Succubus Rising, An Urban Fantasy (The Telepathic Clans Saga)

by BR Kingsolver

  A small puff of pheromones and kicking her Glam up to medium-low caused an immediate reaction she could see in his eyes. “Oh, Senor, I would never propose. I prefer to seduce. It’s so much less formal, don’t you think?” she purred. “I do promise that I’ll still respect you in the morning, though.”

  Outside the restaurant, Brenna got in her limo and told the driver to follow Carlos. His house was a large four-story row house about a mile from the Capitol. When they pulled up in front, he emerged from his car and walked toward them. But instead of Brenna, Rebecca, dressed in black jeans, black turtleneck and black leather jacket, got out and stood in front of him. He had no idea how she had managed to change since he last saw her at the restaurant.

  “General de Vargas, I’ll wait outside the bedroom but not outside the house,” she announced. “We’ll be leaving between four and six in the morning.”

  “As you will,” he acknowledged with a slight bow of his head. A small smile crossed his face, “You take your job very seriously, don’t you?”

  “She’s my only reason for living, Senor,” she answered, looking him straight in the eyes. He saw no humor there, just the totally dilated pupils of a powerful telepath riding the killing edge. He realized that Rebecca didn’t trust him and wasn’t in favor of Brenna entering his house. She was prepared to kill him and anyone else in an instant. His blood ran cold.

  Understanding struck him, “You’re not her Protector. You’re her shadow.”

  Rebecca shrugged, then stepped aside to allow Brenna out of the limo.

  As he escorted her up the walk with Rebecca following, Brenna asked in a low voice, “What’s a shadow?”

  Surprised, he murmured, “You don’t know?”

  “No one will tell me.”

  “Well, there are shadows and then there are shadows. Exactly what she is to you, only she knows. I’ve never met one before, only heard of them.”

  “And what have you heard?”

  “That I should be very nice to you or I’ll be lucky if all she does is slip a knife between my ribs.”

  “Do you know how frustrating it is to always get that kind of answer?”

  Inside, in a comfortable parlor, he poured fine cognac for the three of them, allowing them to take their snifters from the tray he sat on a small table. He lifted the glass that was left and taking a mouthful first, nodded to Rebecca. She allowed herself a small smile.

  He escorted Brenna upstairs and was surprised when she stopped him at the door. She stood on her tiptoes and pulled his head down, kissing him lightly on the lips. “Do you have a nice man that she might enjoy for a while?” she murmured, barely audible.

  “Won’t that distract her from her duties?” he murmured back.

  “It won’t take her long to kill him if she needs to,” Brenna answered. “I’m sure it won’t slow her down for more than a second or two.”

  He couldn’t help it, he laughed. “Senorita Healy, your friend requests some company for you. Would you like me to call my younger brother? He is quite handsome and much more of a gentleman than I am.”

  Shooting Brenna a sharp look and finding a wide-eyed innocent face looking back at her, Rebecca laughed also, “It would help to have someone to chat with to pass the time. Perhaps he can help me with my Spanish.”

  Sending a spear thread to his half-brother, Carlos ushered Brenna into his bedroom and closed the door.

  She turned her back to him and stood expectantly. Not sure what to do, he placed his hands on her shoulders. Brushing back her hair, he kissed her on the neck. She leaned back into him and whispered, “Carlos, can you unzip me please?”

  Carlos pulled the zipper down very slowly, following it with his mouth as it lowered. The sound and his warm mouth trailing down her back made her shiver, each nibble sending sparks through her body. Reaching the end of the zipper, he kissed her at the junction of back and hips, then began working his way back up. His large hands slid under the fabric and fanned across her shoulders. Sliding her dress over her arms, his hands came around and cupped her breasts, teasing her nipples through the lace of her bra. His touch lit her skin on fire and her heart pounded in her chest.

  He turned her face to him with one hand and kissed a trail from her neck to her throat to her mouth. Sweet, soft, full lips tasted hers, then probed deeper with the tip of his tongue and yet deeper as she returned his kiss with all of her passion. His erection pressed against her back through his pants. Her nipples strained tight, aching against the lace of her bra. She gave him a slight puff of pheromones. Taking her hard nipples between his fingers and thumbs, he rolled them, sending electric shocks straight to her groin. A flood of moisture soaked her panties.

  Turning her to him, his hands moved, one cupping her face, the other sliding over her skin and inside the front of her dress, finding her panties and sliding over them. His palm pressed between her legs. He kissed her, fully and passionately, as she unfastened his pants and filled her hand with his long, hard phallus.

  He was tall and solid, with heat radiating off him like a furnace. Lost in his kiss, she realized just how strong he was when he lifted her off the floor, using just the one hand between her legs. She threw one arm around his neck and felt as light as air, floating as he carried her to his bed. God, she adored making love to a man who knew just how to touch her in all the right places.

  Laying her on the bed, he stripped her dress away and tossed it over a chair. Lying there in her bra, panties and garter belt, she watched him slowly undress, teasing her. Bathing him with pheromones again didn’t quicken his pace. She had felt his phallus, held it in her hand, but hadn’t seen it yet. She could see the long bulge hidden under his boxers, and the fire he had kindled in her blazed as his hard, sculpted chest was uncovered. His long muscular legs were revealed as he took off his trousers, and then slowly, oh so slowly, he bent to remove the boxers and kneel on the bed between her legs.

  He took almost as much time removing her bra and panties, and by the time he finished with them, she was afraid the bed might catch fire. She pulled him down and straddled his legs. Placing her arm behind her neck under her hair, she dipped her head and flipped a wave of dark hair onto his chest. Slowly, she drew it over his body, hearing him gasp. As her hair covered his erect cock, she took it in both hands, wrapped in her hair, and stroked it. He cried out, arching his back at the silky, sensuous feel of Brenna’s mass of curls and reached for her, but she was just out of his reach, teasing him as he had teased her. Giving him another burst of pheromones, she slid up his legs until she straddled his erection. Sliding her warm wet opening up over his hard shaft, back and forth but not allowing him inside her, she continued to sweep his chest and abdomen with her hair.

  He surged upright, taking her in his arms, rolling and pinning her under him and entering her in a single hard push. When he filled her, suddenly his restraint and gentleness were gone. An orgasm took her, but the position wasn’t comfortable. He was so tall and broad, and with him lying on top of her, she felt crushed.

  “Carlos, can you kneel?” She wrapped her arms around his neck and told him to straighten and then she was in his lap, impaled with her legs around his waist, her weight pushing him deeper within her. Their faces were close now and she kissed him, plundering his mouth.

  Breaking the kiss, she whispered, “Lower your shield, at least the first one.” He hesitated, then did so. She entered his mind, sharing how wonderful she felt with him inside her. Then she took his mouth again and they soared, pleasure engulfing them.

  After she half-drained him, they lay together and she sent a spear to Rebecca, who answered languid and satiated.

  Was it good for you too? Brenna asked.

  Oh yeah, little brother is quite sweet, Rebecca responded.

  So is Carlos. I’ll be ready in a bit.

  Okay. Turned out to be quite a nice date. Glad you had a good time.

  ~~~

  Chapter 5

  I even accept for the sake of argument t
hat sexual orgies eliminate social tensions and ought to be encouraged. – Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

  Halloween was Brenna's birthday. The previous year she had been recovering from her ordeal at the hands of a madman who was targeting succubi, and the celebration had been small. This year, however, Rebecca was determined to turn it into a blowout party.

  As the Clan historian, archivist and librarian, a volunteer post previously held by Brenna's mother, she spent a lot of her spare time in the estate's library. Collin installed computers so she could put the card catalog into a database and also have access to the internet. Her research into Halloween had led her into the ancient Celtic celebration of Samhain, and from there into the Clan archives where the true nature of that celebration revealed itself. Samhain (pronounced 'so-ween') literally meant “the end of warm season". November 1 marked the combined Feast of the Dead and New Year's Day on the Celtic calendar. The Druids believed it was a time when the veil between our reality and that of the Otherworld was very thin and easily penetrated.

  Originally a harvest festival, as in most Clan holy days, it was a celebration to worship the Goddess who bestowed their Gifts. Beltane, or May Day, was the celebration at planting time, and offerings were made through Her priestesses, the Druids or succubi. At Samhain, all women were believed to embody the Goddess and could accept offerings on Her behalf. Druidic tradition also considered it a celebration of the dead, and it was considered the best day of the year for divination.

  The ancient Druids believed the soul was immortal. Those who die move into the Otherworld, and after a person dies in the Otherworld, their soul reincarnates and lives again in another living entity—either in a plant, or the body of a human, or other animal.

  Further research led Rebecca to believe that divination was tied to the Gifts of Precognition and Postcognition. One tract had a passage saying it was a day for "divination, conversing with the ancestors, and prophesizing the future." The Druids used a wide pharmacopeia for healing in addition to their Healing Gift, but she discovered that one plant extract also was used to enhance their powers of divination.

  A few discrete inquiries led Rebecca to Seamus' study where they discussed the ideas she had for the celebration. To her surprise, he not only didn't ask her to scale things back, he directed her to his old friend Rory O’Reilly for help in her efforts.

  Rory was even older than Seamus, and had come with him from Ireland in 1890. The Clan’s chief of security until he retired, he now ran the stables and served as healer to all the animals on the estate. He had taught both Brenna and Rebecca to ride.

  "Rory, do you know anything about mugwort?"

  "Ah, and why would ye be wanting to know about that?"

  "I was doing some research in the library, and a couple of books said the Druids used it to enhance divination abilities."

  He studied her closely, "Are ye trying to see yer future, pretty miss? Perhaps looking for yer young man?"

  Rebecca laughed, "No, nothing like that. I was researching Samhain traditions. When I was at O'Byrne last spring, I discovered the old traditions of Goddess worship are still strong among the Clans in Ireland. I talked with Seamus, and he thinks bringing some of that back here is a good thing."

  "Samhain, is it? The night of the ancestors and divination. And ye came across the uses of mugwort? Well, Artemisia vulgaris has its uses, but only as part of the elixir. If ye want a true Samhain brew, ye also need Artemisia absinthium, wormwood. There are two ways to use it. The scent of wormwood is said to increase psychic powers. Burned with incenses on Samhain, it’s used to aid divination and prophecy. And it's especially good when combined with mugwort.”

  "Absinthium? Like in absinthe?"

  "Aye. Common name is wormwood. I think that’s why Seamus sent ye to me." He reached up to a shelf and took down a jar of clear liquid and two small glasses. He poured a shot into each glass and toasted her, "Slainte.”

  "Goddamn, Rory, that's ... wow. That's strong stuff."

  "Just a little something I cook up in me back yard," he told her with a twinkle in his eye. "It's poitin, pure Irish pot still whiskey. Just the way me grandda used to make it.”

  He reached into his desk drawer, pulled out a small bottle full of green liquid, and poured a small amount into each of their glasses. "Now, as it so happens, I also produce a bit of another spirit. To the green fairy," he said with a grin.

  The green fairy indeed, Rebecca thought. It tasted of anise and was easily as potent as the whiskey had been. "Absinthe?" she asked.

  "Indeed. And if ye want to start your Samhain celebration right, here's how ye do it." He went on to describe the ritual he remembered as a young man in Donegal a hundred fifty years before. By the time she staggered back to the manor house, attempting to remember exactly how to detoxify the alcohol in her system, she was exuberant with new plans.

  ~~~

  Rebecca loved to throw parties. Any kind of celebration found her in the midst of the preparations, if not the major leader of the effort. She knew everyone's birthday, and you had to be severely in her doghouse not to have her plan your party, whether you wanted one or not.

  She started working on Halloween two months in advance. This would actually be three parties in one: the traditional Halloween costume party with bobbing for apples, jack-o-lantern carving and costume contests, Brenna's birthday, and starting at midnight, the ancient Samhain celebration.

  She commandeered the manor house's main ballroom and began decorating a week prior to the event. The farm hands brought pumpkins, sheaves of straw and colorful autumn leaves. The various craftsmen on the estate were implored to create black cats, witches on broomsticks, harvest moons and other drawings to hang on the walls or stand as sculptures. Spare mattresses were brought from the Protector's barracks and stacked in storerooms and empty guest bedrooms for the later festivities.

  Everyone who Brenna considered a friend was invited, and Brenna was friendly with almost everyone. Callie was appalled when she discovered that the kitchen was preparing food and drink for three hundred people. She was even more appalled when she discovered what some of the contest prizes included. Best costume male won a night with Irina, and best costume female received a night with Jeremy.

  She almost told Rebecca those prizes were inappropriate, but then she saw Jeremy carry a large barrel into the ballroom and bend over to put it down. She found her thoughts drifting to what kind of costume she should wear and decided not to be a spoilsport. After all, the prizes were rather tame compared to the Samhain celebration that was planned.

  ~~~

  Callie wasn't the only one thinking about costumes, and the crowd that showed up at the ballroom was colorful to say the least.

  Cindy came as Little Bo Peep, complete with pigtails and a stuffed toy sheep glued to a skateboard. Her costume was probably more suited to a website for pedophiles than a children's book. Siobhan wore a black corset dress, peaked hat, and carried a hand-made broomstick. Irina came as Tinkerbelle, Collin as a leprechaun, Seamus as a 16th century laird. Mrs. Doyle, the cook, came as Siobhan, complete with red corset and high heels. Brenna came as a succubus, with red skin, bat wings, ram's horns, and furry boots with cloven-hoof coverings. Rebecca came as the Goddess, complete with halo.

  But Callie took the prize. Dressed in an incredibly skimpy, low-cut miniskirt with a stuffed bra and long black wig, she had golden lightning bolts shooting out of her head. Collin had helped her rig the electronic neon crown worn under the wig, piercing it in a half dozen places for the lightning bolts. It was Brenna's turn to be appalled, but everyone else loved it. In the end, Callie won a night with the handsome Protector by a large margin of the votes.

  Rebecca acted as master of ceremonies, announcing the evening's events and giving play-by-play of some of the contests. When Brenna’s cake was wheeled out, shaped as a witch with long black hair riding a broomstick, Rebecca used her Pyrokinetic Gift to relight the candles the first three times Brenna attempted to blow
them out.

  Half an hour before midnight, Rebecca announced that the Halloween party was ending and gave fair warning that Samhain would commence at midnight. Those who did not want to participate were bid a good evening, and her volunteers began dragging mattresses into the ballroom. The lights were lowered until only a dozen electric torches hanging on the walls and a white globe imitating the full moon shone upon the scene.

  At midnight, standing under the 'moon', Rebecca announced their thanks to the Goddess for all the blessings She had bestowed upon them, and prayed that She would continue to favor them.

  "Tonight is our New Year, a new beginning for the Tuatha de Danann. It is the night we honor our ancestors. We thank them for the heritage they have left us, and the Goddess for the bounty of the harvest. The veil between the worlds of life and death is thin on this night, and we take this time to remember our beloved dead."

  She gestured to the cauldron sitting before her, guarded by three pregnant female protectors. Rory had cautioned her to dole out the absinthe cautiously, and she thought that having servers who not only could enforce the limits, but also did not plan to partake, would ensure compliance.

  "Come each of you and partake in a draught of the elixir of the Druids."

  Releasing bursts of pheromones, the Goddess’ succubi priestesses lit bowls of incense mixed with artemisia.

  Rebecca accepted the three-ounce glass of absinthe and then disrobed and offered herself as a conduit for offerings to the Goddess. She lay down on a low altar that had been erected in the front of the room. Other women wishing to participate did the same. Each prepared to join with the men to present prayers of thanks. Men drifted toward the waiting women.

  The absinthe and incense had Rebecca's head spinning. She realized she could feel the entire room. Everyone had opened their minds at least to the first level, and the absinthe had wiped out their filters. She welcomed a man who knelt in front of her. Her orgasms merged with those of the other people in the room and absolutely shattered her.