Death of a Succubus

by Kim Schubert

  He huffed, clearing the debris from his lungs before entering the first room on the left, which smelled like Olivia.

  His lungs refused to take another breath. Padding into the deserted room, he looked down upon his mate’s body on the metal table. No machines helped her breathe, no IVs delivered fluids. He laid his head upon her chest, willing to hear her heart.

  Nothing.

  Her body was littered with red, angry welts. Next to her sat a tray of hospital grade knives and tools.

  “Logan!” Jerry called out behind him.

  He didn’t feel the vampires on him until Mark tore them off, yelping in pain. He should have moved, should have protected his pack, but he could only stare at the closed eyes of his love.

  It was all lost.

  He didn’t want to go on.

  The weight of the vampires on his body, tearing into his flesh, was welcome.

  …

  I came to screaming, feeling my father above me blending the globe of my soul back into my body. I could feel the small chunks of glass sliding along my chest before they fell to the ground. My body, she was beat the fuck up.

  I yelled again, more annoyance than pain this time around.

  I sat up, carefully, my back protesting the movement. I looked down at myself sitting on a cold metal table. My body was littered with a multitude of slices, varying in depth, some crusted over, most still bleeding slowly.

  “What the fuck?” I muttered.

  “Daughter, I fear we don’t have time,” my father rasped. I turned to look at him, hunched over, leaning heavily on Doyle.

  Doyle inclined his head to my right. I turned, seeing shifters and vampires locked in combat. In the center I saw Logan’s hide, covered in blood.

  “No,” I whispered, my right hand landing on an impressive array of shiny and sharp objects. I was flinging blades before I reached him, my fingers plunging through the chest of a vampire to shred her hearts with my bare hands.

  This was berserker.

  Another vampire attacked from my left, slamming into my shoulder. I slashed out with a saw, slicing across his jugular. I didn’t have time to finish the kill before fending off another attack.

  “Olie, here!” I turned, seeing a familiar face.

  “Anna?” I whispered, reaching up to take the sword she had flung at me. Its weight was familiar. I looked at the handle while I carved a vampire’s head in two.

  “What are you doing with my weapons?” I yelled. She yanked her own, well her borrowed, blade out of a vampire’s chest as he turned to dust.

  “You cannot be serious right now?” she asked me, breathless. We moved back to back, our training kicking in even after years apart.

  “We have to get to Logan,” she demanded.

  “I know,” I agreed. My left side was on fire and it was slowing me down. Mark and Hudson were with Logan, but it was going to take all of us to get out of here alive. For every vampire I struck down, another two replaced them.

  “DOWN!” Jerry screamed.

  Anna and I turned in to each other, both of us crouching down, our arms over our heads.

  The explosion rocked the room, filling it with screams.

  I heaved a sigh, pushing back up to standing.

  Whatever Jerry did had cut the number of vampires in half, but it still wasn’t enough. I lifted the sword, my arm protesting its use, to fend off another attack.

  I was slowing down. A vampire got a cheap shot in across my face. From the center of the room, Logan bellowed, standing up on both his back paws, shaking off the attached vampires.

  “Show off,” Anna muttered. I gave a short chuckle, ducking under the punch aimed for my nose and swinging the sword wildly, connecting with his neck, thankfully.

  Bones crunched and screams ripped from throats as the shifters made short work of the remaining vamps. I sagged against Anna, my blade falling from my hands.

  “Shit,” she whispered under my weight.

  “Olie, Olie honey, can you hear me?” Jerry yelled in front of my face.

  I nodded, “Yeah I haven’t gone deaf, thanks.”

  His worried gaze combed over my multiple lacerations before it swung back to my father and Doyle.

  “Are they friendly?” he whispered.

  I nodded, speech requiring too much energy.

  “We need to get out of here,” Mark said, coming up next to Jerry. “I can hear the sirens.”

  I nodded. “Dad, Doyle, let’s go,” I commanded. We were on my turf now. I’d have gladly kissed the ground under my feet, but I wouldn’t have gotten back up if I did. Besides, it was heavily coated with vampire ash.

  Anna helped me stay upright. I searched for Logan in the mess of boxes, finally catching his gaze. I couldn’t help the smile that sprung to my lips.

  “Olivia, be careful!” Hudson warned, warily backing away from the bloody lion.

  My brow drew down as I slipped my arm off Anna. “Get everyone out of here,” I commanded. I didn’t check to see if she was listening. I had absolute confidence in her.

  I took a pain filled step, a slice on my calf causing me to limp.

  “Logan,” I tried. His raw sienna gaze hadn’t left my own. His shoulders stiff, he was frozen in place. Only his lion head moved as he tracked my progress closer to him. Blood pooled down my body, making my feet slippery.

  “Logan,” I tried again, adding more force into the command.

  Still nothing, no acknowledgement, no movement.

  “Motherfucker, change forms now and get over here and help me!” I yelled. I had no idea what was going on. What I did know was that my unconscious body had somehow ended up in the hands of some slice-happy vampires.

  He blinked.

  I huffed out a breath, anger turning to hurt. He was all I’d wanted while trapped in the other realm, what kept me going and fighting to get back. Did he not feel the same? I reached for the mate bond. It was weak to my inspection, but he tilted his head at that.

  I could feel the beast radiating off him, could see the animal and not the man reflected in his gaze. There was a chance I had lost him in what I was assuming was a rescue attempt.

  I ground my jaw together. He was going to have to kill me to get rid of me.

  I took another step closer to him; he growled softly.

  “You are not going to hurt me.” I sure hoped he wasn’t going to. I pulled on the mate bond again, in my mind’s eye surrounding myself with it.

  He lowered his head, showing his teeth.

  I took the final few steps, closing the distance between us.

  “I need you. This shit isn’t over.” It was the pain that made my voice shake, not the emotional mess inside of me.

  I laid a hand on his head, reaching my fingers down through his thick fur to brush his skin underneath.

  He roared, pulling away from me. My hand stung as if burned. Black spots danced in my vision and I crashed against a discarded box, wooden splinters finding a home in my already tortured flesh.

  “Olie,” Logan whispered, pulling me toward his naked form.

  “Logan,” I breathed his name out, exhaustion and pain causing tears to slip down my face.

  “Shit, I went beast, I, I didn’t know you.”

  “It’s okay,” I whispered, breathing in the scent of his skin, my cheek pressed against his chest.

  “Where are the others?” he asked, scooping me up.

  “Outside, Mark heard sirens.”

  My eyes closed, but I felt him nod as he jogged outside. “They are close,” he agreed.

  The night air was crisp against my skin, the shiver causing a whine of pain from my throat.

  “Hang on baby, it’s going to be alright.” There was the Logan I had come to depend upon. I reached for our bond, finding it heady and strong. His love washed over me, followed by his relief and utter joy.

  “Let’s go!” Anna screamed from the passenger seat.

  Logan didn’t waste any time, getting into the empty back seat, eyeing H
udson in the driver’s seat.

  “My father?” I asked.

  “Other car,” Hudson answered, spraying mud as we followed the other SUV. “Doyle damn near didn’t fit.”

  I nodded, enjoying the feel of Logan’s arms wrapped tightly around me, but knowing my wounds needed to be looked at.

  “I thought I’d lost you,” Logan whispered against my oily hair.

  “Come on. It’d take a whole lot more to kill me than a few gunshot wounds.”

  He chuckled against my neck, his arms impossibly tight. It hurt, but I didn’t care. I had missed him so damn much.

  A throat cleared in front of us.

  Logan didn’t release me.

  “You need to tend to her wounds,” Anna reminded him.

  Logan huffed, sitting me next to him before reaching over the seat, searching for the right bag. I leaned my head back, exhaustion setting in.

  “We need to stop for food,” Hudson warned.

  “Drive through for now,” Anna commanded. “We can stop once we put some distance between us and this place.”

  Hudson grunted his compliance. I wouldn’t call it agreement.

  “Who are those people with you? You called him Dad?” Anna asked me. I opened my eyes, tilting my head to look at her.

  “We are from an alternate world, where the pure blood succubi and incubi, along with their supporters, were banished by the witches.”

  I watched her shocked expression, her crystal blue eyes rounding.

  “Yeah, they traded us to Selena.”

  “For what?” she hissed.

  I shrugged, regretting the movement. “I don’t know, but my father is a Magician. I inherited those powers, but he’s locked them up somehow. Which explains why I was able to manipulate the Puppet Master’s magic and throw fire around.”

  Logan pressed a cleaning cloth to my side. “OW!” I hissed.

  He smiled, actually he hadn’t stopped smiling. I found myself returning the gesture.

  “You two need clothing,” Hudson said as the lights of a town came into view.

  Logan reached back again.

  Chapter 8

  Jerry found us an out of the way motel with an attached diner.

  I carefully got out of the SUV with Logan’s help. His own wounds had healed, but I could feel his hunger through the bond, partially for me, mainly for red meat.

  “I’ve got them grilling every piece of meat they have,” Mark said at my door.

  I nodded in my black shirt and blue shorts.

  “And grilled cheese, veggie quesadillas, and dessert, lots of dessert,” Jerry added, also smiling.

  “How do we handle Doyle?” I asked.

  “We were waiting for you. Your father isn’t very talkative,” Mark muttered.

  I huffed, “That’s because he’s an asshole.”

  Logan helped me walk to the backseat of the other SUV. I looked in, seeing my father, with Doyle crammed in the back.

  “How do we handle Doyle?”

  “I don’t believe he needs handling.”

  My brow furrowed. “Can you disguise him?”

  “No, I don’t have the strength.”

  I growled. “But your friend can,” he continued.

  “Jerry?” I asked, surprised.

  The Magician nodded.

  You don’t trust him, Logan spoke to me.

  I don’t.

  “I can feel your distrust, Olivia.” My father commented. I checked my guards, finding them gone.

  “What the fuck?” I whispered, a hand going to my chest, the air leaving my lungs.

  “Easy.” Logan supported my weight, leaning me against the side of the SUV.

  “My guards are gone!” I whispered.

  “What do you mean?” Logan asked.

  “How I protect others from feeling everything I do. My guards, my walls, my barriers, they’re all gone.”

  Logan’s brow furrowed as he looked down at me before shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter. You’ll get them back or rebuild them.” He cradled my face. “All that matters is that you are here and alive.”

  His love overflowed the mate bond, warming my soul and reaching my toes. I took a worry-free breath, nodding.

  “Whoa.” Anna turned the corner, putting up a hand to shield herself.

  “My guards are gone,” I told her.

  She nodded. “Probably because you were so close to death.” She shrugged, “We’ve seen it before.”

  I nodded, she was right, we had. I took another breath, clearing the fear from my system.

  “Jerry,” I breathed out, straightening, pooling my reserves of strength. “We need Jerry to get Doyle out.”

  Anna nodded, heading into the diner.

  “You are in pain,” The Magician noted.

  I huffed out a pain-laced breath. “What was your first clue?”

  “You’ve learned to control your influence?” he pushed on. Clearly, my pain was not a priority.

  “Yes, we all have. It’s how we survive. We aren’t as large as the shifters or the vampires, nor as strong. Being able to blend in has kept us alive.” Hadn’t we already had this conversation? It seemed I wasn’t the only one who had trust issues.

  “But you run The Council?” Doyle questioned. “And are mated to the Alpha?”

  Observant minotaur.

  “Yes, we have a secure future now, but nothing is guaranteed.”

  Jerry rushed to my side. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, can you work with my father to create a way to cloak Doyle?”

  Jerry blinked at me before looking in the back of the SUV and then back to me.

  “He’s a magician,” I told him.

  “The minotaur?” Jerry asked in disbelief.

  I laughed and it hurt. “No, my father. He drained himself coming here, but he said with your help he can cloak him.” I watched the play of fear and curiosity contour Jerry’s features.

  The darkness made me sway. “Dammit, you need to get off your feet,” Logan hissed, picking me up, careful to observe his surroundings.

  “Go. I’ll handle this,” Anna said, before turning her icy blue gaze to the backseat.

  I nodded, leaning heavily on Logan.

  “She is different now that you are here,” he muttered in my ear, his arms wrapped strongly around me.

  I huffed, “She was probably worried I’d die and make her run the Council.”

  Logan said nothing, but through the bond I could feel his annoyance at my statement.

  He set me down at a table, moving to the windows to draw the blinds down. A pale, shaking waitress in a yellow apron the same color as the walls stepped up hesitantly, her note pad shaking in her hand.

  “Can—can I—I get you something?”

  “Is anything ready yet?” I asked hopefully.

  She shook her head, looking over at Logan.

  “Can you go check on the steaks? We’d prefer them bloody,” he commanded her.

  She nodded, tripping over her tennis shoe clad feet to get away from us. I groaned, my body certain it was on fire. I raked a hand through my hair. “Oh, that’s disgusting.”

  Logan looked at me. “You’re beautiful.”

  I couldn’t help my answering smile; at least there were no cuts on my face.

  Jerry and my father walked in with a large, hairy black man. I blinked before I turned my attention to Jerry, who was being helped along by Mark.

  “Are you okay?” I asked as he sat down near me. Logan kept standing.

  Jerry nodded. “It was pretty terrifying. I’ve never wielded my power like that before.”

  My father and Doyle sat down at the table to my left. Doyle looked down at his hands, turning the digits around for inspection.

  Hudson and Anna came in, her face flushed. She snarled when he tried to touch her. Huffing out a breath, she sat heavily in front of me.

  “Food?” she questioned.

  The waitress appeared, arms loaded down with food.

  �
�Put the meat here.” I indicated the seat next to me. Logan stalked toward her, surprising her from behind. She yelped before scooting away.

  “I hope she comes back with more,” I groaned.

  Thankfully, she brought more and more food to us, until I was certain there couldn’t possibly be any left in the kitchen. When we all had eaten our fill, I asked…

  “What have I missed?”

  Throats cleared. “Are you sure now is the best time for this conversation?” Anna asked.

  I narrowed my gaze. “Yeah, I’d really like to know how I went from shot in front of the courthouse to cut open on a metal table.”

  Logan shifted in his seat. “Zachariah took you from the hospital.”

  “I was having you moved to the mansion,” Anna said.

  “With no security?” I asked, annoyed.

  “I used his brother, Darren.” Anna indicated Logan.

  “Zachariah had his goons there. We got there just in time,” Logan answered, wiping his mouth.

  “You certain it was him?” I asked.

  “He was spotted on the security cameras when you were taken from the hospital,” Logan stated. I could feel his unease.

  “Good enough for me. Is he the one that shot me?” I asked.

  It was Hudson’s turn to shift uncomfortably. “No, I missed a clan of shifters who had gone bat shit crazy in my territory—uh, what was my territory. But don’t worry, we took care of them.”

  I nodded. “Who is taking over the West?” Probably not something I needed to worry about.

  “Alec, Darren is being reinstated in the East.”

  My eyebrows rose. “Glad to hear it.”

  “The Centennial House merged with Zachariah’s House.” My head jerked to Anna, my eyes rounded.

  “Tate did what?” I hissed out.

  “I forgot about that,” Logan muttered. “Zachariah starved them into it.”

  “Starved them into it?” I repeated, slamming my fists on the table.

  “I offered them an alliance, help. Tate refused.” Logan shrugged, yawning. Well fed, he would need to rest now to recover. I could use some sleep myself.

  “Do you have a check?” I asked the waitress, who was watching us from behind the bar.

  She nodded, giving me the total. Someone had Logan’s wallet and dished out the required bills plus tip.