Succubus Rescue (The Accidental Necromancer Book 3)

by JG Jerome

  Alöise says, “We all will. Probably when Viktorija is ready. Carla and I need to tuck and tie some loose ends she found in the contract.”

  Magnus isn’t paying any attention. I ask, “Jonas, what’s going on?”

  “I was looking for Miss Carroll in the early 1880’s,” he says. “I had sensed another magi had been born, and was trying to find her to protect and train her.” He looks at Josie. “I’m sorry I didn’t find you, dear one. Your life would have been infinitely better.”

  Josie shakes her head slowly. “I was a puppet for men my entire life. I don’t know if that would have changed, and I wouldn’t be here with my loving husband if you had succeeded. I am where I wish to be, Magnus.”

  He replies, “That pleases me, Miss Carroll.”

  He’s about to continue when Josie interrupts him. “Please call me Mrs. James or Josie, Magnus. I prefer it.”

  He bows his head sharply and looks back up. “My apologies, Mrs. James. I can see by the fire in William’s eyes that he’s about to test his skills against mine if I don’t back off.” He looks at me with a wry grin before turning back to Josie.

  “Mrs. James, you are the last known magi born,” he says. “There were none born in this last century to the best of my knowledge. Baal, Wodan, Apollo, and myself have heard of none. We thought Grigori Rasputin was the last, but you were born about eight years later. Rasputin was supposedly killed by Bolsheviks, but they were common thieves sent to assassinate him at the behest of the Church.” He strokes his chin for a moment. “Our William has managed to slowly transition to become one, but you were born to it. Necromancy is a good place to start your studies, but then look at thaumaturgy, sorcery, and witchery.”

  Josie says, “I still practice both.”

  Magnus pulls a rolled up cloth out of his sport coat. “Then you will also benefit from my gift to William.” He holds up the rolled cloth. “This contains a trunk full of books. Basic and advanced books on necromancy, thaumaturgy, sorcery, witchery, and elemental magic. True faith magic comes on its own or it doesn’t. As much as you all know of the unseen world, it’s unlikely that you and William will develop faith magic. You know enough that faith is not really required - you know the answers of many of the mysteries that are required for faith to come into play.”

  I nod and say, “I know the Most High exists, but the rest is faith. I’ve met multiple angels; although, I only know Mick, Gwen, and Larkin by name. I just got back from another dimension yesterday.”

  That shocks Magnus. “Really? Which one? How did you do it?”

  “Planet Ravissement to rescue Alöise and Shryl. I rode there with a banished succubus, Shryl. I came back via one of Josie’s passages,” I explain.

  “Passages?” Magnus asks with narrowed eyes.

  “A thaumaturgy construct that is essentially a split doorway,” Josie says. “William and I came up with it as we were discussing how we could better protect our extended family. William opened a small one that I sent with him, and then I passed a larger one through it. We pulled the far side through, and that destroyed it.”

  Magnus says, “Destroy the remainders. Acid would be best, but fire is a close second. There are elven technomancers that can open your side if you don’t. It’s highly unlikely, but it is possible.”

  Josie nods, “I already burned the remnants. Most of it came through when we pulled it, but I burned all the remnants. William is always reinforcing that we need to be able to secure these against unwanted use.”

  I nod, and Alöise slides up to wrap me in a hug on my right, the opposite side from Josie. I ask, “The books won’t have any trouble traveling through the passages, will they Jonas?”

  He looks at Josie. “They’re just doorways with halves in different locations?”

  “Yes, sir,” Josie replies.

  Magnus shrugs. “It should not be a problem. That’s a clever solution to that problem. Much lower energy than the elven solution. I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone else trying it.”

  I say, “Jonas, we were just discussing an issue we noticed. I have five different zombies that I have raised and marked - well actually fourteen, but I haven’t checked the others. Two have grown souls. Three have halos of soul energy. Did I do something wrong?”

  Magnus shakes his head. “No, William. I bet you used soul energy to mark them, no?” I nod. He continues, “When you scribe your glyph at the base of the skull, it’s right over where the soul seed plants itself. By scribing the glyph in soul energy, you effectively are feeding your soul energy into it. All of them will eventually grow a soul back. This is okay. Unless you wanted them soul-less for some reason. That can be handy in some circumstances.”

  I sigh. “Good to know. Thanks, Jonas.” I release my ladies and hug my old friend. “Thanks for the books.”

  He smiles, “My pleasure, William. Let me know if you want to talk.”

  I pause for a second and ask, “What are you doing now? I’d like to introduce you to the family and catch you up on recent events with the elves. Josie is about to install a passage between here and the house. We’ll do that, introduce you to the family, and show you the house. I have an appointment at three, but you’re welcome to stay until then.”

  “I cannot stay today, but perhaps on another day. Send some dates to the pager, and I will let you know what works,” he says.

  After Magnus leaves, Alöise goes to check on her staff while Koree, Mica, and I help Josie and Manuel install the secured passage down in the basement. There is enough wall space that we could probably install two or three more if we needed to, but I can’t think of any need currently.

  When we go to Prescott to get the passage, Rebecca reminds me that we’re meeting Chrysilla and Lleandra at three o’clock. I tell her we should be back at the house by two o’clock.

  We just finished bolting the frame to the concrete. I yank and pull on the frame, but it feels solid. Josie kisses me and returns home through the portal.

  Alöise and I return to her office. She lays out her plan for the week. She plans to stay in Phoenix to work with Viktorija on establishing her new identity. She is planning to have frequent breaks to connect with her husband in Prescott. She will spend time with Carla during the week to work out the final details on the cooperative contract by Thursday. Once that is ready, she plans to get Martin George busy on the Cortez Cooperative paperwork next week.

  She lays out her new legend to me. Her name is Alöise Pascal, a distant French cousin of Bernadette Pasquale’s and her favorite surviving relative. Alöise Pascal studied international law at the Sorbonne and recently passed the CRFPA, the French bar exam, and had been invited by her distant American aunt, Bernadette, to come practice with her in Phoenix. With Bernadette’s passing, Alöise inherited Bernadette’s share of the law practice, so she is the de facto major partner. She will register to take the bar exam and the Arizona Law course required to become a member of the Arizona Bar.

  I ask her about reading in her partner, Martin George, on the unseen world. Alöise says she’s tempted to offer for him to buy her out, but wants to be able to practice if necessary. If he will buy her out, she’ll put up her own shingle in Prescott under her new name. She doesn’t think he would handle the news of the hidden world very well.

  Tanu, Michelle, and Adelina roll in a tray and perform the coffee ceremony for us rather than Vanesssa bringing it. Tanu and Michelle are in costume, and Adelina is in one of Viktorija’s halter jumpsuits. I guess Tanu is off shift for security. Adelina and Michelle roll the tray out after the service is complete, but Tanu stays to sit with us to enjoy coffee. When they were serving, I thought Tanu and Michelle were wearing saris, but I eventually noticed that Tanu is not wearing a stitch under the gossamer shawl. Alöise and Tanu both give me sultry smirks.

  Alöise says she’s going to work on adjusting her facial structure and figure to look like a younger version of herself with darker hair - trimmer overall, a slimmer face, with breasts reduced by a cup size
.

  I tell her I think it’s a shame because I think she is perfect in almost every way, but I agree she needs to sell the Alöise story.

  She says she will also have a Normandy accent by the time she meets Martin George.

  Alöise and I agree Clarice can stay with Alöise during the day, but that Prescott is now her home. Clarice will come home every night unless Alöise calls to inform me otherwise on a specific evening.

  Viktorija walks in as we finish coffee to tell me it’s time to go. She said Clarice is planning to return home to Prescott tomorrow. Tanu gives me a very warm kiss before wishing me a good day. Viktorija hands me the rolled up passage we used to arrive upstairs. Viktorija and Alöise escort me to the basement. Lara is waiting for me with Mica and Koree next to the door. Chantelle and Candice are waiting with them. I hug and kiss each of Bernadette’s ladies. I give Koree orders to stay here for now until I’m ready to bring him to Prescott. Viktorija and Alöise each give me a lover’s goodbye kiss, and I lead Lara and Mica through the passage.

  With Lleandra moving in, it’s becoming apparent that we are rapidly running out of room at the Mount Vernon house. Clarice, Mica, and Lleandra each having their own rooms means that Audrey, Erica, Marissa, and Rebecca essentially share a room. To give them more closet space, we move the passage to the office to the sub-basement, plus each of the ladies moves their most commonly used clothing up to the master closet. In the end, Marissa moves most of hers back to Carla’s townhouse.

  Regardless, by three o’clock we have a room ready for Lleandra. It’s scrubbed clean, has fresh linens, and a vase of fresh flowers on the chest of drawers. It’s one of the two rooms that has a small window toward the ceiling to let in some natural light.

  Susan and Alöise join us via passages just before we start the summoning. All seven of my wives, Erica, Lara, Leonore, and Mica are assembled to greet our newest addition.

  Josie hands me a wooden frame. I think it’s a picture frame until she shows me that the front of the frame slides to remove the picture from the front to reveal a eight-by-ten wooden passage.

  We summon Chrysilla and give her the frame. We show her how it works. I tell her, “The plan is we send you home, we pass a larger portal through. You open it and lay it on the floor, red side down. Then you and Lleandra can both come through, and we will give you a tour of our home and have dinner.”

  The elvish matron scrutinizes my face for a bit and nods. Carla banishes her, and about five minutes later we hear her command, “Pass it through.”

  We pass the crawl-through portal and lay our half down on the floor. Pretty soon I see Chrysilla’s face. I tell her, “Just lean down and stick your arms through. I’ll pull you up.”

  She does just that, but grouses as I turn to set her on her feet, “That messed with my equilibrium.”

  “Are you set?” I ask.

  “Yes,” she says, but she holds onto my hands for a minute longer. She calls through the hole in the floor in Elvish, and a twisted wooden stick hangs in the middle of the hole as gravity from both sides holds it in place. I pick it up and hand it to Chrysilla.

  After she takes it from my hand, I turn to find two carpet bags filling the hole. I start to pull them out one at a time, but it’s a little unwieldy since the handles are facing down from my perspective. I slide my hand deep and grab a handle to pull the bag through before setting it on the floor beside me. Mica drags it out of the way as I repeat the maneuver on the second bag.

  I look down to see a cute little round face with big eyes looking up at me through thick glasses. The young woman’s arms are extending up out of the floor from about mid-forearm. I grasp her hands and pull her through.

  My hands are above my head, and her face is directly in front of mine. I’m mesmerized.

  I release one hand and wrap an arm around her tiny waist as I look into her large mesmerizing eyes. She’s not any more beautiful than any of my ladies, but she is cute as can be. I pull my head out of my ass and turn to set her down next to her grandmother.

  Her eyes never leave mine as she speaks to her grandmother in elvish.

  Lleandra says to her grandmother in elvish, “Omi! He’s huge! You want me to seduce him? He’ll tear me apart!”

  Chrysilla responds to her in the same language. “You claimed that elven men are all too small to satisfy you, irrespective of the fact that you’re too young to be having sex. I am certain this one will take better care of you than any of those child molesters that have been chasing you.”

  “Omi, they thought my size was sexy, and it did help bring in food,” Lleandra replies. “Do you really think he will be more satisfying?”

  Chrysilla growls, “Ask his elven mistress, Lara. She’s probably seen whether he is big enough to satisfy you.”

  Lara joins the conversation in elvish. “Humans are bigger than elves on average. Our Lord is bigger than many humans. According to women that would know, he’s big - not as long as some, but he’s plenty long and probably in the top ten percent in girth. He was recently poisoned with succubus venom, so I had the opportunity to find out. He stretched me well and penetrated my womb. No elf has ever touched me so, nor any half-elf. If you want him, stake your claim early. The women in his life are lining up to marry him, and most of the elven refugees want to be his concubine if not his wife.”

  Lleandra blushes at Lara’s words and then gasps as she notices Lenore, Chiara, and Mica standing in the room. She hides her face in her hands.

  I observe the elven girl as she has a short conversation with her grandmother and Lara in her native language. She must be about 5’4” to 5’5” - tall for an elf, especially a woman. She has a cute round face with a short pronounced chin and amber hair - the same color as Queen Alafair’s. Lleandra is currently wearing hers in a braid that bounces off her pert little ass. Her ears are bare, but I see no obvious point - maybe just a bit of an uplifted corner at the back upper edge. Despite being taller than the average elf, she has the typical elven female build I’ve come to expect from seeing all the naked refugees. Narrow shoulders, an extremely narrow waist, and hips that flair slightly to just a smidgen wider than her shoulders. The girl is wearing a short yellow sundress that contrasts nicely with her darkly tanned skin.

  Lleandra hides her face in her hands. Lara giggles and says, “She thinks you’re a monster, Lord.”

  “Only when he’s been hit with Succubus venom,” Marissa says with a grin.

  Josie smirks, “I wonder if we could scratch him with that about once a month. I enjoyed the hell out of that.”

  “Me too,” Lara smirks. “I’m hoping I don’t have to wait until he gets stung again for another turn. He’s rather addicting.”

  I interrupt the fun and games. I look at Lleandra and tell her, “I only become a monster when someone threatens my family. Welcome to the family, Lleandra. I’m William. Please call me Will.”

  I extend a hand to shake, but the girl slides past it to stand about three inches in front of me. She slowly reaches up to place her hands on my shoulders. She says in a musical voice, “Please lift me again, Lord.”

  I reach down and pick her up by her waist. My fingers touch as they circle her waist. Her legs automatically wrap around my waist and her hands cup the back of my neck. I slide my left hand down her back, past her rump, to cradle her right leg.

  Lleandra asks, “How many wives do you have, Lord?”

  I tell her, “Lleandra, please call me Will. I have seven wives and two fiancés.”

  She asks, “What does ‘fiancé’ mean?”

  “Betrothed,” I respond. “Someone you’ve made a commitment to marry.”

  “My grandmother told me I should seduce you,” she says. Chrysilla hides her face in her hands. “I think it would be better if I act like a daughter until I’m an adult, and then marry you. Would that be okay, Lord...er...Will?”

  I chuckle, “Lleandra you are a pretty young girl, and you promise to be a beautiful woman. However, I think it’s best if
we agree to ‘foster daughter’ for now. You may decide you don’t like me at all by the time you’re legally an adult.”

  “Grandmother said that my age is sufficient to be an adult here,” the pretty half-elven girl points out.

  “True,” I acknowledge. “However, I don’t think either of us have a good idea of how elven emotional maturity relates to the average human progression. We are going to create a human identity for you and send you to school with others of the same age as your identity, so you can acclimate to human society. I’m going to set you down now, sweetie.”

  Lleandra nods and I squat to set her on the ground.

  Chrysilla says, “I would say based on conversations with Audrey, we should make her out to be fifteen or sixteen as a human. My dear granddaughter is fairly promiscuous, but I don’t know if that will be such a problem here. Elven men used to chase her through the streets for a chance to fornicate with her. She is so tall that she was a novelty. I bitched about it and yelled at them. I even reported them, but since she’s half human the authorities ignored it.”

  Lleandra says, “I made them give me food.” She looks up in my eyes.

  Alöise says, “Sweetie, I was a whore for 150 years, and William still loves me and married me. Don’t worry about that.”

  I smile at Alöise before confirming my earlier commitment, “I take my ‘over-protective father’ role seriously, Chrysilla. The boys her age will be terrorized for chasing her, and killed if they hurt her.”

  “How about you, Lord? How will I know she is safe from you?” the older elven woman asks.

  “If it becomes an issue, I will come to you first,” I commit.

  Chrysilla changes topics with a decisive nod. “Good enough. You mentioned dinner?”

  We all traipse upstairs for dinner.

  Epilogue

  Four days later we had a huge celebration for Thanksgiving at Jack’s farm.