Susan burst out laughing. “Seriously? You tried to curse us into becoming the objects of our own desires? Your coven mom, Mary Elizabeth, didn’t tell you what happened when she tried to transform me? Or about how succubae can transform themselves?”
Autumn rose to her feet again, staring at them with a stern frown. “I’ve already learned from the mistakes of my elders. You know nothing of what I’ve studied, what I’ve accomplished with this curse. But you’ll see.”
Susan shook her head. “This is absurd.” She looked down at her hands, her suit jacket, and the creamy expanse of exposed skin between her breasts. “No effect at all. Do you even know what I’m into? Mostly girls who like to fuck, and that means… girls like me!”
Una shrugged, pulling on her jacket. The fabric hung loosely across her shoulders and back as she buttoned it up and tossed her hair behind her shoulders with one hand. “The curse isn’t affecting us. But we’d better get Bethany and Rian away from here, just in case.”
Susan nodded. “Good idea. But what about calling—” She stopped, staring at Una. The succubus returned her puzzled expression and pulled a pair of glasses out of the breast pocket of her tweed jacket.
“Una… where did you get that jacket?” Susan peered closely at the fabric. Una was wearing a black suit, just like me. But now it’s… a plaid tweed, with a skirt?
“What are you talking about, silly?” Una smiled at her, as if amused by some joke she’d missed. The smile was warm and friendly, but there was a strange look on the succubus’ face, as if she were trying hard to remember something. Her voice had changed too, sounding more feminine and higher in pitch.
“I always wear this to work on Tuesdays. Speaking of which, I’ve got to get back to the library. Students have so many demands. And so many overdue books.” Una settled the glasses on her nose, and Susan saw her face had shifted subtly. Her eyes had a different cast, with a shape at the edge that made them look like—like my eyes, Susan realized with a start. What the… is she seriously turning into a librarian? Patterned on me?!
“Don’t go anywhere, Una! You’re being affected by the curse!” Susan whirled, facing Autumn again. “Lift it, right now, or I’ll…”
Autumn’s face creased with amusement. She leaned back on one elbow, and Susan noticed how tired the witch looked, beneath the swagger and muscle. “You’ll what? There’s nothing you can do. If you want me to free your girlfriend, you’ll swear an oath to me first.”
Una adjusted the dark, knee-high stockings beneath the hem of her tweed skirt, and shook her head. “Don’t make such a fuss, little sis! I’ll catch up with you later, after my shift is over. We can grab some drinks and exchange notes on our latest conquests.” She winked and walked towards the kitchen.
Susan turned to follow her, but Autumn clapped her hands and muttered three words. A shimmering wall of mist sprang up in the bedroom doorway, separating Susan from the rest of the apartment—from Una, Autumn, and Bethany. She slammed her fists against the barrier; it was a simple casting, nothing like the destructive force of the witch’s earlier wards, but the mist didn’t even ripple… and the Arctavo, she realized with a sinking feeling, was embedded in the kitchen wall.
She turned again towards the witch, her eyes flashing. “Rian, if you can hear me,” she yelled. “Don’t let Una leave the building!”
Autumn chuckled. “I’m sorry. Did I forget to mention that this barrier also prevents communication? Oops! But you know, I think I will lift the outer wards. I wouldn’t want that hot librarian to get fried on her way to work.”
“Let me out of here!” Susan struck the barrier with her fist, but that only sent a shockwave of magical feedback through her arm. “Fuck! What the hell do you want from me?”
The witch shrugged. “Some of your blood might be interesting, for a start. And I want you to let me go, of course. Swear an oath on your divine calling, or whatever it is you angels do.”
Susan narrowed her eyes. “Not a chance. You’re going to reverse the effects of your curse on Una, Rian, Sandeep, and everyone else.”
“You speak like a woman who’s got leverage, but you have none.” Autumn scoffed, crossing her muscular arms across her chest.
Susan looked at the witch thoughtfully, taking stock of her situation. I’m trapped in a room with a pissed-off witch who might have more spells prepared. I don’t have my magic-cutting knife. All I’ve got is what’s in my jacket pockets, and my wits.
The witch was growing impatient. “Swear, or you’ll never find out where your beloved succubus went off to, or who she is now. She was still changing. Do you think you could find her? Recognize her?”
“I’d recognize her anywhere, you absolute cretin.” She tapped one finger against her lip thoughtfully. “Our bond is deeper than you know. I do have something else you might be interested in, though.”
Autumn raised an eyebrow, clearly suspicious. “And what’s that?”
“An artifact.” Susan reached into her left breast pocket, then her right, and drew forth a silver chain with a mirrored surface dangling at the end. She let it dangle from her fingertips, spinning in a slow circle. “A scrying mirror of great power.”
The witch’s eyes narrowed. “It’s too small to be a proper scrying mirror. What are you playing at?”
Susan shook her head, letting the pendant swing. “This is just one part. You’ve heard of the Mirror of Amadea, yes? This is one of the four pieces of that mirror.”
“I don’t believe you. That mirror was supposedly broken centuries ago… and why anyone embed a fragment into a piece of junk jewelry?”
The scholar smiled, a predatory look on the edge of her lips. “Because this piece has one very special property. I’d show you, if you’d only lower your fancy ward, but perhaps you’re wise enough to discern it just from looking.”
Autumn frowned. The witch was clearly intrigued, but also wary. “I don’t see anything, even with second sight. Maybe if you’d stop swinging it around like a little girl with a shiny trinket.” But Susan continued to swing the mirror slowly, back and forth, and Autumn’s eyes grew wide with sudden alarm.
“You’ve figured it out, have you? This mirror has a special ability to cloud the minds of mortals.” Susan let the chain dangle and twist.
“Impossible, you’re full of shit! You can’t come into my home, my place of power, and try to convince me you’ve spun magic past my circles of warding! What the hell is that thing?” Autumn’s voice sounded strained, almost panicked.
“The technical term, used by students of magical history such as myself,” Susan said, “is that this mirror is a distraction.” She snatched the pendant up into her left hand, then raised her right. Autumn reared back, raising her arms in a warding gesture, but her opponent wasn’t using any magic at all; quite the contrary.
Susan lifted the taser—standard issue of the Office of Supernatural Affairs—and fired directly at Autumn. Darts of cold iron shot forth, propelled purely by compressed nitrogen without magical aids, and punctured the witch’s barrier as easily as a film of kitchen cling wrap. The taser crackled with electricity, and fifty thousand volts surged across the short distance and struck the witch directly in her bare abdomen. Iron wasn’t as conductive as copper, and more prone to rust and breakage, Susan reflected, but this kind of situation made it all worthwhile.
Autumn convulsed, her eyes rolling back in her head and her jaw clenched tight. The woman’s body flopped over, and several candles toppled and spilled their flames across the floor. Susan leaped forward and grabbed Autumn by one wrist and ankle, dragging her across the circular ward. She winced as her skin contacted the magical shielding for a split-second, and received a mild shock, but the pain didn’t stop her from tossing the larger woman to the floor. She kicked the tea kettle over, spilling the rest of Autumn’s concoction, and stamped out the scattered candle fires with her heels.
Susan leaned into the prone woman’s face. “Drop the barrier around this room now!” The witch groaned, her eyelids fluttering, but didn’t respond. Susan slapped her, hard, and the woman’s head rocked to one side. Autumn moaned, her eyes opening, and the barrier around the bedroom dissipated with a sound like shattering glass. Susan breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at the witch with contempt, then kicked her in the ribs once for good measure. The woman only groaned.
“Autumn!” Bethany scampered out of the kitchen and fell to the floor beside the witch. Susan stepped back, watching warily. Bethany stroked Autumn’s hair and murmured softly, then looked up at Susan. Rian still stood in the kitchen, looking shocked and holding a large chef’s knife in one hand.
“She’s only stunned,” said Susan ruefully. “But we’re going to call for backup now, and we’ll have to restrain her until they arrive. And I’m going to make sure there’s nothing left intact in this apartment that she can use for magic. Is that all right with you, Miss Carlisle? Nobody’s going to hurt her.”
Bethany hesitated, then nodded slowly. “I guess… it’s for the best.”
“Of course it’s for the best, you lovesick puppy!” Rian stomped into the room, waving the knife at nobody in particular. “Look at me! You saw what she did to me, and the others, and herself! And you’re like, so obviously in an abusive relationship!”
Susan snatched the knife away from the blonde girl with a deft motion. “Rian Andrews. Where did she go? Una—I mean, Agent Belmont?”
Rian looked flustered. “She just… left! She kept saying she needed to get to work at some library. And she wouldn’t listen to me. And she’s kinda… freaky strong, right? But it wasn’t like she was turning into a man or something! She just looked more…” Rian looked at Susan, then away. “You know?”
Susan sighed. “Asian? East Asian? Is that the word you’re looking for? The curse turned her into a… a sexy Asian librarian, I guess.” She felt her cheeks flush.
“Oh. My. God. She turned into her fantasy girl and it’s a sexy version of… you? That is too funny.” Rian laughed, then clapped her hand over her mouth when she saw Susan’s expression. “Sorry.”
“Let’s be clear: I’m the sexy version of me. Agent Belmont is… well, let’s just focus on finding her.” Susan glanced down at Autumn again. The woman’s eyes were closed and her chest moved slowly with her breathing.
Bethany stroked the witch’s hair. “But what’s going to happen to Autumn?”
Susan crouched, trying to catch the PhD student’s gaze. “She’ll be safe, but the OSA will want to make sure she can’t practice magic. She might get off with a court order and a monitoring bracelet that’ll force her to steer clear, even of a shop full of trinkets. But that’s really up to a judge. Cursing college students isn’t something anyone will take lightly.”
“I can help her,” Bethany said. “If I explain everything. I know what she’s been through. She doesn’t need to be treated like a criminal.” The teacher’s eyes were wet with tears, but she held herself with a quiet determination.
Susan sighed, shaking her head. “Professor Carlisle. Bethany. I’ve got to find my partner, and I need Rian’s help for that. I’m going to call for backup as soon as I get clear of the residual Faraday disruption around this building, but can I trust you to stay with Bethany and keep her here until an officer arrives? We can restrain her.”
Bethany’s face dropped, and Susan could see the emotions flickering behind her eyes. Fear and uncertainty. Hope. Resignation. Finally, Bethany nodded. “I’ll keep her here. But… can you tie her up? And put something over her mouth? I’m afraid that if she wakes up, she might…”
“Cast a spell on you?” Rian’s wide, blue eyes shone with curiosity.
“No,” Bethany said, her shoulders slumping. “That she might talk me into running away with her. But I won’t, not this time. I give you my word.”
“All right,” said Susan, fishing in her kit bag for her flex cuffs, “Hang tight until help arrives, then. Or Jjangkkaman gidaryeo! …as my grandmother always used to tell me. Now, Rian… where’s the nearest library?”
***
Susan and Rian moved more quickly than they had on their trip from campus; Rian had quickly grown accustomed to moving at a fast clip, even in her platform sneakers. Even so, the sun was setting by the time they reached the Sylvia Larkspur’s cluster of academic buildings, with no sign of Una.
Susan glanced at her now-functioning cellphone: 7 PM. We were at Bethany’s apartment for longer than I’d imagined, she realized. But I’d estimate it’s less than 20 minutes since Una ran out… where could she be? Why didn't the safeguards on Jay's nanobots work? Damn that man. This is one of Una's worst nightmares!
“So, are you really sure you’re not gonna turn into a hot gym teacher, or something?” Rian’s chatty tone grated on Susan’s frayed nerves, but she faced the girl, and tried to plaster a reassured smile on her face.
“I can’t be entirely certain, Rian… but nothing’s happened so far, and the witch’s curse hit us at the same time.” Susan shrugged. “I may be immune.”
The blonde raised an eyebrow. “What makes you so special, Agent Miller?”
Rian’s skepticism earned her only a smirk from the scholar. “You must have heard what I said before Autumn trapped me in the bedroom. I don’t have one type; I have many fantasies. But they all involve me, and I’m my own fantasy already!”
Susan turned to continue towards campus. “That, and… well, I have a condition that seems to resist outside influence and shapeshifting.” I could add a third reason, Susan thought, but I don’t feel like telling this kid about how I only want to become whatever’s desired by my mistress—a mistress who likes me the way I am.
They kept walking, but Rian’s face remained quizzical. “Are all OSA agents, like, special cases? What’s that word people use… twists?”
“That word’s widely considered a slur, Rian.” The girl clapped one hand over her mouth as Susan continued. “Now, how do we get to the next library?”
“Well, we already asked at the art library and the social science library, but they’re both small,” Rian replied. “So we’ve only got the big main library left.” She paused, looking around. “But I was thinking… why would she go to a library?”
Susan looked at the girl for a moment, as if deciding whether Rian was serious. Then she blinked. “Wait, are you suggesting…?” She slapped her hand against her forehead.
“Just because she thinks she’s a librarian…” Rian said, pointing one finger in the air.
Susan rubbed the bridge of her nose just above her glasses. “…doesn’t mean she knows where any libraries are. The skein manipulation of this curse isn’t nearly that powerful, it’s just acting on fantasy. Rian, where would you go clothes shopping if you were in Manhattan?”
The girl looked startled for a moment. “Uh… some place with a lot of cute shoes? Prada? They have shoes, right?”
Susan nodded, her suspicions confirmed. “No new information. I’m an idiot, and I owe you for catching my mistake. Sharp girl. So… where would a woman go if she thinks she’s a hot librarian, but doesn’t know where a library is?”
Rian twisted her shiny lips in a thoughtful frown, then opened her mouth. “Was all that stuff about her being a succubus for real?”
Susan nodded. “If you must know, she really is a kind of demoness, yes. At least part succubus.”
Rian snapped her fingers, then glared at her hands when her long, red nails got in the way. “I have an idea. And it’s nearby, back the way we came.”
***
The knock came at their suite door only half an hour after Bradley, Cody and James had returned from lacrosse practice. James had immediately crashed onto the living room couch, still wearing his practice jersey and shorts, smelling of sweat and grass. Cody disappeared to take a shower while Bradley thumbed through food delivery options on his phone.
James looked up at the sound. “Is Siobhan here already? I was gonna at least change out of my sweaty-ass socks and cup…”
Cody, unembarrassed despite only wearing a towel, walked past his two reclining roommates to the door of their suite and peered out of the peephole. He frowned; it wasn’t their team manager at all.
“Some Asian-looking girl? Did you order Chinese food, Bradley?” The quiet, studious defenseman looked up, but just shook his head. Cody adjusted his towel, then opened the door. He had rivulets of water dripping down his lean torso, and his brown hair was still wet, but he didn’t care. His physique impressed girls, anyway.
The girl at their door was slender and below average height; Cody guessed she was about five feet three, but her stiletto heels added another three or four inches. Her petite frame, however, contrasted with the features he couldn’t help but stare at: her ample breasts, pushed up by a tight, black lace bustier. Over those assets, she wore a tight-fitting jacket of brown and tan tweed, with a miniskirt to match.
“Uh… can I help you?” Cody wasn’t sure what else to say.
The girl adjusted her black-framed glasses, and let her gaze travel up and down his body, then cleared her throat daintily. “I certainly hope so, young man. I’m here from the Sylvia Larkspur library system. You boys in this suite are on the lacrosse team, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.” Cody cocked his head. “What about it?”
“Do you have any overdue library books here, Mr.…?” She raised one perfect eyebrow and cocked her hip. Cody couldn’t help but look down at the way the motion accentuated her curves, and drew his eye to the seamed, thigh-high stockings she wore.
“Uh, you can call me Cody. I mean, I don’t check out many books but… I might have one or two in my room that I forgot to return?” He shrugged, words failing him again.
The librarian, if that’s what she was, pursed her lips in disapproval. “Well, take care to return them promptly next time. We’ve received an alert for this suite, specifically, and I’ll need to check inside to make sure you still have time. If they’re missing, we have reason to suspect… book theft.”
“Book theft?” Cody laughed, but stopped when the girl didn’t join him.
“Are you aware how severe the penalties can be for the misappropriation of a book?” The woman’s cheeks flushed, and her chest rose and fell as she breathed deeply.
“Uh, no?” Cody didn’t like where this was going.
“It could compromise your ability to graduate on time, Cody!” She looked genuinely distressed. “That is, unless you can help me find those books, and also…”
She beckoned Cody closer, and he leaned his head forward automatically. Her next words, whispered in a breathy voice, caught Cody by surprise.
He straightened, putting a hand across the front of his towel, and looked at her to see if he was the butt of a joke. “Uh… yeah, all right. We can do that. Come right this way, Miss…”
“Oh, please call me Miss Belmont. Let’s go see your room!” The librarian’s lips parted slightly, and her tongue darted across them.
Bradley and James stared open-mouthed as Cody led their visitor past them and through the door to his bedroom. “Guys, order without me,” called Cody. “I’ll catch up with you later!”
The strange woman kicked Cody’s bedroom door shut with an agile swing of her right leg and pulled Cody’s towel off with a sharp tug. As his cock sprang free, she pressed his muscular torso against his own bedroom wall, then dropped to her knees and wrapped her lips around the tip.
“Holy shit…” Cody stared down at her, eyes wide. “Is this really happening?”
Miss Belmont giggled, her tongue caressing the underside of his shaft. “Does this feel real enough? You know, even though you’ve disrespected the academic library system… sometimes the best incentive is positive reinforcement. What do you say, Cody?”
“Yes ma’am,” Cody gasped. She was sucking his cock with expert finesse, and her languid, slow motions were driving him crazy. He gripped the wall behind his head and tried to stay standing up. He was no virgin, but this blow job was better than the last five girls he’d slept with combined.
The librarian’s mouth slid down his shaft, and Cody looked down to see her lips reach his base. “Oh no fucking way,” he muttered, as the woman he’d just met enveloped his full length with her throat, her nose pressed against his stomach. He was hung, and his partners usually had trouble taking his cock deep, but somehow she managed it with no effort. The feeling of her warm throat clasping him tightly was the most intense sensation he’d felt in ages.
“Oh fuck,” he groaned, and his thighs tensed involuntarily. Immediately, Miss Belmont’s slender fingers wrapped around the base of his shaft and squeezed, while her mouth applied a light pressure. Her yellow eyes gazed up at him knowingly, and his impending orgasm faded away into a dull thrum. He blinked, his heart thudding in his chest.
His cock left Miss Belmont’s mouth with a wet pop. “You’re not that overdue, and I’m not that impatient. I’d like to savor you a little more, Cody.” She rose, unbuttoning her tweed jacket with deliberate slowness. Beneath, she was wearing only the black-lace bra, and her creamy cleavage heaved enticingly as her breathing quickened. Cody tried to look confident, but the way she’d denied his climax had thrown him completely off balance.
She tossed her head, and her black hair fluttered in a silken wave over her shoulders and breasts. “Down on the floor, Cody,” she said matter-of-factly. “Maybe you’ll see one of those library books while I ride that hard, athletic body of yours.”
Cody obediently lowered himself to his bedroom floor, and watched as she stepped gracefully over his torso, then lowered herself onto his body. His cock, still slick with her saliva, throbbed as she straddled him, and his eyes fixed on the space between her legs. With a slight shimmy, she adjusted her skirt to show him she wore no underwear. Her pussy glistened with her arousal, framed by dark curls. He swallowed, staring, and reached up to caress the soft skin of her inner thighs.
“Mmm, that’s it. Do you like to eat pussy, Cody?” She leaned forward, her hair brushing his face, and he breathed the scent of her perfume: a musky sweetness, with a hint of something spicy. Her nipples were erect beneath the sheer lace of her bustier, and Cody couldn’t resist reaching up to stroke them.
Miss Belmont arched her back, pressed against him, and moaned. “Oh, yes, just like that,” she whispered. But then she slid her hips forward and pressed her wet pussy against his face. Cody’s eyes widened, and he stuck out his tongue, exploring her with a tentative touch.
“More,” she said in a husky voice, and ground herself against his mouth. He obeyed, sliding his tongue into her folds and tasting her, licking her eagerly now. He felt her fingers wrap around the base of his cock once again as she rocked her cunt back and forth against his lips and mouth.
Her juices flowed freely, and Cody found it hard to breathe. He sucked and licked, exploring every fold and crevice, and she shuddered with pleasure, her grip on his cock tightening.
“That’s right,” she murmured. “Lick it just like that.” Cody’s cock ached for release, but she seemed intent on keeping him from coming too soon, simply stroking and squeezing as her pussy rubbed against him with more urgency than before. He felt her shuddering, and then she’d moved back again. Cody gasped in surprise. But she was crouched over him, one knee up, positioning herself—and then the tip of his cock pressed into her, and he knew he wouldn’t last long.
Her eyes met his, her gaze burning with intensity as she lowered herself slowly, her lips parted and cheeks flushed with color—she was the sexiest thing in his universe.
“Do something for me, would you?” Her eyes were so strange, almost glowing. And her pupils were oddly shaped… weren’t they?
“Anything,” he gasped.
“Repeat after me… zamaru ashum shaushka, anu-sinnishtu shuma yael…”
He did his best to repeat the words, feeling his muscles tense as she clasped him between her thighs. She sank down onto him with a sigh of satisfaction, her eyes closing as she took him in all the way to his hilt, and her cunt squeezed him tightly.
“More,” she urged, as his hips thrust upwards to meet hers. “Deeper still, Cody. Say it: zamaru ashum yael, anu-sinnishtu shuma una…”
***
Six minutes later, Cody’s bedroom door swung open. Bradley, still wearing his sweaty practice jersey and shorts, scrambled over James to see what was going on. The woman who’d arrived not long before peered out, adjusting her skirt but not bothering to button her tweed jacket over her bustier. Her hair was mussed, and her makeup a little smudged, but she smiled contentedly and wiped her chin with the back of one hand, as if cleaning away a spot of dirt. Beneath her, Cody’s roommates could see their teammate heir collapsed on the floor. A wisp of something like steam escaped through the doorway, then dissipated.
“Mary, Mother of Jesus,” Bradley stammered. “Did you just kill our best attackman with sex, lady?”
“The Queen of All Saints has nothing to do with it,” said the librarian, smiled sweetly as she stepped over Cody’s prone form, her black high heels clicking on the tile floor. “But Cody is a little worn out. Too much exercise can be bad for a man’s health, don’t you think?”
“Who… who are you?” James’ voice was even lower than Bradley’s, and he struggled to sit up, staring.
“I’m just a librarian, dear,” said their visitor. “But I was wondering… would you mind if I use your shower? I need to freshen up before I start my shift at the main branch.”
She winked at the two stunned boys and sashayed down the narrow hallway to the bathroom door, then turned back, her yellow eyes gleaming in the hall’s dim light. “By the way, do either of you have any overdue library books? If you do, I could put in a good word with you if you’d help me out in here.”
Bradley nearly tripped over James in his rush to get out of the living room. “Oh yeah, Miss…! I’m sure I checked out some graphic novels freshman year? Let me, uh… get you a towel?” He shot an excited glance at James, then hurried after the mysterious woman, who was already unzipping her skirt.
James sat on the couch for several moments, staring at Cody on the floor of his bedroom, trying to process what he’d just witnessed. He was still sitting there, dumbstruck and nursing what he could only describe as a “weird boner,” when another knock came at the door.
Siobhan, the lacrosse team manager and a formidable athlete herself, strode past James when he opened the door, and set a twelve-pack of craft beer on the coffee table. Her short, red hair was still wet from her own post-practice shower, but she’d changed into jeans and a T-shirt with a logo of her favorite metal band.
She stopped, looking around. “Yo. Where’s everybody hiding? I brought the booze.”
“Cody is… out of it?” James stood, rubbing his neck. “We had a visitor. And now Bradley…”
Siobhan craned her neck to see the prone form of her team’s star athlete just inside the doorway of his bedroom. Then a high cry of delight from the suite’s bathroom made them both turn in the other direction.
“James?” Siobhan said, cupping the defensive player’s chin and swiveling it to face her. “What the fuck is going on here?”
Magic-shmagic
Susan lifted the taser—standard issue of the Office of Supernatural Affairs—and fired directly at Autumn.
Feel the power of science!
Also - freckles
TFTC
TFTC