Counterpart (Succubi & Incubi Assn.)

  As much as Rosa had power over every succubus and incubus, Cassandra wasn't at all intimidated. In fact, she rolled her eyes. “It needed to be done. Bethany was going to be the reason we were revealed.”

  “Yet you were the one who did it, why Cassandra?” Rosa stepped towards the brunette and a trickle of flames followed. “Tell me why.”

  Cassandra held a slight point of fear on her, but it was simply diminished. “Neither succubi or incubi should ever be involved with humans. You let her be with one. If anything, you let our people down.”

  “I did nothing of the sort.”

  “Really, Rosa? So when the rest of us feel that connection with a human, the human dies, but when Bethany does, she is all of a sudden a liability? Tell me how fair that is.” Cassandra's voice rose with every sentence she spoke.

  “That is what this is all about, because I sent Bethany to kill your humans? I did that for a good reason, Cassandra. You were getting too close. Bethany was a different story. Conrad was immune.”

  “Conrad was immune because Bethany transferred her soul into him. How is that fair, Rosa? It's not. Why do we have to suffer while she lives happily ever after?”

  Rosa stopped mere inches away from Cassandra. She knew why Cassandra was angry. She understood where she was coming from. But Rosa also knew that she was not telling all of the truth. “The only connection you were forming with humans was a connection so you could make them your puppets. That is not how we work, Cassandra. We blend in with the humans, feeding off them, never do we repeat. If you were truly in love with a human, you would have found a way to make them immune. But you did not, instead Bethany did and you got jealous. That's why she's dead.”

  Cassandra didn't speak, only because she knew Rosa was telling the truth. She was taken-back by the remark and not a single retaliation came to her head.

  “You can leave.” Rosa looked down at the succubus with pity. “Because of you, we are known to the humans. So, as your punishment you can leave. Do not come back. Survive up there with no support from the council.”

  Cassandra narrowed her eyes at Rosa, trying to catch a bluff from her creator. “You would really do that?”

  There was nothing but a hard face from Rosa when she said, “as much as you would kill your own sister.”

  “Talk about family drama,” I murmured. How could her own sister do that to her? I get that jealousy was a key part in this but seriously, she would kill her own sister over it? I couldn't even imagine if Melinda killed me, even though she wasn't my sister—she was close enough. I didn't count Delilah in this, only because the only time she'd ever been a sister to me was, well... never.

  “Yes, well, sometimes families don't work out the way you want them too,” Rosa said. I could sense a double meaning within her words and I couldn’t help but agree.

  “Is that why we all come from neglected families? I get that it’s to keep the secret, but—”

  “Not all succubi and incubi come from neglected families, but the ones that stay alive the longest are from there. Plus, demons attach themselves to loner-type people.”

  “Thanks for that,” I muttered. I wasn’t a loner-type person, was I? I probably was. My only friends consisted of a succubus, an incubus, and about a handful of humans, who knew nothing about me—they probably wouldn't be my friends if they ever found that.

  God, I am a loner.

  “What does this have to do with me anyway?” I asked. “And no offense, but you totally haven't answered the first question I asked when I came here.”

  “Simple question, simple answer.” She pointed a single finger at me and said, “That’s Bethany.”

  My body stiffened and I leaned in, hoping what I heard was wrong. “What?”

  “You have Bethany's demon inside you, I find it very extraordinary,” she said.

  I couldn't resist what I did next. I laughed. “Oh, that's hilarious. You really got me there.”

  “I'm not joking, Maya.” I was really hoping that the stillness of her face would break into a grin, and she would scream 'APRIL FOOLS'. But it wasn't April, and her face didn't change.

  Reality struck me so hard. “Oh my God.”

  Either Rosa didn't notice my shocked state or she was just ignoring it, but she continued, “Bethany hasn't been noticed since she died. I thought she was permanently gone but seeing you, right here, it's definitely Bethany.”

  I have a 200 year old demon inside me? Why did that seem so disgusting? And all I could picture was some wrinkled corpse sitting inside my stomach. I almost wanted to puke.

  “Are you alright?” Rosa asked. “You’re going a bit pale.”

  I pushed the image away, and waved her off. I knew full well that I wasn’t alright. “I'll be fine.” Should I even consider myself special for this? I was finding it hard to even process.

  And why wasn’t she answering my question about Tori? “What does that have to do with Tori?” I asked, wanting to turn this conversation around.

  “Ah.” She uncrossed her legs and leaned forward. “This is where it gets interesting. We think Tori was sent by Cassandra. It would explain how she is capable of doing things a succubus can only do when they reach a certain level, and managed to stay away from your senses.”

  Why is this starting to feel like a video game right now? “A certain level? Like what? Level 1… 8?”

  “It's not based on numbers, Maya. The older you get, the more you're capable of doing.” I could feel her need to roll her eyes at me. “You're still in the beginner’s stage, but I'm starting to think that will change soon. Bethany's demon holds a lot of power and sooner or later you'll channel the powers she had. This is why I think Cassandra is coming after you.”

  “Oh, perfect. I find out I have a 200 year old demon inside me and now I have one coming after me. That’s just great.” Every word I was saying was full of sarcasm, and when it finally hit me, I was in a completely opposite mood. “I didn’t ask for this.”

  “I understand.” Rosa nodded. “But Bethany chose you, and that means she trusts you. You just need to trust her.”

  At this moment, that seemed like a difficult scenario. I was still trying to get over that she was even inside me. “Can't you just get Cassandra, and like... you know, do whatever you do?”

  Kill her!

  “If only it was that easy. We don't know where Cassandra is, which is why we need Tori.”

  As slow as my mind was before, I could already see where this was going, and I hated that. “You want me to help out.”

  “You're a quick learner, Maya.”

  What a compliment. Too bad I was going to have to deny. “I can't help. If I get involved, Tristan will start getting suspicious.” He probably wouldn’t, considering he isn’t talking to me and I’m not talking to him. It was a bit late to bring up the sex thing between Tristan and Tori. Not only did I know if it was even true or not, but how was I supposed to tell my boss that I was concerned without coming off as something I was trying to deny.

  “You need not worry about him. He will know when you're around anyway, if he starts understanding the soul connection of you two—”

  “What soul connection?”

  Rosa tilted her head to the side, watching me with curious eyes. Did she expect me to know what she was talking about? “Yours and Tristan's. He has Conrad's soul...”

  Just when I thought my mind was catching up, it does this. “Are you telling me that Tristan's immune?”

  The way I was still managing to even speak a full sentence was astounding. How the hell did I miss that? I thought I’d be freaking out but something inside me felt... happy about this information.

  “He is as immune as you are a succubus. I thought you would have caught on when I told you that your demon was Bethany.” I bet she regretted saying I was a quick learner.

  Still, Tristan was immune. He was immune to me. “Is he immune to other succubi?”

  She nodded her head once, not willing to give me a verbal reply.
/>
  “I can't kill him.” My voice was a lone whisper and it was only meant for me to hear. The sound of a steady thump against my chest accelerated and a light feeling fluttered within me. I can't kill him. I can't hurt him. It was like a weight was finally lifting, only for it to be slammed against me again. Why did I not get told about this before? This would have been great to hear a week ago. Or maybe like a couple of years ago when he wasn’t in the arms of some fake blonde who just keeps ruining my life.

  It was already too late. He was gone.

  Yet, I couldn't stop myself from caring. “Is he still human?”

  “Yes, the only difference with him is that your demon is protecting his soul from being sucked out.” At least that answers the sex question. Even if they did have sex, he would still be fine. “It was what Bethany wanted, but there are the other things that she did not think about.”

  “What other things?” I asked.

  “He's not immune to our powers. It's just through sex. We can still compel him to do things. I actually think Tori may be persuading him to do some things, not sure why.”

  Tori had to have compelled Tristan to do all the things he did. It was the only logical explanation that I could think of. It was understandable too. She would persuade him to have sex with her, he would friend-ship break up with me, and then we’d stop talking.

  It was like the perfect plan.

  What a bitch.

  Running my hands down my face, I knew I had to do something. I couldn't bear to sit here while some master plan was being unraveled with Tristan in the middle of it. Sighing and ignoring the frustration, I finally made up my mind and said, “So, how can I help?”

  Sixteen - Guilt

  “We wait until they return from Hawaii?” I asked.

  After speaking with Rosa for a few more minutes as she briefed me on what the plan was—it really wasn’t my ideal plan—Ethan brought me back. Before I could leave however, Rosa decided to ruin my night just a bit more.

  “Ethan will be working alongside you.”

  I groaned inwardly, not even hiding the fact that I hated the idea. “But he doesn't talk.”

  Yeah, I was stuck with the non-talking incubus. Not only that, but Rosa went on to say, “No killing her, Maya. We want her for questioning.”

  She was asking for a lot.

  “We don't have a specific location on her, so yes waiting for them to return will have to do. She knows something’s up but she’s not fully sure. Unless it takes too long, we'll just have to try our chances. Everything will be fine until then,” Ethan assured. I wanted to believe him too. I wanted to believe that everything was going to be fine, but I was finding that very hard.

  I walked around the side of my bed, picking up the photo that had dropped to the ground before Mr. Intruder arrived, and I pinned it back in its right place on my wall. Guilt and exhaustion filled me, and I couldn't find myself to keep my eyes open for much longer. So much had happened tonight, yet it felt like I hadn't even been gone for long.

  “What's with all the talking?” A sleepy Melinda walked into the room, rubbing both her eyes. “Shit, Maya. It's fucking one in the morning, just go to sleep, you vampire wanna—” her voice faded off when her hands moved down and she spotted Ethan.

  “Maya,” she said cautiously, turning to face me, “why is he in your room?”

  You couldn’t really explain the face Melinda had at the moment. It was a cross between surprise, worry and suspicion. Guess I better just get it out there before she thinks the worst—like Ethan and I were doing things.

  “Tori's a succubus.” I shrugged, only because it was all I could really do. If it were my choice, I’d be searching for her right now, but no we had to follow Rosa’s plan because she knows best. Apparently.

  In less than three seconds, Melinda went from tired to completely awake. And before she even spoke, I knew I wanted sleepy Melinda back.

  “Are you kidding me?” she exclaimed. It was luckily not directed towards me. Instead her wide-eyed gaze was pointed towards Ethan. “That blonde bimbo is a succubus? How is that even possible? We couldn't sense her.”

  And just as if he was summoned, Daniel walked in.

  “Shit you girls know how to make some noise.” He obviously just woke up from Melinda’s raised voice, and he looked as half asleep as she did. Then he spotted Ethan standing next to me and he was as awake as she was. “Oh, so you let him in your room?”

  “Not right now, Daniel,” I sighed, pressing the tips of my fingers to my forehead, already feeling a headache come through.

  “Hello, can someone please explain to me why there's a blonde bimbo as a succubus?” Melinda exclaimed, rubbing at her arms like there was an infection inside them. She mumbled, “I don't want to be a succubus anymore if it means I'm associated with her.”

  “I still don't know why there's an incubus in your room, Maya,” Daniel stated, ignoring the state Melinda was getting herself into.

  “You know, rubbing your arm isn't going to get rid of a demon,” Ethan pointed out, watching Melinda begin to rub her skin raw.

  It was honestly like watching three different things at once. Daniel was going on about how Ethan is in my room. Melinda was trying to remove herself from the demon world. Ethan was stating how what Melinda was doing was going to irritate her demon if she continued.

  Me? I was honestly over it.

  “You guys stop,” I said quietly, holding my hand out in a lazy attempt. I admit, I didn’t put much effort into it but I honestly thought they would hear me.

  “I want out of this deal. I want out. This whole thing is just done,” Melinda said.

  “You're just going to end up with a raw arm,” Ethan replied.

  “I don't understand how there's an incubus in your room, yet you won't even let me sleep innocently in your bed.” Of course that came from Daniel. I don’t think he knew the difference between mature and immature right now.

  “Can you guys shut up?” I spoke louder this time, almost reaching the thin line between sane and insane. It got their attention though and I calmed. “Can we all talk about this tomorrow? I'm tired and I need to think about how I'm going to get Tori without Tristan getting suspicious or finding out—whenever they come back, that is.”

  “Oh!” Melinda had stopped rubbing her arms and now she looked like the Melinda that had news. “He might be coming back tomorrow.”

  How did she know this? “Why?”

  Her eyes glassed over and her fingers started counting. “Well, Ben told Kelly, who told Noah—”

  “Can you just skip to the point?” I've been through this name dropping once before. I think I understood how many people Melinda knew.

  Her hand dropped to her side and she rolled her eyes. “Fine, he should be coming back. Geoff West's funeral is in two days.”

  Geoff's funeral. Shit, I forgot about him. Of course he was having a funeral, and of course Tristan would go. We all knew him—well, he didn't know me but he was there to help Tristan out, so it was like I knew him. Melinda knew him though—like physically met and greeted him—not sure how, but if she had the same encounter as me, then I didn’t want to know. “Are you going?”

  She shrugged. “I'm thinking about it. I only met the guy once but I guess I should at least make an appearance. I heard the whole crew was going to be there.” A smirk came on her face and it was my turn to roll my eyes.

  “Of course you'd be the one to think she can pick up a guy at a funeral,” I muttered.

  “I'm a demon, Maya. Besides, they're vulnerable at that time.”

  As much as Melinda and I were alike, there were a lot of differences. She actually embraced everything that had to do with her demon, while I was more subtle about it. We could be so opposite.

  I felt a yawn start to climb up my throat and I knew that it was time to get some sleep. My eyes flicked to the clock. 1:30am, which was weird because I was sure I was down in the underworld for hours. I shook my head, not even caring. “Alright, I
'm going to sleep.” The whole Tristan thing would have to wait—as if I had a choice.

  I noticed that no one was even making the move to leave. Actually, it seemed that everyone was busy. I could see Melinda watching Ethan while biting down on her bottom lip. I didn’t even want to know what was going through her head. Ethan was oblivious to this all. The photos on my wall had grabbed his attention at some point, again.

  And Daniel, do I even have to ask?

  “Can you please stop looking at my boobs?” I said, crossing my arms over my chest, where Daniel’s blue eyes had settled.

  The side of his lips quirked up and he shrugged, obviously not fazed by my catching him. “You shouldn’t wear a see-through shirt. It’s misleading.”

  It wasn’t even see-through. It was white and the bra I had underneath was black, so technically, “You're just a pervert. Can everyone please get out of my room?”

  All gazes were on me, and still no one made the move to get out. I was going to have to force them out. “I'm going to masturbate,” I said.

  “Ew.” Melinda held her palms over her ears. “That’s not something I wanted to know.” She turned and headed out the door.

  One down. Two more to go.

  “As much as your sexual desires are normal, I believe this is my exit.” Ethan vanished, leaving me with the one person who I knew wouldn’t co-operate.

  “Go away, Daniel,” I said.

  “You sure you don't want a helping hand or anything?”

  My hand reached out and before it could grab the pillow on my bed, Daniel was out of my room, shutting my door quickly behind him.

  I released a long sigh. The headache in my head was annoying, but due to the fact it had no association with my demon—just the three people who had their priorities muddled up—I could sleep in peace. And I didn’t waste any time from letting my body fall into the comfort of my bed, embracing the slumber that quickly came.

  ****

  It wasn't surprising to me when Melinda forcefully woke me up later on that morning, demanding me to fill her in on anything and everything. And with the hatred feeling of leaving the dream I was having of Tristan and I—doing things that should be left unsaid—I told her with the prying ears of Daniel.