Belladonna

meal and pretended not to see the invitation.

    ... and there were brazen streetwalkers.
    "What do you think of the carnal carnival?" Sebastian asked, sounding amused.
    That was the perfect way to describe the Den of Iniquity, Michael thought. "It's interesting."
    "You've never seen a succubus before?"
    "A what?"
    "The female who made you blush." There was something about Sebastian's smile that was sharp and just a little mean.
    "Is that what you call streetwalkers here?" Michael asked, looking up to meet Sebastian's eyes.
    "No, that's what we call female sex demons."
    Michael's jaw dropped. He'd heard of such female from a few sailors who had docked at Kendall, but he'd figured the men were just telling tales.
    Sebastian's smile got a little sharper. "A male sex demon is called an incubus." He raised his koffee cup in a mocking salute.
    "Lady's mercy," Michael whispered.
    "More koffee?" Lynnea asked, coming up to the table. She looked at Michael and frowned, "is something wrong?"
    "He's just wondering why a sensible woman would want an incubus for a husband," Sebastian said.
    "That's because he's not female," Lynnea replied is she refilled their cups. "If he was, he'd know why a sensible woman would want you for a husband."
    Michael took his time stirring a lump of sugar into the koffee, trying to decide if prudence or curiosity would win the battle of whether or not he kept his questions to himself.
    Prudence had no chance of winning.
    "Those men," he said. "They're going into a brothel?"
    Sebastian nodded.
    "Do they know the woman ... the female ... is a…"
    "That's why they come to the Den."
    Teaser set a bottle of whiskey and two glasses on the table. "Philo figured it was time for this."
    "Philo was right," Sebastian said, his eyes never leaving Michael's face. "Teaser is an incubus. As far as the women who cross over to visit are concerned, he's one of the Den's assets."
    Michael glanced up at Teaser. "Are you a Justice Maker, too?"
    Teaser laughed. "Having one wizard in the Den who can call the lightning and sizzle people is enough. I'll stick to making women very happy and leave the other part to Sebastian."
    Well, Michael thought when Teaser strolled away, that told him what sort of "deadly magics" Sebastian could wield.
    Sebastian poured whiskey into both glasses, then set the bottle aside and rested his forearms on the table. "Now. Tell me your story, Michael the Magician, and make it a good one. Your life depends on it."
    I've no doubt of that.
    Michael took a sip of whiskey to give himself time to think. Where to begin? And how much would Sebastian believe when none of the things that had happened recently seemed believable?
    So he started with meeting Captain Kenneday and hearing about the lost fishing boats. He told Sebastian about the letter that had come from his aunt that contained the riddle she had heard in a dream. The hand holding the whiskey glass trembled as he talked about that haunted piece of the sea, and his voice broke when he got to the part about his aunt being injured in a fire and him learning that Caitlin Marie had disappeared. But his voice held steel and fear when he recounted seeing the monster, and of his battle of wills with that evil in order to choose the darkness that would claim him.
    Throughout the telling, Sebastian never moved. Just watched him with unnerving intensity.
    "So that's how I ended up with the Merry Makers, and they decided to let you decide," Michael said. He tossed back the glass of whiskey and poured himself another to fight the chill that was back in his bones.
    Sebastian picked up his glass of whiskey and sat back "You don't know the incubi and succubi, but you're familiar with the Merry Makers?"
    Michael nodded. "Ran into them once before, in the early days of my wandering. They liked my music, so they let me go."
    "Are there any other demons in your landscapes?"
    "In my country, you mean?"
    Sebastian tipped his head, as if considering. "A persons landscapes can hold many places, so I have a feeling we aren't talking about the same things. But we'll go with your way of looking at the world — for now."
    Michael frowned. "What country is this?"
    "This landscape is the Den of Iniquity."
    He huffed in frustration. "But it has to connect to something!"
    "It has borders with the Merry Makers' landscape, as well as the waterhorses' and the bull demons'. There are stationary bridges to several daylight landscapes."
    Michael braced his head in his hands. "One