The physics of souls, p.1
The Physics of Souls, page 1
part #4 of Son of a Succubus Series
The Physics of souls
Son of a Succubus Series
BOOK 4
SARINA DORIE
Copyright © 2020 Sarina Dorie
All rights reserved.
ISBN-13: 978- 1709149788
NOT-SO-COZY MYSTERIES
IN THE womby’s school for wayward witches SERIES listed in order
Tardy Bells and Witches’ Spells
Hex-Ed
Witches Gone Wicked
A Handful of Hexes
Hexes and Exes
Reading, Writing and Necromancy
Budget Cuts for the Dark Arts and Crafts
My Crazy Hex-Boyfriend
Spell It Out for Me
Hex Crimes
Of Curse You Will
Cackles and Cauldrons
Hex and the City
Wedding Bells and Midnight Spells
Hex Appeal
Safe Hex
The Joy of Hex
Hedgewitchin’ in the Kitchen
The Trouble with Hedge witches SERIES
The Witch of Nightmares
A Cauldron Full of Curses
A Pocket Full of Poison
The Witch’s Familiar
SON OF A SUCCUBUS SERIES
A Familiar Magic
Curse of the Witching Hour
Magical Maladies for Beginners
The Physics of Souls
Incubus Charms
A Vial Full of Magic
A Devil of a Time
SON OF A FAE SERIES
A Court of Muses
A Court of Fae
A Court of Nightmares
A Court of Witchkin
The vega bloodmire cozy witch mystery series
Ghoulish Charms
The Hex Files With Felix Thatch series
Talented and Goblin
No Way in Spell
COLLECTIONS OF FUNNY SHORT STORIES
Fairies, Robots and Unicorns—Oh My!
Ghosts, Werewolves and Zombies—Oh My!
stand-alone Novels
Dawn of the Morning Star
Urban Changeling
The Chronicles of Dartania
Silent Moon
Fairy Godmother Mysteries
Wrath of the Tooth Fairy
The Memory Thief Series
Steamy Steampunk mysteries
The Memory Thief
The Geari Wife
Clockwork Memories
The Lost Memories of Meriwether Klark
Silkpunk and Steam
The Memory Keeper
Other Titles to Be Announced
Table of Contents
NOT-SO-COZY MYSTERIES
AUTHOR’S NOTE
A special note for my fans because you specifically asked for a chronology of events:
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
A SNEAK PREVIEW
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AUTHOR’S NOTE
If you are reading this spin-off series from Womby’s School for Wayward Witches series, I’m guessing you have read the other books as well. Whether you have stuck with the books because you love the quirky characters, you want to know about Abigail and Lucifer’s origins, or you are waiting to see what happens with the potential love interests, I appreciate your enthusiasm.
I want to encourage you to sign up for my newsletter if you haven’t already done so. This helps me as an author connect to my readers, lets you know when books are being released, and gives me a way to gift you with free books and short stories.
You can find the newsletter sign-up on my website: sarinadorie.com or you can go to: http://eepurl.com/dEd4oL
Happy reading!
A special note for my fans because you specifically asked for a chronology of events:
The Son of a Succubus Series is its own original series and spin-off of the Womby’s School for Wayward Witches Series. The first novel in this series, A Familiar Magic, takes place after The Witch’s Familiar, the last book in the Trouble with Hedge Witches Series Bundle. The first novel in this series also takes place around the time of Book 13, Hex and the City from the Womby’s School for Wayward Witches Series. The second book in the Son of a Succubus Series, Curse of the Witching Hour, spans the time between Book 14 and Book 17 in Womby’s School for Wayward Witches Series. The remaining books in this series occur in the aftermath of the Womby’s School for Wayward Witches Series.
CHAPTER ONE
The Problem with Sleeping Beauty
Lucifer Thatch had never thought he’d been so happy in all his life. He was human, not trapped in the body of a cat by a witch’s curse. Abigail was a human again as well, not cursed into being a tree. Nor was her soul trapped in a bottle kept by a wicked witch. He had freed her soul and reunited it with her body.
Finally, they were together.
He had always wanted a chance at a fresh start with Abigail, for them to live their lives together like they were supposed to. This was their chance.
Starlight speckled the sky, peeking through the ceiling of foliage above the oak tree where he had placed Abigail’s bed so that she could be near her affinity.
He brushed her long auburn hair out of her face. “How do you feel?”
She was so young and beautiful, just as when he’d first met her. She couldn’t have been older than sixteen, but he wasn’t certain. The half-Fae and half-human spawn called Witchkin never aged at the same rate as Morties.
Abigail gazed at him when he spoke, but her face was blank. He had unusually good eyesight at night, a leftover ability from the years of being trapped in the body of a cat, but he couldn’t decipher what her lack of expression meant. She’d just uttered his name moments before, but now she looked at him as though he were a stranger. Anxiety prickled through him.
He rationalized that he might be a stranger to her now. She’d only glimpsed him in his adult body once when his curse had temporarily been lifted. He hadn’t aged while he’d been cursed, and though he should have had the mind of a fifty-year-old man, most of the time he was more like a confused cat with the last clear memories being that of a love-struck eighteen-year-old.
He supposed he must appear as a wild man to her with his bushy beard and untamed thicket of black hair. He was taller and bulkier than when he’d been a teenager, the muscle he’d gained in all those years as a tom cat carried into his human form.
She shifted under the blanket that was half fabric and half strawberry vines, and he helped her sit up. He touched her hand to his heart. “It’s me, Lucy.” He used her nickname for him, wanting to reassure her.
She said nothing to reassure him.
Abigail turned her freckled face up toward the canopy of trees above. She gazed at the moonlight filtering through the leaves of the oak above, her expression puzzled. It was natural she must be distressed about how she arrived on a bed made of moss and wood. Her fingers clumsily raked through the strawberry blossoms woven through the blanket. Petals drifted away from her dainty fingers.
She shivered as the blanket fell from her, revealing naked skin smeared with dirt and partially covered in vines. A sharp prickle of cold went through Lucifer as he experienced the chill of the night that she felt. His magic was so attuned with her it was difficult not to experience the sensations in her body. He tried to pull the blanket around her more securely, but the vines had rooted too deeply in the earth below the bed. When he pulled harder at the blanket, a wave of pain shot through her. She’d always had a sympathy with plants, and some of these were rooted to her.
“I apologize,” he said. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
He smoothed a hand up and down her back to keep her warm, watching her face to make sure he wasn’t increasing her plant affinity as he had when he’d kissed her thirty years before. His touch magic had drawn hers out, and she’d been stuck in between being human and tree. He hadn’t known what to do.
Baba had made him prune Abigail to free her. He’d felt each slice of his knife as acutely as if someone had been cutting him. More than anything, he’d wanted to gather her up in his arms and comfort her afterward, but he couldn’t do so without drawing out her magic again.
Now as she leaned against him, he hoped he wouldn’t accidentally make her grow uncontrollably again. He didn’t want to make her worse. He couldn’t bear the thought of hurting her.
She drew in a quavering breath.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She still didn’t answer. Her green eyes were wide with wonder. She looked at him no differently than the trees or the stars. Tears filled her eyes, and her breath hitched in her chest.
“It’s all right. You’re awake, and we’re together again.” Except he wondered whether it was all right. Now that she was awake, what would Baba do?
Baba Nata, the Witch of Nightmares, who had transformed him into a cat to manipulate him into returning, wouldn’t be pleased. She had promised to teach him the magic necessary to awaken Abigail after he had finished his apprenticeship. But he hadn’t been able to wait, not with the way Baba used Abigail’s body parts to fuel her spells. With each toe Baba had cut away, Lucifer felt part of himself dying. Each time she had wounded Abigail, Lucifer had worked to restore her with magic.
Now that Abigail was awake, Lucifer hoped Baba would stop stealing Abigail’s fingers and toes. She couldn’t use the excuse that Abigail couldn’t feel the pain.
On the other hand, Baba would punish Lucifer for stealing the bottle where she’d kept Abigail’s soul and disobeying her. It was possible she would punish him through Abigail.
A breathy sigh escaped Abigail’s lips. “Lucy.”
Hearing his name on her lips filled him with such joy, he grinned like a fool.
Lucifer kissed the tears from her freckled cheeks. He wanted to reassure her as much as he craved to be reassured. When he pressed his lips to hers, he tasted the strawberry he’d bitten into earlier. She made a little noise of protest and pulled away. She turned her face from his, gasping for air.
“I suppose you might need to breathe. Sorry.” He stroked her hair. “I’m just so happy to see you.”
She drew her knees up to her chest and sniffled. He realized then her expression didn’t mirror his own joy.
“What is it, Abby?”
Her face pinched up, and she started to sob.
Baba’s voice sounded brittle, coming from behind him. Her Russian accent was thicker than ever in her anger. “Lucy, what kind of foolish thing have you done now?”
Baba Nata, the Witch of Nightmares, hobbled closer.
“I haven’t done anything foolish. I woke up Abby.” He circled an arm around her shoulder protectively.
Abigail squirmed him away and began to wail. He stared at her in astonishment. She was supposed to be happy to see him. Why wasn’t she smiling?
Whatever he’d done, he was certain he should have listened to Baba.
CHAPTER TWO
The Physics of Souls
Lucifer couldn’t comprehend Abigail’s reaction. He didn’t sense any pain radiating from her. Perhaps a little bit of hunger and thirst, but that was minor. She had all her fingers and toes the last time he’d checked. He couldn’t understand what ailed her.
It had to be Baba. Abigail was in shock and adjusting to returning to her body. Baba was the last sight anyone would want to see—let alone by someone who feared having her toes mutilated for Baba’s spells.
Baba’s long nose and the wart on her pointed chin wasn’t exactly an endearing sight. She hobbled closer, using her cane to help her.
“What did you do to her that I don’t know about?” Lucifer snarled. His fingers itched for action. If he had been a cat, his claws would have extended. “Did you hex her? Curse her?”
Baba clucked her tongue at him. “I did nothing. This is all you and your foolishness.”
She shuffled forward in her unhurried pace. Lucifer placed himself between Abigail and the old hedge witch. Without his arm supporting her, Abigail flopped over onto her side on the wooden bed he’d constructed. She curled into a ball and continued to cry, pushing away cushions of moss and strawberry vines.
Baba plucked the tiny bottle out of the blanket of strawberries and held it up to the moonlight. The shimmering green magic that had been Abigail’s soul was now absent.
She shook her head. “Such a waste.”
“What is such a waste?” Lucifer’s heart seized in his chest. Had he truly performed the spell wrong? That would explain Abigail’s reaction. But he had followed the directions of the spell. He’d performed the exercises correctly.
Baba didn’t answer. She shuffled into the house.
Abigail tried to roll away from him. She would have fallen off the wooden pallet, but Kelsie dove forward to catch her. He hadn’t even realized Baba’s other apprentice was nearby, but then it made sense if Baba had returned.
Kelsie was a tall young woman, seventeen if she had told him the truth, though her baby face looked younger. She was slender like a beanpole. Her shock of blue hair was short and brilliant, even in the moonlight. He’d learned she was a wind affinity—the hard way—after insulting her.
Her youthful face was full of concern. “What did you do to her?”
“I didn’t do anything. Why would you think I did something?” Irritation needled under his skin. He didn’t know whom he was more irritated with, Kelsie or himself.
“Well, she is crying.” Kelsie patted Abigail’s back and tried to cover her nudity with the blanket, but too many strawberry vines had woven through the fabric for it to move.
Abigail squirmed away from Kelsie.
He lowered his voice. “Did Baba curse her to punish me?”
Kelsie bit her lip, uncertainty in her expression.
“Nyet,” Baba called from inside the cottage. “Your deeds reap their own consequence without me adding to your burden.”
He whispered, though it was likely Baba heard him anyway. “How’d Baba know what I was up to?”
“We were relaxing in the hot springs when she had a vision.” Kelsie grimaced. “She made me carry her back. She’s a lot heavier than she looks.” She slugged him in the arm. “Now I feel like my back is broken, thanks to you.”
Baba shuffled out of the cottage, bringing a bundle with her. She soaked a cloth in a bowl and touched the fabric to Abigail’s lips. Immediately, Abigail silenced. She sucked on the cloth.
“What kind of potion is that?” Lucifer asked.
“It is not potion.” Baba dipped the cloth back into the bowl. “It is water.”
“What?” he asked. “How could that make her stop crying?”
“She is thirsty and hungry. She is like baby and needs bottle.” Baba shoved the bowl into his hands, sloshing some of the contents onto him.
Lucifer stared at her incredulously. “But I thought when I put her soul back into her body she would be restored.”
“Had you waited for me to show you, da. But you divide pelt of bear before you catch it like a knave. Did I not tell you she would be like baby if you restored soul too soon, and she would be burden? Now you will see for yourself.” She threw up her hands in exasperation.
Lucifer’s shoulders slumped. Baba had told him, but he’d believed she had said that to try to thwart him.
Abigail whimpered.
Lucifer brought the cloth to her lips. “How long will she be like this?”
“How long will she be baby?” Baba harrumphed. “That depends on how much skill or lack of you used when putting soul back.”
“There is hope, then?” He placed a hand on Abigail’s back, the trembling in his fingers belying his fear.
“Hope? Pah! I told you if you had to care for her you would fall out of love,” Baba said. “Now you get to see I speak truth.”
CHAPTER THREE
Baby Steps
The idea that he would stop loving Abigail was preposterous.
Lucifer carried Abigail inside the cottage and sat her at the table where he continued to dip the cloth into the bowl of water. She couldn’t sit up on her own, but she managed to grab onto the cloth with enough strength he could hardly pry it from her fingers to dip it back into the bowl. She cried out in anguish each time he did. It pained him to hear her cry so pathetically.
Abigail struggled as Kelsie and Lucifer tried to dress her in a nightgown. All she wanted was water. She was a wild thing not anything like the Abigail Lucifer had known. He didn’t think his heart could break any more than it already had, but seeing her like this crushed his spirit more than it had seeing her as a tree.
At least she’d been content as a tree.
“She will need more than water.” Baba nodded to the pan of congealed fat and broth that she had insisted on saving from dinner. “Good thing my intuition had told me guest would need leftovers for later.”
Kelsie stepped over to the pan and heated up the renderings without being told. Lucifer flashed a grateful smile at her. There was a price for uttering words of gratitude in the Faerie Realm, and he was careful to keep his appreciation from his tongue.
