The Telepathic Clans Omnibus

by B R Kingsolver

  “Shit, so he isn’t dead? Brenna, we need to find him. That was the whole point of this, to find out who’s behind all this.”

  She tapped her head with a finger. “Oh, I have his mind. He won’t stop screaming. I guess it must be pretty terrifying to be trapped in someone else’s head.” A soft, malevolent smile came over her face. “He won’t stop screaming, just like Cindy screamed, just like the others he tortured. He hates succubi, Collin, he’s killed nine of us, including his mother. And now he’s trapped in a succubus’ mind.”

  She snuggled closer into his chest. “As to who’s behind it, a man named Lord Gordon, do you know him?”

  Collin’s face grew even grimmer, “Yes, I know who he is. He sits on the board of CBW.”

  “He wants all the succubi dead, and he contracted with a man named Siegfried for a team that included Hilda and Gless to hunt us all down. If he’d killed Samantha, he would have continued with Siobhan and Irina and me and whoever else he could find.” Her face settled into a satisfied smile, “But Samantha and I, we got him.”

  Her smile faded, “But such a terrible cost. Gless hit Kallen with a shield buster and I saw Hilda shoot him. Protectors falling to the ground. That’s the last memories I have, and then the drugs knocked me out. How many?”

  “Kallen’s alive,” he told her, “he said you deflected the shield spear and it only bruised his soul instead of killing him. He has a large bruise where Hilda shot him, but he was wearing a vest. One of the O’Neill twins shielded several more people, so we only lost two, both shot. Yes, a terrible cost, but at least we’ve stopped them. We won’t have any more succubi tortured to death.”

  They took her to the Baltimore house, where Dorothy and Moira were waiting. They undressed her and cleaned her up and put her to bed. Moira laid a Comfort on her and Dorothy worked on her insides, proclaiming after a while that the damage inside was fairly minor and she would heal in a few days.

  “You know,” Brenna told them, “I really don’t need a shrink. I wasn’t awake for what they did to me. They drugged me and all the beatings took place while I was out. Samantha was terrified when she finally woke up, but none of what they did happened to me.”

  “So you don’t remember any of it? You don’t know what they did to you?” Moira asked.

  “I didn’t say that. I have Gless’ mind trapped in mine. I know everything he did to me, to Samantha, to Cindy and to all his other victims, but from his point of view, not from mine. I know what he saw and heard and did and felt. He and Helga were true sadists, getting off on other people’s pain. They enjoyed the terror and the screaming of their victims.”

  She closed her eyes, wanting only to sleep. “But Samantha was unconscious for everything they did to her. I think they might have overdone the drugs because he’s so afraid of succubi. They were fairly gentle, compared to what he had planned once she woke up.”

  “So you do know what was done to your body,” Moira said.

  “Oh yes. Thankfully he didn’t do anything too damaging. He dragged me out of the van by my hair, dragged me inside the house and down the stairs. That’s why so much of my hair came out. That’s how they found the last bug, the one in my hair.”

  She looked up at Moira, “You know, I feel guilty about the other men I’ve killed, but I don’t feel guilty at all about those guys or Helga. They deserved to die for what they did to Cindy and Samantha. If you talk to Rebecca, tell her I’m ready to sign the petition.” She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

  When she awakened, Dorothy was still in the room, but she’d been joined by Collin, Rebecca, and Irina. She smiled at them, and exerting a bit of Influence, drew Collin to her. “Kiss me, you fool,” she told him. He did, but gently because of her swollen lips.

  “You were right, you and Rebecca. It was a stupid thing to do. You have my permission to tie me up and toss me in a closet until I come to my senses if I ever get that kind of stupid-brave again.”

  Tears in his eyes, he smiled down on her. “As if tying up a teleport would make any difference.”

  “Maybe you can figure out another way to distract me. You’re a creative young man, work on it.”

  She turned to look at the others. “Hello, Irina. My, you’re just as beautiful as Samantha told me you were. What lovely hair. Welcome. I hope everyone has made you feel comfortable with us.”

  Tears streamed down the young succubus’ face. “So this is why Samantha said I’d never see her again. I wish I could thank her, she was very kind to me, and yes, everyone has been wonderful. It’s more than I could have ever imagined.” She shot a glance toward Rebecca and smiled, “I’ve decided to take Jayson’s offer. Rebecca has convinced me I’ve found a home, people who will accept me, both as a telepath and as a succubus.”

  Rebecca stared at Brenna, her body rigid, her face blank. “Rebecca?” Brenna held out her arms, “Are you okay?”

  A sob broke through Rebecca’s stoic demeanor, and she threw herself at Brenna, crushing her in an embrace. “Never again, Brenna. I’m never leaving you, never letting you do something this stupid ever again.” She sobbed as if her heart would break.

  When she began to get herself under control, Brenna said, “I missed you, too, but could you do me a favor and take it a bit easy on the breasts and ribs? They’re still pretty sore.”

  “Oh God, I’m sorry,” Rebecca dropped her back on the bed. The bounce hurt, too. “I’m so sorry.”

  Brenna reached up and laid her hand on Rebecca’s cheek. “I promise, no more stupid heroics, okay? I’ll let my Protector perform the heroic deeds from now on, and I’ll just cover her back.”

  Rebecca nodded, a smile warring with the tears still streaming from her eyes.

  The next day Brenna got out of bed, and dressing in a loose robe Rebecca brought her, shuffled down to the dining room for dinner. She was greeted with paper decorations of black cats, pumpkins, flying witches, and a life-sized cutout of the TV witch Elvira with her own black haired head on top.

  “Happy birthday,” everyone shouted.

  “Oh my God, is it Halloween? I lost track of time.”

  They had dinner, and at the end the cook, Mrs. Thomas, brought out a large glass baking dish with lit candles on top and set it down in front of her. “Not exactly a traditional birthday cake, but Rebecca insisted,” she said with a sniff of disbelief in her voice.

  “Banana pudding?” She jumped up and hugged Mrs. Thomas. “This is wonderful. Thank you so much. It’s what I always asked for on my birthday, but my foster mother would never fix it.” She laid a hand on Mrs. Thomas’ cheek, “Thank you.” She leaned forward and kissed the older woman on the cheek.

  Tears in her eyes and a smile on her face, Mrs. Thomas said, “Well, I’m glad we did it then. Now, make a wish and blow out the candles.”

  She did, and then began pulling the candles off one-by-one, licking the meringue off the ends. Mrs. Thomas began dishing out the pudding for everyone, placing a large bowl of it in front of her.

  Happily eating her dessert, she looked across the table at Rebecca. “You said something about our birthdays once, about how absurd they are. When is yours?”

  “I’m exactly one year and seven months older than you are, minus one day,” was the answer.

  Doing the calculation, Brenna’s eyes widened. “No, you’ve got to be kidding. You aren’t serious? Really?” She started laughing.

  Others around the table, slower on the calculations than Brenna, began to arrive at the answer. Irina was the one who spoke it aloud. “You’re an April Fool?”

  Rebecca colored. “Obviously the work we’ve been doing on her shields hasn’t improved her tact any,” she said dryly.

  Gless was still alive in her head, stored away in a compartment like the ones Rebecca had taught her to build to store constructs. It muted his screams, but didn’t entirely quiet them. “I guess his body is still alive,” she told Seamus, Collin, Kallen, and Mike Riley when they came to her room the next morning.

&n
bsp; She opened her mind to them, and after letting them into her trap and closing it again, opened the construct box and let them have his mind. She was unable to avoid seeing the ugliness they found there, though she had seen most of it already.

  His hatred of succubi stemmed from his mother, who had been a drunken prostitute in East Germany. She brought men home with her every night from the bars and enlisted his help in dumping their sleeping bodies in the alley behind their apartment the next morning. When she couldn’t find a victim, she used her son from the time he reached puberty until he tied her up, tortured her and killed her when he was eighteen.

  He had treated other women the same way, unable to complete the sex act unless the woman was screaming in terror and pain, but saved his worst perversions for succubi. He had killed eight more and thought Cindy was on the verge of dying when he dumped her body.

  That afternoon she went to see Cindy in the hospital. Opening her mind, she invited Cindy in.

  Remember me? Cindy asked Gless. Brenna shuddered at the malevolence in Cindy’s mental voice.

  For the first time since he was trapped, he was silent, then Brenna felt his terror escalate, and the scream he loosed was more horrified than any since he was first captured.

  She put him back in his box, and Cindy withdrew from her mind.

  “What do you plan to do with him?” Cindy asked. “You can’t keep him there forever, and I don’t imagine you want to.”

  “I’m going back to the estate tomorrow, and I’ll turn him loose there. Seamus says he’ll never find his body at that distance, and he’ll die very shortly. You’re right, I won’t be sorry to be rid of him.”

  “Thank you, Brenna. Thank you for capturing him, and thank you for letting me see him before he goes. He did something that thirty-eight years of life, fifteen years in this city where half the minds are like cesspools, wasn’t able to do. He taught me to hate. I really don’t like it much, and maybe with him dead I’ll be able to forget what it feels like.

  “But one thing I’ll miss is my little sister.” She smiled, “I really liked her. Maybe you could bring her out for Halloween or something sometime.”

  Brenna smiled, “Maybe, or perhaps the two of you could take a vacation together. I liked her, too, and she taught me a lot, things you tried to tell me about being a succubus. I was able to really see what it’s like by becoming Samantha. Sort of a test drive for what I might become if I wasn’t so afraid of it.”

  She glanced toward the door, then dropped her voice. “I’ve always been a horny wench and thought conventional morality didn’t make any sense. But listening to Samantha and Siobhan explain to Irina about being a succubus in a telepathic society, I realized how proud they were, and you are, of being what you are. It’s not a bad thing, and it does bring pleasure to a lot of people.” A soft smile crossed her face. “Including me.”

  Brenna pushed her red hair back from her face. “It’s not something I can change. I can either be unhappy about what I am, or happy about what I am. Those are the only choices I’ve been given. Wishes are for children.”

  She reached out and put her hand on Cindy’s cast. “So, as Rebecca warned me, I’ve transitioned back from Samantha to Brenna but I’m changed from the experience. I think I have you to thank for that, more than anyone else. You told me once that my mother had done more for you than you could ever repay. She’s gone, but you’ve paid her daughter in kind, and I’m so glad you did. I love you, Cindy Nelson. Thank you for helping me to grow up and become a woman.”

  ~~~

  ###

  For more information about BR Kingsolver, The Telepathic Clans, and other fun stuff, please visit my web site. I’m also on Twitter and Facebook.

  brkingsolver.com

  For more of the incredible art of Rebecca Sinz, see her website.

  www.elvenstarart.com

  Succubus Unleashed

  An Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Romance

  By B.R. Kingsolver

  ~~~

  Published by B.R. Kingsolver

  ~~~

  Copyright 2012 B.R. Kingsolver

  brkingsolver.com

  ~~~

  Cover art by Mia Darien

  MiaDarien.com

  ~~~

  Look for the further adventures of Brenna O’Donnell in Book 3 of the Telepathic Clans Saga.

  In Succubus We Trust,

  An Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Romance

  ~~~~

  License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  ~~~

  DEDICATION

  To Valentina and the kids. It’s all for you.

  ~~~

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Valentina, for your encouragement, reading my first efforts, creating my website, and so much more. Mia Darien for the cover art, edits, comments and suggestions. Jane and Jackie for putting up with me and giving me invaluable feedback and editing help. Hennessee Andrews for reading, editing, and help with the delicate scenes. JQ Trotter and Delancey Stewart for edits, comments and suggestions. To all of you, a sincere thank you.

  ~~~

  Pronunciation Guide to Names

  Some of the names in this book have been Anglicized, for others:

  Aine: aw-nya – delight or pleasure

  Aislinn: awsh-leen – dream or vision

  Aoife: eef-ya – beautiful or radiant

  Beltane: bel-tane – May Day, the beginning of the summer season, a springtime festival of optimism

  Brenna: bran-na – raven, often referring to hair

  Caylin: kay-lin – slender, fair

  Irina: ee-ree-na – Russian form of Irene

  Mairead: mah-rayd – Gaelic form of Margaret

  Morrighan: mor-ri-gan – Celtic goddess

  Poitin: po-teen – Irish moonshine

  Rhiannon: ree-an-on – Welsh for maiden

  Samhain: so-ween – The harvest festival, now called Halloween

  Seamus: shay-mus – the supplanter

  Sean: shawn – Gaelic form of John

  Sinead: shi-nayd – Irish version of Jeanne

  Siobhan: shee-vawn – Variation of Jeanne

  Slainte: slayn-cheh – ‘Health’ in Gaelic, a toast

  Tuatha De Danann: tu-a-tha de dan-an – The people of the Goddess Danu - The original pre-Celtic inhabitants of Ireland

  ~~~

  A full list and description of the Telepathic Gifts appears at the end of the book.

  ~~~

  Succubus Unleashed

  Chapter 2-1

  You have to have the kind of body that doesn't need a girdle in order to get to pose in one. - Carolyn Kenmore

  They noticed him when he walked in. Six feet tall and very good looking, he stopped just inside the door to let his eyes adjust. Walking to the bar, he ordered a beer and turned to survey the room, his eyes stopping when he saw them watching him. A smile spread across his face.

  Sitting in a booth across the room, they scanned his mind, as they did with every man who caught their attention.

  “Ick,” Rebecca said, her mouth crooking in an expression of distaste.

  “Prey,” Brenna said with a bright smile.

  He was arrogant, conceited, misogynistic, and self-centered. Brenna was sure she could come up with an unflattering word to match every letter in the alphabet to describe him. The bulge in his pants, of which he was so proud, wasn’t really that great, but did promise a fulfilling encounter.

  Rebecca chuckled, taking a long pull at her beer. “I’ll look for someone a little more palatable while you’re gone.”

  “Try to find one with a friend,” Brenna replied. “I don’t plan o
n spending much time on him.”

  Exerting Influence, Brenna smiled seductively when she caught his eyes. Soon he drifted over to their table.

  “Are you going to ask me to dance?” Brenna purred, looking at him through lowered eyelashes.

  He nodded. She waited.

  “Oh. Do you want to dance?”

  “Sure. I thought you’d never ask,” she smiled, kicking her Glam up a couple of notches.

  He wasn’t a bad dancer, and when the band played a slow song next, she flowed into his arms. Dribbling pheromones until his eyes glazed and his erection pressing against her stomach was rock hard, she blurred the minds of everyone around them. No one noticed when she broke away. Taking him by the hand, she led him to a dark corner near the restrooms.

  Unzipping his pants, she freed his erection and lifting her skirt, fitted him into her. She sighed as he slid into her, filling her. Her back against the wall, she put her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. A soft puff of pheromones ensured his cooperation. She leaned back to enjoy the ride.

  His life energy flowed into her when he climaxed, triggering a delicious orgasm. As he began to wilt, she put her feet back on the floor. She stood for a few moments reveling in his energy flowing through her, shuddering with pleasure, and watched him slump to the floor unconscious. Adjusting her clothes, she went into the restroom to freshen up, a smile tugging at her lips as she brushed a stray hair back. With one last approving look in the mirror, she headed back to her table.

  Two young men awaited her with Rebecca. A quick mental scan told her they were nice guys. Tom and Dave invited them to a party and paid their tab on the way out. Rebecca exerted a bit of influence to ensure they left the waitress a nice tip.

  Six months earlier, such behavior would have appalled Brenna Morgan.