by Randi Darren
Sam checked a sigh and then slipped out of the office. He didn’t need to be here for the recounting. Judging from the way Irma had been speaking, she had a task Abigail needed to do.
Which meant he wouldn’t get his time with Abigail.
Walking straight for Alexis, Sam caught sight of Gabriella sitting just on her other side.
Dressed professionally—and in a cute way—she had a distinct look to her. The clothes, meals with decent nutrition, and lack of stress, had all given the young Latin woman an aura of health and beauty.
Even her black hair had a healthy shine to it now.
As if feeling his eyes on her, Gabriella’s light brown eyes turned toward him. The smile she sent him turned her from cute to pretty in a single second.
Alexis turned a second later and saw Sam as well. Shifting her seat, she faced him head-on while adjusting her blouse.
Walking up to the Imp, Sam stood right in front of her.
Alexis didn’t hesitate, reaching up to begin fondling Sam through his pants.
“Alexis and I are going to take a break—you’re willing, right?” Sam paused to ask Alexis.
“More than willing, baby,” Alexis purred at him.
“Alexis and I are going to take a break. Want to come?” Sam asked Gabriella.
“Sure. So long as you spare me and clean me up with Essence. I don’t want to ruin my clothes or stink,” Gabriella said. “And you’re going down on me this time, Alexis. I did it last time in our three-way.”
“Not a problem, I’ll take care of both of you at the same time. I’m good at it,” Alexis said, starting to pull Sam’s zipper on his fly down. “Now let’s get going, before I start us up right here.”
Love my feed harem.
***
Stepping out of the portal and into Irma’s old apartment, Sam felt strange. The place was very different than he remembered it last. All of her furniture was gone, of course, since it was in their current apartment.
Even beyond that, it was obvious Melody, Irma’s “auntie”, had moved in. Everything here was now of extremely high quality, taste, or material.
“Oh, hey,” said a female voice.
Turning in place, Sam found Melody Lark, contractor, and in-law.
“Auntie,” Sam said, smiling at the woman.
Dressed today in very casual clothes, Melody looked like a young woman fresh out of college. Additionally, her black hair and dark eyes gave her a slightly off-beat look.
The magic moving around her made far more sense to him now than it did when he met her. Being the child of the Guardian and a contractor had changed the woman considerably.
To Sam’s eye though, much of that magic—the contracts themselves—had twists and turns in them. Kinks, knots, and snarls.
The contractor rebound is starting to take a toll on her. Isn’t it?
Melody grinned at his greeting, then came over to give him a hug.
“You have no idea how happy I am that you’re taking care of Irma,” Melody said, ending the hug and taking a step back from him. “And you… why you’re looking positively happy anymore. She making a good man out of you?”
Sam considered that, and then shrugged.
“I love her,” he said simply, as if that took care of it.
“An Incubus in love,” Melody said and then shook her head. “Well, stranger things have happened. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find my Indigo one day.”
“You will,” Sam said with sincerity. He knew for a fact that this young woman was much older than she appeared. In addition to that, she was starting to suffer the long term consequences of unfiltered contracts.
She was going to need her mortal counterparts sooner rather than later.
“I dunno. I got a lot of crap in my closet,” Melody said, taking a seat in a recliner. “And I’m really picky. Really really picky. My Indigo is going to have to be… something really special. Something that could sweep me off my feet and send me spinning away.”
Sam peered at Melody.
Her father was the Guardian, she was contracted to Reixhitz. There was no reason for her to question if she’d meet her Indigo contract when she had the ability to get the information when she wanted.
Then he realized that actually might be the problem.
“Too close to your father and Reix to ask? Blurs your future?” Sam asked.
“Yeah,” Melody said bitterly, shaking her head. Her annoyance was obvious.
“You’ll find your Indigo. I’m sure of it. Just a question of time. Make sure your contracts are safe and sane till then,” Sam said. He’d known a number of contractors who lost their mind because they went too fast.
Right now, she was only showing the very early signs of the stress a contractor’s life put on the body. But they were there.
“Anyway,” Melody said, flicking a hand out to her side. “Heeeeeeere’s Reixhitz.”
With a soft pop, the Torment of Sanity stepped out of a portal that came to life out of nowhere. There was no flash, showmanship, or pizazz to it. He simply joined them.
Reixhitz was a man with white hair and blue eyes which had almost no color, they were so pale. The last time Sam had seen him though, he’d looked far older. Far more wizened and ancient. Now he looked more like a man in his late fifties.
“Good evening, Sam,” Reixhitz said.
“Reix,” Sam said, nodding his head at the other man. “You’re looking really good.”
“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you. I have two planes under my control and I’ve begun refilling them,” Reixhitz said. “Except… I’m afraid I have to ask you for another favor. I know I already owe you for my resurgence but… I’m afraid I must make myself a debtor once again.”
Another favor in addition? Never let someone else get too deep in your wallet.
What do I need?
Ah. Irma would tell me to take care of family. Melody is family.
“Mm? Alright. As for the first favor… take up as much of Melody’s contract feedback as you can until she can find her Indigo,” Sam said, pointing at Melody who was still sitting in her chair. “She’s showing the early signs of contractor sickness.”
“Hey—” Melody said.
“Oh? Done!” Reixhitz said with a chuckle. “That’s far cheaper than I thought your price would be. A moment.”
Looking at Melody, Reixhitz held a hand out toward her.
“Wait, what—” Melody stopped speaking and twitched hard to one side in her chair. Her teeth locked together in a snarl and all of her contracts started glowing as if they had been lit from within.
Then they winked out and Melody sunk in her chair, panting hard.
“Done. Wonderful. Thank you, Sam,” Reixhitz said, looking back to Sam with a smile. The Torment of Sanity had clearly picked up a few wrinkles he hadn’t had a few seconds ago, but he seemed to think he’d gotten the better of the deal. “Now, the new favor.”
Sam nodded his head, waiting.
“I need to reacquire something I lost during my imprisonment. An item of great value which I bargained far too much away for. I need to get it back,” Reixhitz said, watching Sam.
“Okay. What is it, and where did it go?” asked Sam.
“I don’t know where it went. Last I saw it, one of my Spirits had it on my home plane. They were guarding it for me. Safekeeping it,” Reixhitz said, then sighed. “They’re missing, most of my treasury is empty, and my home plane is barren of… everything. I can rebuild the plane, and honestly, I can get back everything I lost, but this item… I’ll need help getting it back.”
“Okay, but what is it?” Sam asked. Glancing to Melody he saw the contractor was gradually getting ahold of herself again.
A lot of the twisted magical paths he’d seen surrounding her were unknotted now. Where they’d been bound, twisted, and looped all around her, they were now straight pathways with no kinks in them.
Good. Now she’ll have time to wait for her Indigo, rather than rushing ahead.
>
“It’s… it’s the Log,” Reixhitz said with a heavy voice, his eyes dropping to the ground.
“The Log!? You had the Log?!” Sam exclaimed, his voice jumping up in volume. “How the hell did you get that? The Angelics protected that thing as if it would bring the end times down in a New York minute!
“In fact, didn’t Retribution have it? He didn’t give a damn about anyone but his lord. And we were certainly not his lord. As far as he was concerned, we were little better than shit to be scrapped off a boot.”
“Yes, well… I bartered with Retribution and the Guardian, both,” Reixhitz. “Retribution gave it to me in exchange for something I can’t mention. It was part of the deal I made. The Guardian unlocked the Log for me to use. One of the provisions to him was that I swore to never use it in any way that would assist the Silent One.”
Oh? Hm.
As long as it doesn’t help him, it couldn’t be that bad.
Out of the corner of his eye, Sam spotted Melody shaking her head fractionally. It took Sam a moment to realize what that little head shake indicated.
Reix doesn’t know your father is the Guardian, but your father told you I know who you are? How curious.
“Right. And you want to go get the Log back,” Sam said.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I? It’s mine, I paid for it. I’m the rightful owner. I will get it back,” Reixhitz said. “But… I can’t go get it myself. I suspect that the person who has it will know the moment I come looking for it. I can tell that the little ingrate hasn’t been able to use the Log, so that makes this easier, but he’d know if I came.”
“Ah… so it’s your First Spirit?” Sam asked. He knew Reixhitz didn’t use Imps because they didn’t suit his purposes in the same way. He used Spirits.
Typically Spirits of Intelligence or Intellect.
“I suspect so,” Reixhitz grumbled. “I’ll need you to track him down, get the Log back, and then… well, give it to me.”
“Hm. Alright. But I get to check the Log for three answers,” Sam said.
“Three? Sam! Sam. We both know that the more often it’s used, the more the Silent One is likely to come looking,” Reixhitz grumbled.
“You just said it hadn’t been used. That means there’s six answers it can provide this decade,” Sam said. “I want three of them. A small price to pay for getting it back. And that’d be my favor. No further strings attached.”
“That’s it?” Reixhitz asked, his tone now curious. Given what Sam could probably ask for, the price was the definition of “cheap”.
“That’s it,” Sam said. “There’s few of us Torments left, Reix. I’d rather you think of me as a friend, instead of just someone to barter with.”
Reix frowned, staring hard at Sam now. Then he slowly nodded.
“Alright then,” Reix said. “Alright.”
“Speaking of other Torments,” Sam said with a smile, “You’ll need to send me a bonding gift soon enough. Aster and I will be exchanging brands.”
Reixhitz gawked at him, as if Sam had told him the earth was flat and humankind had never landed on the moon.
“Beg your pardon?” Reixhitz asked.
“Aster, the Torment of Lightning, and I, are going to exchange brands. Probably later this year,” Sam replied calmly. “I’m also married to Lady Decimation. I brought her spirit back over from the other side.”
Reixhitz took in a slow breath, then let it out.
“I see. Well. Alright then,” Reixhitz muttered, shaking his head. “I’ll send something for you and Aster, but nothing for Decimation. The rotten bitch can die again for all I care. She gave me a limp that lasted for a hundred years regardless of the avatar.”
Chuckling at that, Sam could definitely understand.
Lady Decimation indeed.
Six - Going Loud -
“It makes my boobs hurt,” Jes complained, pushing at the body armor she was wearing. “I mean, I can do a corset and do it good. But this is just criminal.”
Lifting her head, she met Sam’s eyes.
“It’s not very comfortable,” complained the Succubus.
The planar lady known as Jezebel Sameerixis Fidenis Mary-Ann Lee Prima was a very uncommon Succubus.
For being less than a year old, she was a master of desires, able to feed directly from Sam, and refused to eat from anyone but him.
Outwardly she was a prude regarding anything that didn’t concern Sam and his needs, and had a moral view of things that didn’t really match the world today.
She was also the single most beautiful woman he’d ever met.
Her dark brown hair pulled was back behind her head in a pony tail that dangled down to her rear end. Her dark blue eyes—which were almost purple—seemed to be pleading with him.
To be fair, her perfect bust was actually being crushed by the armor.
“Just… use some Essence to loosen the strap a bit,” Sam offered. “You’ve been practicing subtle things like that, haven’t you?”
“Somewhat,” Jes said, glancing back to her chest. A second later and she sighed. “Oh, that’s better. I really should practice Essence sorcery more often. I swear Alexis is better than I am.”
She is but… we’ll not mention that.
Sam looked over to the other side of the room.
Decima, Wren, Tiffany, and Irene were all chatting quietly about something. In the opposite corner was Stacia, Carissa, Hillary, and Abigail.
It was fairly obvious to Sam that they’d divided themselves by function.
Combat-oriented and everyone else.
“You could always shrink ’em,” Aster said, reaching over to paw at Jes. “You already look like a magical wet dream porn star. Makes me want to make a shell like yours.”
“It’s not a shell,” Sam said, while Jes lightly pushed Aster’s hands away. Jes didn’t seem to mind Aster’s behavior that much.
No one did, it seemed. Aster was a presence all her own.
“Well, not really,” Sam amended, watching Aster grab Jes’ chest again. “You see her exactly as she is. She just made a shell that looks exactly like herself.”
“Wow, really? Damn Jessie,” Aster exclaimed, grabbing Jes by the face with both hands. “Let’s make out, then jump Sam. I bet we can get him way up there in flavor.”
That was the magical word when it came to Jes. If you were in his feed harem, she could dig into your desires, figure them out, and how they could apply to Sam, and then she’d run with them.
“Oh? Three-way with Sam? Okay, but you’re the in-between girl and I like riding from on top,” Jes said, drifting in towards Aster.
“Done. Ride my face while Sam pumps me full,” Aster said, half-closing her eyes and tilting her head to the side, while moving toward Jes.
“Later,” Sam promised, gently prying the two planar lords apart. He didn’t want to, but he knew self-control wasn’t a commodity either one had with certain subjcts. “Time to work real soon.”
Jes nodded once and went back to her locker, pulling out more gear.
“You’re right. Thank you for keeping me on task,” Jes said, giving him a sweet smile over her shoulder.
Aster clicked her tongue and turned her glittering sparking eyes toward him.
“Sam, we have more than enough time for a quick three-way,” Aster pleaded. “Please?”
Since their first go-round in the hotel, Aster had been quick to jump him at every opportunity. Even barging in on him when he was with a few others and then getting into a three-way with them.
He knew that it was just her way seeking the reassurance he’d given her. That her fragile sense of self needed that reaffirmation.
Reaching out, he hooked his arm around Aster’s shoulders and drew her closer. Everyone else was mostly involved in their own preparations right now, so he didn’t see a concern in strengthening her resolve.
Pulling Aster with him, Sam stepped between two rows of lockers and pressed his mouth to her ear.
“Calm yo
urself, my Branded,” Sam whispered, his lips touching her skin as he spoke. “Calm… be assured. Just because we haven’t had time to finalize it and exchange brands, doesn’t mean I don’t want to.”
Aster scoffed, her hands pushing at his chest as if to get away.
Then she froze, her head tilted forward, and she rested her forehead against his shoulder.
“I’m your Branded?” she asked.
“And I’m yours. You need to calm down though. You don’t have to barge in on every time I eat,” Sam said, holding Aster gently. “Have no fear, I crave you. Both for a meal and simply to enjoy being with you. Just… calm yourself, Aster. Aster Fidenis.”
“I… I’m…” Aster’s voice faded away.
“The Torment of Lightning. Aster Fidenis. My Branded,” Sam reassured. “A woman who is my equal in strength and power, and is hurting.”
Aster’s hands tightened on him, her fingers clawing into his body armor.
“You’re not who you were, but you’ll become something better. Now… drop the act for a bit, relax, and stop thinking about how to push yourself further into my own circle. We have to build you up into an equal. Not a Feed Harem member.”
Aster took in a sudden and quivering breath, then let it out in a rush.
“Equal member. Aster Fidenis. Your Branded,” Aster said, nodding her head. “Okay. Okay.”
Stepping away from Sam, Aster walked back into the aisle and then marched off toward where Decima was.
“Good work, honey,” Jes said, not looking up as she re-laced her boots. “She’s going to make you taste amazing.
“Have I mentioned I love you?”
“You have. And I love you too, Jezebel Sameerixis Fidenis Mary-Ann Lee Prima,” Sam said. “Will you wear my Brand and may I wear yours?”
Jes came to a slow stop, her hands hovering over her laces. Then she turned her head and stared up at him.
“You want to?” Jes asked, her pupils little more than pinpricks.
“Mmhmm. I’m going to exchange brands with Aster. I should make sure I do that with you, first,” Sam said. “If you’re willing.”
“I… of course,” Jes said, standing up slowly. “Of course, I’m willing. I just… I didn’t… you’re so… vague. And distant. I didn’t know you really felt that way.”