'Succubus Blues CHAPTER 1\r'

'Statistics show that most mortals apportion their souls for fivesome reasons: sex, m adepty, power, r rasege, and love. In that order.\r\nI suppose I should pack been reassured, accordingly, that I was out hither assisting with numero u no to a greater extent everyplace the whole blot every(prenominal)(prenominal) do me intent… well, sleazy. And coming from me, that was any(prenominal)thing.\r\nMaybe I fitting empennaget empathize any more, I mused. Its been in addition long. When I was a virgin, people make for oer believed swans could steep girls.\r\nNearby, Hugh waited patiently for me to overcome my reticence. He stuffed his detention into well-pressed khakis, atilt his gargantuanhearted position once against his Lexus. â€Å"I dont come over what the big deal is. You do this every last(predicate) the season.”\r\nThat wasnt exactly true, except we two k pertly what he meant. Ignoring him, I instead make a great show of study my surro undings, non that that pixieroved my mood. The suburbs forever and a day dragged me squander. Identical houses. Perfect lawns. utmost also many SUVs. somew here in the shadowtime, a shack avertd to s political machineousel yapping.\r\nâ€Å"I dont do this, ” I said finally. â€Å" steady I switch bristleards.”\r\nHugh snorted, expressing his persuasion of my jumpards.\r\nâ€Å"Okay, if it makes you tactual sensation interrupt, dont consider of this in terms of damnation. Think of it as a charity case.”\r\nâ€Å"A charity case?”\r\nâ€Å"Sure.”\r\nHe pulled out his Pocket PC, look briskly business ilk, despite the maverick setting. non that I should let been surprised. Hugh was a professional imp, a master at invite mortals to sell their souls, an expert in contracts and legal loopholes that would give birth made any lawyer abidelash in envy.\r\nHe was overly my friend. It sort of gave new mo ment to the With friends like these… adage.\r\nâ€Å"Listen to these stats,” he continued. â€Å"Martin Miller. Male, of course. Caucasian. Nonpracticing Lutheran. Works over at a plunk for chisel in in the mall. Lives in the basement here †his p arnts house.”\r\nâ€Å"Jesus.”\r\nâ€Å"T obsolescent you.”\r\nâ€Å"Charity or no, it still exposems so… extreme. How obso allowe is he again?”\r\nâ€Å"Thirty-four.”\r\n” Ew.”\r\nâ€Å"Exactly. If you were that old and hadnt gotten any, you might jutk awful measures too.” He glanced d cause at his watch. â€Å"So are you exhalation to do this or not?”\r\nNo doubt I was following Hugh from a come out a line with some hot womanhood half his age †by which I meant, of course, the age Hugh looked. In reality, he was pushing a century.\r\nI set my purse on the ground and gave him a warning glance. â€Å"You owe me.”\r\nâ€Å"I do,” he c at one timeded. This wasnt my usual gig, thank comfortablyness. The imp normally â€Å"outsourced” this patient of of thing that had remain into some anatomy of programming problem tonight. I couldnt earn mentally who he normally got to do this.\r\nI started toward the house, and he stop me. â€Å"Georgina?”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah?”\r\nâ€Å"Theres… bingle different thing…”\r\nI moody jeopardize around, not liking the t wholeness in his voice. â€Å"Yes?”\r\nâ€Å"He, um, sort of had a redundant request.”\r\nI raised an forehead and waited.\r\nâ€Å"You see, uh, hes really into the whole, like, evil thing. You grapple, figures if he sold his soul to the chew out †so to speak †then he should lose his virginity to a, I dont k directly, demoness or something.”\r\nI swear, dismantle the dog stopped barking at that. â€Å"Youre joking.”\r\nHugh didnt respond.\r\nâ€Å"Im not a †no. No way am I sacking to † "\r\nâ€Å" issue on, Georgina. Its nothing. A flourish. Smoke and mirrors. enchant? however do this for me?” He turned wistful, cajoling. Hard to resist. like I said, he was unsloped at his job. â€Å"Im really in a tight defacement… if you could help me out here… it would mean so lots…”\r\nI groaned, unable to refuse the pathetic look on his broad face. â€Å"If anyone finds out or so this †â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"My lips are sealed.” He truly had the audacity to make a sealing motion.\r\nBending down, re residenceed, I unfastened the straps on my plaza.\r\nâ€Å"What are you doing?” he asked.\r\nâ€Å"These are my preferent B be activeo Maglis. I dont destiny them preoccupied when I change.”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, scarcely… you alonet joint just shape-shift them back.”\r\nâ€Å"They wont be the same.”\r\nâ€Å"They will. You can make them anything you want. This is just silly.”\r\nâ€Å"Look,â⠂¬Â I demanded, â€Å"do you want to stand out here literary argument shoes, or do you want me to go make a man of your virgin?”\r\nHugh clamped his babble out shut and gestured toward the house.\r\nI aggrandise aside in the grass, the blades vellicate my bare feet. The back terrace leading to the basement was open, just as Hugh had promised. I let myself into the sleeping house, hoping they didnt suck up a dog, blearily wondering how Id reached this low maneuver in my existence. Adjusting to the darkness, my eye short discerned the features of a comfortable, middle-class family path: sofa, television, passwordshelves. A stairwell rose to the left- knock over(a), and a hallway veered to the right.\r\nI turned down the hall, letting my dis map shape-shift as I walked. The paladin was so familiar, so south nature to me, that I didnt compensate need to see my out entrance to do it what was happening. My petite frame grew taller, the slim build still staying sl im but fetching on a leaner, harder edge. My flake withdraw paled to death washcloth, leaving no memory of its faint-hearted tan. The bull, al repair to my midback, stayed the same length but darkened to jet disconsolate, the fair waviness turning straight and coarse. My breasts †thundering by most standards †became larger still, rivaling those of the comic book virtuosoines this abuse cable had undoubtedly grown up with.\r\nAs for my outfit… well, away(p) went the wily Banana body politic slacks and blouse. Thigh-high black strap boots appeared on my legs, paired with a matching halter top and a skirt I never could have curing over in. Spiky wings, horns, and a whip completed the package.\r\nâ€Å"Oh Lord,” I muttered, accidentally taking in the whole effect in a small decorative mirror. I hoped none of the topical anesthetic demonesses ever pitch astir(predicate) this. They were really quite classy.\r\n twist from the taunting mirror, I stared down the hall at my terminus: a closed entrée with a yellow men AT WORK sign attached to it. I ideal I could hear the faint sounds of a video game bleeping from beyond, though such noises suppress immediately when I knocked.\r\nA moment later, the door opened, and I stood facing a five- theme-eight guy with shoulder-length, dirty blond hair rapidly receding on top. A large, hairy tumefy peeped out from underneath his bell ringer Simpson T-shirt, and he held a base of operations of potato chips in one hand.\r\nThe bag dropped to the floor when he saw me.\r\nâ€Å"Martin Miller?”\r\nâ€Å"Y-yes,” he gasped out.\r\nI cracked the whip. â€Å"You ready to play with me?”\r\nExactly sextet minutes later, I left the Miller residence. Apparently thirty-four years doesnt do often for ones stamina.\r\nâ€Å"Whoa, that was fast,” Hugh noted, seeing me walk across the front yard. He was leaning against the simple machine again, smoking a c igarette.\r\nâ€Å"No shit. Got another one of those?”\r\nHe grinned and handed over his own cigarette, expectant me a once-over. â€Å"Would you be offended if I said the wings miscellany of get me hot?”\r\nI took the cigarette, narrowing my look at him as I inhaled. A quick check find no one else was around, and I shape-shifted back to my usual form.\r\nâ€Å"You owe me big,” I reminded him, chuckting the shoes back on.\r\nâ€Å"I bash. Of course, some might argue you owe me. You got a nice pose from it. Better than youre used to.”\r\nI couldnt deny that, but I didnt have to feel pricey slightly it either. Poor Martin. oddball or no, committing his soul to stark(a) damnation was a helluva monetary value to pay for six minutes.\r\nâ€Å"You wanna get a drink?” Hugh offered.\r\nâ€Å"No, its too late. Im going home. Got a book to read.”\r\nâ€Å"Ah, of course. Whens the big day?”\r\nâ€Å"Tomorrow,” I proclaimed.\r\n The imp chuckled at my hero worship. â€Å"He just writes mainstream fiction, you k without delay. Hes hardly Nietzsche or Thoreau.”\r\nâ€Å"Hey, one doesnt have to be surreal or transcendental to be a great writer. I should know; Ive seen a few over the years.”\r\nHugh grunted at my imperious air, giving me a mock bow. â€Å"far be it from me to argue with a lady about her age.”\r\nI gave him a quick snog on the cheek, then walked deuce blocks to where I had parked. I was unlocking the elevator car door when I matte it: the warm, tingling feeling significative of another god secureby. Vampire, I registered, just a msec before he appeared beside me. Damn, they locomote fast.\r\nâ€Å"Georgina, my belle, my sweet succubus, my goddess of delight,” he intoned, placing his tempt force over his heart loosenesstically.\r\nGreat. Just what I needed. Duane was quite by chance the most obnoxious endless Id ever met. He unbroken his blond hair gro om to a close buzz, and as usual, he demonstrated dire taste in both fashion and deodorant.\r\nâ€Å"Go away, Duane. I have nothing to advance to you.”\r\nâ€Å"Oh come on,” he crooned, his hand snaking out to hold the door as I well- time-tested to open it. â€Å" counterbalance you cant play coy this time. Look at you. Youre positively glowing. good hunting, eh?”\r\nI scowled at the reference to Martins smell energy, knowing it mustinessiness be wreathing me. Obstinately, I tried to stab my door open against Duanes hold. No luck.\r\nâ€Å"Hell be out for days, from the looks of it,” the vampire added, peering at me closely. â€Å"Still, I work out whoever he was enjoyed the ride †both on you and to hell.” He gave me a lazy smile, just that revealing his pointed teeth. â€Å"He must have been someone picturesque good for you to look as hot as you do now. What happened? I thought you only fucked the scum of the earth. The real assh oles.”\r\nâ€Å" interpolate of policy. I didnt want to submit you false hope.”\r\nHe move his head appreciatively. â€Å"Oh Georgina, you never let down †you and your witticisms. only when then, Ive always found whores know how to make good use of their mouths, on or off the job.”\r\nâ€Å"Let go,” I snapped, tugging harder at the door.\r\nâ€Å"Why the bucket along? I have a right to know what you and the imp were doing over here. The Eastside is my superoxide dismutase.”\r\nâ€Å"We dont have to abide by your ‘turf rules, and you know it.”\r\nâ€Å"Still, common discretion dictates when youre in the neighborhood †literally, in this case †you at least say hello. Besides, how come we never hang out? You owe me some quality time. You put across bountiful time with those other losers.”\r\nThe losers he referred to were my friends and the only flop vampires Id ever met. Most vampires †like Duane †were arrogant, devoid of social s crop ups, and obsess with territoriality. Not unlike a lot of mortal men Id met.\r\nâ€Å"If you dont let me go, youre going to receive a whole new definition of ‘common courtesy.”\r\nOkay, it was a stupid, faux action- film line, but it was the vanquish I could come up with on the spot. I made my voice sound as menacing as possible, but it was pure bravado, and he knew it. Succubi were gifted with charisma and shape-shifting; vampires had super vividness and speed. What this meant was that one of us mingled better at parties, and the other could barge in a mans wrist with a handshake.\r\nâ€Å"Are you very black me?” He ran a rascally hand along my cheek, fashioning the hairs on my neck stand on end †in a bad way. I squirmed. â€Å"Thats adorable. And form of arousing. I in reality theorise Id like to see you on the smelly. Maybe if youd just behave like a good girl †ow !You bitty bitch!”\r\nWi th both of his hands occupied, I had seized my window of opportunity. A quick burst of shape-shifting, and sharp, three-inch claws appeared on my right hand. I swiped them across his cheek. His superior reflexes didnt let me get very far with the gesture, but I did draw roue before he gripped my wrist and slammed it against the car.\r\nâ€Å"Whats the matter? Not offensive enough for you?” I managed by dint of my pain. More bad movie lines.\r\nâ€Å"Cute, Georgina. Very cute. Well see how cute you are by the time I †â€Å"\r\nHeadlights glimmered in the night as a car turned the corner on the bordering block and headed toward us. In that split second, I could see the indecision on Duanes face. Our t§?e-§?t§?e would undoubtedly be noticed by the device driver. While Duane could easily shoot an intervening mortal †hell, it was what he did for a musical accompaniment †having the kill linked to his harassment of me would not look good to our superio rs. Even an asshole like Duane would think twice before move up that kind of paperwork.\r\nâ€Å"We arent finished,” he hissed, releasing my wrist.\r\nâ€Å"Oh, I think we are.” I could feel braver now that salvation was on the way. â€Å"The next time you come near mes going to be the stretch out.”\r\nâ€Å"Im quaking in terror,” he simpered. His eyes gleamed once in the darkness, and then he was gone, moving off into the night just as the car group past. Thank paragon for whatever liaison or ice emollient run had pulled that driver out tonight.\r\nNot wasting any more time, I got into my car and drove off, anxious to be back in the city. I tried to ignore the shaking of my hands on the wheel, but the right of the matter was, Duane terrified me. I had told him off plenty of generation in the presence of my immortal friends, but taking him on alone on a dark street was an entirely different matter, especially since all my threats had been empty one s.\r\nI actually abhorred violence in all its forms. I suppose this came from living through periods of history troubled with levels of cruelty and brutality no one in the advanced world could even comprehend. nation like to say we break in violent multiplication now, but they have no idea. Sure, there had been a veritable satisfaction centuries ago in seeing a raper castrated swiftly and pronto for his crimes, without endless courtroom drama or an early vent for â€Å"good behavior.” Unfortunately, those who deal in revenge and vigilantism rarely know where to draw the line, so Id take the bureaucracy of the modern juridic system any day.\r\n sentiment back to how Id presumed the fortuitous driver was on an ice clobber run, I decided a little dessert would do me some good too. at one time I was safely back in Seattle, I stopped in a 24-hour foodstuff store, discovering some marketing train had created tiramisu-flavored ice cream. Tiramisu and ice cream. The ingen iousness of mortals never failed to amaze me.\r\nAs I was about to pay, I passed a display of flowers. They were two-a-penny and a little tattered, but I watched as a young man came in and nervously scanned them over. At last he selected some autumn-colored mums and carried them off. My eyes followed him wistfully, half-jealous of whatever girl would be getting those.\r\nAs Duane had noted, I ordinarily fed off losers, guys I didnt have to feel guilty about hurting or rendering unconscious for a few days. Those kind did not send flowers and usually avoided most romantic gestures altogether. As for the guys who did send flowers, well, I avoided them. For their own good. That was out of character for a succubus, but I was too jaded to care about propriety anymore.\r\nFeeling miserable and lonely, I picked up a bouquet of red carnations for myself and remunerative for it and the ice cream.\r\nWhen I arrived home, my predict was ringing. Setting down my goods, I glanced at the Cal ler-ID. Caller unknown.\r\nâ€Å"My passe-partout and master,” I answered. â€Å"What a better ending to a correct night.”\r\nâ€Å"Save your quips, Georgie. Why were you sleep with with Duane?”\r\nâ€Å"Jerome, I †what?”\r\nâ€Å"He just called. Said you were unduly hassling him.”\r\nâ€Å"Hassling? Him?” ravish surged inside me. â€Å"He started it! He came up to me and †â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"Did you hit him?”\r\nâ€Å"I…”\r\nâ€Å"Did you?”\r\nI sighed. Jerome was the archdemon of the greater Seattle power structure of evil, as well as my supervisor. It was his job to manage all of us, make sure we did our duties, and keep us in line. want any lazy demon, however, he preferred we create as little work for him as possible. His annoyance was almost overt through the phone line.\r\nâ€Å"I did sort of hit him. Actually, it was more of a swipe.”\r\nâ€Å"I see. A swipe. And did you threaten him too?”\r\nâ€Å"Well, yes, I guess, if you want to argue semantics, but Jerome, come on! Hes a vampire. I cant touch him. You know that.”\r\nThe archdemon hesitated, apparently considering the outcome of me going head-to-head with Duane. I must have lost in the hypothetical battle because I heard Jerome exhale a moment later.\r\nâ€Å"Yes. I suppose. But dont provoke him anymore. Ive got enough to work on right now without you children having catfights.”\r\nâ€Å"Since when do you work?” Children indeed.\r\nâ€Å"Good night, Georgie. Dont tangle with Duane again.”\r\nThe phone disconnected. Demons werent big on small talk.\r\nI hung up, feeling highly offended. I couldnt believe Duane had tattled on me and then made me out to be the bad guy. Worse, Jerome seemed to have believed it. At least at first. That belike hurt me most of all because, my slacker-succubus habits aside, Id always enjoyed a kind of indulgent, teachers pet role with the archdemon .\r\n desire consolation, I carried the ice cream off to my have it awayroom, shedding my costume for a loose nightshirt. Aubrey, my cat, stood up from where shed been sleeping at the foot of my bed and stretched. Solid white save for some black smudges on her forehead, she squinted green eyes at me in greeting.\r\nâ€Å"I cant go to bed,” I told her, stifling a yawn. â€Å"I have to read first.”\r\nI curling up with the pint and my book, recalling again how Id finally be shock my favorite author at the signing tomorrow. Seth Mortensens opus always spoke to me, waking up something inside I hadnt even known was asleep. His current book, The Glasgow Pact, couldnt sculptural relief the guilt I felt over what had happened with Martin, but it fill an aching emptiness in me nonetheless. I marveled that mortals, living so short a time, could create such wonderful things.\r\nâ€Å"I never created anything when I was a mortal,” I told Aubrey when Id finished five pages.\r\nShe rubbed against me, purring sympathetically, and I had just enough presence of mind to put the ice cream away before collapsing back into bed and falling asleep.\r\n'