by D. R. Rosier
That didn’t mean I had any idea how to deal with it though.
She continued, “So after our transaction, I went back to medical school, I never expected to hear from him again. He said it was a precaution, and he’d most likely live for hundreds of years so it would probably never effect you either. You were just a potential heir, in case everything went wrong.”
“Okay, then what happened?”
She frowned at me, “I was approached at work yesterday morning, by something not human, I think that it was a demon. He said he was an agent, and that your father heard that you’d been identified by his enemies and you were in danger. He also said there can only be one of what he is in a city, and the only way to save your life is for you to become what he is, but you couldn’t stay in Chicago. He also gave me the keycard and directions for this place, and said things were set up for you in this city, where none of your kind exist.”
I frowned, “What kind, I mean what is he?”
Her voice was tiny, “A warlock. A wielder of infernal magic, demon summoning, and soul deals.”
I shook my head, repressing the laughter I knew would sound unhinged.
“What else did he tell you?”
She sighed, “Too much. There are other supernatural races in the city. Shifters, Vampires, and Mages. He said normally in cities a warlock is taken out quickly by other supernatural races, they’re feared and disliked by most if not all others, which is why he needed hidden heirs in the first place. He also said that Seattle is in an almost constant state of war, so the fact that they’re busy fighting each other, means that you might slip through the cracks unnoticed long enough to gain and learn your power. Oh, and there’s no Fae in the city, which is a nasty race he warned me you should stay away from. It’s crazy, right?”
I just nodded, but I wasn’t so sure. I wasn’t going to turn evil, or start buying souls, but it resonated with something within me. It was kind of freaking me out actually, just how much it didn’t sound crazy to me.
She said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know what else to do but bring you here. Especially when I ran into that succubus in our house.”
I frowned, “How did you know?”
She laughed, “Some women are lesbians, some hetero, and then there’s bi-sexual, bi-curious, and all sorts of graduations in between. I’ve always been pure hetero, no woman has ever turned me on. Yet, as soon as I saw that succubus I’d have done anything to get her into bed. I knew then what she had to be, and stabbed the bitch.”
Wow, of all the things I didn’t want to know about mom, that was at the top.
She sighed, “I’ve put a lot of thought into it on the way here. I think I’m going to leave in the morning, this is a decision that you have to make for yourself. I’m terrified of losing you, but I don’t know how much more dangerous it would be to do… what you have to do for power.”
She pulled the key card out of her breast pocket, and slid it across the table.
“That gets you in the elevator downstairs, and it opens the electronic lock on the study door. He said there are briefs and explanations in the study, laying out what you have to do to gain your power and fight back.”
I frowned, “What about you mom, will you be safe back home?”
She smiled and seemed to relax, “Thanks. I thought you might be angry at me. He said I’m no one, they wouldn’t waste the effort on me. You’re the heir and the target. I’m going to get some sleep, I’ll talk to you in the morning before I leave.”
“I couldn’t hate you mom, I’ll see you in the morning, don’t worry about the kitchen.”
She nodded, and then left the room.
I started to clean up the kitchen as I considered everything she told me. I wondered why he couldn’t just protect me, it had to be harder to set all this up in another city, give me an opportunity to be a warlock and defend myself. Was it an opportunity? Something inside me said it was, but there was also a part of me that thought I should start running now, and never ever stop…
The door made a snick noise, and I pulled out the access card and pushed my way in. The study was filled with bookshelves with odd sized volumes on them. There was a desk that was empty except for a folder, an amulet, and what looked like a ledger. There was another black couch, similar to the two in the living room, as well as a recliner with a reading light overhead, hanging from the wall.
There was a second doorway to the right, which I decided to ignore for now, the objects on the desk were calling to me strongly. I moved behind it and sat down, my mind whirring but outwardly I was calm. I flipped through the ledger, and it was a catalog of the books around me.
It was a listing of books on magic. Water, earth, air and fire, many books on elemental magic. There were also books on infernal magic, and the spell types that could be cast there, with short explanations.
Summoning, Pacts for both souls and other deals, I assumed my mother’s deal with my warlock father was one of the latter types. There were also general spells, spellcasting primers, primers for learning Latin, attack spells, healing spells, defensive spells, retaliation or feedback spells, spells to find people or things, the latter of which is probably how he found my mother. Some kind of spell to divine who would be susceptible to temptation and need a deal.
There were also books of examples of how to make deals, and what to expect.
I frowned. That was an awful lot of stuff to learn, but there was more as well.
A whole other discipline of magic for wards, to protect vehicles and homes. There were four different types of wards, protective, trap or attack, concealment, and containment. The middle two were self-explanatory, and the first and last similar. Except protective wards simply blocked magical attacks, where containment wards absorbed the attack and could make the shields even stronger, until they overloaded.
To learn more, I’d have to start reading the books. I shook my head dubiously. I’d just graduated college, and I felt like an ignorant bastard who had to start from square one. Still, I had other things to examine before I dove into the books, perhaps the folder would give me some direction on where to start with all this. I put the catalog down, and picked up the amulet.
As far as I could tell, it was about two ounces of pure gold. It had very small writing on it, Latin engraving. I assumed it was some kind of spell, or spells that were built into it somehow. I shrugged, I guess I really needed to learn Latin. It all felt so surreal, but at the same time it resonated with something in me, and I believed it.
I grabbed the folder, opened it up, and started reading. It was a lot of information, but I decided to read it all the way through at least once, before I thought about it too much, and completely lost my mind…
I was so screwed.
A mages magic was a lot nicer. A mage was born with an affinity to one of the elements, which are located on this mortal plane, so they were born with access to their magic. They could also use their elemental affinity to fuel spells to evoke the other three elements, but their primary element was the only one they could wield without spell casting.
Warlocks had an affinity with the infernal. Like the mages, a warlock can wield infernal magic without spells through their affinity. Simple things, like forming shields, balefire, detect magic, command which was a weak version of a vampires compel. That was about it. Just like mages again, a warlock can use their affinity to evoke the elements in the mortal plane, and cast spells of the four elements.
The thing a warlock can do that a mage can’t, is cast the infernal spells, like demon summoning, create pacts of various kinds, and something like divination, but of infernal origin, to identify or find things, cast curses, healing, and other infernal spells.
The downside though, was huge. The warlock can’t access their magic from birth, because infernal magic comes from hell, a different plane of existence, and to access it the warlock must make a pact of his own with a demon. Once the pact with the demon is completed, they can draw the power of the infernal throug
h the demon, like a conduit.
The problem? Demons only make one kind of pact, unlike a warlock. I wondered what the price for this place was, or for the power to fight back against those trying to kill me. The answer of course, was my immortal soul…
Chapter Five
The folder was a good sell, I had to give it that. It explained that to make a deal with a true demon, one created in hell and of pure evil would be a mistake. It also outlined that not every demon originated that way, and the best kind to make a deal with were the fallen angels. It was also pointed out, that I could make a very cushy afterlife as part of my deal. No torture, and even some companionship and servants. According to the folders, the fallen angels only care about gaining the power from the soul by it living in their demesne, and that they can still love as well as hate, so they don’t feel the need to torture and screw over those that deal with them.
Of course, that was assuming everything in the folder wasn’t a load of shit. I wanted to believe it, it would make it worth gaining power to be able to protect myself, not to mention live a lot longer, and have enough power to have some fun along the way. I thought I was a pretty nice guy, but the temptation was there to seize the power and run with it.
The folder even spelled out how I could contact one of them with specific summoning spells for the fallen angel Lilith. A succubus according to the folder, which also said deals with greater succubae were much more pleasant than with other demons, who were focused on more martial pursuits. The succubae sealed their deals with pleasure, which I could get on board with. Honestly, it all sounded a little too good to be true.
Still, I was thinking about it, and until I said yes to a deal, it should be safe enough to open a dialogue. I shivered, not sure at all that part of the information in the folder was true either. It could all be lies. Yet… to be a deal there can be no deception in it, it has to be understood completely by both parties or it won’t work. There was something in me that told me at least that much was true. It was an instinct, maybe because of what I was, a warlock.
I’d also found out what was behind the door, according to the folder it led to a thin hallway, which led to that empty center part of the apartment that I’d noticed earlier. It was a summoning and ritual room, conveniently all set up for me. Perhaps too conveniently. Although, perhaps my father would have done this for me, I’d like to think so, but could I afford to make that assumption?
The folder also suggested a short book list to get started, that would introduce me to the basics of spell and ward casting, as well as controlling the innate infernal powers of a warlock. Not that any of that will help, until I have a demon patron.
The last few days have been nuts, I decided to sleep on it, and would decide in the morning if I wanted to at least talk to Lilith, if not hammer out a deal. If I could truly depend on all the information I learned from the folder being true, I was pretty sure I’d do it. The folder said I should be safe here, for at least a few days. At that point, I’d need to shit or get off the pot. I got up, and headed for the master bedroom…
Joseph Bennington went back on his rear paws and roared victoriously. His platter sized bear paws shook the ground as they struck, throwing dirt up in the air. He sliced into the deer he just took down with his long razor sharp claws, and started to eat. It was a lot of pressure to be the head alpha of the entire Seattle shifter community, and he’d needed a hunt to get his aggression out a bit.
Shifters were stubborn, and virtually impossible to all get moving in the same direction. It took strength of will, and power to accomplish. The last head alpha had been weak, he’d allowed the community to be fractious, and as a result the fights with the vampires had always been if not a losing proposition, at the very least they were guaranteed to have them come out behind.
He knew an average shifter could face off with a new vampire, but any vampire of age would take a group to win against, the evil bastards got more powerful with age. Of course, alphas were the exception to that rule, since they could draw on the pack magic. Ever since he’d taken the head alpha position, he’d been unstoppable, he could draw on his bears, and all the other alphas in a fight.
Still, things going better or not, the vampires still flourished in Seattle, but at least they didn’t invade his territory anymore, not like they had with his predecessor. The deer meat was warm and savory, and took the edge off his anger. Sometimes, he just needed to kill, better to get that frustration out on a hunt than kill one of his shifters. He’d come close earlier, his alphas really knew how to try his patience at times. They didn’t understand that all he wanted to do was make them feared and respected. To do that, he needed them all behind him. Even that slut Gina had her uses, although he preferred to be behind her, with her on all fours.
His chest rumbled in humor at that thought, maybe he’d visit her later.
He growled loudly and spun around, blood and viscera flying off his jaw, as he felt another shifter close in from behind. They knew better than to interrupt his hunt time. The last shifter to do so had died, slowly.
Carmine Carpaccio, the wolf shifter alpha, ran into the glade, and immediately prostrated himself before Joseph.
He went up on his rear paws and roared in anger, which made the other alpha whimper and roll on his back, exposing his throat. Better, but he still considered killing him for ignoring his standing orders. Carmine had been one of his most faithful alphas though, and he thought maybe he should listen to his excuses first.
“What is it Carmine?” he asked with mind speak.
Carmine replied, “John, my head enforcer is dead. He was killed by that bitch! She fled, I’m not sure where.”
His mind was confused for a moment, until he remembered. Julia. All cat shifters were hot little fucks, but Julia’s looks and insatiable appetite had put the rest to shame, until the day she’d embarrassed him in front of the pack. That couldn’t be allowed, she’d had to be taught a lesson. He’d sent the worst among the shifter packs to her for two months, and John was supposed to finish the job, finally put the bitch out of her misery, as an example to the rest of the whores. Damn cat shifters.
They needed to keep their place. He wasn’t a cruel man for no reason, the truth was it was simply about power. Cat shifter prides controlled and dealt with other packs through sex, it was their power, so he’d forced them to turn that power over to him over ten years ago. It was just the way it had to be, he couldn’t allow any of the alphas to be independent, or his ambitions would fail.
Rage came over him at hearing this, but he held on to just enough of his will to turn and rip the deer carcass into strips of meat, instead of his most loyal alpha. Carmine was too cowardly to challenge him, yet reveled in sadistic pursuits, which made him a perfect second most times, especially if he needed something done quietly, or even something done as an example to the others. There was nothing Carmine wouldn’t do, and enjoy.
“Is she dead?”
Carmine whined, “No alpha, I have reason to believe she fled to the city.”
Well that explained it. He was too much of a coward to chase her into the city. That was one thing Carmine wouldn’t do. Not alone anyway. He considered the idea of just letting the vampires kill her, he hated the idea of risking good shifters on a raid into the city just for her, but no, he needed to make an example of her. Still, he couldn’t just invade the city and search for her, it would start a full scale battle with the leeches. They needed to at least have an idea where to look first.
“Understood, contact one of the local mages, have them scry for her, pay what they ask. Then send in a small team to extract her quickly and quietly. That bitch is going to regret what she’s done, right before she dies.”
Carmine whined, rolled to his feet, and ran to carry out the head alpha’s command…
Julia sighed in pleasure as she swiveled her hips, squeezed her pelvic muscles around the hard wonderful cock deep inside her, and slowly lifted. She felt so full, as she pleasured the man beneath her
. She was riding… someone, and the feeling of being on top and in control, of taking pleasure as she gave it, was incredible. Something she thought she’d never feel again.
“Why are you crying?”
She looked down at the man, her hands curling and digging slightly into his chest as she dropped back down. The man looked up at her in awe, clearly entranced with her beauty and talent for sex, with a face full of pleasure, disbelief, and concern. It was the concern that did it, along with the pleasure of course, she gasped out and her sex started to convulse around the man.
She moaned in approval as she felt him stiffen and expand even further within her silken depths. She rolled into a second orgasm at the feel of his release within her womb, and then collapsed down onto him. She sniffled when she recovered, touched and surprised at how gently the old homeless man was holding her. This hadn’t been in her plans, but she’d caught the amazed lust in his eyes when she’d joined him in the alley, and she figured why not, one last fuck before the vampires showed up and killed her. She’d needed sex anyway, and he was easy enough to seduce.
She rolled off him and sat against the wall in the alley, wiped the tears from her eyes, and then pulled her shorts back on. She felt good, sated for the moment, and wondered how much longer until she died. She really had nowhere else to go.
“Is this a dream?”
She looked at the old man and giggled. Laughing was better than crying, and she refused to be broken, not by that asshole head alpha. At the very least, she’d face her death when it came, and fight back. She leaned against the old man, and quickly fell sleep. It was late, and it’d been a very long day.