by Eric Vall
“But what about Cupi?” I questioned. “She’s a fallen angel.”
“I’m still a soldier,” the blonde butted in. “The only difference is that I was created in the image of one of the Divine rather than a demon.”
“I thought you said you and Lilith went back before the Revolution?” Todd now seemed completely lost.
“I’m a madame on par with the pimps of Hell,” Sia explained and pointed to the other succubi. “I existed long before either of these two did.”
Suddenly, my mind took me to a dark place.
“Sia,” I asked, “what happens if I die? Will Liby and Cupi survive?”
“We’re never going to find that out!” Cupiditas cut off the redhead before she could respond. “You are our master now, Jacob, and you’re the most badass, loving, and well-endowed guy we could ask for. We’re going to kill the rest of these demons, and we’ll kick the ass of anyone who stands in our way.”
“To Jacob!” Libidine raised a glass of milk into the air.
Sia, Cupi, and Todd all followed her lead.
“To Jacob!” they all said in unison.
“Geez,” I laughed. “I’m glad I can be such a source of inspiration.”
I glanced up at the clock and noticed that we had spent at least an hour in the dining area.
“We’d better get back to the room,” I said as I stood up from the table. “Checkout is at noon, and I still wanted to take a shower before we hit the road.”
“Ohhh!” Liby smiled. “Can we join you?”
“Is that even a question?” I chuckled. “I just found out that our fucking is part of what keeps you alive. I’m going to make sure we do it every chance we get.”
“I love the sound of that,” Cupi purred.
I stood up, tossed a few dollars on the table for whoever was going to clean up this mess, and then made my way to the main door.
The four of us stepped back out into the parking lot, and I was instantly reminded why air conditioning was so important. The heat from the sun was so intense that large waves of hot air danced across the black pavement and bounced up onto our legs. The sensation was enough to make me start sweating profusely in the two seconds I had been exposed.
We made our way back up to our room, threw open the door, and then piled in.
“How can humans live in an environment like this?” Sia panted.
“That’s nothing,” I said as I wiped sweat off my brow. “You should see how it gets in the middle of the summer.”
“What are you talking about?” Todd said as he turned visible once more. “Summer is the best time of the year. A crisp ninety-nine degrees is the perfect temperature to lay out on the deck and work on your tan, bro.”
“Ah yes, I remember those days.” I chuckled. “The Petermans next door didn’t appreciate that you always did it naked, though.”
“Hey, they knew what they were getting into.” Todd shrugged. “If they didn’t like what they saw, they shouldn’t have been checkin’ out the Toddster.”
“Their window was right across from our balcony,” I pointed out.
“No way, bro.” The imp shook his head. “Mrs. Peterman was always out there when I was. She wanted a piece of this sexy beast.”
“Was she a MILF too?” Libidine asked innocently.
“She was sixty years old, so…” I trailed off.
“The point still stands.” Todd wiggled his entire body in victory. “And that was with my old bod. She’d probably cream herself if she saw me now!”
“That’s a mental image I didn’t want or need to see today, or ever,” I gagged.
The imp snickered. “Welcome to my world, bro.”
Todd ran over to one of the beds, launched himself onto the white sheets, and then laid back on the pillow. He fumbled around on the nightstand beside the bed for the TV remote, and then he lit a joint with his red Hellfire powers.
“If you guys are gonna all get busy in the shower, then I’m just gonna wait here and watch some boob tube. I think Secrets of the Loch Ness is on right now,” he said with a relaxed tone.
“Let me just go make sure that thing is big enough for all four of us.” I winked at the succubi.
I tugged my shirt off over my head and tossed it over on our duffel bag. As I did so, I could hear the girls giggling and whispering away to each other. I kicked off my shoes and then made my way to our bathroom.
It may not have been the nicest amenities I’d ever seen, but the bathroom was far cleaner than it had any right to be. The white tile floors were somewhat worn and crumbling, but the perfectly soft red rugs that lined it more than made up for the state of decay. It was obvious that the shower hadn’t been replaced in years, but the owners had fancied it up with a chic red and white curtain.
Bless them for trying.
I walked over to the shower, threw back the curtain, and nearly had a heart attack.
Staring me back from inside the tub were two large, mascara-covered violet eyes. A short, dark-haired woman stood up from her crouching position as a sinister smile spread across her face. The demon woman was about the same size as Superbia and looked just as frail. Her breasts, on the other hand, had to be at least five times the size of the redheaded madame’s. She showed no shame as she stepped out from the lip of the tub, her large nipples and shaved slit bare for all to see.
“Who the fuck are you?” I demanded as I backed away and summoned red Hellfire into my hand.
“My name is Ira,” her deep voice retorted, “or at least, half of Ira.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I took a fighting stance.
The petite, dark-haired succubus seemed to ignore me as she tossed out her left arm, and one of her bones slid out from under her skin into her hand. She ran her other hand over the jagged radial bone, and an enchanted red whip sprouted from its end.
“Who’s ready for some punishment?” the succubus cooed. “I know I am.”
Chapter 12
“What’s the matter?” Ira mocked. “Cat got your tongue in a vice?”
“No,” I huffed. “I’m just thinking about how lame that little bone whip was when Earl used it.”
“This time you will see it used in the hands of a true master!” the dark-haired woman squealed as she lashed out at me with the whip.
I knocked the whip away with a small shield of purple flame, and it ricocheted into the bathroom mirror. Shards of glass sprayed across the tiny room, but I quickly cast an emerald spell to send the deadly projectiles away from me and back at my assailant.
The glass reappeared beside Ira, and the succubus dissolved a few of them with her own blast of red Hellfire. The remaining shards stabbed into the woman’s left arm, and she let out a moan of pure ecstasy.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” She smiled sadistically as she looked down at the glass sticking out of her arm. “Do it more. Please. Beat me like a naughty puppy.”
“Sister Ira.” I heard Sia’s voice say from behind me. “So nice of you to join us.”
“Stay out of this, sisters!” the succubus’ before me snarled as violet eyes grew wild. “This is between the mortal and me. I’m already saddened that you decided to betray our master, but please don’t make me kill you.”
“You’re not going to kill anybody.” Cupiditas laughed. “You’re Ira’s submissive half. Where is the rest of our sister?”
“She had other business to attend to,” Ira scoffed. “It’s actually better this way. Now I get to kill you and I get some fun foreplay out of it.”
Ira unleashed a blast of red Hellfire at me, but Cupiditas caught it with a time-freeze in midair. The evil succubus simply laughed and then summoned a turquoise flame into her left hand. She hurled the ball of fire at me, but I was tackled from behind before I could counteract her spell.
“That’s a new one,” Todd mumbled.
“Turquoise flame is sadism,” Cupi explained from directly on top of me. “Imagine thousands of tiny bugs eating away
at your skin. That’s what would have happened had that connected.”
“Got it,” I said as I flung a snowball-sized blast of Hellfire at Ira.
The attack struck Ira in the chest and sent her flying back into the bathtub. She smashed into the wall, and the impact from her momentum was enough to shatter the fiberglass that ran all the way up the wall. The succubus grinned gleefully as she hopped back onto her feet.
“More, more! Use all your energy next time! I can take it. I want to take it.” Ira gave me a pleading look. “Please, I beg you. I’ve been very bad.” She lashed out with the whip once more, but Sia’s black flame caught the weapon before it could connect with anything. Sia yanked the tendril of fire back and pulled the bone whip along with it. The weapon flew across the room, well out of Ira’s reach, and into Todd’s waiting hands.
“Let’s see how you like a taste of your own medicine!” Todd cackled as he ran past me brandishing the whip in his hand.
“Light her up!” I yelled and unleashed another blast of Hellfire.
“Jacob, wait--” Cupi cried out in horror.
Just before our attack connected, Ira encased herself with a vibrant pink fire.
“Yeeow!” the imp screamed in pain the very moment the tail of the whip cracked into the succubus’ arm.
A second later, my fireball hit dead on target, and as it did, a violent force slammed into me and sent me flying back through the drywall of the motel room. As I laid on the ground, I looked down to see that my skin was charred, and my pants had been completely burned off.
“What the fuck just happened?” I moaned as I tried to shake off the effects of the attack.
“You must use caution when fighting with Sister Ira,” Sia warned as she ran over to me. “She is powerful with mirror spells.”
The redhead summoned golden flame into her hand and touched my chest. Her spell engulfed my entire body, and I was healed back to normal in seconds.
“Mirror spells?” I questioned as I stood to my feet.
I saw Cupiditas’ body get thrown back through the opening of the bathroom door. She simply shook it off and unleashed a beam of blue fire as she walked back toward her target.
“That’s what just happened to you and Todd,” the redhead explained. “Ira can counteract any attack and deflect it back at the caster with her magic. Think of it as turning herself into a life-sized voodoo doll. That’s why we’ve been trying to subdue her, not kill her.”
“Where the hell did she learn that?” I asked as I jogged back over into the action.
“She’s Wrath, Jacob.” Sia clicked her tongue. “It is a quite handy trick to know for her line of work.”
As I rounded the corner, Todd’s impish body flew past my head. I threw up a telekinetic green flame and caught him before he smashed into the wall.
“Oh, oh!” he exclaimed. “Fastball special?”
“Sure thing, bro.” I laughed.
I took a baseball stance, wound up like a pitcher, and tossed my emerald fist forward.
Todd curled up in a ball as his body flew directly toward Ira, who I could see was now grappling with Liby and Cupi. The imp’s cackle resonated throughout the motel room as he rocketed across the bathroom. At the last second, he opened up his body spread-eagle and landed on the succubus’ face.
She let out a blood-curdling scream as she stumbled backward.
“Get this disgusting thing off my face!” she yelled.
“Relax, babe.” Todd laughed as Ira clawed at his body. “It’s not going to suffocate you, I promise.”
Todd’s distraction was enough to give us an opening.
I turned and nodded to Liby, who threw a handful of her yellow Hellfire daggers in my direction. I cast a teleportation spell around the projectiles in mid-flight and sent them directly into Ira’s feet, pinning her to the ground.
Ira let out a muffled sound somewhere between a scream and a moan.
At the same time, Cupi and Sia both unleashed their freezing spells. The blue and black flames danced together as they intertwined to create a dark sapphire.
Todd lept off Ira’s face just as the attack collided with Ira’s body, and the succubus’ petite body went rigid.
“Keep holding her!” I commanded.
I felt the familiar throbbing of my horns, and I knew that it was time to summon my Divine powers to end this bitch once and for all. A brilliant white light surrounded my body, and I could feel my entire being burning with power.
“Jacob, your horns are double the size they used to be!” Sia observed without breaking her spell.
“I’m a grower, not a show-er.” I winked. “Release!”
All three of the succubi let go of their spells, and I sent a giant wave of white light at Ira.
Her eyes widened in terror, and she threw up a spray of turquoise flame to try to counter my spell. The entire bathroom was illuminated by a blinding light for a brief second, and then it returned to its normal state.
I could see that Ira’s counter spell had partially worked, because she was still alive. Of course, she also looked like she had just been run through a blender set to puree.
The succubus’ hair was completely burned off her body, and her mascara ran down her now-charred skin as she cried in pain. Chunks of her flesh were missing from her body, and her left arm was twisted in an awkward position and had a bone jutting out through the wrist. She let out a whimper of agony with each breath she took.
The five of us crowded into the bathroom and surrounded the succubus.
“That--” She coughed. “That was amazing!”
“It’s over, sister.” Sia nodded. “You put up a valiant fight.”
Ira’s violet eyes weakly glanced over at me and saw the giant hole in the crotch of my pants.
“Oh my god,” she gasped. “Please tell me you’re going to bludgeon me to death with that thing. It would be the best death ever.”
“We’re not going to kill you,” Sia reassured her.
“We’re not?” Todd asked in disbelief.
Superbia knelt down beside the charred woman and summoned golden fire into her hand. “Of course not,” she scoffed. “Sister Ira is an old friend of ours, and her dominant half is the most fearsome succubus warrior in Hell’s army. No offense, Cupiditas.”
“None taken.” The blonde shrugged. “Sister Ira is pretty damn terrifying.”
“So we’re just going to heal her up and let her go?” Todd asked. “That sounds no bueno.”
“That’s exactly what we are going to do, Todd,” Sia said with a sigh. “I know you are running on adrenaline right now, but you have to trust me on this.”
“What do you think, Jacob?” Libidine asked. “We will do whatever you decide is right.”
“I think we should fry this bitch like chicken giblets!” Todd exclaimed before I could respond to Liby.
“Chicken giblets?” I asked.
“Yeah bro,” Todd confirmed. “What do you think chicken nuggets are made out of? That shit’s delicious.”
“We’re not going to murder her.” I shook my head back and forth. “Why is this even a question? Let her go free.”
“Wait.” Cupi grabbed the redhead’s hand by the wrist before Sia could touch Ira. “How did you know where to find us, sister?”
“I have my sources,” she said with a surprisingly content chuckle. “Heal me, and I’ll tell you.”
Cupi released her madame’s hand, and Sia passed her glowing fire over Ira’s wounds. As she did so, the melted flesh molded back into its regular shape and returned to its original peach skin tone. Once the petite, black-haired succubus had been healed, Sia released her spell and stood back up.
I reached down toward Ira, and she cautiously accepted my hand. I pulled her back to her feet, but then she took a few steps back in caution.
“I appreciate what you did for me today,” she confessed “especially the rough foreplay.” She raised a finger. “But this changes nothing. I am still loyal to the King of
the Fourth Circle as is my dominant half. The next time we meet, you’ll get to feel her wrath.”
“What about your promise just now?” Cupi reminded the succubus.
A sly smile slid up Ira’s face. “Very well. I’ll give you a hint.”
The dark-haired succubus quickly summoned a ball of turquoise flames into both of her hand. She hurled one of the fireballs at me, and the other found its mark on the ground below.
I was able to throw up my purple barrier to block the attack, but I quickly realized it wasn’t aimed at me at all. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ira’s dark hair as it fell through the newly made hole in the floor.
The five of us ran over and peered into the opening.
We could see into the bedroom area of the room below us. On disheveled white sheets sat a bunch of older-looking books and a familiar goat-headed dagger. On the coat rack sat one of the navy blue robes that Azazel’s followers were known for wearing.
One of these fuckers had been watching us.
I heard the clomping of footsteps below us, followed by the slamming of a door.
“Oh no, you don’t, asshole.” I spat as I ran toward the main area of our room. I threw open the door and saw a scruffy-looking blond man making a break for it across the parking lot.
“Wait, Jakey!” Todd’s disembodied voice warned as I stepped out onto the main balcony. “People will see your magic.”
“Mortals can’t see the telekinetic flames, remember?” I explained as I reached out my right arm.
“That’s why we pay you the big bucks, bossman.”
I summoned emerald fire into my hands and then blasted it across the pavement. It struck the man in mid-stride, and he was halted in his tracks by my spell. Before he could mount any sort of counter-spell, I threw up my other hand, encased the side of the dining building with another spell and collapsed it down onto the fucker’s head.
The cultist let out a scream, but it was quickly muffled by the debris that covered his body.
A few good Samaritans who must have been enjoying their breakfast ran out to help, but it was no use. Try as they might, they couldn’t lift the debris off the cultist, at least as long as my spell was holding the debris down on this asshole until he suffocated.
