Breezy led the way. Little critters, deterred by the light, scurried as we approached, hissing and spitting. The mist around our feet was still present, although it seemed to dissipate the deeper we got. And there was a twinge of sweet stink in the air mixed with the heavy aroma of wet stone. It smelt like … well, objectively like cat piss. But it made me all giddy inside. Made me feel like the first time I ever saw breasts. I knew all too well what that was. That was the smell of lust magic. Meant we were going the right way. The closer we got to the suc’s lair, the more palpable it would become until it was quite overwhelming, for the uninitiated, anyway. Just one of a suc’s many tactics for luring in her victims. 

I pulled a rot plant out of my leather satchel, held it up to my nose, and gave it a deep whiff. Ah, that was better. Nothing curbs the scent of nostalgic sex like the smell of bitter rot. 

We walked along in silence for a good long while. Then Breezy spoke up. “So, this curse of yours,” she said, as we made our way down a makeshift staircase of warped wood and into a cramped tunnel.   

“Yes? What about it?”

“Explain to me how you got it, exactly.”

“I told you. Angelyx gave it to me.” 

“Yes, I know that. But how did you end up with Angelyx in the first place? And why didn’t she just—oh don’t step in that, that looks bad—why didn’t she just suck you dry and leave you for dead like a normal succubus would?”

The tunnel opened up into a vast cavern filled with stalagmites and stalactites. But the pathway was still apparent. There was a distinct drop off on the left side, so I stayed along the wall, as far from the precipice as I could manage. I could hear running water now too, coming from somewhere. 

“Ah, okay,” I said. “So, when a succi gets hungry, she either sends a minion to lure a male—of any sentient species—back to her dwelling, which is often hidden like this cave was. Or she does the hunting herself. In my case, Angelyx came to me in human form. Found me alone, eating an apple under a tree, reading a book. A book, believe it or not, about succubi.”

Breezy snorted a one syllable laugh. “Because of course you were.”

“For all the gods, she was absolutely gorgeous,” I said. “Dark, curled hair, bright blue eyes, and lips as crimson and blood. And her breasts, oh my, they were like … well, let’s just say she was specifically designed to invoke a singular emotion in her prey: an overwhelming and completely uncompromising sense of lust. Said she was a traveler down on her luck and in need of coin. Said she’d suck my cock for a copper.”

“Wow, talk about cheap thrills,” said Breezy with another laughing snort. 

“Thanks to my obsession with studying magical creatures, cross interspecies relations, and demons, I immediately recognized her for what she was. And I knew all her tricks. You see, in order for a succubus to drain you of your life force, she has to be given permission to engage you sexually. Did you know that? She can’t just pounce you like a—”

“Like a cat?”

“Yes, that is one dissimilarity. You got me there, Breeze,” I said. “Anyway, Succubi are demons. And like any demon, they have to be granted access in order to work their craft, whatever that craft may be.”

“Of course, she could just stab you in the face and leave you for dead like anyone else,” said Breezy. 

“Well, sure,” I said. “But she didn’t.”

“Okay, so you didn’t let her pucker your pickle. Then what? Is that why she cursed you?” 

I huffed a laugh. “No, Angelyx was perplexed, for sure, but not in a bad way. She was intrigued. I was a challenge, you see. She didn’t like it when I started critiquing her facade though, and giving her suggestions. Turns out, she’d been a bit self conscious about her approach, being relatively new to the job, and all.”

“Oh my … so, not only did you deny her a meal, but you attempted to mansplain to her on how to more effectively approach men? Wow. Okay, yeah, I could see how that would annoy woman, succubs or not.”

“Yeah, but then I offered to take her to dinner. I guess she thought she could still sway me, so she accepted.”

“Please tell me you’re joking,” said Breezy, incredulousness thick in her tone. “You don’t take demons to dinner, Jak. That’s like the first lesson you learn about demons.”

“It’s true, demons aren’t allowed to feel love or have healthy relationships of any kind. It’s demon law. But not being allowed to do something and being incapable of doing something are two very different things.”

I could almost hear Breezy roll her eyes. “They don’t have feelings, Jak. Just … instincts. They’re demons, for Mother Tree’s sake!” 

We came to the end of the cavern and the way forward narrowed once again. We found ourselves traversing through a large crevasse in the wall. That only lasted a few paces though. Soon we got to the other end and found ourselves in another tunnel. 

“I disagree, Breezy. You’d be surprised how many books there are arguing my point, too. Plus, I have first hand experience. Succu-babes actually can feel love.” 

Breezy waved my comment away and prodded me to continue. “So, you offered to take her to dinner, and what? You started dating her?” 

I paused for a moment to duck under a ledge. Then nodded. “I know it sounds … ludicrous. But I guess I just made her feel … vulnerable. You know? I was so interested in her as a person, and not just as a fuck toy. You know? It shocked her—completely threw her off her game. We never had any physical intimacy, of course, but the fact we couldn’t fuck, and the fact that she was defying her nature, made our relationship feel just so wrong in all the right ways. It was exciting. For a while, at least.”

“I honestly don’t know what to say to that,” said Breezy. “I just wonder how you are still alive sometimes.”

I sighed. “It didn’t last long, for obvious reasons. She’d come home really late, covered in blood and semen who knows what else all the time. She couldn’t hold a job. She was messy as shit. We kept having to move from township to township. She kept trying to change, but it was impossible for her to go against her nature.”

“Well, yeah, because she’s a fucking succu-bitch, Jak.”

“I know. I know. But it was fun pushing the boundaries of the impossible. For a while. Felt like we were rebelling against the bitch of all bitches herself: mother nature. And, think about this paradox: Demons are supposed to be wrongdoers by nature, right? Well, wouldn’t you think doing what you’re not supposed to do be the wrong-est of wrongdoings?”

“Jak, talking to you makes my head hurt sometimes.”

“Anyway,” I continued. “Eventually, it came time for me to cut ties. I told her we couldn’t be together anymore, and she had to move on, and—”

“And that’s when she cursed you.”

“Yeah, pretty much. She conjured up the worst spell she could find and—”

“WHAT FOUL CREATURE IS THIS?” came a high pitched, screeching voice from seemingly everywhere all at once. 

I halted and froze, and so did Breezy.

We’d just entered another cavern, this one not as large as the first, but definitely big enough for the walls to remain in darkness out of Breezy’s glow radius. There was a cacophony of scratching and scurrying in said darkness—the succubus in her true form making her way around the cavern for a better look at us, no doubt. I cursed myself for sniffing the rot flower too much. I didn’t even detect the power of the scented lust spell getting stronger. Of course, I had lived with a succubus for a stint, so I'd become a bit immune to its intoxicating power. 

“I think we found her,” said Breezy, now standing on my head. Glitter peppered down over my face making my nose wrinkle. That was Breezy subtly dropping some Fae dust on me. It helped protect me from any spells that might come my way. And gave me a jolt of confidence and vigor. I could feel Breezy twisting around as she drizzled, looking for the source of the voice. When the sound came again, it did so as a whisper, but it was still loud enough to hear with perfect clarity. “I’ll ask again, and only once more: Who. Art. Thou?” 

“Uh, hi,” I said. “I presume you are Kaylisex?” 

More scurrying from up above, followed by, “I am asking the questions, manling,” she hissed. 

“Right. Anyway, I’m Jak Turnbow and my illuminated companion here is called Breezy of the Glow Fae. I come seeking wisdom, and to negotiate a deal of mutual benefit. I believe you will find my proposal very—”

“Thou REEKS of that vial WENCH, the one called Angelyx who violates my lands.”

“Yeah, about her. I think I have a way to get rid of her. Or at least severely cripple her soul. I’ve read … I’ve read if you can break a curse placed on yourself you can, you know—that’s what happens, right?” 

There was silence for a moment, followed by more scratching along the walls in the darkness.

Breezy fluttered beside me now. “Jak, I don’t think—”

I shushed her, raised my hand to calm her. And then out of nowhere I was standing face to face with the most hideous and deformed creature I had ever seen. The shock alone made me stumble backwards. I tripped over a rock and landed on my butt. Breezy screamed, but thank the gods she didn’t bolt it out of there. I probably would if I had wings.

“Holy shit,” I said. I knew a suc-a-duck’s true form was something gawd-awful to behold. But for all the time I was with Angelyx, she’d never once revealed her true self to me.

It hovered over me for a few seconds, its teeth rattling and skin undulating. Then, in the space of about ten heartbeats, this monster changed its form. Its bones condensed, creaking and cracking as it did. Its skin tightened, and its organs slipped back into its body from whence they came. Soon, I was gazing upon one of the most beautiful women I’d ever laid eyes on. And … she was stark naked. 

“So, she cursed thee, did she?” Her voice was now sultry and soft, a complete contrast to the shrill screech before.  And when she smiled, it made me cum a little in my trousers. “And thou seeketh a remedy from this one?” She pointed to herself. 

“Uh, yep, that’s it  … old wise one,” I said, as I got back to my feet. There was pounding going on somewhere. But in the stones around me, in my head, or in my crotch, I couldn’t pinpoint it. Probably all three. I dusted myself off and Breezy fluttered back to the top of my head. 

Kaylisex licked her lips and looked me up and down. “Come then, cursed one, into my domain. And we shall converse with one another.”