Succubus Lord 4

by Eric Vall

  “Yikes,” Todd whistled as he admired the body. “Remind me to never get on your bad side.”

  “Damn,” I growled. “Even if we tried to do the whole Weekend at Bernie’s thing, he looks like a fucking corpse. How would we pass him off as a living demon.”

  Todd waved his hand dismissively. “Aww, he doesn’t look that bad,” the imp scoffed. “Nothing a little TLC can’t fix.”

  The imp scuttled over to Ira and snatched the spy glasses off her face. Then, he dashed over and grabbed some of the colorful fabric from the shelves that’d found its way onto the floor. Todd dashed back over to Ose’s body, slid the sunglasses in front of his eyes, and stepped back.

  “Now for the gross part,” he warned. “Those with queasy stomachs might want to look away.”

  Todd reached down with his tiny mitts and placed a hand on each side of the dead demon’s head.

  “One … two … ”

  Before he could utter “three,” the imp made a swift motion with his hands, and there was a sickly pop.

  “Ah, shit,” the imp sighed. “Twisted it the wrong way. Now there’s even more sticking out. Good Lord, it looks like a crowning baby. Let me just--”

  There was another wet crack.

  “There!” Todd exclaimed. “Now I just need to wrap this thing around his wound, and voila, good as new.”

  The imp stepped away and motioned to his creation.

  Ose’s tongue was still hanging out of his mouth, but the sunglasses covered up his lifeless eyes, and the makeshift scarf hid the fatal wound around his neck.

  “Not bad, eh?” Todd said as he nudged my leg playfully.

  “Actually,” I admitted, “not bad at all.”

  “Now all that’s left is for you and Lib to make him all animated and shit,” the imp explained. “Go on and try it!”

  “I’ll take the mouth if you take the body,” Libidine offered.

  “This is fucking insane,” I noted, but I couldn’t help but chuckle as I summoned green Hellfire into my hands.

  I outstretched my palms toward the dead demon and encased his body in jade flames. Then I raised Ose’s body up into the air so it was standing in an upright position, and I tried to keep him looking as natural as possible.

  “Ahhh, shit,” Todd sighed. “We fucked up.”

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, and we all turned toward the imp.

  “I can see the green fire. Can’t you all?”

  “Doh,” I sighed as I realized that Todd was right. We couldn’t possibly use Ose’s animated body to sneak in if the various succubi and demons in the party saw the green hellfire. They would know someone was manipulating his body.

  “Well, it was a good plan while it lasted,” Ira groaned.

  “I have an idea,” I said as I looked back and forth between Liby and the floating body of the dead demon. “Can you try to just manipulate the skeleton inside of Ose instead of the exterior of his body?”

  “Hmmm,” the curvy succubus hummed as she scrunched up her nose. “That just might work.”

  “Let’s try,” I said, and then I altered my magic a bit so that I was using my green Hellfire magic to move the dead guy’s bones.

  “It worked!” Ira said a half moment later, when the flames disappeared, but Ose continued to stand.

  “Awesome!” I laughed, and then I gave Liby a high five. I knew that the flames were still “there,” but they were now wrapped around the corpses’ skeleton, and I couldn’t really see them through the muscle and fat of his body.

  “This is just an example of how much power we have all gained,” Cupi said.

  “For sure,” Liby agreed. “I would have never been able to manipulate something I couldn’t see before I became Jacob’s succubus. We are all getting way stronger. I love it.”

  “Alright, let’s do some voice lessons,” Todd commanded, and then he hopped up onto the dead demon’s back. “Give me something to say.”

  “How about ‘My name is Ose, and I’m a stupid asshole?’” Ira suggested.

  “I like the way you think.” Todd winked. “Let’s try it, Liby.”

  Libidine nodded and then raised her own enchanted hand. She delicately began to move her fingers, and Ose’s mouth followed suit.

  “My name is Ose, and I’m a stupid asshole!” Todd snickered with the dead demon’s voice.

  “You even nailed the accent,” Cupi mused. “I’m impressed.”

  “It’s gonna take some practice to get all the motions right,” I explained, “but I think with enough practice we just might be able to pull this off.”

  “Uh-oh, Jakey,” Todd grinned from the back of Ose’s corpse, “you know what that means?”

  “What does it mean, Todd?” I humored the imp.

  “We need a montage sequence!” He giggled. “Somebody queue up Eye of the Tiger, and let’s get to work.”

  “I’m not carrying heavy logs in the middle of a snowstorm,” I joked as I pulled out my cell phone and clicked “play” on my music app.

  This idea was fucking insane. Probably the most insane one we’d ever had.

  But it was so crazy, it just might work.

  Chapter 18

  “Todd,” I promised my friend, “if this idea of yours actually works, I’m going to go out and buy you whatever the fuck you want. Seriously. No limits, no questions asked.”

  “Sweet.” The imp grinned beside me. “I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to have one of those premium subscriptions on a porn site. I could be spanking it like royalty.”

  I rolled my eyes. “That’s, uh--I really shouldn’t have asked.”

  We stayed back at the shop for nearly an hour, practicing with our life-sized marionette. I’d dropped Ose’s body a couple of times, and Todd and Liby were still having some issues syncing up the demon’s lip movements, but otherwise, I think we had it down.

  Now, we stood on a rooftop right across the street from the Rise Again Nightclub, while our puppet was currently stationed in the alley below. We were streaming the live feed from the sunglasses camera on my phone, and we had a perfect POV of the nightclub thanks to the glasses on the dead demon’s head.

  “I still don’t get why we can’t just charge in there,” Ira said with a faint pout. “It’d be messier, but it’d be way more effective.”

  “Because,” I reminded the succubus, “there’s security all around the building, and I’m sure they’re on the lookout for the five of us.”

  “Then why don’t we just teleport inside?” the Sister of Wrath said as she continued to press the issue.

  “I thought of that, too,” I retorted as I tapped the side of my head smartly. “I’m almost one-hundred percent sure there’s an anti-teleportation hex on this place. They’d be stupid not to do one. This is the best way for us to get in without attracting too much attention.”

  “If our walking corpse’s neckerchief doesn’t fall off, that is,” Ira joked.

  “It’s showtime, guys,” I announced as I ignored the succubus’ words and took a deep breath. “Does everyone remember the plan?”

  “Get him in, get Tris or Gula to meet with him, and then get them isolated, away from their guards,” Cupi confirmed. “Then, we intervene.”

  “Exactly.” I nodded and turned to Todd. “Ready to take your position, Toddster?”

  “I was born ready, bro,” Todd agreed.

  The imp gave us a hearty salute, and then he somersaulted off the side of the building. Below, there was a small crash and then the screech of an alleycat.

  “I’m in position, Jakey,” Todd’s voice crackled over our communicator. “Right up in the dude’s man-purse. I think we may have gone a little overboard on the cologne though. It smells like a middle-school locker room over here.”

  “We had to cover up the stench of decaying flesh somehow,” I explained. “It was either middle school locker room or morgue. I figured you’d rather have the first choice.”

  “Touche,” the imp conceded. “Now, time’
s a wastin’. Let’s get a move on it, bro.”

  I nodded to Libidine, and then we both reached out with glowing green hands.

  On the screen, we saw the camera raise up so it was at normal human eye level. We started to manipulate the body, and the camera began to saunter toward the entrance of the club.

  “I totally feel like I should be instructing this guy while he’s doing flips and lifting rocks and shit,” Todd joked. “All I’m missing is the green skin and pointy ears. And the backwards vocabulary. And hundreds of years’ worth of mystical knowledge. On second thought, I’d be a terrible master.”

  “Alright,” I whispered into the communicator, “you’re almost there. Time to switch to your Ose voice.”

  Right at the front of the Rise Again Nightclub stood three massive security guards, all of whom certainly were demons. They towered over Ose’s corpse, which meant they each had to be at least six feet tall apiece.

  One of the guards stepped forward and held out his hand angrily. “Hold it, sir,” he growled. “This party is invite only. We have very specific instructions not to let anyone in who isn’t on the list.”

  Libidine began to move her fingers and manipulate the corpse’s mouth.

  “Oh, I don’t mean to be any trouble,” Todd explained in Ose’s voice. “I just had a very important message to get to Tris and Gula.”

  “Who?” one of the other bouncers asked angrily.

  All three of the bouncer’s bodies tensed up, and they looked like they were ready to tear our puppet limb-from-limb.

  “You know who I’m talking about,” “Ose” continued. “We’re all cut from the same cloth, if you get my drift.”

  The bouncers let a little bit of tension out of their posture, but they continued to look skeptical.

  “Just tell them that Ose is here to talk to them,” Todd continued. “It’s important.”

  One of the bouncers held up a finger, and then he turned around and raised a finger to his earpiece. It was hard to make out exactly what the man was saying, but the words “Ose,” and “important” were definitely uttered. The bouncer nodded, turned around, and unlocked the velvet rope.

  “Today is your lucky day,” he mused to Ose’s corpse. “You’re in. Don’t make us regret this.”

  “Thank you very much, friendos!” Todd’s Ose voice called out as he passed through the entrance of the club.

  Immediately, our live feed went wild. Bright neon strobe lights flashed all around the screen, and bass-filled music was blaring so loud I wondered if it was going to blow out my speakers. I forced Ose’s head to look around and survey his surroundings.

  Like any good nightclub, there was a massive dance floor out in the middle. Giant cubes of soft light were suspended above the floor, and a vibrant disco-ball-like fixture was shooting off beams of neon colors all around the room. Around the outer edge of the club was wrap-around seating, complete with a walk-up bar at one end and a DJ booth at the other. Directly behind the DJ booth was a wall of screens that occasionally played clips related to the song booming over the speakers, but the screens mostly remained a singular color.

  “This place is fucking nice,” Todd gawked in his regular voice. “I could see myself coming back here to pick up chicks, that’s for sure.”

  “Focus, Todd,” I reminded the imp. “Jesus, it looks like this place is packed to the gills. That’s easily more than enough human batteries to bring Azazel back from the beyond. We need to find Tris and Gula asap.”

  “Bro, that’ll be super easy,” Todd mused. “The way this guy dresses makes him stick out like a sore thumb. We’re quite literally a gypsy in a room full of hipsters.”

  I turned to Ira and Cupiditas. “Where do you think your sisters could be hiding?” I asked.

  “Todd, this is Cupi,” the blonde spoke into the communicator. “What do you smell?”

  “You mean other than the overpowering stench of Ose’s perfume shower?” Todd snorted. “Let me see. I’m picking up the scent of sweat and guilt all over. Also, a little bit of fruity drink--wait. Hold the phone … that’s California Emerald Oxygen if I’d ever smelt it!”

  “So there’s weed present?” Cupi asked.

  “Is there ever!” Todd retorted. “That shit’s my favorite. I’d know it’s succulent smell anywhere.”

  “Follow the trail,” the succubus ordered. “Tris is a notorious stoner. Find that weed, and you’ll probably find her.”

  “Why are we fighting this chick, again?” Todd joked. “She sounds like my type of demon! To the right, Jakey. Two-o’clock, to be exact.”

  Liby and I manipulated Ose’s body so it was now walking in the general direction Todd had given us.

  “Slight left,” Todd gagged. “There’s some vomit on the floor, and I really don’t wanna step in it. Okay, now that we’re over that landmine, head to your ten.”

  We moved Ose again, this time through a small crowd of people who were huddled into the corner of the club. Once our puppet made it through the throngs of people, we saw our target.

  There, on the couch, sat Sister Tris.

  The tall brunette was holding a joint in her hands, taking the occasional puff of reefer in between her banter with the club’s patrons. She looked over at Ose’s body, and a wide smile grew across her face.

  “It really is you!” Tris exclaimed as she stood up, “and here I thought this was one of Ralston’s tricks.”

  “Pffftt,” Todd imitated Ose’s voice once more. “Ralston and his friends could never get through all this security. You’ve really spared no expense.”

  Tris let out a giggle. “That’s totally a movie reference,” she pointed out. “I’d know, I’ve seen it about thirty-seven times. I never pegged you as a movie watcher, Ose.”

  “Oh, I’m not,” the imp continued. “I just wanted to point out this party must have cost a lot of money. I’m impressed the King of the Fourth Circle would authorize this.”

  Tris shrugged. “We’re hemorrhaging cult members,” she explained. “He wanted us to go out and get new members, and this is the way Gula and I do best.”

  “Speaking of your sister,” Todd asked, “where did she get off to? There’s a somewhat urgent matter the three of us need to talk about.” Todd was doing surprisingly well at sticking to the script we’d practiced.

  Tris took a drag off her joint and held it out to Ose. “Here, friend,” she smiled, “it’s a new strain I just know you’ll love. Of course, nothing beats the stuff you grow in your shop.”

  I had Ose’s arm reach out and snatch the joint out of Tris’ grasp. Carefully, I tried to manipulate the dead demon’s hand so it raised the joint to his mouth.

  “I’ll try to manipulate his diaphragm,” Libidine explained. “That’ll at least make it look like he’s inhaling.”

  Through the live feed, there was the sound of a weak inhalation and a small flit of light from the end of the joint.

  Then, I moved our puppet so he pulled the doobie from his mouth and handed it back to the brown-haired succubus.

  “Uh, Ose?” Tris chuckled. “You’re supposed to exhale, remember?”

  Libidine looked over at me and shrugged desperately. “I released my spell,” she panicked. “Why isn’t anything happening?”

  “Ose!” Gula’s voice exclaimed. “What in the three realms are you doing here?”

  “Our friend here says he has something important to tell us,” Tris answered. “Something urgent.”

  “Look around us, Ose,” Gula mused as she came into view of the screen. “What could possibly be so important that you’d want to interrupt this amazing celebration?”

  “It’s … it’s about the mortal,” Todd explained. “He and his friends stopped by my shop earlier and asked me to play double agent for them. They wanted me to pretend everything was normal, and then kill you once I got up close. I told them to go fuck themselves. They attacked me, and I barely escaped with my life.”

  “That’s terrible,” Tris said sympathetica
lly. “I can promise you that you’re safe here. We’ve put a powerful hex on this place that makes it impenetrable to most forms of Hellfire magic.”

  “We’ve also stationed some of Azazel’s most powerful demons at every entrance,” Gula added. “Ralston and the other traitors aren’t getting in.”

  “Is there some sort of safehouse for our kind around here?” Todd asked pathetically. “Eventually we’ll have to leave, and then what? I’ll be a sitting duck. I can’t let that happen again … ”

  “Of course, my friend.” Tris nodded. “We can take you there right now, if you so wish.”

  From below, there suddenly rose a commotion. A shrill scream of pain rang out from the opposite side of the nightclub building’s exterior, and the bouncers whispered to each other hysterically. Finally, one of the guards ran off to check on this new development.

  “Hey, Todd,” I whispered into the communicator. “Hold off for now. There’s something going down out here. Liby, switch to dialogue option B.”

  “Wait,” Ose’s corpse retorted through the video feed. “Maybe you’re right. Why should I let my paranoia ruin our night? All these people came here to have a good time, so I might as well try and have a good time with them!”

  Gula and Tris both looked taken aback, but then they smiled at each other.

  “Now that’s what I like to hear!” the brunette exclaimed, and then she grabbed Ose by the hand. “Wow, you’re much colder than normal.”

  “I’m just a little clammy,” Todd explained, “that’s all.”

  There was another scream from around the side of the building, and both guards must have realized something major was happening. They summoned Hellfire into their hands and took off out of sight, directly toward the commotion.

  “Now’s our chance, Jacob!” Ira exclaimed. “They’ve left their post. We can just run straight in without--”

  I tossed up my hand to silence the succubi. “Hold on,” I explained. “They’re coming back.”

  As soon as I said it, all three of the guards returned to the front of the building and re-took their positions.

  “That’s odd,” I squinted as I looked down at the men below. “Surely something--”