Part 15
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Part 15

Mom stepped into view in her standard, succubus realm form: a dark red dress and matching heels, her hair a similar shade and falling in waves down her back. Short Hair, Redhead and Bethany all looked some mixture of relieved and surprised, though they couldn’t possibly know that the woman who’d just entered the garden/room/thing was the succubus queen they would want to kill. Allie and I were the only ones relieved because there was a reason to be relieved.

But now I was even more confused. Mom couldn’t hold her real form outside the succubus realm. But this couldn’t be the succubus realm, because I would have been able to feel it if it was. Nothing about this was making much sense except for the fact that Mom was actually about to come to my rescue. Holy shit, maybe we were actually more of a family than I thought.

“Abigail, undo your aunt’s hold on Allison and your sister,” Mom said. I hadn’t even heard Abbie there. After a second, I could finally move, and saw Abbie kneeling there beside Allie and me, in her standard form of a white crop top, black skirt and mixed color gogo boots. More than once I’d told her she looked ridiculous like that, but my standard form wasn’t much better. “You should have known better than to think I wouldn’t notice you here, Florence.”

Adelaide scowled, and then fell to the ground. Or, well, her host fell to the ground. The old woman who had served as a vessel for my uber evil aunt crumbled into dust as soon as her body made contact with the grass under her feet, and in her place stood a succubus who looked a lot like my mom, but older. Her form was dressed in a white dress and heels, and her hair was a lighter shade of red. I felt sorry for the woman she’d taken as a host. Over a hundred years of sharing a body with a bitch who wanted nothing more than to kill her own species… I wondered if she’d even known what Adelaide had wanted to do. And if she had, had she made her own thoughts known?

Don’t think about it, Mike said, just be happy she’s at peace now.

Yeah…

“Mom, what are you doing here?” I asked as I stood up.

Mom turned to me and smirked. “I’m always here, dear Evelyn. You’ve been here yourself. Allison, Mikaela,” she kind of glanced at Redhead, Short Hair and Bethany, “you… Three…” I couldn’t blame her for stumbling a little, “welcome to the succubus realm.”

The succubus realm? Mike asked.

Where succubi exist when we’re not possessing people.

So… You could appear physically here?

Yeah, but if she tries something, I should stay in here, otherwise we both die.

Holy shit…

Yeah.

Short Hair actually managed to speak. Maybe Abbie had freed her, too. “This is the what now?”

“Magic comes from somewhere, young lady. For a sorceress, it comes from within. For a magical girl, it comes from without. For a succubus, we come from the magic itself, and the magic makes up this world around us.” She motioned around the… Area. “A succubus can take physical form here like any other being, but only so long as we remain here.” She walked over to Adelaide. “Of course this place itself isn’t part of the succubus realm, at least not officially. This place was a hiding spot my sister and I used when we were children, and has been locked to me for some time.”

Mom turned back to me. “Albania, 1853. You should know the truth of what happened that day. That was the day a man by the name of Edi, or something like that, had to choose between me or my sister. You see, we had both been working him over, attempting to get him into our pants as long as possible. In the end, you should expect the answer.”

Allie asked, “He picked you over her?”

Mom looked at her with an almost annoyed eye. “No, Allison, he didn’t.” She turned to Adelaide. “Edi picked Florence.”

Adelaide was furious. I think she wanted to rip Mom apart one layer of flesh at a time.

But Mom kept going. “Edi loved Florence. Loved her, much like Terry loves Mikaela, and... “ she looked over at Redhead, “you have a boyfriend, don’t you?” Mom shook her head. “Never mind, I don’t know enough about you to make that judgement. The point is that Edi loved Florence…” Mom looked back to Adelaide, “...But Florence didn’t love Edi.

“I was a very strange succubus in those days. Sex was my purpose in life, but something felt missing. And as such, I tried to lay it on with Edi, tried to pull him closer to me. I didn’t just want to fuck Edi, I wanted Edi. I wanted him around me, wanted him to love me. I was jealous of Florence.” Mom sat down in the chair that Adelaide had been sitting in and crossed her legs. “Now, you’d probably assume I did something in my jealousy to cause Florence to turn down this path toward our kind’s destruction...”

Adelaide finished, “And you’d be right. Lilith did do something.” Adelaide folded her arms under her breasts. “Please, Lilith, explain to them what happened.”

Mom took the teacup that had been sitting on the table. “I told you the truth.”

For a long moment, nobody said anything. It was as if those six words had somehow silenced the entire thing. I had to admit, I was more confused than anything. Told her the truth? How was that a bad thing? Had they split and created a war between magical races on something so petty as my aunt learning my mom wanted a boyfriend?

And of course, I learned I was right. “Edi loved you,” Mom said, “and I loved him. I told him, I told you…

“And you killed him,” Mom finished with a sip of tea.

That another “Holy shit” escaped our collective lips needed not be said. This one was a bit more subdued, though.

“Have I forgotten anything, Florence?”

Adelaide took the teacup from Mom. “No, you’ve forgotten nothing.” She took a sip. “And I’ve forgotten nothing of what you said. ‘He deserves better than you,’ you told me, ‘he wants better than you.’ I’d never felt so insulted in my life!” Adelaide threw tea at Mom, staining her dress until it dried itself. “And then you did the unthinkable, you told him what we were succubi. At that moment, everything I was had become a disgusting parody of itself.

“We were bound to a strict clause not to reveal ourselves, as our power was then negated. A man was resistant to our pheromones at that point, and couldn’t be seduced.”

So, wait, I could just tell people you were possessing me?! Mike asked.

Hey, I didn’t know!

“That may seem petty to the likes of humans, but a man being immune to our power is everything to a succubus.” Adelaide glared at Mom. “And Lilith did this purely because she was in love!”

Redhead shouted, “Did him knowing mean he had to die?!

Adelaide nodded. “Of course. As was our code.”

Mom stood. “A code no longer enforced. Many men have been informed of the existence of succubi since I took over as queen, and our species has done nothing but thrive.” Mom turned to Bethany. “I remember you, Yelena Bethany. I took you as a host more than fifty years ago. You were a passionate lover to your husband until he left you for his secretary. I remember how you felt, how he hurt you.”

Bethany looked embarrassed. Honestly, the fact that this woman had a husband at one point amazed me, but I guess there really was somebody for everyone.

Hey, don’t.

What? You have Terry. He’s a hunk and you’re hot. Even if you break up, you’ll be able to bag any guy you want.

Not the point, Evelyn, I say, doing the mental equivalent of pretending to be your mother.

Then count this as the mental equivalent of sticking out my tongue.

Mom continued, “Did I ever destroy your life? Your husband was gone long before I came, and you enjoyed the company I gave you every night.”

Bethany finally seemed capable of speaking. “You violated me! I was helpless while you… You used me to do things… Yes, Ernesto was gone, and I felt nothing but pleasure, but you can’t claim any sort of moral high ground to what you did!”

Mom nodded. In a quiet voice, she said, “I know you see it that way, and you’re not wrong.” She raised her voice, “For decades, I’ve tried to make peace with this order, tried to find a way to be a significantly less… Invasive species. I’ve reached out to my sister in hopes that we could come to an agreement. I did not want this war, nor do I intend to fight it. We have done things to humans that none would accept, and nothing I do can erase that, but I want us to move forward, to come to peace.”

Bethany actually seemed to believe that. Hell, I believed it. If Mom had done any of this, I’d never seen it. All I’d ever seen was a hard woman who wanted me to be a success in the ways of wanton sex and possession, who hadn’t even given me a hug for years. This side of my mom was weird, almost unrecognizable.

But, maybe all her failed attempts at stopping the war had caused her to be that way.

“Never,” Adelaide said, a hint of disgust in her voice. “We’re a disease and we need to be dealt with.” She turned to Bethany. “Ready the rest of the girls. It’s time we take this to the next level.”

“No,” Bethany said, pure and simple.

***

Adelaide looked like she was about to burst. Mom looked amused. Me, Allie, Abbie, Redhead and Short Hair all looked confused, shocked, surprised or every combination of every synonym for those words in any language known. Just one simple word from one woman, spoken in a tone of voice that carried more authority than I think I’d ever heard.

And then shit went down.

Adelaide’s hands glowed with a faint red hue, matching her eyes. Bethany was suddenly thrown across the garden half of the realm, landing face first in a pot of azaleas that looked recently picked. Allie, Redhead and Short Hair all pulled out their big wands and began doing magic that looked something like firing lasers, but that didn’t last long. Adelaide made a single motion and the three of them lost their wands and returned to plain clothes, as if they’d been stripped of their power.

Then I realized they had. Magical girl magic came from this realm, a part of the succubus realm that only Mom and Adelaide knew. That’s why it was so effective against us, because it was us.

The three of them were each knocked to the floor and held in place by red energy that took the form of shackles, but it wasn’t just holding them down. Their faces twisted into contorted looks of pure pain as their own life energy was sapped from them. As they were drained, Adelaide and Mom both started to look younger, almost as if they were age regressing.

Abbie didn’t seem capable of moving either, either because of shock or some kind of strange magicks, I couldn’t tell. Even Mom didn’t look like she could move, for some reason. Maybe it was the influx of life energy, because she almost seemed in pain.

Holy shit, I was the only one who could move.

Phone! Kendra! Mike shouted.

I saw the phone where Adelaide had tossed it and dove for it. I tried to text those three letters as quickly as possible, but something was holding my fingers, keeping me from typing. I looked up and saw Adelaide kneeling over me, having aged down to seventeen or eighteen. I couldn’t see Mom, but I assumed she was somewhere around my age now.

“Oh child,” she said, her voice more like a mocking high schooler than someone who should be acting like an adult. “You thought I was busy basking in the transformation, didn’t you?”

I managed to ask, “What the fuck are you doing?”

She smiled. “In just a few moments, thanks to the life force of the humans here, your mother, sister and I will have been ripped of our power and rendered human. From there, without this realm, the succubus race will be destroyed. I’m sorry it’ll be at the cost of the humans, but a few sacrifices to destroy the worst blight on this world is nothing.” she patted my cheek. “I played you, dearie. Your mother has been begging for peace for almost a century, and I used that. I didn’t know how it would happen, but when she had you say Albania, the door was opened and my plan succeeded.”

Leave my body! Mike shouted.

I can’t! I’m the only thing keeping either of us from being ripped apart!

I know that already, that’s why I said leave! It frees both of us for a second, one of us hits her!

Do you realize the long shot that is?

I don’t care, just fucking do it!

I took a deep breathe (as much as I could) and forced myself out.

***

As soon as I was in control, I swung my fist and landed an actual, physical punch on Adelaide. I saw a tooth fly, along with some blood. I couldn’t see Eve yet, but I didn’t think about that, instead I grabbed for my phone and almost hit SEND before a spike heel went straight through the screen, almost hitting my hand.

Adelaide grabbed me by the neck and hoisted me into air. “Child… No. Mikaela... You’ve just made me very unhappy. Before I’m fully human, please enjoy your life force ce being ripped from your body.”

From somewhere, I heard a voice that sounded similar to mine. “Hey, Aunt Flo!” Adelaide dropped me and turned around, and standing behind her was Eve, looking similar to me in every way except facial structure and wearing a bright red dress. She was holding a shovel. For just a moment, I thought she’d do something, but she just stood there, holding the shovel.

Instead, another shovel hit Adelaide in the back of the head. Eve’s mom stood there, the youth slowly draining from her. “Sweetheart, you were supposed to hit her with the shovel.”

Eve dropped her shovel. “Look, I just grabbed it and didn’t know what to do, at least I bought you the time to do something!”

***

Mistress Bethany stood outside the doorway to Adelaide’s garden/succubus realm/thing. Serena (Redhead) and Brittany (Short Hair) stood beside her. Allie was beside me, along with Eve, Abbie and Lilith. Adelaide was locked up in some sort of magic prison that Lilith tried to explain to me, but it was confusing as fuck.

“I know it’ll be difficult,” Lilith said.

Bethany nodded. “Some may never accept a peace between us, others may expect a betrayal of some kind.”

“I give you my promise as queen of my species that any succubi who commits an act of aggression against a magical girl will be exiled. Also, I’ll begin the process of changing our rules on possession. From now on, a succubus may only possess those whose lives would be improved by our assistance. For too long have we used, now is the time to aide.”

Bethany looked at her wand. “How will our magic be affected?”

Lilith smiled. “Not at all. So long as my bloodline exists, this place exists, and so will your power.” She put her arm around Eve. “And when the time has come for me to pass on the crown, Evelyn will be protect your power, assuming you still have need of it then.”

Bethany sighed, it looked as though relief had just washed over her. “Hopefully we’ve maintained a complete and total peace by then.”

Lilith nodded. “Hopefully. I don’t want my grandchildren to live in a world that failed them.”

Bethany put her hands on Serena and Brittany’s shoulders. “Unfortunately, my granddaughters live in a world like that now. But hopefully their children will be safe.”

“Thank you, Yelena.”

“I mean little offense, Lilith, but I hope this is the last time we meet. At the very least, let future meetings be a good deal less hectic.”

Lilith closed her eyes and nodded. “I agree.”

Bethany, Serena and Brittany all three turned and took the hallway to the elevator and disappeared into it. When they were gone, I breathed a sigh of relief and almost collapsed onto the floor.

“Thank God this shit is finally over!” I screamed.

Eve landed next to me. “I need a vacation, now.”

Lilith cleared her throat. “Excuse me, young lady, explain why it is you’ve left your host.”

Eve sat up. “If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have had enough time to beat Aunt Flo with the shovel.”

“Fine then, I guess I can accept that. Just know if it had been any other reason, I wouldn’t be happy at all.”

I sat up. “So, how does this place work exactly?”

Abbie answered, “It’s the energy that makes succubi, pure magic. We’re kinda born from it, in a way.”

Lilith continued, “This area in particular was made from my sister and myself pooling our inherent magicks into one another, creating a sort of back room, if you will. Our minds furnish and populate it.” Within seconds, the space around us became something that looked like New York City. “I could even bring people I’ve met into this realm by pure thought.”

Allie ran her hand along what looked like a brick wall. “It feels so real.”

“It is, in a way. No less real than anything else the mind perceives.”

I groaned. “Ugh… No Matrix crap, please.”

Eve looked confused. “No what now?”

Abbie patted her on the shoulder. “A movie. A guy I fucked last Tuesday made me watch it during sex.”

Allie rolled her eyes. “That is gross.”

I stood up and brushed magic dirt off of me. “Okay, now that everything here is dealt with, can we go home? I have schoolwork to make up since Eve had to take control today.”

Eve started toward the elevator, then shouted back, “Hey, don’t blame me because you weren’t paying attention in class!”

“I couldn’t fucking see, hear or do anything!”

“Not my fault!”

“Um, Evie?” Abbie said with a hint of concern in her voice. I didn’t see why at first, but then it became somewhat evident.

“And for the record,” Eve continued, without any hint that she noticed anything, “I think I did pretty damn good considering I’d never been to public school on my own! The last time I possessed someone who went to school, it was a private school and I skipped all the classes.”

“Uh, hey, Eve?” Allie said now, the same concern in her voice that Abbie had.

“I didn’t screw up and let any cute guy I saw take you in the bathroom or anything like that.”

“Eve!” I almost screamed.

Of course, she still didn’t notice. “I didn’t even give Terry a handjob, even though I desperately wanted to!”

“Evelyn!” Lilith actually shouted.

What?!” Eve stopped, and that was when I think she finally noticed what the rest of us were trying to tell her.

Eve had left the succubus realm, and was about three-quarters of the way down that long, absurdly spacious hallway to the elevator.

In a light voice that I could barely hear, Eve asked, “Did I do that?”

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