Chapter 39: Found it!

 Dean: Incubus, mage. Wants to be the only incubus in the party, darn it!

The little imp might have thought himself clever, but he is not. I smelt him as soon as I entered the stable. I just wanted to see Vince taking charge, so, I didn't say anything.

Still, I will not wade in dung more than I need to. I tap my nose, and then my lips, and move in the direction of the incubus scent that has been tickling my nose. 

There is a weak illusion spell over where the incubus is. The strange thing is, that the area is rather small. Just how old is the imp? 

Now, one might ask, why am I calling someone from the same species as I, an imp. Simple, I am a purebred incubus, from a long line of incubi, and succubi. This imp smells like an imp. Yes, there is an incubus aroma under it all, but it is faint. 

I unweave the illusion spell, to see... a baby. 

"Ah, shit," I say, as the rest of my party come by. The baby is adorable, even if its skin is red. A half-breed between an imp and a succubus, or an imp and an incubus. I see his small tail, and can't help but think that, well, this is a demon, at any rate. 

"It is so cute," Atha coos, his voice slipping into baby talk. "Who left you in the stable, you little treasure?" 

Now there is one thing one must know about incubi. We are creatures of seduction. Even a baby can wrap you around their tiny finger. Of course, until an incubus matures, all the love they suck out of the world is just Platonic, in nature. 

"Ok, harem. Let us just drop off the imp at the orphanage so that it can make pillow golems there, or something," I say, and my lovers turn to me. 

"Dean," Allan begins, his warm chocolate orbs tearing up. "Did you just propose we leave a child unwanted..." 

He hiccups, and I blink. 

Oh, of course Allan, someone who was abandoned by his family as soon as they realized how he paid off his debts, will be against it all. Or, at least, I think that is what happened. We have been together, all five of us, for two weeks. Not once has he mentioned any family members. 

"Yes, Dean. Just how heartless can you be? Look at it... Atha, get the baby's finger out of its mouth. It has been on the dirty floor for Gods know how long," Augustine says. I imagine he'd do so himself, but he is at the back of the pile of baby admirers. My eyes narrow at the little imp. 

"Now listen here, you imp," I say, the baby giggles. "I will not stand by, as you feed from my food source." 

A hush falls in the stable. The baby pokes his tongue out at me, and swats my leg with its tail.  

Maybe I should have worded it better? 

"Is that what we are to you?" Augustine snaps. Ah, my bossy wife has spoken. Wait for me, dog house. Here I come. 

"I didn't mean to imply it like that. The imp provoked me," I point at the baby, who has taken the chance, to wrap its tail around my leg. 

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"Look, the munchkin is hugging the asshole," Atha coos. What the hell is wrong with him? 

"We can't take care of a baby," I insist, trying to be the voice of reason. "A demonic baby, at that. We have to return it to his parents." 

The bottom lip of the baby begins to wobble. Atha bends, and scoops it up. I can see the imp's tiny face. It is mocking me. Challenging me. Ready to take everything I hold dear. Oh, but two can play this game. 

"But you know?" I pretend to have caved under the combined weight of the glares of my party. Which I nearly did, by the way. They have grown on me. "We can take care of the...baby." 

The imp giggles at the fact that I am making concessions. Just you wait, you little red ball. I will teach you to mock me! 

"Only in the meantime," I add the final part, when I see their hopeful looks. 

Allan takes the imp in his arms next, and I nearly melt at the sight of him with the small bundle in his arms. 

I am so making Atha create us children of our own. As soon as Vincent becomes a hero, that is. 

"As long as you don't snub the baby, I'll be happy," ah, my little cookie, you know you are my weakness. 

Which is strange. I remember that night, when I set you free from your cage, that I thought you weren't enough. Did I become obsessed with you, after Augustine took you under his wings?  

"I want for all of you to be happy, my dear morsels. Junior, dispel the golems, or it will be a spanking," I say. Augustine glares at me, and waves his finger at me threateningly. 

"Word it better," he commands. I sigh, and prepare to bury my pride for the sake of my love life. 

"Junior," I say in baby talk. Allan turns the imp, so it can face me. The little baby crosses his arms over his chest. Ah, so it is one of those that have a slow physical growth, but a normal mental growth? "Please, dispel the icky golems? For daddy?" 

I give the baby a large smile, and project some love towards it. Some of the meal I last got from my party. The baby laps it up, and closes its eyes. Soon, the dung is in piles on the floor. 

"Watch this," I say, as we make our way to the door. I focus on the mana at my fingertips, and summon streams of water. I guide the dung down the waste pipes. 

Darn snobs, and their darn need for horses in this day and age. 

When Junior giggles, I smile. Perhaps, it won't be so bad, to be a father? Maybe, they will take a hint from me calling the baby Junior? And name it, Dean? 

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