Incubus Ch. 03

Lilly

I entered the lab, head down, and made my way over to my assigned lab table. My partner was already there.

"Lilly! How are you?" Jerry greeted me, grinning and waving flamboyantly.

I grimaced. "I've been better."

Jerry's smile instantly vanished. "What's wrong?"

I sighed. No way in hell could I tell him about the demon. No pun intended. "My dad's been drinking again. I'm really starting to worry about him."

"That sucks," Jerry said, frowning. "Any way I can help?"

I shook my head. "Not really. Sorry. I shouldn't dump my troubles on you like this."

"Hey, if I can't help, the least I can do is listen, right?" Jerry said. "Need a hug?"

Wordlessly, I buried my head in Jerry's shoulder. He patted my back and made comforting noises. It was so tempting to tell him all of my troubles. But he would never believe me.

I pulled away. Jerry gripped my shoulder. "Hey, can you make it through class today? If not, you could go home. I could tell the teacher you aren't feeling well."

Go home? To the demon? Fat chance. "I'll be ok."

Jerry shrugged. "As long as you're sure,

And then the teacher entered. Class started, and I spent the next two hours in busy contemplation of a beaker and some test tubes.

When it was over, Jerry and I began to clean our workstation. I did the scrubbing, both of the table and the glassware we had used, and he carefully packed away the chemistry apparatus. It was how we alway did it. I enjoyed the exacting work of getting everything perfectly clean, and Jerry didn't want to mess up his nail polish.

This was the second class we'd been in together. The first one had been a lecture on introductory computer science we both took over the summer. I'd tutored him on the some of the more difficult aspects of what we were learning, and, after my mom had died, he'd tutored me. He was the reason I hadn't had to drop the class, and he said that my help was the only reason he'd passed. Combined with some shared interests, this had cemented our friendship.

"So, kid, you want to hang out tonight?" asked Jerry.

"Quit calling me kid. I'm only a few years younger than you," I complained. Jerry had spent a several years in the military before he began college. He was going to school on the GI bill. "And, sure, I'd love to hang out. Your place?" I didn't want to go home.

"Queens is having karaoke night," Jerry said with a grin.

I groaned. "You know I don't like clubs. They're too crowded."

"So we'll show up early, and leave before the it gets too packed." Jerry winked. "They've got some pretty hot pole dancers."

"I don't have anything to wear." I said.

"You supply the shoes, and I'll get the dress," Jerry said. "You're not much shorter than me."

"Your stuff is too glittery," I said, wrinkling my nose.

"Then just wear what you've got on," Jerry said. "No one will stare, or anything. You get all sorts in Queens."

I sighed. "I'm not getting out of this, am I?"

"Nope. " Jerry confirmed.

Estries

I peered through the window at my mistress from my perch up in a tree. This owl form was pretty much the smallest I could get. Hopefully, if my mistress spotted the bird, she wouldn't suspect it was me.

She was chatting with her lab partner about going clubbing. I sighed inwardly. Clubs meant lots of people. More people meant more variables, making it harder to protect her. I also wasn't sure I could get in. I had no identification. I could materialize items, but could only keep them materialized if they were touching me, and complex things, like, say, a detailed driver's license, were hard to do.

I wondered where one would go to acquire a fake license. Odds are someone on campus would know. Of course, the drinking age was 21, and Lilly was only 19. If she could get, I probably didn't need a license.

Lilly was heading to the car now. I fretted a bit during the time she was out of my sight, and then sighed in relief as she exited the building. Lots of things liked to prey on untrained wizards. Other demons, for one, as well as the various other creatures that fed on magic. Then there were those who would use her powers for personal gain. My summoning would have shone like a beacon to anyone in the country who could sense magic. I wondered if Lilly realized she had painted a target on her back. Probably not.

I wasn't sure how Lilly would react to me following her, and she couldn't do anything to defend herself anyways, so I had decided not to tell her about the danger she was in. It would only worry her.

I left my perch silently, and trailed the car to what I presumed was her friend's apartment. Again, I watched at the window. It was nice to see Lilly laugh. An hour later, they left in her friend's car.

The club itself was easy enough to get into. I wore a different human form, so Lilly wouldn't notice me. Without an ID, I just had to let them stamp my hand to tell the bartenders I couldn't drink. Inside, there were fewer people than I had feared. I enjoyed the deep, throbbing music, and watched the pole dancers a bit, but kept half an eye on Lilly. She talked to a few people she knew, and her friend teased her into taking the karaoke stage. I felt her stage fright through the bond as she sang, and her embarrassment at every fumbled lyric and wrong note. but she sounded pretty good.

And here came trouble. I sensed him before he even entered the club. Another demon. Unbonded, as far as I could tell, so he was working for himself. Probably born on this mortal world, because, without a master, a non native demon would snap back to hell. This world was pretty far, metaphysically speaking, from the demonrealm.

I intercepted him on the way across the bar. There was a moment where we sized each other up. Then the other demon deflated.

"Yours?" he asked, looking down at his feet in a gesture of submission.

"Mine," I confirmed.

"Of course," he replied. He looked at me calculatingly. "She has you pledged to serve her. I could help you with that."

I snorted. "I remain pledged at my own pleasure. She cannot command me."

"Of course not," the other demon said, trying to make himself appear smaller. "Forget I asked. May I go?"

I thought for a second. If he left, he would doubtlessly find another victim to feed upon, and probably kill. On the other hand, if I fought him, I would draw unwanted attention to myself, and, while I was certain I could win, the fight would weaken me, possibly allowing some other threat to get to my mistress. "Go," I told him. "And if I sense you near her again..." I trailed off threateningly.

"You will not, I give you my word," said the other demon. Then he turned and fled.

Lilly

True to his word, Jerry left with me before things got too crowded. By then I'd sung three times, and had enjoyed myself immensely, though I was harassed a bit by one drunken idiot who seemed to have come to the wrong bar. Jerry and his friends put a stop to that pretty quickly. The crowds, though, were starting to make me nervous. I was glad we were leaving. Jerry clapped me on the back. "Didn't I tell you we'd have fun?" he said to me. "It's more fun, of course, if you can drink, but fun even if you can't."

He winced slightly. "Mind going to get the car while I sit for a bit? These heels are killing me." He tossed me the keys.

"You should have worn flats," I called back, laughing, as I headed toward the parking lot.

A man seemed to be following me. Probably going to his own car, I told myself, but I quickened my pace. When he paused a row over from where we had parked to fumble with his keys, I breathed a sigh of relief.

I gasped as the guy who had been harassing me earlier stepped out from behind a car. "You..." he slurred. "Why don't you come home with me?"

"I don't think so," I said, trying to get Jerry's keys into the lock. I dropped them, and swore.

"That's what all the woman say," then drunk complained. "But I'm a nice guy. Don't you think I'm a nice guy?" He stumbled toward me, inadvertently kicking the keys under the car. "It's women these days," he continued. "They like the bad boys. But I'm a nice guy. Don't you like nice guys?" By now, I was backed up against the car, cringing away from his bad breath. "Come on, just give me one kiss," he slurred, leaning forward.

I heard a meaty thwack, and then the drunk stumbled sideways, the fell over, unconscious. It was the other guy, the one I had thought was following me. His eyes were glowing red.

"You ok?" he asked. His eyes dimmed back to a normal color.

"Ummm..." I stuttered.

The man whose eyes had been glowing leaned toward me, frowning. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Your eyes," I stammered. "Your eyes were glowing."

The man closed his eyes. "Shit."

I began to back away. "What, what are you?"

The man sighed. "It's me. Estries."

"Estries?" I wasn't sure whether to be relieved, or more frightened.

"Yeah," he said. His featured shifted and blurred, and suddenly I was looking at the same face that had stared out at me through the pentagram that night. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," I said. "What are you doing here?" My eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Were you following me?"

Estries sighed again. "Yes."

"Why?" I asked, somewhere between scared and angry.

"Because when you summoned me, you signaled everyone who could sense magic within 2000 miles.That's pretty much all of the US, and most of Mexico. Lots of nasty things are in that area. Lots of things that think a new wizard is worth controlling, or would make a tasty snack, " Estries explained

"I can take care of myself," I snapped. "And nothing has come after me so far."

"Not as much as I was expecting, I'll admit, but I had to head off a demon tonight," Estries said.

"I didn't see a demon," I shot back.

"That's because I didn't let him get anywhere near you," Estries replied with exaggerated patience. "And you can't sense demons like I can. Not yet, anyways."

"Why wasn't there a fight, then?" I accused.

"Demons can judge the power levels of other demons. This one was too weak to take me," Estries said, now obviously annoyed. "He chose to leave. Now, I'm sure Jerry is waiting for you to bring him his car. You should go." He shifted again, this time into an owl. The owl hooted, and then flew off.

I sighed, and bent down to fish the keys out from under the car.

Later that night, Estries opened the door to the house as I was pulling my keys out of my purse. I glared at him. "How do you get in and out without a key, anyways?"

"You keep a spare outside your back door," Estries told me. "Under a rock. I just use that."

I scowled. "No more following me, ok?"

"I'm afraid I can't grant this request," Estries said.

"That was an order!" I snapped.

Estries's eyes narrowed. "Make me," he challenged.

We stared at each other for a minute. Then I looked away. "You know I can't. Please?"

"No. I will not compromise on matters involving your safety," Estries replied.

"Did you at least search for my mother's killer?" I asked.

"Yes," Estries said. He looked uncomfortable. "No results." He sighed. "Frankly, I'm starting to wonder if there will ever be results. Whoever it is shields very quickly every time I look. That means they have a way of sensing that I am watching, even while they are asleep, and are good at shielding. I don't see how I could counteract that."

I felt like I was going to cry. "So all this? It was for nothing?"

"Anita-" Estries began.

"No! I had one thing I wanted you to do, one thing, and you can't do it!" I yelled. "Why did I even bother summoning you if you can't find who killed Mom?" Suddenly, I felt exhausted. "I'm going to bed."

"Look, I'm sor-" Estries started to say.

I cut him off. "Leave me alone. Ok? If I can't get rid of you, at least leave me alone for awhile."

Estries nodded, eyes downcast. "As you wish."

Estries

After my fight with Lilly, I decided to go for a walk around the block. Clear my head a bit. I wouldn't be going far enough to endanger her. If she woke up, I would know, and be back at the house in seconds.

So she knew I was following her. Great. On one hand, I wouldn't have to hide from her anymore. On the other hand, it would definitely not help our relationship, or her peace of mind. I wished my eyes hadn't given me away in the parking lot. But, when I had seen that man practically on top of Lilly, and felt her fear, I had gotten angry, and, when I was angry enough, my eyes glowed red. It wasn't something I could really control. And, once she had seen that, it was better to just confess. She would have figured out it was me soon enough.

I felt Lilly stir in her sleep. She awoke briefly, and then drifted off again.

As for my inability to find her mother's killer, well, that was just humiliating. I wished I had chosen a better time to tell her about my failure. I wished I could have succeeded. Enacting vengeance on her mother's murderer would have gone a long way toward mending my relationship with Lilly. However, it was an impossible task. The killer was just too quick. Maybe when Lilly was a more skilled wizard, we could-

Suddenly I couldn't feel Lilly. At all. She had gone from sleeping soundly to not there in an instant. I raced toward the house, hoping I was not too late.

When I got to the house, I didn't bother with the keys. I just busted down the door. Lilly was not in her room. She was not in any other room. She was not in the backyard.

Ok, Estries, I thought. Calm down. What do you sense? What do you smell? Aside from a distinct lack of Lilly. I took a deep breath in through my nose. I could smell...

Vampire. I could smell vampire. And another, a human male, one the vampire frequently fed on, by the smell of him. The scent was stronger in Lilly's room than in any other room in the house. And, now that I was looking for it, I sense the remains of a spell on the window.

So. They had entered through the window, probably using an unlocking spell. The man I could smell was doubtlessly a wizard, because vampires couldn't work magic. When Lilly woke up, the vampire had put her back to sleep, and carried her out the window.I followed the trail of their scent outside.

It ended in a tangle of magic right next to a curb, and I could smell exhaust from a car. They appeared to have spelled their car to block Lilly's magical signature. It must have also been spelled silent and invisible, or I would have seen or heard it leaving as I arrived.

I closed my eyes, and reached out with my mind, trying to find the wizard who had cast the spell that had hidden Lilly. He must have been inside the shield, too, because I couldn't sense him. I opened my eyes, growling in frustration.

If I was close enough, I could sense the shielding spell itself. However, I would need to be practically on top of it. The whole purpose of this kind of shield was to block the magical signatures of those inside it, so it would be counterproductive if the spell itself was too easy to sense. I would have to search the entire city, block by block, to find it.

This had been a good, clean job. From an assetic point of view, I could admire the planning and magical skill it had taken. From a personal point of view, however, I was angry. And very, very worried.

Lilly

I woke suddenly, heart pounding, to see someone bending over me in the dark. My scream was abruptly cut off by a hand over my mouth. "Go back to sleep," green eyes ordered, and I found myself obeying.

When I woke the second time, I was most definitely not in my room. My wrists were cuffed to the ceiling, and my legs were spread wide, and cuffed to the floor. I was naked, and there was a collar around my neck. I struggled, to no effect.

"Don't bother," said a cold voice, and a man walked into my limited frame of vision. He was tall and thin, his hair was dark brown, and his eyes were an eerie shade of green. "You can't get loose. And even if you did," he smiled, "you wouldn't get far. Don't bother with your magic, either. The collar blocks it."

"Who are you?" I asked. "Where am I?"

"I am the vampire Denadren. As for where you are," he said as he leaned over me, his grin showing sharp white teeth, "I don't mean to tell you."

"Any possibility of you letting me go?" I asked, resigned to the probable answer.

"No."

Well, that was just great. I tested the cuffs again. Not an inch of give.

"I bet you're wondering why I brought you here," said the vampire, eyes unnaturally bright in the dim light of the single bulb in the room.

"Not really," I answered.

The vampire raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"I'm tied up, naked, in a dimly lit room that looks like someone's basement," I snapped. "I think I can guess what you're planning to do with me."

He smiled. "I may be planning on fucking to you, but that is not why you are here."

The silence stretched, and lengthened. Finally the vampire Denadren snapped, "Don't you want to know?"

"Not really," I said. "So you can just go fuck yourself." Now, Estries could track me, right? He could track any wizard once he'd gotten the scent of their magic. He'd come rescue me. Except, I realized, I had no idea if he could overcome the vampire.

I heard footsteps. It sounded like they were coming down stairs. "Master?" called a soft voice. "I've checked the shields. They are in place."

I turned my head as far as I could to see a very pale, sickly looking young man, who was staring at the vampire as though hypnotized.

"Very good, Dmitri," said the vampire with obvious approval. He glanced sideways at me. "Your demon will never find you with the shields blocking your power. Not that he'll look too hard, I think. Demons are not known for their loyalty. Though, I suppose, since you are necessary for his continued link to this world, he might trouble himself." He smiled, as though at a particularly dull student who had somehow gotten the right answer. "It was brilliant of you to have him watching you like that. It made it very difficult to get ahold of you. If your home security wasn't so dreadfully lax, I wouldn't have managed it." He stroked my cheek in a parody of intimacy. "I'm glad I have," he told me. "You are an almost perfect specimen, even if you are a bit fat."

Perfect specimen? What was he planning on doing with me? Other than the obvious, of course.

As if he was reading my mind, or more likely, just liked the sound of his own voice, the vampire told me. "You know, of course, that I, as a vampire, drink blood. What you may not know is that, the more I drink from a person, the more they come under my control. Instead of just being open to my compulsion, they hang on to my every word. Much like young Dmitri here." He gestured to the young man, who was now drooling a little. "That's what I have planned for you, my sweet Lilly of the valley. You will be my slave, my willing tool, in heart, mind, and soul." He gave me a self satisfied smile. "Your magic will be enormously useful in my acquisition of power, and your body, fat as it is, will provide myself and Dmitri with... Other pleasures. Of course, I don't want to kill you, sweet Lilly, so the transformation will take time. Seven days. Don't worry, I will keep you... Entertained."

I didn't like the sound of that, any of it. I had to get loose. Somehow.

"And now, I think, it is time for the first feeding." The vampire Denadren leaned forward his breath warm against my neck. Fangs brushed against my soft, vulnerable skin.

I spat on him. It was the only thing I could think of to do. Luckily, it worked. The vampire jerked back, hissing.

"Dmitri!" he spat.

"Yes, master?"

"Gag her!" the vampire ordered. "And bring the riding crop. I think she has earned," he smiled unpleasantly, "punishment."