by Judith Post
Leam grew very still. "That means, by trying to save me, you're putting yourselves at risk."
"It would happen sooner or later anyway," Hatchet said. "Malea came here to crush Lillith. She needs your powers to do it. But if she succeeds, we're guessing she'll try to take over Lillith's business and the empire she's built. Only Malea won't play nice, and we'll end up battling her anyway."
Leam struggled to sit up. Vittorio hurried to help him. "But you're fighting my battle now, and I don't know if I have any energy left. The drink made me weak. So has Malea."
"The drink will wear off soon," Lillith assured him. "And this is my battle, too. Let's go to my chambers. It will be easier to talk there."
Vittorio supported Leam as they moved down the hallway. He lowered him onto one of the velvet settees and went to sit across from him, out of the way, but close enough to help him if he needed it.
Lillith brought Leam a tall glass of water and watched him gulp it down. When he finished, he rolled his shoulders. "I'm feeling better."
A knock sounded on the door, and a girl came with a large tray of appetizers and finger sandwiches. Leam wolfed down some food, then smiled. "Not as good as blood, but it works. I'm almost up to par." He glanced at Babet. "I'm strong enough to let you drain me."
"You're sure?"
He grinned. "Be gentle."
Babet snorted, then pursed her lips and sucked in air. Wisps of energy left Leam and filled her mouth. Foul tasting, but not nearly as vile as the voodoo priest's. She exhaled out her nose, and the foul energy drifted away. She frowned. Silky, smooth strands of energy slid down her throat, as though they wanted to be part of her. Was that possible?
She inhaled a half dozen times until dark circles rimmed Leam's eyes and his cheeks sank in. She looked at Lillith. "Have I taken out enough? How much do I need to balance him?"
"Keep doing it until I can't take anymore," Leam whispered. "I want as much of Malea out of me as you can get."
Babet glanced at Lillith, and the succubus gave a brief nod.
Babet inhaled three more times until Leam sagged into himself. Lillith raised a hand. "That's enough. Anymore, and he'll be in trouble."
Babet pressed a hand to her throat. Even when she didn't swallow, sucking in dark energy wasn't pleasant. She could feel the lingering silky strands expand in her lungs. What were they? Shaman, seer, or both?
Prosper handed her a glass of wine. "To fortify yourself."
She smiled. She drank half the glass and braced herself to blow energy into Leam—something she'd never tried before—when the door to Lillith's chamber flew open. Colleen hurried into the room, closing the door behind her. She looked at Hatchet. She held up her arm with the inky tattoo. "I could feel you here. You're readying for something. I sensed your energy. If you battle, so do I."
"You'd be safer…."
Colleen didn't let him finish. "If you die, we die together. We swore that to each other."
Hatchet held out an arm and pulled her to his side. Colleen turned to see what was happening.
Babet centered herself once more and faced Leam. Vittorio held his friend upright as Babet blew her own energy into him. The silky strands surged to join each breath of air. Blue-tinted mists swirled into his parted lips and he swallowed them down. One after another.
After her fourth exchange, Prosper said, "Enough. He's looking better. If Malea comes to battle us, you have to be strong. We need you."
Babet nodded. "I can finish healing him with witch magic. That won't deplete me."
"Don't tire yourself," Hatchet warned. "Prosper told me your dream. Witch magic works better against Malea than strength or succubus powers."
Babet pressed her palms against Leam's chest and pushed healing power into him. She'd barely begun when he glowed with health. She pulled back, startled.
Leam blinked at her, surprised. "I feel different. Something's changed…." His eyes flew wide. "I see an old man and woman—my grandparents."
They'd separated themselves from Malea's magic to linger behind and return to Leam. Babet realized that now.
Lillith studied him. "Your shaman gift has been awakened. You're going to have some confusing times for a while. You have a lot to balance."
Before Leam could say anything more, one of the windows in the room exploded in a shatter of glass. A hot fist of breath sucked at them. Babet called a spell, and a clear bubble formed between them and Malea.
"I know you're in there!" Malea cried. "Come to me, my lover. I want to make you mine."
Lillith squared her shoulders. The others followed her down the stairs and out the door. Morgana hurried after them. Malea stood a block away, in front of office buildings, empty at night. As private as it got in River City after sunset.
"You don't want to do this, Malea." Lillith came to a stop a few feet away from her. "You no longer control Leam or his powers. Swear to me that you'll never bother me again, and we'll let you leave here."
Malea spat on the ground near Lillith's feet. "I've spent the last millennium consuming energies. I'd have enjoyed his. They're new to me, but I can manage without them."
"My friends have many energies between them. Why risk your freedom? I've made River City my home. You can wander the world with no threat from me."
"You're happy here. It makes me sick. I want you sent to the pits where you belong." Malea showed her teeth and hissed. "You can pleasure the demons there."
Lillith's expression grew hard. "They'd enjoy me more than they will you, but they'll have to make do."
Malea's strangled screech of fury made the hairs rise on Babet's arms. Malea's palm flew up, and a blast of energy shot toward them.
Again, Babet formed a shield, and the attack ricocheted down an alley, knocking a trash can on its side. Morgana's tongue flickered in and out, her coils tensed, ready to strike.
Malea glared at Babet. "How strong are you, little witch? I've consumed three mages. If you turn and run now, I won't look for you."
Hatchet called for lightning, caught it, and blasted it at her. She formed a bubble, too. The lightning sparked across its surface and died out.
Vittorio, Leam, and Colleen sprouted fangs. So did Malea, only hers were long and curved. Wicked-looking.
Malea turned to Prosper. "And you?"
He held up a badge. "A cop. You're under arrest."
She threw back her head to laugh and he shifted. He hit her so hard, she bounced against a building. At the same time, Hatchet and Babet shot ball after ball of energy at her. Morgana wrapped her thick, heavy body around her ankles, anchoring her in place. Malea tried to push herself onto her knees, but Vittorio and Leam landed on her back and sank their fangs into her flesh. Her arms twitched as they drank from her, and she couldn't maneuver into a sitting position. Finally, she sagged to the cement, turned her face, and began to suck in air.
Wisps of energy started toward her, but as in the dream, Lillith pursed her lips and sucked, too. The energy stopped flowing, caught between the two succubi. It didn't go forward or back. Malea breathed in harder, desperate, and Babet inhaled. The energy edged in her direction and Malea stared at her in surprise. Finally, too weak to fight, she slumped to the ground, unconscious.
Morgana didn't ease her grip.
As a group, the others formed a circle around Malea's body. Babet frowned. "What do you do with a demon's body?" They didn’t really die. The only way to keep them in the ground was to bury them at a crossroads and hope no one dug them up.
Prosper wrapped an arm around her waist. Her Were was naked. When he shifted, his clothes ripped to shreds. There might be a patch somewhere large enough to cover his essential, but Babet doubted it.
He said, "If you think your father's name, he comes, doesn’t he?"
"Right." She looked for something to cover him with. Her father had seen Prosper naked before, but she didn't want to make a habit of it. And Lillith was gawking. How gauche. She tore a sleeve off her T-shirt and handed it to him. He draped it ove
r himself, but somehow, it made it look even bigger. She gave up with a sigh, closed her eyes, and thought Gazaar.
Her father strode toward them from an alley. Lillith's eyes grew even wider. If a demon drooled, she'd need a bib.
"You used the information I sent you well." Gazaar's voice brimmed with pride. "I can take Malea now. There's a special pit for succubi." He patted Morgana's head. "Good girl." When she released the succubus's ankles, he easily flipped Malea's limp body onto his shoulder, nodded at his daughter, and strode away.
Lillith put out a hand on a nearby lamppost to steady herself. "If I go to the pits, do I get to consort with him?"
"He's my father," Babet said. "My mother's husband."
Lillith sighed. "Such a shame." She looked at Vittorio. Then her gaze shifted to Prosper's bit of fabric. "Well, this has been an experience. And thank you for your help, but all of you prove too hard to seduce. I'm going home." She started down the block to her Victorian.
Vittorio and Leam glanced at each other.
"My shop?" Vittorio asked.
Leam nodded. He looked at the others. "Thank you for everything." And the two vampires poofed out of sight.
Hatchet linked his fingers through Colleen's. "We'll take our leave, too. But it was interesting watching you work, Babet. I've never seen you as a succubus."
Babet reached for Prosper. "I feel more comfortable as a witch."
"I'd fight next to you either way." Hatchet nodded toward his unmarked, squad car, and Colleen went with him.
"I feel more comfortable, safe and sound, behind our doors." Prosper motioned toward Morgana, and they started to their car. On the drive home, he gave Babet a curious glance. "If you'd suck some energy from me and replace it with witch energy, would I be able to shoot sparks from my fingertips?"
Babet laughed at him. "You already send enough sparks up and down me." He chuckled. "Maybe you're right. I'll just be happy with what I have."
Morgana bobbed her head between them, anxious to be a part of the good vibes. Babet stroked her smooth scales. "We love you, too, dear snake."
Satisfied, Morgana curled on the back seat, and Babet reached across the middle panel to place her hand on Prosper's bare thigh. Lord, the man felt good. She couldn't stop a smile. Finding a balance between her witch magic and her succubus gifts wasn't as scary as she'd thought. Sometime soon, Leam would get his energies balanced, too. But magic was only a small part of Life. That's what Malea had never learned. A pity. As Lillith would say, "Such a shame."
Other Titles by Judith Post
Find Judith on Goodreads!
Visit Judith's website and check out her blog.
Babet & Prosper Collection I
including
One Less Warlock
Magrat’s Dagger
A Different Undead
Bad Juju
Ally & Dante Novella Series
Flesh & Stone
Gargoyle, Missing
Samuel Meets His Match
A Natural Affinity
Christian & Brina Novella Series
Uncommon Allies
Keeper of Dragons
Lone Drifter
Death & Loralei Novella Series
Destiny with Death
Death & Felice
All Hallow’s Eve
The Death & Loralei Collection
(featuring an exclusive novella, Spirit Bound)
Novels by Judith Post
Fabric of Life
Fallen Angels
Blood Battles
Empty Altars
Shadow Demon
Wolf's Bane