Incubus Inc

by Randi Darren

  “Decima’s not wrong,” Sam said softly. “I wanted Jena to be more than what she was. Desperately so. In wanting that, I believed in something that wasn’t true. Something that had never been true. And I let what happened happen.

  “She’s not wrong. She’s absolutely right.”

  “Doesn’t mean she should hound you about it,” Stacia said.

  “She’s being a bitch,” Hillary offered.

  Sam only smiled at the two, then gestured to the path ahead of them and looked forward himself.

  He really didn’t think Decima was acting out of line, considering she was right. There was no question in his mind that he was directly responsible for the ills Jenaphila had wrought on the world.

  After all, he was already well aware of the infrastructure and tactics she was using. They were his own. She’d just updated to modern times and taken things further than he ever had dared.

  Thirty-Two - Changes -

  Sam was sandwiched between Decima and Stacia. His hands were spread apart in front of him as he held a spell together. There, between his hands, was a small glowing portal.

  It was a one-way visual of what Hillary was seeing. As it was Essence magic, no one but another planar lord or an Imp extremely well trained in Essence sorcery would see it either.

  “Their security is absolutely lacking,” Decima said with a click of her tongue.

  “To be fair, they’re not expecting a Doppelganger to wander in. One who looks just like the person who’s supposed to be out on patrol and is arriving back at the right time,” Stacia said. “I’m more surprised that he was just a human.”

  “As the Vampire you are, that would be expected,” Decima said. “Vampire covens surround themselves with those who can work for them. Or at least, they used to. It seems they now value beauty over everything else.

  “And humans who will work for the darkness make great lapdogs. They’re also very cheap to replace.”

  Stacia harrumphed lightly at that.

  “You’ll understand when you see a Black-kin. You and they are the same species as a wolf and a dog could be said to be,” Decima said.

  Hillary was standing behind a guard who was flicking through cameras. Apparently, the surrounding area around the guard station was heavily monitored. The cameras also had the approaches up to the main encampment included, but nothing inside the walls.

  It was a one-way feed. Everything from here went to the inner defenders; nothing came back this way.

  “All it takes is a simple blood test,” Decima said. “Doppel blood is filled with magic. A simple purity seal touched to it would instantly give it away.”

  “Again, they weren’t expecting such a thing,” Sam said. “On top of that, they’re not from the church. In fact, the church you knew is, as far as I’ve seen, dead. Whatever they used to be, they’re no longer that.”

  Decima had a frown on her face that looked like she was sucking on a sour lemon. “Better that way anyways, since it was all a lie.”

  “At one time… before… well, before what happened, it was true. Honest and true,” Sam said. “As I’ve told the others, I was there after it happened. Spoke to the survivors. Where two gods existed. A war amongst the heavens and hells was waged. One god threatened the other with the destruction of the world. Rather than risk so many lives, that god left and took almost their entire army with them.”

  “What?” Decima asked, her voice a deathly whisper. “The creator left?”

  “One of the gods did. Not sure who the creator was, whether they stayed or left. Wasn’t there for the creation part,” Sam said.

  The view from Hillary shifted one way and then the other. It was obvious she was scanning her surroundings.

  “I think she’s going to—” Stacia stopped mid-sentence.

  Skewing to one side, the view from Hillary shuddered. The man in front of her went out of view suddenly. Hillary looked around, seemingly not concerned with the man in front of her but with who might be behind her.

  Slowly, her view went back to the man in front of her. Her arms were wrapped around his throat, and the man was clearly no longer conscious.

  One of Hillary’s hands vanished out of view and came back with a knife.

  Sam couldn’t really see what she was doing, but he got the impression she’d either stabbed him straight in the heart or slit his throat.

  “Should be one guard left, right?” Stacia asked.

  “Yes,” Decima said. “He’s out on patrol and won’t be back for a few minutes. She’ll have to hide the body or catch him as he walks in. Regardless of that, it means Carissa can move.”

  Sam nodded and turned to Stacia. “You got it?”

  “Yeah. After draining that guard, I’m feeling… pretty good,” Stacia said. Holding a hand up in front of herself, she focused on a broken stone there.

  Slowly, it turned a soft yellow color. The half of the stone Carissa held should also turn yellow, signaling her to move.

  “I’d hope so,” Decima said. “I’ve not seen a human drained to such a point in a long time.”

  “Done,” Stacia said, dropping the rock to the ground. “Really? I’ve… never actually drained a human before. I was brought into my Vampirism to only sip from humans. That or drink from prepped blood bags from a facility.”

  “House pet,” Decima said. “And I’m thankful your particular kind has been turned into such a thing.”

  Getting to his feet, Sam brushed himself off lightly. They’d still have to avoid the cameras since the feed would be sent to the camp, but they could move into the guard station with relative confidence.

  “It’s done,” Decima said. “Let us get to the station.”

  Quietly, the group of three moved in toward Hillary’s position. They were moving fairly quickly, but they were fairly certain the last guard would return to the station before they made it.

  The guard didn’t have to avoid the cameras, after all.

  Entering the station, Decima led the way. Her sword was drawn and held out in front of her.

  “Good timing,” said Hillary from inside. “Got a juice box over there for Stacia. Otherwise, we’re ready to move to the next phase.”

  “Another? I’m pretty full. I’ll drink some now, though,” Stacia said, walking over to the bound guard. “Drink some later if I need it.”

  Hm. Good.

  This is moving along quite well.

  It’s getting a bit harder to not get excited.

  I’m ever so curious at what Jena has tucked away in that vault. I want to see it. To hold it.

  To crush it and send her a photo of the wreckage.

  “…head up to the top of the tower and put this up there,” Hillary said, looking at Sam with her hand extended. In it was a bag. “Just needs to be deployed and the battery pack plugged in.”

  “Huh? Oh, oh, yes. Yeah, I’ll do that,” Sam said. Moving to the ladder off to one side of the building, he started climbing upward.

  The whole thing was made of cement, painted to blend with the forest, and it had been built amongst a small cluster of trees.

  For all intents and purposes, whoever was in charge of defense here had definitely tried to make the guard station less obvious than it would have been.

  After climbing to the top of the ladder, Sam pushed the door open and then crawled up onto the top of the building. Getting to his feet, he stood up straight and opened the bag.

  He pulled out a small tripod with a dish on it, then set up the comm unit and plugged the battery into it.

  He didn’t understand it, the tech behind it, or how it worked. Nor did he have to. That was someone else’s job.

  “Alright,” Sam said. “Guess we wait for the others to get here and then go to phase two.”

  ***

  Peering through the spell between his hands, Sam had a really bad feeling about the situation. Especially now that he knew that woman from the higher plane was still watching him.

  His actions needed to follow
the guidelines laid down. In that same thought, though, he wondered if it even mattered. If this person had emptied the plane, did that mean the old rules were still valid?

  Did she even know them?

  He needed to talk to Miles.

  As for what he saw, that was another troubling matter altogether.

  The only thing he could see was a small, squat building that looked more like a bunker. A series of buildings were arranged around it, but they all had the look of sheds, garages, and bathrooms. Even a small barracks where the guards probably rotated in and out of.

  It was far too small to be the compound they were looking for. Especially given how much had been spent on the needs of the place. Which meant Sam was missing something.

  “To be frank, I was expecting something like this,” Decima muttered. “Black-kin never like to be in the open. Even if the moon is out and the day is over, they would prefer to be in their warrens. Buildings. Anything where they can nest and hide. They’re like rodents.”’

  Ah. It’s all underground.

  “Was my species like that at one point?” Stacia asked.

  Everyone was hunkered together except for Hillary and Carissa. The Doppelganger was manning the comm station and Carissa was in position.

  “Your species,” Decima repeated. “Your species… is the same as the Black-kin. You’re all one species. It is just a difference in the strain of Vampirism. Your kind was used as forward agents, scouts, and infiltrators. They blended well with Humanity. It is very strange to see you as you see yourself. A separate species.”

  Sam said nothing to any of this. His knowledge of vampires was somewhat limited, and he truthfully didn’t care. The church had been targeting vampires as long as both had existed.

  Only demons ranked higher on the church’s “exterminaret” list.

  “Whatever,” Tiffany said. “Plan didn’t change. Did it?”

  “No,” Decima murmured. “No, it didn’t.”

  “Great,” Tiffany said, nodding her head. Then she turned to Wren, Jes, and Irene.

  “Oh, I suppose that means it’s our turn then,” Jes said with a wide smile.

  “Try not to get killed,” Sam said. “If you do end up getting ejected from your body, don’t cross over. Don’t go anywhere near the portal. Go as far away as possible, in fact. As far as you can get. We’ll call you back when it’s time.

  “If you cross over, I probably can’t get you back. Got it?”

  Everyone stared at him. No one had expected such a statement.

  “Uh… how hard is it to avoid the portal?” Tiffany asked. “I didn’t see it when I died last time.”

  “Your body wasn’t completely dead,” Sam said. “And the portal is… very hard to resist. You’ll have to fight against it with all your might. Because I mean it. If you cross over… you’ll be lost to us.”

  “And then you’ll pay for your crimes,” Decima said in a hiss. “And that’s not something I’ll repeat anytime soon. No… I chose to be wife to a demon lord rather than suffer in hell, and I’d do it again.”

  Sam could practically taste the fear that was suddenly all around him. If he’d been a Boogieman, he’d be feasting on it even if he didn’t want to.

  “That’s how it is. I can bring you back, but you have to be there to be brought back,” Sam said. “Try not to die.”

  “Off we go then,” Jes said, then got up. She started moving away through the growth. Wren, Tiffany, and Irene all followed along behind her.

  No sooner had they all moved beyond hearing range than Stacia got up. “Going to go check in with Hillary. That and it’s rather novel to be moving around in the sunshine.”

  And finish off draining the guard.

  Your instincts are waking up, aren’t they?

  Decima and Sam were all that remained.

  “Bringing me over from the spiritual realm called down the ire of others upon you, didn’t it?” Decima asked.

  “Actually, it didn’t,” Sam said. Focusing on the spell between his hands, Sam didn’t want to look at the witch hunter. He hoped she’d let the subject drop.

  “Then why bring up the warning? And say something so fraudulent?” Decima pressed.

  “Because things changed,” Sam said. “It had nothing to do with you, however. You’re a flesh golem.”

  Sam could practically feel the tension rising in Decima. Then she let out a short chop of breath and the tension fled. “I understand.”

  Oh thank the darkest part of the twisted nethers you’re as smart as you are. You didn’t survive on your brawn and reflexes alone, after all.

  “Anything I should know?” Decima asked.

  “Only that the higher planes seem to have undergone a change of ownership,” Sam said. Shifting his spell around, he refocused in on Jes and her squad.

  “I… see,” Decima said. “We should talk about the church later. The church and what we were doing. What I was doing.”

  “That sounds… ominous,” Sam said.

  “At the time, we felt we were preparing for the end times. The destruction of everything,” Decima said. “We worked hand in hand with someone who said they were from the higher planes, as you called it.”

  Great.

  Why wouldn’t it surprise me to find out the church is involved?

  “…worked with our pantheon,” Decima said. “The one-and-all led the way, followed by his angels and his brother.”

  “Which one?” Sam asked. Decima’s church had an entire theater cast of gods and goddesses. The one-and-all was the pinnacle of their belief, however. His brothers and sisters were his fellow gods and goddesses.

  “Lord of the Plains,” Decima said immediately.

  “I never liked him,” Sam said with a grimace. “He always reeked of lies and wine.”

  “You… you met him?” Decima asked incredulously.

  “Of course,” Sam said as he watched Jes and her team close in on the first outbuilding. “As the Carnal One, how could I not know him? He was rather interested in the pleasures of the flesh. He only called on me once directly, though. It was rather common knowledge amongst the Torments that he often had needs only we could give.”

  “No!” Decima said with some heat. “No, that’s not—actually… never mind.”

  Sam glanced over at the witch hunter. She seemed to be lost in her own head space.

  Probably having a hard time coming to grips with everything. But she’s got quite a bit of proof that her previous beliefs were all false.

  Looking back at his spell, Sam focused on Jes.

  They all looked to Irene, who nodded her head after a few seconds. She said something to the others.

  Unfortunately, Sam couldn’t tell what was said since his spell only transmitted a visual of what was going on. To have audio would require considerably more resources spent.

  Wren and Tiffany said something in return, then spoke to one another. Irene was talking to Jes now and pointing to different spots on the building.

  Jes nodded once and then looked at the building. She moved her hands around as if focusing and then held them up to opposite sides of the buildings.

  Must be killing video feed.

  She’s doing very well for such a young Succubus.

  Tiffany and Wren moved ahead toward the building once Jes looked back at them and nodded.

  It was the largest of the outbuildings and looked to be the barracks. Slipping inside, the two vanished. Irene and Jes followed behind but didn’t enter.

  Twenty seconds later, Tiffany and Wren emerged.

  Nothing about their person or demeanor had changed, but Sam got the impression they’d just killed whoever was inside.

  Anyone here was in the employ of Jena and the Black-kin. It made them fair game as far as Sam was concerned.

  Moving to the next building, Irene shook her head. Then the next, and the next.

  In short order, they’d cleared all the buildings that encircled the center of the compound. Jes disabled cameras whil
e Tiffany and Wren cleared personnel.

  Things were going well. Almost too well.

  It made Sam ache inside, expecting it to all go sideways. His luck hadn’t been very good as of late.

  There was nothing left but for the team to move to the center.

  “I think it’s time for us to move,” Sam said, lifting his eyes up and looking at Decima.

  She was pressed up to his side, watching the same view he’d been watching in his spell.

  “So it would seem,” Decima said. Then she sighed. “What you said was true? The church… the church is worshiping a pantheon that doesn’t abide by its own laws?”

  “Well, it was. I have no idea what they’re doing now,” Sam said. “It never did me any good to involve myself in the religions of humans. There’s only one deity at the top, you realize, and it isn’t the one who leads your church. It isn’t a deity I’d like to notice me, either.”

  “Wait, what? What you’re saying is… you mentioned this partly before,” Decima said.

  “I did, and I’ll talk more about it, but I think we need to go,” Sam said, getting to his feet. “Which means it’s a conversation for another time.”

  “I… yes. Yes, it is,” Decima said. Reaching to her side, she pulled her sword from its sheathe. In her other hand, she drew her pistol and gave it a look. “I do miss the look of the older pistols. But it’s hard to argue with its capacity for ammunition.”

  Sam actually agreed with her, but in a different way. He looked fondly back on the days when it was spears, bows, and arrows.

  There was something to be said about being one of the strongest possible creatures on a planet.

  Then again, there were a lot more Angelics running around back then as well. Even the general was still waging his personal guerrilla war.

  “After you, wife,” Sam said, pulling his own sword from its sheath. “Since it’s the only way I get to admire you at this time.”

  Decima turned a deep, dark scarlet at that, her mouth turning into an angry frown.

  Sniffing lightly, she turned and started heading for the building. “I’m still waiting on my marital papers and proof, husband. All you’ll get is the ability to look till you solve that.”