The Succubae Seduction Bk. 02: The Twins Ch. 07

Somebody grabbed Eldon by his wrists and pressed their knee into his back. He grunted, but put up with the treatment. Overzealous indeed! Frank cried out as he was similarly manhandled, but he was the only one.

"I've got the POTUS," one yelled from where President Louise lay.

After a few moments of lying there, he was beginning to wonder if they were ever going to be let up, or if the knee in his back was trying to become one with his spine.

"Let them up," Martha's voice broke into the other's shouting with its level of command. "Sergeant, I want these people treated with the utmost respect. I would be dead if not for them."

"Yes, ma'am," the same voice that had yelled the warning in the beginning stated.

As Eldon felt the knee pull away from his back, he couldn't help but notice that she hadn't mentioned that she should have been dead because the Secret Service had abandoned her.

He took a step over to Gloria and helped her to her feet. It wasn't lost on him that if they'd wanted to, they could have decimated this entire group in a matter of moments. Between two werewolves, an ancient Greek goddess, and him, the Secret Service didn't stand a chance. The idea of their two worlds working together to bring about a greater peace appealed to him even more right then.

"How do they know it's really her?" Eldon couldn't help but ask his girlfriend as she brushed herself off. Her clothing was immaculate of course, but she went through the motions anyway for appearances. "It could be someone impersonating her."

"You mean, besides the GPS tracker?" Gloria asked, and Eldon felt foolish. "They challenged her when they first entered, asking her for her authentication response. She gave the correct answer. It was all done while the others shouted so you couldn't hear."

"I'm just glad they waited until after the interview to arrive," Shlee grinned as she joined them. "Could you imagine that happening on live television? I mean, the ratings would have been great, but I don't think being face down with my hands behind my head and a knee in my back would help my image."

Eldon couldn't stop from chuckling at Shlee's cavalier attitude. So far today, they were attacked and nearly blown to bits, made their escape, then found out that the Shadow World may be falling apart and under attack. Shlee had had her career making interview with the President of the United States, then been treated like a criminal by the very people that should have been protecting the President in the first place. The fact that she could smile with such ease spoke volumes about her character.

"She's also rather cute," Gloria poked him in the ribs. Eldon's cheeks burned again at her jibe, but when Shlee gave him an appraising look, he wished the explosion earlier would have killed him to save him from this embarrassment.

"Ma'am," Eldon heard the head agent call out to Martha. "We found some intel before the attack earlier, describing their plans for the attempted assassination. It appears to have been perpetrated by the Paladonic Knights in an attempt to discredit those from the Shadow World."

"Thank you, Sergeant," Martha replied in a calm tone, as though she hadn't just been told that her secret service had known about the attack before it happened. "Please get this information before congress as soon as possible. I intend to label the Paladonic Knights as terrorists as soon as possible."

"As soon as we get you to safety, Ma'am, I'll make sure it happens."

Eldon sensed the change in Gloria's mood before she called out, "Madame President? If I could talk to you for a quick moment?"

"Please call me Martha," the President smiled. That smile faltered for a moment as she noticed Gloria's serious face, but it returned immediately. "After all, you helped save my life today. I'd like to think we're all friends by this point."

"What's wrong?" Eldon whispered loud enough that only Gloria, Shlee, and Miranda could hear.

"Be ready," Gloria muttered as she walked over to the President.

Eldon glanced at Shlee and heard her growl and saw her nails lengthen a bit.

"Wow, what a day, huh?" Frank asked, oblivious to the tension in the room, or Shlee's subtle transformation. "I just got a text from the boss. Seems she wants to talk to us as soon as we get back. I can't believe we just got an exclusive interview with the President! Do you realize what this means for us?"

Eldon ignored the man, focusing on Gloria. As she walked up to the men surrounding the President, they tensed and formed a wall around Martha. Eldon wished his sister was there. She could change into a weapon for him. He changed into the martial artist that'd attacked him earlier, losing a bit of height in the process, but gaining muscle memory. None of the Secret Service was looking at him, focused on the woman walking up to them.

Gloria didn't slow. As she walked up to the wall of humans, she waved her hand dismissively. All but one man moved away. Eldon remembered escaping from Poseidon, and the way his girlfriend had used her powers at that point. He'd become totally and helplessly devoted to her smallest whim. It was still difficult for him to believe that Gloria was actually Aphrodite, but the boost to his ego was tremendous.

As he watched her exercise her power over Martha's protectors, he was surprised anyone could resist.

"What are you guys doing?" the lone man asked, lifting his rifle and pointing it at Gloria. "The President needs to be protected!"

Eldon wasn't worried about Gloria being hurt. If Poseidon couldn't stop her, this man didn't stand a chance.

"Curious that you resisted my power," Gloria said. Eldon heard a smile in her tone, but it was a cold smile. "Also curious that the Secret Service wasn't around to protect her before the attack."

"What's going on?" Martha asked as she backed away from the lone man.

"We were ordered away, Mistress," one of the other men intoned. His voice conveyed his devotion to Gloria as he bowed to her. "We were told that she'd slipped into another room, and we were moved to keep her safe. Only when we arrived at the new location, there was a large explosion where we'd left, and the President wasn't where we were told she'd be."

"Who gave that order?" Gloria asked her sycophant.

"Shut up!" The single guard shouted. Everyone turned to look at him, and he realized he was caught. He started to chuckle.

Eldon tensed, ready to leap forward if the man decided to attack. Gloria held her hand up to him without looking back.

"You're all sheep! Don't you see that?" the man cackled. He pointed his rifle at Martha. "She's being controlled by the monsters from the Shadow World. She's setting our country up to be handed over to the evil in that world. Can't you all see that? She needs to be killed before they come here and kill us all!"

Thunder rebounded through the factory as the man fired his rifle at the President. A female scream rent the air. Eldon charged forward, ready to either tackle the guard or render first aid, but he stopped a moment later, confused. The guard was on the floor, a massive strawberry blonde wolf on his back with her teeth pressed against his neck. Martha sat on the floor a small distance away, her eyes wide as she stared in shock at the woman lying on the floor between her and the Secret Service agent.

Blood pooled beneath Miranda and seeped around her fingers as she held her hand to her side. "Shit, that stings. Thank goodness they weren't using silver."

"See!" the guard screamed and kept going, despite Shlee's warning growl. "They're protecting her. That proves what I'm saying!"

Eldon moved to Miranda's side, ignoring the man's rants. She waved him away, grunted, then held up the bullet. "I'll heal quick enough," she told Eldon. "My kind has a high metabolism."

He moved to Martha next, offering her his hand.

"The American people are in your debt," Martha said as she faced the women that'd just saved her life.

Eldon felt useless as he looked around. He was by no means a misogynist, but he should have done more than just stand there. Even Frank... Eldon couldn't stop from chuckling as he looked at where Frank lay face down on the floor, a puddle of urine under his waist from where he'd wet himself before passing out. It was a good thing he wasn't on the carpet, or Miranda would have been upset with him.

"Eldon, will you come replace Shlee so she can change back before her cameraman wakes up and sees her?" Gloria asked him.

Of course, he thought, trying to put on a smile, now that the action is over, I can be helpful. I need to find a better body to emulate.

"I like your real body well enough," Gloria told him with a smile, "and I'll be more than happy to prove it later. You've been a big help in the past. Don't get down on yourself because others were faster this time."

Eldon felt chastised as he replaced Shlee on the guard's back. The man tried to fight him off, but Eldon gripped the man's wrists, changing himself into the body builder and almost doubling his weight. The man didn't stand a chance against Eldon's size. Of course, the fact that Eldon had accidently dislocated the man's shoulder may have taken some of the fight out of him.

"Thanks, cutie," Shlee said as she changed next to him. She gave him a peck on the cheek before going back and retrieving her clothes. Eldon tried not to look, but her ass was almost as nice as Gloria's. From the way Gloria smiled, he knew she'd seen his thoughts.

Gloria waited until Shlee was fully dressed, before releasing her spell on the other Secret Service agents.

"What happened?" one of them asked. He took in the blood on Miranda's shirt, the guard under Eldon—though he gave Eldon a double-take because of his size—and the President standing next to Gloria, before barking out orders. "Someone cuff Bartlett. Unless I miss my guess, he was our mole. Someone else, find out how long before we can get the POTUS out of here."

Eldon backed away as one of the armored men took control of Bartlett. He saw Gloria talking with the President and went to help Shlee wake Frank up. Miranda joined them after waving off medical attention. They all pretended not to notice Frank's 'accident,' though the stench of urine was strong in the air. He didn't want to think what the werewolves' sensitive noses were suffering.

"Go get changed in the van and I'll be there in a bit to go to the station," Shlee told her cameraman and he shuffled off, red-faced. She turned to face Eldon and held her hand out. He took it, impressed with her firm grip. "Call me sometime," she said with a broad smile. When she pulled her hand back, Eldon felt a slip of paper remain. Before he could think to respond, she followed her cameraman out.

Eldon stood stunned for a moment. He pocketed the piece of paper without looking at it. Shlee knew he was seeing Gloria, so why would she give him her number? He realized he was still in his body builder form and reverted to normal. It couldn't be due to his looks, though he thought his true form was attractive. He could look like anyone, though. He hadn't been any help during this last attempt at the President's life. Why would she act like that?

"Next time you talk to your dad, tell him thanks," Miranda said to him, breaking him out of his thoughts. He nodded to her, not sure what Miranda would be thanking Lyden Snow for. She was no longer holding her side making Eldon suspect she'd already healed from her gunshot wound. Miranda walked away from him, and he stood there trying to get his thoughts in order.

The secret service hauled their traitor from the factory, while maintaining a protective wall around Martha Louise.

He didn't realize that Gloria was standing beside him until she spoke, making him jump. "That actually worked out pretty well."

"What?" Eldon asked, thinking she was talking about the piece of paper in his pocket. It only took him a moment to realize she meant the ordeal with the President. "Oh, right. Umm, so... Shlee gave me her number." There wasn't a chance he was going to keep that a secret from her.

"I know. I think she's pretty cute. You going to call her?"

Eldon's heart dropped in his chest. "Call her? Umm, but I thought you and I... I mean, I thought we were... You and me, or..." he trailed off, realizing he was sounding like an idiot.

Gloria's laughter was like a soothing balm on his frayed nerves. "We are! Don't think for a minute I'm willing to give you up. You're too much fun, brave, cute, and have the best cock I've ever had the pleasure of pleasing. But I know your father, and I know men. Yes, I can get jealous at times, but you've already proven yourself to be trustworthy. I'm not telling you that you can sleep with whomever you want—my man has to have standards—but Shlee is pretty hot. From the way she was looking at you I suspect that she's more than a little wolf in the sack, too, if you know what I mean." She winked at him. Before he had the opportunity to even blush, she grabbed him by the back of the head and pulled him into a ferocious kiss. If he weren't already accustomed to the magic of her firm lips, his knees would have buckled.

Somehow he rallied his senses, wrapped his arms around her, and gave as good as he got. Their tongues met as he opened up to her, tasting her sweet breath. For half a moment, her body pressed against his felt like a second skin. His body grew flush with arousal. He allowed his hands to drop to Gloria's strong glutes and pulled her tighter to him. He heard a moan escape between her lips. Desire and lust suffused him as he gripped the hem of her shirt, ready to pull it off her if he could, rip it from her body if he couldn't.

"Ahem," a voice broke into his thoughts, shattering the web of desire Gloria had cast on him. "While I may no longer be a Daughter of Respite, I still hold some of the morals I was raised with," Miranda spoke in disapproving tones. "I won't have my home—or what it is at any rate—fouled by lewd behavior. If you're going to act like teenagers, go do it somewhere else."

Eldon heard Gloria giggle, sounding exactly like a teenager. Eldon found the laugh infectious, and when Miranda glared, he laughed harder.

A male throat cleared its voice. Eldon turned to see one of the Secret Service agents standing in the entryway to the factory. Beyond him, Eldon heard the steady thumping thrum of helicopter rotors.

"The POTUS requests you join her on the bird," he told them.

Eldon glanced at Gloria, wondering what Martha could want from them. Did she suspect her life was still in danger? Gloria shrugged. Apparently she couldn't read Martha's mind from here, or the Secret Service agent didn't know.

They followed the agent out. Wind buffeted them as they approached the helicopter. An agent inside held his hand out to Eldon, who took it and felt himself hauled in. Gloria joined him a moment later. The noise was terrible, drowning out anything that might have been said. They were shown to a couple of free seats sitting across from the President. A helmet with speakers over the ears was presented to him, and Eldon gladly donned it. The earpieces blocked out all external noises.

Martha's lips moved a split second before he heard her voice. "Mike, will you please put the three of us on a separate channel?" He heard some faint popping before she continued. "Excellent, now we can talk."

Eldon wasn't sure about the smile that spread across Martha's face, or the way Gloria gripped his hand.

"After today's events, I'm going to put some supernaturals into my guard," Martha informed them. "It will go a long way to laying the groundwork for having others in our military and police forces."

"Supernaturals?" Eldon asked, not liking that term.

"Supernaturals. Meta-humans. Mutants. I don't know of a good term to use," she replied. "Even faerie creatures or non-humans might come across as some sort of slander. Can you think of a good term to use?"

Eldon glanced at Gloria, seeing the point. Throughout human history, magical creatures were painted as the bad guys. No matter what term was used, at some point, it was a term of hatred or fear. If creatures from the Shadow World were ever going to rise up out of that fear, they would have to take a new title. They needed a name that would inspire hope. A name that wouldn't carry with it centuries of hatred, fear, and prejudice. A name that could encompass all creatures, without singling out any one race. There was only one name he could think of that met those requirements.

"What about Lydonites? Or would Lydonese be more proper?" he asked, unsure of how to phrase the term.

If he'd expected immediate approval, he was in for a letdown. "While I respect what you're thinking, I'm not sure your father would approve," Martha said inter her microphone. "He doesn't strike me as the glory hungry type."

"But that's part of what makes it the perfect term," Eldon defended his idea. "While I know that there was more than one hero of the Chaos War, Lyden Snow was the one to ultimately defeat the Outsiders and save both realms. He gave his life, though Gaia brought him back. He's well respected in both realms. We could come up with a gibberish name, but that won't hold any weight behind it. My dad's name will."

"Not everyone on Earth respects him," Martha said as though Eldon were a little child on the edge of a temper tantrum. "There are many here who hate him, and not just the P.K.'s and D.O.R.'s, though them more than most. Those groups hate that they had to come into the light because of what Lyden did. Many others believe their propaganda and view him as only slightly less evil than the antichrist, while others believe he is the antichrist."

Eldon wanted to argue further, but didn't know what else to say. He knew that his term was the right one, but didn't know how to convince the American President.

"I think Eldon's right," Gloria said after a few tense seconds. Eldon gave her a grateful smile, happy she came to his rescue. "While I know a few groups from my world would hate to be lumped under that name, most would welcome it. I understand what you're saying, Martha, but I don't think we can let a few opinions sway us. I honestly believe that the majority of humanity doesn't hate us."

"Not hating you is a far cry from loving you," Martha said, but nodded in defeat. "Sometimes the politician in me wins out, and I forget to see the bigger picture, past all the votes. You're right, of course. Many fear those from your world—the Lydonese we'll call them. It sounds smoother—but my campaign team can help spin it into a word for strength."

"Not too much strength," Eldon piped up. "We don't want to appear too strong and have them hate us for that."

Martha let out a genuine laugh as she appraised Eldon.

"You have a good head on your shoulders, Eldon," Martha told him. "I see that your prowess for fighting goes beyond the skill of your hands." For some reason she winked at him. Despite himself, he missed the innuendo for an uncomfortable moment. It was too hard to believe that Martha Louise, the President of the United States of America, the prim and proper woman that led a country that some considered prudish—though others considered too liberal—would make a lewd joke. Even one as subtle as that. When he felt his cheeks start to burn in understanding, Martha's grin grew. "You are a refreshing young man! Sometimes I forget how innocent youth can be. Anyway, we're getting off track. I need some Lydonese in my Secret Service. If nothing else, today proved that."

Eldon didn't know how to react to Martha's teasing. On the one hand, she was a fair bit older than him and a powerful woman in her own right. Then again, Gloria—or Aphrodite or whatever other name she once held—was much older than anyone else he knew well and had the power of a god.