by A. J. Markam
HOLY SHIT, THAT WAS IT.
I watched as the computer window timer counted down:
7…
6…
5…
Sinter reached down into the sack and pulled out two bombs, one for each hand.
We could both hear the screams of the townspeople as they were chased by the demonic snowmen.
3…
2…
1.
I was free to move – although I played possum until Sinter looked back at the town.
“DO YOU HEAR THE SWEET MUSIC OF THEIR DESPAIR?” Sinter gloated.
While he wasn’t looking, I reached inside the velvet sack and pressed the buttons on as many bowling balls as I could.
Unfortunately, their spider legs popped out. They tried to scurry out of the bag, so I had to bunch the top up with one hand.
In my head, I began another countdown.
10…
9…
8…
The sleigh reached the cliff and soared over solid ground again.
The town lay straight ahead.
“AFTER I RAZE THE VILLAGE,” Sinter crowed, “I WILL FIND YOUR HELL-WHORE AND SNAP HER NECK – AND THEN I WILL KILL THAT FLYING BRAT AND DESTROY EVERYTHING HE STANDS FOR, ONCE AND FOR ALL!”
“Hey, Sinter Klaws,” I said.
As soon as he looked down at me, I pulled back the velvet sack and revealed half a dozen bombs flickering bright red.
His bug eyes nearly popped all the way out of his skull.
I grinned. “Merry Christmas, bitch.”
He frowned. “IT’S ZEEBUSMAS.”
“Whatev– ”
BOOOOOM!
15
I came to in the graveyard, standing amidst the snow-covered graves.
The first thing I noticed was the snowflakes falling gently all around me, pretty as a Christmas painting.
The second thing I noticed was the flaming wreckage of Sinter Klaws’s sleigh streaking across the sky like a meteorite.
I’d done it.
The threat to the town was over.
The explosions must have detached the harness from the sled, because the reindeer train flew off across the sky, apparently unharmed.
The sleigh itself slammed into the side of a nearby mountain and disintegrated into flaming debris.
After that, the third thing I noticed was the cheering of the villagers.
Not screaming anymore – cheering.
I looked all around me at the town square. There were hundreds of people pointing at the cliff, hugging each other and crying with joy.
And the snowmen? There were still hundreds of them – but they weren’t chasing the villagers anymore. In fact, they weren’t moving at all. They had toppled lifelessly over onto the ground, their heads broken into lumpy piles of snow.
Sinter Klaws’s evil spell had been broken.
Sadly, there were several smoking ruins that the bombs had destroyed, but almost the entire town had survived.
That was worth celebrating.
Two computer windows appeared midair:
You have successfully completed the quest Deck The Dick With Balls of Fire and have killed Sinter Klaws!
‘10,000 XP’ wafted up through the air.
You have successfully completed the quest Sinter Klaws Is Coming To Town and have saved the town of Vortzplasse!
Another ‘10,000 XP’ shimmered in front of me.
The experience points were cool and all, but I was just happy the town was safe.
Suddenly a hushed silence fell across the town square.
I looked up to see Alaria flapping through the air, straining to keep the cage aloft.
Inside, a golden baby did loop-de-loops.
“LITTLE BABY ZEEBUS!” someone yelled.
The entire crowd parted, giving Alaria a wide berth to land.
As she reached the final few inches above the ground, her strength gave out, and the cage CRASHED to the cobblestone square.
“Wheeeee!” Baby Zeebus giggled.
The crowd cheered – and then gasped in alarm as Stig appeared on top of the cage.
Most people in OtherWorld didn’t trust demons, so their reaction was understandable – but then he did something that would cement his place in town legend for centuries to come.
With a flick of one stubby grey finger, he undid a latch on the metal bars.
The side of the cage CLANGED open on the ground, and Baby Zeebus flew out into the night sky.
“Wheeeeee!”
The entire village erupted in a giant cheer.
“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!”
Another computer window appeared:
You have successfully completed the quest ‘Twas the Night Before Zeebusmas! You have saved Little Baby Zeebus!
‘20,000 XP’ shimmered in the air in front of me – and then the golden infant himself flew over and hovered in front of me.
“T’ank ‘ou,” he said in baby talk.
Sparkles of golden light fell like snowflakes from his outstretched hands and coalesced into a triangular shape at my feet: a wedge of cheese about the size of my fist.
Then he flew off into the night sky, going “Wheeeeee!”
“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!” the entire village roared.
“Jesus,” I muttered to myself.
All of that for a fuckin’ slice of cheese.
“IAN!” Alaria cried out as she ran over and threw herself into my arms.
The passionate kiss she gave me was the best reward of the night, by far.
“Boss! Boss!”
Stig came scampering over, too, plowing through the snow until he could hop up on a tombstone.
I broke off my kiss with Alaria and grinned at both of them. “Great job, you guys. You saved Baby Zeebus.”
“We ALL saved Baby Zeebus,” Alaria corrected me. “And you killed Sinter Klaws!”
“With a little help from my friends.”
“With a lot of help from your friends,” Stig said.
“Very true,” I agreed graciously.
Suddenly a familiar voice rang out behind me.
“You did it, bitch!”
We all looked around to see the old man beaming at us from under his night cap, a heavy coat thrown over his nightgown.
“HEY!” Stig yelled as he pointed at the old coot. “Don’t call him ‘bitch’!”
My eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“Stig,” I said, touched, “that’s – ”
“Only I get to call him ‘bitch,’” Stig continued.
I sighed.
I guess it was progress.
…sort of.
Then my imp looked over at me and wiggled his hairless brows. “Biiiiiiii – ”
I swiped at him playfully, and he bounded off into the snow.
The old man ogled Alaria as he came tottering over. “Zowie!”
“Watch it,” I warned him.
“I am!” the old man grinned as he leered at her chest, then turned his attention to the sky. “Look at the joy you have brought to our village!”
I looked up to see a flying, half-naked, golden baby somersaulting through the air.
Wow.
“Yeah,” I said drily, “glad we – ”
Before I could finish, the golden baby plummeted down the chimney of one of the burning houses that had been destroyed by Sinter’s bombs. Seconds later, giant plumes of gold dust came swirling out of the blasted-out windows and enveloped the flaming wreckage in a shimmering cloud. Suddenly it was like the explosion was rewound in time. Burning logs and broken glass shot through the air and fit back together into a jigsaw puzzle, and all the fire was snuffed out. There was a flash of yellow light –
And then the house was standing there, good as new, untouched by flame or violence.
“Holy shit,” I whispered in astonishment.
The crowd roared. “YAAAAAAAAY!”
Then it got even crazier.
The front door opened, and a man, woman, and two littl
e children stumbled out, looking dazed.
“What just happened?” the man called out.
“ZEEBUSMAS!” the entire square of villagers cried out as one.
Then the man, the woman, the little kids, and all the villagers shouted “YAAAAAAY!”
Seconds later, Little Baby Zeebus flew out of the chimney and loop-de-looped in the air. “Wheeeee!”
“Did you guys just SEE that?!” I yelped.
“Yep,” Alaria said, like it was no big deal.
“That was – that was a fuckin’ Christmas miracle!”
“Zeebusmas,” Alaria and the old man said.
“Whatever!” I exclaimed, happy beyond belief.
One by one, Little Baby Zeebus flew to each of the destroyed houses, went down the chimney, and magically restored them to their former condition. And at each of the houses, the front doors opened and villagers stumbled out to more appreciative roars from the crowd.
“You didn’t tell me he could raise the dead!” I said to Alaria.
She frowned. “Why do you keep making a big deal out of that? You just came back to life.”
Oh yeah.
Videogame miracles, man. Like the internet or air travel – nobody thought it was special after they got used to it.
“Are you go-ink to eat your cheese?” the old man asked.
Oh.
Great.
I bent down and picked up the cheese, wiped off the snow, and eyed it with a look of disdain.
“It is good,” the old man assured me. “Go on, try it.”
I looked at Alaria. “You want it?”
“I’ll share it with you,” she said, “but you should have the first bite.”
Stig came scampering back over and leapt up onto a tombstone. “I want some, boss!”
“Let him go first,” Alaria scolded.
“Fine,” Stig grumbled.
I sighed and sniffed the wedge.
It smelled like cheese. Nothing spectacular.
As everybody watched expectantly, I nibbled a tiny bit off the corner.
Exquisite flavors filled my mouth. Truffles, a hint of smoke, a tiny bit of nutty sweetness –
I stopped chewing and stared at the wedge. “God DAMN, that is some fuckin’ good cheese.”
“Told you,” the old man cackled.
“I’ll take a piece,” Alaria said, and broke off a chunk.
“Me too, me too!” Stig said, his arms out like a grasping toddler’s.
I gave him some, then turned to the old guy. “You want any?”
“Yes, thank you, but maybe we go back to my house and drink some wine with it?” he suggested.
“HELL YES!” Stig hooted, and the old man laughed.
“Alright,” I agreed. “Lead the way.”
16
As it so happened, I didn’t do any drinking.
Stig and the old man stayed downstairs and got drunk, which made both of them happy as clams.
Meanwhile, Alaria and I snuck up to the second story where we quickly undressed each other and made love on a rug by a roaring fire in the fireplace.
We tried to keep quiet, but I think the creaking of the wooden floorboards gave us away.
That and Alaria’s muted screams, even though I held my hand over her mouth.
“We can hear you, bitch!” the old man called up.
“Awkward!” Stig yelled up, too.
“You can use the bed, you know!”
So Alaria and I got under the covers and held each other close until the sheets were warm.
Across the room was a bay window with a beautiful view of the village. Through the frame of frost on the edges of the glass, we watched as Little Baby Zeebus twirled through the air and darted down chimney after chimney, presumably leaving behind slices of cheese.
The night sky was filled with his Wheeeeees!
As I lay there and caressed Alaria’s bare skin, I suddenly realized that I was happier than I had been in a long, long time.
And given the holiday settings, that was absolutely amazing to me.
“I think I finally get it,” I said.
“What?” Alaria asked as she snuggled closer.
“For years I’ve hated the holidays – but it’s not about the presents, or the tree, or any of that. It’s about being with the people you love. For decades, I’ve been with my family, who I was angry and upset with… and they were all angry and upset with each other, so no wonder I hated it. But tonight, I’m with you. And that’s what’s important: being with somebody you love.”
Alaria grinned and kissed me. “Just now getting that, are you?”
I laughed and kissed her back. “This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”
“Zeebusmas.”
“Whatever,” I groaned. “Let’s just watch the flying baby.”
“I have a better idea,” she murmured in my ear as she reached down below the sheets and began to caress my cock.
HELLO.
“There was one thing I liked a great deal about this ‘Christmas’ of yours,” she purred as she stroked me back to full mast.
“What was that?” I asked as my breathing quickened.
“That you give presents to the ones you love,” she said as she sat upright and straddled me. “Multiple presents.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. So I think we should celebrate Christmas, too.”
She held my shaft between her legs and began to work the very wet lips of her pussy over the head of my cock.
I stared down at the gorgeous sight and swallowed hard. “Okay…”
“And I want a present.”
“What?”
She smiled seductively. “I think you know.”
She bit her lip in pleasure as she slid down on me.
“UNHHHH…”
“Oh God,” I gasped.
Once I was all the way inside her, she began to grind her hips into me. I cupped her breasts and pinched her nipples hard as her fingers moved over her clit in a blur.
Thirty seconds later she came with a loud cry. She gradually slowed down to a stop, panting, her skin glowing with a thin sheen of sweat.
“We can still hear you, bitch!” the old man called up.
“SO awkward,” Stig muttered.
Alaria just ignored them, leaned over, and kissed me on the lips. “That was a very nice gift… but I want multiple presents. And bigger ones. Over and over and over again.”
I cocked one eyebrow. “Just to be clear… we’re talking about orgasms, right?”
She sighed in frustration. “YES.”
“Okay, then,” I grinned as I rolled her onto her back.
“Oh!” she giggled.
As it turned out, I gave her many, many presents that night – and I got several of my own in return.
GOD I love Christmas.
…Zeebusmas.
Whatever.
If you would like to know how Ian and Alaria first met, click here to check out SUCCUBUS, the first in the series!
And if you want to find out what all those ‘long stories’ were that Ian couldn’t go into at the time, rest assured, they’re all covered in SUCCUBUS Books 1 through 5!
Also by A.J. Markam
Succubus
(Kindle and audiobook)
Succubus 2: Hell To Pay
(Kindle and audiobook)
Succubus 3:
The Good, The Bad, And The Crazy Stupid Hot
Succubus 4:
Gnome Place Like Home
Succubus 5:
Hardcore Dungeon Core
Dead Man Gaming
Zodiac: Operation Zodiac
Recommended
A friend of mine named M.H. Johnson writes LitRPG, and I highly recommend checking out his Endless Online series. It's all about a soldier who gets into virtual reality gaming to help deal with his injuries and PTSD - and then shit gets real.
ENDLESS ONLINE: Oblivion's Blade - Book 1
ENDLESS ONLINE: Oblivion's Promise - Book
2
ENDLESS ONLINE: Oblivion's Price - Book 3
ENDLESS ONLINE: Oblivion's Peril - Book 4
