Songs of Love & Death

by George R. R. Martin; Gardner Dozois

  “Right. Near the waterfront.”

  It was late, after midnight, and the streets were mostly empty. But the city pulsed with life still, crazy and exciting and unmistakably New York. My town, and I was sworn to protect the people in it.

  We sped over the Brooklyn Bridge, city lights sparkling ahead and behind. I turned north when we reached Brooklyn and headed into a rundown waterfront area of old industry and warehouses. By the time we reached a looming warehouse that backed right up to the water, I knew our destination was a huge and infamous after-hours club. The place had been shut down repeatedly, only to reopen with a new name and what was officially new ownership.

  The club’s current incarnation was called Bizarro. At this hour on a weekend night, it would be packed with dancers, most of them young and high on drugs, alcohol, dancing, or all three. A fertile field for a monster who craved human life force.

  My parking magic held. The streets around the warehouse were lined with the cars of clubbers, but one pulled away in front of the building just as I arrived. I glided to the curb.

  The name Bizarro was a scrawl of red neon over a plain door flanked by two bouncers. The demon was inside—I could feel her. I glanced at Bethany, and she nodded confirmation.

  Hoping it would all be over in a few minutes, I climbed from the car. After I helped Bethany out, I locked the doors and we headed to Bizarro’s entrance. Bethany gestured with her right hand, and one bouncer took out a pack of cigarettes, while the other’s bored gaze slid over us. Though magic couldn’t make Guardians invisible, a good don’t-look spell means that people tend not to notice us.

  The pounding bass beat was audible even on the sidewalk, and when I opened the door, music exploded into a paralyzing bludgeon of sound. Even more overwhelming than the music was the fierce, sexually charged energy radiated by hundreds of intoxicated, gyrating young bodies. Instantly my mental shields clamped down to protect me from the intensity.

  The black-painted entryway led into the vast, high-ceilinged club. As the floorboards vibrated underfoot, we moved to the edge of the dance area to study the crowd. The writhing mass of humanity looked surreal under coruscating lights of crimson, violet, and electric blue. Smoke of the illegal variety drifted toward the ceiling of the warehouse.

  The don’t-look spell was still in effect, and no one took any notice of us as we scanned the crowd. Somewhere in that bubbling stew of lust and feral hunger was the demon. It was hard to pin down her location in such psychic chaos.

  Warily, I opened my senses to search. Even without Bethany’s mental link, I could sense the demon growing ever more exhilarated as she fed off the massed energy of the other dancers. She was taking her time, savoring the slow buildup of lust, but soon she’d move on to the ultimate kick—consuming death energy. She would become a ravenous killing machine, sucking down young lives until we stopped her.

  Where, where… ?

  Bethany squeezed my hand and nodded to the left. There.

  She was too short to see over the crowd, so she must have used her psychic link to the demon. I followed her gaze and spotted our quarry.

  The creature was turned away from us, but that was enough to confirm that she’d acquired the body of a highly-desirable young woman. Waves of pale blond hair cascaded down her back, swaying to the beat of the music as she ground her pelvis against her partner. Her skimpy black dress looked sprayed on, and the skirt barely covered her lovely ass.

  Her sensual gyrations were enough to arouse any straight man who saw her. I was no exception—but hunters are trained to control lust, at least until after the mission is accomplished.

  I clamped down on my lower nature and studied the demon’s dancing partner, a tall young man with dark floppy hair. Since I was running hot psychically, I had a swift flash of knowledge: he was Midwestern, a student in New York to interview at a grad school, and having the time of his life in the wicked big city. A lamb for the slaughter.

  The succubus whispered something in her victim’s ear. He nodded with dazed enthusiasm and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they pivoted and headed toward an exit at the back of the ballroom. She was taking him outside for sex and death.

  I beckoned for Bethany to follow me as I forced my way through the buffeting crowd of dancers. There were advantages to having played football in college. I moved fast, Bethany in my wake as I cleared a path. But the demon had a head start, and she vanished outside with her prey before I could catch up.

  I reached the exit door maybe fifteen seconds after the happy couple. “Stay inside!” I ordered Bethany, knowing she’d be safer here.

  She took my hand. I felt the surge of her power flowing between us, blending with my magical talent to create a force that was more than the sum of our individual abilities. “Don’t touch the demon,” she warned. “Her sexuality is a powerful weapon.”

  Touch always intensifies the transmission of power, as Lady Beth was proving now. Being male, I’d be particularly vulnerable to a succubus. “I’ll be careful.”

  I strengthened my shields and opened the door. It led directly onto a cracked slab of concrete that covered the strip between the warehouse and a battered wharf that pointed across the East River to Manhattan. That opposite shore blazed with lights, the Big Apple in all her beckoning glamour.

  In this shabby backwater, the only illumination came from a lamp behind an adjoining warehouse. Just enough light to reveal that the demon and her victim were locked in a feverish embrace, her hips grinding and one raised leg wrapped around his. His life force was surging into her like orange flame. Soon that flow of vital force would end, and the poor sod would be dead. With a smile on his face.

  They were so engrossed that neither of them noticed me. I mentally reviewed what needed to be done, touching my pistol in its holster in case I had to draw quickly. I hoped a weapon wouldn’t be needed, but it’s always best to be prepared.

  I took a deep breath, then stepped forward and grabbed the boy’s shoulders to wrench him out of the demon’s embrace. Though I didn’t dare touch her skin to skin, I planted one booted foot against her shapely hip and shoved hard.

  She lost her balance and pitched sideways, so I was able to separate the demon from her victim. Bethany was right, it was hard to strike a woman, even a demon.

  The kid made a choked sound, then collapsed on the filthy concrete. His aura was weak but steady. Though he’d be dead tired for a few days from having so much vital force stolen, at least he wouldn’t be dead.

  But I had no time for a closer examination. The demon shrieked with fury at being deprived of her victim and swirled around, her glorious blond hair obscuring her face. As soon as she saw me, she hurled an energy blow that was the magical equivalent of a tactical nuke, arrowing the destructive power dead center at my heart. It almost flattened me.

  Heart pounding and gasping for breath, I backpedaled fast, glad that Bethany’s strength was combined with mine. Otherwise I’d have been a goner.

  Wondering if I could drive the succubus away without killing the host body, I pulled out my Beretta and aimed it at her heart. “One step toward me and I shoot. I’d rather save your body so the original owner can regain possession. You’ve had your fun, and now it’s time to go. Since you can’t win, why not just depart quietly?”

  The demon looked startled that I was still standing. Then she laughed with rich, sexy pleasure. “A tall, dark, and dangerous Guardian hunter! You’re going to taste delicious, my lad! I’ll have you for dinner, then your ancient friend for dessert. Usually I prefer young males, but Guardian energy is too rare to waste. When I have absorbed the life force of two hunters, I’ll be unstoppable!”

  Still laughing, she raised her hand and a sphere of mage light glowed in her palm, illuminating her with soft golden rays. I froze in my tracks.

  I was aiming my gun at Bethany.

  Not my beloved, silver-haired Lady Beth, who was safely inside the building, but a young, vibrant Bethany. She looked like her World War II
photo, with cool blond hair and hot blue eyes, now updated to full color and twenty-first-century club clothes. She wasn’t my Bethany, but she was still Bethany, despite her glittering destructive power.

  Or was this an illusion spell? Could a succubus pluck an image from my mind and take on the form of my deepest, most secret fantasy?

  She tossed her long blond hair back over her shoulders, then began strolling languidly toward me. Every curvy ounce of her was undulating in ways that stabbed directly into my lizard brain. It’s a scientific fact that men lose intelligence when talking to attractive women, and a succubus is designed to drive men wild. No wonder they’re so damned dangerous!

  Lady Beth’s sharp voice interrupted my near-trance. “David! Shoot her! She’s not me; she’s the demon we came to destroy!”

  I should have known that no hunter would stay inside where it was safe when there was danger afoot. I struggled to pull the trigger. Yet, though I knew Lady Beth was right and I could feel her power enhancing mine, I could not make myself shoot, not even to save my life. Not even to save her life.

  I felt the demon gathering power into a killing stroke, drawing magic to her like a tsunami. Waves of energy rippled through the darkness, most of it drawn from the people inside Bizarro.

  She stretched a graceful hand toward me. My pistol fell from my numb fingers and clattered on the concrete. Despite my furious attempts to counter her power, I could no longer control my own body. My hand was lifting, reaching out toward my doom…

  Lady Beth smashed my arm down and stepped between me and the demon. Catching the succubus’s hand, she cried, “No!”

  The fiercest magic I’d ever experienced exploded as Lady Beth slammed the torrent of demonic energy back at the succubus, adding the full force of her own vast and highly trained magical power. I was knocked backward, falling onto the cold concrete.

  Horrified, I saw Lady Beth vanish in a blaze of annihilating power. One instant she was there, a silver-haired warrior of light. Then she was gone. Gone!

  “Bethany!” I cried in anguish. I knew Charlie was right in saying she wouldn’t be here forever, but I hadn’t really expected to lose her tonight. I had thought that I would be able to save her at least, if not myself.

  I had failed, and now she was utterly gone.

  I wanted to howl to the heavens, but that was for later. Now I had a mission to complete. I collected my gun from where it had fallen and lurched to my feet.

  The demon lay collapsed on the cracked concrete. Bitterly, I hoped she was dead, but the false Bethany’s perfect breasts still rose and fell with her ragged breathing. It was damnably unfair that this creature still lived while my Lady Beth was gone!

  I could remedy that. Not caring if I destroyed my career as a cop or was jailed for murder, I raised my gun.

  Her eyes flickered and she whispered in a dazed voice, “What… what happened?’

  It added to my anguish that her voice was a rich, youthful version of Lady Beth’s crisp British accent. I said grimly, “You killed Lady Bethany, and I am about to send you back to hell.”

  Her disorientation cleared and she gasped, “David, don’t shoot! The succubus is gone. I’m Bethany. The one you know.”

  I hesitated, wondering if the demon was enchanting me. The creature looked just like Bethany had when she was young, and the force of her sexuality was plenty strong enough to scramble my remaining wits.

  “It’s really me, David,” she said with a shaky laugh. Cautiously the—woman? demon?—pushed herself to a sitting position. “Look at me with your inner vision.”

  Doing my damnedest to block my attraction, I scanned her. No sign of demonic energy, but maybe the succubus had the power to baffle even an experienced hunter. “How did you find a body that looks just like a young version of Lady Bethany?” I asked harshly, still unable to trust my senses.

  “I… I’m not sure.” She ran her hands over herself experimentally. “This doesn’t seem like a strange body. It feels like me.”

  Watching her run her hands over her breasts and hips made my mouth go dry. “How do I know you aren’t faking me out with an illusion spell?”

  Her brows arched. “For heaven’s sake, David, you’re a hunter! Have I ever been able to fool you with an illusion?”

  Her tartness was exactly like the Bethany I knew. Realizing that I was still clutching my pistol, I lowered it to point at the ground, but I didn’t put the safety back on. “Lady Bethany couldn’t fool me—but maybe a succubus could.”

  She gave a wry smile. “Perhaps, but with the demon gone, I’m sure the ability to scramble your wits with a glance is gone, too.”

  Unfortunately, it wasn’t. Not wanting to admit how vulnerable I was to her, I sought an explanation. “The succubus attacked and ripped away a piece of Lady Beth’s arm. Could this body be cloned from the DNA and matured in a such a brief time?”

  She frowned. “That seems impossible, but I can’t think of any more plausible explanation. I don’t feel any lingering traces of a different human soul here. Or demonic energy, either. There’s just… me. Feeling much as I did in my youth.” Her gaze moved to my gun. “Are you going to let me stand without shooting me?”

  “Go ahead.” I stepped back. Though still doubtful, no way could I shoot if there was a chance this was the real Bethany.

  She got unsteadily to her feet. “Did I imagine it, or was my old body consumed by the power involved in dismissing the demon?”

  My lips tightened. “You didn’t imagine it.”

  “It’s… strange to think that the body I occupied for so many years is gone.” She stared at the faint scorch mark where Lady Beth had been standing. “It was a good body.”

  “For a hunter to die fighting is a good death.” But I still hadn’t decided whether I was facing the real Bethany, or a very, very clever succubus who wasn’t wearing anywhere near enough clothing.

  “I wonder… am I actually dead and my spirit is just hanging out here for a bit before moving on?” She was shivering hard, no surprise given the cool night and her minimalist dress. Her fishnet stockings were torn and goose pimples showed on her arms and legs. “Or am I really me and properly installed in a healthy young body?”

  “I have no idea.” I pulled off my black trench coat and tossed it to her, careful to stay out of touching distance. “I’m better at field work than theory.”

  “Thank you.” She pulled on the coat, which fell almost to the ground and could have wrapped twice around her. “How is the demon’s victim doing?”

  I drew a deep breath, relieved that most of her was covered. Made it a little easier to think. “I think he’s okay, but I’ll check.”

  Keeping a wary eye on her, I knelt by the college kid and spread my hand out on his chest. After a moment, I said, “No permanent harm done. He probably won’t remember what happened when he wakes up, which is just as well.”

  “So we succeeded in tonight’s mission, though the price was high.” Her vivid blue eyes caught my gaze. “What will it take to convince you that I’m really Bethany, not a demon?”

  “I don’t know,” I said bluntly. “When the big battle went down, I sensed the powers of the demon and Lady Bethany, but there was also an intense, alien energy I didn’t recognize. What the hell was going on?”

  She tied the belt of the trench coat around her slim waist with shaking fingers. “As I blocked the succubus’s death magic and turned it back on her, I used a soul-transfer spell to exchange our spirits.”

  I thought back, trying to analyze the hurricane of power that had blasted us all. “So the unfamiliar magic was that spell?”

  She nodded. “Very unusual energy, wasn’t it?”

  I frowned. “Where the hell did you find a soul-transfer spell?”

  She bit her lower lip. Her full, lush lower lip. She’d have to drop a bag over her head not to be alluring, and maybe not even then. “While you were taking Charles downstairs for a taxi, I followed more links on the succubus page. One of them
led to a very ancient spell that supposedly would switch souls between two different people.”

  I swore. “You tested an unknown spell in combat conditions? That’s crazy dangerous!”

  “I didn’t have a lot of choice,” she said mildly. “I was going to die anyhow. This way I had a chance of surviving.”

  Souls are eternal—every Guardian knows that. “I had the impression that Lady Beth had no fear of death.”

  “I didn’t.” Her gaze caught mine. “I had other reasons for wanting to live longer in a young body.”

  My heart began beating faster. “Why?”

  “You know why, David,” she said softly.

  The allure she radiated was a fire in my blood despite her being covered with a trench coat from her chin to her ankles. Demon magic, or was it pure Bethany? “You need to be… more specific.”

  She drew a deep breath. “Ever since I met you ten years ago, when you were just out of the SEALs and paying a courtesy call on an old Guardian lady because your mother told you to, I’ve wished that I were a few decades younger.”

  “You never said or did anything to suggest that you felt that way.” My throat was tight as my desire to believe warred with the fear that she was still a succubus and wickedly adept at convincing a man to believe in what he wanted to hear.

  She smiled wryly. “It’s… unseemly to be a lecherous old woman yearning for a man young enough to be my grandson. I was grateful that we became good friends. How could we possibly be anything more? Then this demon showed up wearing my body.” Her voice hardened. “I thought she owed me something for that. Certainly she could not be allowed to stay in possession of it and use it to kill innocent young men.”

  If she was acting, it was a brilliant show that she was putting on. Knowing that I needed the courage to risk my emotions as she was doing, I said haltingly, “It’s also unseemly for a man to be lusting after a sweet little old lady. So I didn’t. But I’ve never met a woman whose mind and spirit fit mine as well as yours. If you’re really Bethany, and not the cleverest damned demon in the universe!”