My vision warned me of where that blade would land, but that Sister was fast, very fast, and the warnings gave me just enough time to move the Night Flail into position to deflect. Part of it was my weakness from blood loss, pain, and the broken wrist all working together to create a symphony of misery. The rest was the Sister's skill. Her fighting style left little to no openings, even with the knowledge of exactly when and where she would strike.
At least, not with a traditional attack. I waited for a short thrust, backing up just enough that the it would fall short of my sternum, and struck upward with the flail, above the creature's head.
I had watched the repair work on the house pretty closely, partly because I wanted to know how to perform the repairs myself, partly out of boredom, and I knew exactly where certain things had been shored up, and what areas would be still be weak if exposed to sudden pressure. Such as the Night Flail tearing into it.
Part of the ceiling collapsed, wood and plaster raining down upon the Sister and covering her. She tried to pick herself out of it, but the Night Flail was there first, striking her in the chest and reducing her to ashes that spread out among the rest of the debris.
“And fuck you very much,” I said to her ashes, turning to rejoin the fight.
There was a pained grunt and I whirled to see Lyanne struggling physically with the Sister who had managed to break free of her thrall. Lyanne was strong but nowhere near a match for the Sister's strength, and she was being driven down to her knees. I moved around the pair, trying to get at an angle where I could strike the creature without harming Lyanne.
I ended up being accidentally crashed into by the Sister that Sara was riding. She had been running backward, trying to find a wall to scrape Sara off on, and the three of us collided and went down together in confused heap. We rolled across the ground in a chaotic flurry of fists and elbows, and I think a few bites. We had descended into an animalistic state for this brawl, and there was no end in sight.
Somehow I wound up on the bottom of the pile, with the Sister atop me and Sara at the top of the heap. The Sister pressed her forearm down on my throat and cut off my air, and with the way my arm had been pinned beneath me I couldn't fight her off. I tried to gain leverage with my knees to either free my arm or roll, but I couldn't get the inhumanly strong creature to budge an inch.
Sara reached around the Sister's face and yanked off her mask. The creature squealed and released me. She reached behind her and grabbed Sara by the hair to pull her closer and retrieve the mask. Sara tossed the mask with a grunt and it landed at the base of the stairs. The Sister flung herself from the pile and scrambled across the ground toward her ivory security blanket, mewling sounds coming from her tiny, twisted mouth.
I found my feet just as the one struggling with Lyanne had her pressed her almost flat against the ground. Lyanne slipped one of her hands free just enough to flick her wrist. The knife hidden under her sleeve shot out and buried itself into the Sister's neck. She reared up as black ooze squirted out of her throat. I took the opportunity to lunge in with the Night Flail and reduce the Sister to ash.
“I had it under control,” Lyanne said between heavy breaths.
I managed a faint grin. “Yeah, but you were getting creeper-blood everywhere. You know how hard that is to get out of the carpets?”
Eve came crashing into the foyer and sprawling to the ground. The shotgun in her hands was snapped into two. The Sister came in after her, the front of her body still slick with the tar-like blood. I could see the attack she intended to make, a lunge straight for Eve's neck with the intent to snap it.
I sprinted with all the speed my body could still manage, winding up the Night Flail to strike before I even came in range. It took all my remaining energy to leap the remaining distance, lashing out as soon as the flail could reach. I struck the Succubus as she was only inches away from her target. The momentum carried her forward and she crashed into Eve, turning to ash atop the woman's body.
Eve let out of disgusted groan as she tried to brush the mass of ash off her. “Gross.”
The last remaining Sister had gotten her mask back on and turned to face the group. She noticed the four of us, noticed all her Sisters were gone, and did something that required a level of logic I didn’t know the Sisters of Pain were still capable of.
She ran.
I knew I needed to pursue, but first my body demanded a moment to rest. The level of exhaustion I felt surpassed any I had ever known, worse than the shock of Hell Week back in Basic. The gash on my side had bled through my makeshift bandages and was hurting as if someone was holding a hot poker to me. My right eye, near where I had been hit by the metal ball, was swelling shut and making it hard to see.
Lyanne put a steadying hand on my arm. “Jesus, Kurt, what happened to you? You look like you got into a fight with a tractor.”
“You should see the tractor.”
Eve was already hurrying for her first aid kit, muttering something about how she wasn't sure we even had enough bandages and that I needed to go to a hospital. Sara was looking at me with wide eyes that she was trying to not let tear up. I must’ve looked bad. Should probably avoid a mirror for a little while.
As much as I would have liked to wait around for Eve to patch me up and have an extra minute to catch my breath, a heavy presence in the air demanded my attention. It was as if the air suddenly had weight, making it hard for me to breath. It was the oppressive air of being trapped in a small cage, of being cornered by a vicious predator, of being alone in the dark—all of these things at once, filling my senses to the point of breaking.
Lyanne sensed it, too, her eyes fixed in the direction of the living room. “She's in there.”
I didn't have to ask who she meant. We all knew, as we knew that this confrontation could not be put off any longer.
The woman in the living room wore robes similar to the Sisters, though hers were black and purple, fringed along the ends with lace, and tied tighter to hug her form more, accentuating the curves of her hips and breasts. Her hood was up but her face was instantly recognizable all the same. I had been seeing those icy blue eyes, that olive skin, and those lush lips in my dreams since the first time we talked. Well, more like my nightmares.
Tandi was looking over the classical impressionist paintings Lyanne had purchased to adorn the walls. I didn't understand art too much, and if you asked me to define what made a painting impressionist, I couldn't tell you, but Lyanne claimed she’d spent more on these paintings than she had the entire rest of the estate, so they must be good. Tandi, for one, seemed impressed.
“It's rare to see such taste in this day and age,” the Succubus commented. She flowed like water from one piece the next, the definition of serenity, not showing the least bit of concern for our presence. “Refreshing. Too often, those with wealth don't know how to use it, spending it on sculptures made out of trash or paint splashed on a canvas and called modern art. This collection, however, is quite impressive.”
I declined to mention that, had it been up to me, the room would be mostly bare, barring a few Iowa Cyclones banners, a flat screen TV, and some memorabilia from my army days. “I'm glad you like it. Maybe you'd like to sit and admire it some more over a chat? I could put on some coffee.”
Tandi's face soured, which at first I thought was a reaction to my obviously sarcastic invitation, until she muttered the word, “Coffee.” She shook her head. “I will never understand the modern American obsession with that dirt water. You know who used to drink coffee? Soldiers. Cowboys. Frontiersmen. The kind of commoners who didn't mind the taste of bitter mud if it would give them the energy to get through their miserable days. I don't know who started this gourmet coffee trend, but they've tricked many people who should know better into spending vast sums on that swill. No, no coffee for me. Tea, if you have any. Lady Grey, preferably.”
I tried to laugh, but the pain in my ribs caused it to come out as a choking cough. “Sorry, think we're fresh out.”
I tried to speak, but I had no breath.
“You know, it doesn't have to end this way.” Her voice was honey-sweet, her words a beacon in the hopelessness I was trapped by. “We could be good for one another, Hunter. I actually owe my freedom to another of your kind, did you know that? Oh, this was way back when. My master was dragging me west across the country in pursuit of gold, as was popular at the time. I don't know why, she already had such power, but I guess she desired wealth as well. One of you Hunters stalked and killed her, and suddenly I was without a master and free to do what I wanted. I've always felt a certain debt to your kind for that act. Perhaps now is the time to repay it?”
Anything she had to offer, I wanted desperately. Desires I never knew I had before dominated my mind, filling me with such longing I felt I would die if I did not fulfill them.
“Of course, you have done some terrible things to my business,” she said, and I felt a wave of shame wash over me for making her hurt. “But I don't see why we can't move past that. I will take your three women as repayment for the damage. They will become my servants, but do not worry, I will treat them well.”
Such a small price to pay for the things she was offering. How generous Tandi was.
“We can do great things together, you and I, Hunter. There are many who still oppose me, and you can be my weapon, clearing the path for my domination. With you by my side, nothing can stand in my way, and in exchange, I will give you everything your heart desires. What do you say, Hunter?”
What an obvious decision. The only question was how I could phrase my acceptance in a way that properly showed my gratitude for the unbelievable opportunity being granted to me. She was going to give me everything my heart desired, and all it was going to cost me was
Sara…
And Eve …
And Lyanne …
Wait, there was something about Lyanne. What was it? It seemed important, and yet I could not figure out what it was.
I couldn't give up Lyanne. But why? Because she was important to me. More important than Tandi's promises?
Tandi's promises. Sweet. Comfortable. I knew that if I accepted, Tandi would take all this pain, all this exhaustion. Life would be simple, good, and pleasurable.
But life was already good. It was good because I had Lyanne. I had someone who was by my side, who I could trust with anything. Someone who enjoyed being in my bed and sharing pleasure with me.
Not just Lyanne. I had Sara, too, and even Eve. There was no way I was giving them up for a promise of what could be.
Tandi's promises. Sweet as overripe honey. Comfortable as a pillow over your face. Lies.
I realized I still wasn't breathing. In a panic, I forced in a deep breath through my mouth and nose. As my lungs filled with precious oxygen, my mind cleared. It was like waking up from a daydream, only this time when I woke up I was reminded of the aches and body blanketing me.
Sara was shaking me. “Kurt! What's wrong with you!? Don't just stand there!”
Groaning from the pain, I waved Sara off. “I'm fine now, Sara, thanks. I'm not sure what happened.”
Lyanne was holding her head in her hands and seemed wobbly on her feet. “It was a charm. Or something like it, but on a different scale. I tried to fight it off with my own, but she is so strong . . . I don't think I even grazed your subconscious. I'm not sure how you broke free.”
So much for being completely immune to those effects, I thought. “But you did reach me, Lyanne. This thought came to me that you were important, and my mind did the rest of the work from there.”
Eve stood a few paces back from us, a pistol in her hand aimed at ready. “Good. I didn't want to have to blow you away, too, if you suddenly became that bitch's thrall.”
Tandi didn’t move as her attention turned to Eve. “Is that any way to speak of your former master?”
“Bite me.”
“Maybe later.” Tandi smiled and turned her focus back to me. “I take it you are turning down my generous offer?”
I shrugged apologetically. “Sorry, got a lot on my plate right now. Kind of a hot commodity these days. If you leave your name and number, I can put you on the waitlist.”
The Succubus's smile was a vicious one, revealing bright white teeth and sharp incisors. She reached down to her waist and slowly began to untie her robes, taking slow steps as she did, making a show of it as if she was in a striptease. I stood warily, the Night Flail swinging lightly from its chain, waiting for the trick.
Tandi's words did not match the erotic nature of her actions. “Do you know the problem with modern media? Back in the day, when there was a story to be told, there was always a lesson to be learned from that story. Very often the lesson was about wariness, the cost of arrogance and pride, the price of violence. These days, with television and what passes as cinema, people have grown to celebrate the fallacy of an action hero, a lone warrior who can come out victorious from the most impossible of situations. It fosters the belief that violence and perseverance can overcome all odds. The real world does not work that way. Violence will only get you so far, and sometimes odds cannot be overcome. Let me show you.”
The robes fell to the ground, revealing a body that, at some level, I recognized was completely perfect. Just the right amount of muscle, the right perkiness to the breasts, the right thickness around the waist. However, with my vision opened, I saw her body for what it really was. Dark corruption permeated every inch of her skin like billions of toxic ants crawling over and into her. Glowing pustules of the stuff, stores of her power, throbbed and spit forth tiny black clouds into the air. It fostered a revulsion in me at the cellular level, and my mind screamed at the sight of her true self.
The darkness pulsed all at once and I swung the Night Flail out to meet the charge I knew was coming.
Other Succubi I fought were fast enough that I sometimes only saw a blur when they were moving. Tandi was so fast I didn't even see the blur.
I felt Tandi's movements more than I saw them, the blast of displaced air as she ran by me nearly taking me from my feet. She reappeared in front of Eve, who didn’t have time to pull the trigger on her gun before Tandi struck her backhanded across the face so hard that she was launched off the ground. Eve crashed into the wall covered in the paintings Tandi had been admiring just minutes ago, and crumbled to the ground, her consciousness fading.
I swung the flail around and lashed out Tandi, but before it even came close the Succubus was moving away at impossible speeds. She stopped in front of Sara, just a few steps away from me. Sara reflexively tried to batter her attacker away, but Tandi caught the woman's fist with ease. There was a crack as Tandi crushed Sara's hand like you might crush an empty soda can. I sent the Night Flail soaring over Sara's head but again Tandi was too fast. Sara collapsed to the ground, weeping over the ruins of her hand.
There was no need for my vision to know where Tandi was going to attack next. I swung the flail around toward where Lyanne was standing, hoping to make it in time—
Tandi was already there. She grabbed Lyanne from behind, putting one arm around Lyanne's throat and the other on the back of her neck. Lyanne struggled but was powerless in Tandi's inhuman grip.
“Tandi!” I yelled at the top of my voice, though doing so made my throat raw. “Your fight is with me! Release her-- now.”
“Now, now, Hunter, that is hardly fair.” Tandi took the tone of someone lecturing a small child on the rules of sharing. “How many of my girls have you killed? We will finish our fight, I promise, but first I think it is only right you understand the pain you put
me through. Don't you agree?”
I snarled as I swung the flail around, trying to imagine an angle I could attack at that didn't hit Lyanne. “It's hardly the same and you know it! Your ‘girls’ were monsters, created by you to be used as slaves! You took everything that made them human away from them!”
“Is that right? And I suppose what you are doing is so noble, taking power away from those that have it with that weapon of yours, binding them to your life by leaving them with no place to go? This poor girl in my arms, once she would have been strong enough to put up a fight against me. Now, look at her. All it will take is tiny twist to break her neck. You did that to her by taking her power, and left her no more than a common whore to suck your cock when you command it. How, exactly, is that freedom?”
I remembered my first encounter with Lyanne, my first trial with saving a Succubus from her curse. She hadn't even tried to resist it; she wanted to be cured. I wrapped the Night Flail around her, and then—
The idea came to me suddenly and I acted before the chance was lost. The Night Flail shot out, not at Tandi but at Lyanne. The flail wrapped around her, crossing around her waist and over her chest.
Tandi screamed as the Night Flail burned into her arms, and she let Lyanne go. I pulled, bringing Lyanne to me and away from that monster's grasp.
The Succubus rushed at me, her corruption flaring to the point that I could barely see the person inside. I unraveled the chain from around Lyanne and whipped it in a broad arc through air.
I couldn't hope to keep up with Tandi's speed, even with the benefit of my vision. But I had reach, and I intended to use it. However powerful Tandi was, whatever she had turned herself into by stealing so many lives, she was still vulnerable to the Night Flail, and that meant I could win. I spun the flail overhead, protecting myself from every possible angle as an enraged Tandi circled around me at blinding speeds.
Tandi reappeared at the other end of the room and grabbed a poker from the fireplace. She rushed at me again, leading with the poker, and tried to use it to knock my flail aside enough for her to get through. I flicked the chain into a rapid parry, denying her the satisfaction of my death.
Succubus Hunter Page 18
