Enclave

by Brandon Varnell

  By this point in time, the area around them had changed. They had been led out to a sidewalk, allowing the two their first glimpse of where they were. The first thing either of them noticed was that they were in an enclosed space. The sky was invisible, hidden behind a massive wall of stone that stretched over head into an almost dome shaped ceiling. Craggy stalagmites and stalactites hung from the ceiling and jutted up from the ground, each one bigger than several humans combined―one even looked to be the size of a house. These giants, standing silent like mute colossi, glistened and shone as water ran down their surface. Several stalactites rose up from the surface of a giant lake in the center of the cavern, like claws grasping at the ceiling, trying to claw their way up from the retched waters that kept them submerged.

  The waters were steaming. Wafts of heated moisture rose in the air like mist, creating lazy motes that gathered and swirled, coalescing into odd shapes and patterns that did not follow any known forms of geometry.

  At least now they knew where all the hot water for the bathhouse was coming from.

  The place they found themselves in looked almost like a city. There were buildings and sidewalks. The roads were made of stone and not pavement, but were easily recognizable for what they were. Just from where they were standing the two could see at least twenty buildings, square-shaped yet somehow elegant in their simplicity. They looked similar to boarding houses, made from a combination of wood and stone. There were no windows, probably because there was nothing to see.

  Overhead, light poured down. Christian and Lilith both looked up to see the reason. Hundreds of thousands of crystals embedded into the dome shaped roof were refracting light that somehow managed to come down through gaps in the stone surface, creating a strange multitude of colors.

  “In case you two are wondering, you are currently underneath Yellowstone Lake in Wyoming. This village you see before you is one that was built here as a safe house for young succubi long before humanity turned the wilderness above ground into a park for human amusement.”

  So they were no longer in Nevada, then. That was good. Actually, that was really good, as it meant that whoever might have tried to pursue them would be thrown off their trail. Perhaps they would even be safe in this place.

  “Come.” Clarissa motioned for the two again when she noticed they had stopped to admire the scenery. Christian and Lilith made to follow her some more, picking up the pace of their walk in order to catch up.

  They moved along one of the many sidewalks. Their feet made dull thuds against the cement. There were a number of people walking about, all of them women, all of them exceedingly stunning. Everyone they passed stared at the trio like they were some kind of oddity. No. Lilith realized they were not staring at all three of them. Just Christian. They looked upon the young man in shock, and in some cases, fear.

  “Impressive, is it not?”

  Lilith looked up, startled. Clarissa was staring at her from the corner of her eye, a single brow raised in question. The young woman, her blond hair swaying slight, gave a slow nod.

  “It is,” she agreed. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”

  “This enclave is one of the most secure we have ever built.” There was a definite note of pride in her voice. “My mother and several hundred other succubi built this place with their own hands. What you see before you is the result of two-hundred years of hard work and toil.”

  Now that was impressive, Lilith had to admit. She couldn’t imagine how much effort must have been put into building this place. The cave itself was natural, she assumed, as she doubted anyone could have created it three centuries ago, not with the level of technology that had been at their disposal. But it was certainly possible they had built the buildings and the walkways. If the Egyptians could build those large, ridiculous looking triangles, then surely a group of succubi could build an underground safe house.

  “You mentioned something about our injuries,” Lilith pressed at some point during their walk, when it became clear that Christian was not going to say anything. The young man did not appear comfortable around Clarissa anymore, probably due to the woman’s words earlier.

  “I did,” Clarissa said. “You two suffered greatly in your battle. Your mate lost a lot of blood, and several of his bones had been broken. The tendons in his left leg were severed, and there was a large hole in his shoulder.” The woman turned to Lilith. “You had less wounds, and they were nowhere near as bad. Much of the damage you suffered was simply exhaustion. I imagine you wore yourself out by using your powers too much.”

  “My powers?” Lilith furrowed her brow. “What powers are you talking about?” As far as she was aware, she did not have any powers beyond her allure. Then again, the only reason she even knew that she was not human was because Christian had told her. It was back when they had just started to run, when they had boarded the train to leave Seal Beach.

  Christian sadly wasn’t as knowledgeable about succubus because they were supposedly outside his jurisdiction, but he knew enough. He’d told her that the reason men flocked to her, stared at her, and tried to commit despicable acts on her was because she was a succubus. All succubus had an Aura of Allure, which tempted men and made them lose the ability to think rationally.

  Could there be more to being a succubus than what she had been told?

  “Indeed.” The woman looked at her in understanding. “Though you appear to not be aware of them. That is something I will have to rectify while you and your mate are here.”

  “Mate?” Christian brought a hand up to his face, rubbing his jaw, his eyes reflective and his face pensive. “I’ve heard several other people call me that.”

  “Mate is simply the term we give to those select few who have become the partner of a succubus,” Clarissa told him. “Later on, I shall educate you on just what it means to be the mate of a succubus, as well as why it is so important, for both you and Lilith.”

  As Christian went silent, Lilith found herself growing curious.

  “How do you know my name?” she asked, her voice a hushed whisper. She was sure that she had never given this woman her name, and she was equally sure that Christian had not spoken her name the one time they had bumped into Clarissa.

  “Because I was there at your birth,” Clarissa admitted.

  Lilith nearly stumbled as she misstepped, tripping over her own two feet. Christian managed to catch her, thankfully, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back up. She looked at the older succubus, her eyes wide and disbelieving.

  “But... how could you know who I am just from that? I changed my name.”

  Her name had originally been Eve, but she had changed it to Lilith after Damien killed her foster mother.

  “Hmph. Do you really think Eve was your original name?” asked Clarissa.

  “Well, I...” The words made her pause. Eve wasn’t her original name? How could that be? Shaking her head, Lilith decided to focus on a matter that was more pressing to her. “If you were there when I was born, does that mean you knew my mother?”

  “I did.” Clarissa paused in their walk for just a second, flashing Lilith a quick smile. “I was good friends with her, until we had a falling out.” She paused, her lips turning downwards, her eyes glazing over in remembrance. After a second or two, she shook her head and continued speaking. “If you would like, I can tell you what I know about her later, perhaps after we have had a chance to discuss the recent developments that led you all here.”

  Lilith had to bite her tongue to keep from demanding to know more about her mother. She had never known her birth mother. While that had never really bothered her when she was younger, it did once she learned that she was a succubus. She had so many questions, about her mother, about the circumstances that led to her being abandoned. There was a lot that she wanted to know, that she needed to know.

  She held her tongue, however, not only because there were more important things to discuss, but also because Clarissa had promised to tell he
r later. So long as this woman was willing to tell her about her mother at some point, then Lilith could find it within herself to wait a little while longer.

  Patience is a virtue, or so it has been said.

  She hated being patient.

  Christian and Lilith were eventually led into another building, which turned out to be a large cafeteria. As their sandals clicked along the tiled floor, which was mostly one uniform gray color except for several large, reddish brown hexagonal shaped tiles that randomly dotted the floor, Lilith turned her head left and right, taking in the sights. It looked almost like a school cafeteria. There were upwards of two dozen round tables, each of which had a dozen padded chairs with curved backs. They were black, while the table tops were white. A number of square support pillars stood arrayed around the room, close to the walls. Over on the side opposite of where they entered was a combination of buffet and restaurant. There were several long, square tables with tin dishware filled with food, but there was also a place behind the buffet tables that looked like a kitchen.

  The room was mostly empty. In fact, it pretty much was empty, save for one table where, surprisingly enough, a man was sitting down and inhaling the pile of food in front of him.

  “Andrew,” Clarissa called out as she walked closer to the man. The man stopped eating. As he looked up from his plate of food, Lilith could make out glowing yellow eyes peering out from underneath a fierce-looking mane of dark brown hair. He peered at the group, his eyes going from her to Christian to Clarissa. He then set the fork down, scooted his chair back, and turned to face them more fully. Lilith noticed immediately that he was missing his entire right arm up to the shoulder.

  “I see they finally woke up.”

  “They did.” Clarissa nodded as she walked over to him, her hips swaying with a sensual elegance that somehow managed to look completely casual, as if walking like that was as natural as breathing. And perhaps it was, Lilith realized. This woman as a succubus, and an old one, if her words were to be believed. “And I see you’re using the time my girls are in the bath as an opportunity to eat as much as you can.”

  “Eh, what can I say?” The man shrugged. “I was hungry. And sitting around, doing nothing but waiting isn’t my thing.”

  Clarissa’s lips curved into a delightfully amused smile. “Yes, so you’ve told me. Half a dozen times, I might add.”

  “Heh.”

  “Um, excuse me,” Lilith interrupted the pair, feeling just a little bit annoyed. Couldn’t these two do their flirting some other time? Like, when she and Christian weren’t looking for answers? “Not to be rude, but who are you?” she asked, pointing at Andrew.

  “That’s right.” The man’s face took an expression that made Lilith think of the word “Eruka!” It was as if he’d just now realized they hadn’t been formally introduced. “Even though I was part of the team that fought against the No Life King, we never actually got a chance to talk, did we? My name is―”

  “Andrew James Fortis,” Christian interrupted, finally coming out of his own reverie. He walked forward until he was standing shoulder to shoulder with Lilith, looking down at the massive man as he sat at the table. “You were not only at the battle against Damien, but you were also the one following us when we were in Las Vegas, and you’re the reason Catherine was able to find us.”

  “So you did know I was following you.” While Lilith looked at her mate in surprise, Andrew scratched the back of his neck, a bit of a sheepish grin splaying across his face. “I knew you had sensed my presence, but I hadn’t realized you managed to spot me too. You’re pretty good.”

  “You were very hard to miss.” Christian shook his head, black bangs swaying in front of his face. “Despite trying to remain hidden, you’re a rather conspicuous person. Very easy to spot in a crowd.”

  “Yeah, I guess that’s true. I always told Catherine I was no good at sleuthing, but she never listens to me.” Andrew devolved into degenerate grumbling. Lilith thought she heard words like “smell” and “just because” and “can’t believe she would” but couldn’t really make out anything else.

  “Speaking of Catherine, where is she?” asked Lilith, breaking the man away from his discontent.

  “She’s here,” Andrew said.

  “The one you call Catherine is currently in the hospital ward,” Clarissa added. “Unlike you two, she doesn’t have any supernatural healing abilities. She’s just a human and is still unconscious. I suspect she won’t wake up for at least another week.”

  “What do you mean by ‘doesn’t have any supernatural healing abilities?’ And how much time has passed?” asked Christian.

  “I mean just what I said.” Clarissa turned her head to look at him. “You two have healing far above those of a normal human’s. I suspect it has something to do with you, young man.”

  “Me?” Christian blinked to convey his surprise and confusion. “But I’m just a normal human?”

  “Are you? Are you really?” Clarissa raised an eyebrow. “Are you so sure that you’re human?”

  “Of course I am,” Christian muttered, sounding just a tad annoyed. “What else would I be?”

  “I couldn’t say for sure,” Clarissa said, and something about the way she said it made Lilith think the woman wasn’t being entirely truthful. “But I can tell you right now that the eye you have, that red eye in your right socket, is not human eye.”

  “My eye?” Christian raised a hand to touch the skin just underneath his red eye. “What do you mean? I’ve always had this eye.”

  “Then that just proves my point.”

  Lilith could almost feel Christian’s confusion and anger. Looking at him, she could see it, too. His eyes were just a little more stormy, his mouth set into a thin line, brows furrowed into a mild glare. He really did seem upset at someone telling him that he was not human.

  She was about to comfort him, perhaps offer him a hug or even just hold his hand, when several loud alarms blared to life. The obnoxious, nail-grating shriek had Andrew raise his one remaining hand to his ear, while both Lilith and Christian winced.

  As one, they turned to Clarissa, who looked startled, resigned, and more than just a tad fearful.

  “That’s the proximity alarm,” she said to their unspoken question. “We have set up several alarm systems to alert us whenever the goblins are trying to invade our sanctuary.”

  “G-goblins!?” Lilith gasped, startled. Even Christian looked surprised, for his eyes had gone wide and his mouth actually dropped a bit. “There are goblins down here?”

  “Of course.” Clarissa’s smile was both grim and humorless. “You didn’t think we were the only ones trying to find a safe haven underneath the earth, did you?”

  CHAPTER 3

  With the alarm sounding loudly in their ears, letting everyone know that the time for conversation and pleasantries had passed, Clarissa led Andrew and Christian to the armory.

  “You have an armory?” Christian asked.

  “Of course.” Clarissa’s pointed look stated that it should have been obvious. “There are many dangers in this world. In the event that we are attacked, we need a way to defend ourselves.”

  “Yeah. Good point.” Christian could not help but agree.

  Lilith, much to her disappointment, had been directed to the hospital, where Catherine was still resting, comatose and unable to commune with the rest of the world.

  “I’ll see you when I get back,” Christian told Lilith as Clarissa beckoned a young woman over and asked her to lead Lilith to hospital wing.

  “Right.” Lilith gave Christian a strained smile as she leaned on her toes and kissed him. “Be careful, please.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  Lilith split ways with Christian, Clarissa, and Andrew. Meanwhile, the leader of the enclave led the two men over to a walkway that crossed the large body of heated water. There were quite a few of them. The many walkways crissed and crossed. Large support beams dove into the water’s surface. Christian didn’t
know how deep this heated lake was, but even if it was just ten or twenty feet, he’d be impressed by the construction of these bridges.

  The steam that rose from the surface of the slightly bluish green liquid was stifling, or maybe it was just the coming battle that had caused sweat to break out on Christian’s forehead. He would not deny that the idea of facing a horde of who knows how many goblins was not a pleasant one.

  “This way,” Clarissa, acting as their guide, said as they took a turn at one of the intersecting walkways.

  They crossed the lake and she brought them to another building, this one smaller. The building was situated near what Christian thought of as the back of the enclave. It was a squat little thing, nowhere near as big as the other buildings and not nearly as decorative. Plain and boring were the words he’d use to describe it.

  It appeared to have been partially built into the cavern wall, with about a third of it sticking out. Because it was made from the same gray stone as the cave, most people probably wouldn’t have even realized there was a building there at all.

  The inside was not as ordinary as the outside. Stepping into the room, Christian and Andrew were greeted to the sight of weapons. A lot of weapons. Everything from swords and staves and spears, to guns and explosives were there, hanging on racks that were set against the walls. Christian recognized a few of the weapons there; 9mm pistols, magnums, sub-machine guns, glocks, automatic rifles, dirks, daggers, bastard swords, flails, and spears. There was even a naginata, ornately decorated to look a dragon was curving around a red pole with the curved blade sticking out of its mouth, resting on a rack separate from the other weapons. A number of lockers sat to one side, looking almost out of place.

  Andrew whistled. “You’ve got some serious firepower here, little lady. Damn, this is impressive.”

  “Language,” Christian muttered, annoyed, but too focused on the weapons arrayed around him to really care about the other man’s foul mouth.