If only I had known what lay ahead …

18

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned …

NOVEMBER 4, 2027: BELLE GLADE, FLORIDA

For fourteen years Lilith Robinson had been a victim, her life a constant struggle to maintain a degree of sanity in an insane environment. Jacob had been her rudder, her strength in a stormy sea.

And now he had abandoned her.

When the Reverend Morehead accused his granddaughter of being a Succubus, he unwittingly supplied Lilith with a new compass—a persona her schizophrenia could mold like clay.

The Succubus was not a victim. The Succubus was powerful.

For the first time in her life, Lilith’s miserable existence was beginning to make sense. While God and His followers had shunned her, Lucifer had reached out to protect her. Lucifer had plans for her future, and although she had no idea what those plans were, she felt confident that her new companion, Don Rafelo, would guide her down the dark path to her destiny.

Lilith enters her uncle’s hotel room, tossing her book bag on the floor.

Don Rafelo is lying on one of the double beds, naked beneath a silk robe.

‘Everyone at school is talking about the missing boys.’

‘Have they questioned you?’

‘The police asked me if I’d seen them. I told them I kicked the basketball into the bushes and ran home.’

‘Good.’

‘When do we leave for Mexico?’

‘Soon. Are you familiar with the Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead?’

‘I read something about it in school once.’

‘La Muerte—Death—is a fixture in Mexican society. During the first days of each November, the spirits of the dead pay a holiday visit home. Death has always held a special place in our ancient rituals. Among the Aztecs, it was considered a blessing to die in childbirth, in battle, or in human sacrifice, all of which assured the victim a desirable destination in the afterlife. Are you afraid to die, Lilith?’

‘There are worse things than death. I want to know more about the Succubus.’

‘The Succubus is your alter ego. You are the reincarnation of Lilith, the Demon Queen—Queen of the Succubi. You were originally created by God to be a subservient wife to Adam. Born from filth but independent of will, you refused to be anything but equal. When Adam became aroused you refused his sexual advances and fled Eden on the wind to pursue erotica with God’s fallen angels. By the Red Sea you spawned a family of demons called the Lilim. Three of God’s angels attempted to force you to return to Eden, but you refused. As punishment, the angels butchered your children.’

‘What did I do?’