For anyone unfamiliar with it, this story is based on characters from the Showtime series "Poltergeist:The Legacy".

Dream Lover 

Alex stretched and checked the time at the bottom of the computer screen.
“11:03. Great, I should have this done at about 2 in the morning.”
Sighing, she reached for the next item to be catalogued, but instead of a
crystal candlestick, she found a silver chain. Puzzled, she checked the list
on the desk next to the computer screen.
“Where did you come from?” She asked the necklace as she held it up for
inspection. The thick silver chain held a large round stone encircled with
diamonds. The stone was a deep red and seemed to give off a warm, radiant
glow. She checked the list again. No necklace. No jewelry at all for that
matter. How did it get in here? She wondered. The necklace glowed brighter.
Mesmerized by the soft glow, Alex opened the chain and slipped the
necklace over her head. It’s not like anyone will know, she thought to
herself. The glow rose to a blinding radiance, then everything went dark.

“Wake up my love.”
Alex stirred to the sound, but remained asleep.
“Alex, I’ve come for you.” The voice again. Alex stirred once more and
opened her eyes. How did I get here, she thought. I don’t remember coming to
bed. She glanced around the room her eyes adjusting to the dim light in the
room. In the doorway to her bedroom, wait, this wasn’t her room, stood a
dark figure.
“Where am I?” she asked it.
“Why, in bed of course.” The voice answered, seeming as confused as Alex.
“But this isn’t my room.”
“This is your fantasy.”
Alex looked around again. The dim light in the room came from two large
candles on pillars at both sides of the top of the bed. A light, silky
canopy surrounded the bed, shimmering in the glow of the candles. The sheets
beneath and around her were also silken. The carpet was plush, the color a
deep red, the red of the pendant. Remembering the pendant, Alex put her hand
to her chest and felt it there, warm and surprisingly light.
“How did I get here? Who are you?” she asked, a slight edge of panic mixing
with the confusion in her voice.
“I brought you here.” The figure replied. “And I am your fantasy.” With
these words, the figured moved from the darkness of the doorway and into the
light of the candles. He was the most beautiful man Alex had ever seen.
He was also nude.

His skin was the color of burnt caramel and completely flawless. He was taut and toned, but not bulky. His eyes were the color of deep milk chocolate and his long black hair, which hung just past his chest, fell across his face as he crawled into the bed next to Alex. It was only when he lifted the sheets up that Alex realized she too was nude. Conflicting thoughts filled her head. Part of her felt she should be afraid because she didn’t know this man or this room, or how she had gotten here. Another part was breathless with the anticipation of what was coming. That part quickly took over as he traced a finger over right breast.

“Where did you come from?” she moaned, as his finger continued circling her breast.

He brought his other hand to her forehead and brushed her hair aside. “Here.” Then the finger moved to her left breast, above her heart. “And here.” Then his mouth closed over hers before she could speak again. He rolled over until he was on top of her, his mouth never leaving hers. His hands moved down the sides of her body, and Alex felt herself melt into the sheets. Then he slipped inside her and the amulet blazed, the deep red pulsing to each thrust and lift. And just when Alex thought she might explode from sheer pleasure, the light took on a blinding luminescence and again darkness came.

The buzz of the alarm clock woke her, and she rolled to her side and hit the off button. She lay there for a minute, savoring the memory of her dream.

 “I work way too much.” She said to herself as she stretched languidly and began to rise.

A wave of dizziness hit, and she sat back, eyes closed and hands gripping the sheets. Alex took a few deep breaths to center her, and then opened her eyes. She made a tentative move to rise, and when the dizziness did not return, she stood up. That was some dream, she thought as headed into the bathroom to shower. On her nightstand, the amulet flashed.

The demon hated Selena. Not in his entire life, 600 plus years, had any incubus ever been captured. Not until he made the mistake of visiting one of her dreams 10 years ago. She was the most powerful witch he had ever encountered. And the most vindictive.  He had spent the better part of his incarceration pleasuring her and anyone else at her leisure. When she had no use for him, he was banished into the amulet, which until a week ago, hung from her graceful neck. The neck he would like to break.

“Well?” she demanded.

“I did as you bade.” He answered. “I seduced the psychic one.”

Selena’s full lips broke into a wide smile. “Good. Does she realize what you are?”

“No.” he replied. “She believes it was a dream.”

The smile vanished. “A dream that will soon become a nightmare, when I have taken her gift and made it my own.” The smile returned. “And once I have that, you may take her life. Alex Moreau will pay for what she has done to me.”

The demon nodded, then vanished in a bright flash of red light, exiled to the amulet once again.

By the time Alex walked into the library, the morning meeting had already started.

“You’re running late this morning.” Derek remarked. “Anything wrong?”

“I had a bit of a dizzy spell.” She answered, taking her seat at the table.

Rachel gave her a concerned look. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah, I think I just sat up too fast.”

Derek took his seat. “Well if everything is okay, let’s get to work. Where are you with the cataloging of the Orsini items?”

Alex flinched slightly at the name. Selena Orsini was one of the most powerful dark witches they’d ever encountered. She had literally been draining the life, and in most cases, special abilities, out of people. They had searched through Legacy journals and books to no avail. Ironically, it was Rachel’s Aunt Rebecca’s Book of Shadows where they found the spell that finally brought her down. But it had almost cost Alex her life.

Derek noticed her discomfort. “How are you doing?”

“I’m okay. It’s still a little fresh, that’s all. I got through most of it then…she flashed to the necklace and the dream.

“Then what?” He asked.

“I fell asleep. I guess I was working a little too hard.”

“Burning the midnight oil?” Nick teased.

Again, she flashed to the dream. “Definitely burning something.” She answered under her breath.

Derek turned to Kristin. “Anything new on the haunting at St. Simon’s?”

She looked up from her paperwork.  “They’re doing some renovating in the cloisters, and found bones underneath one of them. Some clothing remnants at the site identifies our “John Doe” as a priest, but no one who is currently there knows of any who have gone missing.  A forensic anthropologist is currently examining them so we can pinpoint approximately how old the bones are and we can do a search of priests serving around that time to see if we can identify him.”

“Very good. How about that possession case, Rachel?”

“No possession at all. Victim is a schizophrenic with a rigidly religious upbringing. The voices he was hearing were all part of his particular delusion.”

Derek rose from his chair. “Sounds like everything is moving along. I guess we should too.”

Alex got up and headed out of the library. Kristin called to her. “Alex, wait!”

She turned around. Kristin approached, something clutched in her right hand.

“I know the Sight is not something you turn on and off, but I was wondering if you would hold this and see if you can get anything from it.” She held out a small piece of black cloth. “It’s from the skeleton.”

“I don’t know if I’ll get anything but I’ll give it a try.” Alex took the cloth from her and folded her fingers over it. She felt the familiar tingle that came just before a vision, started to get a picture…then another wave of dizziness hit and the vision stopped. Kristen grabbed her arm as she stumbled.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah. That was strange, I started to get a vision, but it never fully hit, then I started to feel woozy.”

Kristen listened, concern in her eyes. “Maybe you need some more time off. That was a pretty harrowing experience you had. You might be pushing yourself a little too hard coming back this soon.”

Alex shook her head. “No. I need to work. If I sit around all I do is think about it.” Seeing the worry on the other woman’s face, she added, “But I think I’ll quit a little early tonight and get some more rest. Sorry I wasn’t able to help.”

“That’s okay. I guess I’ll just have to wait for the anthropologist’s report. See you later.”

“Bye.” Alex headed for the staircase. What is wrong with me, she wondered. First the blackout, then the dream and now this? Maybe Kristin is right, maybe I am pushing myself too hard. She made a resolution to quit early tonight, take a relaxing bath, and read something other than ledgers, journals and ancient texts.

Selena held the glove in her hand. She felt a tingling sensation, saw a flash of, something, then it was gone. Her lips curved into a smile, it was working. Just a few more visits from the incubus and Alex Moreau’s gift would be hers, then her life would be over. Walking across the room, she gazed at herself in the mirror. The burns were healing, though slowly. Her mind drifted back….

She thought she had been careful. She didn’t know anyone knew what she had been doing. She certainly didn’t realize the Legacy was on to her.  When the Moreau bitch and her colleague Rachel Corrigan had visited, under the guise of belonging to the Luna Foundation, asking questions about the missing girl, she assumed it was because she was a neighbor. Not that she had been found out, and their visit was merely a ruse to get into her home and verify their suspicions. She thought she had come off as the politely concerned neighbor; no, she didn’t know of anyone Gina had been having problems with, such a terrible tragedy, who would have done such a thing.  Ironically, it was the demon that tried to warn her, but she didn’t heed him. When they returned two days later, she wished she had. Moreau had burst in, accusing Selena of witchcraft and killing Gina, telling her it was over, she would hurt no one else. Selena was so shocked, she almost laughed. Stop her? Who did this impudent bitch think she was? It was then she saw the paper in her hands, and heard the words she was reciting. A spell.

Selena quickly began an incantation of her own, a spell for astral travel, followed by one for invisibility. Once she had escaped the house unnoticed, she started casting in earnest. Her first spell sent Alex flying back into the wall. The Corrigan woman had gone running to her, checking to see if she was all right. Selena thought for sure she’d had them. Then Corrigan had picked up the paper to continue the incantation, but Alex had gotten up, grabbed it out of her hand, and read. The next thing Selena knew flames surrounded her astral body. Being a considerable distance away, she should have been safe. Then she felt the burning. And she was screaming. In her mind she recited the incantation to rejoin her astral body to her physical one. The burning had stopped, but the pain remained. Fortunately, the other women had mistaken the disappearance of her astral self for her death.

She glanced at herself in the mirror again, the anger welling up inside her. She had been smug, assuming they could not defeat her, that the magic they used was inferior. She would not make that mistake again. And soon, Alexandria Moreau would make no mistakes again. Ever.

“I’m back my love.”

Alex stirred at the voice and felt the mattress shift. Her eyelids fluttered a moment, and then she opened them. The room glowed with the crimson light of the amulet, which lay between her naked breasts, where the book she was reading had been when she fell asleep. She felt warm flesh pressed against her side and turned her head to see him lying next to her.  “What is your name?” she asked in a breathy tone.

“Does it matter?” He replied, bringing his lips to the nape of her neck. Alex moaned and her mind clouded. It seemed like it should matter, but as he took her again in the blaze of light and passion, she found she didn’t care.

Again the alarm clock woke her. Rolling over to hit the off button, she knocked the book from her chest, which was covered by the nightgown she’d put on last night. Remembering the previous nights dream, she said to herself, “I have got to get a life.” Sitting up, she was again assailed by a wave of dizziness and nausea. Lying back down, she closed her eyes and began taking deep breaths. A few moments later she opened her eyes. The room was no longer spinning. “What is happening to me?” she whispered aloud. She sat up again throwing her legs over the side of the bed. She spied the amulet lying benignly on the nightstand. Reaching over, she picked it up and let it dangle before her face. “All this started happening when I discovered you. Coincidence? Could be, but then I’ve never believed in coincidence.” She studied it thoughtfully. Then something occurred to her. Could the amulet be cursed? Selena was a witch, maybe she cast some kind of spell on this so that whoever wore it would be weakened somehow. Okay, she thought, that explains the dizzy spells, but what about the dreams? How are they involved? Alex decided her number one priority for the day would be to do a search on spells and curses to see if she could find out what was really going on.

When Derek walked into the control room, he saw a very frustrated Alex sitting at one of the computers. “Something wrong?” he asked.

Not yet ready to share what was happening, Alex replied. “Just having some difficulties getting the last of the Orsini items catalogued.”

“Perhaps I can help.” Derek moved toward Alex and the computer. Hurriedly Alex minimized the site she had pulled up and when Derek came up next to her, he saw the list of items taken from the Orsini home. “What seems to be the problem?”

“I think it’s just user error.” Alex replied, shutting down the program. “Maybe I’ll take a little break and come back to it later. She rose to leave and as she passed him, Derek touched her arm. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Derek gave her a look that said he wasn’t convinced, and then let it go.
“Kristen said she asked you for help in the St. Simons case.”

“Yes, but I’m afraid I wasn’t much help.”

“Neither was I. I got some flashes but nothing I can make sense of. I was wondering if you’d be willing to try again. Maybe between the two of us we can figure it out.”

Alex sighed. “Alright, but I can’t make any promises.”  Derek raised his hand and offered the same scrap of material Kristen had shown her yesterday. She took it and closed it in her hands. The familiar tingle came, but before the vision hit, the dizziness came, and this time it brought a searing pain along with it. Alex screamed, feeling as though her skull was going to explode. She felt Derek’s arms around her and heard him call her name. She looked down at his arms and saw bright drops of red. Blood. Her blood. She felt the wetness above her lips. Then everything went black.

"I've given her a pain reliever with a sedative. She should sleep for a few hours." Rachel said as she stood up from the side of the bed and walked toward Derek. "What happened?"

"I don't know." he replied. "I asked her to see if she could get any images from the St. Simon's cloth, and when she touched it, she began screaming and then she fainted."

"I'll stay here tonight to monitor her condition." Rachel glanced over to the sleeping Alex. "But we need to find out what caused this."

" I agree. Let's go to the control room and see what we can find." Derek started toward the door, when a glint of silver from the nightstand caught his eye. He moved toward it. When he reached it, he saw the amulet and picked it up. The images started coming...Selena Orsini, badly burnt, running from her house...Alex picking up the amulet from the control room table...Alex and a strange man in a passionate embrace...

"Derek, what is it?" Rachel asked coming up behind him.

"I'm not sure, but I think this may be the key to finding out what is happening to Alex." Clutching it tight in his hand, he headed toward the control room.

            &nb sp;                         &nb sp;                 ****************

"That's impossible." Rachel argued. "Selena Orsini is dead. I saw her die with my own eyes."

"Are you sure?" Derek countered. "You saw her vanish, but there was no body. Can you be sure she didn't survive the fire?"

Rachel hesitated a moment. "Okay, not absolutely sure, but there is a very slim chance. And if she did, she'd be badly hurt. She would have needed a doctor."

Derek slid in front of one of the computers. "Let's see if any of the local hospitals treated a female burn victim with 24 hours of the incident." He typed some information into the computer and a list of the area hospitals came up. "Which hospital is the closest to Orsini's home?" he asked Rachel.

"San Fransisco General."

He hit another set of keys, and a patient list popped on the screen. "We have 4 women in labor, one domestic violence victim, 3 rape victims, and a broken arm. No women were admitted for burns in that time period." For the next 15 minutes they searched records for the other local hospitals and found no record of a woman being treated for burns.

"I don't get it." Rachel said, frustration rising in her voice. "She would have been covered head to toe in 3rd degree burns. There is no way she could have survived if she didn't seek treatment."

"Maybe she did." Derek answered.

"We just searched the local hospitals Derek, none of them treated a burn victim that night or the day after."

"Selena is a witch. Perhaps she knew of some spell or some magical remedy, or knew of someone who did."

Rachel's eyes lit up. "Yes. Of course! What better way to throw the Legacy off her trail than to convince us she died. But it doesn't explain how she could be hurting Alex. We have every kind of safeguard imaginable here. There is no way she could get in here without us knowing."

"Maybe it isn't her. At least not directly. She had to know if we did manage to somehow stop her, that we would take possession of her belongings." With this statement, he held up the amulet. "I've checked the original items list, the one submitted by the Legacy members who removed the items from the home. This is not on that list."

"You think she got it in here somehow, knowing Alex would do the cataloging?"

"It stands to reason." Derek answered. "The question is, what did she do to this amulet, and what is it doing to Alex?"

            &nb sp;                         &nb sp;    ******************

From his prison within the amulet, the demon listened to Rachel and Derek's conversation. They were close to discovering the truth. A small part of him smiled. He could not wait to see that bitch Selena go down. Another part was afraid. What if they managed to subdue or even kill Selena while he was still trapped in the amulet? He would not spend eternity in this accursed place. As the two legacy members set about trying to discover the secret to the amulet, he began to formulate his plan on how he would escape it.

            &nb sp;             ************

"Alex my love, wake up."

Alex stirred, moaned and continued sleeping. Damn, the demon thought, the sedative is too strong; I can't get into her mind. While he stood there by the bed trying to figure out his next move, the door to the bedroom swung open and Rachel appeared.

"Just checking to s..." When she saw him she stopped short. "Who are you, what are you doing here? DEREK!" The demon moved toward her. "Stay back!" she shouted as she moved away. Derek came through the door and marched toward the demon. With a flick of his hand, the demon sent Derek flying back into the wall. Rachel ran over and kneeled beside him. "Derek, are you alright?"

Wincing he sat up. "Yes." He glared at the demon. "Who are you? How did you get in here?"

The demon glared back. "In the amulet."

Rachel gave him an incredulous look. "You live in there?"

He gave her a sardonic look. "I wouldn't call it living."

Derek rose slowly to his feet. "What are you?"

"I am an incubus." The demon replied, spreading is arms indicating his naked body, as if it should be obvious.

Derek's eyes focused on Alex, who despite the commotion was still sleeping soundly. "You." He turned back toward the demon. "You did this to her."

"Yes."

Rachel moved to stand by Derek. "Why? Why Alex?"

"I was commanded to." There was a tinge of anger in his voice.

"By who?" Derek demanded.

Venom filled his voice as the demon spat out the words. "By the bitch that trapped me within the amulet, Selena Orsini."

Rachel's eyes widened. She looked at Derek. "She is still alive."

"Very much so." The demon answered. "And filled with vengeance toward this one." He pointed to Alex. "She was using me to drain her of her ability and her life, just as she has since she trapped me."

Derek spoke to Rachel, his eyes still on the demon. "Check Alex. Make sure everything is okay." Rachel moved toward Alex's sleeping form. "Why are you telling us this? Surely you know who we are and where you are?"

"Because I have a proposition for you."

"I don't make deals with the devil."

The demon laughed. "I am hardly that, but I am flattered by the comparison. Before you turn me down know this, as long as I am trapped within that amulet, I am under Selena's control, and I will finish what she ordered me to do."

Rachel looked up from the bed. "Meaning you'll kill Alex."

"Yes." the answer was matter-of-fact, devoid of any emotion.

Derek stole another glance at the sleeping Alex. "Very well. What's your proposition?"

The demon smiled. "I give you Selena Orsini, you give me my freedom."

"Before we can do that, we must know how she trapped you there."

"I will get you her Book of Shadows, the spell to catch as well as release me lie within its pages."

Derek gave him a skeptical look. "How do we know that after you're released you won't still kill Alex, as well as the rest of us?"

"I give you my word."

Derek gave a sardonic grin. "The word of a demon? You truly expect us to trust it?"

The demon returned the grin. "Do you really have a choice?" Before Derek could answer, he disappeared in a flash of red light. Rachel jumped up from the side of the bed. "Where did he go?"

"I don't know." Derek replied. "But we have to find out all we can about incubi and how to destroy them before he returns."

            &nb sp;                         &nb sp;        **************

Suddenly, the demon found himself facing Selena. "Well, she asked, "is it done?"

"Not yet."

Her face contorted with anger. "Why not?"

"She collapsed after my last visit, and the doctor has her on sedatives. I could not get into her mind."

"Damn it!" Selena roared, pacing around the room. "I want that bitch dead for what she did to me!"
Catching her movement in the mirror, she turned and looked at her reflection. She was perfectly healed now, and perfectly angry. She looked toward the demon. She needed someway to work the anger off. She walked seductively towards him. "Since you weren't able to complete the task with Moreau, you can complete it with me." She smiled, running a finger down his bare chest. "It's been a long time.....

            &nb sp;             **************

The demon watched Selena, eyes burning with rage. The sweat had yet to cool from their bodies and he could see from the rhythmic movement of her chest she was already asleep. He'd taken her roughly. She enjoyed the pain. In the dim light he could see bruises forming on her creamy skin.  Carefully he rose from the bed. Moving silently, he approached the door to the closet, her altar room. Slipping inside he closed the door with a quiet click. He held his left hand up, palm upward and a small ball of light appeared. He could see her Book of Shadows, lying on the altar in the middle of the small room.  Moving toward it, he grabbed the book and doused the light. He was so close to freedom, he could practically taste it. The rage swelled up in him anew as he thought about the way Selena had controlled and used him. This time would be the last. A smile curved his lips as he thought of the pleasure he would take in stripping Selena of her powers and then her life. Then he thought of the Moreau woman. If pity were part of his emotional repertoire, he supposed he would feel it for her. After all, it was only because of Selena he had sought her. But the power he felt surge through him when he was with her....he couldn't just let that go. Of course, her fellow Legacy members would not just allow him to continue his work.
Which meant they would have to die too....after they had freed him, of course.
            &nb sp;                    ***********
 
Derek and Rachel stared intently at the screen as it displayed the information from the search Derek entered. "Well," Derek said, "it looks as though our options are limited. Incubi were mistakenly believed to be fallen angels, which, because of the sepulchers, we now know they are not. The other theory of their origin is that they are spirits who have made pacts with the dark side in order to continue living and experience carnal pleasure, and their offspring."
 
"Okay, so which one are we dealing with here, the original demon or it's offspring?" Rachel asked.
 
"According to Legacy records, full incubi, the spirits who have turned, are immune to the power of witches." Derek said, reading through the article. "So the one we're dealing with must be the offspring of one."
 
"So how do we stop him?"
 
"The text says we must find a witch, descended from the same line and have her sever the tie between them."
 
"How are we supposed to do that?" Rachel asked.  Exasperated, she stood and began pacing the room. "We know nothing about this demon. How old he is, what demon fathered him. We don't even know his name!"
 
Derek scrolled down the page. "We need a spell. One that will summon a witch with a blood tie to the demon."
 
"Where do we find it?"
 
"Do you still have your Aunt Rebecca's Book of Shadows?"
 
Rachel looked at him quizzically. "Yes."
 
"We'll check there first. If we can't find one, we'll have to search the Legacy archives. Someone, somewhere at some time had to have created and used such a spell."
 
Bright red light lit the control room, and the demon appeared, the book in his arms "I am back."
 
 
            &nb sp;         **************
Phoebe gasped as the premonition hit her....an island off the coast, a large castle-like mansion, a beautiful black woman, a gorgeous black man, and angry female warlock and a red amulet, the man with the woman, sucking the life from her..a demon, the warlock laughing, the man disappearing into the amulet. Two other people, a man and a woman, the demon killing them.....
 
"Phoebe? Phoebe!" Paige asked as she shook her back into the present. "What did you see?"
 
"A demon killing three innocents."
 
"Where?"
 
"An island, off the coast of California."
 
Paige gave her a confused look. "Alcatraz?"
 
"No. This was like a private island with a large mansion, it looked like a castle. We need to get home and check the Book of Shadows."
 
"So much for a girl's day out." Paige sighed as she took Phoebe's hand and they orbed back to the manor.

0 comments View Entry