Rachel nodded.

“She asked me to look in on her and make sure her body was being taken care of," she said.

“But here's the problem. Althea might be a prisoner in my head, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have skills. Or enemies. And when that creep Fontein touched me, she was able to see into his mind." She swallowed bitter bile. "He's under the control of a demon-spawn."

“A demon-spawn?" Jeremy asked blankly.

Rachel nodded. "The Forsaken, the angels who rebelled against God and were cast into the Pit, escape occasionally. They are able to disguise themselves in human forms, nearly as beautiful as the succubi or the incubi. Jealous of the succubi and their power, they mate with humans.

“The mating of a male demon and a female woman almost always leads to the woman's death," she said. She kept her voice brisk, unwilling to describe the horrors such a mating produced. "The demon-spawn usually dies as well. However, when a female demon mates with a male human, the demon-spawn usually survives. Our enemy is one of those.

“He calls himself Mortimer Kincaid. He is the offspring of purest evil.

He knows of Althea's illness. He knows we know about her. Being who and what he is, he will stop at nothing until Althea, and all who are associated with her, are dead.

“We have one hope. It is obvious that Kincaid does not yet know where

Althea's body is. Otherwise Fontein would never have come here Looking for information. He might suspect I am sharing my body with her.

Succubi are notoriously resistant to disease and illness, so the fact her body is hospitalized is strange. The logical conclusion, from his point of view, would be that she has either abandoned her body or been forced out of it. Our only course of action is to rescue her from the hospital and restore her to her own body before Kincaid finds out her location."

“And then she'll kick his ass straight back to Hell!" Alex said, pumping his fist. "Sweet! When do we go?"

Five pairs of eyes looked at him. Maria's were loving, Rachel and

Josh's tolerant. Sarah, Rachel was amused to see, looked actively horrified.

“Mom, this is crazy," she protested.

“I mean, I can tell you're telling the truth, but..." she made an abortive gesture at her tail, which was slowly swaying back and forth. Her eyes focused on it.

“How the hell does that thing fit inside you, anyway?" she demanded, momentarily diverted..

Rachel reached behind her and stroked her tail, shuddering in sensuous pleasure at the feel of warm fingers on its sensitive skin. Heat bloomed in her belly, and she suddenly wanted her husband with a fierce urgency that defied logic and danger.

“Althea tells me that the presence of a succubus' soul inside a mortal body causes that body to change to match its passenger," she said.

“A succubus has different vertebrae than humans. Rather than the single opening in each vertebra for the spinal cord, a succubus has two. One is for the spinal cord, and one serves as a sheath to provide a place of refuge for the tail when not being used.

“But you're right, Sarah. This is crazy." She shrugged.

“If anyone had told me a month ago what my life would be Like right now, I'd think they were completely fucking nuts. But it is what it is. I can't escape it. And truth be told, I wouldn't trade what I have right now for the world." She took them all in, her eyes warm.

“A husband regained. The love of my children restored. And new friends, who may turn into something more.

“Our path is clear. Get Althea back into her body. The succubi were charged with the protection of humanity from the demon-spawn. If she was at her full power, Kincaid wouldn't stand a chance. As it is..." she sighed.

“We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."