by A M Boone
This wasn’t adding up. Vincent’s father was some sort of extra-dimensional beast that managed to knock up his mom?
“Harriet and The Collective are trying to snuff out anyone with extra-dimensional blood, because they’re terrified they’ll succumb to the whispers and do what their parents created them for: to take over the world and turn into a paradise for them.”
A question sat on my lips, but I stayed silent. I’d kissed him. Fucked him. Even managed to—no. And he didn’t tell me? Why?
“Does Vincent… want to do that?” I finally asked.
“Of course not!” they cried, then went even paler. “Well…”
I wasn’t going to like this.
They swallowed and stared at the hardwood floors. “After Daniel’s murder… There’s a group of humans who worship people with extra-dimensional blood and sometimes even summon them to make hybrids. They approached Vincent and offered to help him ascend to godhood or something stupid like that to try and bring Daniel back. I slapped the ever-loving shit out of him and told him it was a stupid idea, but I’m digressing…”
“I see.” It was all I could say.
“I’m dumping way too much on you, aren’t I? Sorry.”
“No… I needed to know that. And so… now that I have his blood and mark…”
Was I going to mutate? Eat people? Turn into whatever the hell Vincent exploded into after Harriet and her group attacked him?
“I wouldn’t worry. When it comes to supernaturals with extra dimensional blood, it usually just makes them more powerful and longer lived. It’s the humans with extra-dimensional blood you should worry about. They don’t have anything to balance them out.”
I went silent again.
They pulled themselves to a sitting position and stared at me. “Ellie?”
“You knew this the entire time?” I choked out.
“It wasn’t my position to tell. It’s his burden and his burden alone.”
“But the whispers… And could Vincent’s dad ever come back to see if he started the job?”
“Doubt it. Vincent told me he’s dead.” They stretched out. “I really shouldn’t be telling you this at all,” they said. “He doesn’t want anyone to know.”
“Did Daniel know?”
“Yeah. I protected him in female form once, and he joked that was the closest he’d gotten to a pair of tits.” They let out a quiet snort of laughter.
“Oh.”
“But don’t worry. Vincent has control. Well… mostly has control.”
“Do you think he’ll ever… lose himself permanently?”
“Lose himself? Nah, I don’t think so. He’s stronger than that.”
He was stronger than any of us knew. Constantly hearing the whispers telling him to mutate everything and turn it into a hellscape for his people sounded like a nightmare.
“Have you seen Vincent’s… eldritch form?”
“Not directly. He told me that if you ever looked at it head on, you could become a drooling vegetable for the rest of your life. It’s just… wrong. But according to others Vincent reached out to, they think we’re just as grotesque. I mean, who has two arms? Gross!”
I tried to laugh, but it stuck in my throat.
“You’ll be fine, Ellie. Like I said before, he’s strong. He knows better than to succumb.”
Hopefully so. If Vincent ever lost himself, we’d all be epically screwed. He’d go full eldritch, take over the world, and then what? Kill everyone? Make everyone his slaves? Even—
My stomach lurched, and they went pale.
“Please don’t puke on my floor.”
I pinched the inside of my arm. I had to come to back to the here and now. There had to be some way to get over it. They were right. Vincent had a nice, cushy life in the human world, and going all squirmy would ruin that.
“What about Harriet?”
“That’s not my place to tell. I don’t really know what happened, anyway. You should ask him later.”
We spent the next few minutes in silence.
“Well, since I told you about Vincent,” they said, “You should tell me a few things. I only know what Vincent says about you.”
I cracked a weak smile. “Hopefully it’s flattering.”
“As much as he can flatter.” They burst into laughter. “So, you made the contract because of an abusive husband?”
I froze, shivering. “Y-yeah. He wasn’t always like that, though. We dated throughout high school and undergrad, but after we got married, it was like he changed into a completely different person. He’d scream, throw things at me, hit me, cheat on me… The man I fell in love with disappeared after our honeymoon. I still don’t get it. Why would he change like that? Why would he keep up a façade for that long?” Tears pricked at my eyes, and I balled my fists into the silky fabric of my robe.
They were quiet for the longest time, then said, “Humans are weird.”
I couldn’t help it. I burst into laughter. Had I finally completely snapped? Would they have to cart me away to the loony bin?
“You don’t have abusers in Thoiriele?” I asked, wiping at my eyes.
“Well, most marriages are made for power, not love or anything like that. Love is… strange. Most cubi can’t do it. I’m pretty sure I can’t. Or maybe it’s never happened. Dunno.” They flopped down again. “I mean, Vincent’s my closest friend, but I don’t love him. He’s just my friend.”
“Not even platonically?”
“Maybe? It’s weird.”
I sighed. Never being able to experience romantic love—that deep, sweeping love that made everything else in your life fade away and become meaningless—sounded sad. I thought I had that with Tony, but after he started abusing me, it faded.
“Your parents didn’t love each other?”
“Nope! Arranged marriage. They liked each other, and respected each other, and that’s all you can really ask for.”
“I guess. Where is your mom, anyway? Was she the lady in the painting?”
The goofy grin fell off their face, and they sighed, running their fingers through their hair. “Yeah. She was, but… she’s gone. Killed by Mother of Light cultists about twenty years ago.”
“Oh. God, I’m sorry, I didn’t know—”
“Yeah, you didn’t. Vincent and I went after some of them, and… Let’s not dwell on it, okay? I have the memories, and that’s all that matters.” They took a deep breath and curled up around a pillow, squeezing their eyes shut.
I always knew how to fuck things up.
Was Vincent okay? He was coughing and pale when we left. I reached out over to him over our bond, but he didn’t respond. I touched my mark lightly, and shivered.
And Santi… He was probably getting ripped a new one by Tony’s parents, or the police came after him, or…
I couldn’t think like that. Vincent said that killing Anthony was the first step towards a new life, and I needed to act like it.
“Ellie?” Felix/Felicia said. “Are you okay? I know you heard a bit more than you should have.”
“I’m fine. Just worried about Vincent and Santi…”
“Vincent’s strong. The esper boy, well…”
They were right about Vincent, but I couldn’t help but worry a bit. I bit my lip, my mouth dry. If only I could have protected him from her. If only I could have stopped him from losing himself…
“Everything’s going to be okay.” And they kissed me on the cheek.
“Thanks.”
“You know, I’ve seen you flourish since you made the contract. You were all sad and sunken in when I saw you at that club, but now… You’re really something, Ellie.”
Heat rose to my cheeks. “Thanks.”
* * *
“Could I ask you a favor?”
“What’s up?”
“Could I get some energy from you? Dealing with Vincent’s rampage kinda tired me out a bit… We can do whatever you want. Kiss, fuck, massage, whatever…”
Like
Vincent said, being with them was just a business transaction. Pleasure for energy.
“Sure,” I said, shrugging.
“Come join me?”
I crawled into their bed, and they followed after me, their eyes dark. Could I do this? Fuck them? Be with them?
“Do you really want to do this?” they asked.
“Yeah, yeah, I do… If you need energy—”
They shut me up with a kiss. “Ellie. I don’t want to do this if you’re not one hundred percent into it, okay?”
“I am. Let’s do it.”
“Okay. What do you want to do?”
“Surprise me.”
“Oh, I love a good surprise.” They gave me a small, feral grin, before crawling on top of me and trailing kisses down my neck. Each one felt like ice on my skin, and I shivered.
“You’re so cute… Maybe I could see myself…” They slipped between my thighs, and hiked up my robe. “You smell so good… Your energy…”
Why was it that I, a barely-a-witch and average looking at best, could make these all-powerful demons into trembling wrecks? Was it just my energy—
I gasped and clapped a hand over my mouth as they tore off my panties with their teeth and dragged their tongue over my pussy. God, everything about this was too slow, too much…
They pulled back. “Be as loud as you want. The more noise you make, the more I… Oh, by the memories…”
“More,” I choked out.
“I’ve never been a person to deny someone what they want…” They dove back between my legs and devoured me, eating me out like they’d die if they didn’t. It was like they knew every nook and cranny of my body, every sweet spot that made me see stars and buck my hips…
They hummed lazy, melodious songs against my skin, and every vibration brought me closer to the tipping point—the edge of oblivion.
“I’m coming…”
“Not yet.” And they pulled away, leaving me writhing on the bed. I was wound up like a spring, and I didn’t know when the energy would release, or if it ever would.
“Please… let me come, I’m begging,” I said quietly.
“Not yet,” they said again.
Right when I started to come down, and I wasn’t going to come from a stiff breeze, they slowly—dear god, too slowly—dragged their hands down my thighs, between my legs, before diving back between my legs.
And so it went like that for the longest time. Being drawn to higher and higher peaks of pleasure, but never being allowed to come. Every time it seemed like I was even getting close, they’d walk away and watch me squirm.
“Please!” I screamed. “Fuck me, eat me out, do something, I’m going to go crazy…”
“Not yet.”
I opened my mouth to speak again, but all that came out was a quiet whimper. My body was going to explode into millions of little pieces. Ragged breaths shook my entire body, and everything was tight, throbbing, aching.
“Almost.” The word came off their lips like a warning. Almost? Almost what?
It wasn’t going to be Vincent going full eldritch that’d shatter my mind. It’d be being at the mercy of this cubi—this demon.
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
Do what?
My question was answered when they gently—too fucking gently—brushed their tongue against my clit.
And that was all I needed. I came, the sensations a trillion times stronger than anything I’d felt before. Stars danced over my vision, and I made noises I didn’t even know I could. The last thing I saw before passing out was them snuggling up next to me.
* * *
The next morning, a phone ringing woke me up. I rubbed my eyes and glanced around the room. My whole body ached like I’d run a marathon.
Felix/Felicia answered the phone, yawning. It was white and gold with a rotary dial. Huh. They had phone service out here? I didn’t seen any phone lines on the trip to their estate—
Magic. Always magic.
“What’s up—oh, hey, N’naandi—you want us to come back? All right. Are you okay? Ellie’s worried sick, and—okay.” They hung up and turned to me. “Guess who’s going back to Osienbele?”
“Us?”
“Yep!” They clapped their hands together, beaming at me, as if they didn’t eat me out until I fainted. “I guess they cleaned everything up and they’re partying again.”
“That was quick.”
“Well, when you have magic…”
I nodded, unable to look them in the eye.
The ride back to Osienbele went by uneventfully, and we were let back into the castle without incident.
Felix/Felicia led me back to the ballroom. It was filled with people, just like last night, but the feeling of the room was definitely different. People were quieter, fewer people were dancing, and more guards were standing post. The queen wasn’t on her throne either. Was she still blind?
Vincent was standing near the edge of the ballroom, sipping at a glass of water. We joined him.
“Hey,” they said. “You feeling okay?”
“I’m fine. I just needed a bit of time to rest.” His voice was curt. Too curt.
I glanced him over. Yeah. He looked fine. No extra fingers, no weird eyeball thingies on his face, and even that weird sense of vertigo was gone. Maybe I’d been overreacting. Maybe things would be okay.
“When the ball’s over, we need to talk,” I said quietly.
“About?”
“A lot of things. Felix-slash-Felicia and I—”
“Litro’xi,” they said. “Litro’xi or Feli.”
“Oh. Feli and I spoke about a lot of things, and we need to talk.”
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “You’re right, Miss Delacroix. We do. Ederu’rir and I had another conversation, and I shouldn’t be holding you at an arm’s length anymore.”
Finally. I matched his sigh.
“We’ll talk after the ball.”
I scanned the room. Dominic was talking to some cubi at on the other side of the ballroom. Figured. What was he talking about? Vincent? Monica?
Feli clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Cheer up! Everything’s going to be okay.”
As much as I wanted to believe that…
The ball went by normally, but everyone was still on edge. The room had changed, and there was still a faint scent of blood in the air. If I could smell it, everyone else probably could too.
Vincent, Feli and I made small talk and nibbled on the refreshments. Why would cubi even have food? They didn’t need it. Was it just for the pleasure of eating? For other supernaturals and humans who’d been invited? While the food wasn’t bad… light, yet still full-flavored enough that I didn’t need to eat much, it was still a bit odd.
The queen made an appearance a few hours in. She was wearing dark, metal rimmed glasses, and her lady-in-waiting was holding her arm. The room went silent. Everyone must have been shocked. Their queen, the highest ranked woman in all of Thoiriele, was rendered blind by her own son.
“I’m fine.” She gave us a dazzling smile. “I just hurt my eyes a little, and the doctor said dark glasses would be good for me.”
That was a pitiful lie. I’d know, since I was usually the one telling them.
She settled on her throne and said, “Last night, I completed the turning of my lovely daughter’s husband-to-be, Darryl Phillips, now known as Keiz’rad, Prince Consort of the Kingdom of Thoiriele.”
Damn, she was good at wearing the queenly mask. If that happened to me, I would have locked myself in my room and never left.
“Everyone, please treat our guests of honor with respect.”
And as if on cue, they strolled into the ballroom, hand in hand. Darryl’s eyes had turned a bright red, and he was buffer, with broader shoulders and a more dominant stance. Good for him. But Vincent said becoming a cubi cut you off from the afterlife, and I could put two and two together. He loved her so much he was willing to cease to exist when he died, just so he could be around her lo
nger. That was love.
Could I do that for Vincent or Feli? Take the plunge, do whatever it was that turned people into cubi and lose my humanity—what little of it I had—left?
Vincent nudged me with his magic. Later. This is supposed to be a… happy time.
Right.
Vincent took my hand and led me over to the two of them. “Congratulations, Ime’Cahina. Your precious ball was fine.”
“I have no idea why Momma even invited you.”
“It’d look bad if the crown prince,” he said, giving her his trademark smirk, “didn’t show up to his baby sister’s wedding.”
She seethed quietly, but Darryl squeezed her hand.
“Don’t worry about it, baby. We have eternity now.” Even his voice changed a little, becoming more sultry and resonant.
She softened up as soon as she heard his voice. “You’re right.”
Not gonna lie. Seeing them like that… Seeing them love each other and love being around each other made my chest hurt. Memories of me and Tony flew past my eyes. What happened? Why did everything go so wrong?
I wasn’t unhappy now. I had a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and the mind-numbingly hot sex was just a plus at this point, but… I still missed him.
Or maybe I just missed the memory of him.
Vincent nudged me again, and I snapped back to attention. Right. This wasn’t the time to be pining over my dead husband. It was Monica’s day.
“Are we staying for the wedding?” I asked.
“No use in not staying,” Vincent said.
Monica glared at Vincent, then rubbed her temples. “That crazy mage bitch better not show up again. It was one thing with you and all your baggage ruining my ball, but if anything happens at the wedding, I’ll—”
“You’ll what? Fight me?” he said flatly. “I don’t think so.”
“Not the time!” Feli chirped, stepping between them. “Sometimes I feel more like your mom than your actual mom.”
“Anyway.” Vincent turned to Darryl. “Enjoy being a cubi, Keiz’rad. It’ll be good for you.”
“Thanks. I thought it’d be painful, but—”
Monica shushed him. “No one needs to know exactly what happens when someone’s turned.” And she gave me a pointed look. Rude.