🖤 Desperately Seeking Succubus - Part 3

Maranihr hunts for answers

Photo by Yanhao Fang on Unsplash

Read part 1 of this story first…

🖤 Desperately Seeking Succubus - Part 1

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When Maranihr and Meredith reached the car tucked under a large tree on that dark street, they found Jenna asleep in the front seat. The demon tapped his finger on the window, which startled her awake. She jumped with fear, but then seemed angry when he opened the door.

“Why were you gone for so long!?” Then, she noticed the woman standing next to him. “And who the hell is she?”

“Say hello to your new sister! She will be joining us. Her name is…” He struggled for a second to remember the name on the sign. “Meredith.”

The realtor gave Jenna a shy smile. “Hi. What’s your name?”

Jenna rolled her eyes. “Yeah, he’s bad about that. I’m Jenna. There’s also Michelle, but she’s back home.”

“Meredith, sit next to her so you can guide her to our destination.” The demon walked to the rear door to slide into the back seat. He struggled to fit and get comfortable. Their vehicles were not meant for a creature of his build.

“We need to go downtown.” The realtor pointed to the east.

Jenna looked at her and shrugged. “I have no idea where that is.”

Sighing, Meredith began giving her new sister turn-by-turn directions to reach the corporate office. Sunrise was still a few hours away, so there weren’t many other vehicles on the streets.

“Stop here. That’s the building.” She pointed out the window. “I need to go with you, though. I have access, and they know me. They would never let someone who looks like you inside without my escort. They still might not be happy about it, though. And I doubt anyone is here at this time of night who can answer your questions.”

Maranihr stood quietly on the dark sidewalk, reaching out with his senses to probe the feeling of what was inside. She was right. The building was mostly empty. But there… He felt something. Someone.

A lone individual was working late on an upper floor, and he recognized the energy. The man had been present the night of his summoning. He wasn’t one of the more powerful ones who had dragged Maranihr into this world and bound him in agony. But he had been there… in the shadows. Watching.

He followed Meredith around the building to a side entrance where she used her card to open the door. She walked to a nearby elevator and pressed the button.

“They’re on the top three floors. I guess we have to search all of them to see if someone is here?”

The demon tilted his head as if listening to something above him. “Someone is here. That I know. Take me to each floor so I can find him.”

The elevator doors opened, and he followed her inside. He frowned and turned around in the small space, looking for a staircase. “What is this?”

She pressed the button for the seventh floor and frowned at him. “What do you mean? It’s the elevator to the top floors.”

The tiny room shuddered and rose. Maranihr stumbled and growled, reaching out to catch his balance and cracking the mirrors as his hands struck the sides.

“Great… They aren’t going to be happy about that. You’re okay! It’s just an elevator!”

He regained his composure as the elevator continued to rise. This was an unfamiliar experience for him. Flying high into the sky under the power of his own wings was a thrill that never seemed to fade. But being confined in this small box and lifted into the unknown? It was… unsettling.

The doors opened on the seventh floor, and Meredith pressed a button to hold them there. “Well? Do you want to explore this floor?”

Maranihr cocked his head and hesitated. “No. He is not here. Proceed.”

She pushed button eight, and they ascended to the next floor. Again, the doors slid open, and they paused. This time, he nodded.

“He is here.”

Without waiting for her, he exited and turned to the right. The feeling of recognition was much stronger now. The magical stench of the summoning still clung to the man; the residue of a stomach-churning rupture in the fabric between their worlds. No human would be aware of it, but the scent was unforgettable for the demon who was previously enslaved by their dark spell.

Now, even Meredith could hear the man grumbling and cursing under his breath. He was tucked away in a corner cubicle, hunched over a clacking keyboard and illuminated by the harsh glow of a cheap computer monitor. He startled and swiveled around in his chair as he heard them walk up behind him.

“W…what are you doing here?”

Meredith smiled and eased her full bottom onto the cubicle desk. The nervous man couldn’t help but be drawn to her calculated positioning. She was fully aware of her own magical effect on most men and frequently used it to her advantage.

“Hi! I’m Meredith. I handle real estate transactions for…” She gestured around the floor. “…these guys. I have a hot buyer with me who has a few questions. Can you help us? I really want to close this deal, and I’m sure they do, too. I can only imagine how appreciative they would be of your support.”

Maranihr moved in from the cubicle-hell hallway to stand next to her. The man’s eyes widened with recognition, and he immediately twisted to reach for the phone on his desk. With inhuman speed, the demon lunged forward and slapped the man’s hand away. Grasping him by the shoulders, he turned him back around and stared into his face.

“Ah, I see you remember me, do you not?”

The low-level sorcerer’s eyes darted around the space, but found no easy escape. “What is it you want from me, demon? Do you need help breaking your bondage to this world so you can return home?”

Maranihr stepped forward and towered over the frightened man. “No, not yet. I have another problem to solve first. And…” He inhaled deeply to take in the man’s scent. “I know that would be beyond your limited capabilities. You are not like the others.”

A brief flash of irritation washed over his features. But then he deflated in his seat and swallowed nervously. “You’re not wrong. I’m not responsible for what happened to you, so I’m not sure how I can help. What’s this problem you need to solve?”

“Vianelle. She was dragged into this world before me. I assume they enslaved her, much like they sought to control me. But she was not in the building where I was summoned. Tell me where she is now.”

The sorcerer frowned. “Vianelle? Is that another demon?”

Maranihr responded through gritted teeth. “Yes, another ‘demon.’ She is a succubus.”

“Ohhh, a plaything? Trust me, we would never summon such an inconsequential creature. I’m afraid I can’t help you. I know nothing about her.”

The large incubus lunged and encircled the scrawny sorcerer’s throat in his enormous fist, easily lifting him into the air. A rumbling growl reverberated from his chest. “Never refer to her as a plaything again, unless you want to die.”

The human struggled for breath and squeaked, “What do you want from me?!”

The demon leaned closer and growled in his face. “I want my wife, fucker.”

The sorcerer twisted in vain, trying to break free from the iron grasp. “I told you, we don’t have her!! That wasn’t us!”

Maranihr looked deeply into the man’s wide eyes for a few more seconds. “Do you know what? I believe you.” He shrugged and tightened his grip. “Unfortunately for you, that means you are useless for my needs.”

The demon’s hand clenched convulsively, crushing the sorcerer’s throat. As the light faded from the dying man’s eyes, the demon tossed him to the side of the cubicle, where he crumpled in a limp heap on the cheap carpet.

Meredith stared at him with terrified eyes. Her body shook with fear as she absorbed the reality of her bond to this creature who was capable of such swift and powerful violence. A tiny part of her mind screamed at her to flee. But she knew that would be impossible.

He glanced at the woman and knew the war waging inside her human brain. “I have no patience for evil men, especially useless and insulting ones. Trust me, young one, I would never harm you. All you shall receive from me will be my undying love and protection.”

Sighing deeply, he turned away and left the cubicle. Another dead end.

THE END

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