Come As You Are by Melinda Barron Page A

is—was—your sister?” This came from Martin, who was starring at the newcomer in fascination. “You’re Miranda?”
    “Yes, I am.”
    Tempest felt as if she should say something, but she wasn’t exactly sure what. Franco was helping Mrs. Baker into the seat next to her. He sat on the one opposite Tempest before leaning over and kissing her.
    “Did you enjoy sleeping in my bed?”
    “I did, thank you.” She blushed, knowing he could hear her think that she wanted nothing more than to go upstairs and hit the sheets with him again. To try and keep from jumping his bones she turned to her neighbor. “I’m sure we’d all like to hear Mrs. Baker’s story.”
    Mrs. Baker seemed a little disconcerted. She took a drink from a glass of water, then swallowed hard. “It’s not a long story, really. Our family lived in my house for years, even before Candice and I were children. She fell in love with Mr. Seaton, who lived in your house, Ms. Gandy. He loved her as well, and the match was a good one. He had quite a lot of money as he worked as an attorney.”
    There was a silence as Mrs. Baker paused. Everyone was listening to her very intently. “She married Mr. Seaton and they lived in the house for three years. They were very happy by all appearances, but soon after their third year in the house, Candice started showing signs of depression. She would sleep at all hours of the day, and when she was awake, she didn’t seem to have any energy.”
    “Déjà vu, except mine was only for a week,” Tempest whispered. Franco grasped her hand and squeezed it gently.
    “In her fourth year in the house, Candice changed. Her depression worsened and when she announced she was with child, Mr. Seaton became very angry. It seemed that she no longer allowed him to visit her bed, and there was no way he could be the father of her baby.”
    “The incubus.” It was the first words Tempest had heard Pebbles say besides hello. The newcomer leaned toward Mrs. Baker. “Did she ever tell you about the demon?”
    “Not until a week before her death,” Mrs. Baker continued. “Mr. Seaton moved into a hotel soon after the pregnancy was announced, and Candice never was quite right after that. She would talk to people who weren’t there and once she…tried to kill the baby.”
    “How?” Tempest could only imagine the pain the woman had gone through. And to be stuck in the house all those years with that—thing.
    “She drank two bottles of castor oil when she was only in her sixth month. She told the doctor it was an accident, but I knew better. She’d talked about it for days before doing it. She threw herself down the stairs to try and get rid of the baby, but it ended up…”
    The older woman’s voice cracked and Tempest put her hand on her arm, patting her gently. “I had no idea she was still there. If I had known…”
    “I’ll help her cross over,” Martin said. “She’ll be at rest soon enough, I promise you.”
    “What we need from you is information on the demon,” Franco said. “Did she say anything to you about him?”
    “I didn’t believe her, of course. I thought she had gone mental. She said he told her he’d scattered his seed for generations, making new demons to haunt women as they slept.”
    “Yes, well now that Candice is a spirit she knows the true story,” Martin put in. “Arland was indeed the son of an incubus, flitting from place to place seducing women. But he was never able to get one of them pregnant, until he met Candice. She said that soon after her death a woman visited the house and said a spell, effectively trapping him there.”
    “Did you do it?” This came from Rumer, who looked expectedly at Mrs. Baker.
    “No, I hired a witch. Then I worked to scare off everyone who tried to move into the house. At one point I wanted to see if it could be torn down, but I was afraid it would free the demon.” She toyed with the napkin in her lap, tearing it into small little bits. “Most