by Eric Vall
“Bro,” Todd interrupted me. “Bro. Bro. Bro. No homo.”
“Oh. My. God. Dude.” I covered my face. “I wasn’t--”
“Look,” he said. “I know I’m super sexy in this demon form, but you’ve got two hot succubus girlfriends now. It’s every man’s dream. You’ll just have to let me go. I think Celine Dion wrote a song about it. Or was it Jon Secada? I can’t remember. The song goes like this though--”
“We’ve got shit to do,” I growled, and then I grabbed the little man by the arm and shoved him into my duffle bag.
“Bro, watch the guns!” he squealed when I put him in the bag. “That’s the ladies’ second favorite part of my new bod.”
“And the first part is your--”
“Massive horse penis,” he finished for me.
“I have seen these horses.” Liby shrugged as we all walked out of the lingerie store. “Their penises are much larger than--”
“It’s a figure of speech!” Todd shouted from inside of my bag, and a mall security guard walking past us jerked his head in our direction.
“Shhhh!” I hissed back, and I gestured for my two girlfriends to walk a little faster as we turned toward the mall exit.
“I think there is an alleyway over here,” I said as I pointed to the side of the mall. I sometimes see kids skateboard over there. It might be a good spot for us to test out my new magic powers.
“Lead the way, Jacob,” Cupi said, and we all continued our walk around the large building.
The alley dead-ended into a loading dock, and there were a few large green trash bins off to one side, but it was otherwise deserted, and the afternoon sun was shielded by the angle of the mall’s walls.
It was a rather perfect place to test out my new powers, and I opened my duffle bag so that Todd could jump out.
As we stood out in the dark alleyway, Todd pulled out one of his joints and took a puff. He let out a long sigh as he exhaled the smoke of the sweet leaf into the surrounding air.
“Where the hell did you even get that? It’s not like you have pockets.” I coughed. Despite frequent exposure, smoke still bugged me a lot of the time.
“Oh, I have my secrets.” He snickered before he took another puff. “Many secrets.”
Cupi looked curiously at the little white cylinder in the imp’s hand. A devilish grin spread across his face as he exhaled again and outstretched his hand to offer it to her. The succubus clasped the cigarette between her thumb and index finger similarly to how somebody who had never touched one would hold it. She raised the joint up to her lips, but I reached out to intercept it.
“Whoa, whoa!” I snatched the cigarette out of her hand. “I’m not sure you’re ready for that kind of Earthly pleasure yet!”
“Jacob, I’ve already experienced the greatest pleasures this realm has to offer thanks to you and your massive manhood.” Cupi crossed her arms and pouted. “What’s it going to hurt if I inhale a bit of crushed herb? Todd seems to be over the moon for it!”
“Yeah, man, don’t be a downer. That’s the good shit right there,” the imp pleaded. “I got it from that tweaker-looking dude on the first floor. He said it was the highest-quality stuff money could buy!”
“All the more reason to not let Cupi smoke it. I don’t trust that guy as far as I can throw him, and that’s not very far,” I said as I reluctantly handed the joint back to the imp.
“Thanks. You never know when you’re going to need a good high. Life comes at you fast, man.” He shrugged. “Just look at the two of us. Two days ago, we were down on our luck, poor roommates living in a shitty apartment. Now? I’ve got the body of a God and you have two succubi that are literally facing down Hell for you. I’d say things are looking up!” The little imp placed his hands behind his head.
I raised an eyebrow. “You know, we still live in the shitty apartment, and we’re still poor. I ate the last of our food for the week, remember?”
Cupi wrapped an arm gracefully around my shoulder. “That’s not true at all, Jacob,” she purred. “You are now endowed with the same Hellfire we are. Your powers may be in their early stages, but, they will soon grow stronger beyond your wildest dreams.”
“I don’t know, my imagination can get pretty wild.” I wrapped my arm around the blonde succubus.
Cupiditas’ words were music to my ears. She was right. I controlled my own destiny now. And nobody was going to get in my way. Just let them try. As the succubus’ words replayed like a soft whisper in my head, Liby’s curvy figure appeared out of the door.
“So, girls, what kind of powers do I have?” I asked. “Can we test them out right here in this alley? Or do I need to be somewhere secluded just in case I end up summoning a thousand demons into our dimension?”
“You’re not quite that strong yet.” Liby shrugged. “But I would guess that your power will grow quickly. This spot will work for today, but there is a chance that you might accidentally destroy the walls.”
“Destroy the walls?” I asked as my stomach dropped. “I can really do that now.”
“We won’t know until you first try it out.” Cupi shrugged. “But yes, my sister is correct. We should go somewhere a little more discrete.”
“I know just the place!” Todd exclaimed as a lightbulb seemed to go off in his stoned head.
The imp started to scurry off down the street and motioned for us to follow him. He got to about the end of the alleyway before I heard somebody scream. Todd turned around and made an even more exaggerated motion, but I placed my hands on my hips, looked at the ground, and shook my head. He didn’t follow at first, so I had to motion toward the duffel bag that was slung over my shoulder.
“Aw, come on…” he moaned as he walked back to our position, head hung in defeat.
“Sorry, buddy. You know we have to be as inconspicuous as possible. Look at it this way, you can guide us from the comfort of your own personal hammock!” I joked as the imp climbed up into the bag.
“You make an excellent point. Now mush, transportation monkey!” He smirked as I zipped the bag closed.
“All hail the Toddster,” I said with a smirk as I carried him out of the alley.
“Damn right!” Todd said from within the bag.
It didn’t take long for him to direct us to an old, abandoned parking garage on the west side of town. Apparently, this was where he liked to come when he “needed a break from life,” which I took as a code phrase for “wanted to get stoned in private.” It took us nearly an hour to reach the place as the impish form of GPS we were using got us lost three or four times. Then again, I couldn’t really blame him since he could barely see where we were going.
To call this an abandoned parking garage was almost too kind. It was quite obvious that this was a popular place for local hooligans to hang out. Makeshift skateboard ramps littered the first level while the entirety of the building appeared to be covered with bright red and yellow graffiti. Several of the support columns had chunks of concrete missing, and I wondered how the whole place was even still standing. Would it even be able to withstand whatever we were going to be doing?
“Guess this is as good of a place as any,” I said as I set down the duffel bag and unzipped it so the imp could run free while we got to work. He sprang out of the carrier and bolted over to the nearest pillar, and he proceeded to climb it like a spider monkey.
“Your abilities are still growing,” Cupi said as she caressed my shoulder, “but I can give you a general idea of what they are. Demon powers are always based upon your current emotion and are fueled by your intimate fantasies. When a demon is angry, for example, the powers they manifest are different from when they are in a different emotional state, but all colored by their inner nature and desires. So tell me, Jacob, what are your innermost desires?”
“You mean other than having a repeat of what the two of you did last night?” I joked.
Libidine raised her finger in the air in realization. “Jacob is a kind soul. And he’s a generous lover.
I’m almost certain some of his powers are defensive in nature.”
“Defensive?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
“You have an inclination to protect things, Jacob.” Cupi answered. “It’s why you are treating us like we are your friends and fellow human beings rather than simple demon sex slaves. Our other masters were never like that. They wanted us to do one thing and one thing only. And when we didn’t comply, they’d beat and torture us in the most unimaginably cruel ways. I know your mind was quite preoccupied, but did you notice the large scar on my inner thigh last night?” She dropped her head sadly. “That’s from Earl, our ‘current’ demonic overlord. One of my sisters refused to do the fucked up things he wanted her to do, and he started to beat her with a whip made of pure Hellfire. I tried to stand up for her, but he didn’t take it too well and…”
“It’s okay, Cupi,” I reassured the succubus with a warm embrace. “Those are just memories now. I’m not going to let anything like that happen to you ever again.”
I meant it too. I would go to the ends of the Earth, or even farther, to protect my succubi and my friends. It sounded like Cupi and Liby’s former masters were abusive bastards, and I wanted to be the polar opposite. No matter what my powers ended up being, I was going to use them for good … and a little fun on the side, of course.
“Alright, defensive powers I can work with.” Cupi nodded as she recomposed herself. “Jacob, I want you to look down deep into your psyche. Think about what is the most important thing in the world to you and think about what you would do to protect it.”
I closed my eyes and focused on the succubus’ words. My mind raced as it brought forth the images of my family back home in Kansas City. I thought about Todd in his new imp form. I thought about Cupi and Liby. As the pictures danced past my mind, I felt a slight burning sensation in my chest that reminded me of the time I had downed an entire bottle of cinnamon whiskey in one sitting. Only this time, I wasn’t collapsed over the cold ceramic of the toilet and puking my guts out. Instead, as I opened my eyes I felt calm, nearly at peace with myself and the world around me.
“Excellent.” I heard Cupi’s encouraging words pass by my ears. “I can feel your compassion. Now, show me how much you care!”
Hellfire spouted from her hands and she flung a basketball-sized red fireball directly at Todd, who now clung to the ceiling of the structure with his demon claws.
“What are you doing?” I cried as I reached out toward Todd, and as I did, my skin began to glow.
Purple sparks leapt from my hands as a wash of heat erupted from my fingertips. Todd saw the deadly projectile as it hurled furiously at him, but he could do little but flinch as it rocketed towards his position. The space in front of Todd shimmered for an instant, and then a shield of protective purple flame appeared between the imp and the fireball.
Cupi’s attack collided with the bright violet wall, curled around the edges of the shield, and singed the area around Todd in a circle, and that caused the ceiling to collapse around him. The imp flailed his stubby arms as he fell, but instead of hitting the ground, he collided against the purple shield with a dull thud.
I could barely believe my eyes. I had created the protective barrier like it had been second nature. All I had wanted to do was protect my friend from danger, but my powers responded to my feelings without any sort of conscious thought.
“I knew you could do it!” Cupi said with a bounce that made it hard to be annoyed with her for trying to vaporize Todd. “Now try to use your power to lower him to the ground.”
“Got it,” I said as I focused again.
I continued to follow my feelings and gestured with my hand. The power in me followed and created another purple wall of flames three feet below the one Todd currently rested on. With a quick mental command, the first shield disappeared, and the imp fell into the second. Then I repeated the process a few more times to get my friend safely to the ground. As he fell, the imp looked like a shriveled red Plinko chip descending the game board. Once he was on the ground, Todd ran his stubby arms across his body as if to check and see if he was still in one piece.
“What… the… fuck?” he asked as his eyes became as wide as saucers, and he fumbled around for a joint.
Libidine chuckled from behind us. “See? Defensive powers!”
“How does a purple flame protect against Hellfire?” I asked. “Shouldn’t it be some sort of white shield or something?”
“The purple flame comes from the part of the underworld reserved for transportation through the river of souls. It’s made to get you from one place to another safely, hence why it doesn’t burn anything.” The succubus raised her finger. “The red fire, on the other hand, is pulled from the deepest pits of Hell itself, and if you’ve never been to Hell, trust me, it’s hot!”
“Wait a tick,” Todd threw up his hands in confusion, “can demons even get burned? Hell is all about fire and brimstone. Shouldn’t we all, like, be immune? At least that’s what all the sites I read told me.”
“Don’t believe everything you read.” Liby shrugged.
“Hell most definitely has fire,” Cupi explained, “but it’s not the place you were taught about in Sunday School, where everything is aflame and volcanic. It’s more of an… abstract sort of place. There’s lots of torture… screams… darkness… beasts too horrific to describe. Fire is used to punish the people who are sent there for eternity as well as any demons or hellspawns who choose to disobey their masters. So, long story short, yes, we can be burnt.”
Now I was intrigued. “Can I conjure up something like what you just did?”
“Your powers are derived from Lucifer and the pits of Hell themselves. Of course, you can summon up fire,” The succubus laughed. “But it will take a different set of emotions than what you just showed protecting Todd. Here,” she wrapped her hand over mine and raised it to chest level. “I want you to think about your darkest fantasies, your most passionate memories, and then snap your fingers to command the Hellfire to you.”
I closed my eyes as my mind raced back to Cupi on her knees in my bedroom, nearly salivating as she marveled at my naked body. Then I remembered the first night, the one with Libidine. I remembered how she had ridden me nearly raw and the sounds of pleasure that screamed out of her when we were in the throes of making love. Then I thought about how I wanted to do it all again with both of them at the same time.
This time, it felt like my skin was on fire. My hands screamed as if they were being poked at by thousands of tiny, red-hot needles as they grew warmer and warmer. Yet, I felt no pain. I could feel the heat of the Hellfire in my palms, but it wasn’t an unpleasant sensation whatsoever. In fact, it made me feel more powerful than I had ever felt before in my entire life.
I opened my eyes and was greeted by the sight of both of my hands surrounded by a vibrant reddish-yellow fire. The flames danced off my fingertips, threatening to leap from my hands and ignite the ground in front of me. Instead, I took aim at one of the pillars of the parking garage, wound up my right arm as if I was throwing a baseball, and thrust my open hand forward. An orb of fire the size of a tennis ball ejected from my burning palm and crashed into the support. Normally, concrete wouldn’t catch fire, but the blast burning with fire from the pits of Hell seemed to be strong enough to set it ablaze. The pillar burned with the crimson flame for a few seconds before abruptly melting into a crude puddle of rock, steel, slag, and plaster. As the support structure liquified, the ceiling above it started to bend. With a groan, it collapsed and sent large chunks of concrete and asphalt onto the ground below.
“Holy shit,” I muttered under my breath.
“Okay, I’m out!” Todd muttered as he dodged pieces of concrete that careened toward him.
The imp scurried out of the way of the falling debris, and as he did so he vanished as if he had teleported. I could still hear the pitter-patter of Todd’s hooves on the pavement, though, but I couldn’t see him.
“Uhhh, Todd?” I ask
ed as the two succubi and I frantically twisted our necks to try to find the small imp.
“I’m here!” he called out, and the three of us looked up to the ceiling.
“We can’t see you,” Liby said as her mouth twisted with confusion.
“Oh. That’s cool.” Todd’s small figure suddenly appeared hanging from the roof like a spider, and then he swung down from a beam above and landed on the ground in front of us.
“What did you--” I started to ask, but Todd interrupted me.
“So, apparently I can turn invisible now,” he laughed. “That’s gonna come in so handy when I’m meeting with my dealers!”
“We probably should have told you.” Cupi smirked as she looked at me. “Because we are such a close-knit group, all three of us can feed off your powers. The stronger you get, the stronger our own powers become. Todd must have just discovered his first ability.”
“It fits his personality perfectly!” The dark-haired succubus nodded. “Now he can spy on all the women and steal all the food he wants without getting caught.”
“I. Am. So. Awesome,” the imp said as he placed his arms behind his head.
“It’s actually Jacob,” Cupi pointed out.
“My. Friendship. With. Jacob. Makes. Me. Totally. Awesome.” Todd nodded sagely.
“Oh boy,” I laughed, but then Libidine wrapped her arms around me from behind, and I could feel her large breasts pressed up against my back.
“Do you know what the best part is?” she whispered sweetly into my ear. “These are your powers with just two succubi. There is much more room for them to grow! With a deeper connection to your succubi or additional members added to your harem, your power will be immeasurable. Just think about it. You could summon fireballs ten times as large as the one you hit the pillar with! You could bring forth rings of Hellfire as tall as the largest skyscraper in town! With a little more practice, your purple shields could become full-on telekinesis abilities!”
“Tell me more about growing our connection and becoming more powerful,” I said.
