The third supplicant was a vampire, wanting to know what would happen if he turned his current girlfriend. No one wanted to create a revenant. The vampire gave me the creeps and I was happy the staff had informed him he was not to touch me. I quickly asked the vampire the questions the staff had prepared, and then returned to my rooms to perform my usual ritual: get something to eat and then meditate until I had a vision. I didn't have to bother. As soon as the door shut, a powerful vision brought me gasping to my knees, my eyes watering while drool dripped from my mouth.

A spray of bright red splashed against a pale blue wall, like vermillion paint wielded by an abstract artist. More bright splashes followed in quick succession. A man's limp body flew against the wall and slid boneless to the floor. A headless doll was tossed after him…no, not a doll…dolls don't bleed from jagged necks. But small girls do.

I stayed on the floor, pressing my face to the cool tile in an effort to quell the nausea that threatened. I eventually pulled myself up and walked slowly to my desk. I pulled up a vision form on my laptop and quickly filled it in. With a click on the 'submit' button, I was done. Robert told me to expect a mandatory seven days off, the standard down time after three successive visions. I felt drained and slightly queasy, so I stepped into my bedroom and pulled off my clothes. I felt a little better as soon as my body hit the cool linen sheets. I fell into a dreamless sleep.

Insistent knocking and murmured voices woke me. I glanced at the clock and realized that only a few hours had passed. The voices got louder, loud enough for me to recognize Pritkin's clipped British accent. I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, noticing the queasiness was gone. The brief nap had helped to distance the gruesome vision. I donned a silk robe and answered the door, ending the argument Pritkin was having with my Guard.

"It's all right. He can come in," I told the Guard as I grabbed Pritkin's arm and yanked him into my rooms and shut the door. He inspected me, assessing.

"Are you all right? You look done in," he observed.

"The vision for a supplicant was …disturbing," I told him as I noticed his clothing. He had found tight jeans and a tighter tee shirt, probably borrowed from another Guard. It was a good look for him, I thought as I watched him walk into my sitting room. He really did have a fine ass, outlined tonight in faded denim. The thin cotton tee shirt was stretched tight across broad shoulders and thick biceps, tightly hugging a muscular waist. He turned around and held up the drawstring bag from earlier today. He looked at me hesitantly, seeing reluctance in me instead of the fatigue that still pulled at me.

"Do you wish to delay our activity?" he asked softly.

I motioned to him to follow me into my bedroom. "I'm fine…you'll just have to work a little harder to get me into the mood," I told him as I climbed back into bed, moving to the side so there was room for him to join me. I stretched out on my side with my arms under my pillow, looking at him sleepily. He watched me as he sat in a chair and untied his boots, pulling them off and dropping them with a solid 'thunk' onto the polished hardwood floor. He grabbed the hem of the tee shirt and pulled it off in one economic move, tossing it on top of the boots. I drowsily admired his sculpted chest, the blond hair less noticeable from earlier in the day now that it was dry. The tight jeans did little to hide his growing erection, clearly defined as it lay against his muscular thigh and held in place by the smooth denim. It must have been uncomfortable, because Pritkin grimaced as he carefully unzipped and started peeling the snug jeans off. He breathed out a sigh of relief as the jeans cleared his thighs and his swollen penis bobbed out, released at last. The jeans joined the tee shirt on top of his boots as he rubbed his balls with a look of bliss on his face.

"Ahh…," he sighed. "I was beginning to think these tight pants would sever my manparts," he told me earnestly. I grinned at the outmoded words. Sometimes his speech patterns really dated him. He retrieved the drawstring bag and crawled onto the bed, removing the contents as he sat next to me. "What do you want to try next?" he asked quietly as he ran his warm hand along my hip and slowly up my side, then rounded my breast and rubbed his thumb against my nipple through the thin silk.

Something that didn't require much effort on my part, I thought as I surveyed the items on the bed. I nodded to myself and picked up the amulet, examining the intricate design carved onto the surface. A thought struck me. "This would make an awesome tattoo," I told him.

He raised his eyebrows and looked at me with something approaching admiration. "Eidolon loaned me this amulet. I must return it soon. He said his brother found only the one. Even if it works, we cannot keep it. But your suggestion is quite clever." He closed his eyes and exhaled. "Mac could have told us straight away if your idea has merit," he said sadly.

I turned over so that I was lying on my back. His hand trailed over my side and rested on my belly, suffusing me with warmth that went deep into me.

"How does this work?" I asked as I held the amulet.

"It suppresses the incubus tendencies when placed over my heart," he replied.

"All tendencies or just the feeding?" I asked as I inspected the strange symbols inscribed around the design. Were these words in some otherworldly language?

He smiled grimly. "I did not ask. I assumed just the feeding. But I could test it…determine if any other attributes of mine are suppressed as well."

I regarded him thoughtfully. "If this amulet suppressed all of your incubus traits, including your fast healing and enhanced speed and senses and some of your magic, would you wear it? Better yet, would you get a tat to make the effect permanent?" He supposedly despised his demon half, but would he really give it up if he could? Even he had to admit his demon half gave him advantages in battle, which he especially needed whenever he fought a demon.

He smiled ruefully. "For many years I despised the part of me that came from my father. I wanted no part of what he made me. Still…" he quietly closed his eyes in thought.

"This might give you something closer to a normal life," I told him gently.

His eyes suddenly popped open as he tilted his head, listening. "She's awake!" He exclaimed as he hopped off the bed and grabbed his pants. "I'll be there in a moment," he told the air as he yanked the tight pants up and stepped into his boots. I suddenly had a clue what I must look like to him when I talked to Billy. He looked at me as he quickly laced his boots. "I need to see the child. I'll be back later," he told me. He pulled on his shirt and leaned over the bed, pressing his lips to mine. "Get some rest," he urged as he brushed his fingers over my cheek. He turned and ran out the door. I yawned and turned out the light, readily falling back to sleep.