Incubus Inc. 3

by Randi Darren

  And the last was that both the corpse and a descendant were on hand.

  A presence joined them and quickly solidified itself in the severed head. Resting comfortably in it, much as it likely felt during its life.

  “What?” asked a voice from the remains. “Where— who are you?”

  “That doesn’t matter. Luke, we have some really simple questions for you,” Sam said.

  “Luke? It’s been a while… since someone called me Luke,” said Luke in an odd tone.

  “Uh-huh. So, Luke. You got to the Hub,” said Sam, trying to get straight at the heart of it. “I need to find out where it is. The Silent One is ruining the world ever further and it’s only getting worse. I need to get to the Hub before he does.”

  There was a squeak sound from Luke. As if he’d stopped breathing and was holding his breath.

  “I can’t tell you,” Luke said after several seconds. “Even if you try to force it from me through this summoning. Or threaten me or my soul. I literally cannot tell you. I can’t answer any questions about what you’re asking. Not in any way, shape, or form.”

  “Can’t?” Aster asked, peering at the skull.

  There was another pause, as if Luke were orienting himself toward Aster to consider her.

  “Yes. Even for you who were once Zeus, I can’t,” Luke replied. “I must thank you for the great favor and luck in battle you bestowed upon me, then apologize that I cannot assist you.”

  Aster looked surprised at his words, but didn’t immediately respond.

  “Did finding the Hub limit your ability to talk about it?” asked Erv, hunched down in a squat in front of the head.

  “I can’t discuss that,” Luke said. “Nor can I answer hypothetical questions about it.”

  “Certainly, certainly,” Erv said in an offhand way. “Hey, I want to discuss a deal with you. But to talk to you about it, I need you to swear to me that you’re currently not operating under any existing deals at this time. Can you swear that to me?”

  After a long pause, Luke finally replied, “No, I cannot swear that to you.”

  “Right,” Erv said, then turned and looked up at Sam. “In other words, he found the Hub. But something that he found there is preventing him from discussing it. That’d make sense in a way.

  “If I set up a place of power that could mold and change the world, I’d want it kept secret. Secret even to those who found it. Maybe Luke made a promise not only to not discuss it, but his freedom, perhaps his very existence, hinges on making sure he doesn’t discuss it.

  “I mean… the people involved with the Hub are the very same who made the entirety of reality, right? It isn’t that far-fetched.”

  Sam could only slowly nod his head as the logic of her statement settled into his thoughts. It would indeed make perfect sense, regardless of the position where your train of thoughts began.

  Whoever made Hub, would have indeed put in safeguards. Preventing those who find it from discussing it with others, would most certainly be a safeguard any reasonable person would want.

  Considering that only two people had found the Hub based on what Sam found in the Log, it would seem those safeguards were working quite well. The protections in place for the Hub were doing their job.

  “Did anyone else ask you about the Hub? Anyone else summon you back like this?” Wren asked in a gruff voice. She looked a bit paler than she had a few minutes ago.

  While Sam had supplied the Essence to build the summoning, as well as the sigil work itself, that wasn’t the only cost. Wren was also paying a cost which was directly tied to her Essence and stamina.

  The blood Wren had contributed bound her to Luke and Luke to her in return.

  She was acting as the bridge between the living world and the afterlife and that was slowly costing her.

  “Yes,” Luke said with a smirk in his voice. “Some petulant little woman did. She was very angry at my unwillingness to answer her questions.

  “Except she didn’t call me Luke. She addressed me by my Human name. She didn’t know who I was. Only that my soul wasn’t normal and it had clearly been marked after I left Hell. I would imagine she figured it out afterward, though I have no idea when.”

  Sam raised his eyebrows at that.

  That meant that Skipper had indeed called Luke over from the other side, but had done so without his body being present. She’d more than likely done it through the Silent One’s power from being the only Overgod at the moment.

  “Human name?” Aster asked, sounding rather curious. “And what was your name? You knew who I was. You’re buried in my homeland. But I don’t know you. You were not buried in this earth while I ruled.”

  “Human name, yes. I took on a Human persona after arriving here from Hell. I had conquered the underworld, and wished to conquer this world,” said Luke. “I took over the body of a young boy who’d died in the night and did as I did. Tonight is not a night to retell my story. Regardless of the door wanting to be opened by you knocking at it.

  “Though I’m glad to see some of my descendants have survived me. It is doubly amusing to see that you carry my lineage through this form. You’re flesh of when I was Human, but you carry my Demonic side as well. So delightful.

  “It’s always pleasant to know one’s line has been carried on. Now… it’s time to separate this calling, young one. You grow weaker. Break the calling to me, scion of Fir and Argead. The afterlife calls to me and I must go about my work. Hell needs The Devil.”

  “Thank you for your assistance,” Sam said and then tugged one of the papers free of the square. Instantly, the spell was disrupted and Luke was cast back to Hell.

  To torture and punish sinners as any Demon would.

  “He seemed pompous,” Wren said in a growl.

  “Ha, he has a right to be,” Aster said with a laugh. “I mean, given who he was.”

  Wren shrugged at that and then picked up the skull. Looking into the hole, she casually tossed it in. The body part landed upside down in the sarcophagus, but in the right spot.

  “A Demon. One who was apparently responsible for creating Cambion,” rumbled Wren.

  “And who conquered Hell. Then came to the prime material plane after finding the Hub, and conquered the world before him,” Aster said.

  Erv lifted a hand and used the elemental water that’d been hovering off to the side to reposition the head. Then she closed the sarcophagus and the coffin lid.

  Finally, she used the dirt she had previously set aside to refill the hole in the ground.

  “You know him as Alexander the Great, of the Argead dynasty,” said Aster with a slow nod of her head. “He was a favorite of mine. Up until he started worshiping gods who weren’t of my pantheon. Worshiping even himself.

  “In the end, I didn’t care for him creating a mythos around himself. That he was a descendant of mine was certainly not true. I’ve had no children through the entirety of my existence.

  “Because of those actions, I didn’t come to aid him after that nor did I interfere on his behalf. Then the Fates got annoyed at him and ended his life.”

  Oh.

  Huh.

  Interesting, to say the least, but it hasn’t given me much in the way of any help, has it?

  Frowning, Sam stroked his chin with his fingers. Then a sudden thought popped into being.

  Wait. He went to the Hub, then came here. He said his soul had been marked after that.

  That… means… the Hub is somewhere in Hell?

  I suppose Luke gave us what information he could.

  The Hub is accessible from Hell, and from there, he came to the prime.

  It was the last thing he did in Hell before coming to the prime. Which means we can try to trace his last steps and work from there. Or so my thinking tells me.

  I’ll have to run it by Irma, Irene, and Caer to get their opinions.

  ***

  Tapping ever so lightly against the door to Irene’s apartment, Sam waited. There was no way he was goin
g to barge in on them. When he’d left after making Caer’s body, they had very quickly settled into a pattern of feeding and passing the babies back and forth.

  As if it were a very normal everyday thing, rather than something they had just started.

  Except given what they went through… there’s no way they’ll give up the kids. Unless I plan on making myself scarce in Irene and Caer’s lives, I’m going to need to make sure I get myself situated now. I need to make sure they know I want to be part of… part of Carla, Nannie and Valeria’s lives.

  Because I want to be part of Irene and Caer’s lives, and—

  Before Sam could finish the thought, the door opened.

  Caer stood before him.

  A woman in her early twenties with dark hair and mismatched eyes. One dark blue, one light blue. The opposite of what Irene’s were.

  She was beautiful and finely-featured, with a body that very closely matched Irene’s. She’d been the one to design both, after all. She was wearing a maternal top very similar to Irene’s and a pair of sweatpants.

  Seeing her up close, he was once again reminded of how eerily similar Irene and Caer now looked. Especially when she was clearly wearing Irene’s clothes.

  “Ooh, hello there,” Caer greeted him in a purring voice. She gave him a wide smile, reached out, and grabbed him by the front of his clothes. Pulling him into the apartment, she closed the door behind him. “Did you come to see your wives or your daughters? Perhaps both?”

  “Indeed, both,” Sam said, being reminded in this moment that regardless of how strong he made Caer, she was a Lich that had Witch powers. Whereas Irene was a Witch with Lich powers. She could strengthen herself considerably.

  “Well, the girls are all sleeping. We filled them all to the point of bursting, changed their diapers, and put them down for a nap,” Caer said, her fingers still curled into Sam’s clothes. Then she turned and started leading him toward the bedroom.

  The two-headed soul of Irene and Caer popped in at that moment.

  “Oh!” Irene’s soul said and smiled at him.

  “Husband!” said Caer’s soul.

  “All is well,” they said in unison at the same time.

  “Though, Irene is sleeping,” said Caer’s soul. “As are the babies.”

  “I think I’ll wake up in about thirty minutes or so. I’m just taking a nap,” added Irene’s soul. “Tired after all the breast feeding. They drained both of us. Our hungry babies.”

  Caer’s soul nodded in agreement to that.

  Sam nodded his head as well while Caer pulled him along.

  “That means it’s time for you to woo me accordingly,” Caer said. “You get to help me break in my new body.”

  Given the power of her soul, and that she was indeed technically a virgin, he imagined she’d be very delicious.

  Except as soon as he had the thought, his mind caught up with his libido.

  No. We can’t feed from her directly.

  Passively, yes. But not directly.

  Never on first times with my ladies. Never when I’m showing them how much I care.

  Realizing in that moment that he wanted to make love to Caer quite tenderly, Sam let go of all the plans he had to string her out.

  Reaching up, he took her hand in his own.

  “Let’s go then and I’ll show you how much I care for you, my Caer,” Sam said, deliberately changing the tone of the conversation. He didn’t want her to misunderstand.

  “How bold of you,” Caer’s soul said in a throaty whisper. “I love it. Claim me warmly. Love me tenderly like this forever and I’ll make sure you never go to bed hungry.”

  Thirty - Roll the Dice -

  Caer led him to the second bedroom that until today had been storage for Irene.

  The two of them had decided that while they didn’t mind sleeping together, it would be awkward for one to be present if Sam visited the other. They were as close as sisters and had a deep and profound care for one another, but it wasn’t romantic at any level.

  “The babies are all with Irene right now in the main bedroom, so we have to use the twin bed,” Caer said and closed the door behind Sam after he entered. “Sorry. It was just easier to leave the bedside cribs in the main bedroom.”

  “Don’t be sorry, you’re caring for—” Sam felt his tongue lock in place on the word “your”. He’d thankfully saved himself from a world of pain. Caer had moved over to stand near the twin bed as he spoke. “Caring for our daughters. They’ve gone through something traumatic and lost their families. Families they’ll never know.

  “I imagine they require a great deal of care and love, right now. You and your sister are doing a wonderful job of handling them.”

  As he talked, Sam had taken Caer in hand. With smooth movements, he quickly slid the shirt she was wearing down from her shoulders. With barely more effort than it took to pull a tissue free, he caught the waistband of her pants along with her bunched up shirt and sent them both to the ground.

  Caer hadn’t been wearing underwear of any sort and was now standing in front of Sam in her birthday suit.

  A birthday suit that he’d personally crafted for her not long ago at her direction and from his memory.

  Even then, he couldn’t help but feel incredibly attracted to her. He really did want to bed Caer.

  “It’s like you’re devouring us with your eyes,” Caer’s soul said quietly.

  “It’s how he looks at our Irene body. He really does care for us both,” Irene’s soul said in response.

  Taking the wide-eyed Caer by the shoulder, Sam slowly guided her down to a sitting position on the edge of the bed. Using his other hand, he casually dismissed his clothes in his usual preferred method.

  “I… should I use my mouth or did you w—”

  Before Caer could finish her question, her eyes focused on his member in front of her. Then Sam eased her down onto the bed, laying her back on the mattress.

  “Next time, my Caer,” Sam said in a quiet voice. He was already deep in her psyche now and was easily pulling out her desires. Her wants.

  In her life, Caer had not been a good person, on any level or by any consideration.

  She had been as close to a Demon as a mortal could ever actually be, causing the deaths of numerous people. An untold number that could very likely approach and humble even those who committed war crimes.

  Only after being killed by Irene, having her soul torn free, and having it forcefully merged with Irene’s, had Caer changed. Irene’s actions had irrevocably changed who Caer was.

  Except that she was, of course, the same woman in a way. She was still the Lich who had brought misery to a great many.

  She knew this, knew her evils, and that she likely didn’t deserve the treatment she was getting. Being loved by Sam was more than she deserved.

  The kindness of Irene, treating Caer as a sister, letting her soul remain rather than researching how to tear it free, and pushing Sam to give her a body, were all things she shouldn’t have a claim to.

  Her entire existence at this moment was not hers by right and she knew it.

  Caer was filled with regret, fear, and a great deal of trepidation.

  All she wanted right now was tenderness, but she also wanted it forced upon her. Because she wouldn’t be able to accept it otherwise.

  Taking Caer’s hands in his own, he pulled them up above her head. Using a thin strand of Essence, he tied them together, binding them atop one another. Then he locked them both to the mattress.

  “I… Sammy, what’re you doing?” Caer asked, her voice coming out with a slight quaver.

  “I’m going to love you, Caer. Love you and show you tenderness,” Sam said, letting his hands and fingers glide down her arms. “Should I give you a child today? A fourth?”

  “Heavens, yes,” squealed Irene’s and Caer’s souls at the exact same time.

  “N-no. I don’t… want to neglect Valeria or Nannie. They’re… they’re our daughters,” said Caer in a vo
ice that was little better than a whisper. “Carla is Irene’s. Nannie and Valeria are mine. If you give me another child, I might neglect them. Later, yes. Now, no.”

  How responsible.

  How motherly.

  Sam laid his left hand on Caer’s cheek and cupped it, his thumb gently trailing along her eyebrow. His right hand drifted down across her chest. Casually fondling her full breasts.

  “Don’t… squeeze me,” whimpered Caer. “Caress me, but don’t squeeze. I… leak easily. Milk? Heavens, I don’t know how to say it and I’m so nervous.”

  Sam grinned and did just that, squeezing Caer’s breast just enough to cause milk to express from her nipple in several droplets.

  At the same time, Sam had eased between Caer’s legs. His hips now pressed against the inside of her thighs and his tip dug at her pubic mound.

  “No,” moaned Caer, gazing up at him with heavily lidded eyes. “Stop it. That’s… for my girls.”

  Leaning his head down, Sam dragged his tongue across the nipple and then left it alone. The taste reminded him of melted ice cream.

  “Such a womanly figure. Lovely motherly assets,” Sam said as his right hand stroked her waist. “Your hips are so wide and wonderful. I bet you could birth children easily with such a body. I look forward to it.”

  He was deliberately going after the image she was currently associating herself with. Motherhood.

  It was a positive aspect in her mentality.

  Then Sam shifted his hips and maneuvered his tip down to her entry, then pushed forward. His manhood started to enter her and got partially stuck.

  Caer was tight and only partly moistened so far. She hadn’t been expecting him to show up when he had.

  Drawing back, then moving forward again, Sam was able to enter her fully. Getting himself into her up to the hilt and firmly lodged inside her.

  “Unnnnnn, Sammy,” groaned Caer deeply.

  Grinning, Sam moved upward and leaned backward. It gave him a spectacular view of the beautiful woman beneath him.

  Still holding her cheek, Sam began to slowly thrust in and out of her. His other hand casually stroked from her hip, up to her breast, and back. His fingers moved lovingly across her smooth, warm skin.