Succubus Shadows Chapter 1

I was drunk.I wasnt entirely sure when it had happened, only if I guess it had occurred around the clock time my friend Doug had bet me I couldnt take belt down three vodka gimlets faster than he could. Hed promised to take my weekend shift at work if I won, and I was way out to do his rakehell duty for a week if he won.When wed finished, it looked equivalent I wasnt spill to be working conterminous weekend.How did you out- confuse him? my friend Hugh desireed to sleep with. Hes twice your size.Through the crowd of people crammed into my condo, I peered at the closed potty door, behind which Doug had disappeared. He had stomach flu this week. Im guessing that doesnt go so well with vodka.Hugh raised an eyebrow. wherefore the fuck would any peerless take a bet worry that aft(prenominal) having the flu?I shrugged. Because hes Doug.Hoping Doug would be okay, I scanned the rest of my society with the pleased air of a queen sizing up her kingdom. Id locomote into this get cancelled back in July and had been long overdue for a housewarming party. When Halloween had finally rolled around, combining the two events had seemed handle a pretty reasonable solution. Consequently, my guests tonight were clad in an array of costumes, every slimg from elaborate Renaissance mediocre quality garb to the slackers whod simply thrown on a witchs hat.Me, I was jelled as fine Bo Peep well, that is, I was dressed the way Little Bo Peep would if she was a stripper and/or a shameless strumpet. My frilly drear misrepresent stopped just above the halfway point on my thighs, and my puff-sleeved white blouse was so low-cut that I had to be careful when leaning oer. The crowning achievement literally was my curly mane of flaxen blond copcloth, neatly arranged into two pigtails tied with dwarfish blue bows. It looked perfect, absolutely indistinguishable from the real thing becausewell, it was real.Shape-shifting always came in handy as a succubus, still fo r Halloween, it was golden. I always had the best costumes because I really could turn into anything I wanted. Of course, I had to keep it in spite of appearance reason. Too much of a change would raise the suspicions of the humans around me. But for a hair change? Yeah. Shape-shifting was pretty convenient. well-nighone touched my elbow. I turned, and my smug enthusiasm dimmed a little when I saw who it was papistic, my sociopathic roommate.I think nearlyones getting sick in the bathroom, he told me. roman letters was a nephilim, half-angel and half-human, with soft black hair and sea-green eyeball. If not for the fact he occasionally went on immortal killing sprees and had me on his hit list, he would study been a pretty easily catch.Yeah, I utter. Its Doug. He doomed a vodka challenge.Roman grimaced. He wore devil horns and a red cape. The irony wasnt lost on me. Hope hes got good aim. I dont want to clean that up.What, you dont do housework either? asked Hugh. Hed belat edly learned Roman wasnt paying me rent because he was between jobs. Seems like you should pull your weight around here somehow.Roman gave Hugh a warning look. Stay out of this, Spiro Agnew.Im Calvin Coolidge exclaimed Hugh, highly offended. This is the kindred suit he wore at his inauguration.I sighed. Hugh, nobody here call ins that. That was one of the downsides of being immortal. Our memories became obsolete as more(prenominal) time passed. Hugh, an imp who bought souls for Hell, was much younger than Roman and me, but he had a lot more years than any human here.Slipping absent from Roman and Hughs argument, I headed crossways the room to mingle with my guests. Some of my coworkers from the bookstore Doug and I worked at were huddled around the punch bowl, and I stopped to chat. Immediately, I was bombarded with compliments.Your hair is amazingDid you dye it?It doesnt even look like a wigI assured them it was a very good wig and dealt out praise for them in return. One per son, however, earned a ruthful head-shake from me.You have more creativity than all of us put together, and thats the best you could do? I asked. popular author circle Mortensen turned to look at me with one of his trademark, slightly scattered smiles. Even when I was dizzy with vodka, that smile never failed to identify my heart speed up. Seth and I had dated for a while, plunging me into the depths of a hump Id never imagined possible. Part of being a succubus was an eternity of seducing men and steal the energy of their souls a real relationship had seemed out of the question. And in the end, it had been. Seth and I had broken up twice and while I usually accepted that he had moved on, I knew that I would love him forever. For me, forever was a serious matter.I cant waste it on a costume, he said. His amber-brown eyes regarded me fondly. I no longer knew if he loved me alike I only knew for sure that he even cared about me as a friend. I kept trying to portray the same image. Gotta save it for the adjacent book.Lame excuse, I said. His shirt depicted Freddy Krueger, which might have been acceptable if not for the fact I suspected he had owned it long in the lead Halloween.Seth shook his head. Nobody cares what guys wear at Halloween anyway. Its all about the women. Look around. I did and saw that he was right. All the elaborate, sexy costumes were on my feminine guests. With a few exceptions, the mens dulled by comparison. dents dressed up, I pointed out. Seth followed my gaze to another(prenominal) of my immortal friends. Peter was a vampire, a very fastidious and obsessive-compulsive one. He was clad in pre-Revolutionary French garb, complete with brocade coat and a powdered wig over what was normally thin brown hair.Peter doesnt count, said Seth.Recalling how Peter had painstakingly stenciled swans around his bathrooms baseboards last week, I couldnt help but agree. Fair point.Whats Hugh supposed to be? Jimmy Carter?Calvin Coolidge.How can y ou tell?I was saved from answering when Seths fianc?e and one of my best friends Maddie Sato appeared. She was dressed as a fairy, complete with wings and a gauzy dress right offhere near as slutty as mine. Fake flowers wreathed black hair that had been pulled into a bun. Her being with Seth was something else Id more or less come to accept, though I suspected the sting of it would never leave. Maddie didnt live on Seth and I had dated and had no clue about the discomfiture I felt over their whole relationship.I expected her to slip her arm around Seth, but it was me she grabbed conduct of and jerked away. I stumbled a bit. Five-inch heels werent normally a problem for me, but the vodka complicated things a bit.Georgina, she exclaimed, once we were far enough away from Seth. I need your help. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out two pages torn from magazines.With wha oh. My stomach twisted uncomfortably, and I hoped I wouldnt be joining Doug in the bathroom. The pages pres ented photos of wedding dresses.Ive approximately narrowed it down, she explained. What do you think?Grudgingly judge the man I loved was going to marry one of my best friends was one thing. wait oning them protrude their wedding was an entirely different matter. I swallowed.Oh, gee, Maddie. Im not very good at this stuff.Her dark eyes widened. Are you kidding? Youre the one who taught me how to dress right in the first place.She apparently hadnt taken the lessons to heart. The dresses, while gorgeous on the anorexic models wearing them, would look terrible on Maddie. I dont know, I said lamely, force my eyes away. The dresses were conjuring mental images of Maddie and Seth walking down the aisle together.Come on, she entreated. I know you have an opinion.I did. A bad one. And honestly, if I were a good servant of Hell, I would have told her they both looked great. Or I would have endorsed the worst one. What she wore was no concern of mine, and maybe if she showed up at her w edding looking subpar, Seth would realize what hed lost when we broke up.And yetI couldnt. Even after everything that had happened, I just couldnt let Maddie do it. Shed been a good friend, never suspecting what had occurred between Seth and me before and during their relationship. And as much as that petty, selfish part of me wanted it, I couldnt let her go away in a bad dress.Neither are good, I said at last. The full skirt on that one will make you look short. The flowers on top of that one will make you look fat.She was taken aback. Really? I never She studied the pictures, face falling. Damn. I horizon I had this stuff down now.I can only assume my next words came from the liquor. If you want, Ill go with you to some places this week. You can try some stuff on, and Ill tell you what works.Maddie lit up. She wasnt gorgeous in the popular, magazine carve up of way, but when she smiled, she was beautiful. Really? Oh, thank you. And you can look for your dress too.My what?Well H er smile turned sly. Youre going to be a bridesmaid, arent you?At that moment, I reconsidered my earlier thoughts about nil being more execrable than helping plan her wedding. Being her bridesmaid pretty much blew that out of the urine. Those who believed we made our own hells on earth must have had something like this in mind.Oh, well, I dont know You have to Theres no one else Id rather have.Im not really the bridesmaid type.Of course you are. Maddies eyes suddenly looked at something beyond me. Oh, hey. Dougs back. Im going to go check on him. Well talk about this posterior. Youll give in. Maddie scurried off to her brother, leaving me numb and speechless. I decided then it was worth risking illness to go get another drink. This party had taken a definite U-turn.Yet, when I turned around, it wasnt toward the bar. It was toward my patio. One of the best features of this condo was its expansive balcony, one that looked out over Puget Sound and the Seattle skyline beyond. As I s tood there, though, it wasnt the view that captivated me. It wassomething else. Something I couldnt explain. But it was warm and rattling(prenominal) and spoke to all my senses. I imagined I could see colored light on my balcony, kind of like the waves of an aurora. I could also hear a type of music that defied all human words and had nothing to do with the Pink Floyd blasting from my stereo.The party faded into the background as I slowly moved toward the balcony. The door was open to air out the hot room, and my two cats, Aubrey and Godiva, lay near it to look outside. I stepped past them, drawn toward that which had no explanation or description. Warm autumn air engulfed me as I groped for what called me. It was all around me and yet out of my reach. It was summoning me, drawing me toward something right on the balconys edge. I almost considered climbing on the ledge in my heels and looking over. I had to reach that beauty.Hey, Georgina.Peters voice jerked me out of the trance. I stared around, startled. There was no music, no color, no beckoning embrace. Only the night and the view and the patio furniture on my balcony. I turned around, meeting his eyes.We have a problem, he said.We have a lot of problems, I said, thinking of Maddies wedding dress and the fact that Id nearly walked off my own balcony. I shivered. I unquestionably was not going back for that next drink. Sick was one thing. Hallucinations were another. Whats wrong?Peter led me internal and pointed. Codys in love.I looked over at our friend Cody, another vampire and Peters apprentice. Cody was a young immortal, affirmative and endearing. He was dressed as an alien, with green antennae sticking out of his shaggy blond hair. The perfection of his silverish space suit made me think Peter had played a role. Right now, Cody was staring across the room, mouth open as he gazed at someone. He looked like I had felt just moments ago.Her number was Gabrielle, and shed just started working at the bo okstore. She was tiny, almost pixie like, and wore black fishnets and a ripped black dress. Her high-pitched hair was also black, as was her lipstick. Easy coordination. Cody was staring at her like she was the most beautiful instrument on earth.Huh, I said. Hugh dated all the time, but Id never really thought of the vampires particularly Peter having any sort of romantic interactions.I think he likes that shes dressed as a vampire, said Peter.I shook my head. Actually, thats how she always dresses.We walked over to Cody, and it took him several moments to notice us. He seemed excited to see me. Whats her name? he breathed.I tried to hide my smile. Cody being smitten was one of the cutest things Id ever seen and a receive distraction from the other drama tonight. Gabrielle. She works at the store.Is she single?I looked back at her as she laughed at something Maddie had said. I dont know. Want me to find out?Cody blushed in as much as a pale vampire could. No I meanunless you th ink it wouldnt be too obvious? I dont want you to go to any trouble.No trouble for me, I said, just as Doug walked by. Hey. I caught hold of his sleeve. Do me a favor, and Ill take my shift back.Doug, whose Japanese-American skin was normally golden tan, could have also currently passed for an alien with his green hue. Id rather have my stomach back, Kincaid.Go investigate Gabrielles romantic status. Codys interested.Georgina exclaimed Cody, mortified.Sick or not, Doug couldnt resist a little intrigue. Sure thing.He headed off across the room and pulled Gabrielle to him, leaning down so she could hear. At one point, he glanced over toward us, and Gabrielle looked as well. Cody nearly died.Oh God.Doug returned five minutes later and shook his head. Sorry, kid. Shes single, but she doesnt think youre her type. Shes into the Goth and vampire scene. Youre too mainstream for her. I was sipping a glass of water and nearly choked on it.That, said Peter, as soon as Doug was gone, is what w e call irony.How is that possible? exclaimed Cody. I am a vampire. I should be exactly what she wants.Yeah, but you dont look like one, I said. If Gabrielle had been a Trekkie, he might have had a shot tonight.I look exactly like a vampire because I am one What should I dress up as? Count Chocula?The party continued in force for another couple hours, and finally, people began trickling out. Roman and I, playing good hosts, smiled and bid each of them farewell. By the time everyone left, I was weary and more than happy for it all to be over. Id refused to drink after the balcony incident and now had a headache as a pleasant reminder of my indulgences. Roman looked as exhausted as me as he scanned the messy condo.Funny, huh? You throw a housewarming party to show the place off, and then people trash it.Itll clean up fast, I said, studying all the bottles and root plates with remnants of food. Aubrey was licking frosting off a half-eaten cupcake, and I hastily took it away from her. But not tonight. Help me take care of the perishables, and well do the rest tomorrow.Theres no we in clean, Roman said.That doesnt even make sense, I said, covering up some salsa. And Peters right, you know. You really should do more around here.I provide good company. Besides, how can you get rid of me?Ill get Jerome to, I warned, referring to his demon father, who also happened to be my boss.Sure. Run off and tell on me. Roman stifled a yawn, demonstrating just how worried he was about his fathers wrath. The nettlesome part was, he had a point. I couldnt get rid of him on my own, and I doubted Jerome would really help. Still, I could hardly believe it when Roman did wander off to bed and leave me alone with the cleanup. I hadnt thought hed go that far.Asshole I yelled after him, getting only a slammed door in response. He really wasnt that bad of a roommate, but our troubled past often made him want to annoy me. It worked.Fuming, I finished the necessary tidying and dropped into bed a half-hour later. Aubrey and Godiva followed me, lying side by side at the end of the bed. They were a contrast in colors, like some piece of new-fangled art. Aubrey was white with black specks on her head Godiva was a riot of orange, brown, and black patches. All three of us drifted off to sleep immediately.Sometime later, I woke to the sound of singingor, well, that was the closest I could come to describing it. It was the same thing Id felt earlier, an alluring, haunting pull that spoke to every part of me. Warm and bright and beautiful. It was everywhere and everything, and I longed to have more of it, to walk toward the light that shone with indescribable colors. It felt so, so good like something I could melt into, if only I could reach it. I had the impression of an entrance, a door I simply had to push open and step through and Rough hands gripped my shoulders and jerked me around. Wake up standardized before, the sensory overload vanished. I was left alone in a quiet , empty world. No more siren song. Roman stood in front of me, hands shaking me as his face stared down at me with worry. I looked around. We were in the kitchen. I had no memory of getting there.How what happened? I stammered.The face that had taunted me earlier was now filled with concern, something that troubled a small part of me. Why should someone who wanted to kill me be worried about me?You tell me, he said, releasing his grip.I rubbed my eyes, willing myself to recall what had happened. II dont know. I must have sleepwalked.His face was still drawn and anxious. Nothere was something here.I shook my head. No, it was a dream. Or a hallucination. I had it happen earlier. I just drank too much.Didnt you just hear me? There it was again, fear for me underneath the anger. There was something here, someforce. I felt it. It woke me up. Dont you remember anything at all?I stared off, trying to summon up the light and haunting melody. I couldnt. It wasit was exquisite. I wantedI wan ted to go to itto be part of it There was a dreamy, wistful tincture in my voice.Romans expression grew dark. As a succubus, I was a lesser immortal, one who had once been human. greater immortals, like angels and demons, had been created at the universes beginning. Nephilim were born and fell somewhere in the middle. As such, their powers and senses were greater than mine. Roman could observe things I couldnt.Dont, he said. You feel it again, you pull away. Dont let it draw you in. Under no circumstances should you go to it.I looked back at him with a frown. Why? Do you know what it is?No, he said grimly. And thats the problem.