Mob Sorcery 2 - Ch24

Chapter 24

Saturday passed uneventfully. For a certain definition of “uneventful,” in any case. Vince’s attempt to escape after lunch and combing out Nina’s hair went awry once he brought up the endless hot water in Pola’s penthouse.

The couch might have required some cleaning after Nina pounced on him.

He awoke early on Sunday as he nearly rolled out of bed.

“Shit,” he gasped out, stopping the roll he found himself in once he regained his senses. “Uh…”

The snickering above him suggested a clear cause. Nina loomed over him, wearing little more than a pair of panties. She’d kept her new lingerie a secret so far, and Vince pretended he hadn’t seen the see-through underwear when he’d dealt with her laundry last night.

His eyes locked onto her immense tits, which hovered tantalizing above him. When he reached for them, Nina batted his hands away.

“Not now,” she said. “As much as I’d love to ride you all morning while you grope me, I need to head into work.”

Despite her words, Vince tried once again to grab her. This time he went for her waist to pull her down.

This time, he succeeded at grabbing her. Unfortunately, he lacked the strength to yank her down and simply ended up leaning precariously over the edge of the bed, his body propped up against hers.

“And you called me clingy yesterday.” Nina stroked his hair and he heard the smile in her voice. “But seriously, I need to work. I blew my boss off last week and have been given the cold shoulder since. We can fuck tonight.”

She pushed him back onto the bed and he flopped onto it. He tracked her movements as she trotted out. Vaguely, he noted that she left her discarded clothes on his floor. His mind wandered in sleepiness.

Sure, he ran on coffee and energy drinks, but this was the second day in a row he’d been up until the early hours of the morning with a woman, only to wake up far too early. Vince preferred to get up well after the rest of the world became busy.

By the time he came back to his senses and heard the running water of the shower, it was too late to join Nina. The hot water only lasted five minutes or so. Plus, he might not be able to control himself. Not that he needed to clean that badly. He’d remembered to shower after a long day with Nina and she’d done little more than pet him afterward.

So he rose, dressed, and began his usual work of cleaning up Nina’s mess. He’d just done her laundry yesterday, so he shoved her dirty clothes into a hamper. Afterward, he dumped his own clothes into the washing machine and set it to quick wash. His mind already spun with ideas for the day and he didn’t want to hang around waiting for his clothes to wash.

His phone was eerily quiet. He’d expected something from Alessia or Pola. After all, he’d exchanged numbers with his new… girlfriend? Pola called him her mate, but that sure as hell wasn’t a term he planned to use.

Right now, he doubted Pola rose above prospective girlfriend. They’d fucked, and fucked hard, but Vince railed Salome semi-regularly for years and she’d curse him if he ever called her his girlfriend. Not that he believed she let other men near her in the same way. Salome harvested sexual energy through her club, not her body.

As if summoned, a message appeared on his phone.

Got the day off, Ronin said. Let’s grab lunch somewhere and talk about that incident with Daryl you mentioned.

Vince had forgotten he’d told Ronin about that, and the trouble had slipped his mind once again. Good thing he’d brought it up, whenever he had. Daryl might be a dick, but Vince knew him well enough and didn’t appreciate some rogue enforcer beating him up.

If anyone was going to plant his fist in Daryl’s face, it would be Vince.

Filing into the main room and beelining to the fridge, Vince fired off a reply.

Let’s meet at the crime scene at noon, he said. Daryl might be able to tell us something.

A thumbs up flashed on his phone, and Vince pocketed it.

The sound of the shower ceased while he poked through the fridge. Nina stepped into the hallway that separated the bedrooms, bathroom, and main room, buck naked and drying her hair with a towel.

“If you want to be a great boyfriend, cooking some pancakes would be nice,” she said.

“Didn’t you need to get to work?” he asked.

She snorted. “It’s Sunday. I can enjoy a decent breakfast first. So long as I get in before ten, all’s good.”

He took her word for it and grabbed everything he needed for some decent pancakes. Although he barely cooked, he’d picked up enough from Nina to make breakfast. Mostly because she often left for work and left him to fend for himself.

The pancake mix looked as cheap as always, and they still had eggs, so he added a couple alongside the milk. Nina always snuck in a bit of melted butter, so he broke off a chunk from the stick in the fridge and nuked it.

Soon enough, he had a good batter and a pan sizzling with butter. Nina showed herself, half-dressed and bra bursting from her unbuttoned shirt, as she poked around the shoe rack for some reason.

“Are you trying to tempt me into keeping you home?” he asked, more annoyed than usual at Nina’s willingness to wander around half-naked.

“You managed to handle me acting like this for five years. Keep your dick in your pants for one more morning,” she drawled.

Then she turned to him with two pairs of shoes in her hands. He stared at her, about to start making pancakes.

“Well?” she asked. “Which pair?”

“They’re shoes, Nina. You know that I wear the same pair of sneakers until the soles are ruined. Don’t ask me to match your shoes with your outfit.”

She pouted. “I’ll need to teach you.”

“No.”

“You’ll be a hit with the rest of the pride.”

“Nina, the pride is just you and maybe Pola.” He turned back to his cooking and started the first pancake. Surely the pan was hot enough now that he wouldn’t ruin this one.

“Maybe Pola? You railed her hard enough that she’s calling you her mate,” Nina said.

“She did that from the start.”

“Sure. Tell yourself she’s not in the pride. But it’ll grow anyway, and I guarantee Fia will appreciate you if you can help her dress.”

He shot her a flat look. “I’m happy to help you dress. Don’t get me to pick your clothes.”

Nina clicked her tongue and tossed one pair back on the shoe rack. “Like hell I’m letting you grope me while pretending to help me dress. We’d ruin my work clothes, and you just washed them yesterday.”

Her blatant flirting finished, the lioness slipped back into her bedroom. Vince focused on making enough pancakes for the both of them. Nina would eat double his share, so he needed quite a few. He made two coffees while cooking. They didn’t compare to the fancy ones they’d drunk at the café, but caffeine was caffeine.

Maybe he could buy one of those fancy machines with his new pay packet on Monday, especially as he knew he had another big payday incoming.

Abruptly, he froze.

Damn, he hadn’t even thought about how crazy his current situation was. Alessia wasn’t simply paying him a hefty amount for his old job, she was guaranteeing him more cash.

For the past several years, he’d had no income security at all. Quintus gave him jobs whenever and the pay shifted with the wind and the demon’s whims.

He really should buy Nina a gift. All he’d managed for her birthday earlier in the year were some fancy chocolates and a case of her favorite beer.

His mind continued churning away at the idea even as he and Nina dug into the pancakes. Her tail wrapped itself around his waist while she ate, humming happily. She carefully avoided getting any maple syrup on herself.

“You should do something with Fia today,” Nina said, breaking the silence. “She sounded bored as hell last night. Apparently she’s been forced onto leave.”

“Forced?” Alarm entered his voice as he recalled Fia’s worries about Alessia finding out about Nina.

Fia had kept a fairly important secret from her bosses. Was she being punished?

Nina shoved a forkful of pancake into his mouth before he said anything more, keeping him quiet.

“The good sort of forced,” she clarified. “She was nearly killed in the attack on Lionetti Tower. If there’s nothing to do while the cops fuck around, it’s smart to let your enforcers play.”

“You’re saying that from experience?” he asked.

She nodded. “Even Immanuel rotates out their demons after a big incident. Don’t want your best fighters burning out. So take Fia out for drinks or something.”

The smirk on Nina’s face suggested she wanted Vince to do a lot more than just drink with Fia.

“I’ll pop her a message,” he said. “I need to find out why I haven’t heard from Pola or Alessia anyway.”

Nina rolled her eyes at the mention of work. Not that she had any business doing so, given she left for her own job a few minutes later.

Vince shot Fia a message while cleaning up, and got an almost instant reply.

Pola’s busy dealing with the fallout from Friday. I think meeting Nina lit a fire under her ass, because she’s more serious than I’ve seen her for years, Fia said. Alessia’s similarly busy. Give them a day or three to get their heads above water.

He should have figured. Are you busy as well?

A gif of a cartoon wolf resting their head on one paw told him the answer.

If you’re bored, why not join me and Ronin for lunch? I’m letting him know about some trouble in the area, but I’m free for the day otherwise, he messaged.

Sure. The reply came back so fast he thought it might appear above the message he just sent her.

With lunch arranged, Vince finished up at home. Clothes in the dryer, dishes all cleaned up, and Nina’s bedroom tidied.

Part of him considered inviting Nicki out. She didn’t work weekends, after all.

But he also preferred to have Alessia’s cash in his bank account before promising to pay her a mint for the next few months. Overcautious, maybe, but Nicki could wait a day.

He still shot her a message about meeting on Tuesday. The money should be in his account by then.

Fia says you’re doing lunch. Do you want me to stay away while you tuck away a third conquest? Nicki replied.

Damn. He’d been sprung.

You can come if you want, he said.

That’s not the same as an invite. I’ll steer clear. She shot him several winking emojis, along with a peach and eggplant.

Great. Now Fia would probably hear from Nicki about this.

Idly, he wondered if Nina had the right idea about all of this. It certainly would be fun.

He just struggled to see himself surrounded by women like that.

With everything done at home, it was time to head out. At 9:30AM.

Damn. He had quite a few ideas of what to do, but it might be difficult to get some of them done and be in the city center by noon. Salome would want to hear about his fight with Juliet, but she lived out in the ‘burbs. It’d take an hour each way on the bus and he hated spending big on Wings for trips like this.

Although he did have a flier on hand.

He shot another message to Nicki, Change of plans. How’d you like to catch up this morning? I want to talk to a couple of peeps, including you, and need a taxi.

I’m always up for a flight, she said. Now?

Now.

Fifteen minutes later, an unfamiliar birdgirl rapped on his balcony door. Vince stared at her for several long seconds. Was this one of Nicki’s friends? A scammer? An attempt to save Vince’s soul?

Because she looked nothing like Nicki, save for being roughly the same height. She had the same lithe frame, but her tits had grown several cup sizes and she seemed that little bit curvier everywhere else. Her black wings glittered with shimmering golden tattoos that shifted along her feathers, which were extra fluffy. Her shoulder-length blonde hair looked right out of a photoshoot and every strand glowed in the morning sun.

Hell, even her eyes looked different. The pupils of her amber eyes had been replaced with soft blue hearts.

Heart eyes. Literal heart eyes. Vince had seen them before, as more than a few girls at his school had messed with the magical contacts that changed their eyes. When he’d first met Nina, she used contacts that made her eyes look positively demonic with massive golden irises. Supposedly, they’d boosted her eyesight even further.

Nicki’s clothes—assuming this was her—looked like her usual fare, though. A plastic-looking white jacket that matched her aqua one, plus a skintight black top and hot pants. The lovely tanned skin of her long legs greeted his eyes. Her birdlike taloned feet and calves were nowhere to be seen.

“Um, I don’t think I ordered an escort service,” Vince said through the closed door.

She rolled her eyes and did a little dance. His mind finally connected the dots.

This birdgirl looked nearly identical to the model that danced on the billboards in the city. The ones that advertised the artificial birdgirl transformation. Only difference was that Nicki wore actual clothes instead of lingerie and was a good foot taller.

He opened the door. “So, you finally used those dyes.”

Nicki’s voice spoke from the birdgirl in front of him, “Oh yeah. I haven’t ever looked this fuckable in my life. I have great wings, tits, and legs that go on forever. Fuck, if I could afford a transformation elixir that did this to me, I’d turn myself into this for life.” She gulped and whispered, “Escort service, huh?”

“Got some ideas?” Vince asked drily, aware of her intentions when she’d initially approached him.

She snorted and placed a hand on one luscious hip. “Nah. But I know that you love me like this. It’s nice to be desired, y’know?”

Vince turned away from her while waving her inside. She followed him and flopped onto the sofa. While she settled in, Vince grabbed his stuff and threw on a jacket. His cane hung from his belt as always. He also made sure to nab a couple of infusions and an energy drink.

“Fia told me you’d have the week off,” Nicki said.

“I’m not doing work for the Lionettis until the heat dies down, but I need to be ready for anything,” he said. “You remember last week, right?”

She winced. “Right. The vampire. Uh, will she..?”

“Dunno. She ran off in a huge tantrum and said she’d had enough, so I don’t think I’ll see her for a bit.” Until he went looking, that is.

Once ready, he returned to the balcony. But Nicki simply rose and shuffled around nervously.

“Uh, you haven’t actually told me what you think,” she asked when he looked at her. “Y’know, about my new look. Do you… actually like it?”

Vince paused and collected his thoughts, rather than spout off the first thing that came to mind.

Because he wasn’t a huge fan of completely transforming one’s appearance. Sure, he’d messed around as a teen, but felt he knew better now.

However, he wasn’t Nicki. She had her own thoughts and opinions, particularly about her appearance, and he didn’t live her life. Giving her shit because she wanted to look different and he disliked the idea was pointlessly mean.

Plus, “fuckable” was an apt description. He had always kept himself from focusing too much on her curves when she wore her lycra, but it was doubly harder now.

“You look hot,” he said. “I don’t think I need to tell you that. You’ll get hit on hard if you go to a club.”

Nicki smiled. “Thanks. Not that I want to be hit on, but the looks might be nice. It’s annoying that I need to reapply this every few days. Took me hours to get everything right.”

That sounded like far too much work to Vince. Sure, he spent hours tending to Nina’s hair once a week, but that was actual maintenance.

The two of them stepped onto the balcony.

“Where to?” she asked.

He showed her Salome’s address. Nicki gripped him with invisible talons and took off. The illusions might hide her harpy nature, but he felt it grasping his body.

Even with Nicki’s speed and ability to travel as the crow flies, getting to Salome’s place took over twenty minutes. The many birdfolk fluttering about the skies vanished as they entered skies above the suburban sprawl that surrounded Aulfair. Almost every flier out here was in the sky for recreation. A couple of birdfolk kids followed them for a few miles at one point.

Once on the ground, Vince would struggle to tell where he was if he didn’t recognize Salome’s house. No landmarks to be seen. Just endless houses, replete with overly perfect lawns and oddly similar appearances. If this was a videogame, people would accuse the devs of being lazy shits that copy-pasted the same building.

“Wow. Rich neighborhood,” Nicki said. “Which business executive are you meeting out here? At their home. On a Sunday.”

He shot her a look. “These are pretty entry-level houses. Hell, we’re deep into the sprawl.”

“And I bet they still need more dosh than I’ll earn in my life.” She crossed her arms. “Is this one of those ‘need to know’ things?”

“Hardly. I’m visiting a succubus that works for Immanuel. She’s an information broker, among other things. You can either stay out here or come in.” He looked at the house in front of them, which belonged to Salome. Nicki had landed exactly where she needed to. “I’ll warn you now. Don’t drink or eat anything. See those trees?”

He pointed at the big trees on Salome’s lawn and Nicki nodded. Small berries hung from the branches in bunches the size of his thumb.

“I picked and ate a few berries on my first visit here. I was rock hard for hours,” he said.

“Right. Succubus.” Nicki grinned at him. “Gonna grab some to help you keep up with your new girlfriends?”

Ignoring her, he wandered along the path to Salome’s front door. Sure, he hadn’t warned her he was coming, but he knew the succubus’s routine well enough. She lounged around on weekends.

The doorbell looked like a doorknocker with a brass cock that rang against bare breasts and it set off a tone inside the house when he rang it.. Vince figured it was a good thing that this wasn’t a gated community. Then again, Salome would probably just take control of the homeowner association with her mental magic.

Minutes passed. Nicki even shot him an odd look as they waited, her wings fluttering nervously. A passerby eyed them as they walked their dog.

Then the door opened and Salome stood before them in a sheer nightgown and nothing else.

“Come in, V,” she said, a touch sleepily. Her eyes locked onto Nicki. “Bring your pet in, if you like. Feel free to use her as well.”

“Pet?” Nicki asked, eyes widening.

“Oh, you’re not his fucktoy? I just assumed. Wings fliers don’t usually hang around after their job.” Salome gave Nicki a bright smile. “The illusions are very pretty, by the way. I do recommend trying to be a little more unique, though. It’s good to be inspired, but imitation is a sign of an inactive imagination.”

Nicki’s face turned bright red as Salome turned and wandered into her house. Vince followed her.

The furnishings were all ornate wood and made the house look like it belonged to an old granny. Then again, Salome was ancient. While she dressed fashionably, her home matched her mental age.

“I’d offer coffee, but you never drink it,” Salome said as she flopped onto a recliner with a flower print.

When she crossed her legs, Vince got an eyeful of her bare crotch. Nicki’s eyebrows shot up and she shuffled in place behind a couch.

“Did I wake you up?” he asked while taking a seat himself.

“Nah. I was just lazing around in bed. Had some late-night conference calls. Working weekends sucks.” Salome’s face flickered with annoyance before she smiled seductively. “Do you like what you see?”

He did, but knew that Salome was trying to tempt him to do more than look. “I’m here to talk about Juliet.”

The seductive look on Salome’s face remained in place, but her eyes hardened. “I note that you brought me a cute harpy, not a vampire ready for dicking. Reports about Friday night are unclear. I know you butchered that upstart necromancer, but the wolves and foxes are tightlipped about whether Juliet got involved.”

Huh. If Alessia wasn’t letting anyone know, should he say anything?

“Have you made any progress on her true nature?” he asked.

Salome’s eyes narrowed. “Here’s the deal, V. I’ll give you everything you want to know about the vampire and keep digging, but you can’t hold out on me. Especially as I’m ignoring Quintus’s orders.”

He inclined his head. “Fair. Yeah, I fought her. Didn’t kill her, but chased her off.”

“Interesting. She was that scared of your dragon? And I’m not talking about the dragon in your pants.”

“Among other things,” he said. “I, uh, might have tricked her into thinking I was immortal.”

Salome stared at him, then threw her head back and laughed. The sound rumbled through Vince’s body and gave him an erection that he ignored. Nicki gasped and leaned against the back of the couch. Somehow, he knew she was rubbing her legs together out of sight.

“You’re always full of surprises. Creating your dragon, fending off a powerful vampire, taming the younger Lionetti, and even making an acquaintance of Knightsgate’s pawns.” Salome fixed him with a serious gaze before he fully hid his surprise. “Oh, yes. We’re well aware of what’s going down. Quintus has been keeping a close eye on Knightsgate since their new kumicho arrived.”

“Kumicho?” he asked.

“It’s what the Yakuza call the head of one of their gangs, to simplify things. Although this hag of a fox is no tattooed thug.” She bit her lip. “I truly can’t assist you with her, as this is Quintus’s domain, but do not trust her.”

“Because she’s Old World and Immanuel wants her gone?”

Salome snorted. “No. Because she’ll rip your heart out with her bare hands if it got her what she wanted. Japan views Aulfair as an eyesore and they have no need for us. Anything she offers you is a lie, because you aren’t Japanese. Once she’s done with you, you’re just an expired tool.”

Vince nodded slowly. Maybe Salome was shittalking a rival organization out of loyalty to Immanuel, but he wouldn’t easily throw aside her warning. Even Fia disliked the Yakuza.

Not that he expected to have anything to do with the head of the local Yakuza, especially if she was some ancient mystic fox.

“Now, the vampire.”

Salome stood and strode over to a long dresser in the corner. Candles and incense lined it and she began to slowly light them all. The scent of jasmine filled the air along with other woody scents. Once finished, the succubus returned to her seat. In the meantime, Nicki finally sat down on the couch, even if she looked deeply uncomfortable.

“The bad news is that I still don’t know her origin,” Salome admitted. “My usual contact in the mage colleges clammed up when I brought her up and no amount of cash would make him speak. Whoever is backing Juliet leaned on them and made it clear she was off-limits.”

“But she can fuck around in the city all she likes?” Frustration coated Vince’s voice.

“That’s privilege for you.” The succubus smirked. “Unfortunately, she’s angered enough people by constantly flaunting the laws and rules of Aulfair. An associate of mine in Poland narrowed down my search. They’re certain she’s not European, which means she’s almost certainly less than two centuries old.”

“It does?”

“Oh, yes. History is a funny thing, and almost all immigration into the US took place after the 1800s. Much of it in the latter half of the century, even. Given her appearance, she’s likely an American vampire and the daughter of immigrants.”

To Vince, that sounded like they had enough to try something on Juliet. But Salome shook her head as he opened his mouth.

“I need to narrow down her age further, V,” she said. “US culture shifted dramatically between the 1800s and 1950s, which is the age range I’m checking. Her weaknesses will vary just as strongly and it’s expensive to dig up vampiric weaknesses of any era, let alone a dozen. Her birth state might matter as well.”

“Well, at least I have some ideas for what to try.” He stroked his chin. “Maybe I should try tearing up the constitution in front of her.”

Salome giggled. “Depending on what decade she comes from and where, that might not matter as much as you think. Anyway, I’ll look into binding weaknesses while I dig. I’d much prefer her alive and dripping wet when you deliver her to me, after all.”

Nicki’s eyes widened as she caught onto the implications of Salome’s words, but Vince didn’t even react.

“Is that all?” he asked.

“About the vampire and the Japanese, yes. I did want to congratulate you on a job well done, however.”

He froze, but Salome merely raised an eyebrow.

“I’m talking about dealing with Kaziern,” she said, then smiled maliciously. “What did you think I was talking about?”

His contract. But it’s not like it was any great secret, given Quintus would know tomorrow.

“It doesn’t matter.” He rose. “Thanks for the info. Hard to say if I’ll need it before you find out more, but it helps.”

“Just remember what I’m really interested in.” Salome rested her head on one hand. “Did you want some toys? I still have plenty of those heat-inducing lollipops, plus endurance enhancing elixirs. They might make for a lovely combo.”

Vince briefly imagined Pola in heat, given her performance from the other night. His hips ached. He even gripped one and winced.

Laughing, Salome rose and trotted into a corridor past her kitchen. “Some muscle strengtheners, then. I have better ones than you get from drug stores. Give me a minute.”

Figured that she did. The succubus returned after five minutes with two small bottles and a lollipop.

“Um, I didn’t—” Vince tried to say.

She forced the lollipop into his hands. “A gift. For becoming as impressive a man as I’d always hoped. If you could send me some videos, I’d be much obliged.”

“I don’t think either Nina or Pola would appreciate that,” he said.

“Maybe once you tame them further.” She winked. “Enjoy your Sunday, V.” Her hand brushed over his crotch.

He left, leaving Salome to pad back into her bedroom. Nicki let out an explosive breath and fluttered her wings wildly.

“Holy fucking shit,” the harpy breathed out, her eyes wide and confusing with her heart pupils. “I thought that was going to end in a threesome. What the fuck was going on?”

“A succubus. You might want to do some mental defense exercises.”

“I don’t plan to meet her ever again. All I could think about was…” Her eyes flickered to his crotch and her face reddened. “Nevermind. We heading to the city?”

He nodded, aware that sticking to this topic was unwise. Sure, he might appreciate Nicki’s attention that way, but not when manipulated by Salome.

Rather, he focused his thoughts on his next discussion with Nicki. Once they landed, he’d need to talk to her about hiring her as his flier for months.

- - - - -

Commentary: Nicki gets to show off her new hotness. I'm still working out the long-term approach to Nicki and her desire to change how she looks, but it should be clear enough how that she has some deep-seated issues with her appearance. She stopped wearing red highlights after meeting Ally in her harpy glamour.

Otherwise, this isn't quite the return to plot I expected to write, and is instead a bit of a meandering start that leads to it. Salome shows up again, and I'm still uncertain how she sits with Vince, beyond being a temptress and having a past with him. She's a useful information broker, though. Inside Quintus's orbit, but far enough away to still help Vince.

This does result in a fairly... sexualized chapter, however. Nina goes without saying, especially as Vince is very interested in her now they're together. Nicki's changed her appearance and is fishing for compliments. And Salome is a succubus.

Oh, and if italics still don't work properly on Patreon, know that all the text messages are italicized.