Part 12

Loki groaned first. “Oh, for chrissakes. I’m not getting into another family spat between you two.”

Terry asked, “Another?”

My eyes never left Abbie’s smiling face. I wanted to strangle her. To drag her back to Mom and demand the two of them leave my life alone. She had no right to do this to Mike or me. It’s like she went out of her way to make sure she screwed with my life.

Of course, she probably did, and going to Mom and demanding them out of my life would be more trouble than it would ever be worth. I couldn’t blame Loki for not wanting to be in the middle of this. I didn’t want to be in the middle of this.

“Oh, my dear, sweet little sister,” Abbie said, reaching for Terry’s food tray and taking some french fries, “you really think I was fooled by the whole host thing? You didn’t register her, you had a motive that you didn't want Mom or I to find out about.”

Terry asked, “Is she your sister?” Kinda stating the obvious, but I was barely paying attention to him or Loki. I guess I couldn’t blame him. Three of the people at the table knew who everyone was. “What did you do to Mikaela?” he demanded.

“I’ll let her go as soon as Evie explains what’s going on.” She leaned back in her seat. “And maybe without too much fuss.”

I stood up, palms against the table. “This is bullshit, Abbie. Let Mike free, now.”

She kept smile that damn smile. “Now, now, now. Don’t think you're holding all the cards here. I can let little Mikey out of the cage I locked her in pretty soon, if you tell me why your host still has so much control.”

I groaned, somewhat loudly. She wasn't going to let me or Mike out of this without an explanation. But I couldn't tell her, because that would put us in deeper shit than this already was. She had me between a rock and a hard place and I didn't even want to turn that into an innuendo.

“I won’t,” I said, firmly.

Abbie made a tsk sound. “Shame. Damn shame. Now, when you're done with her, she’ll be a horny vegetable. Oh well, since all you wanna do is waste my time, I’ll be going.”

Before she even stood halfway up, I walked around the table and pushed her back into her chair. “No.” I folded my arms under my breasts. “You’re going to fix this.”

She was still smiling. Could nothing stop her from doing that? “Listen little sister, there’s nothing you can say that’ll make me ‘fix’ anything.” She leaned back in her chair and propped her feet up on the table. “Well, not true. You can tell me one thing: You can tell me why.”

“You don’t need to know.”

“But you need that little host of yours to come out unscathed, and that won’t happen unless you tell me.”

Goddamnit. She was intent on this and all we were doing was a damn run around. Maybe it was time I took a page from Mike’s book and just go with it. Abbie was gonna find out eventually, anyway. She wouldn't be okay with it and the rift between Mom and I would almost certainly get bigger, but if it meant getting Mike back, I needed to do it.

I looked over at Terry and I could tell he was probably thinking the same thing. I couldn’t blame him, he just wanted his girlfriend slash best friend back. He seriously had the purest motive here. Well, aside from Loki, who didn’t really look like he cared one way or the other. Granted, I’d dragged him into this, so I guess that made sense.

“Fine,” I said, “you wanna know? I want out. I don't want to be a succubus anymore.”

She wasn't smiling anymore. “What?”

“I wanna be a normal girl, living a normal life. Fucking every day is boring and I’m just done with it.”

Her eyes were wide as saucers. “No. You’re not serious.”

“I am.”

She stood up. “Why?!”

I shook my head. “I told you why, now let Mike have control again.”

“Just a second, this… This is big shit, okay? Does Mom know?”

“No.”

“Why would you ever want to stop being a succubus? We have amazing lives, both on and off the bed, occasionally at the same time.”

I sighed. “Look, I need more. Sex can’t be all I live for. I wanna have a real relationship with a guy, like Mike and Terry have together. I wanna relationship with Mom like Mike has with hers, not the shitty ‘See you when I’m not busy/You’re a disappointment’ thing I have with her now.”

If Abbie was capable of speech right now, I’d probably hear an earful, but what I’d just told her left her so dumbfounded she couldn’t even open her mouth. Terry was either impressed or feeling sorry for me (I kinda liked that; being one half of his girlfriend had a benefit or two), but otherwise just sat there with a look on his face. Loki looked like he wanted to leave.

He stood up. “Eve, Abbie, it’s been fun getting reacquainted, but I’ve got class in… Oh, about seven minutes ago, and I need to be on the other side of the country. See ya some other time.”

He turned toward the nearby wall and walked into it, probably using one of those secret pathways he’d never let me know about when we were dating, the dork. I wondered if that sister he talked about knew how to use them, or if she was even real.

Abbie finally got her voice back about a minute later. “Look, I’m… I’m gonna forget about the whole thing you just said, for both our sake’s, okay? Your host should be fine when you leave her, just… Just let’s forget all of this.”

Terry stood up. “Forget it?” He grabbed her top by the closest thing to a collar she had, which just so happened to be the spaghetti straps that were barely covering her bra straps. I was fairly certain if any of the faculty saw this, it may be considered sexual harassment. “This is my best friend we’re talking about.”

Naturally (and to be honest, if Terry didn’t have the best point in the world, I wouldn’t have blamed her for doing this), Abbie slapped him. “Don’t do that again, punk, I do know more magical beings than just Loki, and I could have your ass turned into a newt if you don’t behave.”

I sighed. I had one card left to play, and playing it would probably ruin almost every goddamn thing I wanted to accomplish for myself, but it would get Mike free. I didn’t have a whole lot of a choice, really. “If you don’t do it, I’ll go to Mom and tell her you’ve broken the laws governing succubi relations by hurting my host.”

She brushed a lock of hair away from her face. “Bullshit. You didn’t want Mom or I to know about you and Mikey there, anyway, like hell you’d go to her because of me.”

“Then let Mike go, and you won’t havta worry about it.”

Abbie stood there, her eyes unblinking and full of probably the most fury I’d ever seen in them, and I once made her possess a fat lesbian that no guys would let touch them with a ten foot pole. Clearly everything about what she’d just learned had pissed her off something fierce.

She rolled her eyes, which glowed for a second. “Fine. Your host is still repressed, but she can talk to you. But I am telling Mom about this, and we will be having a discussion. After that, maybe Mom lets your host go, maybe she turns her into a cock-hungry maniac, I don’t know or care, but I know she won’t be happy with you wanting to leave the family business.”

I was about to protest, but she just up and disappeared, an upper level succubi technique I still hadn’t learned, and honestly didn’t want to learn. It was creepy as fuck. Terry looked about as unnerved, and I couldn’t blame him.

But I had more important things to worry about. Mike? You there?

I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard her ask, Have I told you I hate your sister?

I turned to Terry. “She’s back,” I said, which prompted him to smile. “Now, I havta deal with the hard part.”

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, don’t you dare fuck Terry in the middle of the cafeteria!

I rolled my eyes. Jeez, have you suddenly become me while you’re back there?

I haven’t been able to talk for like four hours. I wanted a joke.

***

I dropped Mike’s bookbag on the floor by her bed and collapsed onto the bed itself shortly after that. Great. I had to talk to my mom. I had to tell Mom what I was doing. There was nothing about that situation that I liked. It would probably be the hardest thing I’d ever done in my life.

See, if I’d said that, you would have left an innuendo.

I know. I wish we were reversed so that I could drop an innuendo right now.

Well, look, we’re in this situation now, and we need to figure out how to deal with it. What’s your mom most likely to do when she finds out you wanna stop being a succubus?

Probably wanna rip me from your body and turn you into a sex crazed zombie or some shit like that. She’s not really Mom-of-the-Year material. And being the first succubus, she’s kinda super protective about our trade. That’s why I was afraid to tell her anything until after I’d conquered my sex drive.

This… This isn’t gonna end well, will it?

Probably not. In fact, if either of us can stand up straight without trying to grind against a wall, we’ll be lucky.

I heard Mike sigh. I should blame you, but this isn’t your fault.

Yeah it is. If it wasn’t for me, you’d be a regular guy not knowing anything about magic or succubi. In two weeks, you’ve become a girl, discovered magical girls exist, met a Norse god and gotten a boyfriend. Explain how any of this isn’t my fault.

Okay, that… Um… Can you tell me how to manifest myself for you see? This is kinda a moment that would be best if I wasn’t a disembodied voice.

I looked around a second. I don’t….I don’t actually think about it. I just picture myself in the room with you, and poof I’m there.

It took a few minutes, but Mike finally figured out what to do, and appeared in front of me. She didn’t exactly seem to realize which way to look, as she walked directly over to the bean bag chair in the corner.

“Okay, Eve, I’m being serious here. None of this is your fault. Yeah, you turned me into a girl, I’ve made peace with that, it was actually kinda easy to do that when it was painfully obvious nothing was going to change me back.” She rubbed at her arm. “I know that just sounds like me trying to cheer you up, and that is important, but I’m much, much better off how I am now. Maybe I’m just a pushover, maybe I wanted to be a girl so secretly that I didn’t even realize it myself, but it doesn’t matter, I’m better this way.” She pointed at where she must have thought I was sitting. “So all you’ve really done is make things better for me. Your sister is the one who’s got me trapped in here and forcing you to talk to your mom when you don’t want to, you didn’t cause that.”

I sat up. “Mike, that’s… That’s all really sweet and heartwarming, but you’re… Um… Kinda not facing me.”

She turned around and realized I was sitting on the bed. I saw embarrassment flash across her face, but she just nervously giggled and said, “I knew that!” She cleared her throat. “Look, I’m here for you, we’re gonna get through this, and your mom’s either gonna understand or not, but we do have an ace in the hole.”

I sighed. “What?”

“Allie. We have a magical girl on our side. And, if all else fails, your ex is a Norse god. He could at least intimidate her, even if he couldn’t do anything to fix this, right?”

I shook my head. “No. You’re aware of what, technically, a succubus is, right? Sex demon. My mom was Satan’s wife, for fuck’s sake.”

“Whuh?”

“Yeah, I’m not kidding. He’s not my dad, but my mom has been as close to Satan as anyone literally can be.”

Mike glared at me. “You have never mentioned that.”

“I didn’t think it was important.”

“Really?!”

“Calm down, calm down.” I hugged my knees to my chest. “My point is, Loki’s on a different hierarchy of magic than my mom, and hers is higher than his. Same with Allie, neither her nor the magical girl society is powerful enough to touch my mom.”

She looked like she’d just lost most of her hope. “So… This really is bad.”

“Mostly.”

“I don’t care. It’s still not your fault.”

I sat lied back on the bed. “You might not feel that way after you meet my mom.”

***

I took a deep breath and let it out almost instantly. This was going to be a fucking nightmare. The fact that my reflection looked terrified didn’t help one goddamn bit. I needed to find something to calm myself down, and unlike almost every other teenager, Mike didn’t have any drugs in her room.

I checked Mike’s phone and found the text from Abbie telling me where to go. She and Mom had decided that our little meeting should happen in the most annoying place ever, the mall. Normally, I’d love the mall, but not when I’m desperately trying to get my host back in control of her body. Now, it would be a pain in the ass if me or them made a scene.

Granted, they were more likely to make a scene. Once they found out I’d possessed a boy, they’d flip their shit right over a table and then the worst possible outcome would be before Mike and I, which was really depressing and concerning and everything and I really didn’t want it to happen.

I took another breath and let it out. I needed to think of something that could end this whole scenario in Mike and my’s favor. Something bold, something that Mom and Abbie wouldn’t anticipate, and something that would stop me from making the biggest, most outrageous mistake I could whatever that would be. I just couldn’t figure out what the fuck that something could be.

I brushed my hair away from my face. I kinda regretted having hair this long now. Made me wonder why Mike never got a damn haircut. She was way too much of a pushover.

I adjusted my shirt. I’m not sure Mike would approve of a crop top and short shorts, but it was kinda hot out and I liked it. Besides, this would hopefully be the last time I had direct control of her body and it would be the last time I’d get a chance to make her wear this stuff.

You know I know exactly why you’re wearing this, right? she asked.

Leave me alone, I forgot you could even talk.

It’s been exactly seven minutes since we last said something, you literally stopped talking, changed my clothes and texted your sister.

She was not wrong. Whatever. You ready or are you as nervous about this as me?

Oh, I’d be pissing my pants if I was actually in control of my body, but thanks to being a voice in the back of my mind, I’m reasonably fine. I’m still absurdly nervous considering your mom could turn me into a fuck maniac, though

I do not blame you for being nervous.

She took a deep breath. Are we ready?

I coughed out a laugh. Barely, but there’s not much we can do.

I brushed some hair away from my face again. My heart was pounding. The last time I felt this way, Loki and I had met the first time. I wondered if he was still single. I could use a boyfriend.

So help me, you’d goddamn well better not look for a boyfriend while you’re in control. Mikaela Cross has a boyfriend, and I really don’t wanna havta deal with public fallout from people seeing my body kissing somebody else.

I rolled my eyes. I’d never do that. You and Terry are too cute together.

Before Mike could say anything else, there was a knock on the door. I walked over to it, opened it, and there stood Allie, arms crossed and a look in her eye that reminded me of the first time I met her (well, saw her through Mike’s eyes, what with keeping myself in the back) when she was in full magical girl gear and Mike and I thought she was gonna kill me.

She simply said, “Spill it, Evie, and then tell me where the meet is.”

Uh oh, Mike deadpanned.

“How did you know?!” I almost screamed.

“I’m magic and you’re possessing my sister, do the math.”

“Your mom told you?”

“Good girl. Answer the question.”

“The mall.”

“And will your mom let Mikey go?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, but I hope so.”

She looked me up and down, stared for a moment or two, moved her tongue around in her mouth for a second, then nodded. “Fine, let’s go.”

“Whuh?”

“Let’s go. Your mom and sister probably aren’t waiting long, and Terry’s in the car. Probably digging through my glove box.”

I could almost hear Mike nod. He would do that.