“Oh, yeah. I guess that’s pretty much common knowledge.” She said, sliding the tips of her fingers along the widest portion of the lamp’s body.
Without smoke or fanfare, Crystal appeared.
“Woah.” Remy said, just returning from the bathroom looking better but still queasy.
The three mortals stared at the new Jinn that was looking at them questioningly. She certainly wasn’t what Steve had expected. Dark brown hair with a hint of red, colors that equally described her eyes lay just below her shoulders, framing a strikingly beautiful and exotic face, complete with a stud in her nose. For all of Firefly’s commentary about her older sister, the woman in front of them appeared no older than about twenty-six. Her dark skin stood out against the bright colors of the simple tank top she was wearing.
“Her.” Firefly said, pointing at Gillian.
“Master.” Crystal began, turning towards the stunned redhead. “I am Crystal, Jinn of the…”
Firefly cut her off. “There’s no time for that, sis. There’s a succubus after Cinder.”
“A what?” Crystal said, her face suddenly turning to shock.
“A succubus.” Firefly responded. “It’s a magical creature, much like us, that uses sex to…”
Crystal’s withering glare shut the younger Jinn’s words off like turning a faucet. She turned to Steve. “Tell me what happened.”
Chapter Two
“How do I help?” Steve asked after completing Crystal’s briefing on the events in Los Angeles.
The eldest Jinn, stood up, adjusting her short denim skirt as she looked at him. Steve had brought his eyes up just in time. She was definitely a knockout and the thought made him feel guilty, as if it somehow broke his loyalty to Firefly. She was as cute as a button as well, but he was still struggling with complex emotions over that.
“You are under no obligation to Cinder.” Crystal said, her voice flat and matter-of-fact. “She’s gotten herself into this trouble by violating our rules.”
Firefly’s face turned indignant. She was about to say something when Steve stepped in front of her. “I don’t do things just because I have an obligation.” He said, glancing around at each person in the room. “And besides, this is affecting us. Any one of us could have been killed by Chase and might have been if it weren’t for her showing up.”
Steve turned to Firefly. “And I owe you an apology as well. If I could just get over myself, you would have been there to see what was happening to us.”
Remy suddenly spoke up. “I still don’t understand what the danger was.” She said. “She only…”
“Did you climax under her hand?” Crystal asked.
The young actress did a double-take. “Yes, but…”
“And you?” She asked, turning to Gillian, who nodded, sheepishly.
Steve answered before the hot, older Jinn could ask. “No, we didn’t get that far.”
The Jinn circled a bit. “It explains the weakness in the two females.” She said. “Two more and she would have consumed you, maybe just one.”
“What is this consume thing you keep talking about?” Gillian finally asked.
Firefly answered. “You would just be gone.”
“Gone, where?”
The blue-haired Jinn just shrugged her shoulders. “No one knows, really. Some think that you’re just completely absorbed into her.”
“That’s awful.” Remy said, giving a full-body shudder.
“And she was just using us to get to you.” Steve said, turning to Firefly. “Cinder just got in the way.”
“As usual.” Crystal said, shaking her head. “How much longer am I going to be responsible for her?”
Steve’s patience was running out. “Not much longer if I know these creeps from, what did you call it again?”
“The Chain.” Firefly said, almost in a whisper.
“Let’s get her back.” Gillian asked. “I can’t wish for that, but I can certainly wish to be of help, right?”
“Granted.” Crystal said with the hint of a smile, nodding towards the redhead.
The room suddenly shook as if an earthquake was rocking the foundations, though they were miles away from any fault lines.
Remy screamed.
Steve Ballard was gone.
Chapter Three
“My name is Scarret and I want to talk to you.” The voice said. It didn’t seem to come from any particular direction and he believed his eyes were open despite the total lack of light.
“Okay.” Steve said, realizing it would take him far too long to come up with anything more suitable than that one word.
Light crept into his vision like a door being cracked open from outside a darkroom, letting rays of light shine in that eventually coalesced into the figure of an older man with salt and pepper hair.
“We’ve met, but not yet for you.”
Again, the voice came in his head and Steve was startled by the fact that the man’s lips were not moving.
“What is this?” Steve said, then suddenly parsed Scarret’s words. “What do you mean not yet?”
Scarret smiled. “I’m sorry.” He said. “Sometimes my interaction with mortals leaves something to be desired. This is basically your mind and your second question is much more complex. Let’s just say that I’ve met you and you have not yet met me.”
“A time thing?” Steve responded, trying to wrap his head around it.
“Yes, very good.” The succubus said. “I know it takes a little thought for beings that live in a strictly linear sense.”
“Well, thanks.” Steve said, feeling the sarcasm creep in. It wasn’t entirely appropriate for the situation, but he had been dealing with Firefly for the last six months. He watched the strange man step forward. There was an eerie light around him, though it didn’t seem to illuminate anything else in the strange space.
Scarret held out his hand and the image of Firefly’s lamp appeared like a hologram, slowly rotating in the air. “I’m assuming you know what this is?”
Steve first nodded, then spoke, wondering if the vision in front of him could actually see him. “Yes.” He felt guarded and defensive, especially after what had happened to Firefly, then Cinder at a later date.
“I’m going to get right down to it, Steve Ballard.” The figure said. “I am what you mortals call an incubus. I am mostly bound to an evil organization called the Chain, though I do have some loopholes that I use to thwart them. The Jinn that reside in this lamp are sought by my employers and though I have done my best to stop them from succeeding on your behalf, they’ve also tasked a powerful succubus to retrieve one or all of them. She will capture one, if she hasn’t already.”
Steve let the words sink in, prioritizing the questions that popped up as Scarret spoke.
“On my behalf?”
“Yes.”
Steve waited, but an explanation obviously wasn’t forthcoming.
“Why have you come to me?”
The incubus smiled. “I am here to assist you in any way possible to keep the Jinn, you, and your companions safe.”
“At what cost?” Steve said, the doubt and distrust hanging heavily in the air.
Scarret nodded, as if in acknowledgement of a good point. “There are…certain things that a mortal can do to assist me in achieving my own goals.”
“And those are?”
The incubus closed his eyes and rocked his head back and forth slowly as if trying to crack his neck. Steve couldn’t read the strange figure at all. Frustration, anger?
“I need to feed, but I find the result is no longer palatable.”
“What result?”
“Consuming my prey.” Scarret said, simply.
“How do I assist you with that?” Steve asked.
The incubus smiled. “You feed me.”
Steve stepped back a bit, raising his hand in front of him, having to quickly shrug off the shock of not seeing it between him and the glowing figure. “Look, I’m not interested in…”
&
nbsp; There was a pause as Steve struggled for a word that ended with the Incubus laughing, heartily. It subsided in a minute as Steve stared on, speechless.
“You merely act as a conduit between me and my prey.” He said. “I’m asking that you do nothing you’re not doing now, just that I be allowed to benefit from it. I seek no companionship or love myself, even if any lover I had wouldn’t just waste away under my touch.”
Steve worked it out in his head. He had been struggling with the fact that Firefly would see things going on between him and his lovers and if he was following the incubus right, he wanted to feed off the sexual energy that was produced between them. The incubus seemed to be waiting patiently. Can he hear what I’m thinking? What was his issue with Firefly? He wasn’t a prude and he wasn’t particularly shy about sex or any of that. What was the hesitation?
Images of Firefly flooded into his mind and for one shining moment he saw everything in clarity. Was that this Scarret’s influence?
He loved her.
“Shit.”
The incubus laughed. “You have the look of a man who has just had a major epiphany.” He said.
Steve looked up. “And you can help me help Cinder and the others?”
“I can.”
“Then, I agree.” Steve said, swallowing hard. “Is there something I need to sign or a blood ritual or…”
Scarret laughed. “Mortals are always so overly-dramatic. It is already done, Steve Ballard.”
“One thing?”
“Yes?”
“You’re not asking me to hurt anyone, right? Nothing non-consensual.”
Scarret smiled. “What sort of demon do you think I am?”
Chapter Four
“I can’t even trace the magic that did this.” Crystal said, obvious frustration in her voice.
Gillian spoke up. “We need to go after Cinder first.” She said, seeing Remy’s surprise. “It’s what he would want.”
“Steve is okay and he’s not being harmed.” Firefly reassured the young actress.
Remy’s eyes were streaming tears. “How do you know that?”
Crystal wrapped her arms around her. “The two of them share a bond, like the one I now share with Gillian.”
“It didn’t let you know about the succubus, did it?” Remy asked, crying.
Firefly took her from her sister’s arms. “She had not yet done him any harm.” She said. “And I promise you this. As soon as my sister is back with us, we will have the combined might of three Jinn to go after him.”
“I love him and I can’t lose him.” Remy sobbed into her hands.
As Crystal and Gillian were already hashing out plans, Firefly leaned her lips down to Remy’s ears. “I love him too. We will find him.”
Chapter Five
“Does she not interest you?” Scarret asked as he gestured over to the stunning woman at the other end of the formal party. They were both dressed in what Steve could only assume were expensive tuxedos, and assume only because he’d only worn a rental once to his high school prom.
“Well, she does, but…”
“She will decide if she wants to take you as a lover, Steve Ballard.” The incubus said, his eyes sparkling like a fire burned deep within. “My power only creates the right conditions.”
“It would be much more discreet if you’d just call me Steve. Besides, why am I supposed to believe anything you say, again?”
Scarret laughed. “I’d advise you to only believe what anyone says by opening your eyes and ears and trying to determine the truth yourself. Go talk to her and be the judge yourself whether or not anything that happens between you is consensual.”
Steve stared over at the woman again as she held a champagne glass in the air, her elegant white dress contrasting sharply with her dark skin. He asked himself how any of this was different than what Firefly did to grant his wishes. Besides, the last woman he’d picked up on his own had turned out to be a demon. Go figure.
“Why her?”
The incubus looked her way as well. “Her energy is strong. An encounter with her would feed my needs for days. Days that I can use to help you bring an end to the Chain for good. An encounter with me in person would result in her death.”
“So, you’re basically telling me that she’s good in the sack?”
Scarret laughed. “Indeed, other than the fact that the word ‘good’ is woefully inadequate.”
His mind finally made up, Steve intercepted a glass of champagne from a waiter’s tray as he crossed the crowd of mingling guests, downing and returning three more before finally arriving.
“Well, aren’t you a tall drink of water?”
Steve brought his eyes up and suddenly realized she was talking to him, a smirky smile on her face.
“Do I know you from somewhere?”
A thousand lines presented themselves and were rejected within a single breath.
“No, I just figured that I’d introduce myself since you’re such a gracious host.”
She brushed strands of honey-colored hair over her shoulder, darker at the roots. It spiraled down to her breasts in lazy, natural curls. The woman she had been talking to smiled at Steve, then excused herself, whispering something into the woman’s ears.
“A gentleman.” She said, smiling. “You’ve obviously come to the wrong place.”
Steve wasn’t sure if he was blushing or not. At least Gillian had reassured him that it was part of his charm. “It not, flex those biceps.” She had joked.
“Steve Ballard.” He said.
“Destiny Sinclair.” She said, and immediately Steve recognized the name. In fact, his mind played back a vivid memory of driving down the highway in a convertible with both Remy and Gillian singing at the top of their lungs and laughing. Her song. His army training reminded himself not to lock his knees as they felt a bit weak. She held out her hand.
Instead of shaking it, Steve took it and kissed it. She certainly blushed, the stain of it darkening her beautiful complexion just a little.
“Where the hell have you been?” Destiny asked, her eyes scanning him up and down. “And are you busy?”
Steve stood there for a moment, feeling like an idiot. “Other than being at this party?”
Destiny laughed, then leaned closer to him and said softly. “Would you like the nickel tour?”
Chapter Six
The plan creeped Gillian out but it was the only lead they had and she was just going to have to deal with it. Desmond Loyale was going to have to lead her and Crystal back to the Chain. The secret society was just that and somehow they managed to keep their magical tracks covered, which amazed the senior Jinn.
“That’s him.” Crystal said, sitting in the passenger seat as the two sat in the store parking lot. “You’re going to do fine, just remember that it has to be done right at the moment of climax or the spell won’t work. Just hang back until the last moment and you’ll avoid most of the unpleasantness.”
“That’s an understatement.” Gillian said, sighing. She was bracing herself for what she was about to do. “What exactly do you mean by hang back?”
Crystal looked over at her, touching her knee. “Trust me, honey, you’ll know. Are you ready?”
“Just give me a minute.” She whispered, her eyes still tracking Desmond Loyale as he headed towards his car, the voluptuous young brunette following him like a lost puppy. “And her?”
“What happens to her?”
“Yeah.” Gillian sighed. Knee-high black boots and daisy-duke shorts made her a sight to see, especially given the sizable chunk of midriff showing right underneath a massive set of breasts.
Crystal followed the pair with her eyes as well. “If he’s doing what I think he is doing, she’s madly in love with him and thinks he’s the sexiest man on the planet. Afterwards, she’ll just remember it as a youthful fling that didn’t work out. You also have to remember that she would have fallen for him anyway.”
“Gross.” Gillian said. “Any last words of a
dvice before I do this?”
She was steeling herself for the jump. They usually didn’t bother her, but she’d never experienced anything like this before. Instead of jumping from one location to another, the Jinn was about to insert her mind into the hot young thing on Desmond Loyale’s arm.
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