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“Myauntis part succubus? You mean Grandma?—”
“It’s a bit of a story.” I glanced at May. “We have time.”
“Very well. You know your grandfather died relatively young, correct?”
I thought back to the stories my mother had told me. “I don’t know how young, since my father died when I was five. This isn’t some family curse, is it? On the men? And I thought my grandparents immigrated here. Though, I guess it seems strange now how I never met them, if they lived in the States.”
“They did immigrate to America. Your father was born here—he had dual citizenship. But after your grandfather died, your grandmother wanted to move back to Scotland. Your father always wanted to return to the states. He was twelve when your grandpa died.”
“So, dad went back to Scotland with his mother?”
“Yes. Your grandfather died here, you know. My son was a careless man. He loved his family—your grandmother was the only woman he gave his heart to. He adored your father, too, but he lived too easily. He thought he was invincible. He’d never had to face his mortality—no near misses, no debilitating diseases.”
“I wish I could still look at the world through rose-colored glasses,” I muttered.
“Yes, well, unfortunately, they can make you miss things that are necessary to sustain life. You may have traumatic memories from your attack, but it made you aware of how tenuous life can be, and how precious it is,” Grams said.
Though I didn’t want to admit it, I couldn’t argue with her. “Well, you’re right about that. So, what happened to Grandpa?”
“Terrance stopped in at a tavern one night for a pint. One pint became two, then three. Instead of calling for a taxi, my son decided to drive home. He swerved over the line and crashed into the car in the other lane. Both he and the other driver were killed.”
I gasped. “Grandpa killed somebody driving drunk?” That was far worse than cancer, or any other sort of disease. He had destroyed somebody else’s life along with his own.
Grams nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. A young man with a family. Your great-grandfather and I came over to attend your grandfather’s funeral. We quietly paid blood money to the widow. She had three young children. It had been Terrance’s fault and our family never shirks its responsibilities. It couldn’t make up for the loss of the father, but it at least made it easier on his widow and children.”
I sighed. I had a grudge against drunk drivers—Bree’s brother had been killed by a drunk. He’d been crossing in the crosswalk one December evening, when a driver swerved around the corner, making a left turn against the red light, and mowed Jeffrey down. The driver had gotten off with a hand slap—three years in exchange for wiping out a life—but at least he had paid a hefty price. His name had been expunged from the rolls of the Kalaloch Puma Pride, and his parents and his wife had paid blood money to Bree’s parents since Jeffrey wasn’t married. But Grams was right—no amount of money could make up for the loss of their loved one. Every year during the holidays, Bree’s family felt the loss.
“What happened to Grandma?” I asked.
“Your grandmother struggled on. She had your father to think about. Malcolm was twelve when Terrance died. He became withdrawn. Going to school was hard on him because the children of the dead man went to the same school and he was ostracized. Sins of the parents, and so on. So Peter—your great-grandfather—and I packed them up and took them back Scotland. Elisa didn’t want to move back to Stromness—where I live. Peter and I wanted them to stay near us, but Elisa said that she needed to make a fresh start. So, we helped her find a new home in Glasgow.”
“Where does Aunt Diedre come in?”
“In 1979, a year after Terrance died, your grandmother started dating a man she met in a local pub. She didn’t realize it at the time, but he was an incubus. They’re rare, and seldom present themselves as who they really are. She fell for him, and got pregnant. He vanished the day after she told him.” Grams sighed. “I urged her to apply for an abortion, but she refused. She stubbornly believed that Karn would return for her. I’m convinced he put her under a glamour and he never bothered to remove before he left.”
“She had the child and named her Diedre?”
“Yes,” Grams said.
“When did she find out that Karn was an incubus?”
“Not till Diedre was born. The doctor, a specialist with Otherkin, recognized something different about her and they put her through a battery of tests. Turned out, she has succubus blood in her. She doesn’t have the full powers or personality, but the mix of witchblood and demon created an unstable mix. Diedre’s always been clingy and afraid to go out into the world. Elisa ended up homeschooling her because, from her first year, Diedre was in and out of one fight after another.” Grams wound spaghetti around her fork. “Diedre moved in with me when Elisa died, and I’ve kept an eye on her, and helped her navigate life. So that’s your aunt’s story.”
I wasn’t sure what to think. Having an aunt who was part succubus sounded like it could be fun, but Grams gave me a long look, and I realized that maybe I shouldn’t be so hasty.
May cleared her throat. “That must have been rough for both your daughter and your granddaughter.”
“It was,” Grams said. “Malcolm had vowed to return to the States, and the moment he turned eighteen, he took what little inheritance his father had willed to him and left home. He moved to the United States and immediately met your mother,” she added, turning to me.
“Mom said they fell in love at first sight. She was sixteen, and Grandma Anna wouldn’t let her get married until she turned eighteen. Dad waited for her, and on the day of her eighteenth birthday, they got married. I came along two years later, in 1990.”
Grandma Anna and Grandpa James were still alive, but they lived all the way across the country and I seldom saw them. They emailed now and then, but they were busy with their social circle and they traveled all over the world.
Grams turned to May. “I’m afraid we’re leaving you out of the conversation.”
“You have a fascinating family history. I’m not bored. I’ve never had the chance to meet an incubus, or a succubus. How did your grandson—Elphyra’s father—adapt to having a succubus for a sister?” May asked.
Grams smiled. “Malcolm loved his sister. He was so good with her. Even after he moved over to the States, he always kept in touch with her. He wrote her letters and called her every week. Diedre adored him. She’s only ten years older than Elphyra.”
