Authors: Simone Beaudelaire
Tears of Blood
Tears of Blood
Simone Beaudelaire
This
story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or people, living
or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Simone
Beaudelaire. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without the author’s permission.
Cover designed by L.M. Boelz.
(www.weaverofshadows.com)
Author’s web site: http://simonebeaudelaireauthor.weebly.com
Author’s email:
[email protected]
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my beta
readers: Guy Bailey, T. Jackson King, Sandra Martinez, Ch'kara Silverwolf,
Edwin Stark and Lisa Williamson
Prologue
The nephilim were
on the earth in those days- and also afterward- when the sons of God went to
the daughters of men and had children by them. They were heroes of old, men of
great renown.
Genesis 6: 4
And to this day, they remain; the
nephilim. Half human, half angel. They hide in the light, eternal, chaste, and
beautiful. They protect the children of men from the succubae, daughters of
Lilith. Dangerous demonesses who prey on men, leaving them worse than dead.
Until the day one naphil, Lucien,
first encountered the succubus Sarahi. That day a creature of darkness, sick of
the shadows, dared lift her face towards heaven and discovered something she
never dreamed she would find... love.
For Charles, because inspiration comes from many
different places. Thank you.
Other Books by Simone Beaudelaire
When the Music Ends ( Hearts in
Winter Chronicles Book 1)
When the Words are Spoken (The Hearts
in Winter Chronicles Book 2)
COMING SOON: When the Heart Heals (The
Hearts in Winter Chronicles Book 3)
Amor Maldito: Romantic Tragedies
from Tejano Folklore
Haunted Hook-up (Hunters Inc. Book
1) with Guy Bailey
Into the Darkness with Guy Bailey,
L.M. Boelz, and Sandra Martinez
High Plains Holiday (Love on the
High Plains Book 1)
COMING SOON: High Plains
Promise (Love on the High Plains Book 2)
Table of Contents
Ch
apter 1
Rome 78 AD
Sarahi made her slow, sinuous
way down the cobbled streets of Rome, between the heavily-columned white marble
buildings, heading for the temple of Venus. She was hungry. It had been far too
long since she had eaten... months. But she’d been unable to rid herself
of the image of Alexander dying in her arms, drained of his life force, unable
to withstand her insatiable hunger. Poor man. He’d been so beautiful, so
strong. A warrior in the bedroom and on the field of battle.
It was so unfair that she could
never keep a man. Could only use him, suck him dry. Her nourishment was her
lover’s downfall. The only alternative would be this, and she hated this
more. Prostitution. Trading one man for another until she was sated. It
disgusted her. But if she went much longer without feeding, she risked losing
control, and that was worst of all. She could drain a man to his destruction in
a single feeding.
Bah, being a demoness was not at all
what people thought. She had little power. Oh, she could shrink down to a tiny
size, and incite people to lust, but what good were those attributes? What use?
She lived like an animal. Mating and feeding. And for her, they were one.
As she approached the temple, she
could feel the sexual energy rising, could taste it. Inside, behind the
perfectly rectangular palisade of fluted columns, under the shallow peak of the
roof, powerful men were exchanging their hard earned coins for a night with one
of the beautiful women employed in honoring the goddess of love. They had no
idea how many of those women were succubae. It was an easy meal. No need to
hunt. The prey came right to your hand.
"Hmm." A handsome young
man eyed her. "Very pretty."
Sarahi pinned him with a gimlet
stare and pulled the cerulean shawl closer over her scarlet hair. It was the
best she could do. She could not disguise her milk pale skin or her glowing
green eyes. At least she could hide the hair.
But why was she hiding? She could go
with that young man right now and feed. He was agreeable. She could feel it,
could feel the lust radiating off him. But she didn’t want that. Lilith
take it, she didn’t want him. She didn’t want anyone. She wanted to
be left alone.
Her belly cramped with hunger and
she took another look at the back of the young man as he hurried away from her.
If she called him, he would come. She opened her mouth, letting the slightly
bisected tip of her tongue protrude, and inhaled... tasted...
What was that savor in the air, that
celestial fragrance? Like a man, but the best kind of man. Freshly washed, but
wearing no perfumes to disguise his natural scent. Strong. Sweet. Delicious.
What was the source? It teased her. She turned.
A man was walking down the street.
There was nothing unusual about it,
really. There were hundreds, perhaps thousands of men each day walking this
path to and from the senate, the temple, the bath houses. There was nothing
remarkable about this man who seemed to be heading in the same direction as she
was.
Well, actually there was something
unusual about him. He was incredibly tall. Also dark. His tightly shorn curls
gleamed blacker than the dusk. His back was to her, but through his white robe;
she could see his fine, muscular figure. Her mouth watered at the sight of him.
Oh, she could just see how delicious his energy would taste. She could taste
the faintest bit of it now.
Sarahi wiped her hand over the
corner of her mouth and hurried after him. If he was heading to the temple now,
this was her lucky day. She wouldn’t mind making a meal of this one.
Sure enough, he strode directly
there, but instead of entering, he lingered outside the door. He turned to face
the street and Sarahi’s breath caught. Had there ever been such a
beautiful face? Firm jaw, eyes like polished ebony, strong broad nose, full
sensual mouth. He was made to be loved. She wanted him more than ever.
As men approached the
entrance, he touched them on the arm. Those full lips twisted into words she
couldn’t make out. No one turned his way, but everyone he touched paused.
Some turned away and hurried down the street. Others steeled themselves and
entered.
They can’t
see him. He touches them, talks to them, but they have no idea he’s
there.
Interesting she could see him. She
approached. He turned those burning, midnight eyes on her.
"Come no closer,
succubus." His voice was strong and deep, and she shivered at the sound
of it. Her face curving into a sensuous smile, she walked towards him,
deliberately crowding into his space, letting him smell her perfumed, womanly
sweetness. His nostrils flared.
"How did you know what I
am?" she asked, drawing her voice out long and slow.
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
"Of course I know what you are, slut. Do
you
know what
I
am?
"Oh, for Lilith’s
sake," she hissed, suddenly furious. "Naphil. I should have
guessed." Her delicious meal was a half-angel sworn to celibacy. Now
Sarahi felt like swearing.
"You should have
known
,
little one," he chided.
"I’ve never seen a
naphil before." Goddesses, but he was beautiful.
"Then you are poorly trained.
You’ll not be going in there tonight."
"What difference does it make?
Those men are going in to bed a woman. They will walk out unharmed. Why deny me
admittance?"
"It is my duty." He
paused, and gestured with a twist of his head toward the columns flanking the
entrance. "Do you
want
to be there?"
Sarahi took a risk.
"No." She looked directly into his eyes. "But you might as
soon reason with the lion not to eat the antelope. He hungers, and he cannot
stop himself." She sighed.
He narrowed his eyes. "What do
you mean?"
She regarded him, confused.
"You say you are trained to know us. Surely you must know
why
we
do what we do."
"Yes. To gain power. To
threaten Heaven."
She laughed, and the sound was
bitter to her own ears. "No, Sir Naphil, you are misinformed. We seduce
men, not to gain control of them, but to feed. The energy produced by the act
is our only source of nourishment."
He looked aghast at the very
thought. "You feed on men?"
"It is in my nature to do so,
and yet..."
"Yet?"
"Yet I would prefer to eat
bread and drink wine like everyone else. This is a cursed existence."
"What if you fed on only one;
a husband or lover?"
Sarahi’s breath caught. She
could feel her lip trembling. "No man would survive it long. A few months
at most. My last..." she trailed off and turned away.
A warm hand closed on her shoulder.
Her gown was held shut by a clip, and around it, his fingers touched her bare skin.
"I am sorry. I did not realize."
She turned back to face him, her
eyes swimming. "Don’t judge what you don’t understand,
Naphil. Your kind doesn’t know everything about mine."
"Lucien." No longer
aggressive, his tender tone flowed over her like honey, warm and sweet. She was
too caught up in his voice to comprehend his meaning.
"What?"
"My name is Lucien."
She smiled. "How apt. Well,
Lucien, I haven’t fed in ages. If I don’t eat soon, I’m
likely to lose control, and then you’ll have to slay me. Do you wish to
slay me, light bearer?"
He looked at her in silence for an
endless moment, and then said, "No, Succubus. I do not wish to slay
you."
"I am called Sarahi."
"I will remember. I do
apologize for... everything."
"Accepted. Now please go
elsewhere. Save innocent victims. I don’t want to waste my strength
trying to do the impossible."
"Which would be what?"
"Feed on you."
He scoffed. "You
couldn’t."
"Only if I could seduce you.
But if I could..." She twirled a strand of hair around her fingertip.
"Then?" His challenging
tone was contradicted by the visible movement of his Adam’s apple in the
ebony column of his throat.
"Then I think you’d make
the tastiest meal I’ve ever eaten."
She walked directly up to him,
pressing her body against his, sliding her arms around his neck, pulling his
mouth down and kissing him. To her amazement, he didn’t resist. She
pulled him closer, sliding her tongue along the seam of his lips, dipping
inside.
He was even more delicious than she
had imagined, especially when the desire began to rise within him. As her
hunger eased, she became aware of a new emptiness, one she hadn’t felt in
what seemed like ages. She wanted him, but as more than just nourishment.
She ran her fingertips down his arms
and guided his hands to her slender waist before reaching up to embrace him
again.
In a matter of moments, her aching
belly filled to capacity. She no longer needed to feed. She was satisfied, and
all from just a kiss.
She released his mouth. "Go,
Lucien. Leave this place. You’ve made vows. I’ll not be the one to
make you break them. Go."
He looked at her in stunned
disbelief. And then he disappeared as though he’d never been there at
all.
Sarahi drew in a shaky breath and
licked her lips, tasting the honey-sweet residue of his desire. How could she
feed on another after that? It would be like eating ashes.
A pleasing thought occurred to the
succubus. Perhaps it was not necessary to complete a sex act in order to feed.
Perhaps she could feed on unconsummated lust, or even on that of others. Be
nearby, mop up a little of the excess energy, and spare herself the
humiliation.
How ironic to bless the day she met
her enemy face to face.