Doing my damnedest to block my attraction, I scanned her. No sign of demonic energy, but maybe the succubus had the power to baffle even an experienced hunter. “How did you find a body that looks just like a young version of Lady Bethany?” I asked harshly, still unable to trust my senses.
“I…I’m not sure.” She ran her hands over herself experimentally. “This doesn’t seem like a strange body. It feels like me.”
Watching her run her hands over her breasts and hips made my mouth go dry. “How do I know you aren’t faking me out with an illusion spell?”
Her brows arched. “For heaven sakes, David, you’re a hunter! Have I ever been able to fool you with an illusion?”
Her tartness was exactly like the Bethany I knew. Realizing I was still clutching my pistol, I lowered it to point at the ground, but I didn’t put the safety back on. “Lady Bethany couldn’t fool me, but maybe a succubus could.”
She gave a wry smile. “Perhaps, but with the demon gone, I’m sure the ability to scramble your wits with a glance is gone, too.”
Unfortunately, it hadn’t. Not wanting to admit how vulnerable I was to her, I sought an explanation. “The succubus attacked and ripped away a piece of Lady Beth’s arm. Could this body be cloned from the DNA and matured in a such a brief time?”
She frowned. “That seems impossible, but I can’t think of any more plausible explanation. I don’t feel any lingering traces of a different human soul here. Or demonic energy, either. There’s just…me. Feeling much as I did in my youth.” Her gaze moved to my gun. “Are you going to let me stand without shooting me?”
“Go ahead.” I stepped back. Though I was still doubtful, no way could I shoot if there was a chance this was the real Bethany.
She got unsteadily to her feet. “Did I imagine it, or was my old body consumed by the power involved in dismissing the demon?”
My lips tightened. “You didn’t imagine it.”
“It’s…strange to think the body I occupied for so many years is gone.” She stared at the faint scorch mark where Lady Beth had been standing. “It was a good body.”
“For a hunter to die fighting is a good death.” But I still hadn’t decided whether I was facing the real Bethany, or a very, very clever succubus who wasn’t wearing anywhere near enough clothing.
“I wonder… Am I actually dead and my spirit is just hanging out here for a bit before moving on?” She was shivering hard, no surprise given the cool night and her minimalist dress. Her fishnet stockings were torn and goose pimples showed on her arms and legs. “Or am I really me and properly installed in a healthy young body?”
“I have no idea.” I pulled off my black trench coat and tossed it to her, careful to stay out of touching distance. “I’m better at field work than theory.”
“Thank you.” She pulled on the coat, which fell almost to the ground and could have wrapped twice around her. “How is the demon’s victim doing?”
I drew a deep breath, relieved that most of her was covered. Made it a little easier to think. “I think he’s okay, but I’ll check.”
Keeping a wary eye on her, I knelt by the college kid and spread my hand out on his chest. After a moment, I said, “No permanent harm done. He probably won’t remember what happened when he wakes up, which is just as well.”
“So we succeeded in tonight’s mission, though the price was high.” Her vivid blue eyes caught my gaze. “What will it take to convince you that I’m really Bethany, not a demon?”
“I don’t know,” I said bluntly. “When the big battle went down, I sensed the powers of the demon and Lady Bethany, but there was also an intense, alien energy I didn’t recognize. What the hell was going on?”
She tied the belt of the trench coat around her slim waist with shaking fingers. “As I blocked the succubus’s death magic and turned it back on her, I used a soul transfer spell to exchange our spirits.”
I thought back, trying to analyze the hurricane of power that had blasted us all. “So the unfamiliar magic was that spell?”
She nodded. “Very unusual energy, wasn’t it?”
I frowned. “Where the hell did you find a soul transfer spell?”
She bit her lower lip. Her full, lush lower lip. She’d have to drop a bag over her head not to be alluring, and maybe not even then. “While you were taking Charles downstairs for a taxi, I followed more links on the succubus page. One of them led to a very ancient spell that supposedly would switch souls between two different people.”
I swore. “You tested an unknown spell in combat conditions? That’s crazy dangerous!”
“I didn’t have a lot of choice,” she said mildly. “I was going to die anyhow. This way I had a chance of surviving.”
Souls are eternal—every Guardian knows that. “I had the impression that Lady Beth had no fear of death.”
“I didn’t.” Her gaze caught mine. “I had other reasons for wanting to live longer in a young body.”
My heart began beating faster. “Why?”
