Incubus Moon by Andrew Cheney-Feid Read Free Book Online

be real and wonderful memories with Laura behind its walls. Now, another family would soon call it home, one who would, I hoped, create new memories there for themselves built on a foundation of trust and honesty.
    As for my own new life, the only time I didn’t feel unsettled or like knocking back a drink or six was when I was seducing would-be bed partners.
    It also seemed pointless to continue a search for a birth mother who almost certainly wasn’t human. Where did one begin to look for a genuine succubus? The pages of a Brothers Grimm fairytale? Even more unsettling was what the creepy woman in the mist had revealed to me the other night. “Trust that when the time is right, I shall come for you.”
    The entity at Joy’s failed to mention whether the Shadow Walker was male or female. Maybe this creature was the Big Bad I was told would be gunning for me? The entity also claimed that more of its kind would soon discover what I was and hunt me down.
    Was it any small wonder that I couldn’t focus on real life stuff?
    Of course, there was still one other plausible explanation for all the weirdness making up my life for the past few months: I’d gone cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.
    I startled at the ringing of my apartment phone. It was after midnight. Who’d be calling me at this late hour? Tempted to let the answering machine get it, I picked up on the fourth ring.
    “Hello?”
    “I look for Austin Iverson.”
    The static on the line made it difficult to hear the caller. “Who is this?”
    “Riccardo, the cugino of tua mamma, from Italy.” Unmistakably Italian from his heavy, sing-song accent, I was unaware that Laura had a cousin by that name. “ É urgente che ti parlo .”
    “How did you get this number?” I was unlisted.
    “Zia Lucia give to me.” Lucia was Laura’s sister. “I—I sorry for my bad English. But I have the information of which you seek…”
    “You’re doing fine, Riccardo.” I was fluent in Italian, but for some reason I didn’t want him to know that. “How can I help you?”
    “Is about… la tua adozione .” Okay. He now had my full attention. “I want to help you, but we must to be very careful. No one can know what we do.” A moment of protracted silence ensued. “There are those who will not want you to discover la verità . You understand?”
    Not really. And so much for accepting the bizarre in my life and moving on with it.
    By the end of the call, and against my better judgment, I agreed to meet up with Riccardo in Rome in the coming weeks. Once I knew where I was staying, I’d leave my hotel info on the cell phone number he’d provided. Cryptic enough?

CHAPTER 8
    I leaned forward in my seat to peer through the oval window at the thick mantle of coppery cloud cover beneath us. We were in a race with twilight to reach the Eternal City and a man I didn’t know existed until a few short weeks ago. Cousin Riccardo alleged to have vital information regarding my adoption and had sworn me to absolute secrecy with respect to our meeting. I was not to mention a word about him to the other members of Laura’s family. Apparently, he owed some of them money. Not a promising sign.
    Desperate for the smallest breadcrumb, I agreed to his terms.
    However, I couldn’t help but wonder if he knew that incubi existed, or might even be one himself? Guess I’d find out soon enough.
    Mark peered around the other side of his wife. “Doin’ okay there?”
    I nodded. “Excited and nervous.”
    “Who wouldn’t be?” Christie said.
    From the moment they’d learned about my chance to uncover significant information about my adoption, they’d insisted on coming with me. My knee-jerk reaction had been to tell them no way, which didn’t go over well with either of them—especially Mark.
    What if meeting Cousin Riccardo exposed what I’d become? More importantly, what if this encounter turned out to be a trap, mystical or otherwise? How could I ensure their safety? I was an incubus, not