpful or not. It 
smells great."

Matt practically inhaled half the bowl of soup before moving to the fresh 
bread. "So, what have you guys come up with, so far."

Peter shook his head, frustration written all over his face. "Nothing. We 
still haven't pinned down the source of the readings, and nothing else 
has shown up." He was obviously taking the failure of his sensors 
personally. Matt chewed on the bread, running options through his head.

"What about Anton's research? The Incubus idea."

Peter pulled himself the rest of the way up onto the bed and maneuvered 
into a lotus position. Matt found himself resisting the urge to blush as 
his eyes were drawn to the worn patches at the groin of Peter's blue 
jeans. He'd never noticed just how well built the young man was. He gave 
a little shake of his head, clearing his thoughts. He was far too old to 
be reconsidering his sexuality. Still, he found himself wondering what it 
would be like to... He shook his head again and turned his attention to 
what Peter was saying.

"Well, there are several versions of the incubus, and its female 
counterpart, the succubus, in legends. In European tales, they are a 
vampiric race. According to legends, they feed by having sex with their 
victim, exhausting them and feeding on the energy released during the 
sex. Unlike the usual vampire myths, though, they don't need to be 
invited in, and they can take the appearance of someone the victim knows 
and secretly desires. Other tales say that the reason an incubus seduces 
a young woman is for procreation."

Matt nodded. "That could certainly fit here. The pregnant teen, the 
identification of attackers who could have been there."

"But," Peter pointed out, "usually the victim only remembers the 
experience as a dream. That doesn't fit. The women here all remember the 
experience as being real."

Matt stopped eating, his appetite quickly fading. Dreams? There was 
something there. Something that tickled at the edge of his thoughts.

Suddenly, he was yawning again. Peter moved the tray away and handed Matt 
the glass of juice and two white pills.

"You look like you need more sleep," he said. "Anton told me to make sure 
that you took these."

Still trying to pin down the thought, Matt absentmindedly swallowed the 
pills and drained the glass.

"Peter," he said as the younger man headed for the door. "How do you stop 
an incubus?"

"Well, according to the church there are several ways. Confession, making 
the sign of the cross, reciting the Ave Maria, moving house or town and 
excommunication of the demon."

Matt blinked, then gave a soft laugh. "Since there's no Catholic church 
nearby, that cuts that list down rather drastically."

"Hmmm. Get some sleep, Matt. You look like a wreck."

Matt snorted. "If I had the energy, I'd throw a pillow at you," he told 
Peter as the door closed. Then the pills dragged him under and he fell 
asleep.

* * * * *

"How's he doing?"

"Already asleep. He looks exhausted. Maybe he's been working too much. 
So, anything new?"

* * * * *

The storm built on the horizon all afternoon, finally hitting the town at 
about nine in the evening. The wind was howling, and the rain had 
started. The three conscious members of the OSIR team were clustered in 
the small sitting room where their equipment had been set up.

Peter was running through another set of tests when the sensors 
monitoring for the nightly blip sounded.

"Lindsay!"

They moved to the screen.

"Well, it's definitely the same reading as before, but much earlier than 
usual," Lindsay said, frowning at the screen.

"No kidding. Now, let's check which sensors are reading the strongest. 
See if we can't find the center."

While Anton watched, the other two made calculations as the reading grew 
stronger. Finally, Peter straightened up, frowning.

"What?"

"Second floor, north wall."

Anton blinked. "That's where Matt is."

At that moment, the power flickered, then went out. The only lights left 
were from the computers, which were hooked up to a generator they'd 
brought with them.

Lindsay grabbed the oil lantern that Mrs. Jeffries had left for them in 
anticipation of a power outage and lit it. Without a word, they headed 
for the stairs.

* * * * *

"please don't"

Once again, Matt found himself trying to fight off a determined assault 
on his senses. He remembered now. This had happened before.

"Why not? You enjoy it. You know you do." The voice was so familiar...

He remembered Peter saying that an incubus appears in the form of someone 
the victim desires. He'd never desired a man. Why was it coming to him?

"Shhh," the voice whispered in his ear, followed by a tongue piercing his 
ear-canal, making him shiver. "Trust me, you want this. I can see deep 
inside you. I know you better than you know yourself. Just let go, go 
with the flow."

Matt's will to resist faded as the deep voice crooned hypnotically to 
him. His hands came up to run through short hair. His mouth opened for 
the probing tongue. He didn't want this...

He did want it.

Matt's hand fell back to the mattress, and he tilted his head back. Lips 
sucked at his neck while slick fingers probed and opened him in ways he'd 
never planned to experiences. His legs were lifted and parted and hooked 
around a muscular torso. Something hot and wet probed at his rear. Matt 
whimpered, torn by the sensations.

* * * * *

"Matt!"

Peter pounded on the door, but there was no answer. A check of the 
doorknob found that it had been locked.

"Did he take the sleeping pills?" Anton asked. "He could be asleep."

"Maybe we're over-reacting," Lindsay added. Just then, a deep moan was 
heard from the other side of the door.

"Fuck this," Peter snarled. "If it's a mistake, we can always apologize 
later." With that, he put his shoulder to the door.

It took three body-slams, but the old lock finally gave way and he fell 
through the doorway and onto the floor. Peter looked up and gasped.

Matt was on his back, legs in the air. And poised over him, about to 
thrust, was...

Peter?

* * * * *

When the door flew open, Matt's eyes flew open as well. Light from a 
lantern filled the room, and he was looking up into the face of Peter 
Axon.

But Peter was also just inside the door, climbing to his feet.

The Peter in bed with him looked up, eyes blazing. "He's *mine*," the 
familiar-unfamiliar voice snarled. "Leave!"

"Like hell," was the response in the same voice, and Peter threw himself 
at the incubus, knocking him away from Matt.

Over and over the two men tumbled, fists flying. The only way to tell the 
difference between them was the fact that the real Peter Axon was still 
fully dressed in blue jeans and flannel shirt. The incubus, naturally 
enough, was nude.

It was also strong. It surged to its feet, and tossed Peter at the 
shocked observers in the doorway. Peter just picked himself up again and 
attacked the creature, which was looking less and less human all the time.

A flicker caught Matt's eye, and he realized that when Peter had hit 
them, Lindsay had dropped the lantern, smashing the glass. Flames were 
already coming to life on the hall carpet, and the spilt oil meant that 
it was near-impossible to stop them.

Matt tried to get up, but he didn't have the strength.

"Leave it!" Anton told Lindsay. "We have to get them out of here!"

Anton and Lindsay moved to the bed, each grabbing one of Matt's arms and 
hauling him to his feet. He sagged against them, barely able to stumble 
along. If he'd had the energy to do more, he might have been embarrassed 
by the fact that he was still naked.

"Peter!" Lindsay called as they stumbled through the doorway into the 
hallway. It was already filling with smoke, and Matt could hear the 
annoying beep-beep-beep of a smoke detector. "Peter, get out! Fire!"

Without waiting for the technician, Anton and Lindsay half-supported, 
half-dragged him to the stairs and down. Not stopping for anything, they 
headed out the door, into the storm, and collapsed. Matt lay there 
shivering.

A blanket settled over him, and he looked up. Peter stood over him -- the 
real Peter. Bruises were already showing, and blood dribbled from a cut 
lip.

"You okay?" Matt managed to whisper.

"Yeah." Was the thick reply. "It didn't follow me out."

"Move house or town..." Matt mumbled, then let consciousness go.

* * * * *

Final case log, Praegar reporting

Because of the storm, the fire did not spread beyond the hotel, although 
it was a total loss. Along with the house, most of the equipment that we 
took north with us was destroyed, except for the few pieces left in the 
van

Since then, there have been no reports of mysterious rapes or seduction 
in Watstown. Based on legend, these sorts of creatures were often linked 
to a place or specific object. The fact that all incidents took place in 
the one building seems to support that theory. If somebody built on the 
same foundations, maybe... But Mrs. Jeffries says she has no intentions 
of re-building the house. After that, who knows.

While there are still several unanswered questions, one bothers me the 
most. Why me? Since the incubus was not limited to one room of the house, 
why did it chose me? And why that specific form?

Somehow I doubt those questions will ever be answered.

Praegar out.

* * * * *

Matt ended the recording, and ran a hand over the top of his head. The 
last few weeks since the fire had been strange, to say the least. It had 
taken a while for his strength to return, although they couldn't find any 
medical reason for the fatigue.

And Peter... He hadn't seen him more than in passing in that time. Both 
of them were embarrassed by what had happened; Matt for being seduced by 
the incubus, and Peter for being the form that the creature had taken.

Matt knew that he should do something about the tension, but he couldn't 
think of anything to do to ease it. He just wasn't used to these sorts of 
situations. And the dreams he'd had since then...

Matt leaned back and sighed, staring up at the ceiling.

A knock on his office door brought him out of his reverie.

"It's open," he called, confused. At this time of the evening there 
shouldn't have been anyone else around. He blinked in surprise when the 
door opened to reveal Peter. "Hey," he said, not sure what he should say.

"Hey, yourself," Peter said, sounding equally unsure. "Um... I saw the 
light under the door, and thought. Well..." He took a deep breath. "I 
thought I'd go have a drink or something and wondered if you'd like to 
come along."

Matt opened his mouth to decline, then smiled. "Sure," he said, suddenly 
relaxing. "I'd like that." He was rewarded by a bright smile.

"Great!"

Matt turned off his desk lamp and grabbed his coat. This could work. At 
least one of them knew what to do.

And who knew where this could lead? The possibilities were endless.

THE END