“And you plan on doing what? Reading a story to Asmodeus with your tome?”
“Asmodeus had to have had help to recapture those girls before the police arrived. Those thugs will probably be with him, I can force a demon from the Umbral into their bodies.”
“How does that help us? We’ll just be giving them more fire power.”
“Taking a random demon from the Umbral and forcing them into a new host will cause a lot of confusion and panic at first. They will attack anyone out of fear. We just need to make sure we’re not that anyone when it happens.”
“Find a better plan. If Asmodeus quickly explains the situation to them, they’ll side with him.”
“Keep Asmodeus busy, and he’ll never have the chance.”
“What are you two rambling about?” Jim said, exiting his room.
We faced him, happy to see he was on his feet at last. I would have smiled if I wasn’t full of rage at what Asmodeus had done. Though, the thought of explaining to Jim he was nearly killed by a half-assed blow job from a Rusalka did cross my mind.
“Go back to sleep, Jim.”
Jim replied with a long and loud manly yawn. “I slept all fucking day, and then woke up in the washroom.”
“You tried to take a shower; I told you it was a bad idea with your injuries.”
“I don’t remember any of that.”
“Because you fell on your ass and spent the rest of the night on the washroom floor.”
“Really?”
“Why do you think there was so much water on the floor?” Admit it, I covered that up well. “Any other questions, Jim?”
“None whatsoever.”
“Good.” I took my katana and rushed to the front door.
Once again, Jim had to stick his nose where it didn’t belong. “Wait, where are you going with all that?”
“Out for a walk,” I drily said.
“Reika . . .”
“This is a rough neighborhood, Jim, and you know that.”
“Let me come with you—”
“Oh, fuck sakes! Everyone needs to let me handle this myself.”
Jim, despite his injuries, went to grab his guns. “I’d be a goner if it wasn’t for you, Reika.”
“Likewise,” Belyana added. “I’m free now because of you and Emily, who’s now in need of our help.”
“Fine,” I groaned as my thumbs typed a reply to Asmodeus’ request. “Jim . . . just a fair warning, you might see some stuff that’s going to be hard to explain right away.”
I knew there’d be a day where I’d have to explain the truth to Jim. I just always imagined it happening, well, not tonight.
Asmodeus was quick to reply, directing us to meet him at the New York Aquarium though it had been closed for the night. I’m guessing he and his thugs broke in. I could only imagine why this place was chosen out of all other possible places to meet up. In any case, Emily and the girls were being held here, a confirmation message Asmodeus recently sent, as I parked my car, also confirmed that.
The three of us approached the front entrance, someone had indeed broken in and made themselves at home. There was no sign of security as we pushed in, not that it surprised me. Asmodeus and his talents alone would have made short work of them.
“Oh fuck,” Jim blurted as he stopped in front of the glass separating the tunnels we were in from the pool on the outside.
I caught a glimpse at what freaked Jim out. The lifeless body of a security guard drifted in the water. Behind him was two, maybe three half-naked women swimming. Their hair was green and their eyes glowed yellow. One of the girls swam over to the glass, blowing kisses at Jim. Asmodeus turned the Aquarium into a lounge for the Rusalka.
“Is this what you meant by hard to explain stuff, Reika?” Jim asked me.
I turned away from the display as more bodies drifted into view. “There’s a lot more than this.”
We made our way topside to the rafters overlooking the pool on the outside. I counted at least a dozen Rusalki who were once the trafficked girls, rise from the pool to watch. Some still wore their dresses, others not so much, I’m guessing those were the ones that got busy with the dead security guards.
Asmodeus stood opposite us with a gun pointed at Emily’s head now in her human form. Her hands, naturally, were bound, preventing her from using her mudra.
He smiled at our arrival. “So, you came, at last.”
I gritted my teeth, still having a hard time believing I agreed to this shit. “Let’s get this over with.”
Two brawny thugs approached us with pistols in hand. My hand went for my katana. “Hold it!” Asmodeus said, cocking the gun he held at Emily’s head. “That could have been a stupid move on your part, Reika.”
My hand moved away from the hilt of my blade. “We had a deal, Belyana for Emily and the girls.”
“You made a deal with a demon, what did you expect?” Asmodeus laughed as one of his two thugs pushed down upon my shoulders, forcing me to my knees.
Jim whipped out his pistol, trying to act all brave and defiant. “Get your fucking hands off her!”
The two thugs didn’t like to be told what to do by Jim. Their pistols aimed at his head as a result. “Let it go, Jim,” I said.
“Reika, I’ve been in this business long enough to know when a bad deal is about to go down.”
“Careful there, if you value this Bakeneko’s life,” Asmodeus cut in.
Jim took a step back to size up the two thugs that were ready to blow his head off. “I’ve popped two Russian mobsters alone once, and I’ll do it again.”
“Wait . . .” Asmodeus said, looking up and down at Jim. He walked over to us after ordering one of the thugs to drag Belyana by her arm over to where Emily had been tied up. “I remember you.” Asmodeus’ grin was evil as fuck.
“I don’t remember you . . .” Jim paused, giving Asmodeus a closer look. “Vladimir? Is that you? What the fuck happened to your accent, comrade?”
“My accent? It’s dead, along with Vladimir, my previous host . . .” Asmodeus swiftly drew his gun. Two deafening bangs went off, splattering red holes in Jim’s stomach, sending him to the ground without a scream. “And you.”
Uncontrollable rage ignited the Umbral energy within me. My body burst into flames, my blood boiled as I pondered how many moves I needed to make to remove Asmodeus’ head from his body. Jim didn’t deserve that for fuck sakes, he was the lesser threat.
The guard behind me leaped back screaming. The heat of my flaming veil was too much for his human body. I got back to my feet with my katana in hand and went for a nice swift cleave aimed in the general direction of Asmodeus’ face. My talents were quick to imbue my katana with flames, and my wrist blades were ready to deliver the finishing blow. They were enchanted after all, and therefore the only weapons I had that could kill Asmodeus’ soul, now he had my pistol.
The same pistol he used to shoot Jim, the same pistol he aimed not at me, but Emily and Belyana. It was a reminder who really had the power, and who had something to lose. It brought back painful memories of last fall when I handed an enchanted weapon to Ryan not knowing he was Lucifer. That same weapon ended Lexi, now here I was damn near repeating that night. Jim was on the ground thanks to a weapon that was once mine, and Belyana and Emily were set up to receive the same fate.
I ceased my attack, an inch short of his head. I couldn’t bear the thought of watching Belyana collapse like Lexi did.
“So, now what?” I said, dousing my flames and dropping my katana.
“Contrary to popular belief,” Asmodeus said while he tossed my katana into the pool with a small splash as the Rusalki watched, entertained by our bout. “I want you alive, Reika.”
“Our previous two encounters say otherwise.”
Asmodeus returned to Belyana stroking her blonde hair, holding it to his nose. He was in pure ecstasy. “Things have changed thanks to you giving her the serum. But, I’m not mad that you cleansed her possession, if anything you just made
my job easier. Now I don’t have to wait until the morning.”
“In the morning for what?”
“Belyana, be a good girl,” Asmodeus murmured to her. “Give Anastasia a new host.”
Belyana moved slowly to me like a child that didn’t want to go to school while Asmodeus continued to wave the pistol about. Fear of getting shot was the strongest motivator of all. Belyana pulled her creepy demonic tome out of her bag. She opened it up to the middle, flipping through the pages briskly.
“Reika, I’m sorry,” Belyana said when her page-flipping came to an end as she stood before me.
“Anastasia was our most experienced Rusalka when it came to blending in with humans,” Asmodeus said. “She was supposed to help show the new Rusalki here what it took to blend in, how to speak human languages, before we moved on to bigger things. But you had to go and ruin it, Reika.”
Belyana’s lips began chanting weird-ass words all related to the occult, the alignment of stars, and the strange words written on the pages of her tome. Belyana’s hair began to wave around along with her clothes, like she was caught in a blustering windstorm. Glowing pentagrams appeared on the floor beneath her, and the pages of her tome began to flip on its own.
Asmodeus continued. “You’re going to help rebuild what you destroyed, Reika. You will become Anastasia’s new host; you will lead these beautiful women in the pool and become my second-in-command.”
I retorted. “Until the morning arrives, when I tell you to get fucked.”
“I don’t know, Schubert did a decent job of keeping your powers suppressed when he had you tied up in his basement.”
“And I escaped.”
“Because you had help from Lexi,” Asmodeus snickered. “But where is she now? Right.”
A plume of miasma lifted away from the glowing pentagrams below Belyana, circling around her, then the tome in her hands, before swarming over my head. It ripped my mind apart. Memories that weren’t mine flashed in front of my eyes, languages I’d never spoken were learned in an instant. I wanted to pass out as my body had become numb and limp. A pair of hands prevented that and kept me on my knees, the owner of those hands whispered into my ear. “At last, the time has come.” It was Lexi’s voice.
“Secure them,” Asmodeus said to his thugs, gesturing to Emily and Belyana. “Leave me alone with Reika.”
Things got fuzzy after that, though, I was pretty sure Asmodeus had dragged me closer to the pool, oblivious that Lexi’s ghostly appearance had followed behind.
“You can’t move, Reika,” Lexi said.
“I’ve noticed, otherwise I’d be cutting him to pieces now.” That’s when I realized I had become so numb, I couldn’t speak. Those words I said were in my head, transmitted to Lexi somehow.
“Just relax,” Lexi said. “Your body is adjusting to the new conditions it will have to face.”
I felt Asmodeus’ hands rip my clothing off. His face lit up with lust as his hands unhooked my bra and cupped my breast. There was nothing I could do, and it didn’t seem like Lexi cared. Hell, she sat next to my body and ran her fingers across my thighs. She too had the look of lust on her face.
Asmodeus unbuckled his belt. “I hope you don’t mind if I sample the product I intend to sell.”
Lexi lay next to me, her hands continued to stroke me, like we were all preparing for a threesome. “I’m so excited, Reika,” Lexi whispered seductively. “This is going to be an incredible moment.”
Asmodeus saved my panties for last. The act left me completely nude staring up at the stars, unable to move or feel anything other than Lexi’s hand gliding up and down me.
“Now that Lucifer is gone and I’m the only demon lord around,” Asmodeus said. “We’re gonna do things my way. I’m thinking we’ll start with the Rusalka and make every working girl in the city become one of them and every man desire them. Once the money starts rolling in, we’ll move onto bigger and better things. Buying out gangs, cops, investing heavily in pharmaceuticals, adult entertainment . . . Then we bring in the real succubi and incubi. The human race’s need to seek pleasure will be the weapon we use to control them. They’ll crave it so much that they’ll bow down and worship me as their lord and savior. And with Belyana at our side, she’ll bring in every demon from the Umbral that’s loyal to me, without the need for soul contamination.”
The numbness of my body began to recede, just enough for me to move my lips and speak. “Fuck you.”
Asmodeus laughed. Glad you found it amusing asshole. “Truth be told, I’m part incubus. Belyana has been under my control this whole time.”
“No, that’s not true,” I groaned.
“Don’t worry, Reika, it isn’t true,” Lexi whispered to me. The warmth of her breath, even though it wasn’t real, felt hella comforting during this ordeal.
“It is, why do you think Belyana ran away from her mother?” Asmodeus gloated. “I promised her my cock; provided she completed the tasks I gave her. This was before your friend Jim killed my last host of course. It took her a few months, but she caved in and came crawling back to the Russians.”
“Only half of that is true, Anastasia drove her back.” Lexi whispered. “He’s missing one critical thing.”
Asmodeus dropped his pants and his hands spread my legs. “But enough talk. Let’s fuck.”
“Yes!” Lexi roared with pleasure crawling over top of me. “Let’s become one.”
And become one we did, literally. Lexi’s visage entered my body. Her thoughts became shared with mine as with her actions and desires. The memories and languages that had appeared in my head . . . they were Lexi’s and the succubus that had possessed her.
Now she possessed me.
Chapter Twenty-Six
A robe of flames covered my body, serving as my attire for the time being. I looked as though I’d donned a long dress made from the flames of hell. My billowing left hand clasped around Asmodeus’ neck, strangling him, holding him in place for my left foot to rise up and kick him in the balls. Keep in mind his pants were off.
His muffled screams, thanks to my hand crushing his wind pipe, was priceless. Those proved to be my last independent thoughts going forward. I was no longer Reika Araya.
Asmodeus’ body lurched backward. His hands were swift to get his pants back up. “What the fuck is this?”
“Hello, Asmodeus, it’s been awhile,” we said, standing and facing Asmodeus.
“Rusalka can’t use the fire element!”
“We are not a Rusalka.”
There was no Reika, Lexi, or I. We were one force sharing the same burning body. We allowed the wings of a succubus to rip out from our back amidst the flaming dress.
Asmodeus stepped backward, shock and terror made his eyes twitch. “Lilith . . .” he said, then faced Belyana. “You summoned the wrong soul!”
Asmodeus was right in his assumption.
We were Lilith.
Belyana closed her tome and held it in front of her smirking. “Everything looks fine to me.”
We approached Asmodeus, leaving burning footprints in our wake. “Next time you charm a human, be sure to re-charm them should your host die,” we said. “Belyana has been free of your charm, just like how Reika has been free from mine.”
Asmodeus cocked his eyebrow. “Yours?”
“Who do you think possessed Lexi? Some no-name succubus?” We laughed hysterically, the fire rippling off our form. “Lilith was the one that possessed Lexi.”
“Don’t just stand there!” Asmodeus yelled to his thugs. “Help me!”
We used shurikens Reika had on her, rapidly picking them up from her outfit, and throwing them with precision. The two thugs Asmodeus brought with him fell as we teleported next to them, thanks to the ability Reika referred to as blink. The two men squirmed on the floor beneath our feet as the stabbing pain from the shuriken, now stuck in their chests hit. It was their final moments within the realm of the living. Jets of flames rushed away from our arms, rendering their bodies into
smoke and ash.
The act gave Belyana the chance to untie Emily. We hoped our show of power sent a clear message that neither of them was to interfere further. For the besting of Asmodeus had to come by our hands, it would be the proof we needed to send to the Umbral that Lilith was more than powerful enough to become a demon lord and rule this world.
We rushed after Asmodeus, sending a steady wave of fireballs at him. He was quick to defend himself, igniting his body in flames so that our fireballs would do no harm. He then changed his elemental attunement to that of water and attempted to douse our flames with a water jet.
We countered as we neared him, and our delicate skin began to crystallize with spikes of ice, as diamond-shaped beads of ice orbited our wrists. Gone was the flaming dress that shrouded our seductive and alluring nude body, replaced with a gown of frost, while icicles hung off our wings like fangs. Two scimitars made of ice forged in our hands, one in each. Our slashes and aggressive attacks forced our bout onto the surface of the pool, which froze instantly.
Asmodeus had an arrogant smirk as he used glacial shields to block our advance. He then switched to a fire attunement to hurl fireballs at us, forcing us to dodge and roll away across the sheet of frozen pool water—
A blow from behind pushed us forward, twisting around as we fell, we identified the source of the attack, the Bakeneko Emily. She stood ready to fight, using her ninjutsu mudra to arm herself with kunai surging with wind and lightning sparks.
“Stand aside,” we said to Emily.
“Like hell I will.”
Belyana faced us. Her face had become paralyzed with fear, her hands trembled, shaking the tome she had carried. We smirked at her. “What’s wrong, Belyana? Is this not what you prayed for?”
“Lilith . . . I prayed for your help, but—”
“And I gave it to you,” we said to her. “You are free of the Rusalki’s hold, free of the Russian’s hold on you and your friends.”
“Okay, enough of this!” Emily lunged at us with her weapons. “Belyana, you and I are going to have a small chat as to why you never pray for a demon to help you . . .”
Wrath of the Demon Girl Page 17