Succubus Rescue (The Accidental Necromancer Book 3)

by JG Jerome

  I look to my elven zombie, “Lara, please translate to ensure the subtleties aren’t missed.”

  She nods, and I start speaking to the healer. “Leonore, there are approximately one hundred of your people on the ninth floor that are exhausted from torture and sexual abuse. Clarice and Marissa will escort you downstairs, so you and your staff can help them however you are able. They will leave you there, and my zombies will guard the door from intrusion.”

  Leonore nods her understanding before responding. “What is to happen to me and my people?”

  I tell her, “I’m not certain. By the time I’m done, I expect that all of your people that survive will be on the ninth floor or here. I don’t know what to do with you, but you will survive so long as you don’t try to harm me or mine.” She looks to Lara to translate.

  Leonore asks, “Are you moving up or down?”

  “Up,” I tell her.

  She accuses, “So you’ve killed nearly two thousand of my people already?”

  “Yes,” I confirm without flinching. “If you and your staff had tried to fight, you would be dead, too.”

  She looks at me, assessing me. “Why leave us alive?”

  I stare into her eyes as I form an answer. “I...don’t wish your people harm, Leonore. However, I will not stand by when they hurt my people. I will not idly stand by while they plan my race’s extinction. I can’t help but think that despite all of your people’s failings, they are not all that different from mine. There are good ones. There are bad ones. Try as my people might, they will not eradicate all the elven people from our planet. It might be worthwhile having a group of elven healers to tend to those that need it without repercussion. If there had been, then maybe Lara would still be ‘Ilara’en’ with her soul intact rather than just her empty body.”

  Lenore says with defeat in her voice, “So we would be your slaves?”

  Lara spats back in Elvish. Lenore’s surprise is evident as Lara chews her ass out there for everyone to hear.

  When they are both quiet, I continue. “I don’t keep slaves, Lenore. I need to find a sanctuary for the…‘pleasure slaves?’” She nods. “...the pleasure slaves downstairs. I don’t have a solution for them or you. If you hurt my family or friends, I will end you. Otherwise, you will not be harmed, nor will you be slaves. That’s all I can tell you for now. Maybe we can devise a solution later, but I need to get upstairs and try to rescue my friend. Pardon me.”

  Lenore says, “If you mean the succubus, you are too late. Valya killed her. I left in disgust as soon as I was dismissed from the theater of it all.”

  Clarice wails. I pull her into a hug. “You and Lara get to finish her, my girl. I’ll try desperately to leave enough of her for you both to strike her.”

  Leonore says, “She has three full squads of her elite on duty. They all have the collars for speed, strength, and healing. She has the two remaining senior magicians with her. You are the necromancer she has been expecting?”

  I nod as one of the ladies still on the floor spats up at Lenore. I pull her soul out and absorb it.

  “She may expect my arrival, but she’s about to have her expectations dashed,” I murmur. After a moment, I call out, “Marissa!”

  6

  Babette

  “Yes, husband,” Marissa responds.

  “Please take Leonore and her staff down to the brothel. Join us when you are finished,” I tell her as she slides in for a hug. I kiss her gently.

  “This way, Leonore. I’m Marissa, one of William’s wives,” she says as she leads the healer and her staff away. I drop the energy blade from the doorway, so they can pass safely.

  Monty looks at me. “You’re married to all of them? Are you crazy?”

  I look right back at him. “I’d be crazy not to. You ready?”

  “Shi-it,” he exclaims. He shrugs and says, “Sure, let’s go kill some more bad people.”

  I look down at the remaining people on the floor. “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you all right now.”

  An elven woman looks up at me and spews hate in her native tongue. Lara looses a three-round burst into her head.

  A young elfin boy raises his hand. I tell him, “Do your best.”

  He looks up with tears in his eyes. “Sir, I don’t want to die.”

  I shake my head. Lara raises her weapon, but I push it down. I walk over to him and squat down in front of him. A man lying next to him starts to rise up, but after a glance at his expression, I pull his soul out of him. I extend a narrow blade of force and plunge it behind his ear.

  I look at the boy. “No one does, son. The eight billion of my people on this planet don’t want to die either. As much as it pains me to do it, I will kill all your people if it will save mine. Does that sound familiar?”

  Tears stream down his face as he lowers his face in shame. He nods slowly. I ask, “What’s your name, son.”

  “Mica, Lord. Mica Hawthorne,” he whispers.

  “Would you be my squire, Mica?” I ask. He looks up at me with hope in his eyes. I continue, “My people haven’t had squires in many centuries, so we will have to figure out what that means. Regardless, I offer this to you. I think having an elf for a squire might help me understand your people better. Maybe one day I can find a better way to deal with them than killing them all.”

  “Ye-yes, Lord,” the boy chokes out.

  “Mica, if you break my trust, I will give you to Lara to kill. I won’t even do it myself. Am I clear?” I ask.

  “Ye-yes, Lord,” he replies.

  “Get up, Mica. Which of these are Duchess Valeran’s creature?” I ask.

  He stands straight and says, “All of them except T’os, Lord.”

  Three of the remainder all try to vault to their feet; one fires a spell at the boy. I get a shield up in time to protect the boy and drain the souls from the three of them. I look at Lara, and she cuts their throats with her dirk.

  I look at the old man remaining. “Are you T’os?” I ask.

  “Yes, Lord,” the old man growls.

  “Please rise, T’os,” I tell him. Slowly he does. He’s big for an elf - about 5’8” and huskier. His skin has a greyish tint to it, and his ear points are shorter and droop out to the side just a little.

  I see short tusks from his bottom lip as he answers, “Yes, Lord.”

  “I have business upstairs, T’os. Would you watch after my squire, Mica, please?”

  The old man grins at the boy. “It would be my honor, Lord.”

  I gather everyone around.

  Jack says, “Will, there are a bunch of crates off to the side by the elevator. They may be those guns we heard about from Koree.”

  I nod, “There are some down in the storage room already. We’ll deal with this after we rescue Bernadette or avenge her.”

  “Both,” Clarice sobs.

  “Yes, sweetheart. Just like that,” I assure her. I address the assembled group as Marissa bounds back into the room. “The plan is that I will exit the stairs with one squad of critters. Argos, you’re with me.”

  The little imp salutes, “Aye, aye, General.”

  “Jack and Monty follow me out and cover the flanks while I throw up a blade construct to catch attackers. I’ll try to get a shield up, too. If they are expecting us, I imagine that one of those fuckers will eventually chuck something at us we don’t want to be hit by. Hermes and Xerxes, you come up the elevator with your squads.” I point to one of the zombies. “You ride up and use the door open button to hold it open until they all get off. Then get back down here to help your buddy guard the portal. I’m going to bring in two of the guys off the stairs for that, too. As a matter of fact, Luis. Can you take charge of guarding the portal, the crates, T’os, and my squire?”

  “Yes, Lord,” he answers. He looks a little lost.

  I ask, “You okay, Luis?”

  He whispers, “She said the Mistress is dead.” Tears stream down his face.

  “Luis, you know where she’s from?” I
ask. He nods and wipes his eyes. “The odds are she went home. We’ll find her.” He tries to smile at that. I notice Clarice’s posture straightens at the thought. “Grab two of the guys out of the stairwell now.” I drop the energy blade, and Luis runs off to get his team together.

  I look at the four ladies on the team. “You stay in the stairwell with the zombies. I’ll tell you when it’s clear to come in.” Clarice, Lara, and Marissa all nod. “You doing okay, Carla?”

  She grins tiredly at me. “I’m getting weary. There is a lot of chaos I’m holding in check.”

  I hug her and push a little growth energy into her. I kiss her and hold her against me. “Not much longer, Love.” She gets googly-eyed at the term of endearment and slowly stands a little taller.

  I kiss her again. I look around. “This is the final assault. Don’t get sloppy. I want everyone to get home safely. Clear?”

  I get fierce nods in return. Luis returns with the two additional zombies. I command all four zombies, “You will take your direction from Luis until I tell you differently. Is that clear?”

  They all nod vigorously. The one that lost his head may not last much longer. He doesn’t seem to be very well focused. I’ll check on him later. I turn to Mica and T’or. “Listen to Luis. He is my voice while I’m gone.”

  “Yes, master,” they respond.

  I nod and take a big breath. I let it out and jog to the stairwell. Argos’ squad flanks me and everyone falls into position. I slide out the door and quietly hurry to the top. I send the two zombies downstairs to guard the thirteenth floor doorway. I tell the imps, “Count to five after I open the door, then go.”

  I pull together a huge amount of power from my well and open the door. I blast the power out in a cone to create pressure on any glyphs laid on the ground. It turns out to be about four times the amount of pressure I expected. The blast creates a wave in the concrete floor and blows the guards arrayed in front of the doors across the room. “Now Argos,” I call. I step forward and throw up the blade first, and then the shield. Both take impacts immediately - spears, bullets, and exploding elven body parts. Apparently the force blade is something they’ve never experienced; they keep falling for it.

  I turn toward the northeast corner looking for Valya.

  Jack asks, “Can we shoot through this thing?”

  I nod, “If I did it right. Shoot at the top part first to test it. A ricochet will bounce upward.”

  Jack tests it, and the bullet passes through. He and Monty start capping the guards.

  I call out, “Okay, ladies.” I draw a glyph on the floor with power and try to anchor my two constructs to it. It seems to work.

  I step around my shield and extend a blade of power from the jo staff I’ve been carrying since Marissa handed it to me. I wield it like a bokken rather than as a staff.

  Monty yells out, “Damnit, Will. Are you behind the shield? Get your happy ass back here.” One of the guards stops in front of me for an instant, and I cut him in half with the new weapon. I push a light corona of power around me. I feel pressure coming from a vector to my 7:00. I pivot and drop, cutting across my body in time to cut another elf soldier in half.

  I hear a voice yell, “STOP!” All the elves stop moving. I take the opportunity to yank all their souls out. Valya comes out of the corner I expect her to...closest to the grounds of the Biltmore. She is flanked by two elves in robes - a male and a female. The robes have symbols all over them that resemble some of the glyphs on the portal. Valya is dragging Bernadette’s corpse by the collar of her blouse.

  She stops about twenty feet from me and sneers, “You’re too late, necromancer. I sat her in a circle of power and shot her in the stomach. When she tried to escape her body, the circle sent her directly to her sister.”

  I trickle entropy energy to the two nearest pillars and spool it over the heads of the two magicians. I cock an eyebrow at Valya. “Which one?”

  Valya answers, “The Archduchess Gabrielle.”

  I nod and look at the body of my lover. “Her head is split open, Valya. That would kill her soul.”

  Valya shakes her head. “I didn’t do that until she stepped out of her body. She’s nearly two hundred years old. She didn’t even need a human host any more.” She shoots me a seductive look. “So you have finally come to be my play toy, William.”

  Valya drops Bernadette’s body and shrugs out of her robe to reveal her naked body underneath. Suddenly her appearance changes and I see the most divinely beautiful creature I’ve ever seen. Valya looks like a hybrid between an elf and an angel.

  I close my eyes and focus. She says, “Bask in my glory, William. All of you will be my creatures.” I open my eyes and push out a massive amount of entropy into the ceiling. Chunks of concrete crash down, crushing the two magicians and breaking Valya’s concentration.

  I fire off sharp darts of energy at her, but a shield of force becomes visible as it absorbs the energy.

  Valya exudes sexuality as she exerts her will again. It feels wrong - like she’s extending a glamour rather than dropping it. I think, ‘How the Hell do I know that?’ She stalks toward me. “You belong to me now, William. Maybe I’ll keep your friends as pets and put your ladies to service in the bordello. Ilara’en has experience already.”

  She’s only about ten feet away from me when I hear a whistle from past my left ear and loud crack. The tiara flies from Valya’s head with a chunk of flesh. The blood from the wound splashes my face.

  Lara walks up to my right as Clarice retrieves the tiara and tosses it to the side.

  Lara growls, “You killed my sister.” She pulls the dirk from its sheath.

  Valya’s face actually doesn’t look very elfin now. It’s twisted, scarred, and mirrors the ugliness of her soul. I’m guessing from the scarring that she has been caught in a fire at some point. If not for the pointed ears and sharp cheekbones, I might guess her to be nothing other than a short, ugly, scarred human.

  Clarice cracks her whip again, and the iron barb tears a gouge in Valya’s face. She growls, “You killed my Mummy! You’re gonna suffer, bitch!” Again, she stripes the barb from above Valya’s left breast to her right hip.

  Valya screams and collapses to her knees.

  I grab both Lara and Clarice. “You both owe her for what she has taken from you.” I pull my clip knife and lock the blade. I hand it to Clarice. “Decide amongst yourselves, ladies. Throat and heart. Finish it.”

  Clarice asks Lara, “Can I have the throat? This blade isn’t long enough for a good heart shot.”

  Lara says, “Trade me blades. I want to give her what she gave to my sister.” The ladies swap weapons. “Let her suffer for a bit before you finish her, Clarice.”

  “My pleasure,” the distraught girl responds.

  Clarice hands me her whip, and the two ladies stalk up to Valya.

  I coil the whip as I ask conversationally. “So Valya, was all your magic from the relic?” I walk up closer to stand before the elven ruler.

  She sobs, “Not all. Stay back, both of you.”

  I nod, “So you could do ritual magic and mind magic. That’s why you had to carve the glyphs into Lara’s flesh. You didn’t have enough power to compel her without it.” I look at her with second sight, and she has a normal non-magical aura for an elf - a slight corona in red. “Ladies, she has no magic of her own. Vengeance is thine.”

  Lara launches behind Valya, hooking her fingertips under the brow ridge of her skull. I look into Valya’s eyes as Lara opens her throat from ear to ear. There is both arterial spray and venal flow. Valya’s blood sprays my face. She won’t last long.

  Lara says conversationally, “Lord, the glyphs allow the intent of the magician to ride on the subject. That’s normal. I never did see her cast anything other than glyphs and glamor.” She steps around to watch Valya wither. “Clarice, I think about another thirty seconds she’ll lose awareness. Maybe slide it in slowly now, so she can feel the pain of the strike as her life drains away.”r />
  Clarice takes Lara’s advice.

  I tell Valya, “I’m not even going to harvest your soul. I don’t want your soul inside me, Valya. Rot in the Hell of your own making.”

  I walk over to Bernadette’s body. There is a gaping hole beneath her breast bone and multiple clefts in her skull. It’s gross to look upon, but I need to. I need to ask her for advice on how to proceed. Hopefully enough memories persist that I can talk to her.

  I sit down on the ground and pull her corpse into my lap. I close my eyes and collect my thoughts around my sorrow.

  I call, “Critters, attend me.” I look at Carla. “I’ve always wanted to say that.”

  She chuckles and rolls her eyes.

  I look at the eighteen imps. Several are scratched or bleeding, but the tough little fuckers survived battle with roughly two thousand elves. Note to self, don’t underestimate imps.

  I tell them. “I am proud of you, my critters. You served me well, and you all survived. The peanut butter is at the office, so I’m going to bid you all take two elf corpses with you and go home. The Captain will summon the squad leaders to pay them your peanut butter before morning here. Does that work for you?”

  A scarred little guy standing next to Argos has an expression of wonder on his face. “I gets to eat two whole elves all myself?”

  I nod, “That’s right.” He grins from ear-to-ear - literally. “Squad leaders, does that work for you?”

  They snap to attention, all eighteen of them. “Aye, aye, General!”

  I nod to them. “Good enough. Grab your prizes, and report to the Captain to be dismissed. Go.” They scatter like birdshot.

  I start resurrecting Bernadette. The gaping wound in her stomach closes and the mush of her skull slowly firms and takes on its original shape. Her hair grows back in. Her face is still covered with gore, but her eyes open. I see one of them is milky white, but it slowly clears back to her beautiful, soulful, brown color.