Succubus Quest Ch. 2

Vivian spun quickly, wobbled on her heels, and barely kept her balance. There was a scruffy man in worn clothes pushing his way toward her through the undergrowth, a red bandana obscuring the lower half of his face. He carried a long, jagged knife in his right hand.

It took her a moment to process what he had said - something about the roads not being safe. He has to be a bandit, she thought. Right? Who else says shit like that? The rusty knife and aggressive posture lent credence to her theory.

“Boss sez, ‘Watch fer folk pokin’ about,’” the man said as he stepped onto the road. “And here you are, dressed up all funny-like.” He stopped, looking her up and down. “Ey, what’s with them horns? You some kinda demon?” His hands fidgeted with the knife, passing it to his left and reversing the grip. The man’s mouth slid into a lopsided grin. “You got any coin?”

Shit. This is too fast. Vivian hadn’t even had time to read her skills or get her bearings, and her was this schmuck coming up to stab her. “Uh, no. Definitely not a demon,” she said. “And I’m broke. New in town, just got here. No money.”

Her assailant slowed, knife frozen mid-menace. “Huh.” His eyebrows knit together. “Boss said anyone broke, just scare ‘em off.”

“Right, good, that’s good.” Vivian was backing away slowly, as though any fast movements would spook the man into action. “So, I’ll just go then?”

“But…” The man lifted the knife, scratching the side of his head with the hilt. “Boss did say demons lie.” His eyes widened. “So if yer a demon, then you must be loaded. Jackpot!” The knife hand swooped down, bringing the bandit into a fighting crouch with only a thin strip of road between him and Vivian. She stumbled backward, turning to run, but the heels caught on an upraised root. The man cackled as she sprawled before him, struggling to get to her feet.

Images flashed through Vivian’s mind as she struggled to remember the instructions. Charm magic had never worked for her, but the instructors had drilled them on it relentlessly at the Redwing Academy of Succubatic Arts. There was emotion, intent, and a simple gesture. More instinct than incantation, but magic all the same. Vivian tried to focus, willing power into her upraised hand as the bandit closed in. She could see the murderous intent in his eyes, the dull glint of his blade in the midday sun.

“Won’t take but a second, darlin.” He was on top of her, knife raised. Arm drawn back…and then the knife dropped. He staggered upright, blinking, looking around. Where was he? The man looked down at the girl in front of him, eyes widening. She was beautiful. He’d never seen anyone like her.

“Hi.” He could feel heat rising to his cheeks, and to other places. “I’m Squint. But you can call me. Uh. Squint.”

It was everything Vivian could do to control her breathing, but she managed not to pant as she staggered to her feet. It had worked! No time to celebrate, she thought. Who knows how long the spell will last. “Hi Squint, I’m Vivian.” She batted her eyelashes. “Do you wanna make out?”

“Okay!”

He rushed forward, nearly bowling Vivian over, bending down to crush his lips against hers with clumsy, charm-addled enthusiasm. Vivan wrapped her arms around Squint’s neck, more for balance than an attempt at passion. His tongue tangled with hers, desperately exploring her mouth, desperate for her affection.

It’s not supposed to go this way, Vivian thought. I’m supposed to be in control. But her head was still spinning with the speed of recent events, and at least she wasn’t being knifed. The energy drain started as it always did, a thin trickle of power leeching from his mouth into her own, flowing down into Vivian’s core. She could feel the warmth of it, but as always it wasn’t enough: dull embers on a cold winter morning, just enough to remind you what real heat could be like.

Squint didn’t even seem to notice. Vivian steadied herself, drawing pushing him away for a moment and adjusting her position. “Look,” she said, one hand pressed against the man’s chest as he pushed back toward her, “Just hold on a second.”

“You’re so pretty,” he slurred. “Give me another kiss.”

“Fine, just… there.” She grabbed hold of his coat, pulling him forward as best she could and bringing the man’s mouth to a more manageable position. “Now hold still you idiot, I’m trying to do this properly.”

Their lips met again, melting together in muted heat. Please work, Vivian thought. The hunger inside her growled, raw and empty, desperate for  the meal it had been so long denied. For decades she’d only been fed table scraps, unable to digest more than a sliver of what a succubus should really have. The need built, cold fire that reached up through her stomach and out her mouth, until something finally snapped. The dam cracked. Trickle turned to stream, not enough to feast but enough for now. Vivian could feel it, and as she opened her eyes she could see shimmers of blue light as Squint’s life force drained into hers.

The kiss broke again and he staggered back, falling to the ground, dust from the road rising around him as a few stray tendrils flowed from his open mouth and into Vivian’s own.

“Oh my god,” she moaned. Vivian wrapped her arms around herself, reveling in the warmth and pleasure flooding her body. “That was incredible. I always thought they were hyping it up to tease me, but…” Her eyes narrowed as she looked as Squint, stunned and prone, blinking as though in a sudden light. “Ready to go again, sweetie?”

“The hell is going on here?”

Vivian looked up to see three figures hacking their way through the undergrowth where Squint had arrived. Two carried knives, one a heavy club, and all wore similar bandanas.

The lead bandit pointed, side-stepping a patch of briars as he homed in on Vivian and Squint. “Get away from him, ya damn demon! Squint, the hell is this? Yer on lookout, and now yer at it with some demon lady?”

They were closing fast, but Vivian was ready this time. She gathered power, hand outstretched, and…

Insufficient mana to cast that spell. The text flashed in front of her, then vanished.

“Right,” Vivian said to herself. “Shit.” She looked at the bandits, then at Squint, then at the road. Kampi Village sounded better than the other options, and she didn’t have time to think twice.

Bursting with energy, adrenaline, and fear, Vivian ran. She could hear the shouts and commotion from behind her, angry voices rising in a chorus of anatomically improbable threats. Focus, she thought to herself. What had Ms. Caveran said in Grace and Comportment, Year IV? “The key to running in heels is balance, poise, and keeping on your toes.

It came back to her as she ran, years of pointless lessons finally put to use. Vivian was almost grateful to her mother. She risked a glance behind and was dismayed to find that, despite her lead, the thugs were gaining. Stupid short legs, she cursed. Maybe she could lose them in the forest? The idea seemed ludicrous. Surely a group of bandits camped out in this forest knew the place better than her. But she wasn’t going to win in a foot race.

Vivian grinned as she saw a broken fence come into view on her left, followed by row after row of apple trees. The red and gold fruit were practically hanging off the branches, drawing them low to the ground. Maybe she could hide in there? Or maybe some tough farmer would scare the bandits off. It was wishful thinking, Vivian knew, but there weren’t any better options. She scrambled through the gate and raced through the trees.

Someone was talking, one of the men, but Vivian didn’t dare to look back. She could hear the rustling of leaves and the plop of falling apples as someone moved to cut her off. Not much time left. Vivian’s head swiveled left and right, scanning for a farmhouse, a barn, somewhere to hide, but there was nothing. Maybe she could climb a tree? No, that was stupid. Wait, what was that?

Rising out of the ground, some kind of cave or tunnel loomed maybe fifty meters past the orchard. The entrance was easily twice Vivian’s height, too large to be an animal den. An abode? Maybe an escape route? The sounds of pursuit grew louder. Panicked and out of options, Vivian sprinted into the entrance, lungs gasping for air as she plunged into the darkness.

Earth turned to stone beneath her feet and Vivian stumbled, scraping her palm against the wall as she caught herself. “Easy,” she panted. “They can’t see down here either.” She continued forward step by step, hand against the wall. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Vivian realized that the cave, tunnel, whatever was remarkably clean. Roots from overhead had been neatly hacked off. The walls were smooth stone for the most part, and there was a well-worn path running down the middle. She risked a look back and froze as a shape loomed into view, a shadow against the mouth of the cave.

“Ain’t nowhere to run, girlie.” The bandit called. “Come out now, tell us what you did to ol’ Squint, and we’ll all talk this thing out. No fuss, no runnin’.” The man looked over his shoulder and laughed. “You think old ghost stories bother me?” He waved dismissively, then fixed his eyes on Vivian. “Not like I need them to deal with you, ain’t that right?”

Vivian could hear the sound of wood against stone, the man’s truncheon beating out an ominous tattoo as he moved toward her. Tap. Tap. Tap. The back of her neck was damp with sweat. What if he was right, and this was a dead end? She’d trapped herself. Maybe I’ll just respawn, she thought, but there was no way to know if that was true. Magical world or not, this wasn’t a video game. She didn’t want to die again.

Vivian was considering attempting to negotiate when a second shadow appeared in the mouth of the tunnel. It was large, bulky, nearly eclipsing the sunlight. The man turned and started to speak, his words turning into a muffled cry and the crack of breaking bone as he slammed into the wall, toppling over with a meaty thunk.

The figure grew closer. Vivian’s breathing grew heavier as she waited for the beast to approach. Of course it was a monster lair - stupid to assume otherwise. She sniffed. Frowned. Sniffed again. Vivian had been expecting a vile, carnal stench, but this was more like… “Cinnamon?” she said aloud.

A grinding, rumbling sound emanated from the creature as it stepped into view. After a moment, Vivian realized it was laughter. An enormous, humanoid form stood before her, rough green-gray skin clad in a long brown skirt and white apron. Huge, kind eyes peered out from behind massive, bushy brows.

“Not to worry, little demon,” the creature rumbled. “I won’t bash you like the other fellow, not if you’re a peaceful sort.” The monster held out a huge, lumpy hand.

Vivian reached out, resting her hand against one of the creature’s fingers. “Uh. Right. I’m… I’m Vivian. Nice to meet you?”

“Mm,” the creature stepped forward, pushing past Vivian and dragging the unconscious (or possibly dead) bandit behind as it pushed deeper into the tunnel. “Vivian. Pretty name.” Another grinding laugh. “Would you like to stay for tea, Vivian?”

“Tea would be… very nice.”

“Ah, and so polite. I am a hill troll, if you were wondering, Miss Vivian. We are most hospitable to guests.” The troll stopped, glancing back. It smiled, revealing a wide maw full of multi-shapen teeth. “You may call me Granny.”