Second Sight: Circles Within Circles…via Cairn by Cori Vidae

I am excited to welcome author Cori Vidae, one of the contributing authors for the anthology Demons Imps and Incubi. Just as exciting, she’s tackling one of the new features here at Literary Escapism, Second Sight, where she’s retelling one of the scenes in her story, Circles Within Circles from Cairn’s point of view.

Antho-Demons Imps and IncubiCircles Within Circles
Mary never believed the rumors about her mother being a witch, but when a mirror inexplicably connects her to her twin brother Michael, stationed half a world away on a WWI battlefield, she reconsiders. To protect him from a battle he has reason to believe will be his last, Mary sets out to uncover any magic left on her isolated farm.

Cairn wakes from centuries of banishment to a cramped basement and a sensual, albeit surprised, woman. Perhaps she didn’t intend to summon him, but since she did, perhaps he could help… for a price.

Demons Imps and Incubi
Demons, Imps, Incubi: dark, powerful, and forbidden. Only the foolish would seek one out for seduction, and yet . . . deals are struck. Souls are ensnared.

But must a demon’s agenda always be demonic? Can he be redeemed? Or does being bad feel too good to bother with redemption? Long ago, imps were more mischievous and playful—naughty, perhaps?—and perceptions of them have only grown more sinister over the centuries. The incubus craves sex, but what makes us crave him?

Explore dark and sensual worlds with eight brand new stories of magic and seduction that will set you aflame by Cori Vidae, Alexa Piper, Erzabet Bishop, Mark Greenmill, Nicole Blackwood, J. C. G. Goelz, Jeffery Armadillo, and M. Arbroath.

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Circles Within Circles…via Cairn

I love telling a story from multiple points of view so I was super excited to do that with a scene from my story in theDemons Imps and Incubi anthology. Cairn, an incubus, has just been accidentally summoned by a woman who needs his help to protect her brother, a soldier stationed half a world away. In my story, Circles Within Circles, this scene is told from the woman’s point of view so for this blog post we’ll experience it from the demon’s instead ?

Though Cairn could tell from the gray light which trickled down through the cellar door that it was daylight, she carried a lantern with her as she descended the stairs. Its flickering light bathed her, emphasizing the warm tones in her red-gold hair. She’d changed into a dress rather than the cotton nightgown she’d been wearing when she summoned him, but her feet remained bare and she curled her toes around the rough wooden stairs with each step.

“What is the date?” he asked as she reached the bottom of the steps.

She hung the lantern from the pillar just outside the circle which bound him. “April 7th, 1917.”

“316.” It had been three hundred and sixteen years since he had last been summoned—since Ferenc had cursed and exiled him. Just over three centuries. Funny. It had felt much longer.

“Pardon?”

“Nothing,” he said with a shake of his head. Ferenc was just a man and would be long dead by now—he was no longer a priority. Keeping this red-haired witch happy enough to avoid banishment until he could find a way out of the circle? That was what he needed to worry about. Later, when he was free, he would find Ferenc’s grave and piss on it. “What did you bring?”

“I brought his pillow. I thought he might have left hair on it, and, well, he dreamed on it every night.”

The girl looked embarrassed, but the soldier’s pillow would make the perfect focus to help Cairn target his spell. He told her as much as he took the pillow from her fingers…mmm her fingers—they were callused and warm with small, slightly-chewed fingernails. While his lips kept moving only part of his attention was focused on the words coming out of it, the other was distracted with images of all the places he would like her to touch with those fingers. He imagined how it her palms would feel pressed against his chest, the look on her face as she moaned in pleasure and her nails scraped down his back…

“Pardon?” she said again, and he wondered if perhaps his proximity was having more of an effect on her than he had imagined.

“I said,” he replied. “This will work perfectly. Now I need you to join me.”

“What? I don’t know what kind of—”

Cairn resisted the urge to laugh. He was an incubus. Where did she think his power came from? Instead he held his arms up, palms out, to stop her protest before it could build too much momentum. “You are asking me to cast a powerful spell on a target far away. My powers are weak from centuries of banishment and disuse. I need to recover them.”

“Well, that’s very well and good,” she said. “But I don’t see—”

“I’m an incubus,” he said.

Her thoughts were written across her face as clearly as the arcane symbols she had etched into the packed earth floor around him. He watched, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from grinning as confusion was replaced by understanding, then shock, and finally anger.

“You want me to have sex with you, or you won’t save my brother.” Anger simmered beneath her words and her eyes narrowed.

“Or I cannot save your brother,” he corrected. “Unless you know someone else who would join me?”

“No,” she snapped and Cairn arched an eyebrow at the vitriol in her voice.

“How do I know you’re not just trying to trick me? That you’ll keep your word?”

“The circle binds me. So long as it remains intact, even when I am at full power, it will not let me lie, leave, or break my word.”

“So you say.”

“A test, then. Kiss me. Kiss me, and it will restore enough power that I can protect your brother a short time, at least until sundown. After that you can decide about the full spell.”

“And how long does the full spell last?” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other while her fingers clutched at the folds of her skirt. Poor thing, she looked terrified, but he would bet his life she was no virgin.

“Until the next blue moon.” He suspected his girl would keep talking, keep asking questions, until she talked herself out of this. He could not have that. This was so frustrating! In addition to his magic being weakened from spending so long without sustenance it felt dampened, dull as an old sword. Something else was definitely going on with this girl, increasing her resistance to his powers.

“What’s a—”

“Kiss me,” he said low in his throat, putting all of his will into the words. Her pupils dilated and she stepped toward her, pressing her bare toes against the salt circle that constrained him.

“Kiss me,” he repeated.
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Meet Cori Vidae!

Cori VidaeI write erotica. A lot of it. If you are a fan of erotica you’ve probably read some of my stuff that was written under different names as I used to ghost write for other people and websites. I’ve provided sexy story content to some of the biggest names in the adult business over the years but have recently decided to try something new. So I’m starting over. Completely fresh. No links to my old stuff, no references to my other names. Just me.

Contact Info: Website | Twitter | Amazon

Want to purchase Cori Vidae’s novels?
Demons Imps and Incubi
Merry XXXmas

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.