by Randi Darren
The blonde was sitting in the back, giving directions as Irma drove.
“Why are all Imps women?” Irma asked suddenly.
“They’re not. Truth be told, Imp women are somewhat uncommon. They tend to favor their mothers, who are usually human,” Sam said.
“That’s not true,” Alexis said in the backseat. “Imps are always women. There are no males.”
Sam frowned and turned in his seat, looking at Alexis.
“My lord,” Alexis said, immediately bowing her head to him and averting her eyes. “I speak the truth as I know it. I swear it.”
“Name’s Sam, and it sounds like Jenaphila’s been messing around with things she shouldn’t. It’s a good way to get someone from a higher plane to come knocking,” Sam said. “Then again… maybe the higher planes have finally taken a backseat.”
“Higher planes?” Alexis asked.
“Did Jena teach you nothing?” Sam growled.
“I’m sorry, my lord!” Alexis said. “I’m just a watcher! I was bound to Jena as soon as I turned eighteen. My mother is a watcher in another city! I only know what I’ve been taught!”
“Never mind,” Sam said with a dispirited grunt. “It seems Jena has turned her own race into a race of servants, bred for her use. Well… I guess I get to play liberator in a way.”
“Why would she want to eliminate male Imps, though?” Irma asked.
“Technically speaking… male Imps aren’t any stronger than females in Essence use. Though they’re usually physically stronger,” Sam said. “So far, Jena seems to be demonstrating at every turn that she’d rather limit opponents than strengthen allies. Rather than risk a male Imp overpowering her, she eliminated them all. Rather than risk a female Imp becoming a stronger Essence mage, she doesn’t teach. Those who get too strong, she makes planar lords. And probably kills them as soon as that title is bestowed, saying they died off plane or something.”
“And this was your partner?” Irma asked.
“Turn right into that parking lot,” Sam said.
“Got it,” Irma said.
“I mean,” Sam said after a second, “she was my subordinate. Not really partner. She was more what Alexis is to you. I messed up, though, and thought I could trust her. Gave her too much, and she took it all.”
“Just park here. This building is owned by Jena, but it doesn’t have security or anything like that during the day. Just at night,” Alexis said.
Getting out of the car, Sam stretched his back out, except nothing felt better.
Oh. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?
Sam brought his wings back with a single thought. Then he stretched them out behind him to their full wingspan.
Groaning at the feeling of it, he bent his whole back.
“Oh, my heavens,” Alexis said. “They look like a bat’s wings.”
Giving himself a shake, Sam let his wings settle back down onto his back. “I suppose. Certainly not an Angel’s wings, or a Fallen One’s. Thankfully, I’m not one of those base spirit creatures. Zealots, all of them.”
“What?” Irma asked, closing her door. “Angels and Demons are real?”
“Of course they are. So is everything else,” Sam said, turning to face the two Imps. “Angels and Demons aren’t that much different than anything else, though.”
“Were you there for it? The battle of the heavens?” Alexis asked. She gestured to a side door and pulled something out of her purse at the same time.
“No. That was before me to be honest though not by much.
“I only came into being slightly after that war. Right after victory was declared. I have met many from both sides who served in that war, though,” Sam said, following Alexis. “Interesting stories. Though it’s very different than what you would think. The way I heard it told, was they were all Angels. Both leaders of both sides were actual Gods.
“One threatened the end of the world to the other, and the second left rather than have the entirety of existence ended.”
“That… that can’t be,” Irma said.
“Why not?” Sam asked. “You have a planar lord standing before you. I was there when your kind were figuring out how to keep and make fire. For all you know, I slept with your most distant ancestor. Imps and humans are almost interchangeable. And before you go on about religion, I would say… you humans have a tendency to change facts to your own desires. Those Gods exist, and existed, but your kind fouled it up.”
Alexis opened the door and walked them into the building.
Sam was on guard. He had marshaled up all the Essence he’d generated with Hillary and Irma, and he held it at the ready.
He wasn’t about to be ambushed again.
“We’re a little late, but that means everyone will be there,” Alexis said.
“Sammy, can I try?” Irma asked. “I think I’ve got a handle on it.”
Sam shrugged his shoulders. “As you like. Just remember to activate the branding rune on all of them immediately. We can’t risk Jena finding out that I’m back. She spent a lot of time and power to eliminate all of my summoning artifacts.”
“Can you teach me, Irma?” Alexis asked from in front of them. “I’d be willing to join the feed harem you mentioned. If you two would teach me.”
Sam ignored the Imp. She wasn’t his problem, and he wasn’t going to interfere. He wasn’t a manager of people. Nor was he a leader.
He was a sex demon who just wanted to eat.
“We’ll talk about it later,” Irma said, waving a hand at Alexis. Then she pointed at a door they were walking to. “In there?”
“Yes. Let me go first so I can make sure they’re all there. There should be nine of them,” Alexis said.
Sam frowned at that. It was strange to him that Alexis seemed willing to help them.
He didn’t trust it at all.
Without making it obvious, Sam lifted his hand at his side and prepared to activate Alexis’s new control rune. As soon as he dropped her, he could easily switch to his old control rune for the others.
Alexis pulled the door open and walked inside, vanishing from Sam’s view.
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” she said. “Looks like everyone is here. Did I miss anything?”
Irma flashed a grin at Sam, shivered once, and then stepped around the corner into the room.
She’s far too happy with her power.
Stepping in behind Irma, Sam looked around the room.
Nine women were on the ground, curled up tight in the fetal position. Six of them were screaming at the top of their lungs.
She’s using maximum power through that old rune. I wonder if she knows she can dial it down. Oh well.
“Hello ladies,” Irma said, walking into the room. “My name is Irma. I’m the First Imp and partner of Planar Lord Sameerixis. You have three options to choose from today.
“Serve me, be… murdered, or get dropped onto a plane to live the rest of your life in captivity. I’m going to go one by one and let you choose. Okay? Great.”
Walking over to the closest woman, Irma got down into a squat and started to quietly talk to the her.
Sam chuckled darkly.
She’s far more direct than Jena was. I kinda like it.
“Sam, this one wants to die,” Irma said, looking up to him.
“Right,” he said as he stepped over to the woman.
He couldn’t technically kill her; that’d just alert Jena. But he could put her life force on his plane with a marking. Her Life Essence would slowly bleed out into his personal space over time, nourishing him.
She’d never wake up from the transition, either. It’d be just as if she’d died. Her soul would cross over, her body would end, and she’d know nothing more.
Putting a hand to the back of her head, Sam gathered up some Essence. Then he shoved as hard as he could, forcing the woman through a planar gate.
There was a massive splash of blood and gore as her material body exploded in every direction.
&nbs
p; Her Life Essence, along with her intact brand, dropped through into his home plane.
Jenaphila would never know what had happened, except that one of her Imps had just vanished, mark and all.
And that could happen. Ogres and Trolls tended to enjoy eating Imps. The branding would be digested and disappear without alerting Jena.
The room looked as if someone had dropped a grenade into a vat of red paint.
“Next,” Sam said, flicking a finger at himself, Alexis, and Irma to dismiss the mess. They’d all been drenched in the blood, guts, and chunks that had been the woman.
“Thanks,” Irma said, moving to the next woman. Part of the previous woman’s torso was twitching next to her.
There’s always one who thinks it’s a bluff. Maybe the rest will listen now.
Nine - Special Discount-
Stepping into Abigail’s apartment, Sam walked over to the coffee maker and got it started. As he leaned up against the countertop, he felt pretty good.
He’d made incredible progress to coming back into his own on the primary plane.
Clothes, apartment, job, client, First Imp, and a few helpers for her.
Now… we just need more clients. Hopefully ones that’ll take a short, easy option so I can cash in a chunk of Life Essence.
The door to Abigail’s bedroom opened, and she walked out in short shorts and a tank top.
She had far more to her figure than he’d previously expected. On top of that, she had a healthy thickness to her that he liked. She wasn’t overweight, but she wasn’t thin either.
At least Sam thought so.
“Good morning, Abby. I like the nightwear,” Sam said. “Care to have sex? You look like you’d be a lot of fun and absolutely delicious.”
Abigail stared at him, her eyes wide. She didn’t back up or run away, but neither did she move forward again.
“Yes? No? Sex?” Sam asked. Glancing at the coffee maker Sam grabbed Abigail’s favorite mug and slid it into place.
“Yes, but… not… right now,” Abigail said, her hands opening and closing at her sides. “When we… when we finish my contract. We can end the contract with sex rather than blood. If… if you’ll increase the percentage I get from referrals.”
Sam chuckled at that, pressing the brew button on the coffee maker.
“You look like a lot of fun, Abby, but I don’t think you’d be that fun. And—”
“A higher percentage for the conclusion of the contract in sex, and I’ll let you read Alisa’s journal,” Abigail said. “She wrote about you a lot.”
Shaking his head again, Sam walked over to the fridge and opened it.
“Abby, I’d be very interested in knowing you carnally. But… it just isn’t worth it,” Sam said, taking the creamer out of the fridge. “Alisa’s progeny or not.”
“Sex, journal, and I get you another client today,” Abigail said.
“Today?” Sam asked as he walked back over to the coffee maker. Pulling Abigail’s mug out, he added creamer to the point he knew she liked it. Then he took out a single sugar cube instead of five, per her own previous instruction to him. When he’d finished making the coffee, he set it down on the counter for her.
“If you can get me another client today, close out our contract with sex, and I get to read the journal… I could increase your cut by an additional five percent,” Sam said.
“Deal,” Abigail said, walking forward to take her coffee. “You can have me when we’re done and read the journal after that. I’ll get your client today.”
“And what are you doing today that makes that so certain?” Sam asked.
Abigail took a sip of her coffee and made a face. She started to reach for the sugar and then stopped. With a shake of her head, her hand fell back to her side, and she took another sip of her coffee.
“Work. Then go see about that other client of yours,” she said. “Uhm, work on my resume some more. I already… reached out to some people to see if they knew of any job openings. I might have a few places to turn in my resume this weekend.”
“Oh? Good work, Abigail,” Sam said, leaning over to lightly pat her shoulder. “I’m proud of you. That’s some good determination. I can’t tell you how many of my clients hear what they need to do and then just shut down. Or cancel their contracts with me. Sometimes the truth is the hardest thing in the world to hear.”
“You really think I’m fat?” Abigail asked, peering at him over the rim of her mug. Apparently the fact that she was being judged on her physical appearance still bothered her.
“Not personally, no. I think you’re a good weight and size. I’m sure your doctors would say you’re just past the line of being ‘healthy,’ and maybe my view of beauty is different than those of this current millennium,” Sam said.
“But they did. The supervisors, managers, and the others,” Abigail said.
“Unfortunately. Humans will happily judge everyone on everything,” Sam said with a shrug.
“What about you?” Abigail asked. “What are you doing today?”
“Sit in my office. Do nothing,” Sam said. “As soon as you’re settled, I’ll be turning over that job to an associate of mine.”
Abigail nodded, looking thoughtful.
“For… what it’s worth. Thank you, Sameerixis. From what I’ve read in Alisa’s journal, you could have easily asked any price of me, or told me no,” Abigail said. “So, yeah, thank you. Thank you for saying yes and keeping your price reasonable.”
Sam quirked a brow at that, smiling at her. “Of course. How could I not give Alisa’s progeny a fair start?”
Smiling at that, Abigail only nodded slightly.
***
Lying down on Irma’s couch, Sam was flipping through the channels as his head rested in Irma’s lap.
He liked Abigail well enough, but he had a strange feeling about her. Like her entire approach to Sam was artificial, in a way. It made him nervous.
He only ever showed up to her apartment in the morning, and he didn’t come back until the next day.
More often than not, he went to sleep next to Irma, Hillary, or both.
“I wonder if she’ll actually pull off a second client,” Irma said, leaning over the arm of the couch, her head resting against her hand. Her other hand was playing back and forth over Sam’s chest.
“No idea. Though I’m definitely hoping she does,” Sam said. “She’s moving rather quickly with what I told her to do. If I’m unlucky, she might get a job offer faster than she even expects. It’ll really come down to how she presents herself.”
“And after that, you’d end up having to leave the plane,” Irma said.
“Mmhmm. Though you have the ability to summon me, which means you can find me clients that’d bring me back,” Sam said.
“What if I find someone who agrees to a number of years up front,” Irma said. “Could I offer them a slightly lesser price if they were willing to spend it a day at a time so you’d remain on this plane?”
“I suppose I could,” Sam said, turning to Irma. “I don’t see the point in it, though.”
“Because I want you on this plane with me,” Irma said with a pat on the top of his head. “Shouldn’t you want to be here with me?”
“You can just come to my plane whenever you want. The perks of being an Imp,” Sam said.
“No, wrong answer,” Irma said. “The right answer is ‘Of course I want to be here on your home plane, Irma my love, and I’ll do exactly what you said to make that happen,’ so please go ahead and say that.”
Grinning, Sam thought she was joking.
It wasn’t until she gazed down at him with that look she got that he realized she wasn’t kidding.
Damnit. I guess… I guess this is what she was talking about. Wanting more from this.
And so far, she’s kept up her end of the bargain. She’s been good for me.
And I feel… happy.
“Of course I want to be here on your home plane, Irma my love, and I’ll do
exactly what you said to make that happen. And spend every day feasting on you till you collapse from exhaustion,” Sam said.
“Good, thank you,” Irma said, patting his head again.
“By the way, did you know your aunt was a Contractor?” Sam asked.
“Auntie Mel? No. When she showed up looking young, I didn’t recognize her. We talked for a while about what she is, her contracts. Things like that.
“It was odd. She always looked like Grandma before,” Irma said, shaking her head. “It was a shock. Apparently she’s been pretending to be old for a long time, just to stay friends with Grandma. She was there when I was born, you know. She really is more like an aunt. Especially with Mom being gone.”
“Is she away, or no longer on this mortal plane?” Sam asked.
“The latter, I guess,” Irma said. “She died a long time ago. I think I was four? Five? Car accident. I got lucky. Mom pulled the car into oncoming traffic rather than staying on her side of the road. After she got rear-ended, that is. Ended up going straight into a head-on collision. Someone said it was like she did it on purpose. She died just after impact.”
“In other words, she had an Imp-pulse. Rather than doing what most people would have done, she did the opposite. I imagine she made a choice. And the only thing that springs to my mind is she chose you. Her life for yours,” Sam said, looking back to the TV. The news was on, and it was as boring as ever. All doom, gloom, and fear. “That’s the only reason I can think of for an Imp to do something like that. Accidental deaths are rare for Imps. And it isn’t as if your grandmother is a weak Imp. Nor are you. Means she’d be a strong Imp as well.”
Irma froze in her seat.
“She… you’re right, aren’t you?” Irma said. It wasn’t a question. “There’s no other reason she would have done what she did. Grandma always told me I blamed her for no reason.”
“Probably. As I mentioned, Imps get those intuitions and hints. If the accident cost her life, she would have had to have ignored an intuition. That would only happen if following her intuition would have cost her something more dearly. If doing something else would have been worse,” Sam said. “Congratulations. Your mother chose you over herself. I do hope you’ve been paying her spirit respects.”