by A M Boone
She was waiting for us in the front of her shop, a neatly folded bundle of clothing in her lower arms. “Vincent, Eliana, it’s so nice to see you again.” She gave us a a wide, toothy grin showing off bright white teeth. “I have her outfit for the ball here.”
I swallowed.
“Good,” Vincent said.
“Will you be wearing a traditional outfit?” I asked.
“If I didn’t, Mother would most likely rip my head off. Yours was made to compliment mine.”
“Follow me, dearie.” She rested a hand on my shoulder, and I followed her to the back of her shop.
Cubi traditional dress, instead of being one step away from indecent exposure, was tasteful, just a loose, navy blue and black robe which cinched in at the waist. Arcane symbols spiraled all over it. It even had a matching, dark blue ribbon. The fabric was delicate, and shimmered in the dim light of the back of her shop. Huh. Surprisingly tame. She slipped it on me, and the fabric made my skin tingle.
I gave Vincent a look as she led me back out.
“What is it?” He raised an eyebrow.
“I was just expecting something a bit more… racy.”
He closed his eyes, sighed, and then said, “Just because we feed off of sexual energy, doesn’t mean that we’re constantly being sexual, Miss Delacroix.”
“Makes sense.”
“Humans eat food, are you constantly eating?”
And a jab at my weight. Rude. Also, even though I was a barely-a-witch, I was still a witch.
“You started it.”
Ugh. How was it that he flipped between being the perfect gentleman, and practically a teenage boy? Was it just a Vincent thing? A cubi thing? A supernatural thing?
“Anyway. You look stunning.” His eyes roamed over my body, and I shivered. “Turn around.”
I slowly spun and the robe billowed out. He nodded.
“Good. I expect nothing but the best from you, Marie. Speaking of, are you going to my… sister’s ball?”
“Most likely not,” she said, then clicked her tongue. “I did get an invitation, but Thoiriele and Shioya aren’t on good terms at the moment, so I might not be allowed in.”
Vincent rolled his eyes. “What happened now? Last I heard, she was being diplomatic.”
“It wasn’t her fault.” Marie crossed her upper arms and pursed her lips. “High Minister Tina’vuk decided he wanted to try and invade a few months ago, and she was livid.”
“Because of course. Fucking figures.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Do you think there’ll be another war?”
She shivered. “I hope not. Things are unstable enough in Shioya without us trying to invade neighboring countries.”
Yikes. And here I was, thinking things were bad in the human world. At least they had magic.
Vincent sighed. “I’ll have to talk to her about it during the ball. Anyway. How much is the outfit?”
She handed him a small piece of paper, and he glanced over it.
“You have my credit card number. Now, Miss Delacroix, change and we’re leaving.”
“Okay.”
I changed clothes in the back room, then the two of us headed back to Vincent’s apartment.
* * *
“So…”
“Yes?” He glanced at me.
“Are things unstable in the Demonic Realms? Is it safe?”
“It’s safer than some parts of the human world,” he said quietly. “Thoiriele is the safest of the kingdoms, and Cagraonia is the least.”
He shifted positions in his seat, trembling slightly.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. But yes, it’s safe. It’s more that Thoiriele is a rich island nation with a myriad of natural resources, and the prevailing stereotype in the Demonic Realms is that we’re brainless bimbos who live to suck cock or eat pussy all day long. So, occasionally one of the leaders of another kingdom decides to try and invade, and promptly and nastily get smacked down by my mother and her knights. They never fucking learn.” His hands tightened on the steering wheel.
I took a quick look at his hands. Five fingers.
He went silent. I didn’t have anything to say to that.
“What are you doing for Christmas?” I finally asked, breaking the silence.
“On Christmas Eve, I’m throwing a party for all my employees, and I was just going to spend Christmas proper at home.”
Demons celebrated Christmas? Something about that seemed vaguely sacrilegious.
“Did you have anything planned, Miss Delacroix?”
“Probably just going to my parents’ house.”
“I’ll accompany you.”
No. Oh, hell no. Daddy would blast Vincent out the front door if he even sensed his magic.
“No one’s tried to kill me for at least a week. I think I can go to my parents’ house without imploding. Speaking of… did you ever figure out who tried to blow me and Santi up?”
“Not yet.” He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel at a red light.
“Any leads?”
“A few…” he said idly. “It’s not important.”
“I think someone trying to kill me is important.”
Why did he keep pushing me away and keeping me in the dark? I’d be more equipped to do something if I knew who was trying to kill me.
“All right, fine.” He sighed. “It was one of three groups. Back in the early 1900s, I pissed off a group of supernaturals, and they’ve had it out for me ever since.”
“Okay.”
“I wouldn’t put it past my sister to pull some stunt that’d get you killed. She did the same thing to Daniel back in 1998.”
“Makes sense.”
“And the third… Mother of Light cultists.”
I swallowed. My throat suddenly dry. Cultists. Cultists that at the end of the day, wanted me dead because of nothing more than my bloodline.
“Was it the first group who killed Daniel?”
“Yes,” he said, his voice strained. “That group sent a mage to kill me, but Daniel pushed me out of the way at the last moment.”
I knew this already from what Felix told me. What did I say? I’m sorry? They’re assholes? They don’t deserve to live?
The rest of the drive went on in silence.
I couldn’t do anything for him. He’d have to heal on his own terms, and that could take years, maybe even decades. I was barely a witch after all, and he was hundreds of years old. He’d move on, find someone else as an assistant, I’d grow old and decrepit, and then…
I swallowed. I couldn’t think about that.
Vincent glanced at me, but said nothing.
* * *
The next few days went by too quickly, and soon, it was the day of the ball.
Vincent woke me up from a nap on his living room couch.
“Is it time already?” I asked, rubbing my eyes.
He nodded. His shapeshifting today was more different than I’d ever seen it. Strange.
“You look different.”
“This is my baseline form. Only the reigning monarch is allowed to shapeshift within the capital city.”
He was shorter than usual, probably only a couple of inches taller than me, and his build was lithe and androgynous. Freckles dotted his face, and his eyes were a bright red with black flecks in them. Even his hair was curlier and hovered around his shoulders.
He was wearing an almost identical robe to mine, though his had more elaborate symbols and patterns. Probably to designate him as the crown prince. He was even wearing a small silver circlet on his head with the symbol of the cubi royal family, two intertwined roses.
“I was expecting you to look more… demonic.”
“How so?”
Ugh. He was digging me a hole, and I was about to jump in head first.
“You know. Red skin, horns, wings, tail? Like that?”
“Only devils and imps look like that, Miss Delacroix.” He put his hands on his hips. “Cubi can be as vari
ed as humans, but we do all have red eyes.”
“No tail?”
“No tail.” He gave me his trademark smirk. “Anyway, we’re about to be late. Take my hand and don’t let go.”
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. Vincent said Thoiriele was beautiful, and there wasn’t a lot of fire, but it was still some supernatural realm. Would I be able to breathe the air? Eat the food? Touch anything?
“It’s perfectly safe.” He ripped open a portal. The inside was like a starless night, and I’d never seen anything quite so dark. “Now remember, don’t let go. I’m not going to let you get lost in the void between worlds.”
“Right.”
A fleeting image of my lifeless body floating in an endless voice flashed by my eyes, and I shivered.
Vincent gently pinned me to him, and we stepped into the portal together.
The ground dropped out from under our feet, and we hurtled through the void. I squeezed my eyes shut, burying my face into Vincent’s robe. Wind lashed at us, and the howl of the void between worlds was deafening.
Were we going to be stuck here forever? Trapped between worlds, and—
My feet touched solid ground. Thank god.
I opened my eyes. We’d landed on a bustling city street, and hundreds, if not thousands, of cubi were milling around, all dressed in blue and black robes.
Someone took a look at us, then did a double take and gasped. Like a wave, everyone fell to their knees in front of us. So, this was what it was like to be royalty.
I took the time out to survey the surrounding area. The sky was a dull burgundy, and three massive suns hung low in the sky. The buildings were made of shimmering dark crystals, and something about it reminded me of the Victorian era.
Vincent said something in the demonic tongue, and they all stood.
“Miss Delacroix,” he said, taking my hand, “welcome to Osienbele, the capital city of Thoiriele, the seventh kingdom of the Demonic Realms.”
Well, he was right. It was beautiful. A sweet sea breeze caressed my face, and the buildings loomed over me.
“That reminds me.” He bit his finger and smeared some of his blood behind my left earlobe. A tingle went down my spine. “Now you should be able to understand us.”
“Can I speak it?”
“Only demons can speak Azmekhi, but the cubi dialect is a little easier. I still wouldn’t try it. You’d probably literally break your tongue.”
Yikes.
“Your Highness,” one of the demons said. She was tall, dark skinned, and like all the others, had piercing red eyes. “It’s so good to see you. You haven’t visited the capital city in nearly fifty years!”
Vincent sighed. “Mother and Litro’xi invited me for Ime’Cahina’s ball. It was only polite.”
“Yes… They’re waiting for you at the castle.” She glanced at me. “And the witch?”
“My current assistant in the human world. I told her I’d take her here one day, so I am.”
“Good, good.” She smiled and pinched his cheek. “Well, I’ll let you go. At least try to get along with her?”
“No promises.”
He led me down the winding streets of Osienbele. The cobblestone streets were smooth under my feet, the breeze blowing by was fresher than anything in the human world, and Vincent’s hand was soft and smooth. Something about the scene was bliss.
The queen’s castle was made out of the same shining crystals as everything else, but was twice as large as any of the other buildings. Hundreds of demons, most likely nobility and royalty, milled around on balconies, and their chatter was deafening.
Five guards, two female, two male, and one whose gender I couldn’t quite place, manned the front gate. They glanced us over before falling to their knees.
“Good evening, Your Highness,” they said in unison, then got up and stepped out of the way.
“Good evening,” he said quietly.
I lost my breath as soon as we got into the castle. Marble flooring glimmered with each step, statues and paintings of nobility and royalty stared me down, and the ceiling spiraled away into nothingness. This was where Vincent grew up? In the lap of demonic luxury?
He squeezed my hand.
“Where’s everyone?” I asked.
“Main ballroom on the second floor.”
We went up a spiral staircase, and it opened up into a massive ballroom. Thousands of cubi and other supernaturals were dancing, and enjoying tiny treats on plates, while a dark skinned woman watched over all of it from her throne. Vincent’s mom?
Quiet, discordant music echoed throughout the ballroom as people danced in unison, like a Disney movie. Not gonna lie. Something about it being so cheerful and lighthearted was odd. Maybe it was just that a cubi ball should be more… primal and have people making out on the dance floor. Not something that wouldn’t be out of place in a period piece.
A few people pointed at us and murmured amongst themselves, but unlike outside, no one really cared about the crown prince being there. Maybe it was just because it wasn’t his ball.
Vincent glanced at me. “As I said before, just because we feed off of sex doesn’t make us constantly sexual.”
“Stop reading my mind,” I whispered.
We slipped through the crowd to the queen’s throne, and she glowered down at us before her face softened.
“Ah. N’naandi. My son. How have you been? It’s been nearly fifty years since I last saw you.”
Vincent sighed. “I wasn’t going to miss the ball for my… darling baby sister’s wedding.”
“Of course, of course. Well, enjoy yourself. Don’t start anything. This is Ime’Cahina’s night.”
“I wouldn’t even try it,” he said coolly.
She nodded and waved us away. Vincent dragged me back into the crowd.
That was the big reunion after he’d been AWOL for fifty years? Yikes. What a mess.
“So…” I said.
“So?”
“Do you hate her?”
“Hate’s a strong word, Miss Delacroix. Very strong. We don’t get along, but I do respect her as my mother and the leader of our kingdom—”
“N’naandi!” someone cried, and we whipped around. “You came!”
“I said I would, Litro’xi.”
They had shoulder length, wavy, bright red hair and matching eyes. But I couldn’t quite tell their gender. Maybe a woman? They were about the same height as me, with a slight, yet muscular build.
“And even Ellie came. Now it’s a party!”
“It’s Eliana,” I said.
“You didn’t like Ellie? Aw, fine.” They gave me a cheeky grin.
Wait. Ellie? Was that…?
“Felix?”
“Shh.” He put his finger to my lips. “We’re not supposed to use our human names here. It’s rude.”
“Where’s Felicia?”
Felix gave me another look, and then pursed his lips. “All right. I’m sick of playing this game. N’naandi, you should have told her.”
“It wasn’t my place to tell.”
“I’m confused…” I said.
“Felix and Felicia are the same person,” Vincent said, putting his hands on his hips. “Always have been, always will be.”
“Wait, what?”
“Felix and Felicia are both the cubi Litro’xi,” he said slowly.
“But… Felix is a man and Felicia is a woman.” I furrowed my brow. “That doesn’t make any—oh.”
Vincent said cubi could switch between male and female forms at will. Oh. This… actually made a lot of sense. Why didn’t I notice this earlier?
He shrugged. “Some cubi are fluid, some aren’t. Litro’xi tends to be more fluid than most.”
“And are you… fluid?” I asked.
“Somewhat. I have no qualms about being either male or female, but I’ll admit being male is much more convenient in the human world.”
Felix—Felicia—how did I even refer to him? Her? They? My head spun, and V
incent rolled his eyes into the stratosphere.
“Don’t worry about it too much, Ellie.” She… he… I’d settle on they for now, rested a hand on my shoulder. “In Osienbele, I’m Litro’xi. In San Francisco, I’m whatever I look like! Got it?”
“Got it.” I gave them a small smile. One more curve ball wouldn’t kill me.
“Anyway,” Vincent said. “I’m glad we had this chat. Where’s Ime’Cahina?”
“‘Fashionably’ late,” Felix/Felicia said, shrugging. “She’s the only person I know who’d be late to her own ball—”
Speak of the devil. The double doors at the opposite side of the ballroom flew open, and Vincent’s sister strolled into the room, her soon-to-be husband in tow. Everyone went silent and stared.
Her husband was a tall, slightly chubby man, with dark skin and short, kinky black hair. Not much to look at, but I was probably being a bit too critical. Love was love, and if she loved him enough to have him turned into a cubi so he’d be at her side for the rest of her life, who was I to judge?
Vincent gritted his teeth as the two of them made their way across the ballroom. He needed to chill. Blood was thicker than water, after all. Hating my siblings so much that I’d stew during their wedding weekend was still so alien. Sure, Esme, Elliot and I had all picked on each other, but it was all in good fun.
Vincent and Monica, however…
They glanced at one another, and Vincent’s eyes narrowed slightly while she gave him a shit eating grin.
“Ime’Cahina, my lovely daughter!” Vincent’s mother cried. “How have you been? This must be your partner in the human world.” She hopped off her throne and joined them.
Vincent’s mother didn’t look much older than Monica. Uncanny, that. She had to be at least a few hundred years old. Did she shapeshift herself younger?
“She does,” Vincent muttered. “She’d be an old biddy otherwise.”
But she did move like an older woman. Slow, deliberate, and her hands shook. How old was she? Vincent was at least six hundred, so…
Vincent’s mother kissed her on both her cheeks and gave her a hug. Monica’s husband trembled slightly. Oh, yeah. Definitely a normal human.
“Don’t be shy,” Vincent’s mother said. “Thoiriele is perfectly safe, and no harm will come to you in the royal castle.”
Vincent squeezed my hand.