by JG Jerome
I pick Shryl up by the waist and lay her across my shoulder. I hold her in place with an arm around her waist and the other cupping her lovely round tushy as I stand. She giggles as I carefully step out of the circle.
Audrey hugs Alöise while they wait for me to set Shryl down. At that point, both of my wives wrap us into their hug.
“What happened?” Alöise asks.
Shryl explains, “I arrived in the throne room as planned, but the Queen was not on her throne. The Chamberlain set a chair for me to wait before going to get her. Queen Alafair arrived in the room about thirty minutes later with eight guards. I rose from my curtsy and told her the Arch-Duchess had captured Duchess Alöise and had been holding her in the dungeon of the Citadel.”
She sighs, “Before the Queen could question me, the Arch-Duchess appeared in the audience chamber and attacked me as I delivered my message. A bunch of her loyal troops attacked the Queen’s Guard as they hurried her out to her private chambers and held the corridor against them. I felt your summons three times, but I couldn’t focus enough to answer until the fourth.”
I look around, but my clothes aren’t laying around where I last remember having them. I look at Alöise. “Let me get dressed and armed. We’ll go save the queen.”
Alöise cups my face and kisses me quickly. “Hurry husband. We may be too late already.”
I start running for the stairs. Audrey calls, “I’ll have the circle repaired in five minutes, but I can banish you all together without it.”
I call up the stairs, “I need my weapons!” I run up the stairs and pull on the first things I can find - jeans and t-shirt.
Carla runs up with the sword and pistol belts, and I strap them on. Marissa runs up and says, “I reloaded your magazine.”
I clear my pistol, seat the magazine, and release the slide. The pistol goes into the holster. Lara hands me the jean jacket. I grab the Taser flashlight and put it into the jacket pocket. The clip knife goes into its jeans pocket. I pull on boots and then head back downstairs.
Rebecca meets me at the top of the stairs. “T’os, Mica, and Chiara are coming in through the passage.
As I return to the sub-basement, Clarice is hugging Alöise as tears run down her face. She hugs me too and grabs a hand from each of us. “Mummy. Daddy. Be careful. I need you.”
I kiss her temple. “We’re going to save your mother, then we’re coming home to raise you, sweetheart. Keep the faith.”
Alöise kisses her. “I love you, my darling. Be a good girl. I’ll be home soon.”
Josie runs down the stairs with the other ladies close behind.
“I have another cloth crawl-through portal ready in case you need it,” she says as she wraps her arms around my neck. “And swap me your little one for this one. I glued a cloth back onto it, so maybe you won’t cut your finger off again.”
Marissa asks, “Shotgun?
I shake my head and tell Josie, “It worked really well to disassemble the locks. Maybe we should keep some around for stuff like that. It’s faster than entropy on metal.”
Alöise shakes her head at Marissa and asks, “Do we have an MP5? Shryl certified on those.”
Clarice says, “Lara and I have them. I’ll grab mine. Lara, spare magazines?” She starts toward the stairs.
Alöise says, “Let me borrow your whip, love.
Clarice stops and looks at Alöise with wide eyes before launching up the stairs. I hear her laugh, “Oh! Mummy’s pissed.” She launches up the stairs with an evil laugh, and Marissa follows her back upstairs.
Alöise asks, “Are you going to use the gladius, or is it a contingency?”
“Mostly a contingency,” I say with a shrug. “You can use it if you want. It’s on loan from Warren. It may be an actual Roman sword from what he said.”
“I would like to have it and the whip if I may, husband. An original Roman gladius, huh?” she asks as I undo my gun belt.
“He offered to demonstrate Latin spoken by someone that actually spoke it,” I say as I disconnect the sword belt and hand it to her. “He called this a gladius hispaniensis. I think I’m going to enjoy talking with him.”
Marissa walks back into the room wearing her floral on black kimono robe with a Taser X2 in her hand. I tell her, “Give it to Alöise. I have my flashlight.”
Marissa nods and says, “Here you go, Bernadette.”
Alöise smiles. “I’ve always liked that identity the best. It’s a shame I need to retire now. Thank you, Marissa. Could we give Shryl a flashlight, too?”
Marissa pulls hers from the pocket of her robe and demonstrates to Shryl how to use it. “Touch them with this part, and press this button. If you do it in the opposite order it works, too. Don’t test it on yourself unless you want to spasm on the floor for a minute.”
Shryl kisses Marissa quickly as a thank you as Clarice and Lara run in with the MP5s. Clarice hands hers over to Shryl, and the succubus does a quick function check before slapping a full magazine in the well.
Clarice points out, “There are three more magazines in the bandolier on the strap.” Shryl gives her a quick buss in thanks, and Clarice hands her prized whip to Alöise.
Lara offers her weapon to me, but I shake my head. “I think my role in this is going to be mostly medical. I’m better with the pistol either way.”
Lara hangs her sling over her shoulder and pulls my face down for a tender, moist kiss. “Come back safe, Master. I want to make love to you again when you’ll remember it.”
“I’ve got a lot of catching up to do, Lara. However, you are on the list,” I assure her with a caress of her cheek.
Audrey rushes in to hug and kiss me. “I am going to put a couple of additional touches on the circle, husband. It will make it easier to summon everyone if they are touching whomever I call. I can send you and Alöise back to the throne room with Shryl before I finish, so whenever you’re ready.”
I look down into her eyes and squeeze her firm, athletic tushy. “You’re way too good to me, Kitten.” We stare into each other’s eyes for a moment before I move in to devour her mouth. “I love you, Audrey,” I tell her after releasing her mouth.
An angelic smile blooms on her face. She caresses my face for a moment before turning to the two succubae - one with leathery wings, the other with luxurious black feathers covering them. Alöise and I each hook an arm through Shryl’s and cuddle close.
Audrey intones a flowing phrase that I swear sounds like French, and the world spins around us.
Like the last time, the world is coming into focus rapidly. My equilibrium doesn’t struggle as badly this time. Maybe not having Shryl hanging off me helps.
We arrive twenty feet in front of the throne. Off to my right I see two guards in light armor with livery are holding a doorway against six heavily armored assailants.
Alöise says, “Don’t take their souls. It needs to be visible.”
I pull my pistol. “Shryl, knees. Don’t hit the good guys.”
She murmurs, “I got this” right before she blinks out of sight and appears by the wall to my right of the doorway. She fires off short bursts into the attackers with the silenced weapon.
I check to our rear in time to see three more of the chainmail guys closing on us and two running toward Shryl. I pull the souls out of the close ones and shoot the other two with the pistol. I tell the newly created ghosts, “You boys stick around, and I’ll put you back in your bodies if you can behave.
Alöise says, “They may be able to reintegrate on their own. That’s what we do when we come back from earth.”
I look at the ghosts and give them a tug, “Na-ah-ah. Come along boys. I obviously can’t trust you to behave. Stay close. You go wandering around, I’ll drain your souls.”
They converse and then stay close. Alöise is already half-way to the guards. I holster my pistol and jog to catch up with her. The sight of her naked butt with a sword belt and swaying tail peeking out from her wings is sexy as hell.
I
catch up to her as she pulls up in front of the guards. She demands, “Where are my sisters? I thought Gabrielle was here.” They give her a blank look, so she repeats it in their native language.
The guard posts to attention and responds. Shryl translates for me, “He said, ‘The Arch-Duchess was here, Your Grace. She disappeared shortly after we set up our defensive position.’ The Mistress asked, ‘Did she jump out or walk?’ It’s hard to sound that pissed off in our language, but the Mistress is doing a great job of it.”
I’ll say. Alöise is figuratively tearing these poor bastards a new asshole.
The incubus responds tentatively. Shryl’s translates, “She dimension jumped, Your Grace,”
Alöise barks, “Shit!” She looks at Shryl and I. “If you see a royal succubus with a corn cob up her ass, shoot her.” She turns back to the guards. She barks at them again, and they run down the hall before us. Alöise says, “I’ll meet you there.” Her wings open about half-way before she disappears.
I look at Shryl, “Could you take me along doing that?”
She says, “Yes, but I’ve never been there. I’d just as likely jump us inside a wall as land somewhere useful in the Queen’s apartment. Go, Will.”
I run ahead and catch the guards. I tell my ghostly friends, “When we get there, circle around Gabrielle and try to get her attention.” Apparently that was confusing. Maybe they don’t speak English either.
The guard on the left begins gurgling and falls to the ground shortly after he steps through the doorway. The other guard holds his shield high and launches into the room.
I kneel next to the fallen guard and pull a throwing knife out of his throat and flood the wound with growth energy. Second sight shows that he should be okay, at least from this wound.
I peek around the doorsill and see a succubus with blond hair in a braid, bandoliers of throwing knives, and a longsword in her right hand. She has the most haughty expression I’ve seen in a long time. This must be Gabrielle.
She sees me and reaches for a throwing knife with her left and cocks her arm to throw it. Before she releases her throw, I hear a whistling sound before a large furrow opens in her face. Gabrielle turns away from the pain.
I don’t see Alöise, but I hear that whistling sound three more times. One wing drops to hang by a sinew, then the other. I finally see the whip as it wraps around Gabrielle’s leg and cuts a deep trench in the flesh as Alöise yanks her sister off her feet.
I look around and notice what appears to be a royal succubus that someone has butchered. I open my second sight and see a ghost standing over the body. I reach out and snag the ghost with my will, pulling it forcefully to me.
When she is standing in front of me, I get her attention. “So, are you my sister-in-law, Alafair?”
The ghost appears shocked, but then she smirks. “I don’t know. I am Queen Alafair. Are you my brother-in-law?”
I hear Gabrielle gasp out, “Angelus Mortis.”
“All done but the paperwork, Your Highness. I doubt she summoned an ‘angel of death’ for herself,” I observe. “This might get complicated.”
Suddenly there is a six foot, six inch tall angel standing near Gabrielle. This one has skin so dark that it nearly looks true black. It has generous breasts, a narrow waist, flared hips, and the typical dual genitalia I’ve observed on the other angels I’ve met. If it weren’t for that huge cock, it would be a gorgeous woman.
Gabrielle points to the butchered meat that used to be her sister and speaks to the angel in the succubus language.
The angel takes a look around, spotting the three soldier ghosts before seeing Alafair’s spirit. I step between Alafair and the angel.
The Angel takes three steps towards me before stating in a rich alto voice, “You may not interfere with a summoned angel of death.”
I respond immediately, “I had her before you were summoned, and I don’t plan to give her up. If you hang tight, I’ll give you the soul of the one that killed this one.”
“I’m not bargaining with you, human,” she says. She whips a backhand at me, but I manage to slip out of the way.
The wiley angel uses the opening to reach for Alafair, who I jerk behind me with my mind. I remember that angels exude auras that look like an exceedingly strong normal human one. I start draining soul energy from the angel.
The oddest thing happens; the angel starts to shrink. Apparently, it really is a being of pure energy. The beautiful being shrinks from it’s imposing size down to about Josie’s size. The sword belt slips from its hips and falls to the ground.
The angel begs, “Stop! Please! I beg of you, stop! What have you done to me?”
“I suspect it’s easily reversed. Do you now understand how serious I am about this?” I ask.
It says, “I can’t go back without a soul. This is my first solo job after training. I’ll end up on probation if I don’t bring a soul back.”
“Calm down. You will have a soul to harvest,” I tell it. “Also, I suspect if I push soul energy into you, you will grow back to your former size.”
All the time we’re talking that whip continues whistling through the air, slowly turning Gabrielle into hamburger. Both arms hang limp as she stands on her knees. As I watch, the whip wraps around Gabrielle’s neck, digging a furrow across her carotid artery, jugular vein, and esophagus. Blood sprays from the arterial wound.
The force of the lash pulling the barb through her flesh pulls the murderous Arch-Duchess to the ground as she releases her final gasp of breath. I watch her ghost start to slowly rise from the new corpse.
I pull Gabrielle’s soul to me and address the angel. “What’s your name?”
It replies, “Larkin. You can summon me as Angélus Larkin.”
“Okay, Larkin. I’m William James. Here is the soul I promised you.” I turn Gabrielle’s soul over to her. “Let me power you back up.” I start pushing soul energy into Larkin, and she slowly regains her previously awesome proportions. “How’s that feel?”
Larkin nods, “Like before. Thank you.” It bends over and picks up the sword belt, letting her heavy breasts dangle a little longer than necessary. She smirks as she catches me looking. “Like the view?”
“Inspiring,” I tell it. “You would make a beautiful woman.”
Larkin chuckles as it buckles the sword belt to hang off its hips. It shimmies its hips slightly and grins at me. I chuckle as Larkin grabs Gabrielle’s soul again. The angel smirks and says, “Thank you. Maybe we can play another time. Goodbye, William James.”
I wave and turn away as she starts to fade. I call over my shoulder, “Give my regards to Michaelis and Gwenefron.”
I squat next to Alafair’s corpse to inspect it. Her head was bisected vertically. Her wings, arms, legs, and torso are peppered with deep slashes and puncture wounds that I suspect came from the long sword. Entropy energy is just starting to take root throughout her body as her cells slowly relinquish their life and bacteria start to take root in the open wounds.
The one oddity I notice is there is a dark cloud of entropy in her lower abdomen. As large as it is, it had to predate her murder. I ask her. “Alafair, there’s a dark cloud of entropy in your lower abdomen. Were you having health problems?” I pump some life energy into the Queen’s ghost, so Alöise can hear, too.
Alafair sighs, “Not unless you count an inexplicable ability to conceive. I swear I’ve bedded every eligible royal incubus and many standard incubae, and still nothing. ”
“I’m going to guess you were poisoned or fed some type of tonic to keep you from conceiving. It probably was dosed to you regularly. How does that fit what we know?” I ask.
Alöise says, “Moonbane. It simulates the feeling of being in heat and destroys your ovaries over time. Extremely fertile succubae use it when they don’t want any more children.”
Alafair’s ghost sobs, “No wonder I’m childless.”
“Alafair, your sister butchered you. What did you ever do to her?” I ask.
“I was born before her. I refused to die. I tried to rule well instead of the tyrannical way she ruled her duchy. Her people were pitied by everyone,” she shrugs forlornly. “The list is endless.”
I nod my head in thought as I look into Alöise’s golden slitted eyes. My demon wife nods back.
“Alafair, I’m going to build you a new body from scratch,” I say. “I’ll push a little soul energy into you to strengthen you, then I’ll flood you with life energy while you work to manifest the body you had before you visited earth.” She looks surprised. I guess it’s because I mentioned her being on earth.
Alöise says, “He knows how my stepdaughter came to be. Actually…” Alöise cocks her pretty face. “I guess she’s our stepdaughter now. He’s been taking care of her while Gabrielle had me in her dungeon.”
I look at Alafair and hold my hands out, palm up. “Here we go. Place your hands on mine.” She does.
I start by pushing soul energy into her through my hands, which results in her soul shining brighter. I stop that quickly and start pushing life energy into her like I did Josie. Alafair starts to steadily appear more solid as I push life into her. Alafair looks much like Alöise. The most readily noticeable feature is her amber hair. It’s not coppery like some red-heads, but it’s a little too coppery to call her a strawberry blond. Amber. Her breasts are shaped differently, too - more sharply conical than Alöise’s more rounded breasts. Alafair’s face is narrower, slightly oval, but with evident cheekbones. She is a little taller and slightly more slender than Alöise’s venus-like perfection, but gorgeous nonetheless. I think the horns poking out of her hairline are a little longer than Alöise’s.
While I work, Alöise checks on the two guards. She’s speaking their native tongue, so I try to ignore the conversation. Eventually, the two incubae walk over to Gabrielle’s corpse and drag it out of Alafair’s apartment. Shortly after they leave, I’m finished.
Alöise rushes up and hugs Alafair tightly. “I’m so glad we could save you, Allie.” While they are at it, I turn Alafair’s corpse into a pile of ash with a massive dose of entropy energy.