by Eric Vall
“This is rich,” the assassin gurgled and looked over at me. “He really was right about you.”
I summoned red Hellfire into my hand and then grabbed the assassin’s forehead. The sound of Azar’s screams mingled in the air with the stench of burning flesh.
“Stop being cute,” I growled. “Who is ‘he?’ Who hired you?”
“Go to Hell, Ralston,” Azar grimaced through gritted teeth. “It’s where you belong.”
“Tell me who hired you!” I screamed at the assassin. “Tell me, and this can all be over.”
“You’re gonna shit a brick when you find out,” he continued. “I just wish I was there to see it.”
I increased the intensity of my Hellfire, and Azar screamed louder.
“You’re going to kill him, Jacob!” Libidine gasped.
“If he’s not going to talk,” I explained, “that’s the point.”
I released my spell and pulled back my hand. Azar’s head drooped downward, now completely burnt. His breaths appeared to be shallow as he raised his head up to meet my eyes.
Then he spat blood in my face.
My core burned with rage, and a dull throbbing sensation came to my temples. I summoned Divine light into my right hand, grabbed Azar by the face, and then unleashed it all at point-blank range.
There was a blinding white shimmer as the assassin’s flesh was melted off his bones, but it didn’t stop there. Once his flesh and muscle were disintegrated, the Divine light turned Azar’s skull into a pile of ash.
I released my spell, and the headless body of our assailant fell to the ground.
“I’m not gonna lie,” Gula whistled. “That was kinda hot.”
“Kinda?” Cupi added. “I wish I could fuck Jacob right now. Blood-soaked and everything.”
The loving words of my women cooled the rage that burned in my soul, and I took a deep breath to steady my nerves.
“I appreciate the thoughts, girls,” I joked, “but we need to get the fuck out of here before the cops show up.”
“Sorry, Todd.” Tris frowned and pointed at the mammoth. “Looks like this is the end of the line for our friend here.”
The imp walked over, picked up Azar’s pistol and then approached the beast. “No, no,” he sniffled, “I’ll do it. He’s my mammoth.”
“You don’t have to shoot him,” the brunette succubus said with a chuckle. “I just have to dispel my magic, and…”
Tris summoned orange Hellfire into her hands and then waved them in front of her face. Instantly, the fire disappeared from the body of the mammoth, and his flesh disappeared into thin air. All that remained were his bones, still delicately arranged into the display that we’d seen when we first walked in.
Todd fell to his knees and sobbed. “He was such a good boy,” he cried.
Tris walked over to the imp and patted him on the head. “There, there,” she comforted Todd. “He was a zombie, anyway. Our entire mansion would have reeked of rotting flesh, and I know for a fact that neither of us wants to clean up mammoth shit.”
“I guess you’re right,” Todd said as he stood back up and held out Azar’s pistol. “Here, Slothy. I know these are more your style.”
Tris nodded, grabbed the enchanted pistol, and weighed it in her hands. Then, she pulled out her own gun, inspected it, and tossed it to the side.
“This one is a major upgrade,” she explained as she holstered Azar’s weapon on her belt. “Much better firing rate, which means less trigger pulls for moi.”
“Let’s get out of here.” I motioned to my friends, and then we started to head for the exit.
We made our way through the ruins of the Mesoamerican exhibit, back out through the lobby, and then to the parking garage. The succubi and Todd slipped into the cabin of Shadow, but not Aruna.
“You’re not coming with us?” I asked the Rakshasi.
“Unfortunately not.” The assassin’s sigh was more wistful and longing that I think she intended. “There is still much investigating that needs to be done. That is unless you want to pay me overtime…?”
I put up my hands in defeat. “Say no more,” I conceded. “You’ll call when you find something?”
“Something like that.” Aruna winked. “More likely, I’ll show up at your mansion unannounced. It’s more fun that way.”
The Rakshasi gave me a playful smile, and then her body was encased with black ectoplasm. Her features began to stretch, contort, and flatten, and then a completely different woman was standing in front of me. She waved and then turned away and strutted off into the night. I watched Aruna for as long as I could, and then I opened the door of the Jeep and hopped up into the driver’s seat.
“What do we do now, bro?” Todd asked. “We didn’t really get much out of that whole excursion.”
“We’re heading to the Velvet Lips,” I explained. “And you’re one-hundred percent wrong about us not getting anything. We got Aruna’s loyalty.”
Chapter 9
“Ahhh, the Velvet Lips!” Todd sighed as we pulled into the parking lot of our strip club. “This place was like Heaven on Earth before, but now that we’re the owners, the Toddster gets all sorts of special attention from the ladies.”
“I thought you were saving yourself for that redhead back in Kansas?” I asked coyly and turned off the vehicle.
Todd crossed his arms and nodded. “Of course, bro,” he explained. “You may as well call me Huey Lewis because that woman made me feel the power of love. But… it’s always nice to know you’re loved. Especially when that love comes from women who take their clothes off for a living.”
Todd’s red skin began to bubble, and then it faded into a regular skin tone. The imp’s arms and legs stretched out as his horns regressed into his skull and his facial features became more human. Finally, the blond goatee sprouted out of the imp’s chin, and his transformation into a human was complete.
“Touche,” I admitted as Todd, the succubi, and I headed toward the entrance. Even though I was fully committed to my succubi, the imp was right. It did feel nice to be treated like a celebrity every time we showed up here.
Under Sia’s guidance, the Velvet Lips Gentlemen’s Club had changed a lot. The facade on the front used to look about as sleazy as you could get, with a red neon sign that had the silhouette of a stripper gliding up and down a pole. It was one of those cheap signs that made a loud humming noise and illuminated the entire parking lot with a sickly crimson glow. The entire exterior of the original club was a faded gray, with windows that were so tinted that they made a black hole look subtle. It wasn’t exactly welcoming.
Now, the building was much more fitting for a classy institution such as this one. Gone were all traces of neon and tacky gray siding. Instead, the structure was made to look like it was constructed out of bright red brick, complete with an even darker red roof. The sign was now simplified to the words “Velvet Lips Gentlemen’s Club” in black on a white background, with a pair of voluptuous red lips immediately on the right. It was simple, indicative, and to the point. It was the middle of a weekday, but the parking lot was nearly overflowing.
“Sister Superbia has really done a number on this place,” Libidine mused. “I can’t wait to see how it is on the inside!”
“It’s surely much better than when it was under the ownership of Zepar,” Cupi added. “Superbia is much classier than that asshole, that’s for sure.”
“You fought Zepar?” Gula asked excitedly. “Like, the fearsome warrior of Hell Zepar?”
“Oh, we did much more than fight him, sister,” Cupi cooed. “Jacob utterly destroyed him and then took his club and his women for himself.”
“Ahem,” Todd grunted.
“Todd played his part, as well,” the blonde succubus added.
“Played my part?” the human imp protested. “If it wasn’t for my projectile vomiting and hardcore Hadouken skills, we all woulda been toast.”
“Of course,” I humored the little guy.
“Th
at sounds like a lot of work,” Tris protested. “Why didn’t you just make all your minions kick his ass and then claim all the credit? You know what they say, a good artist creates, but a great artist steals.”
“Because I don’t view my cultists as ‘minions,’” I explained to the brunette. “They’re people, just like you and me. Their lives are just as important as ours.”
“This is why we love Jacob so, Tristitia,” Libidine interjected. “To him, we’re all equals. We’re not just lowly succubi like we were to Azazel and Earl and all the other Demon Kings and Demon Queens.
“Lilith was like that,” Gula argued. “She was always looking out for her succubi, even though she didn’t have much power over the men of the underworld.”
“That’s what made her so brilliant, sister,” Cupi continued. “I’ve never met her myself, but Sia has told me great stories of how the original succubus is able to pull off power play after power play, and how she always stays one step ahead of those who oppose her.”
“If Lilith is so great, then why were you all enslaved?” Todd argued. “That sounds like a pretty shitty leader to me.”
Cupi shook her head with a sigh. “It’s much more complicated than that. Even though Lilith was a high-ranking Demon Queen, she was still a succubus. She didn’t have much power when it came to her place on Lucifer’s Great Chain of Being, but she was able to leverage the influence she did have to protect us. For example, she was the one who negotiated with Lucifer to get every faction of succubi a madame. Without that contribution, Superbia would have ended up being little more than a common sex demon.”
“Then there would have been nobody to keep Earl in check.” Libidine shuddered. “She may be a ruthless Queen of Hell, but Lilith has done so much for us lesser demons.”
“She sounds lovely.” I chuckled. “I hope to never meet her.”
When we reached the entrance of the club, I opened up the door for my friends, and the six of us entered. We walked through a narrow hallway until we eventually reached a dark-haired woman in a silver bikini standing in front of a rope and stanchion.
“Jacob!” she grinned when we got closer. “Todd! And Sia’s family! It’s so good to see you all again. Welcome to the newly renovated Velvet Lips. Stay right here, and I’ll go let Megan know you’re here.”
The woman twirled around and then dashed away. As she ran, it was difficult to keep my eyes averted. The stripper’s tiny thong bikini bottom looked like it was disappearing between her large, round ass as it jiggled up and down.
“Costanza rule, bro,” Todd whispered.
“What?” I asked, completely zoned out.
“Costanza rule,” the imp in disguise explained. “You know, my personal hero, George from Seinfeld? You take one quick look and then glance away or risk facing the consequences.”
“They’re strippers, Todd.” I laughed. “I think having men stare at their bodies is the whole point.”
“I’m not gonna lie,” Tris mused. “I was totally having a hard time looking away, too. I wish I could have an ass like that, but ya know, that’d require me to do squats. The Sister of Sloth does not do squats.”
“You could have fooled me.” Gula giggled and gave her sister a playful slap on the ass. “I’d kill for a toned butt like yours.”
“Please!” Tris grinned and ran her hand against the redhead’s face. “Your ass is amazing. Curvy, tight, and perfectly proportioned. I’m sure Jacob had a great time watching it bounce up and down on his cock yesterday.”
Both of the succubi shot me a coy look, and I couldn’t do anything but smile devilishly.
“I dunno.” I shrugged. “Maybe you’ll have to jog my memory.”
“Megan!” Todd called in a panic into the main room of the strip club. “Hurry up!”
“You rang, Todd?” a familiar voice said with a giggle.
A blonde woman strutted up to our group. She was topless, and her perky breasts bounced happily as she walked over with a massive grin on her face. The only thing that was preventing her from being completely naked was a dark green, sequined thong on her bottom and a pair of emerald high heels.
It was Megan, or “Ms. Miracle,” as we called her around the Velvet Lips.
“Oh, thank God, you’re here.” Todd clapped his hands together and bowed. “They were talking about Jakey’s dick again.”
Megan raised an eyebrow and looked me up and down. “Oh?” she cooed. “That’s a conversation I’d like to be a part of someday. Unfortunately, not while I’m on the clock.”
The topless blonde leaned over, and her breasts hung down and pressed together to form a massive block of cleavage. She undid the rope, straightened herself back up, and then motioned for us to pass through.
“Come,” she beckoned. “There’s a lot to show you!”
We passed through the stanchions and then through the inner doors of the club. The second we did, our ears were assaulted by some classic rock music that blared throughout the club. It was loud, but it wasn’t deafening like so many of the clubs I’d been to before.
“See?” Megan asked over the noise of the music. “You can actually hear yourself think now! Us strippers don’t have to wear earplugs all the time anymore.” The topless blonde waltzed over to the main stage, where one of her coworkers was strutting her stuff, and slapped the surface of the stage happily.
“This is one of Sia’s greatest additions,” she mused. “It’s a top of the line performance stage, complete with built-in strobe lights and mist effects that can be synced up to any song we want. Most importantly, its surface is made with a heavily porous substance, so it’s not as easy to slip on when you’re performing. Isn’t that right, Krystal?”
The naked woman on the stage rolled up out of her spread eagle pose, crawled over to us, and then grinned. “It’s like dancing on a cloud, honey,” she explained.
The woman leaned onto her back, stuck her long legs up into the air, and then kicked to the beat of the music. As she did so, the patrons roared with approval and began to shovel money at the stripper.
“I don’t know about overall revenue,” Ms. Miracle admitted, “but I do know that our attendance has gone up since Sia took over, and that means higher tips, which also means higher morale among the dancers.”
“That’s great to hear, Megan,” Liby said happily. “What other goodies has Sister Superbia added to this place?”
“Sia’s name is Superbia?” Megan asked curiously. “I never realized ‘Sia’ was short for something else, I always just thought that was her full name. Where does ‘Superbia’ come from?”
“It’s Latin for ‘pride,’” I explained.
Ms. Miracle put her hand up to her chin which had the fortunate side effect of pressing her naked breasts together as she did so. “That explains a lot, actually,” she pondered aloud. “Anyway, you guys have to check this out!”
Megan took our group around the remodeled strip club to show off the newly built bar, DJ booth, and dance floor. Then there were what the stripper called “dancer aquariums,” large, clear cylindrical tubes that were filled with water. Right now, they were simply illuminated by neon lights, but apparently, on certain nights, there would be dancers who would put on special equipment and then perform underwater.
“Sia has incorporated lots of new events to our itinerary,” Ms. Miracle explained. “On top of the ‘Mermaid Shows’ that go on in this thing, we now do mud wrestling, wet T-shirt contests, and ‘Fetish Nights.’”
“Fetish Night?” Todd giggled. “Please enlighten us. I can’t go another second without knowing about Fetish Night.”
Megan just smiled at the imp in disguise. “Sorry, Todd,” she mused. “It’s a private event. If you want to know what it’s all about, then you should show up next week.”
“Sold!” Todd nodded. “Hey Jakey, can I borrow fifty bucks for Fetish Night?”
“Tickets are only fifteen,” Ms. Miracle corrected.
“Like I said, Jakey,” Todd said as h
e ignored the stripper’s words, “can I borrow five hundred dollars for Fetish Night?”
“You just said fif--” Cupi started to say, but Todd kept talking.
“How about five large? You know I’m good for it. Also, you make some of that back the very night I spend it! So it’s like an immediate return on your investment.”
“We’ll see, Todd.” I rolled my eyes. “We’ll see.”
“Let’s see…” Megan thought aloud. “Am I missing anything? Oh yes, the bathrooms have been remodeled, but I figured I’d let you explore those on your own. I haven’t been in the men’s room, but I heard they took out all the glory holes. Apparently, they weren’t getting as much use as we thought they were.”
“That’s a shame,” Todd muttered.
“That just leaves the private rooms.” Ms. Miracle grinned. “But those are reserved for special occasions. Maybe I’ll give you a private tour when you have a little bit more time.”
“Not if we get there first,” Cupi warned playfully.
“Why not both?” Megan flirted back at the succubus. “I’m sure Jacob would enjoy having two blondes at the same time. That’s, like, the American Dream.”
“It’s buying a house, starting a family, and then getting a job that pays enough for a single-income household?” Todd asked curiously.
Megan and Cupi both looked at the imp in disguise, completely lost for words. Ms. Miracle shook her head, chuckled, and then motioned for us to follow her again.
“Sia’s office is back this way,” she explained.
The six of us followed the topless blonde through a door marked “employees and paying customers only” and into the back section of the building. Although this was supposed to be the “back of house” of the establishment, it felt just as pristine as the main part of the club.
A crimson, velvety-looking carpet filled the floor of the hallway, and the walls wore a shiny black coat of paint. Along both sides of the room were a series of slim, gray doors with small chrome handles and no windows whatsoever.
“Those would be the private rooms,” Megan explained. “Sia had them built each with their own sound system, and they’re supposedly soundproof. But that all depends on how satisfying your customer’s experience is, I suppose.”