“What are you looking at?” the woman asked with a scowl.
“You,” Anthony stated bluntly, causing her to blush. He smiled. “I was just wondering what I should call you. Do you have a name? Or should I keep calling you assassin?”
She didn’t speak at first, but after a moment, she said, “Brianna. You can call me Brianna.”
“No last name?” asked Anthony.
Brianna shook her head. “I do not have one.”
Anthony nodded as they turned a corner, moved aside to avoid several people walking in the opposite direction, and then merged together again. They walked shoulder to shoulder for a time before he spoke once more.
“I’ve heard most War Maidens of Custodes Daemonium are orphans they picked up.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Is it the same with you?”
“You’re asking some awfully personal questions.” Brianna frowned at him. “What makes you think I’m going to answer you?”
“I’m just trying to make conversation,” Anthony said.
“Getting to know your enemy?”
“Sure. Let’s go with that.”
Their conversation stopped after that, but it didn’t matter because they had reached Academy Island Hospital for Magical Catastrophes. While Brianna looked up and read the sign, Anthony walked straight through the automatic doors, which led into a large waiting room with chairs, tables, and even a place for children to play, though no one was using it right now. There were a few people sitting in the chairs, but Anthony ignored them as he walked up to the front desk.
“Afternoon, Clarissa,” Anthony said to the woman who sat behind the desk. She was moderately pretty, with dark brown hair drawn into a bun near the top of her head, dark skin, and violet eyes. Her eyes contained a glow that couldn’t be found on a human, and when she smiled, Anthony noticed her sharp fangs.
“Anthony, here to see your brother again?”
“Of course.”
“You’ve come here every day for the last year since he was admitted here. That’s very admirable of you.” As she spoke, Clarissa turned to look at Brianna, raised a single eyebrow, and looked back at him with a sly smile. “Are you planning to introduce your brother to your new girlfriend?”
“That’s an awfully funny joke,” Anthony said without laughing. “This is just a friend I made at school. Her name is Brianna. No last name apparently. I’m hoping that maybe having someone new around will cause him to react.”
Clarissa’s smile turned sad. Meanwhile, Brianna was giving Anthony a strange look, making him wonder if she was upset about his lie or if she was staring at him for another reason. He did his best to ignore it either way.
“Okay.” Clarissa typed on her computer, then glanced at him. “I’ve added you to our visitors list, so you and your friend are free to visit your brother. I hope…” Clarissa hesitated for a moment before continuing. “I hope your brother has a positive reaction toward your friend.”
“Me too,” Anthony said as he turned around and walked away from the desk. After a moment of standing there in indecision, Brianna followed him.
“What was that about? Your brother is in this hospital?” asked Brianna as they walked down a white hall. There were several men and women in lab coats walking down it as well. Some of them carried a strong scent of anti-sceptics that made Anthony’s nose wrinkle.
Anthony nodded. “My brother has been here since we first came to Academy Island.”
“For what? Is he sick?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
Anthony didn’t say anymore on the subject, and while it was clear from the expression on her face that she wanted to ask, Brianna stopped talking too. She would learn about it soon anyway when she saw his brother.
They took an elevator to the third floor, which was emptier than the first. The third floor was dedicated to more serious injuries and incurable diseases. Since there weren’t as many people suffering from this kind of problem, there were less doctors present, though that did make the halls feel a lot more empty.
Anthony led Brianna to a room numbered 343, which opened when he stepped in front of it. He walked inside. The room that spread out before him was not big, about the same size as the bedroom in his apartment, but it was a lot nicer than his room. There wasn’t much furniture, but it did contain several potted plants that added color to the room, a window on the far side, and a bed with three padded chairs next to it.
The bed was not a typical bed. It looked more like a giant cryotube with a bed placed inside of it. Medical equipment was hooked up to the bed, including a heart rate monitor, a mana meter that showed fluctuations in a person’s mana levels, and an oxygen tank. The oxygen tank had a long clear tube that traveled from it to the cryotube. A soft whirring sound emitted from it, mixing with the beeps and thrum from the other equipment.
Lying on the bed was a boy several years younger than Anthony, with similar pale skin and facial features, though the boy’s face was a lot fuller than his own. His eyes were closed. He wore a patience smock. As Anthony walked over to one of the chairs and sat down, he saw that the young boy’s chest rose and fell at even intervals. He supposed the fact that his brother was still breathing was a good sign.
“Hey, Calvin,” Anthony said with a soft smile. “It looks like you haven’t changed since the last time I saw you. Still… still sleeping. I’ve got quite the story to share with you today. You won’t believe what happened to me the other night after I left the hospital.”
As Anthony regaled his younger brother with the tale of how Brianna had attacked him, the woman in question sat down in one of the chairs, though she sat with a chair between her and Anthony. She looked at his younger brother for a moment. Then she looked at him. Her expression was… odd. He couldn’t quite figure out what kind of expression she was making, but then she looked away before he could observe her further.
Anthony didn’t just tell Calvin about Brianna’s attack on him. He also told the younger boy about what he learned in college that day, his essay on magical maladies and how to treat them, and his conversation with Secilia. Brianna had perked up at the mention of his friend. However, she didn’t say anything about it.
“I didn’t realize incubus could have brothers,” she said when he finished speaking.
“Why is that so surprising?” asked Anthony.
“Because everyone knows that incubus are destruction incarnate.” Brianna crossed her arms. It had the effect of pushing out her breasts, but Anthony tried not to think about that. “Incidents involving incubus have been well-documented by Custodes Daemonium. Incubus do not have relatives. They arrive in our world through unknown means, create a Magic Catastrophe so destructive it doesn’t even have a ranking, and then disappear as if they were a ghost. The only thing we know about incubus is that, aside from being considered one of the most magically powerful creatures in existence, they always have a harem of equally powerful women by their side.”
Everything Brianna said lined up with what he knew about incubus as well, which he learned from Professor Incanscino. It didn’t surprise him that Custodes Daemonium had information on incubus. He couldn’t remember when that organization had been formed, but he believed they were first created sometime in the late 15th or 16th century.
“I can’t say anything about other incubus, but I wasn’t born this way.” Anthony rubbed the back of his neck as he talked. “I was actually born human.”
Brianna narrowed her eyes. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
“Humans cannot turn into magical creatures on their own,” Brianna lectured him with a stern frown. “They can only do so with the help of a powerful demon. Vampires for example. A vampire can turn a human into a ghoul or even another vampire if they so choose. However, vampires are one of the few creatures in the entire world that have this power—and they can’t turn humans into incubus.”
“I didn’t say anything about a vampire doing this to me.” Anthony was
silent for a moment as he shifted his gaze to Calvin. “Me and my brother… we grew up in a war-torn part of the Americas. Our parents died when we were young, so I did my best to fend for us both, scavenging for food, fighting off demons and humans alike. One day, we were attacked by a powerful vampire and his gang. We would have died that day if Lilith hadn’t saved us.”
“Lilith?!” Brianna squawked as her eyes grew so wide and round they looked like they might pop out of her head. “You know Lilith?! The Lilith?! One of the Four Succubus Queens?! The Queen of Accadia?! The most powerful Succubus in the entire world?!”
“Yes,” Anthony said simply. “She rescued me and my brother from the vampire, and then made me her bondmate at my request.” Brianna sucked in a breath. “I became a part of her harem. Me and my brother began traveling alongside Lilith and her harem. Since you seem to know about Lilith, I’m guessing you know about her harem?”
“I-I do.” Brianna took a shaky breath and composed herself. “If I’m not mistaken, Lilith had thirteen bondmates in her harem. It’s recorded as the highest number of bondmates any succubus has ever had. No other succubus, not even the other three queens, have that many bondmates.”
“You certainly know your stuff,” Anthony said with an approving nod. “Yes, Lilith had thirteen bondmates in her harem, and I was one of them. The last one, in fact. It was… odd, but strangely satisfying. I was part of a group, and all of them treated me and my brother well, just like we were a member of their family. Well, Dominique kind of hated me, but he was an ass and hated everyone anyway. In either event, we all got along well, and I had a great time, but…” He sighed. “I’m sure you know our time together didn’t last.”
“The Lilith Incident,” Brianna said with a nod.
“Right. The Lilith Incident.” Anthony leaned back and placed his hands on his knees, clenching them into fists. “We were attacked by Cane. I’m not sure what he wanted. I think he was in love with Lilith and wanted her for himself, but I don’t really know. In either event, Cane attacked Lilith and we fought back. The battle was… devastating.”
Anthony closed his eyes as visions filled his mind. The scent of smoke, the sight of mana leaking everywhere, of spells flying all around, and of the haunting laughter of Cane as he slaughtered his way through Lilith’s bondmates like they were simple flesh and he was a laser scalpel caused him to shudder. Even now, he sometimes had nightmares about that battle.
“I won’t go into too much detail, but at the very end of the battle, Lilith had managed to successfully defeat Cane by creating that black hole everyone likes to talk about.”
“But wasn’t that black hole caused by…” Brianna trailed off when Anthony shook his head.
“It wasn’t caused by the backlash of their magic clashing like everyone else believes,” Anthony said. “Lilith created that black hole and sucked Cane inside.” He frowned for a moment. “That black hole is one of Lilith’s special attacks. It’s her trump card, if you will. It should have disappeared after it ran out of mana, but it hasn’t gone away for some reason. I’m not sure why.”
Brianna frowned at him, but Anthony had no answer he could provide. The power Lilith had used to defeat Cane was one of her most powerful magics. It was also the magic she had acquired after bonding with him. He wondered if he could use that magic now that he was an incubus, but he dared not try it since that sort of magic consumed too much mana.
“In either event, despite managing to defeat Cane, I was mortally wounded during the battle. I don’t quite remember exactly what happened. Everything was so blurry I could barely see straight, but I remember Lilith holding me close to her. She said something to me, and then kissed me. I blacked out after that.” Anthony took in a deep breath, ignoring the scent of antiseptics as he tried to recall that time. “When I woke up, I was in a hospital, my brother was in a magical coma, and I was no longer human.” He paused, then continued in a much softer voice as he stared at Brianna. “I don’t know what Lilith did to me, but I’m almost certain I became an incubus because she gave her life in exchange for mine.”
No more words were spoken in that hospital room. The silence stretched on, the sky darkened, and Anthony decided it was time to leave. He’d been there long enough.
Brianna followed him out of the hospital without complaint. It was dark out. Well, the sun was down. It was still fairly bright because of all the city lights, but there weren’t many people roaming the street at this time. The two of them walked along in silence for a while as they made their way to the maglev station. As they did, Brianna finally asked him a question.
“I learned earlier today that you attend college,” she began. “Is the reason because of your brother? I noticed his mana fluctuations had flatlined, yet his heart rate was normal.”
“You catch on quick.” Anthony released a deep breath, then smiled. “Yeah. My brother is in some kind of a magical coma, though it’s a bit more complicated than that. None of the doctors have been able to figure out what’s wrong with him. His brain activity is fine. His heart rate is normal. All of his vitals are functioning as they should. However, he has absolutely no mana inside of him according to the scans. Every living being generates mana, so it shouldn’t be possible for him to have none, unless…”
“Unless he was dead,” Brianna said.
“Bingo.”
They continued on, and Anthony could now see the maglev station up ahead. He glanced at Brianna again. Was she planning to follow him home?
“I promised myself that I would cure Calvin no matter the cost,” Anthony continued. “That is why I won’t let you kill me.”
Brianna said nothing, but the look in her wide eyes, which glimmered like binary stars, said more than enough.
It had been a late night at the engineering department and Secilia was just now on her way home. She sat on the maglev’s bench and stared at the station as it came into view, her mind wandering all over the place. She wondered what Anthony was doing. Probably visiting his brother. That was what he always did after school. A sigh escaped her lips. Maybe it was wrong, but she was quite jealous of that comatose younger brother of his.
Her thoughts scattered as the maglev pulled into the station and slowed to a stop, vibrating only slightly as the magnetic clamps attached to the tracks. The doors slid open. Secilia stood up and made her way outside along with a few other late night stragglers getting home from either a day of work or a night of drinking.
She stepped onto the maglev station. The maglev began moving again as she walked away. Just as she was about to leave the station, she turned back to look at the maglev as it left—and then she froze. Her eyes widened. It was only for an instant, but in that single second, she could have sworn she saw Anthony standing by the window. That wouldn’t have been an issue since he usually took this maglev because it stopped at a station near his house. However, something about this time was different.
Someone was with him.
“Who is that girl?” Secilia asked herself as a soft breeze blew her hair.
Unfortunately, there was no one who could answer her.
Chapter 3
Beep! Beep! Beep! Bee—
Anthony slammed his hand onto the alarm clock, shutting the blasted thing off before sitting up in bed and stretching out his arms. He groaned when his bones popped. After making sure all the stiffness was worked out of his limbs, Anthony stumbled out of bed and into the shower.
As he stood under the hot spray of water, he recalled the events of last night, how Brianna had not killed him even though she had the perfect opportunity, and how they had parted ways with her saying she needed some time to think and would likely come back soon. He rested his forehead against the warm tiles as fog swirled around him. Tiny drops of water pelted his back. It felt nice and helped him think. Anthony didn’t know how long or short “soon” was, but he was hoping it meant she would be gone forever.
His heart couldn’t handle an assassin trying to kill him.
Antho
ny got dressed after he finished taking a shower, wandered into his living room, and flipped on the holographic TV before making breakfast. It was another simple packaged meal. This time he was having french toast sticks. He sat on the couch, dipped his french toast sticks into the syrup it came with, and chewed thoughtfully as he watched the news.
“And it looks like there’s been another attack committed by rogue demons. This time, the demons attacked another Nametech facility. Many people have speculated that the reason they are attacking Nametech is because they are after the company’s prosthetics, though no one knows why they want them. A new rumor cropped up recently that Nametech may be involved in illegal cloning. Of course, this is nothing more than a simple rumor and does not explain why the rogue demons would bother attacking the company’s. Once again, the Academy Island Private Security Forces managed to put a stop to the attack before any damage could be done.”
“There’s been a lot of rogue demon attacks,” Anthony mumbled around a mouthful of french toast. “I wonder what all of them are doing here…”
A knock at the door suddenly interrupted Anthony’s thoughts. He looked at the gray door with a small frown, wondering who could possibly be knocking on his door at this time of day. Very few people he was acquainted with knew where he lived. In fact, only Professor Incanscino knew where he lived because she had been the one who set him up with this apartment, and he couldn’t see her coming to visit him at all. Like at all at all. Since Anthony did not get any guests, not ever, he could not stop suspicion from creeping into his gut.
He stood up, walked over, and paused at the door, frowning as he wondered if he should answer it. Matters were taken out of his hands when, whoever was on the other end, knocked again. Then a somewhat familiar and feminine voice spoke up.
“Anthony? I know you’re standing in front of the door. Hurry and open up. I need to speak with you.”
Gawking as he heard the voice, Anthony opened the door and stared at the person on the other end. She was wearing jeans that conformed to her long and beautiful legs like a second skin. They were tight and wrapped around her well-developed hips. He noticed the combat boots on her feet. A white shirt stretched across her large chest. The hem was lifted slightly, which meant he could see her black battle suit underneath. She’d thrown a jacket over the ensemble. Her red hair was the same as last night, descending to her back in thick and glossy curls, framing her delicate face with its small nose, soft lips, and vibrant eyes. She still had her music case strapped to her back. It was like she’d never taken it off.
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