Succubus Lord 6, page 22
part #6 of Succubus Lord Series
“Ira it is,” I confirmed and pressed my finger against the tattoo of the bone-whip.
There was another flash of light as the Sister of Wrath’s form materialized and floated down onto the rocky ground. Ira shook her head like a wet dog and let out a strange noise with her cheeks as she reoriented herself.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that sensation,” she admitted. “Even though it feels marvelouuuuss!” The dark-haired succubus looked around, and a devilish grin slowly slid up her face. “Is this the Second Circle? I’ve always wanted to come to this place, but Azazel would never allow it. It’s all desolate and full of pain and sorrow. I love it! Ohhh, and that horrific, biting wind! I could probably cut through diamonds right now with my--”
“Focus, Ira,” Sia interrupted. “We are on a mission right now. Focus on your sadistic desires later.”
The Sister of Wrath crossed her arms over her chest and pouted like a scorned toddler. “Fine,” she conceded. “What’s so important, if I must ask?”
“We need to get through to the Third Circle without falling for the tricks of the Second,” I explained. “Todd’s already been deceived, but we figured you’d be the most helpful here and now.”
Ira clapped her hands together joyously. “Now that’s what I like to hear!” she exclaimed. “Now, I’m gonna go grab Todd and completely ignore that version of you that’s standing right behind you. Gimp costumes? That is sooooo last century.”
The succubus summoned her massive wings from her back, waved a playful goodbye, and was then carried into the air by the massive gusts of wind. She twirled her body around, righted herself, and then flew off in the direction of Todd.
“Gimp suit?” I gulped. “I really, really don’t want to know what she saw.”
“And let’s keep it that way,” Sia said with a chuckle. “Looking into the mind of Sister Ira is the last thing anyone should do. There are things she’s mentioned that even I’m too afraid to question. For example, are you familiar with the term ‘figging?’ She tried to describe it to me a few thousand years ago, and ever since then I’ve made it a point to just smile and nod and not question her any further. I can only imagine what kind of crazy fetishes have evolved as the years went on…”
“Well, apparently she wants to see me in a gimp suit,” I chuckled. “It’s too bad I fucking hate wearing leather. Besides, I--”
I stopped talking when, off in the distance, I saw her. Just a few hundred feet away was a beautiful, tall woman with deep purple hair and pitch-black eyeliner around her eyes. Her pouting lips were an equal shade of darkness, and her torso was covered by a lacy black corset that smooshed her massive breasts into an even more massive line of cleavage. Other than the corset, there was little more to her outfit than thigh-high leather boots with sharp heels and a silver choker around her neck. What made her stand out the most, however, were her wings. The woman had two elegant, butterfly-like wings attached to her back whose orange radiance was a sharp contrast from the rest of her jet-black appearance.
This had to be Invidia.
The Sister of Envy stuck out her hand and beckoned for me to follow. Invidia floated into the air on her wings, turned around, and began to flutter away. A surge of pure adrenaline shot through my body, and I took off after the succubus.
“Jacob!” Sia exclaimed. “What are you seeing?”
“It’s Invidia!” I said happily as I dashed across the rocky landscape. “This makes things a million times easier.”
“Stop, Jacob!” Sia demanded. “It’s another one of the Second Circle’s illusions! She’s leading you right for a cliff!”
Deep down, I knew what I was seeing wasn’t the real Invidia. I knew it was an illusion, something I’d never actually catch no matter how fast I ran or what magic I tried to use. I knew Invidia was still trapped in a cage, somewhere in the Fourth Circle.
But even though I knew all of this was fake, I couldn’t force myself to stop. My legs kept pumping, carrying me toward the illusion of the Sister of Envy. More importantly, it was leading me directly toward a deadly ledge, and I was going to be in a world of pain if I didn’t stop myself soon.
My heart thumped in my chest as the edge of the cliff approached and Invidia floated out over the deep chasm below. If I couldn’t stop my legs, then I was just going to have to improvise. I closed my eyes and thought about what this whole mission was about. I was here to save Invidia, reunite the Circle of Sin, and finish off Azazel once and for all. Thanks to us, the Army of the Demonic would be down one of its best generals, and the universe would be a much safer place.
As I weighed the stakes of our mission, my hands began to glow with an awesome violet color. I threw them both out in front of my body and created a makeshift bridge out of the defensive Hellfire spell. My feet clapped against the enchanted platform as I went off the ledge. There were still no signs of my legs stopping any time soon, and the image of Invidia was getting further and further away by the second. I quickly summoned up a portal of green Hellfire in front of my trajectory and dashed through the glowing emerald spell.
When I reappeared in front of Superbia, I was still running at full speed. I tried to slow my momentum, but it was no use. I crashed into the redheaded madame, and we both tumbled down onto jagged ground. There was a twinge of pain as rocks cut at my flesh, and I could feel fresh, warm blood running down my arms when I finally came to a stop and stood to my feet.
Sia was already up and running her right hand, aglow with golden Hellfire, across her wounds. The small cuts on the succubus’ body shimmered with the brilliant spell before the blood dried up, the skin closed itself together, and they disappeared completely.
“I knew it wasn’t her,” I explained. “Once I got a little bit closer, I realized it was just another one of the Second Circle’s illusions. But I couldn’t stop myself.”
“It’s alright, Jacob,” Sia sighed and walked toward me with her glowing hand. “Hell is relentless. It only takes a single second for it to deceive you and suck you into its traps. Luckily, now that you know it’s all fiction, it won’t be able to trap you again. At least, not in this Circle.”
“Thank God for that,” I grimaced as I looked down at the gnarly gashes on my arm.
Sia’s slender fingers touched my body, and her warm glow instantly spread from her palm to the wounds on my arm. The throbbing pain of each of the cuts slowly transitioned into a feeling of numbness, almost as if they were on pins and needles. Then, each of my cuts stopped bleeding and sewed themselves up on their own.
The succubus’ big, violet eyes stared seductively into my own as she pulled her hand away. “There,” she purred. “Good as new.”
I wrapped my arm around the back of Sia’s waist and pulled her in close to me. “I knew there was a reason I kept you around,” I joked.
“What?” she protested. “It’s not just for the crazy good sex?”
“You really are the succubus of Pride, aren’t you?” I laughed.
“Guys,” Todd’s voice suddenly interrupted from above, “if you don’t knock that shit off, there’s a forecast of scattered spew storms here in the Second Circle. I’m no weatherman, but my gag reflex has never been wrong before.”
“I bet it hasn’t,” Ira giggled. “I know that I can always trust mine.”
I looked up and saw the Sister of Wrath floating down toward us with the small imp clasped in her hands. She landed on the ground, released the imp from her grasp, and folded her arms over her chest.
Todd began to brush himself off, and then his eyes went wide. “Oh shit!” he gasped in realization. “No homo! No homo!”
“It was just a phrasing thing,” I reassured the imp. “We all knew what you meant.”
Todd ran his hands across his face in horror and fell to his knees. “You don’t understand, bro,” he protested. “There’s only a five second buffer before ‘no homo’ doesn’t work anymore, and I totally missed it!”
“Oh no,” I uttered sarcastically. “I guess that means you like men now. Whatever will you do about this?”
“I could teach you some good pegging techniques,” Ira suggested. “I’ve gotten really good at that through the centuries. I’m just glad we have those high-tech, silicon mold dildos now. Back in the day, we had to use ones made out of marble or gourds or even wood, if you were desperate enough.”
Todd shuddered and hung his head. “I guess this means it’s a life full of flamboyant fashion and anal splinters for the Toddster,” he sighed.
“That fate sounds like it’d be too pleasant for ya goddang scoundrels,” a voice filled with a thick southern drawl sneered from behind.
The four of us whipped around and summoned our Hellfire into our hands. Behind us stood three demons, all ones we had killed back on Earth.
I recognized the first one as Robert Quinn, the eccentric cowboy billionaire whose mansion we were currently living in. He wore the same type of outfit that he had when he pretended to be a human, with a pure white suit, a black bolo tie, and a white cowboy hat that was nearly double the size of his head.
Beside him stood a massive man who was built like a tank. His girth was nearly twice the size of his height, but he was anything but obese. He seemed like the sort of person you’d call “fat fit,” almost like a sumo wrestler. The demon held a massive battle axe made of pure ice over his shoulder, and I recognized him almost instantly as Shax.
Last, but certainly not least, was Furcas, the great knight of Hell. He was tall and lean like an NBA player, with jet-black wings and horns that made his demonic appearance even more menacing. His lower body was covered by silver, reptilian scales, and there was a bushy white beard on his face that ran all the way down to his waist. The demon knight twirled a glowing red pitchfork in his hand as he prepared for battle.
“Long time, no see,” Quinn growled. “Ya’ll still squattin’ in my mansion? I heard y’all made some renovations. I can’t wait to see them when we kill you and take it back.”
Chapter 16
“You’re staying right where you are, Flauros,” I shot back at the cowboy demon. “In fact, you’re about to go wherever the fuck demons go when they get fucked up a second time!”
Red Hellfire erupted into Quinn’s hand as he took on a fighting stance. “I’ve been waitin’ for this rematch for far too long,” he said through an evil grin. “It’s time to put you back in your place, city boy.”
“I’m from Missouri!” I growled as I tossed a wave of yellow throwing stars at the demon.
A massive wall of flames shot up in front of Quinn and dispelled the projectiles. Then, in the next instant, the wall of fire rocketed toward our position like a flaming tornado.
I called up a purple barrier around my friends and I, and Quinn’s attack stretched around the walls and engulfed us in its intense heat. “Quick strategy session,” I announced to my friends. “Who do you think you can handle?”
“I can handle anybody,” Ira scoffed, “but Furcas is still probably all bitter that I betrayed him. I’d love to crush his bones into the ground and grind his balls into dust with my heel.”
“Okay … Ira’s got Furcas,” I said, somewhat disturbed. “What about--”
“I’m going after Quinn, bro,” Todd announced. “I’ve been wanting a new cowboy hat ever since I lost his old one in Santa Cruz.”
“So that just leaves Shax.” I nodded. “He’s a pretty heavy-hitter, Sia. Do you think you’re up to the challenge?”
“Please,” the madame said with a wave of her hand. “If you’re by my side, I can handle anything.”
“Good to hear,” I chuckled. “Now, the second he lets go of his spell, we break and go for our targets. Got it?”
All three of my friends nodded in agreement, and then we prepared for the assault. Flauros held his spell for another minute or two before the red-hot flames evaporated. I released my barrier, and the team sprang into action.
Sia and I dashed directly toward the bulky demon, Shax, repelling blasts of red Hellfire as we ran. At the same time, Todd scurried in the direction of Robert Quinn, and Ira went for Furcas.
“Giddiup, cowboy!” I heard the imp cackle from behind as he lunged at the demon.
The sounds of Hellfire spells rang out around us, and I knew my friends were now engaged with their targets. Meanwhile, Shax was prepared for us.
The massive demon raised his icy axe above his head, enchanted it with a cast of silver Hellfire, and then slammed it into the ground. Silver fire poured into the rocky terrain and rocketed toward our position. Sia and I split up right as the ground morphed into a large, jagged rock and thrust itself forward.
“I thought he had ice powers?” I asked the redheaded succubus.
“Elemental, Jacob,” she corrected. “He can control any sort of terrain!”
I lurched to the side just as another rocky spike sprang forth from the ground. As I dodged, I tossed a small fireball of red at the demon, even though I knew it wasn’t going to do any damage.
We at least had to keep this guy distracted until we could figure out how to take him down once and for all.
It sucked that I couldn’t use my God Cannon down here. That was how we beat this asshole before, but using it down here would draw all sorts of unwanted attention to us. The last thing we needed was the entire Army of the Damned on our asses.
The fireball smashed into Shax’s body and ricocheted off harmlessly. However, it was enough of a diversion for us to get closer to the fucker. Shax took a swing at me with his giant axe, but I was too quick.
And, unfortunately for this guy, I already had a plan.
Seconds before Shax’s weapon struck the ground, I tossed out a cast of bronze Hellfire onto the terrain in front of him. The rocks vibrated as I rapidly moved the atoms that made up the very fiber of their being, and the axe passed through them effortlessly. Then, just as quickly as I had cast my spell, I cut it off. The atoms of the ground turned back into their impenetrable solid state, and Shax’s weapon was now lodged firmly in its grasp.
The demon struggled to pull his axe free, but even with his herculean strength, it was no use. That left him right where we wanted him.
In one swift motion, I unsheathed my goat-headed dagger from my belt, cast a spell of bronze into Shax’s side, and thrust it into his “unbreakable” skin. The massive demon let out a wail of pain as blackish-red blood spilled from his side, and the next thing I knew his giant fist was rocketing toward me in a backhanded motion. I threw up a quick barrier of purple, but the impact from the blow sent me flying backwards across the landscape. Another cast of violet Hellfire behind me halted my momentum, and I smashed into the makeshift wall like a ton of bricks.
The shockwave seemed to reverberate throughout my entire body, and I felt a shooting pain in my back. This asshole packed quite the punch. I momentarily thought about what the blow would have done to me if I hadn’t gotten my barrier up in time, but then I got my head back into the action.
Sia had closed the gap on Shax and was now blasting him with a combination of red and black Hellfire. The succubus’ black nullifying fear magic would counter Shax’s own spells, and then she would follow up with a quick blast of searing-hot Hellfire of her own. Sia’s attacks weren’t doing any damage, but I could see Shax was getting pissed.
“Give that back, ya varmint!” Robert Quinn shrieked from elsewhere on the battlefield.
“Not on your life, bro!” Todd’s voice cackled. “This hat’s gonna make all the ladies line up to get a piece of the Toddster.”
As I ran back toward Shax and Sia, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the exchange. Even in the heat of battle, when the stakes were at their highest, Todd was back there being Todd.
Even though Shax was a total beast of a demon, the wound I’d given him on his side had slowed him down. He was futilely trying to hit Sia with his elemental magic, and when that didn’t work, he swung at her with his grubby mitts. This was one of the few times that the succubus’ tiny frame came in handy, because he wasn’t even coming close to making contact.
Shax’s eyes grew wide when he saw me approaching, and he blasted a spell of silver in my direction. The Hellfire struck the ground and summoned forth a handful of spiky rocks, but I was ready for the bastard’s attack. I threw down a series of purple platforms in ascending order and dashed up them safely as the spikes shot up from the ground. I continued to create my makeshift bridge as I approached Shax. The demon tried again with his elemental spell, this time by picking up a large chunk of the landscape and hurling it at my body.
Just like I was hoping he’d do.
“Sia!” I ordered. “Get down!”
The redhead ducked for cover as I cast a large portal of green Hellfire in front of the incoming projectile. The massive rock passed through the interdimensional gateway, traveled through time and space, and then reappeared behind Shax. There was a sickly crunch as it collided with the demon’s bulky frame, and he was thrown forward onto his stomach. Shax laid on the ground motionless for a moment before he began to stir.
“Sia?” I called out. “He’s weak! Cast--”
“Already on it!” the madame confirmed as she shot a blast of black Hellfire from her fingertips.
The pitch-black spell consumed Shax’s body as he came to. He tried to reach out and attack with his elemental magic, but nothing but silvery sparks came from his sausage-like fingers.
He was trapped, and I was about to put him out of his misery.
I was now just a few feet from the fucker’s body. I took a deep breath as I leapt into the air, summoned bronze Hellfire in my left hand and yellow in my right, and took aim at the fallen demon. I made sure the bronze spell landed first, directly on the back of Shax’s head. He screamed in agony as the atoms in his skull vibrated and separated, but his cries were quickly cut off when a handful of yellow shuriken passed through his brain like a hot knife through butter. I landed on the ground next to the demon just as his body went limp and a large pool of his blood began to grow around his cranium.
