Kiss of the Succubus Ch. 01

* * * * *

When the washroom door opened again, Sarah could hear a pair of footsteps enter. They were soon followed by a second pair, and the door closed. Neither of the new arrivals said a word, and Sarah suspected neither of them was Rose or Kristof.

Sarah watched as a tall, dark haired woman took a seat at the sink in front of the vanity mirror. She proceeded to place her fingers in the open clam shell full of Kristof's semen, and smear the gooey substance on her face.

Sarah looked to the room's other occupant, a frail old man. He hobbled towards the wall, drew the scythe, and approached her. Sarah looked the man in the face, and he stared back at her with vacant, empty eyes. Sarah screamed.

The woman didn't react. When her entire face was covered with the white sticky substance, she rose from her stool and approached the washtub. Sarah didn't have to guess that this was none other than Ms. Balko.

Catherine removed her long black robe, and stood at the edge of the washtub fully nude. She climbed into the tub and lay on her back, looking up at the quivering Sarah. She smiled.

Sarah shook her head and squealed. The man raised the scythe, and pressed the blade tip against her hip. Sarah shrieked upon feeling the metal scratch her skin.

"Bleed this one heavy, Morris," Catherine said. "I'm going to need every drop."

"As you wish, ma'am," the old man said. He ran the scythe up and down Sarah's skin, only scratching, not breaking the skin. Sarah whimpered and cried. Catherine chuckled as Morris teased Sarah with the scythe. He placed the blade to her throat and held it there. Sarah squealed in terror, and Morris took the blade away.

Catherine laughed, and the old man showed a subtle smile.

As Sarah sighed in relief, Morris slashed the backs of her knees. First the left, then the right. Sarah screamed as she felt her blood dribble down her thighs and across her buttocks. In agony, she struggled even harder with the ropes around her wrists, but they would not loosen.

As Sarah's blood sprinkled down, she could see it settle upon Catherine's body. Catherine sighed as she rubbed the specks of blood onto her skin.

Morris swung the scythe swiftly across the backs of Sarah's thighs, inciting a squeal of pain as the metal cut into her skin. Her blood went flying and Catherine moaned as it sprayed her skin.

Morris immediately swung again, this time slicing the small of her back. Sarah could feel her warm blood trickle down her back and drip from her shoulders. Her open wounds burned with pain, and Sarah clenched her eyes closed to block out the agony.

Morris slashed Sarah's upper and lower back viciously, putting long, deep cuts throughout her flesh. Sarah thrashed about, and wailed through the gag in her mouth.

"Sopp! Sopp!" Sarah cried, but neither Catherine nor Morris were moved by her pleas.

She opened her eyes, only to see Catherine basking in her blood. Catherine rubbed the warm liquid all over her body, and appeared to be in ecstasy as she wriggled her body around and about in the bloodfall.

Sarah cringed as the scythe sliced her again, this time across her belly. Morris then cut her several more times on the bottoms of her breasts.

"Pleath! Pleath!" Sarah screamed, but her wailing only seemed to excite Catherine more. She grinned wickedly as she watched Sarah's breasts jiggle after each cut the scythe made in them.

Catherine was drenched in Sarah's blood, and Morris only cut her more. Sarah felt herself grow weaker as she felt the life drain from her body and onto the wicked woman below her. She prayed for death soon, feeling overwhelmed with intolerable agony.

"More," Catherine moaned, and Morris was all too eager to comply. He slashed Sarah across her face, across her chest, and up her sides, cutting deeper with each slash.

"NOOOO!!! STOP! STOP!" Sarah practically declared, as loudly as she could. Catherine chuckled.

"All right. Finish her, Morris."

Sarah felt her pulse race, causing her to bleed faster, and she realized with panic she likely had only seconds to live. Morris raised the scythe, and pressed the bloody blade to Sarah's throat...

* * * * *

Grace rubbed her neck uncomfortably as she sped down the road. The sun peeked up over the horizon, surprising Grace with the realization of how long she'd been working. Joe was probably already at Neil Corliss' residence, and she didn't want her partner confronting a former gang member alone.

The image of Sarah Wainwright's kidnapping played in her mind over and over again. Was Joe right? Did the Bentley speed up as it passed the Ford? Why would it do that if the driver intended to pull over?

Because Sarah got out of the car first. The kidnapper thought she was at her house.

"Shit!" Grace said aloud. She pulled a U-turn and sped off in the opposite direction.

The realization that the Fusion's emergency lights didn't come on until after the Bentley passed was everything Grace needed to know. The Bentley was the kidnappers' vehicle, of that Grace had no doubt. She knew Catherine was not the only person in the city with a Bentley, but she also knew gang activity was very rare in this part of town.

Catherine Balko lived only a few miles away. Deciding Joe could handle Neil Corliss on his own, Grace raced off to 2000 Blackwater road to have a word with Lady Balko.

* * * * *

It only took her seven minutes. The gate was locked, so Grace stepped out of the car and pressed the intercom button. She waited for a response.

"Hello?" a male voice responded.

"This is Detective Harker of San Amaury County Homicide," Grace said. "I need to speak with Catherine Balko."

The voice paused.

"She can't talk right now," the voice said tensely.

Something in the voice made Grace suspicious. Not just the fact that it was the voice of a young man, and Grace had previously encountered only two people on her last visit here, Catherine's blind and elderly butler Morris, and Catherine herself. It was also the voice's tone, clearly fearful and defensive. Grace decided to press him.

"Sir, I'm with the police, it is very important that I have a word with Ms. Balko right now. May I come through the gate please?"

There was a brief pause.

"Okay, but she can't talk to you," the voice said.

The response surprised Grace as much as the fact that the gate opened soon afterwards. Grace hurried up the slope towards the elegant home, feeling a compulsion to wipe her feet before she stepped foot upon the nicely varnished porch. Grace crept up the steps and knocked on the front door.

She waited a few seconds, and checked the time on her phone. Soon after, the door opened. Kristof peeked out of the door frame, glancing at Grace hesitantly.

"Hello, officer," Kristof said, meekly.

Grace eyed the young man suspiciously. He let the door open just wide enough to leave his head visible in the open frame.

"I'm Detective Harker of San Amaury Homicide," Grace said, holding up her badge for Kristof to see. "I need to speak with Catherine Balko."

Kristof looked at the badge and he visibly trembled.

"She's in the bath right now. She can't talk."

"That's fine, I'll wait until she's out. May I come in?" Grace asked. As she did, her phone chimed. She checked it, to find she had a text message from Joe that read "at Corliss place where are you?"

Grace almost considered turning around. Joe was waiting for her, while she was here chasing after a suspect from an unrelated case, but something in Kristof's demeanor told her she should stay.

Grace was about to type out a reply to Joe, when Kristof opened the door fully.

"Okay," Kristof said, stepping aside. Grace lowered her phone and entered the house.

The nicely furnished old-fashioned home looked the same as it did weeks earlier when Grace questioned Catherine Balko in the disappearance of Dylan and Jaclyn Becket. However, Grace did not recognize the young man standing before her.

She could hear the blare of the television in the den, but otherwise the house sounded empty. Kristof shut the door as Grace made her way through the foyer. He stared at Grace's figure as she walked.

"Will you have sex with me?" Kristof asked.

Grace looked at Kristof, confounded.

"I beg your pardon?"

Kristof lowered his head.

"My sister wouldn't let me have sex with the other girl, so I thought maybe we could, you know..."

"What other girl?" Grace asked.

Before Kristof could answer, a pair of feet descended the stairs.

"Kristof, who are you talking to?" Rose said, hurrying down the stairway. She was dressed in a green bikini with a pair of tanning goggles around her neck. An iPod was tucked into her bikini bottoms with the ear buds dangling at her knees. Rose stopped midway down the stairway and looked at Grace.

"Who are you?" Rose asked.

Grace held up her badge.

"Detective Harker, Homicide. I need to speak with Catherine Balko."

"She's not here right now," Rose said, smiling.

"This young man here said she was in the bath," Grace said.

Rose laughed.

"Of course. Catherine is in the bath. At the spa. Kristof, don't mislead the poor detective."

Rose stepped down the remaining stairs and stood face to face with the detective.

"She'll be back in a few hours," Rose said. "Try back maybe one, two, o'clock?"

Grace folded her arms.

"I'm actually in kind of a hurry," Grace said. "Could you tell me where this spa is?"

Rose turned her head and bit her lip.

"You know, I haven't actually been there, so I don't know," Rose said.

Grace faked a smile.

"Then I'll just have to wait here then," Grace said. Rose's face sank as she realized Grace had no intention of leaving anytime soon. Grace looked around the foyer of Catherine's home, and back at Rose.

"So, tell me, who are you two?" Grace asked. Rose answered quickly before Kristof could respond.

"I'm Rose, this is my brother Kristof," Rose said. "We're Catherine's personal assistants. Her butler is getting up there in years so she thought it might be good to get some young blood in this house; to keep things running smoothly."

"Are things running smoothly?" Grace asked.

Rose's answer was cut off by the sound of a muffled scream.

"What was that?" Grace asked, looking around.

"Must have been the TV," Rose said. "Kristof likes to leave the sets on all over the house, so who knows?"

Grace stepped into the den, grabbed the remote, and shut off the TV. Rose quickly followed her, with Kristof trailing behind.

"Detective Harker, is something wrong?" Rose asked innocently. Another muffled scream emanated from the basement. Grace drew her sidearm.

"Both of you, take a seat on the couch," Grace said.

"Detective-"

"NOW!" Grace shouted. Rose quickly planted her bikini-clad butt on the sofa, and Kristof took a seat beside her. Rose watched Grace warily as the detective made her way through the den and into the dining room.

An open door, just beyond the dining room, led to a set of stairs leading down. Grace hurried down the stairs as the shrieks became increasingly louder. Grace took out her phone and made a call to dispatch.

"Detective Harker, requesting backup at 2000 Blackwater road. Hurry."

At the bottom of the stairs Grace found herself in a wine cellar. The room contained four wooden shelves stocked with expensive wines, and nothing more. She searched the room again, frantically searching for a door, a passage she missed, but the room contained nothing but wooden shelves and old booze.

She heard another scream, and it seemed to come from beyond the wall. A second basement? Accessible from some other place in the house? It seemed unlikely to Grace. She peered at the shelf against the wall, and noticed a sliver of light peeking between the top shelf and the brick wall. A secret passage.

With all of her might, Grace pushed against the shelf, and found it rotated to its side, revealing the hidden compartment. The compartment looked to be bigger than the wine cellar itself, as Grace discovered a hallway with several doors on the other side of the shelf.

A light bulb dangling from the ceiling lit the dank corridor dimly. Grace could see five doors, two on each side of the corridor, and one large metal door at the end of the hall. The first room to her right had no door, so Grace cautiously peeked inside.

A nearly empty room, lit solely by candlelight, contained a number of metal hooks mounted on the wall. Hanging from each hook was a pair of panties. Well over two dozen pairs of women's underwear, all hanging in a row. Given the candlelit setting and the way the panties were displayed, Grace surmised this was not Catherine's laundry room. This was a shrine.

"Stop right there."

Grace turned to the doorway, to find Rose standing there, holding a .38 Special. She aimed it directly at Grace.

"Put down your gun," Rose commanded. Kristof appeared behind her, brandishing a pocket knife. The screams from the nearby room continued, and Grace could hear a woman's laughter as well.

"I've already called for backup, you pull that trigger you're in jail for the rest of your life," Grace said.

"I'm already a prisoner," Rose said. "I have something much bigger to fear. Now put the gun down, or I swear you'll never leave this room alive."

Grace squeezed the handle of her Glock. Something in Rose's words told her this was not a bluff. Rose was terrified, and not of her. If that was the case, Grace was dead either way.

"Kristof, would you kindly relieve Detective Harker of her weapon?" Rose asked. Kristof nodded, and moved towards Grace.

"Kristof, don't," Grace commanded. He stopped.

"Kristof, if you get that gun away from your sister, I'll have sex with you," Grace said.

"Really?" Kristof said, perkily.

"Don't listen to her, Bucko!" Rose snapped. "Now get her gun from her!"

The screaming in the next room led to howling. Grace could made out a few words.

"Pleath! Pleath" the voice cried. It sounded as though it was muffled by a gag of some kind.

"Bucko, get her gun," Grace said sweetly. "And I can be yours."

Grace rubbed her hands over her shirt, and cupped her breasts with her palms. Kristof's jaw dropped.

"You can't have sex with her, Bucko, now do as I say!" Rose demanded. Kristof looked over at Rose, confused.

"Kristof," Grace said, "if you do what she says, your sister will never let you have sex with anyone. Ever."

Kristof looked at Rose angrily.

"She's right!" Kristof said. "You're always bossing me around! Why can't I do what I want?"

"I am going to count to three, Detective, and whether my brother listens to me or not, if your gun is not on the ground you're a corpse! One!"

"Kristof, please," Grace pleaded.

"Two!" Rose shouted.

Grace lifted her shirt, baring her belly for Kristof. He stared at her body hungrily. Grace was glad she was not wearing a bra, so she could flash him a bit of underboob. She briefly considered showing her nipples, but decided teasing him was her best bet.

"Do it, Kristof. For me," Grace said, and puckered her lips.

"Three!" Rose shouted. Kristof plunged his pocket knife into Rose's back, and she let out a loud wail. Her scream was drowned out by the wailing in the next room, leaving Grace to wonder just how awful a fate the poor girl in that room had befallen.

Grace ran to the door and pulled the .38 from Rose's grasp, as the redhead toppled to the floor in agony. Grace gasped when she saw that Kristof had driven the blade directly through Rose's spine in the small of her back.

Rose rolled to her side and gasped. Blood trickled from her open wound and onto the floor.

"Help her! Don't let her die!" Grace shouted, as she fled from the room. Kristof stared at Grace, confused, and looked down at his bleeding sister.

The blood-curdling screaming in the next room continued as Grace raced towards the metal door at the end of the hall.

"NOOOO!!! STOP! STOP!" the frantic female voice shouted. Grace sprinted to the door, with her sidearm at the ready. She heard a woman's voice reply to the screams.

"All right. Finish her, Morris."

Grace struggled with the handle on the door. She twisted the handle, pulled the door open, and her eyes went wide with shock.

Hanging from the ceiling, upside down and naked, was a bleeding young woman. Next to her was Catherine's butler, Morris, holding a scythe to the woman's throat. Beneath the hanging woman was a bathtub filled with blood. It looked as though someone was lying in the tub, but all Grace could see was the back of a head, with blood soaked hair.

"Don't move!" Grace shouted, aiming her sidearm at Morris. "Put down the- oh God, what the hell is that?"

Morris lowered his scythe, turned towards Grace, and his blind empty eyes stared through her. The head in the tub turned around to face her, and Grace recognized it as the blood-soaked visage of Catherine Balko. She stared at Grace with a scowl.

"Finish her Morris, finish her now!" Catherine demanded.

Morris raised the scythe to the hanging woman's throat, and without hesitating, Grace fired. The bullet hit Morris square in the chest. He froze, and Grace fired again. The second shot knocked him on his back, and he dropped the bloody scythe to the floor as he fell.

Grace hurried to Morris' side, and looked up at the hanging woman. Seeing the woman's body up close, sliced and bloody, summoned the contents of Grace's stomach up and onto the floor beside the bleeding butler.

Grace gagged, and summoned all of her strength to raise her head and look the bleeding girl in the eye.

"Sarah?" Grace asked, panting. "Sarah Wainwright?"

The girl nodded.

"Help me!" Sarah cried. "Pleath, help me!"

Grace pulled the gag from Sarah's mouth.

"Help is on the way, Sarah," Grace said, praying it wouldn't be too late.

She looked down at the blood-drenched body of Catherine Balko, who cowered in the bathtub.

"You-" Grace hissed, aiming her gun at Catherine. "You don't even move."

* * * * *

Eleven squad cars were on Catherine Balko's front lawn within twenty minutes. The ambulances arrived shortly afterward.

Joe Pratt hurried down the stairs into the basement until he was at Grace's side.

"Grace! Grace!" Joe shouted. He wasn't sure whether to hug her or spank her for going into Catherine's house without backup, but was relieved to find her alive either way.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Grace said, still heaving. Joe stared into the bloody bathtub, and found himself retching at the sight. The EMTs had unchained Sarah and were dressing her with gauze while she lay on a stretcher nearby.

"Is she alive?" Joe asked, incredulously.

"For now. They'll rush her to Cloughmont. God, I hope she makes it," Grace said, wiping her brow with a towel.

Joe looked around the dank washroom, now swarming with police officers. Through the dense crowd of busy lawmen, Joe could see four officers guarding Catherine Balko in the corner. She was still wearing nothing but Sarah's blood, and stood with her hands against the wall. One of the officers approached Grace.

"Detective, Ms. Balko is asking if she can get washed and dressed before we cuff her and take her in," the officer said.

Grace shook her head.

"So she can wash off all that evidence? Absolutely not," Grace said. "Put a raincoat on her and get her down to county."

"Yes, ma'am," the officer said, seemingly delighted at Grace's reply.

Joe and Grace walked with the EMTs as they carried Sarah's stretcher out to one of ambulances.

"Hang in there, Sarah, these boys are going to take good care of you," Grace said as they walked up the stairway. Sarah reached out with one hand and clutched Grace's. Grace gave her an assuring squeeze.

The first ambulance, which carried Rose, sped out through the open gate as the EMTs carried Sarah out the front door and into the second. As soon as they loaded her in, the second ambulance disappeared in a cloud of dust as well.