Of Demons and Fae

With a screech of brakes, I pulled into the parking lot. I didn't bother to park properly. There wasn't time. I just put the car in park, turned off the engine, and hopped out. There was already a cop heading toward me. I flashed my badge. "I'm the PCB Agent."

She gave me a weak smile. "Thank God. This way please, ma'am. The chief wants to talk to you before you go in."

We passed through the lines of cops. The blood pooling on the concrete looked odd, almost fake, in the bright fluorescent searchlights. I tried not to show how tired I was. This was my third call in as many days, the third time in a row I'd been the one closest to the emergency when the call went out. This time, I'd been far enough away that I'd needed to fly to have a hope of getting to the site in time. I'd still been groggy when they'd hustled me onto the plane, but I'd woken up quickly enough when I'd read the reports.

"Chief Renolds, sir! The PCB agent is here!" my guide called out. The man who turned was balding, with a salt and pepper mustache and stubble on his cheeks. Relief broke through his composure for a moment, and then his stony resolve returned. He nodded. "Ma'am."

I flashed my badge again. "Agent Jennifer Sanders." I took a second to catch my breath, and then continued. "Why in the hell didn't you follow the regulations?"

Guilt showed for a second, and then was gone. "It looked like they were just kids, ma'am. I thought... I thought the wizard was showing remorse, and had released them."

"There is a very good reason," I told Chief Renolds, "that we made those rules. Anything leaving the site is likely to be a hostile, even if it looks harmless. You got lucky."

He shook his head. "Lucky? They killed 23 of my people before we could take them down."

"It could have been worse. I'm sure you remember Houston," I said, voice clipped. I tried to banish the memories that came screaming up from the dark. I'd been in Houston.

Chief Renolds shuddered. "Point taken. Now, what do you need us to do?"

"Maintain the perimeter around the building. Once I go in, there's going to be some noise. Maybe some lights. Maybe some gunfire. Whatever you see or hear, don't investigate. Maintain the 20 foot minimum distance. If anything comes out, even if it looks like kids again, shoot it, and keep shooting until you've destroyed both the apparent head and the area where the heart should be. If I come out, I will give the code word before I get within 10 feet of your perimeter. If I don't, open fire." I handed the chief a slip of paper. "This is the code word. Don't say it aloud, and only show it to people who need to know. Pretty soon, two more PCB agents will get here. If I'm not back by then, they'll go in. Any questions?"

Chief Renolds shook his head. "No, ma'am." He met my gaze. "Good luck."

He looked like he didn't expect to see me alive again. I tried not to take that as an omen. "Good luck to you, too."

I waited while he ordered the police on the front line to let me cross, and then walked slowly towards the building. I was still tired, but I didn't dare drink any more coffee. I needed steady hands.

As I stepped out into the no man's land within the perimeter, I drew my sidearm. I was one of the few PCB agents who hadn't had to learn to shoot on the fly. Before the Awakening had begun, I'd been a cop.

With a word, I put up my magical shield. Then, in one swift motion, I threw open the door. A swift search of the front room showed that it was empty. Light glared through the cracks between the boards on the windows, but otherwise it was dark. According to the report, this had been a bookstore before it had closed last year. Empty shelves lined the walls, but all the other furniture had been removed long ago. I looked down at the red lines on the floor. "Shit."

There were the runes for three zombification rituals, the ones that had been used to turn the kids. I had expected that. What I hadn't expected... "Shit, shit, shit, shit!"

Apparently the wizard had summoned a demon. Demons were very dangerous. Most PCB agents who'd encountered them were dead. I'd dealt with demons twice before. Both times I'd beaten the odds. My number was bound to come up eventually, though.

The shop had two other rooms which opened up into this main room. This would be tricky. If I entered the room the mage and his demon were in, I'd most likely be fine. I could shoot the mage and banish the demon. If I chose wrong, the demon and the wizard could exit other room and sneak up behind me while I was occupied. This was why PCB agents normally operated in pairs. My partner, however, had died a year ago, and the PCB hadn't yet managed to find me a new one. I'd been out of rotation for a while waiting for a new partner, but the PCB had too few agents to keep me out of the field long.

There was a soft sound, like someone shifting on a creaky floorboard. It came from the door on the left. I grinned. Maybe my luck hadn't run out quite yet.

I crept silently up to the door. Ok, according to the blueprint, the room beyond didn't have windows. I flipped on my head lamp, took a deep breath, and flung open the door.

There was a figure across the room, hidden in shadow. I fired on it. One shot to the head, two to the heart. If it was the wizard, that was all it would take. If it was the demon...

I heard a low chuckle, and a musical male voice said, "That's not going to work." The figure stepped forward, into the light. Green eyes focused on something behind me. "And I'm not the one you should be worrying about, anyways."

I whirled as a wave of fire broke over my shield, and fired my gun into the flames. I was rewarded by a scream. The stream of fire stopped, and the wizard crumpled to the ground, dead.

Something wrapped around my waist. I felt warm breath on my ear. I tried to turn, but couldn't. I moved to shoot whatever was behind me, but my hand was caught. Something pressed painfully into the pressure point on my wrist, and my fingers spasmed open. My gun clattered to the floor. Something else slipped into my mouth, gagging me. I fought to be able to speak so I could cast a spell, but the grip on my mouth was tight.

"I thank you for freeing me from the wizard," the man from before murmured in my ear. I blinked. He was the demon? None of the demons I'd seen before could talk. They had been dangerous, but not intelligent. "Relax. I'm not going to hurt you." My other wrist was caught by a dark green tentacle, and both arms were secured behind me. "In fact, you will probably enjoy this."

His hand fumbled at my pants. As soon as he had them unbuttoned, he pulled them down. What the hell? Then I made the connection. Kicking only resulted in my legs being immobilized.

"You don't want this. I understand," the demon murmured. "I don't really want to force you. However, I must feed, and I don't have the time to find someone willing." He tugged my underwear down. His fingers found my clit. Gently, he stroked it.

Unbidden, my memory traveled back, back before the Awakening, back to when I'd been a Houston cop. I remembered early mornings with Tommy, lying in our bed. Sun on the sheets. His hands where the demon's were now. Had it really been three years?

I jerked as the demon's fingers pressed tight against my clit and began to vibrate. God... The vibration was so strong. And it had been such a long time... I moaned.

"Good girl. Feel it. Enjoy it," the demon coaxed. "Don't worry. You will come to no harm. I promise."

All the demons the PCB had come across so far had fed by draining a person's magic and life force, I remembered. The process seemed to require pain. Could this be some variation on that?

I struggled, trying to free myself as a tentacle probed the entrance of my pussy. It slid a little ways in, and then drew out. A bit further in, and then out. Teasing me. My breathing grew ragged. Another tentacle slipped up under my shirt. It slid up past my breasts, and then curved back, wiggling under my bra. I felt it tighten around one of my nipples. Not tight enough to hurt. Not quite. A third tentacle slid over my shoulder and down to grip my other nipple. Both tentacles began to tighten and release to the tempo of the tentacle sliding in and out of my pussy.

The tentacle in my pussy changed tactics, wiggling to rub against my g-spot. The pressure, combined with the vibration against my clit and the squeezing of my nipples, was almost more than I could take, but I could do nothing to stop it. I could only endure. I closed my eyes, fighting my growing arousal. Time passed as I struggled. It felt like hours.

"Cum for me," the demon whispered. "Cum for me, and I'll let you go."

If that was what he wanted, he was going to get it. I was going to cum soon, whether I wanted to or not. I relaxed, not fighting it.

"Good, good," the demon told me. "Just let it happen."

Oddly, the demon began to slow his stimulation, until my orgasm was just a whisper of a possibility, not a screaming certainty in my mind. Then the stimulation increased, until I was about to cum once more. Again, just before I reached the point of no return, the stimulation lessened. As the demon began to push me towards orgasm once more, I wondered why he was doing this. If he wanted me to cum, why not just let me?

He backed off before I could cum twice more. The next time he started to stimulate me, it was different. His fingers were vibrating harder this time. The relentless rubbing against my g-spot was both faster and harder, as was his stimulation of my nipples. I whimpered. I wanted to cum so badly now. It had been such a long time since I had felt anything besides my own fingers. I needed this.

The demon turned me to face him. "I want to see your expression as you reach your peak," he told me, meeting my gaze. I stared back into those green eyes, silently begging him to let me cum this time.

My breath caught as I began to climb. I was so close, so close...

I screamed into the tentacle gagging me. I was cumming, and the demon hadn't stopped playing with me, oh god, he hadn't stopped, and I was climbing again, I was going to cum again, and I hadn't quite finished the last one...

I came again, and this time my scream stopped as my vocal cords locked down tight. He still wasn't stopping. I was going to cum again. And again, and again, and again...

It's hard to count when you can't think straight. I know I had at least three orgasms, but after that I kind of lost track. Finally the demon stopped. As I finished cumming one final time, he lowered me to the floor. "There. That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Still shaking, I fumbled for my sidearm on the floor. The demon grabbed it before I could, and set it on a high shelf. "I think you should wait to use your gun for a bit. At least until you can stand. We don't want any accidents."

I reached for my magic, and found the space it usually occupied in my head empty. "I drained your magic," the demon informed me. "Don't bother. You don't need it, anyways. There's no one here but us, and, like I said, I'm not going to hurt you. Relax for a minute. Get yourself together."

I wet my lips, and then spoke. "What are you going to do now?"

The demon smiled. "Nothing bad. I'll leave. Try to find some place to stay. Figure out how I'm going to feed next time. Don't worry, I'll try not to hurt anybody."

He turned to leave, and then paused. "I'd advise you not to try to find me. Next time we meet, things might end very differently." Then he left. A bit later, I heard shots fired. Then everything was quiet.

As soon as I was standing, fully clothed once more, I tried to get my gun. The demon had placed it just out of my reach. I had to stand on my tiptoes to get it. The first time I tried, I was still wobbly, and I almost fell over. After that I waited for a minute, trying to clear my head and slow my breathing. The next time I reached for my gun, I was steady enough to get it.

Gun in hand, I checked the remaining rooms for hostiles. The demon had been telling the truth; I was the only one remaining. Exhausted, I left the building.

I called out the code word, and heard Chief Renolds telling the police to stand down. With the searchlights in my eyes, I could just barely make out the silhouettes of the people surrounding the building. As I crossed the perimeter, I stumbled and almost fell. Someone caught me and half carried me past the cops in the front line. I blinked down at the hands that held me. They were pale green. I looked up into a familiar face. "Greenwinter. What are you doing here?"

"My team was the next closest," the fae man told me. His face was smooth and untroubled, as usual, but I thought he looked a bit relieved. "Greg and I had just arrived, and we were about to go in when you came out. Is the paranormal threat neutralized?"

"The building is clear, but I think something got out," I told him.

"The chief said his people saw, and fired upon, a bird," Greenwinter said. "It flew out the door. What was it?"

"A demon," I told him.

Greenwinter's eyebrows rose. "That's not good."

"You are, as always, a master of the understatement," I said.

Greenwinter's eyes were black from lid to lid, but I could tell he was looking me over for injuries. He blinked. "You have no magical energy."

"Tell me something I don't know," I sighed.

"The demon... It fed on you?" Greenwinter asked.

I nodded. "Pretty sure, yeah."

"And yet, you still live," he mused. "That is certainly odd."

I yawned. "If you don't mind, I'd like to give my report in the morning."

"It is the morning," Greenwinter replied, gesturing to the horizon, where the first hints of dawn showed.

I groaned. "This evening, then. Whenever I wake up. Please?"

"I think we need to hear it now," Greg said from behind Greenwinter.

I sighed. "Shit."

*

An hour later, the three of us were sitting in the police station's conference room. Chief Renolds was there, as were the local FBI agents and a few other law enforcement notables. On the conference room's screen was my boss, Director John Yarrow of the Paranormal Containment Bureau. Having finished my report, I took a sip of my coffee. Like police coffee everywhere, it tasted horrible, but I needed to stay awake for a little while longer.

Director Yarrow looked horrified. "So, to sum up what you've told us, after you killed the wizard, the demon raped you, drained your magic, and then escaped?"

I nodded, and took a swig of my coffee. "Pretty much, yeah." God, what I would give for some real sugar. All that I'd managed to find by the coffeemaker was some crappy artificial sweetener.

"Well, I suppose our next objective is to find this thing and get rid of it," the director said. "Does anybody know how we can accomplish this?"

Chief Renolds frowned. "If it can shapeshift, I don't see how my people can help. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Your people have already helped immensely," Director Yarrow said.

"I think a spell could be found to locate it," Greenwinter said. "It is not a spell I remember, but I believe it exists. Then the typical banishing spell should work, even if this is a less than typical demon."

I frowned, staring down into my empty mug. The beginnings of a plan began to form inside my mind. "I'm not sure we have to banish it."

Greenwinter stared at me. "Do you think we can destroy it?"

"I was thinking we could recruit it," I said, meeting Greenwinter's gaze.

His normal blank facade broke. Shock suffused his features. He opened his mouth, possibly to speak, possibly just to gape at me.

Greg laughed nervously. "Maybe we should have waited until you woke up for the debrief."

"Sanders. This is not funny," Director Yarrow said.

"I'm not joking," I told him.

"You are not thinking clearly," Greenwinter said. "Perhaps some sleep would-"

"I am thinking plenty clearly, thank you very much," I snapped. "We desperately need more agents. If we lose many more, we'll have to start using norms!"

"You have proven on multiple occasions that it is entirely possible to take out paranormal hostiles with nothing more than a gun," Greenwinter told me.

"Yeah, but I've got magic if I need it!" I snarled. "You know perfectly well that, to some of the stuff we face, guns are only a minor inconvenience. If that. This demon can think, so he can probably be reasoned with. He's also shown a distinct preference for not killing people. He could have carved his way out through the perimeter. He chose to fly over it. He could have killed me. He chose not to. When he drained my magic, he did so completely, but he didn't ever touch my life force. That shows mercy. It also shows control." I looked up at the camera above the screen. "He is very powerful. Director Yarrow, he could be an enormous asset."

"You cannot be serious!" Greenwinter growled. I'd never heard him raise his voice before, much less snarl like this. His eyes seemed darker than usual. "He raped you!" His eyes also found the camera. "Director!"

Director Yarrow looked thoughtful. "Perhaps-"

Greenwinter stood. "There is no perhaps about it! The demon is dangerous! He must be eliminated!"

"He's powerful, I'll grant you," I said. "But so are you, Greenwinter, and no one calls you dangerous. Not anymore."

"I have never forced myself on you!" Greenwinter snapped.

"If anyone has a right to be angry about what he did, it's me," I said. "And I think our need for agents is more important than my personal feelings."

The air above Greenwinter was starting to look hazy. Greenwinter himself was starting to look more feral. Less human. Was his anger affecting his glamor abilities? In his hands, the aluminum chair back crumpled. The lights flickered out, as did the screen on the wall.

The conference room's door opened. Greenwinter whirled, moving with his usual inhuman grace and speed. His black eyes locked on the man in the doorway, who froze. A stain started to spread on the man's crotch, and he whimpered. Greenwinter's glamor could make different people see different things. I wondered what this man saw.

Everyone else in the room looked scared to move. The norms might have just been frightened by Greenwinter's effect on the electricity, but Greg was use to that, and he was frozen as well. What were they seeing? I just saw Greenwinter.

The potted plant in the corner was growing rapidly. Its tendrils writhed. One had gotten as far as my foot. As I watched, it began to wrap around my ankle. It was time to stop this. "Greenwinter!"

Greenwinter's black gaze met mine, and, for an instant, I knew what had frightened everyone else. Whimpering, I tried desperately to close my eyes.

Greenwinter blinked, and the vision of horror was gone. He released the chair, and the lights turned back on. People started to move again. The man in the doorway collapsed to the floor, sobbing.

"Greenwinter, what the fuck-" I began. Greenwinter vanished. I rolled my eyes. "Oh, yeah, real mature. I know you're still there. You might as well reappear."

I looked around. Greg was trying to comfort the hysterical man on the floor. One of the FBI agents had her hand on her gun. The others looked a bit shell shocked. No Greenwinter. I sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, ok? If I'd known you felt so strongly about demons, I wouldn't have made that suggestion." I paused. "Wait, scratch that. I still would have made the suggestion. We desperately need agents. But I would have been a bit more polite about it. Ok?"

Still no Greenwinter. He'd probably left. I sighed. "Damn it. Greg, when you see your partner, tell him he needs to get his shit together." With a jerk, I snapped the plant tendril around my ankle. "I'm going to bed."