Demon Hunter: Birthright

An Urban Fantasy Harem Adventure

Michael Dalton

Copyright © 2021 Michael Dalton

Copyright 2021 by Michael Dalton. All rights reserved.

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. References to real people, establishments, organizations, or locations are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously. Any similarity to persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

All characters depicted in this work of fiction are 18 years of age or older.

Edited by Kate Nascimento

kneditorial.com

Cover illustration by Ksulolka

patreon.com/Ksulolka

Cover design by Hell Yes Design Studio

https://www.hellyes.design

Follow Michael at michaeldaltonbooks.com and on Twitter at @MikeDaltonBooks.

Jimmy Kaplan has a hard enough time staying on top of his graduate studies in Chemical Engineering and dealing with the death of his quirky, cantankerous grandmother, who raised him from childhood.

When a beautiful, mysterious woman appears in his apartment building and friends start turning up dead, Jimmy finds himself drawn into his grandmother’s books on magic and demonology, even as he scorns them as superstition.

But all is not as it seems. For his grandmother was tied up with an ancient legacy that Jimmy must face, whether he believes in it or not. And he finds that magic and chemical engineering are not so incompatible . . . especially when it comes to beautiful, voluptuous demons.

Demon Hunter: Birthright is the first novel in the Demon Hunter trilogy and contains explicit adult scenes and themes of harem, black magic, and demonology.

◆◆◆

Author’s Note: I have taken a fair amount of literary license in describing the contents of certain medieval works on demonology and magic. Deviations from the original texts are mostly intentional.

Chapter 1

“Okay, folks, remember your hydrocarbon flow models are due on Tuesday, and next week is the midterm. Don’t plan on partying too hard this weekend.”

I closed my laptop and shoved it into my backpack as Dr. Vicenza continued with his exhortations.

“I know we’ve got a lot going on, but welcome to grad school. You think this is tough, wait until you get out there in the real world.”

The twelve of us groaned and nodded.

Dr. Vicenza flagged me down as I started to leave. “Jimmy?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think you’ll have the Chem 240 exams graded tomorrow?” he asked.

“Yeah, no problem,” I said. “I’ll get them done.” I still had about forty to go, but I didn’t want to tell him that.

“Great, thanks.”

I walked wearily out of the classroom and headed toward the stairs. I desperately wanted to head to the student union for a beer but I reminded myself, for what seemed like the hundredth time that fall, that I was no longer an undergraduate. I had forty exams to grade, plus that flow model to finish, as well as two chapters to read for my Energy and Process Efficiency class.

I walked across campus until I hit McKinley Boulevard and then went two more blocks up to my apartment. The sun was going down, and I wanted to get home before it got dark. Huntington College itself was nice and relatively safe – the school spent plenty of money to keep it that way – but the neighborhood around it was less so. I had so far managed to avoid getting robbed, but I knew people who hadn’t been so lucky. For the most part, it was a matter of not doing anything stupid, but since doing stupid things was part of the college experience, the local criminal contingent was happy to take advantage of that.

I lived alone in a little one-bedroom, which was fine because all I did now was study. I’d been in this building since my junior year, and most of my neighbors were undergraduates. That meant a fair number of loud parties and chaos, especially on the weekends. For whatever reason, the chaos had gotten worse over the past year or so, bad enough that there had actually been some deaths due to drug overdoses and alcohol poisoning. I learned to just stick my earbuds in and deal with it.

It was a Thursday, so I knew things would likely be loud tonight. Not as bad as Fridays, but the tradition at Huntington was to get the weekend started early. So I grabbed some leftover pizza out of my fridge and got started on the exams.

I took Chem 240 – Inorganic Chemistry I – with Dr. Vicenza when I was a sophomore, and between that and having majored in the subject, I was able to just go on autopilot with the exam key and power through them. By the time I finished the last one, it was about nine, and I had to take a break. I still had a lot of reading to do, but I had only one class and a lab section on Fridays, so I figured I could get caught up tomorrow.

There was a party going on across the hall. I knew Nathan and Kelly, the two guys who lived over there, so I decided to stick my head out and see what was going on. I grabbed a couple of beers, and when I opened my door, I saw three or four kids in the hallway and more of them inside the apartment.

I leaned in through the doorway. I didn’t see Nathan, but Kelly was in there with five or six other kids. He was a surfer with a big mop of curly blonde hair.

He saw me and waved me in. “Jimmy, dude, where you been?”

“Too much studying. Exams to grade.”

“Jimmy’s a TA,” he said to the Asian girl sitting next to him. “He gets to give out As for blowjobs.”

The rest of them laughed, but the girl looked over at me. “Is that true?”

I laughed. “Why?”

“What are you a TA for?”

“Chemistry.”

Her face fell. “Oh. I’m majoring in Economics. I need help.”

The rest of them laughed again. I set the beers down, and Kelly waved me over toward a bottle of Swedish vodka. I made myself a weak drink and sat down.

Nathan came out of the bedroom with a girl I’d seen around the building the past few months. I couldn’t shake the feeling that she had to be a cam girl or porn actress on the side, because she just radiated sex appeal in every direction.

She was about 5’6”, long blonde hair, firm tits like ripe grapefruits, and a taut waist leading down to a tight, athletic butt. She dressed to play up every bit of it, wearing short tops, booty shorts or tights or cut-offs that were short enough to expose her ass cheeks. I’d never talked to her, but she was way out of my league anyway.

I greeted Nathan, but he hardly seemed to notice me. The girl was hanging on him, whispering something. He laughed.

What she was doing with Nathan I had no idea, but they seemed to be on the verge of a hookup. They left the apartment without a glance at anyone else.

“Damn,” I said. “How’d Nathan end up with her?”

Kelly laughed. “I don’t know, man, she just showed up tonight with that bottle of vodka.”

“Do you know her?” the girl asked me.

“Seen her a few times, that’s it,” I said.

Another girl in the group spoke up. “Her name is Sabrina. I don’t think she lives in the building, but I’ve seen her around. She’s kind of a bitch.”

The rest of us nodded. She seemed like the type.

The Asian girl who needed help with her economics scooted over next to me. “Are there really TAs who do stuff like that?” she asked.

“I doubt it,” I said. “We’re not even supposed to date students in our sections. I had to sit through an hour-long training session on sexual harassment when I started as a TA, where they went over that kind of thing. Someone who got caught doing it would probably get expelled.”

She looked disappointed. “Oh, for sure, I get the harassment stuff, but what if they both wanted to work something out? If it was all consensual, I mean. Wouldn’t that be okay?”

I looked at her. “Do you really need that much help?”

“My parents are super strict, and there’s this one class I might get a B in.”

I rubbed my forehead briefly. “I wish I could help you, but I don’t know anything about economics.”

“I’m just wondering, if one of the students in your section suggested something like that, what would you do?”

I weighed my words carefully. “I have too many student loans to risk my tuition remission for a blowjob.”

She nodded. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Thanks.”

I went back to my apartment about an hour later to get started on my reading. I tried to focus on the textbook, but I kept envisioning Sabrina’s tits in my mind. I knew I would never get to see them, but I could imagine them – perfect, gravity-defying orbs topped with ripe pink nipples. They had that look to them, like they needed no support despite the tight top she’d had on.

Ugh. I forced the fantasy out of my mind. I hadn’t gotten laid since the past summer, and the last thing I needed to be doing was distracting myself with a girl I had no chance with.

◆◆◆

The next morning I dropped the graded exams off with Dr. Vicenza. Since I had no classes until later, I drove over to see my grandmother.

Grandma Amy was the only family I had left, and she lived in an assisted living facility about fifteen minutes away. Though I’d gotten full scholarships to a couple of good schools, I picked Huntington because it was the closest to home and we would still be able to see each other regularly.

I’d been with Grandma Amy pretty much my entire life, ever since my parents were killed in a car accident when I was four and she’d had to raise me alone. She’d never married and no longer had any contact with my grandfather, to the point that she never even talked about him. We didn’t have much beyond each other when I was a kid, but it was enough to get by. She was frugal to a fault, and I learned to make do with as little as possible.

For the most part, Grandma Amy gave me a good childhood. But she had a few odd fixations, like insisting I study Latin in high school and college. She’d studied it herself and told me over and over how it helped with all her other subjects. She was also the one who steered me into majoring in Chemistry, spending a large portion of my youth showing me a variety of little tricks and fun things to do with household chemicals. I found that I liked it, so I didn’t argue. Our meager financial situation meant I attended college on my scholarships and student loans, but with her lessons in frugality, I managed well enough.

Grandma Amy was in her eighties now, and only her long-term care insurance kept her off the street at this point, so I tried to visit her as often as I could. The facility was in a nicer neighborhood a couple of exits up the freeway, a largely nondescript building little different from the apartment complexes around it. I found a parking space around the side and checked in at the front desk. The usual receptionist, an attractive brown-haired woman in her thirties named Rachel who sometimes flirted with me, was behind the desk.

“Hi, Jimmy. I think your grandmother is in the main living room with the other ladies,” she said.

“Thanks. Anything to report?”

Rachel smiled. “She hasn’t gotten into any arguments today.”

I found Grandma Amy sitting in the common room watching TV. She didn’t really have any friends here, but the other older women at this place knew me and greeted me as I came in.

I bent down and kissed her.

“Jimmy, you should be studying.”

“I was studying all night, Grandma. I wanted to see you. How are you feeling?”

“As shitty as always. I hate this fucking place, and you know it.”

The other women around us huffed and clucked at her language, but I was used to it. Grandma Amy could curse like a longshoreman when she wanted to, which was most of the time.

“Take me back to my room,” she said. “I’m sick of this fucking Fox News all the goddamned time. Only thing the dried-up biddies in this place want to watch. Bullshit, all of it!”

There was more snorting and huffing around us. I ignored it and helped her up. She took my arm and leaned on her walking stick. Unlike the other residents, she refused to use a walker or even an aluminum cane, insisting on an ancient oaken staff that was black with age and use. She’d had it as long as I could remember. There were engravings and markings all over it, but it was so old and worn now that little of it was easily legible.

It took us about five minutes of slow shuffling to get to her room on the third floor. I had asked for something lower, but the first-floor rooms were on a waiting list, and there were no other options right now.

When we got inside, I helped her over to her chair by the window, where she liked to sit and watch the neighborhood. There was an elementary school down the block, and she enjoyed watching the kids come and go.

“How is school going, Jimmy? Are you still enjoying things?”

“Well enough,” I said. “It’s a lot of work.”

“You’re still going to be a doctor?”

“That’s the plan, Grandma. A PhD. It will be four more years.”

She sighed slowly. “I hoped to see it, but I’m too fucking weak and sick.”

“You’ll make it. You have to.” I didn’t like it when she talked like this.

But she shook her head. “I know what time I have left. I’ve stretched it out as far as I can, but it’s done. The fucking bill is coming due.” She grunted and reached for her walking stick. “Help me with this.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“No-fucking-where. I need to open this.”

I handed her the stick. She reached for the top end and felt around for a moment or two.

“Twist this off,” she said. “Right here.” She extended it toward me.

I’d never noticed it, but when she pointed it out, I realized there was a faint seam in the wood. I twisted where she told me, but at first nothing happened.

“It’s stuck,” she said. “Haven’t opened it in twenty years, I think. Give it some fucking muscle, Jimmy.”

I tried again, and again nothing happened. I stood up and tried to brace myself against the floor. I squeezed as hard as I could and leaned into it. All of a sudden, with a loud squeak, the top six inches of the staff gave way and came off in my hand.

The part I twisted off was hollow, and something fell out of it, bouncing onto the carpet. I looked down and saw it was a key.

“Get that,” she said. “That’s it there.”

It was a long, oddly machined brass key. The patterns were far more complicated than any key I’d seen before. There was a number on the fob: 1406.

“That goes to a safe-deposit box. It’s time for me to pass on your inheritance.”

An unfamiliar thrill coursed through me. Had Grandma Amy been sitting on some money all this time? But she saw the look on my face and laughed.

“It’s nothing like you're imagining. I’ve got no goddamned gold or jewelry to pass on to you. I wish. No, it’s just my legacy. I think you’re ready. You’re used to reading and studying, and you’ll need to do a lot of it with this.”

“What is it?”

“Some books,” she replied. “That’s all I’ll say. Too risky to say anything else. There are some fucking things never meant to be given voice to, Jimmy, and this is one of them. You take that key to my bank and show it to them. You’re on the account as someone who’s allowed to access it, if you’ve got the key. They’d better fucking let you in there.” She looked over at the clock on the wall. “You best go do it now, Jimmy. I don’t know how much time I have left, and if I fucking pass before you take possession, things may happen.”

“Grandma? What are you talking about?”

She waved away my question impatiently. “Go! You’ll understand when you see what’s in there.”

I knew from long experience there was no arguing with her when she got like this. So I kissed her goodbye and left.

◆◆◆

Grandma Amy’s bank was about ten minutes away, back toward school. It was still mid-morning before the lunch rush, so there were only a few people inside. After waiting in line, one of the tellers waved me up.

“I need to access this safe-deposit box,” I said.

She took the key and looked it over. “I need your driver’s license and the account number.”

I gave her both, and after checking their records, she went to get the manager, a heavyset woman in her fifties. She led me back into the vault and found the box. It was one of the biggest in there – the door was about a foot square. She inserted her key and had me insert mine. It went in effortlessly, but the lock stuck at first. Grandma Amy hadn’t been kidding about not opening this thing in a long time.

Inside was a long steel box. The manager pulled it out and set it on a table in the center of the vault.

“Just come get me when you’re done.”

I nodded. Wondering what was going on, I opened the box. The rich, musty smell of leather and old paper rose into the air. Inside were five very old books. All of them were clearly hundreds of years old from the construction alone. I lifted them out one by one. The title of the first one caught my eye: Liber Officiorum Spirituum. Thanks to all the Latin I’d taken, I knew what that translated to “The Book of the Office of Spirits,” but I had no idea what that meant. The second one was entitled Liber Incantationum, Exorcismorum et Fascinationum Variarum. In English, that meant “The Book of Incantations, Exorcisms, and Various Enchantments.”

I suddenly wondered at the reason Grandma Amy had insisted on my learning Latin.

The third book was Clavicula Salomonis. “The Key of Solomon.” The fourth was entitled Picatrix. I couldn’t place the title, but the book was also written in Latin. The last was Liber Razielis Archangeli, or “The Book of Raziel the Angel.”

What the everliving fuck was all of this? Flipping through them, I could tell two things: All of them appeared to date to the 14th and 15th centuries, and all of them seemed to be works on magic, necromancy, and demonology.

This was my inheritance?

I wondered if the books were worth something. Maybe, but they weren’t in the greatest condition. The covers were cracked and water-damaged, and the pages were heavily dog-eared. In many places, I saw notes in the margins, which oddly enough were also in Latin.

This was just too much to absorb inside a bank vault. I gathered them all into my arms and called for the manager. She locked up the safe-deposit box, and I went back to my car.

◆◆◆

By the time I got back to my apartment, I had to get to my Energy and Process Efficiency class. I had no time to look through the books for now, so I left them on my bed for later.

Huntington College had been around about 125 years, and the area around it used to be nicer, back when the city was younger and less urban. The campus looked more or less like it always had, about four square blocks of Ivy League dropped into a bustling California metropolis. The buildings were mostly brick, limestone, and a lot of neoclassical architecture, sitting within a greenbelt of oak trees and neatly manicured rose gardens, all of which made for a jarring contrast with the glass-box office buildings, strip malls, and warehouses that made up the surrounding neighborhood.

When I was walking back home after lunch, I saw several police cars in the parking lot of my apartment building. This was far from the first time the police had come to visit, so I didn’t think much of it until I got up to my floor. Several police officers stood outside Nathan and Kelly’s apartment.

The officer in the hall gave me a brief look but said nothing. I glanced inside, seeing a distraught Kelly talking to two other officers.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Do you know the kids who live here?”

“Yeah, for sure. Are they okay?”

“One of them was found dead down by the pool this morning. Probably a drug overdose, but we’re investigating.”

I fought some momentary vertigo. “Holy shit. Was it Nathan?”

“Yes. Did you happen to see anything?”

“I just saw him last night. They had a party. He went off with some girl.”

He nodded. “Do you know anything about her, where she lives?”

“Her name’s Sabrina, but that’s all I know. I’ve never talked to her. I don’t think she lives here, but I’ve seen her a few times before.”

“You witnessed him leaving the apartment with her?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

He nodded again. “Did he seem intoxicated to you? Did you see him taking anything, any kind of pills or other drugs?”

I knew Nathan vaped CBD – I had smelled it – but I’d never seen him using anything stronger than that.

“Not that night,” I said. “I just saw him leave. He seemed okay at the time.”

“You’ve seen him taking stuff before?”

“Just CBD. He vapes.”

There was a time I wouldn’t have repeated that to a cop, but now that things were legal here, it didn’t seem like a risk. And the cop just nodded yet again.

“Okay. If you remember anything else, please let us know.”

Chapter 2

When the police left, I went over to see Kelly. He came to the door looking shell-shocked.

“What the fuck, man?” I asked. “Are you okay?”

“I guess. I don’t know, he just went off with that girl. You saw it. He never came back.”

“Yeah, I saw her,” I said. “Do you know her at all? I’ve just seen her around the building.”

“Me too. And no. She doesn’t live here. Jake told me he saw them down by the pool a while after they left.”

“Think they hooked up?” I asked.

“Maybe. He was sure acting like it.”

“The cop said he OD’d, but that makes no sense. Has he ever done anything serious? I’ve seen him vaping.”

“That’s it, man. At least since we’ve been here. Nothing but CBD. He’s not into the hard stuff.”

I shook my head. “Shit. This sucks. Well, let me know if you need anything, I don’t know.”

Kelly just nodded and shut the door.

When I got back inside my apartment, I had to sit down. Other than my parents, who to be honest I barely remembered at all, I’d never had someone I knew die on me. I wondered what the hell was going on.

Nathan was the fourth or fifth kid to die in this building over the last couple of years. All of them had been the same as him, just turning up dead one morning like they’d drunk too much or OD’d. Something was fucked up here.

It was midafternoon, but I had to open a beer and lie down. Grandma Amy’s books were still there on my bed. Wanting to get my mind off of Nathan, I grabbed one of them, which turned out to be Liber Officiorum Spirituum. I opened it and began reading.

Despite the medieval handwriting and syntax, I had little trouble understanding it. I spent more than enough time reading medieval Latin through four years of high school and three in college. Now and then I came across some obscure terms, but I was able to find definitions on my phone.

The first part of the book was a long list of demons and devils, starting with Lucifer and running on through a whole bunch I’d never heard of. Some of the entries went into lengthy, almost laborious detail, while others were little more than names. The longer entries often discussed the means of summoning and control.

It got tedious quickly, and I skimmed through most of it. After the lists was a section on the general means of summoning and controlling demons and evil spirits, and how to bind them to you. Much of this was devoted to creating “magic circles” that would supposedly keep them confined. After that was a long list of various random spells for locating treasure, finding lost items, and so forth. Yet another list of spirits closed out the book.

I tossed that one aside and picked up Clavicula Salomonis. This proved to be something similar, but it was devoted more to summoning and controlling the dead rather than demons, though demons were discussed as well.

Picatrix, according to its introduction, was a Latin version of an earlier Arabic text on magic, astrology, alchemy, and necromancy. This one, thankfully, lacked the interminable lists of spirits and demons and instead contained detailed procedures for casting all sorts of spells and divinations.

Liber Incantationum got back to the lists of spirits and demons but also covered detailed means of summoning and controlling them. Finally, Liber Razielis Archangeli was another translation, this one of a previous Aramaic text. It asserted to be secrets of magic revealed to Adam himself by the angel Raziel. In addition to the spells, this one also covered all sorts of astrology and planetology.

By the time I was done looking through all five, I realized it was almost ten o’clock and I’d been reading for six hours. I was still no closer to understanding why Grandma Amy owned these books nor why she’d given them to me.

I took a break to eat something and then went back to bed. This was clearly a lot of nonsense and superstition, but it was still kind of fascinating to see the level of detail and effort the authors had put into them. I knew from my previous readings of medieval texts like these that most of the content was probably lifted from earlier works. In some places, that had been pretty obvious, if not stated explicitly.

Flipping through Liber Officiorum Spirituum again, one of the illustrations caught my eye. It depicted an attractive woman who seemed to be in the process of luring a man away from his family and a church behind them. Not surprisingly, the entry was about the succubus. According to the book, succubi were evil spirits formed from the souls of beautiful virgins who died by suicide. Once in Hell, these souls were taken up by the demoness Lilith, supposedly Adam’s first wife, and transformed into succubi.

A succubus could take the form of a human woman, though close inspection would reveal clues about her true nature – her fingernails were always slightly curved, almost resembling claws, she often had a small spot of inhomogeneous color in her eyes, and she always had a hidden birthmark somewhere on her body in the shape of a pentagram or other symbol of magic. Finally, succubi were said to carry a slight odor of sulfur, especially when in contact with water.

If a succubus was successful in seducing a human man, she could collect his semen, which other demons would then use to impregnate women with demon children, or, if she chose, simply steal his soul at the moment of orgasm.

The reference to Adam made me look back into Liber Razielis Archangeli. After about ten minutes, I found a similar discussion going into more detail about Lilith and the first succubi, who were apparently created by mating with the angel Samael. How that led to suicidal virgins wasn’t clear.

I found nothing in Clavicula Salomonis, but Liber Incantationum had an entry on succubi as well. But rather than describing what succubi were, there was a detailed procedure for controlling and binding them, assuming you wanted something like that around long-term.

By this point, I was too tired to go any further, and frankly I didn’t quite see why I needed to bother. I stacked up the books on my nightstand and went to sleep.

◆◆◆

When I woke up Saturday morning, I had one thing on my mind: finding out from Grandma Amy what the fuck was up with the books she left me. Calling her was always hit-or-miss. She adamantly refused to get a mobile phone, and she rarely answered her landline.

When I called, it went immediately to voicemail. So I got back in my car and drove over there.

As I pulled off the freeway and approached the facility, I noticed a stream of smoke in the distance. Then I heard a siren behind me. I pulled over, and two ambulances went racing past me. When I pulled away from the curb and turned onto her street – the same direction the ambulances had gone – I realized the smoke was coming from nearby. Up ahead were flashing lights from several police cars. Then I realized what was going on: There was a fire at the assisted living facility.

The police were blocking the entrance to the parking lot, so I had to pull over and park on the street. When I walked up, the parking lot was in chaos – residents everywhere being attended to by the paramedics or just walking around and watching. The fire department was there, but the fire didn’t look that serious. The smoke rose out of one corner of the building, and it looked like they had it under control.

As I got a better look, I realized something else – the fire was right near Grandma Amy’s apartment. I looked around but didn’t see her.

A police officer stopped me as I walked into the parking lot. “Please stay back on the sidewalk, sir.”

“My grandmother is in there,” I said. “The fire is right where her room is.”

“She’s a resident?”

“Yeah.”

“All right, you can go see the staff over there, but please give the paramedics some room.”

He pointed across the lot. I saw Rachel there with several other staff. They were trying to direct traffic and get the residents to safe places to rest while the fire department worked. There were at least sixty of them out here, many of whom were complaining about needing one thing or another. One woman had left her cat behind and kept asking about it. Rachel was doing her best to calm them down.

“Mrs. Klein, I’m sorry,” she said. “We’ll try to get someone up there when we can, but the fire department needs everyone out of the building right now.”

“But what about the smoke?” the woman asked. “He doesn’t like strangers. Can I please go get him?”

“I’m sorry. As soon as the fire department gives us permission, I’ll let you know.” Rachel looked over and saw me. Not surprisingly, she looked extremely flustered. “Jimmy, I’m sorry, I haven’t seen your grandmother.”

“You don’t know if she got out?”

She shook her head. “We’re still trying to get a count of everyone.”

“Do you know what happened?” I asked.

“There was some kind of explosion!” an old man behind me said. “Just this big boom!”

“It wasn’t that big,” Mrs. Klein said. “I was in New York for 9/11.”

“You said you lived in Yonkers,” a woman behind her said. “You can’t see the World Trade Center from there.”

“I saw it on TV,” Mrs. Klein said.

“I bet it was a gas leak,” the man said. “I’m always smelling gas in my apartment.”

“Mr. Dryden, the fire department will tell us,” Rachel said. “Please just sit down.”

“I told you people about the gas,” Mr. Dryden said. “It’s dangerous. Things like this can happen.”

I gave Rachel a sympathetic look, but I was worried. I walked around the lot trying to find Grandma Amy, but she wasn’t there.

After about five minutes, the smoke stopped and the fire seemed to be out. The firefighters started filing out of the building, but they weren’t letting anyone back in yet. In fact, residents were still coming out in ones and twos with the orderlies. I watched for Grandma Amy, but she didn’t appear.

I tried to ignore the knot in my stomach. I walked back over to Rachel. A pained look hit her face when she saw me.

“We’re still looking, Jimmy.”

“For her?”

She rubbed my arm. “I’m really sorry. She’s one of three we haven’t accounted for.”

“Do they know where the fire was?”

“I don’t, I’m sorry. But it was apparently near her apartment. Mr. Dryden was right, there was some kind of explosion. Not a huge one, but enough to start the fire.”

I nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”

With nothing else to do, I sat down on a curb and waited. For a while, firefighters, paramedics, and the facility staff walked in and out of the building. The staff brought out a bunch of chairs and set up some kind of refreshment station for the residents. I tried to listen in on the conversations among the staff. The consensus on what happened seemed to be a gas leak, and the fire department didn’t want to let the residents back in until they’d checked the gas lines around the building.

I’d been there about an hour when I noticed the director, a woman in her forties named Shelly, talking to Rachel. Rachel pointed in my direction.

Shelly looked at me. I really, really didn’t like the look on her face.

They both came walking over. I stood up. Shelly extended her hand.

“Are you Jimmy Kaplan?” she asked. “I’m Shelly Mullins, the director here. I’m sorry if we’ve met before.”

“Yes. I’m Amy Takacs’s grandson.”

Shelly took my hands. “Jimmy, I’m so very sorry to be the one to tell you this, but the fire was in your grandmother’s apartment. The fire department found a body. Would you be able to identify her?”

I felt a cold calm falling over me. The world narrowed down to Shelly’s face.

“She’s dead?” I asked.

“We don’t know for sure that it’s her. But the body was found in her apartment.”

I took a deep breath. “Okay.”

Shelly led me inside the facility. Rachel followed us. Two paramedics were standing next to a gurney in the lobby. There was a body on it, under a sheet. When I walked up, Shelly nodded to one of them, and the paramedic pulled the sheet back.

I’d been worried I would be identifying some charred corpse, but there were no burns I could see. It was Grandma Amy.

“That’s her,” I managed.

The paramedic put her hand on my shoulder. “I’m so very sorry, sir.”

Rachel pulled me into a hug. Not knowing what else to do, I returned it.

◆◆◆

I spent the rest of the day staring at the walls of my apartment and going through the motions of existing. Sunday afternoon, I got a call from an investigator with the fire department wanting to know if he could come over and talk to me. I had finished my homework, so I said yes.

The investigator showed up about an hour later. He was a big, heavyset guy named Rob with a gray walrus mustache. After he expressed his condolences, we sat down together on my couch, and he pulled out a digital recorder. He pushed a button on it to start the recording.

“Jimmy, I’m going to tape this, just so we’ve got a clear record. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, sure.”

He recited some information about the case and then identified me. “Jimmy, to start us off here, I need to ask you a few questions about your grandmother. Did she smoke?”

“No,” I replied.

“Never?”

“I never saw it.”

He nodded. “Did she like candles around her apartment? The scented things? A lot of older ladies are into those.”

“No. Not that I can remember.”

“Incense? Anything like that, that would have involved an open flame, or burning things?”

I looked at him. “No. Why?”

Rob sat back on the couch. “All right. Let me tell you what we found. There was some kind of explosion in her apartment. We can tell that from the damage to the windows, and other things. So we thought at first it had to be a gas explosion. But those are harder to set off than people think, because the conditions have to be just right.”

“If you’re too far out of the range for a stoichiometric mixture, I know.”

Rob looked at me strangely for a moment.

“I’m studying chemical engineering,” I said.

He nodded. “All right, so then you know exactly what I’m talking about. If you’re right at a perfect stoichiometric mixture of air and gas, then that’s when you’ve got the greatest blast energy, and you see little to no burn damage, because the gas combusts all at once. It just happens too fast to ignite anything, you know what I’m saying?”

“Yes.”

“So normally, what you’ll see in a gas explosion is some charring and thermal damage to the surrounding area, because getting an exact mix is hard to do accidentally. But those burn marks are usually higher up, because natural gas is lighter than air. You probably know that already.”

“Yeah,” I said.

“There were some significant scorch marks around the apartment. The gas burn was enough to ignite some things, and that tells me – again you can probably see this – that we had a really fuel-rich mix, so the gas didn’t combust all at once. It took a second or two to burn off, which is how we got the fire.”

“Right.”

“What doesn’t make sense here,” he said, “is that we found a large circular burn mark on the floor of her apartment, right in the carpet. That’s why I was asking about her smoking, or the candles. We thought maybe she dropped the ignition source, whatever it was, on the floor. But you’re sure you never saw her smoking or anything like that?”

I tried to remember if I’d even seen a candle in her apartment. “No,” I said.

“It was perfectly circular, like a sunburst, almost. Like whatever happened exploded right from that point. Thirty years I’ve been doing this, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

I sighed. “I’m sorry. I understand what you’re talking about, but I don’t know what to tell you. She was old enough that I had to pretty much bring her everything she needed, other than food. She didn’t like leaving her apartment much. She didn’t like leaving the facility at all. And she never asked me for candles or cigarettes or anything like what you’re asking about.”

Rob was silent for a few moments, seeming to think about something.

“All right,” he said. “I don’t want to insult her memory, or anything like that. But you understand that sometimes I have to ask some difficult questions when I’m doing this, just to narrow things down. This is only because of some things that were said when I was at the facility.”

“Okay.”

“Was your grandmother into the occult at all, anything like that? I’m not trying to pass any judgment, people are completely free to believe what they want. That’s how it works in this country. And again, this is just because of some things people said, and I have to follow all the leads, you understand.”

I sat there wondering what to say. Two days ago, I would have laughed. After reading all those books Grandma Amy had left me, I wasn’t so sure. Not after that conversation we had when she gave me the key.

I know what time I have left. I’ve stretched it out as far as I can, but it’s done. The fucking bill is coming due.

But I had to answer with what I knew, which was nothing.

“No. I don’t remember anything like that.”

◆◆◆

Monday afternoon, I got a call from Shelly.

“Jimmy, how are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m okay.”

“I’m sure this is a great shock. We’ve so enjoyed having your grandmother here, and it’s a loss for everyone.”

I knew she was bullshitting me on that point. Grandma Amy told me often how much she hated the other residents and staff, and how the feeling was mutual. I’d seen it. But I didn’t see a need to say that.

“Thank you,” I managed.

“I’m calling because we do need you to come get her things. Some of them survived the fire, believe it or not. Unless you would rather we give them to charity. It’s just her clothes and some dishes, but also that walking stick of hers. I know it meant a lot to her, and I figured you would want it.”

“Uh, yeah, I do. Is today okay?”

“Any time before five.”

I went straight over to collect Grandma Amy’s few belongings. They’d already boxed up everything for me. Rachel was there and came out from behind her desk to give me a long hug. It felt nice, so I let her linger against me.

“I’m so sorry, Jimmy.”

“Thanks.”

“She wasn’t the easiest woman to know, but I know she loved you.”

Shelly came out to express her condolences. “We’ve enjoyed having your grandmother as part of our family,” she said. “It’s always hard to lose one of our residents.”

Unlike Rachel, I could see the insincerity in her eyes. I remembered a discussion we had a year or two back about Grandma Amy’s penchant for profanity. No need to bring it up now.

“Thank you.”

One of the orderlies brought up a cardboard box of clothes, random odds and ends, and her walking stick, which she must have put back together.

“Is this everything?” I asked.

“Yes.”

I knew Grandma Amy wasn’t much for material possessions. When she’d moved into this place, she made a point of giving me the things she really cared about, except for the walking stick. I had a couple of boxes of her random crap in my closet. Still, it was hard to look at her old clothes and a few dishes and books and realize this was all that was left of her.

Other than the walking stick, I didn’t see anything I wanted to keep. I had no use for her clothes, and the dishes were a very basic set I’d gotten her at Target. They had no sentimental value. Then I noticed an envelope tucked inside one of the books. I pulled it out. It was sealed, and on the front was written Jimmy and TO BE OPENED ONLY AFTER MY DEATH.

But I didn’t want to open it here.

Rachel gave me another hug. “Good luck at school, Jimmy.”

"Thanks for everything,” I said. Then I left.

◆◆◆

There was a charity drop box at the supermarket near campus. I stopped there and dropped Grandma Amy’s clothes into it. The dishes I kept, since there was nothing wrong with them.

I didn’t open the letter until I got back to my apartment. It was shorter than I expected.

Dear Jimmy,

If you are reading this, it is because my time has come. I have put it off as long as I could, but my debts are large and soon must be paid. I have passed on everything you will need to move forward. I dare not put anything else in writing for fear it may attract attention. You are smart enough to figure it out on your own. If you have doubts, I assure you that what you wonder about now is a fraction of the entire truth. You must BELIEVE.

Love,

Grandma Amy

Believe . . . what, exactly? My grandmother was not religious, and we’d never gone to church. We never discussed God or anything else at all, and I basically grew up an indifferent agnostic.

The only things she really passed on to me were the books and, I guess, her legacy of getting me to study Latin and chemistry.

It was hard to see how she could mean anything else besides the books. I needed Latin to understand them. What did I need the chemistry for?

I opened up Picatrix again. Many of the spells were essentially detailed recipes for some concoction that needed to be burned or consumed or otherwise used to achieve the desired effects. Liber Incantationum had a lot of similar spells and recipes. Many of them on reading seemed nonsensical or hazardous, if not potentially explosive. I knew what many of these compounds were and what would happen if you got things in the wrong proportions or overheated them or contaminated them with . . .

My head began to buzz.

Oh.

Who but someone who had studied Latin and Chemistry at length would have any chance of understanding these books and using them without killing himself or someone else?

What had Grandma Amy said when she handed me her staff? Haven’t opened it in twenty years. That was roughly how long it had been since my parents died.

I sat there for a long time feeling the chill in my gut.

◆◆◆

I had to find a funeral home to deal with Grandma Amy’s body, so I just picked one at random. The man I talked to was courteous and professional, though I couldn’t have told you what he’d said after I hung up. But he sent me the agreement for handling her body and, once I gave him my credit card number, said they would handle everything.

Over the next week, I struggled to stay focused on school while wrapping up Grandma Amy’s affairs. She made me promise long ago to have her cremated, so I did. Not knowing what else to do, I just had her ashes sent to me without bothering with any kind of funeral.

The man at the funeral home tried to talk me into a memorial of some kind, until l explained that she had no friends left and no other family, so no one would come. I didn’t have the money for one anyway, and paying off the credit card debt for the cremation would be challenging enough. He professed to understand.

Grandma Amy had left a will, but it was just a simple handwritten thing leaving everything to me. I wasn’t sure what to do with it. She had no assets I was aware of beyond what I’d picked up from the facility, and her only bank account was the one with the safe-deposit box, which we had held jointly. I went online to see what I needed to do. I discovered that since her estate was so small, it was a matter of filling out a few forms and filing them with the county. There would be a one-month wait for it to be processed, but that was it.

Chapter 3

Eventually I had to get back to my life, so I did.

Friday night a couple of weeks after my grandmother’s death, I was grading Chem 240 homework when there was a knock on my door. I found Kelly standing there in his bathing suit with a towel over his shoulders.

“Hey, man, what’s up?”

“Just TA work. What about you?”

“Me and some guys were going down to the jacuzzi, and I figured you might want to get some air or something. There’s some cute girls here, you should come.”

I thought about it for a moment and nodded. “Okay, yeah, thanks. I’ll meet you down there in a minute.”

“Great. See you there.”

I changed into my suit and grabbed a towel and a beer. The stray cat that hung around our building, this gray tabby with a kink in her tail, was outside my door. Because I was willing to feed her, she showed up at my apartment four or five times a week. When I emerged in my bathing suit, she came over and rubbed herself against my legs, purring loudly.

I went back inside to my refrigerator and got her a slice of deli turkey as I usually did. She picked it up in her teeth and trotted off.

By the time I got down to the pool, Kelly was sitting with eight or ten other kids in and around the spa. I knew a few of them from hanging out with Kelly and Nathan. I settled into the water with my beer.

One of the girls was staring across the pool. “Still sucks about Nathan.”

“Is that where they found him?” another girl asked.

Kelly pointed to a lounge chair near the gate. “Right over there.”

“It creeps me out,” the first girl said.

“Lot of that going on,” I said.

“What do you mean?” the second girl said.

“His grandma just died,” Kelly said.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. Were you close?” she asked.

She was maybe twenty, hazel eyes, dark rust-red hair, pretty nice body. I was still in a funk, so I decided she might be worth an attempt at a pity fuck.

“Yeah. She, uh, she raised me after my parents died, when I was four.”

She put one hand over her mouth and then another on my shoulder. “Oh, my God, that’s terrible. I’m so sorry.”

I nodded. “Thanks.”

We got to talking. Her name was Hayley, and she was a sophomore in premed.

“Any idea what you want to do?” I asked.

“Not yet. My parents are both doctors, so I know it’s a lot of hard work. What about you?”

“I can’t decide,” I said. “I don’t know if I want to teach. I like working at Huntington, but part of me wants to do more practical stuff.”

“What are you working on here?”

“I’m a TA.”

“Chemistry?”

“Yeah. Chem 240.”

Hayley gasped a little. “Dr. Vicenza?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you looked familiar. I’m in your class.”

She wasn’t in my lab section, though. I would have remembered her. I tried to place her face, but there were fifty students in the class and we were only six weeks into the semester, so I was far from knowing all of them.

She laughed nervously. “It’s okay if you don’t recognize me,” she said. “I know it’s a big class, and you sit up front.”

“Yeah.”

That should have put an end to the pity fuck idea. She was pretty cute and interested in me, but hooking up with one of the undergrads in my class was not a good idea, as I’d told that other girl the night Nathan died. If Hayley came out of it expecting special treatment, that could rapidly turn into a serious problem. I couldn’t risk my financial aid by doing it.

Except, I was lonely and depressed enough to let it continue. And if Hayley saw any problems with it, she didn’t let on. Either that, or the prospect of hooking up hadn’t yet entered her mind.

She was from San Sebastian, a wealthy little enclave about two hours up the coast. I guess that fit with having two doctors for parents. Like most exclusive little private schools, Huntington was really expensive, so you either needed rich parents or a lot of financial aid to be here. I fell into the latter category; she apparently fell into the other one.

“What do you think happened to Nathan?” she asked.

“No idea. He wasn’t a binge drinker or into hard drugs. But stuff like that has been happening around here the last couple of years. I don’t know why.”

“You mean people dying?”

“Yeah. Pretty much like Nathan.”

“I hadn’t heard about that. You’d think the school would say something.”

“Maybe because it’s just been this building, not the dorms.”

Hayley’s red eyebrows went up. “Wait. You mean you’ve had people die here before?”

“Three or four, maybe.”

“Wow.”

“Before it seemed like it was drinking or drugs,” I said, “but it wasn’t anyone I knew. Nathan wasn’t like that. So who knows?”

“That’s kind of creepy.”

I was afraid that conversation might put a damper on any chances with her, but it didn’t seem to. After we’d been sitting out there for an hour or so drinking and talking, the spa started to get crowded. After a few other kids squeezed in, Hayley relocated herself onto my lap and put her arm around my shoulder. That put her firm breasts, covered by only a slim yellow string bikini, right below my face. Before long, the feel of her tight little butt against my crotch began to weaken my resolve about hooking up with someone in my class.

That was when I saw Sabrina, the blonde girl who had left with Nathan, coming into the pool area. She had on a white bikini with thong bottoms, and almost every eye in the area went to her. I tried not to stare because of Hayley on my lap, but it was hard.

“I can’t believe she’s here,” one of the other girls whispered.

“Why?” Hayley asked.

“She was the last one with Nathan before he died.”

If she heard that exchange, Sabrina gave no sign of it. She walked slowly over to the spa and looked down at us. Some of the others greeted her, but I tried to ignore her. There was just enough room for her to fit in with the rest of us, and somehow she wound up right next to me.

I noticed Hayley giving her a subtle glare. Sabrina looked over at me.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” I replied.

“Aren’t you Nathan’s neighbor?”

“Yeah.”

“Sucks what happened.” Then she turned away to talk to someone else.

I was beginning to get hot and waterlogged from being in here for so long, and it was starting to smell like someone had farted, or worse, in the spa water – something I’d experienced before when the spa was this full of people drinking. I wanted to go upstairs, with or without Hayley, but she was now in the middle of talking to one of her friends on the other side.

I looked back at Sabrina. She was turned away from me, and I noticed a tattoo of some kind on her neck. She had her hair up in a loose bun to keep it out of the water, and the tattoo was right at the base of her scalp. A circle with an inverted triangle inside it.

A few weeks ago, I’d have thought nothing of it. But now I immediately recognized it as a symbol of power from one of Grandma Amy’s books. That didn’t mean anything necessarily, but there it was.

As I stared at it, something didn’t seem right. It didn’t look quite like a tattoo. It looked more like something on the surface of her skin, instead of ink inside it. A birthmark, almost.

Whether she noticed me looking or not, Sabrina turned back toward me. She reached up to her bun and loosened it, laying her hair back over the side of the spa.

“Interesting tattoo,” I said.

“Thanks. I like to keep it hidden most of the time.”

“What’s it mean?”

“I don’t know, I just liked the design.”

Her eyes were deep blue, but there was a little spot of green in the left one.

Hayley squirmed in my lap, leaning down toward my head.

“I’m getting hot. Do you want to go upstairs?” she whispered.

I turned away from Sabrina. I knew I was wasting my time talking to her. I already had a cute girl in my lap who had her motor running and was apparently unconcerned with my status as her TA.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

We climbed out. Hayley wrapped her towel around herself. I spared a quick glance at Sabrina, but she was already focused on someone else. Hayley followed me up to my apartment.

“It’s just you?” she asked when we were inside.

“Grad school and all. Yeah. I’m either studying or grading stuff. Want another beer?”

“Sure.”

I had one left and opened it.

“That’s your last one?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

She took a quick swig and handed it back to me. I found two plastic cups and split it.

“Thanks. So how’d you end up at Huntington?” Hayley asked.

“I got a full ride, and my grandmother was living near here. So it made sense.”

Hayley was the first girl I’d gotten alone in my apartment in months. I did my best not to act like it, and not just because she was cute and I’d never been with a redhead before. I had always been attracted to smart girls, but sometimes it felt like a toss-up between brains and looks. Hayley hit the sweet spot of both. Maybe this might go somewhere beyond whatever was happening right now.

“I guess you guys must have been close,” she said.

I could see the nervousness in her eyes. But she seemed like she wanted to be here.

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“How old was she?”

“Eighty-something, I think. She never liked talking about her age.”

I sat on the couch across from my TV. Hayley dropped her towel and came over and sat in my lap, straddling me.

“We probably shouldn’t do too much,” she said, “since I’m in your class, and all.”

“Yeah,” I said.

But I still pulled her down and kissed her. She slipped her arms around my neck and kissed me back. I untied her bikini top about a minute later, and she didn’t stop me. Her tits weren’t big, but they were very firm and springy, topped with fat little nipples. I played with them gently until she was moaning and squirming in my lap.

Her bottoms were tied on the sides, and I slowly untied those as well, waiting to see what she would do. I could feel her tensing up, but she still didn’t stop me. Her pussy was smoothly waxed except for a little triangular patch of orange-red hair above her clit. I reversed my hand and felt between her thighs, finding her very wet. She moaned into my mouth as I gently slipped a finger into her.

I explored her slick, silky folds for a while, lightly running my fingers back and forth over her. Her inner lips were small and slim, and her clit poked out from between them. I tweaked it gently a few times. She just sat there in my lap and let me play with her.

After I’d been fingering her for a few minutes, she stopped kissing me and laid her head on my shoulder. I began rubbing her more rapidly. I felt her hot breath against my neck, and her arms were tight around my shoulders. Soon I felt little tremors shooting through her body, but I didn’t rush it. I just kept up the same friction over her.

Maybe a minute later, she finally tensed up, squeezing me tightly as her thighs shook against my waist. I slowed down, letting her catch her breath. But she didn’t stop me. So I kept playing with her like that for another ten minutes.

After her fourth orgasm, Hayley finally pulled my hand from between her legs and just melted against my chest. I held her for a minute or two.

“That felt really nice,” she said softly.

“Good.”

She leaned back and kissed me. Then she pressed her forehead against mine. “Is it okay if I just give you a BJ?”

“Yeah.”

“Like I said, I don’t think we should go too far.”

“It’s okay.”

Hayley slid to the floor and pulled down my swim trunks. I leaned back against the couch as her lips closed around me. She wasn’t great, but after four months with no sex, she was good enough. I lay back and just focused on the feel of her hot little mouth going up and down over me. It didn’t take me long. I warned her what was coming, but she didn’t stop and let me come in her mouth. When I was done, she pulled back and swallowed with a little shiver.

“Was that okay?”

I let out a long sigh. There were no bad blow jobs, at least none I’d ever had. “Yeah. Thanks.”

We got dressed and went to find the others. Most of them had left, but a few were in Kelly’s apartment. I didn’t see Sabrina. Hayley and I tried to act like we’d just wandered off to talk, but I didn’t really care if any of them believed us. I finally walked her back around two.

When we were back on campus and got close to her dorm, she slowed down and squirmed a bit.

“So we’re clear and all, I just want you to know I’m bi, in case anyone says anything to you about us tonight. They might, because I’ve pretty much only been dating girls here. But I had a good time.”

“Okay. That’s cool, really. I did too.”

“I’d like to see you again, but I don’t know how that would work with class.”

“Dating might be out,” I agreed. “But if you want to get together again some time and hang out, that would probably work.”

“Yeah, for sure. That would be fun.”

We exchanged numbers and hugged. She went inside. I walked back to my apartment feeling like things might be looking up. I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about Hayley, but I would take decent blowjobs over no blowjobs.

◆◆◆

When I got back to the building, I saw Sabrina coming down the stairs up to the third floor. She had on cut-off jean shorts and a white tank top over her bikini, and the water from her suit had soaked partially through the fabric.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey,” she said, stopping as I approached. “I never got your name.”

“Jimmy.”

“I’m Sabrina.”

She regarded me with an interest I didn’t quite understand. I was still convinced she might be a cam girl, because she just had that overtly sexy look about her.

“I see you around a lot,” I said, “but you don’t live here, do you?”

“I have friends here.” She smiled. “I’m glad you noticed.”

She pushed her long blonde hair back over her head. She had green nail polish on what looked like fake nails that came to little points.

“What are you up to tonight, Jimmy? Where’s that girl you were with?”

As hot as Sabrina was, there was a vibe here I didn’t like. Something about her felt wrong.

“Just walked her home. I’ve got to get to bed, actually. I’ve got a lot of homework to catch up on this weekend.”

She smiled again. “Well, I guess I’ll see you next time. Bye.”

She walked off with a little lingering look.

◆◆◆

I had walked home thinking about Hayley, but now I lay awake wondering what the hell was up with Sabrina.

I was under no illusions about where I stood when it came to girls. The reasonably cute, reasonably sexy, reasonably interesting ones like Hayley were who I usually ended up with. I had never come close to hooking up with a girl as hot as Sabrina. Most of the time, girls like her didn’t even acknowledge my existence.

I looked across the room, and my eyes fell on the stack of Grandma Amy’s books. I got up and opened the Liber Officiorum Spirituum to the section on succubi.

Slightly curved fingernails, almost resembling claws.

A small spot of inhomogeneous color in her eyes.

A hidden birthmark somewhere on her body in the shape of a pentagram or other symbol of magic.

A slight odor of sulfur, especially when in contact with water.

I thought about Nathan.

A succubus who seduced a human man could steal his soul at the moment of orgasm.

That had been an incipient hookup I’d seen that night.

Nathan hadn’t been the first death. I didn’t know how long I’d been seeing Sabrina around the building, but it had been a while – at least a year.

I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was about her that bothered me. It was just a weird intuition I had above and beyond the possibly meaningless clues. There was a time I’d have laughed all this off as nonsense and thought nothing of it. Demons, succubi, and magic did not exist. I lived in the world of science and liked it there.

But that was before Grandma Amy died. Before these little things in my life had started going off in disturbing directions.

Before I read Grandma Amy’s final letter to me.

Believe.

Believing things without evidence just ran too counter to how I’d lived my life up to now. One did not have faith in chemical processes. They either worked or they didn’t, and if they didn’t, there were reasons.

I didn’t know what was going on here, but it was way too late now and I was too tired to bother with any more of it. I undressed and went to sleep.

Chapter 4

Ever since I was a kid, I’d always had really intense, vivid dreams. Grandma Amy encouraged me to talk about them, telling me how dreaming was important to knowing who you were in the world. So we spent a lot of time talking about my dreams and the things in them.

I liked dreaming, and I found that I was usually able to control them and make things happen. I told Grandma Amy about it once, and she encouraged me to practice it as much as I could.

It wasn’t just dreams, though. When I was sick, I also had really intense nightmares, and she would make me talk about those too. One in particular recurred quite a few times when I had a fever. It was very simple, nothing more than a large rock sitting in a field. Put that way, it sounded silly, but my nightmares were about the rock, and I found it terrifying for reasons I could never clearly explain. When I had those nightmares, I lost any ability to control things. The rock was just there. None of this surprised Grandma Amy.

“Not everything in your dreams is what it appears to be, Jimmy,” she said.

◆◆◆

After walking Hayley home and running into Sabrina that night, I had a dream unlike anything I’d dreamed of before.

I was walking down a long, dark passageway. The walls were ancient mortared stone, like some tunnel under a castle. It was quiet, cold, and empty. I walked a long way, seeing nothing. The passage ahead of me disappeared into darkness, and I never seemed to get any closer to any kind of exit.

Every now and then, I would pass an alcove in the wall. In the alcoves were statues. The statues depicted people, and my dream self recognized and nodded at them. My waking self was just aware enough to wonder why I had no idea who they were.

The statues depicted a long line of people, male and female. Somehow I knew this was a sort of history, going back millennia.

The passage went on and on and on.

Yet despite that great expanse of time, there seemed to be fewer people than there should have been. I understood this as well – every one of these people had lived a very long time.

I had a destination ahead of me, but somehow I just couldn’t reach it. The alcoves continued. There was something up there, something important.

Something I needed to believe in to find.

◆◆◆

When I woke up, my reticence about Sabrina from the previous night had faded. Something strange was going on here, and I intended to figure out what.

Whatever it was, there would be evidence of it somehow. And maybe there was a way to collect it in a way I could analyze. If Sabrina really was a succubus, there would be physical signs of it I could test.

There was nothing else in Liber Officiorum Spirituum about identifying a succubus. Sabrina fit the description, but I wasn’t prepared to take that alone. It didn’t prove anything – none of these supposed signs were really anything that out of the ordinary. Plenty of girls had quirky tattoos and funky nails. Same thing with the spot in her eye. And what I’d smelled could easily have been someone’s fart – maybe even hers. I was old enough to know that girls farted just as often as guys did.

The section on succubi in Liber Incantationum had a fair number of rituals for summoning, controlling, and binding them. I didn’t exactly want to bind Sabrina, but if I actually did identify her as a succubus (old Jimmy was rolling his eyes intensely here), I needed some way of at least protecting myself.

That took me back to Liber Officiorum Spirituum. If I created a magic circle, and somehow got her to step inside, she would be trapped there. The problem was getting her into it.

This was more complicated than I’d first assumed.

After reading back and forth between the two Liber volumes, it appeared the key was finding Sabrina’s “true” name. Liber Officiorum Spirituum asserted that all demons had a name they used with the world, and another, hidden name that they concealed at all costs. If you knew a demon’s true name, you could briefly control it, though doing so with the true name alone was very risky. To do anything complicated or permanent, you needed to incorporate the true name into a ritual. Assuming I found Sabrina’s true name, there was a ritual specific to succubi that I could use to bind her to my service. But I needed her true name first, and nothing I could find anywhere in either book explained how to determine what it was.

So I went into the other books. Around dawn, I found it in Picatrix. There was a recipe for something called “essence of demonic truth.” If brewed properly, it produced a sort of potion that compelled a demon to answer a single question truthfully, even to the point of surrendering its true name.

That laid out what seemed like a plan. Somehow get Sabrina to drink this essence of truth, and  ask for her true name. If she reacted like I was crazy, that meant this was nothing. But if it worked, I would have to immediately order her into the magic circle to confine her. Then I could conduct the ritual. Assuming all that worked, well, I had my proof.

I translated the instructions for all three elements – the essence of truth, the magic circle, and the final ritual – from Latin to English into a document on my laptop. This gave me a pretty long list of things I needed to collect.

So I pulled out a sheet of note paper and made a shopping list. First thing was the magic circle. There were apparently several kinds, and a circle that was intended to confine a demon was very different from one designed to aid spellcasting.

I needed to carefully create a pentagram on the floor, and the ingredients were very important, though more than one thing would work. I wasn’t going to be able to get a hold of a pound of gold dust or powdered ruby. Another option was the “ashes of a powerful sorcerer.” That was out too. I didn’t know any sorcerers, powerful or otherwise, and I doubted if any I did know would let me cremate them.

Huh.

I looked across the room at Grandma Amy’s ashes.

I have passed on everything you will need to move forward.

She had been awfully insistent on being cremated.

I took a deep breath. No one else was going to know about this. And I didn’t really need that much of her to do it.

The ashes needed to be mixed with lard and carefully formed into the pentagram. Then five candles made from the “purest oils” were set at the corners of the star. Once lit, the circle was activated.

I sat there thinking about this. Why did the candles need to be so pure?

Elsewhere in the spell description, it talked about the dire importance of not “breaking the circle” once it was activated – not crossing it or allowing anything else to cross it. Doing so could free the demon from confinement.

Impure candles produced smoke – particulate exhaust that was basically a lot of very small pieces of carbon and uncombusted hydrocarbons floating through the air. Those particles, small as they were, were crossing the circle.

The purer the fuel, the fewer the particles that would break the circle. So if I needed flames, maybe I didn’t actually need candles. What was the purest fuel I could use to produce a flame? That would be hydrogen, but I didn’t see an easy – or affordable – means of setting up a ring of hydrogen flames.

However. The next purest option, far purer than any candle, was methane – natural gas. A natural gas flame gave off nothing but carbon dioxide and water vapor. No particulates. If I hooked up a gas hose to my stove, I could easily set up a ring of burners around the pentagram. Gas from the stove contained a small amount of mercaptan (the source of the “gas smell”), but the only extra product from its combustion was sulfur dioxide – also a gas.

Part of me recoiled at the idea of deviating from the instructions in the grimoires. But I also remembered something Dr. Vicenza told us during one of my upper-division chemistry classes, back when I was an undergraduate. He went on for ten minutes about it, but his basic point was that we, as students, knew nothing beyond what the scientists before us had figured out, and for that reason, he warned us against feeling the least bit smarter or more reasonable than the medieval alchemists centuries ago who had blundered around with what seemed like nonsense to us now.

“They got almost everything wrong,” he said, “but they got a few things right, and those few things provided the foundation for the scientists who came after them. The work they did, as silly as it may seem today, is the reason all of you are sitting here.”

I didn’t need to duplicate what the authors of these books had done. I just needed to understand it, and improve it if I could.

So if I didn’t actually need candles for the circle, maybe I didn’t need lard either. The more I thought about it, the more the lard seemed like simply a vehicle for the powder, whether it was ashes or gold. The problem with lard, though, was that it was impermanent. It could get smeared or wiped off. I didn’t like that idea, because it meant using more of my grandmother’s ashes to fix it.

What was the alternative? I thought briefly about mixing the ashes with some kind of varnish, but I was concerned that the solvents in it might affect the calcium phosphate in Grandma Amy’s ashes. Then I had an idea – simple white glue would fix the ashes in place easily, since it was just water and polyvinyl acetate, which wouldn’t react with them.

So that was the circle. About twenty-five bucks at the hardware store would do it.

For the ritual, I needed a brass urn in which I would have to burn a parchment with Sabrina’s true name written on it, along with sulfur and a bunch of dried herbs, some of which I had never heard of. There was surely something important in the mixture of herbs, but it was too much to sort out right now, especially once I went online and realized all of them were easily available at the grocery store. It didn’t seem like this part needed improvement.

The last elements were the end of the ritual, and the essence of truth.

To seal the binding, I had to brew up a rather disgusting concoction from several things, including my own blood, and compel Sabrina to drink it. The instructions went on at length about various approaches for stirring and heating, but I saw immediately what the real issue was: Overheating it would break down the blood cells. I had majored in inorganic chemistry, not biochemistry, but I knew that blood cells broke down rapidly even at room temperature. There was no real way to cook anything with blood that wouldn’t destroy the cells.

Reading the instructions, it was clear that the intent was create some kind of solution that included the caster’s blood. It was not at all clear that the blood needed to be part of it until the very end. Assuming I mixed the various herbs and minerals together and dissolved all of it effectively, I could then chill it and add the blood right before I needed it. So the blood would dissolve without breaking down right away.

The recipe started with vinegar, but I knew that was among the weakest of acids. If I started with a stronger acid, like nitric, I could produce the solution a lot more easily and efficiently without needing to cook anything. Provided I got the proportions right, I could do it in a way that would end with a pH-neutral solution that wouldn’t damage the blood cells.

That left the essence of truth.

Like the ritual, I was supposed to carefully distill the essences from several things. One of them, not clearly defined, was “that thing which the demon desires above all.”

What did succubi desire above all? The answer came to me a moment later.

Semen.

Succubi existed to collect it. I would need to use my own semen for this. And that meant I had to be very careful.

Sperm cells were even more fragile than blood cells. The whole reason for testicles was because body heat was enough to kill them. I could see no way to produce a distillate of semen that wouldn’t destroy the sperm.

The rest of it was a mixture of herbs and minerals. As far as I could tell, it seemed as if I could add the semen to it once the rest of it was done. But I also knew that sperm needed a specific, slightly alkaline, pH to survive for any length of time, and the ingredients on the list were likely going to produce a somewhat acidic solution. So I would need to test and adjust the pH to get there. That would make sure the key ingredient was as strong as possible when I used it. I would need to chill it like the ritual solution, but once I did, it would probably last for a few days.

◆◆◆

One of the benefits of being a TA in a lab-intensive field is that you have keys to a whole lot of secure storerooms. So the first thing I did was head over to the Chemistry building and collect the reagents and compounds I couldn’t easily get elsewhere. After that, I went shopping at the hardware and grocery stores, trying not to think too hard about the money I was spending on something that might be a complete fool’s errand.

The hardest part proved to be setting up the ring of gas flames that I would place around the circle. I wasn’t the handiest person in the world, and I didn’t have much experience with gas supply lines. It took several hours of trial and error, along with some research online, before I got everything working without flooding my apartment with the smell of gas.

Compared to that, brewing up the two solutions was pretty simple. I had everything I needed, and I followed the instructions carefully, then implemented the adjustments I’d come up with to make sure I didn’t kill the sperm or blood cells. The ritual solution produced a dark, bitter-smelling liquid that reminded me of licorice; the truth essence was largely clear and smelled faintly of mint and basil. I put both of them in my refrigerator.

All that remained was producing the requisite bodily fluids. The semen took a few minutes at my laptop. The blood took a little extra effort, but I eventually managed to squeeze out enough to fill a test tube. Those went in fridge as well.

The last element was the magic circle. I had the white glue, but I wasn’t sure just how much of the ashes I needed. I settled on proportions that gave me enough fluidity to work with, without being too thin. I used a tape measure and a length of string to trace out as perfect a pentagram as I could manage, then I meticulously painted the glue-and-ashes mixture over it.

When it was done and dry, I set up the flame ring around it. Everything seemed in place.

“Let’s hope this works, Grandma.”

Chapter 5

All I needed now was Sabrina.

After all my shopping and construction, and cooking and brewing, it was almost ten o’clock. I had no idea if Sabrina was even coming over to the building tonight, or where she might be. Kelly’s apartment was quiet, and though I saw some kids around the pool, I didn’t see her.

I walked a couple of circuits of the entire building without finding her. There were some other parties going on, but not with people I knew, and I didn’t see her around any of them. By eleven, I began to feel like she wasn’t going to be here tonight, and I wondered how long the solutions I prepared might last, if she’d decided to go somewhere else for a week or two.

Having no other ideas, I finally went down to the pool, since she seemed to be showing up there fairly regularly. I didn’t know the other kids in the spa, so I just floated around in the water for a while.

I was about ready to give up for the night when I saw her.

She had on a pink bikini tonight, another string thong but with a racerback top. I momentarily lost my concentration watching her. Jesus Fucking Christ, she was hot. Like something that stepped right out of a swimwear catalog.

And she saw me watching her.

She was headed for the spa, but when she caught my eye, she stopped and turned toward the pool. She took a couple of steps forward and dove in, knifing smoothly into the water. She came up for air, pushing her hair back over her head and smiling at me.

“Jimmy, right?”

“Yeah. There’s no pool at your place?”

“Nope,” she said. “I was hot tonight.”

I watched that fat pitch sail toward me and ignored it. She seemed a tiny bit disappointed.

“Where’s that girl?” she asked.

I realized then that I should probably have texted Hayley today, but I’d been so busy I forgot. Shit. Too late now. Hopefully she wasn’t pissed about it.

“Not here,” I said.

Sabrina treaded water toward me. “You look older. Are you in grad school?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I just started a PhD in Chemical Engineering. You?”

“Biology.”

Succubus or not – and a large part of me was still not convinced the idea wasn’t completely nuts – I couldn’t tell whether she was bullshitting me.

Had I completely misread her? Could she possibly be a grad student too? I had to remind myself that the fact that she looked like a lingerie model didn’t mean she had cotton candy between her ears.

She floated closer to me, about two feet away now. I saw the little spot of green in her left eye. I smelled sulfur.

“What are you thinking of working on?” she asked.

“Fractional distillation,” I said.

“Like booze?”

“Like gasoline.”

“Oh.”

“That tattoo of yours,” I said. “Do you know it’s an occult symbol?”

I was taking a bit of a risk here, if she was at all suspicious, but she didn’t seem to catch anything.

“Sort of. I just thought it looked cool.”

“Good thing to keep hidden, I guess.”

We’d drifted toward the shallow end, and I was able to stand up now. Sabrina floated over until she hit bottom, then reached up to squeeze the water out of her hair.

“I was looking for a party tonight, but my friends aren’t here,” she said.

“I was too. Not much going on.”

She smiled ever so slightly. “We could go up to your place. You’re right across from Kelly, right?”

I fought to hide the twinge in my stomach. No random girl was going to propose something like that this fast. Certainly not a girl who looked like Sabrina.

If she actually was a succubus, she was walking right into my trap. The problem was that all the ritual stuff was sitting out in the open in my kitchen.

“My place is kind of a mess right now,” I said. “Let me go get something to drink and come back.”

Sabrina didn’t quite seem to know what to make of that, but she didn’t argue. Instead she swam over to the edge of the pool and pulled herself up.

“Okay. I’ll be right here.” She smiled. “Don’t take too long.”

I went upstairs. I hadn’t planned on doing this in a wet bathing suit, but I didn’t suppose it mattered what I wore. As soon as I was inside, I checked everything. The flame ring worked. I got out the brazier and the ritual herbs. Then I got the truth essence out of the fridge and mixed in the semen. Nothing seemed to happen when I swirled it around.

I found two plastic cups in my cupboard and poured in a couple of beers. Then, hands shaking, I poured the truth essence into one of them. It foamed up briefly before settling down. I hoped the sperm would survive long enough. Pausing briefly to remember which hand was holding her beer, I picked them both up.

I went back down to the pool as quickly as I could. Sabrina was still sitting there, feet in the water, leaning back on her arms, waiting for me.

She smiled as I approached. “Is your place really that much of a mess?”

“Kind of.”

I sat down and handed her the beer. I tried not to think about the fact that, if all this was just my imagination, I was committing what amounted to a form of sexual assault by giving her a beer laced with my sperm.

“Thanks.” She took a long swig.

Then something happened.

The flirty, sultry look on her face faded. Her eyes got wide and went unfocused. For a split second, I couldn’t decide if the truth essence had worked or if she’d simply tasted something bizarre in the beer.

But I forced myself to act.

“What is your true name?”

She answered me in an eerie, flat, emotionless voice. “Katarinix-solugus.”

My stomach almost fell out of my body. I was so shocked I almost couldn’t move, until I realized the truth essence was starting to wear off and I was going to miss my chance.

“Katarinix-solugus, follow me and be silent.”

I stood up. She stood with me, face contorting in confusion. But she followed me.

I watched her closely as we climbed the stairs. The true-name effect already seemed to be wearing off. The book hadn’t been kidding about the limitations of using that alone.

“Katarinix-solugus, follow me into my apartment.”

The sound of her true name again stilled the agitation in her face. We reached my door, and I opened it quickly.

“Katarinix-solugus, stand in the center of that circle.”

She walked over and stood in the center of the pentagram. I grabbed my lighter, turned on the gas, and lit the ring, praying to whatever gods were listening that I hadn’t overthought this.

When the flames rose up around her, Sabrina came out of her trance. She lunged forward at me but immediately struck some kind of invisible barrier in the air. She turned side to side, reaching out, but hitting the same barrier all around her.

Holy crap. My upgraded magic circle worked. This was real.

“Who are you?” she snarled. “How are you doing this?”

“I’m Jimmy. And I really am getting a PhD in Chemical Engineering.”

She hammered her fists repeatedly against the barrier. She was not miming it – there really was some invisible force holding her back.

“And you are really a succubus,” I said. “I have to say most of me didn’t believe it.”

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

As stunned as I was that I’d been right, and that I’d actually made it work, it was time for the next part. I couldn’t exactly leave her in there.

I set up the brazier with the herbs. Then I took the parchment and wrote her true name on it. Finally, I got out the solution and poured in the blood.

“What are you doing?” Sabrina asked again.

“You’ll see. Be patient.”

I opened up Liber Incantationum to the spot where I’d bookmarked the ritual. Then I lit the brazier.

Part of me had wanted to use the original incantation. However, it occurred me that if I could update the spells with modern chemistry, there was no rational reason to think that demons only spoke Latin.

In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that the association of Latin with magic and demonology was nothing more than a pop-cultural artifact of most European works on demonology being originally written in Latin.

But that was simply a reflection of the fact that Latin was the lingua franca of that particular age. If one believed in demons – and, given that I currently had one confined in my apartment, that was a reasonable thing to believe – there was still no real basis to think they came into existence along with the Roman Empire. Since I was less likely to make mistakes speaking English, I decided to use it for the spell.

I started reading my translation as the parchment began to burn and the smoke from the brazier rose into the air.

“Katarinix-solugus, I command your spirit to obey.

Katarinix-solugus, I call on Lilith to compel your obedience.

Katarinix-solugus, I bind your spirit to mine.”

At the third line, Sabrina shrieked in horror, though the circle seemed to muffle her cries.

“No!” she screamed. “You don’t know what you’re doing! Stop! Oh, please stop! Just kill me! Please, I beg you, just kill me, you don’t know what this will do! This will bind me to you forever!”

I ignored her and kept reading over her shrieking.

“Katarinix-solugus, I command you to bind yourself to me.

Katarinix-solugus, I call on the kings and princes and dukes of Hell to compel your obedience.

Katarinix-solugus, I bind your spirit to mine.”

She thrashed violently around the circle, jumping and pounding her fists against the barrier, crying out for me to stop.

I finished the last stanza.

“Katarinix-solugus, I command your spirit to obey me in all things.

Katarinix-solugus, I call on the spirits of the air, of the earth, of water, and of fire, to compel your obedience.

Katarinix-solugus, I bind your spirit to mine.”

Sabrina let out a wail of despair, putting her hands into her face.

I picked up the solution and walked toward her. Handing it to her would break the circle, but one last command with her true name would finish the ritual.

“Katarinix-solugus, drink this.”

The look on her face was pure horror, but she took the little jar and poured it down her throat.

The moment she swallowed the last of it, a cold fire raced through me. My entire body buzzed, and I convulsed against the sensations.

But I felt it. The connection.

Even with my eyes closed, I felt her.

It worked. English incantation, modern chemistry, and all.

The last lingering doubt in my mind evaporated. I could see into her spirit. I could see exactly who and what she was. She was a succubus, and she was mine.

When I opened my eyes, Sabrina had dropped to her knees inside the circle. I reached down and turned off the gas.

“Stand up,” I said.

She lurched immediately to her feet, moving almost like a marionette.

“You fucking asshole,” she muttered. “You have no idea what you just did, do you?”

“I bound you.”

She laughed bitterly. “Oh, yeah, you bound me. Forever. Do you understand what that means? It means my spirit is tied to your soul for all eternity. You’re a mortal. You have no fucking idea what eternity means, do you?”

“Tell me, then.”

She shook her head, letting out a sob. “I was immortal. Now, I’m going to die when you die, except that won’t be the end of it. Do you think they’re going to let you into Heaven with a succubus stuck to you?” She laughed bitterly. “No! You’re going straight to Hell with me, but what do you think Lilith is going to do when she sees us, when she sees what happened to me, just because I let my guard down. I don’t know what they’re going to do to you, but I can tell you, what they’ll do to me won’t be pretty.”

Well, I hadn’t quite thought all this through, had I?

“The bond is supposed to help me live a lot longer.”

“Oh, it will. From your perspective. But another hundred years isn’t much when you’ve lived twelve times that.”

“You’re twelve hundred years old?”

Sabrina sighed. “Can I please sit down? I . . . I want to obey you. The bond is making me want it. I’ll tell you what you want to know, I just need to sit down.”

She was still wearing that pink bikini, and her hair was still wet from the pool. She still looked like that hot girl I’d seen around the building.

Yet everything was different now.

Chapter 6

“Go sit on the couch,” I told her.

She did. I sat at the other end. Now that I’d actually proven to myself that she was a succubus, I wasn’t quite sure what to do with her.

“You killed Nathan.”

“I took his soul. It’s what I do.”

“You were planning to do it to me too, weren’t you?”

She shrugged. “You got to me first, I guess.”

“The others who died in this building, that was you?”

“Yes. Was it the mark on my neck that tipped you off?”

“That and some other things. Your eye. Your nails. The smell.”

“How?” she asked.

“Do I know all this? I inherited some books.”

“But how did you do this? I haven’t felt such power in a mortal in centuries. The circle . . . I’ve never seen anything like it. Where are the candles?”

“I figured the gas would work better.”

She looked around the room, then back at me. “Is this really the first thing you tried?”

“My grandmother just died and left me the books. I guess it was a coincidence it happened right when you were around.”

“No. A coincidence is . . . you really don’t know?”

“Know what?” I asked.

“Books alone aren’t enough. Not just anyone could have done this, even if they did exactly what you did. Only certain human bloodlines have the talent. My true name would be useless to anyone else. But you commanded me with as much power as a demon lord. It was like I was a prisoner inside my body.”

I looked over at the circle. In all the calculations over the ritual I’d already forgotten exactly what I’d decided to use for it. Not just Grandma Amy’s ashes.

The ashes of a powerful sorceress.

“Who were your parents?” Sabrina asked.

“They died when I was little. I was raised by my grandmother.”

“Who was she?”

“I . . . she had different jobs.”

“She wasn’t a spellcaster?”

“I never saw it.”

And yet.

Grandma Amy was quirky. She had strange collections of things she always took with her when we moved, yet never really did anything with. Crystals, stones, sticks, little animal skulls, some of them crafted into little shapes like people. Things like that. They’d always been part of my life, so I’d never thought much of it. It was just her stuff, like her walking stick. I still had all of it in a few boxes that were up in my closet. She insisted I keep it all when she had to move to the assisted living facility. Made me swear not to throw any of it out. I had the room, so I kept it.

“Something drew me to this area, this building,” Sabrina said. “I sensed a powerful soul here. It must have been you, but I couldn’t find you. I can see it now, but before, you were hidden from me somehow. Even when I talked to you tonight. There must be some kind of spell over you to hide you. You didn’t seem to be the one . . . until you gave me that solution. If I’d seen it, I would never have let you give me anything.”

Clearly I was going to need go through Grandma Amy’s stuff now. But I still needed to figure out what to do with Sabrina.

“You were mortal once,” I said.

She looked up. “So you do know some things.”

“I know how succubi are made. Beautiful virgins who die by suicide. What happened to you?”

She leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. She didn’t answer me right away.

“I was born in Sweden. It wasn’t Sweden then, but that’s where I was from. Maybe 800 A.D. I really don’t know, because we didn’t track things like that. I lived in a village with my tribe. One day we were raided by another tribe, and they were known to be especially brutal. I knew if I was caught, I would be raped and tortured. So I ran. Some of their warriors chased me. I ran up to the edge of a cliff. I was trapped. I knew they were going to rape me and kill me if I was caught. I didn’t want to be raped and killed, so I threw myself off the cliff. Woke up in Hell. Lilith told me I was going to be a succubus, and here I am.”

“You were trying to save yourself from being raped and tortured, and you still went to Hell?”

She shrugged weakly. “Those are the rules. I learned to live with it a long time ago.”

“You must have been young.”

“Fifteen or sixteen. Like I said, we didn’t track things like that the same way people do now.”

I rose from the couch. “Okay. Stand up.”

She lurched to her feet, letting out a little whimper. “Jimmy?” she gasped.

“What?”

“I will serve you. I have to. I want to, like I said. But can you give me a chance to obey? When you order me like that, I lose control of myself. It almost hurts.”

“What’s the difference?”

“The intent behind it.”

I saw what she meant. “Okay. Deal.”

“Thank you, Master.”

I almost said something . . . but it seemed to fit here.

“I need to know everything about what you are. What you can do. I’m not sure how much to believe from the books, and it’s kind of incomplete.”

“What do you want to know?” she asked.

“You look human, but you’re not really human?”

“I have to take human form, but I don’t need to eat or even breathe, if that’s what you mean. I don’t age.”

“You can take someone’s soul during sex?”

She nodded. “Yeah. But I mean, before it happens, it’s pretty much the best sex they ever had. That’s what lets me take it.”

“The guy comes so hard he dies?”

“Pretty much.”

“What happens to the souls?” I asked.

“I take them to Lilith.”

“What happens then?”

“Souls in Hell are like money, sort of. You need them to do things, and make things. Like I was made.”

“They’re not tortured?”

She shrugged. “I guess that depends on your definition of torture.”

That was about as far as I wanted to take this for now.

“Can you change your appearance?”

“Within limits. I can’t stray too far from what I was.”

“Do you have a true form?” I asked.

Her face paled a little. “Yes, but—”

“What is it?”

“It’s who I was when I was made.”

“The girl you were?”

“Yes. Please don’t ask me to show you. You won’t like it.”

“Why not?”

“Master, I jumped off a cliff. A big cliff.”

I got it now. “Oh. Right. Can you show me what you looked like before that?”

Her form shifted, becoming a beautiful young girl of about fifteen. Her Scandinavian ancestry was clear now – pale skin, pale blonde hair, clear blue eyes. Her build was a bit slimmer, her face less overtly sexual. Her clothes shifted as well, the bikini morphing into a simple peasant dress.

But this just made me think of how she had died, and why.

“Okay. You can go back.”

She became Sabrina again. “Do you like this better, Master?”

“I do, but . . . if you’re going to stay here, you can’t keep being Sabrina. People here know you, and a lot of them don’t like you or trust you. No one would understand why you just moved in here, and it would attract a lot of attention.”

“Who do you want me to be?”

I thought about that for a moment. She had to look like the kind of girl who would want to be with an overworked engineering grad student.

“Maybe that girl you were, but older. More serious and studious, I guess. You could still be from Sweden, but for grad school.”

“Oh. Yeah, I see what you mean.”

The girl came back, but she was maybe twenty-four now. She had the same chest as Sabrina, but her hips narrowed a bit. She lost the cam girl/stripper look. Her hair got straighter and longer, a single waterfall of pale blonde. The bikini turned into a well-worn Huntington College sweatshirt that hung just past her butt. Finally, a pair of narrow, black-rimmed glasses appeared on her face.

She smiled. “I am Katarina, from Stockholm,” she said in a distinct Swedish accent. “I am here studying Biology.”

She was still really hot, but in a sexy geek-girl way now. No one would mistake her for Sabrina. And no one would really find it that unusual if she suddenly moved in with me.

“Okay. Wow.”

She took a couple of steps toward me. “Do you like this better, Master? This is who I would have been.”

“This is perfect. You can change your clothes just like that?”

“Yes. I can manifest pretty much anything as part of my appearance.”

“What happens if you take something off?” I asked.

“It will just disappear if I stop concentrating on it.” She smiled again. “Do you want me to take this off, Master?”

“Your personality is shifting.”

Katarina sighed softly. “It’s the bond, Master. Can’t you feel it? My spirit is tied to your soul.”

I did.

“I want this now. I want what you want. I remember how I felt a few minutes ago, when you did this to me, but I don’t feel that way anymore.” She stepped up right in front of me, putting her fingers on my chest. “It’s okay. I want to serve you.”

Whew. Okay. I hadn’t really been prepared for this, but she was a succubus, and I’d bound her. So.

“Then take that off.”

She took off the glasses and lifted the sweatshirt over her head. She had nothing on under it.

I had actually underestimated how perfect her breasts were. It was like they had been sculpted out of marble. Michelangelo himself couldn’t have improved on their shape and firmness. They floated on her chest in complete ignorance of gravity. Her pale, protuberant pink nipples were in perfect proportion to the rest of it, standing out and just slightly up.

I eventually looked over the rest of her. Her stomach was smooth and toned, flowing easily down to her hips and firm butt and thighs. Her pussy was bare, and I could see her little clit nestled between her plump labia.

She noticed where I was staring.

“Do you like me bare, or . . .?”

“Maybe just a little. Your hair is so perfectly blonde.”

A little strip of pale blonde hair appeared above her clit.

“Like that?”

“Yes.”

She dropped slowly to her knees. “Please command me, Master.”

I momentarily wondered if I was really ready to fuck a 1,200-year-old sex demon.

“The best sex they ever had, huh?”

Katarina smiled up at me. “I’ve been doing this a long time.”

“It won’t cost me my soul?”

“I can’t do anything to your soul now without doing it to myself. Can’t you see that?”

I closed my eyes and felt the bond between us. I could see it now. Whatever happened to me, happened to her.

“Then let’s do it.”

She reached forward and pulled down my swim trunks. I was still damp and cold from the pool, and when her mouth closed around my soft cock, it momentarily felt like the fires of Hell. She sucked me to the back of her throat. As I began to get hard, she pulled back to work on the head, lips tight, tongue massaging me expertly. Then she swallowed me up again, taking every inch inside her mouth and sucking firmly around the base, lips against my groin.

I groaned. I had never had a blow job like this. Hayley was a pale shadow of what Katarina was doing. The suction and friction against the inside of her mouth were beyond anything I’d ever experienced. She moved slowly up and down, all the way out to kiss the head, then all the way down until I was buried in her throat and her tongue came out to lick my balls.

Too soon, I could feel an orgasm boiling up inside me. I didn’t want this to end so fast, but I couldn’t stop her – the sensations were too intense. She sensed it, moving faster, sucking harder. I held her head in my hands, guiding her. Just before I went over, I felt a wet finger sliding under my balls and curling around to penetrate my ass.

As the orgasm hit me, I gasped loudly, thrusting hard into her throat. She swallowed around me, her throat muscles milking me strongly. Waves of pleasure crashed over me as spurt after spurt of my seed erupted into her. My thighs shook, but she kept sucking and swallowing until the enormous tide of sensation began to recede.

Two things then happened. Through the afterglow of that huge orgasm, I felt a tugging through the bond, as if a rope were tied around my soul. But the rope went taut, doing nothing.

Katarina pulled back. “Sorry, Master. Habit.”

“You were trying to take my soul?” I gasped.

“I’m sorry. Just the way it usually happens. But it won’t work now. You’re okay.”

The other thing that happened was that I felt Katarina’s sexual energy flowing back into me, restoring me. I wasn’t going limp. I was still rock hard, and I still wanted her.

“Was that good?” she asked.

“Uh.”

She giggled and stood. “Come to bed, Master.”

She took my hand and led me to the bedroom. I lay down, and she straddled me, holding her arms above her head. I looked up at her incredible body, watched as she slowly swallowed me into her belly.

When the head began to move inside, I felt her pussy sucking at me, trying to pull it deeper. Her muscles rolled over it.

“How are you doing that?” I gasped.

“Practice.”

I lay there motionless as she lowered herself down, still sucking and squeezing me. When she hit bottom, I felt waves of pressure rolling over my cock, trying to pull it in even further. I had to reach up and play with her perfect breasts to avoid ending this too soon, again. She leaned forward, hanging them right before my face. I kissed one, then the other, suckling the nipples until they stood out.

“Can succubi have orgasms? I’m kind of not sure how this works for you.”

She smiled. “Of course. Do you want me to come for you, Master?”

“Oh, yeah.”

She leaned back again and began to ride me slowly, hips moving up and back. She cupped her breasts, squeezing them, pulling on her nipples. I just watched her, but she was still squeezing and massaging me with her pussy even as she rose toward her own release.

She pulled me along with her. I reached for her breasts again, and she pressed her hands against mine. Her movements grew more rapid and urgent. I was getting there too. She was timing us together.

Just before I got there, she gasped.

“Come with me, Master!”

Her pussy clamped down, spasming around me just as I lost it again, spurting uncontrollably into her body. Her thighs battered my waist and her hands clenched onto mine. I groaned as her muscles milked out the last bits of my orgasm. Again I felt her energy restoring me.

She fell forward onto my chest and kissed me. Then she fell gently to the side, pulling me on top of her. Somehow I was already ready to go again. I thrust into her, feeling her squeezing and milking me. I lifted up, looking down at her taut body and her breasts shaking on her chest as I fucked her. She lifted her legs, opening herself completely, letting me get every inch of my cock into her.

It was too much. Katarina’s pussy was like this perfect fleshy machine specifically designed to extract orgasms from me. I lost control, pounding her over and over. She cried out, urging me on. She came again, body thrashing under me, legs hammering my chest. With a grunt, I stabbed myself as deeply into her as I could get and exploded into her pussy. It was like a first orgasm, not a third, and I filled her with so much sperm that I felt it flowing past me and out of her. Again, she milked out every drop.

I leaned back. Somehow, I still wanted her. I flipped her over, and she eagerly lifted her hips, presenting her ass for my use. I thrust into her again. She met every stroke, slapping her butt against my groin. Her pussy kept sucking at me. Every time I pulled out, it almost hurt. Knowing I could keep going, I didn’t bother holding back at all now. I just hammered her. She cried out.

“Fuck me, Master! Give it to me!”

I rode her hard for a minute or two. When she cried out again and I felt her pussy spasming around me, I rammed myself forward. Another enormous wave of pleasure washed over me, through me, and into her. We shook together for several long seconds before I let out a gasp and fell onto the bed beside her.

Four times, and it felt like I could keep going.

Katarina sat up, straddling me. By now, her pussy oozed with my seed, dripping down her thighs. She slid down my chest and lay beside my cock. She began kissing and sucking it.

“May I have more, Master?”

“You need more?”

“You have such power, Master. It fills me.”

I let her work. It was like the first time, and in a few minutes, I was erupting down her throat again.

My cock felt like it could go all night, but the rest of me needed a break. I pulled her up, and she lay next to me, smiling.

I lay there for a while just trying to catch my breath. Even though I understood how it had happened, I still wondered at how I’d come five times with her in about half an hour.

Katarina lay beside me, head against my shoulder and a hand on my chest.

“Did I please you, Master?”

I laughed softly. “You have to ask?”

She laughed with me. “I’m talented.”

“You are.”

Even if she was a demon, this felt good, having a hot girl lying beside me. It had been a while, I and I wanted it to continue. But if it did . . . I had a thought.

“What would happen if I commanded you to love me?”

She lifted her head to look at me. “Succubi aren’t capable of love. You can make me act a certain way, and I will, but you already have my total obedience. Isn’t that better, Master?”

“Hmm. Okay. But around other people, you might act like that. Just be my long-distance girlfriend from Sweden who finally came here to be with me.”

She snuggled with me. “I love my Jimmy so much!”

But it sounded horribly stilted and fake. The words alone almost hurt.

“Yeah, on second thought, maybe not. Just act hot for me, I guess.”

“I can do that. It’s not faking anything. Besides, Swedish girls are not very expressive about that sort of thing. If I am going to be from Sweden again, I would not talk that way about you.”

I stretched out and yawned. “Okay. We should get some sleep, then.”

Katarina sat up on her elbow. “I don’t need to sleep. I will stay here if you want, but I would just be lying here doing nothing. It would be a waste of time. You could give me something to do while you sleep.”

“Hmm. Okay, then clean the apartment. I want it spotless in the morning.”

She hopped up. “Yes, Master. I will do it.”

“Just don’t touch the magic circle or the books.”

“I will not touch them.” She leaned down to kiss me. “Sleep well, Master.”

Chapter 7

I woke up the next morning to the smell of cleaning supplies. I looked around my bedroom. It was cleaner and more orderly than it had ever been. Somehow she’d straightened up in here without waking me.

The floor looked clean enough to eat off of. This cheap apartment had laminate floors instead of carpet, and it seemed like she had swept and mopped in here during the night.

I emerged from the bedroom. The rest of the apartment was just as sparkling clean and orderly. The kitchen gleamed like I’d never seen it before.

Yet Katarina was down on the floor scraping at something under the stove. She looked up as I approached. She was wearing short cut-offs and a tight tank top that made her nipples stick out.

“I am so sorry, Master, but I’m not done yet. You asked for everything to be spotless. It was very dirty.”

“Yeah, sorry, it’s okay, really. You can stop. This place looks amazing.”

“I can stop? But there’s still some grease under here.”

“You can stop. I can’t tell the difference, honestly.”

She got up.

“Okay, look,” I said. “I don’t need you faking love, but this servile obedience is kind of grating too.”

Katarina looked at me in confusion. “Do you not want me to obey you, Master?”

“I do, just not quite so slavishly. Keep the Swedish accent, but bring back some of Sabrina’s attitude. You can drop the ‘Master’ too.”

“Well, sure, if that is what you want. There is a part of me that hates you with all the fires of Hell for doing this to me, if that helps. I am just ignoring her.”

“Really?” I asked.

She smiled. “It is not a big part.”

“How big?”

Katarina held up her fingers about a half-inch apart. “Maybe this big.”

I laughed. “That's the sweet spot I want you in.”

“I am glad we have worked that out.”

I went to make myself some breakfast. Katarina watched me, conflicted, as I pulled some yogurt and fruit out of the fridge.

“What?” I asked.

“Can I make you something to eat?”

“Can succubi cook?”

“Not really. But I will try if you wish.”

I laughed. “It’s okay.”

It was Sunday, which meant I had homework and more things to do for Dr. Vicenza. When I got to Hayley’s assignment, I had to force myself to forget what had happened, but the memory of her down between my legs kept intruding. Fortunately, she’d done an excellent job, so I didn’t need to feel guilty about giving her a 100% on it.

The gray tabby showed up around ten, meowing outside the door, and I fed her after giving her some attention. But since I had nothing for Katarina to do, she finished cleaning the kitchen and then did all my laundry, after I confirmed that she actually knew what she was doing.

“I’m curious,” I said when I took a break a few hours later. “Where did you live when you weren’t seducing people? Or did you live anywhere?”

She looked up from folding my clothes. “Life as a succubus means always looking for souls, or reporting back to Hell on your activities.”

“You can just come and go?”

“Yes. I had to. Hell is a gigantic bureaucracy. Everyone has someone else to report to. Just layers and layers of demons, until you get to the very top.”

“So what’s going to happen to you now?” I asked.

“I am on my own, because of my failure in being bound by a mortal.”

“Huh. Sorry about that.”

Katarina shrugged. “Cannot say I miss it, to be honest. That part of life as a succubus, it is the suck. Reporting to your superiors . . . it works much differently there, especially for us.”

“What do you mean?”

She looked over at me. “Think about it, Jimmy.”

I did.

“Do you mean . . . ?”

“Of course. And major demons have certain . . . tastes . . . that can be less than pleasant.”

“Ugh. I’m sorry.”

She smiled. “That part of me that hates you to death? Even she sees the improvement there.”

“What would happen if you went back now?”

“That ritual broke my connection to Hell. I cannot go back if I wanted to, which I don’t now.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

◆◆◆

I finally got done with all my homework, reading, and grading around five. Katarina had been lying on the couch playing with her hair, but when I got up, she looked over.

“Did you wish to fuck again? Swedish sex demon getting very bored over here.”

“Uh, sure, but later.”

She laughed. “Jimmy, I am twelve hundred years old. Do you really think I have not learned how to deal with a few hours with nothing to do? I spent most of the sixteenth century in Germany, and if you think that was an easy place for a succubus, trust me, it was not. Between Martin Luther telling all the priests and monks to get married, and the Inquisition wanting to burn everyone at the stake for witchcraft, I was lucky to avoid getting demoted to the Wood of the Suicides.”

“Wait, that’s a real place?”

“Yes, it is. Much fun. You get turned into a tree, and the harpies spend all day breaking branches off of you.”

“Do failed succubi really get sent there?”

“Sometimes. If you really piss Lilith off.”

I thought about that for a moment. “Would getting bound to a mortal do it?”

She gave me a thin smile. “That bit of me that hates you? That is what she is concerned about. The rest of Katarina is trying not to think about it.”

“Uh, shit. I didn’t realize that. But nothing would happen until I die?”

“You are not immortal.”

“But if I’m going to live a lot longer because of you, there must be other ways to do it.”

She sat up. “Well, yes. If you bound another demon, a more powerful one. Succubi are low on the hierarchy. Binding a marquis or a duke would be a different story. But that is not exactly easy.”

“Okay, well that’s related to something else I want to do here. And I could use your help.”

Katarina hopped up from the couch and came over. She was still wearing that thin tank top, and I was momentarily distracted by her perfect boobs bouncing around as she sat down.

“Will my breasts help with this?” she asked.

“Maybe. Hold on.”

I collected Grandma Amy’s books and set them on the table. Then I went to the closet and lifted out the box of her old crap and carried it to the kitchen. On the way, I grabbed her walking staff from the corner of my bedroom. I set all of it on the table next to the books.

Katarina’s eyes immediately went to the walking stick. She reared back a little, sucking in her breath and pulling her hands back from the table.

“Jimmy . . .”

“What?”

“This was your grandmother’s?”

“Yeah. It was her walking stick.”

“It is more than a walking stick. A lot more.”

“What is it?”

“This is made from bog oak. That is why it is so dark. This wood has to be thousands of years old. The power it absorbs over that time is enormous. Jimmy, I do not know how to tell you this, but if this staff was hers, she was a very powerful sorceress. A very powerful one. Only one of supreme skill could create and command this.”

I stared down at the stick. It was so familiar to me that I had more or less stopped really seeing it for what it was. There were symbols carved all up and down the length of it, symbols that I now recognized from the books.

I didn’t know what all of them meant or what they might have been intended to do, but the ones I did remember reading about were enchantments for binding and controlling demons. As I looked closer, I saw dull stains, scorch marks, little pieces of metal and stone that had been hammered into it. I’d seen it all before, but suddenly it was evidence of a lot more than my grandmother’s eccentricities.

I reached for it, but the moment I did, Katarina lurched up from the table fast enough to knock her chair over. She backed away from me across the room.

“What’s wrong?”

“Please don’t do anything with that until you understand what it is. It is . . . dangerous to my kind.”

“Demons?”

“Do you want to bind a Marquis or Duke of Hell? You will need something like that. But if you don’t know what you’re doing, there is no telling what could happen.”

I picked it up and turned it over in my hands. I’d always felt an affinity with it. As a kid, I loved just holding it and examining all the intricate details. Grandma Amy had encouraged me to do it, in fact.

And holding it now, knowing that all this was real, that I had the talent and ability to do these things, I began to sense the power in it. The bond I had with Katarina seemed to start flowing through the staff.

She gasped, going rigid. “Please . . .”

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Jimmy, I like you. You own me already. I will do what you want, whatever it is. You don’t need to do this.”

“I’m just feeling it out. Don’t worry.”

The staff was amplifying everything a hundred-fold. Instead of simply feeling her, I could see and sense every molecule of her being, exactly how she did what she did. I could control it if I wanted to.

Very gently, I took control of her appearance, the clothes she was wearing. I turned the cut-off shorts and tank top into a sheer black babydoll nightgown.

Katarina gasped, looking down at herself. “You could have just asked.”

“I needed to see.” I let go of her, releasing the bond.

Holy shit. Grandma Amy really was a fucking sorceress.

Katarina bent forward onto her knees.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I couldn’t help it. I’ve held this thing a thousand times, but this is the first time I really understood what it is.

“It is okay. It did not hurt. But I could feel you inside me. I was completely helpless. I’ve never felt that kind of power from a mortal.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. Jimmy, you have a talent I do not think you begin to appreciate.”

I set the staff down. “You can come back. I’m done with that for now.”

She let out a long breath and walked back over, picking up her chair. But she stopped and looked down at herself again.

“Is this what you like?”

“Yeah.”

She smiled. “I shall try to remember that.”

“You can change it back if you want now.”

“No. This works. I love it.”

She sat down. I opened up the box of Grandma Amy’s junk and pulled out all the little boxes of stuff inside. Katarina’s eyes widened as I set them out on the table. She gingerly looked through the crystals, stones, and other things.

“All of this is used in spellcasting, if you have not guessed by now.”

“Used how?” I asked.

“I am a succubus, Jimmy, not a sorceress. I only know what I have seen and heard. But crystals are used for focusing magical energy. The skulls call on animal spirits. The stones, it depends on the spell. Some spells need stones from certain places of power. Same thing with all these sticks. She must have collected them from all over the place.”

“It’s a lot.”

“It is.”

“She made me swear not to throw any of it out.”

“The way she has them all organized makes it very obvious. And based on that staff, I will guess that every one of these things is important and powerful.”

“How do I find out what they are?”

“I do not know. That is on you. You are the sorcerer, not me.”

“I—”

But I stopped.

I’d bound a succubus. I could use Grandma Amy’s demon staff. What else was I now, if not a sorcerer?

I looked back over the sticks and stones and other stuff. If I cleared my mind and focused on them, I realized I could sense the power in them. I didn’t quite know what they all were, but I felt like the answers might come to me, assuming I knew what questions to ask.

Then I saw something I hadn’t noticed. Shoved into the lid of one of the little boxes was an old envelope. As I pulled it out, I realized there was quite a bit inside – stiff things that felt like photos.

That was indeed what they were: a stack of faded photos, and based on the dates in the corner, they’d been taken in the late 1990s.

There were six of them. I recognized a younger Grandma Amy standing with my parents. She held a baby in her arms. I’d never seen these photos before, but I was pretty sure the baby was me. The dates matched up – they’d been taken about a month after I was born.

Katarina leaned in. “Is that your grandmother?”

“Yes. Not sure what these photos are.”

Katarina’s face took on a strange cast.

“What?”

“May I look at these?”

“Sure.”

She spread them out and looked through all six, staring closely at them. One of them was a close-up of Grandma Amy holding me. She picked it up and stared at it.

“What is it?”

“I may be wrong. But your grandmother looks very familiar to me.”

“Familiar how?”

“It is an old memory. How old was your grandmother when she died?”

“Eighty-three, I think.”

“So she should have been about sixty when this was taken?”

“Right.”

“Jimmy, doesn’t she look much younger than that in this picture?”

I examined it. I saw what she meant, but Grandma Amy had aged pretty well, until the last few years. When I was growing up, people often thought she was my mother. If you didn’t know her, you might have thought she was in her forties in this shot.

“Yeah, but so what?” I asked.

“She looks very much like a sorceress I encountered once.”

“When?”

“A long time ago.”

“How long?”

Katarina looked over at me. “It would have been the early 1800s. In Hungary.”

A chill went down my spine. Grandma Amy’s family was Hungarian, though I knew little about our roots beyond that.

“It could have been an ancestor of hers,” I said. “That’s where we’re from.”

“An ancestor who could have been her sister. That is how strongly she resembles this sorceress.”

“But that was so long ago. Are you sure you’re remembering right?”

“Jimmy, I am a demon. My memory does not work like yours. I remember this as if it was yesterday. If your grandmother was not this sorceress, she was her identical twin.”

I stared at the photo. “But does that mean anything? I mean, that could happen. Looking alike.”

“You have no other family?”

“No.”

Katarina looked at me, then back down at the photos. “I do not know what it means, other than I am sure there is more here than you realize. And you need to find out.”

Chapter 8

After a while longer, I started putting the stuff away.

“Jimmy, may I make one suggestion?” Katarina asked. “A request, really. If you managed the spell that bound me, this should be simple, especially now that you have your grandmother’s staff.”

“What?”

“You should put a ward on your apartment. What you are doing, with me and the rest of it, it will attract attention. I think there must be a ward on you, personally, that your grandmother cast long ago. It’s why I did not recognize you for what you are.”

“How do I do it?”

“The spell must be in one of those books.”

We found it in Liber Incantationum. There was a spell to ward an area against all spirits and demons. Once in place, they would be unable to enter or even see anything within it.

And wouldn’t you know it, everything I needed to cast the spell was in Grandma Amy’s box of crap. Three stones of power to call on the forces of the Earth, and three sticks to call on the forces of nature: a length of alder wood, a length of holly, and a length of rowan.

“Do you think this is going to affect you?” I asked Katarina.

“It said the owner can allow things in, yes? I think because of our bond, I should be safe.”

The spell called for me to arrange the sticks and stone at the points of a six-pointed star drawn on the floor in the blood of the owner of the place. Then I carried the staff around, reciting the incantation four times in each of the four corners of the apartment.

The ritual I’d used to bind Katarina had gone too quickly, and I’d been too focused on getting it done to really pay attention to what was happening. I didn’t know what I was doing. This time I did.

Holding the staff, I could feel the magical energies I was commanding. I could feel them flowing into the structure of the apartment and forming the ward. When I was done, there was no question in my mind that it had worked.

“Do you feel it?”

“Yes. You are . . . very strong, Jimmy. I think this should hold up against almost anything.”

She walked up and leaned her head against my shoulder. I felt her breast against my arm under the silk of her nightgown, the nipple stiff against my skin as she gently brushed it against me.

“Just so you know, great power is a turn-on for succubi. We are made that way, for the major demons. So this is arousing me very much.”

I laughed and picked her up, intending to carry her to bed.

“Will you bring the staff?”

“You want me to use it?”

She pressed her face against my neck. “You took me by surprise before. I was not expecting it. But now I want it. I want you to control me.”

I grabbed it from the table and carried her to the bedroom. I tossed her down, and she laughed, scooting backward. I undressed quickly, then picked up the staff.

She moaned as I took control of her body. I left her control of her voice, but nothing else. It was a weird feeling, almost like having a second body of my own. I could move her as easily as myself.

I moved her hand down and had her start rubbing her pussy. She moaned again.

“Oh, Master, I have never . . .”

“You’ve never done that?”

“No. Why would I?”

She had a point. But I kept doing it. She lay there in that little black nightgown, legs spread, fingers rapidly stroking and finger-fucking herself. I could feel what it was doing to her, feel the arousal inside her. She was already just as turned on as she’d told me, and it took little time to get her to the edge.

But I stopped her there, and she moaned in frustration.

“Oh . . .”

I was hard from watching her, and I made her slide down on the floor. I kept one of her hands between her legs, stroking furiously. The other I wrapped around the base of my cock. I gave her back control of her mouth and thrust in up to the root. I fucked her throat steadily, all the way in, all the way out, as she sucked eagerly at me. The noise of her fingers in her pussy echoed through the room.

Katarina moaned through her nose, looking up at me in complete submission to my will. I could feel the frustration and ache inside her, held right on the edge of orgasm for several minutes now. I was getting close myself, and knowing I could last as long as I needed to, I decided not to stop. With a grunt, I buried myself in her face and blasted thick shots of sperm down her throat.

But I stopped the orgasm from flowing into her like it had last night. I wasn’t ready to let her come. She moaned again as she realized what I’d done, even as she hungrily swallowed my seed.

I withdrew, still hard, and lay down the bed. I made Katarina squat over me, still having her rub herself. She was so wet she was literally dripping onto me. I held my cock up and hovered her directly over the head. Then I stopped.

She whimpered.

“Master, please, I need it. It hurts.”

I lowered her just a bit, letting the head just touch her open folds. I could feel the incredible heat and wetness of her.

I gave her back control of her pussy, not to come, just to use it on me. I immediately felt her sucking and squeezing at me, trying to pull me inside.

I lowered her down very slowly as she continued to stroke her clit. The tension inside her was incredible now, the arousal hammering futilely against the wall of my iron control over her. But I just lay there, holding the staff, making her slide herself down over me. She milked and sucked at my cock, trying to convince me to let her come.

But still I didn’t. I just had her move up and down, enjoying what she was doing to me.

“Master . . .” she whimpered.

“Soon. Just keep doing that.”

I moved her faster now, starting to bounce over me. I watched her pussy repeatedly swallowing my cock as her fingers went back and forth over her clit.

The finger-fucking seemed to have reached its limit in terms of stimulating her. So I made her reach up and start pinching and pulling her on her nipples. She gasped, and her pussy convulsed around me.

I was rough with her, making her pinch herself hard enough to hurt. But she was a succubus, and it just turned her on even more.

I was ready to come again. I had her speed up, firm butt slapping against my groin as she continued abusing her nipples. Just as I went over the edge, I let go of everything in Katarina except her orgasm, which I shoved forward as hard as I could.

Katarina screamed in release, her entire body shaking uncontrollably as I spurted up into her, my orgasm and hers roaring through her. Her pussy clamped down on me almost painfully, milking out every drop. It went on for ten or twenty seconds before she let out a gasp and fell forward onto my chest.

I took control of her again, moving her down to suck out the last of my orgasm. I let myself go soft in her mouth before letting go of her. Then she crawled up to lie beside me.

“The major demons are like that . . . when they use us,” she said softly.

“Really?”

“Just . . . without the pleasure.”

We lay together facing each other. She had her head against my chest.

“You know, it is very strange not having a dead body to deal with afterward,” she said.

I laughed. “You mean not having the guy die mid-ejaculation?”

“Not in the middle. As soon as it was over, I pulled out their souls. Most of them were so drained they did not even notice.”

“What did that feel like?”

“Nothing. Not like it is with you, with the bond. Climaxing so hard together like we do.”

“You don’t have to answer this, but what happens with the demons?”

She didn’t say anything.

After a few moments, I said, “I’ll take that as ‘I don’t want to answer.’”

“It is different. That is all I wish to say. Master, please do not make me talk about it.”

“Okay. I won’t.”

“Thank you, Master.”

◆◆◆

It was still fairly early, and I was hungry, so I got up to make something for dinner. I had Katarina put on a little cami top and cheeky panties, what seemed like an appropriate “girlfriend who just got out of bed” outfit.

“You do not have much money, Jimmy?” she asked.

“Is it that obvious? Yeah, I’m a struggling grad student, and my grandma didn’t have much money. All she left me is what you see there, which I guess is a lot now that I think of it, but no, I don’t have much in the way of cash.”

“There are spells that can bring riches.”

“Yeah, I saw. They look kind of tricky. Not sure I’m ready to try that yet.”

“You are right to be cautious. When I was a young succubus, I tempted many spellcasters with promises of gold and jewels. Trading your soul for money seems like a poor exchange to me.”

“Yeah, I—”

There was a knock on the door.

“Should I get it?” she asked.

“Ah . . . okay.”

She wasn’t exactly dressed for it, but I suddenly didn’t care. Katarina got up and opened the door. It was Kelly.

“Hello,” she said.

I watched Kelly’s eyes bugging out a bit in surprise.

“Hey,” I said.

“Uh, hey dude.”

“This is Katarina,” I said. “She’s a friend of mine from Sweden.”

“I am staying with Jimmy while I study Biology here.”

“Her program started late,” I said.

Kelly nodded, though I saw him looking her up and down. “Uh, that’s great. Nice to meet you. We’re just over here hanging out with some people. Thought you might want to come over. I tried earlier, but you didn’t answer.”

“We were making love,” Katarina said. “Did you hear us? I am sorry if I am loud.”

Kelly laughed. “Dude.”

“We’ll be over in a minute,” I said.

Kelly shut the door, and I stifled a laugh.

“So much for not attracting attention.”

“But he will believe I am your girlfriend now, yes?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

◆◆◆

I had Katarina put on some jeans and her glasses but left her in the cami top. She had no bra on under it, and her nipples were obvious. But she also definitely looked the part of a visiting Swedish grad student who was unconcerned with her appearance.

“Okay, we need an explanation for you,” I told her. “How about, we hooked up in Yosemite a couple of years ago. You were on vacation. We kept in touch. When you decided to come to Huntington for grad school, I offered to put you up here. I wasn’t sure exactly when you were coming until a couple of days ago.”

“It is a good story. I have been to Yosemite, though it was about sixty years ago.”

“Uh, I would leave that part out.”

“Do not worry.”

We found six other kids, four girls and three guys including Kelly, sitting around Kelly’s living room drinking beer and watching football. I introduced Katarina, and though her outfit got some looks, she was soon talking to two of the girls in the kitchen.

“You have any luck finding a roommate?” I asked Kelly. I knew he was trying to find someone to take Nathan’s room.

Kelly shook his head. “Not so far. Some calls, that’s it.”

“I still can’t believe what happened to Nathan,” one of the girls said.

“Really sucks,” the first guy said.

I glanced over at Katarina, but she was either ignoring it or didn’t hear. I tried not to dwell on the fact that my sort-of girlfriend was responsible for Nathan’s death.

“I still think that girl Sabrina had something to do with it,” the girl said. “I bet she got him to take something.”

The second girl sitting with us spoke up. “Did you hear what happened today?”

“What?” I asked.

“The police came back asking around the building about Nathan and Sabrina,” she said. “At least I think they were the police. They were dressed like detectives or something. Maybe FBI.”

“Did you talk to them?” I asked.

“No, my roommate did. They wanted to know if we knew where Sabrina was.”

“She was here just the other night,” the first girl said.

“There’s something really creepy about her,” the other girl replied. “Always coming over here, saying she has friends. Who are her friends here?”

“I have no fucking idea,” the first girl said. “I never see her with anyone. She just shows up at these parties, and guys let her in just because she’s hot.”

Kelly and I, and the two other guys, exchanged a look.

“She’s not that hot,” Kelly said.

“Oh, please,” the first girl said. “She looks like a stripper.”

That conversation seemed to die, and we went back to the game. Kelly looked over at me a few minutes later.

“Dude, you totally never mentioned having a girl in Sweden. That’s nuts.”

“Uh, it was just a long-distance thing.” I gave them the story we’d worked out.

“She’s so pretty,” the first girl said.

“I hate girls who can look like that without even trying,” the other girl said quietly, “like they don’t even care.”

“She seems nice. I don’t think she means anything by it.”

“Do they not wear bras in Sweden?” the other girl asked.

“Yeah, I think it’s like a thing up there,” the first girl said. “When it’s warm and they don’t have to be all bundled up, the girls just let everything out. I wish we could do it here.”

“No one’s making you wear a bra,” one of the guys said.

“I hate bras,” the second girl said. “If I had boobs like hers, I would do it.”

When a commercial came on, I got up and went to the kitchen. Katarina took my arm affectionately.

“I was telling them how generous you are in offering me a place to stay,” she said.

“You guys just met up in Yosemite?” one of the girls asked.

“Yeah,” I said.

“My friend and I were backpacking,” Katarina said. “We got lost. Jimmy found us on the trail and led us back to the campground. We set up camp together that night and hiked together for a few days. ”

“She decided my tent was more interesting than hers.”

The girls laughed.

“I did not like American boys much until I met Jimmy. So we stayed in touch when I went back to Sweden. I wanted to study abroad for grad school. Jimmy sent me some information about Huntington, and I decided I liked it. So, here I am.”

I was mildly amazed at this monologue, but I guess coming up with bullshit backstories on the fly was an essential part of being a succubus.

Then all of a sudden, I felt something cold and dark approaching. There was no direction to it, just a sudden sense of evil and foreboding. I realized after a moment or two that what I felt was a thing nearing the ward on my apartment – a thing the ward was designed to stop.

A demon.

Two of them, actually.

They were close, and getting closer.

Beside me, Katarina displayed no reaction on her face, but I felt her fingers tightening on my arm. She felt the same thing through our bond.

She turned to me, putting her hand on her stomach. “Jimmy, I am not feeling well. Can we go back?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I am sorry,” she said to the girls. “It may be something I ate. It was nice to meet you.”

They expressed concern but said goodbye. I thanked Kelly, and we went quickly back to the apartment.

“Do you feel that?” she asked.

“Is it a demon?”

“Two. I am not sure what, but they are powerful.”

“Can they find us here?”

“Not inside the ward. But if for some reason they try to enter, they will know there is something here.”

I ran over to the stack of books. I remembered seeing an incantation in Clavicula Salomonis that would shroud you from a demon’s attention and cause them to go elsewhere. I found it after a minute or so. There were no materials necessary.

“Master, they’re coming,” Katarina whispered.

I grabbed the staff and set the book on the counter next to the door. I heard a conversation outside.

“. . . if you happen to see her,” a voice said, “please give us a call. It’s very important that we talk to her.”

“Like I said, she doesn’t live here,” Kelly said. “I told you guys all I know the day after he died.”

“When was the last time you saw her?”

“Couple of nights ago.”

“Do you know anyone who might know where she is? Are there any of your neighbors who might know anything?”

“Uh, you guys talked to Jimmy already, right?”

I lifted the staff and began the incantation in a low voice. It was four lines, to be repeated over and over until the demon left.

“In the name of God, I command you to withdraw.

By the power of Hell, I command you to pass by.

I command the spirits of the Earth to carry you away.

I command the spirits of the Air to hide me from you.”

I sensed them just outside the ward, standing there. The proximity brought a name to my mind: Volach.

I’d seen the name in one of the endless lists in the book, though I couldn’t immediately place it.

I heard the voices again.

“I think we’re done here. If you happen to see anything, give us a call, okay?”

“Uh, sure,” Kelly said.

After a few more moments, I felt the demons receding from us. When they seemed far enough away, I stopped the spell.

Katarina came up to me, gripping my arm. “They were looking for me.”

“Who is Volach?”

She gasped. “Why?”

“I sensed that name.”

“Volach is a powerful demon. Are you sure?”

“I don’t know anything. The name just came to my mind.”

I went back to the books. He showed up in both Liber Officiorum Spirituum and Liber Incantationum, though the spelling was slightly different. He was described as having both the power of commanding serpents and finding treasures.

“This is correct, but it is incomplete,” Katarina said. “Volach can be male or female. I don’t know which is its true form, if any.”

“Okay. So, let’s assume both for now. I drove them off, but they must know you’re here somewhere. Why would they be searching for you?”

“You broke my connection to Hell with the ritual,” Katarina said. “They were going to realize that sooner or later. I just did not expect it this soon.”

“Would they know what I did?”

“I don’t know. But they must know something happened to me.”

“They were pretending to be the police. These other demons can change their appearance like you?”

“Some can, yes.”

“If I could bind this demon, Volach, we could get them to leave us alone?”

Katarina’s face paled. “Jimmy, Volach is much more powerful than I am.”

“But if I did it?”

“Yes. You would control them as you do me.”

“So, maybe I summon them, bind them, and then we’re good.”

Katarina didn’t look convinced. “Do you really think you’re strong enough?”

“I don’t know. Let me read up on what would be involved.”

The problem was that it was getting late, and I had class tomorrow. Chem 240 was at ten, and I had to be there.

I managed a little bit of reading in Clavicula Salomonis before giving up and going to bed. Then Katarina appeared in that same little black nightgown.

“Do you have anything for me to do? Or would you like me to sleep with you?”

“Judging by what you have on, I can guess what answer you’re hoping for. Just stay here until I’m out. Then do what you want.”

She lay down with me, and I held her until I fell asleep.

Chapter 9

I had another dream.

I was back in that stone passageway, walking past the alcoves. As before, it seemed to go on and on. But this time, I finally came to a spot where the alcoves ahead of me were all empty. I turned to my right. Grandma Amy stood in the alcove beside me. She wasn’t a statue.

“Jimmy,” she said.

“You’re here.”

“The debts must be paid,” she said.

“What debts? What did you mean?”

“Your birthright, Jimmy.”

“What were those photos?” I asked.

“Breamstone.”

“What?”

“Breamstone, Jimmy.”

Katarina was beside me. “It is not safe here. They are coming.”

I looked down the hall behind me again. I saw the barbarians who had attacked Katarina’s village. They were running toward us.

The hallway was gone. We stood on a windswept cliff above a narrow inlet that opened to the sea far away. The water below was studded with dark green islands. The entire area around us was a thick blanket of pine trees. In the distance behind us, I could see the warriors approaching.

“I can protect you this time,” I said.

“You cannot, Jimmy.”

I lifted Grandma Amy’s staff, beginning the incantation to ward us against demons. At first, it held them back, but somehow they forced their way through.

Katarina took my hand.

“I’ll jump with you,” I said.

We stepped off the cliff together. I watched the rocks below rushing up at us. We struck them with a splat.

◆◆◆

I lurched awake, sitting halfway up in bed.

“Jimmy?”

It was dawn. Katarina was still there beside me.

“Shit,” I said.

I lay back down.

“Were you dreaming?” she asked. “I could feel such turmoil in you. You were talking in your sleep.”

My heart was thumping in my chest the way it did when you woke up in the middle of an intense dream. “What did I say?”

“Breamstone. What does that mean? The word hurts my mind.”

I struggled to remember everything. A hallway. Grandma Amy. Dying with Katarina.

“I don’t know,” I said. “But it’s important somehow.”

“You said something else.”

“What?”

She didn’t answer me right away. “You said, ‘I’ll jump with you.’ Who were you talking to?”

“Uh. I’m not sure.”

I sensed that she wasn’t sure whether to believe me. But she rolled closer, putting her head next to my shoulder and a hand on my arm.

“I could try to pretend to love you again,” she said.

“It’s okay. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Why don’t you go make some coffee? I’m going to take a shower. Not getting back to sleep here.”

Katarina attempted to make me breakfast, which being yogurt and coffee, she managed successfully. She was back into her grad student mode now, wearing just yoga pants and a short Huntington College t-shirt with her glasses.

“I have to ask something,” I said.

“Does it concern my breasts? This bond goes both ways, you know.”

“I was just curious how much of that is original and how much you’ve improved on.”

She smiled. “A little of both.” She lifted her shirt. “Tell me, does it matter?”

I laughed. Eternity was about as long as it would take for me to get tired of looking at them.

“No. I guess not.”

I spent an hour reading through the grimoires before settling on a ritual that might work to summon and bind Volach. But it was complicated and required a lot of different ingredients, some of which I would need to collect from the lab. I was also going to need to think out how it might be refined and improved, which would take some time.

Around 9:30, we walked over to school. During breakfast, I suggested that, for the sake of her cover, it would help for her to start hanging around the Biology building and library, and other places on campus. Not really having anything else to do while I was in class, Katarina agreed. In addition to clothes, it turned out that she was, temporarily at least, able to manifest small things like a student ID. So it seemed like it would work.

I got to Chem 240 fifteen minutes early to check in with Dr. Vicenza. We went over the assignments and labs for that week for about five minutes.

“Oh, Jimmy, there’s one other thing I wanted to ask you. Do you know Huiqian Xie?”

“Yeah.” He was one of the other Chemistry TAs.

“He apparently had some kind of family emergency and had to go home to China over the weekend. Bob Paulson asked if you might be able to take over his lab sessions temporarily. We don’t know when he’s going to be able to come back. If it ends up being permanent, Bob can find someone else. We’re hoping it will just be a couple of weeks.”

“What lab was Huiqian doing?”

“Chem 320.”

That was Biochemistry. Not really my thing, but I could handle it. And I could sure use the extra money.

“Uh, yeah, I can do it.”

“Great, I’ll tell Bob. You should check in with him later.”

I went to sit down near the front. A few minutes before ten, Hayley came into the lecture hall. She gave me a quick little wave and sat down a couple of seats behind me.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey,” she replied.

But that was it for now. Class started, and I spent the next fifty minutes just keeping track of where we were in the syllabus.

After class, I collected all the homework the students turned in to Dr. Vicenza and turned to go. I had a class of my own right after lunch, plus my other Chem 240 lab section after that, and I wanted to check on Katarina just to be sure nothing had happened on campus.

But Hayley was waiting outside, and she fell in beside me as I walked down the hallway.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“I know it was just a hookup, and we didn’t do all that much, so it’s not that big a deal, really. But my friend told me there’s a girl rooming with you. Some girl from Sweden.”

This was a complication I hadn’t anticipated with everything else going on.

“Yeah, uh, but only as of this weekend. Kind of a long story. I didn’t know exactly when she was coming.”

“Not that I really care, but was it that blonde girl I saw you walking to class with? I was sitting outside. I guess you didn’t see me.”

Ah, shit, I thought. “Yeah.”

“She’s really from Sweden?”

“Grad school. Just started this semester. We’ve known each other a few years, but she only got here on Saturday night. Her program is starting this week.”

I could tell she didn’t quite know what to make of this.

“So . . . are you guys together?”

“Uh, little hard to explain. Not the way you’re thinking. I’m giving her a place to live for now.”

“Huh.”

“Do you want to meet her?” I asked.

Hayley pursed her lips and gave me a funny look. “I guess. Okay.”

We walked out of the building, and Hayley followed me over to where I left Katarina. She was sitting on a bench playing with a phone, which I guess she was able to manifest as well. She looked up as we approached.

“Hello, you,” she said.

“Hey. This is Hayley. She’s one of the students in my section. Hayley, this is Katarina.”

“Hi,” Hayley said.

“You are one of Jimmy’s students?” Katarina asked.

“Sort of. Yeah.”

“What are you studying?”

“Premed.”

“Well, I am just starting my master’s in Evolutionary Biology. Perhaps we can study together. I do not have any friends here besides Jimmy.”

“Uh . . .” Hayley seemed taken aback for a moment. “I mean, I’m just a sophomore. Would I be able to help you at all?”

“You do not wish to be friends?” Katarina asked. “I could help you.”

Hayley gasped. “Oh no, I didn’t mean it like that, I’m sorry. I just mean, you must be studying more advanced stuff.”

“If you want to be a doctor, you will study these things eventually, yes?”

Hayley glanced at me, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess, sure.”

“So we can be friends?” Katarina said.

I laughed. Hayley laughed nervously.

“Do you want to go get lunch?” I asked Hayley.

Hayley had been flustered for a few moments, but she seemed to shake it off. “Uh, yeah, sure.”

We went over to the student union and got a table outside. Katarina ordered a salad, but as we ate, I noticed that she picked at it without eating much of anything. Instead, she worked on winning over Hayley.

“Are you from California, Hayley? I love it here so much. Jimmy and I met at Yosemite.”

Hayley nodded. “Yeah, I’m from San Sebastian. It’s a couple of hours north of here. I love Yosemite too.”

“When we were hiking, I would get so hot that Jimmy would get me wet,” Katarina said.

Hayley burst out laughing, then put her hand over her mouth. Katarina looked confused. “I am sorry. What did I say? My English is not perfect.”

“No, it’s okay. The way you said it––”

“Jimmy had a spray bottle that we used to cool off,” she said. “He would squirt and make me wet.”

I had to laugh too, and Hayley lost it again, trying to stop. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Katarina put her hand on Hayley’s arm. “It is all right. Please tell me so I know what I said wrong.”

“It’s . . . the way you said it, there’s a sexual connotation.”

Katarina looked surprised, then laughed. “Oh! I think I see. That is funny. I am sorry for embarrassing you.” She laughed again, and this time Hayley laughed with her.

The entries on succubi in Grandma Amy’s books noted that they had special skills at charming humans, but until I watched her in action, I hadn’t quite understood what that meant. It wasn’t magic – I could sense everything Katarina did through our bond, and there was no spell involved. It was simply a very incisive understanding of human motivations and psychology. Katarina kept feigning misunderstandings that Hayley had to correct and apologize for, then Katarina would thank her for being so nice and they would laugh about it.

By the time we finished eating and I had to get to class, the two of them were talking and laughing as if they had known each other for years. I had started out feeling very awkward about this, and unsure of where my feelings were for Hayley. Seeing them together made me realize I liked her, and by the end of lunch, I felt a somewhat surprising degree of relief that Katarina’s presence in my life hadn’t fucked things up with her.

When we split up, they decided that Hayley would give Katarina a tour of the campus.

“Okay, I guess I’ll see you back at the apartment,” I said. “Have fun.”

Katarina hugged me, then looked at Hayley, who gave me a quick, somewhat nervous hug as well.

“Goodbye, Jimmy!” Katarina called.

◆◆◆

After class, I went over to see Dr. Paulson. He was one of the older faculty and sported a thick white beard that made him look a lot like Santa Claus.

“Jimmy, I really appreciate your picking up the ball here. At my age, I probably depend too much on my TAs.”

“It’s fine.”

“I mainly just need you to oversee the labs for a couple of weeks. I’m past the point where I trust myself with a lot of it. Too much risk of forgetting to get everything squared away and locked up afterward. Huiqian took care of all that. Hopefully he’ll be back soon.”

“I can handle it.”

“Ray Vicenza spoke very highly of you, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

He handed me all the keys, and we walked to the lab building so he could show me what was what. The layout was the same as the Chem 240 lab, though they had a lot of different materials in the locker.

I did my best not to let on, but I realized that an awful lot of it might be useful with my spellcasting. Biochem was mainly cell biology – proteins, amino acids, enzymes, and DNA. Many of the spells, especially in Liber Incantationum and Picatrix, called for organic materials. I was pretty sure that using purified extracts would be more effective than just dried and powdered bat wings and newt tails.

“Think you’ve got it?” Dr. Paulson asked.

“Sure thing.”

Chapter 10

Katarina was in the apartment when I got back after my lab section.

“How was the tour?”

“She is so cute. I love her.”

“I thought you weren’t capable of love.”

She hopped up and gave me a kiss. “You are jealous, Master?”

I laughed. “No.”

“I simply meant that I enjoy the feel of her soul. If I were not bonded to you, I might try to take it.”

I cocked an eyebrow at her.

She just smiled. “Succubi can corrupt women as well, Jimmy.”

“I thought that was what incubi did?”

She laughed. “Ah, then there is something you do not know about Hayley.”

I nodded in understanding. “Oh. Yeah, I did know that, actually. I just didn’t know that would implicate succubi.”

“It is much less common, but I have done it before. I have made her quite attracted to me.”

“You’re sure?”

Katarina rolled her eyes. “I am a succubus, Jimmy.”

“How does it work with women, exactly? I mean, there’s no semen to collect. Isn’t that what you need?”

“An orgasm is enough. Rest assured, I could give Hayley the best one she has ever had.”

I laughed. Jeez, this was not how I had expected my day to go.

After I got some grading and reading taken care of, I sat down with the grimoires to figure out what I needed to do. The ritual for summoning and binding Volach in Clavicula Salomonis had several elements.

I needed a magic circle, but I didn’t like the idea of using the one in my apartment. I was concerned about the ward I’d set up, and Katarina confirmed that using the existing circle would give Volach permission to enter. So that was out.

Since I needed a source of gas, the replacement was obvious. I could use one of the labs I had access to. All I needed to do was set up some burners around the circle. It would mean using more of Grandma Amy’s ashes, but I hadn’t needed very much to make the first one, so I figured it was okay.

Summoning Volach required the brass brazier again, which would be burning a mixture of things. Because of Volach’s connection to serpents, I needed to start with a measure of snake scales, boil them in aqua regia until they dissolved, and then evaporate the resulting solution. I would then recite an incantation while burning the powder in the brazier over a charcoal fire along with sulfur and powdered mandrake root.

What was going on with the scales was obvious – snake scales were made of keratin, the same thing that made up fingernails, hair, and hooves. Aqua regia was a mixture of concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acid. What you would end up with was hydrolyzed keratin, a common ingredient in all sorts of things like cosmetics and shampoo.

Aqua regia, however, seemed like a brute-force method of making it. A little research showed me why it wasn’t the best approach. The acid broke down too many of the proteins so that you ended up with a lot of impurities. Using sodium hydroxide – lye – was a lot more efficient. It was then a simple matter of filtering out the resulting solids, neutralizing the solution with a little hydrochloric acid, then rinsing and drying it. That would give me some pretty pure snake-scale keratin powder.

The binding process was more convoluted.

I was supposed to combine mercury with aqua fortis, the traditional term for nitric acid. This, I knew, would produce mercuric nitrate, which was a common chemical compound used in late medieval societies for producing felt. (It was also quite toxic, and frequent exposure would result in mercury poisoning, a phenomenon that led to the expression “mad as a hatter.”)

I was then supposed to mix the mercuric nitrate with vinegar, plaster of Paris, “lead sugar,” and red powdered mercury, and heat the resulting mixture in a copper pot over one of the braziers until it boiled, at which point I would throw in a handful of dried poppies and some kind of object once carried by the demon.

I made some notes and started calculating what exactly was happening here. Powdered mercury was mercuric oxide. Plaster of Paris was calcium sulfate. “Lead sugar” was lead acetate.

Boiling lead acetate in vinegar would produce acetone. Assuming you did it correctly, combining that with mercuric nitrate, mercuric oxide, and calcium sulfate would, I was pretty sure, eventually give you a compound called acetic anhydride.

As it happened, acetic anhydride was a very common reagent used for all sorts of organic synthesis, such as plastics, explosives, and pharmaceuticals. As with the keratin, there were considerably easier methods of making it, and you could even buy it for laboratory use. It was a restricted substance, but I was almost certain the Biochem lab would have it.

Only then, looking through an online reference to acetic anhydride, did it occur to me exactly what this concoction was doing. Acetic anhydride was restricted because one of those common processes produced a specific, highly restricted pharmaceutical. Combine morphine with acetic anhydride, and you got heroin.

There was morphine in poppies. Not a lot, but using this hash of reactions to get there could not have produced a lot of heroin. Starting with reagent-grade acetic anhydride would surely do a much more effective job, in addition to removing the need to work with all these highly toxic mercury and lead compounds. It needed careful handling, but it was a lot less dangerous than the rest of it.

So I wrote down my shopping list.

Sulfur, sodium hydroxide, and hydrochloric acid I could get easily from the Chem lab. I wasn’t sure about the mandrake root, but it turned out that I could get it at a store not far away that catered to would-be witches and adherents to New Age mysticism. When I called them, the woman I talked to happily informed me that they also sold snake skins and dried poppies.

The only question mark was the acetic anhydride. So I went back over to the Biochem lab, and checked the supplies list. Acetic anhydride was on it, and I found the bottle after only a minute of looking. The list carefully tracked the amount on hand, but looking at the log, I realized it wouldn’t be hard to alter the previous entries to hide what I’d taken. It wasn’t something you could get away with for very long, but I wouldn’t need that much – not enough to attract any attention.

All I needed now was something Volach had possessed. After thinking for a few minutes, I suddenly had an idea.

When I got home, I went across the hall and knocked on Kelly’s door. He answered a minute later.

“Hey, man. What’s up?”

“Hey. Those cops that were here this weekend, did they give you anything, like a card? I wanted to talk to them, but I lost the number they gave me.”

“Oh, yeah, one of them gave me his card. Hold on.” He went inside and came back a minute later holding a business card. “You can have it. I got nothing more to tell them.”

“It was the one you talked to who gave you this? He handed it to you?”

Kelly gave me a funny look but nodded. “Uh, yeah.”

“Great. Thanks.”

◆◆◆

The spell shop was called Soul Journeys, and it was in a little strip shopping center between a dry cleaners and a taco stand. Katarina and I drove over there that afternoon after I got Volach’s business card from Kelly.

The moment I walked in, my nose was assaulted by a wave of overlapping scents and odors. The place was dense with displays of scented candles and incense, but that was only the beginning. All sorts of plants, blown glass ornaments, lamps, and other things hung from the ceiling. Wooden display cases lined the walls, jammed with books, crystals, essential oils, cans and canisters of all sorts of different components. Tables in the center of the shop displayed a variety of different carvings, idols, and icons from just about every different faith and philosophy I was familiar with, and some I didn’t recognize at all. The shop was so full of stuff that I had to watch my step to avoid knocking anything over.

A counter ran against one wall, inside of which was a wide selection of loose materials in jars, along with a display of larger crystals and jewelry. A tall, attractive woman in a caftan with long graying red hair stood behind it. Several crystals hung from chains around her neck. A fat tabby cat was curled up on a mat at the far end of the counter.

“Good afternoon. Can I help you find anything?”

“I was the one who called earlier about the mandrake root.”

“Oh, hi. Yes, it’s over here. How much do you need?” She stepped back from the counter and opened the door in the back. But I wasn’t quite sure of the amount.

“How much is five drams?” I asked.

She gave me a curious look. “A dram is about three grams. That’s a request I’m not sure I’ve ever gotten. What reference are you using?”

“Clavicula Salomonis.”

Her eyebrows went up. “The Key of Solomon? Which translation? I’m just curious.”

“Uh, I have an original.”

She stared at me. She hadn’t paid much attention to Katarina up to this point, but now she looked over at her and reached up to hold one of the crystals around her neck. Her eyes widened in shock.

None of us spoke for a few moments.

“She’s bound to me,” I finally said. “It’s safe.”

“I can see that. But I am now very curious what you’re planning here. Mandrake root, snakeskins, and dried poppies.”

“It’s a summoning,” I said.

“That seems clear. Of what?”

“Of something that’s bothering us.”

She took a deep breath. “Would you stand back from the counter, please?”

We did. She picked up an intricately carved stick that leaned against the wall behind her and walked around the end of the counter. She went to the door of the shop and hung a CLOSED sign on it.

Then she turned to me, holding her staff out. “Who are you? You’re barely more than a child, and you’ve still bound a succubus?”

“I don’t know that my name would mean anything to you.”

“Try me.”

“Jimmy Kaplan.”

“Who taught you?” she asked.

“No one. I figured it out myself.”

“Impossible. How could you have an original of the Key of Solomon? Only three copies still exist, and I know which sorcerers possess them.”

“Are you going to help me or not?” I asked.

“Unless . . .” Her face went pale. She reached for the crystal again and muttered something under her breath. Then her jaw dropped.

“She’s dead?” she asked.

“Who?”

“Your . . . grandmother.”

I took a long breath and exhaled slowly. “Yes. Did you know her?”

But instead of answering me, she turned back to the front of the shop. She locked the door and pulled down two long shades in front of the windows. Then she turned back to us.

“Come with me.” She walked toward the back of the shop and through a beaded doorway. We followed her through. Most of the backroom was stock for the shop, but there was an old wooden table in the center. She motioned for us to sit. We did. The cat followed us back and hopped up on a box, where it sat down and stared at me.

“My name is Celeste. By what name should I address you?” she asked my succubus.

“Katarina.”

“You are one of the ones lurking in this area?”

“Not anymore.”

“I suppose not.” Celeste looked at me. “I met your grandmother many years ago, when I first began my work. She assisted me with certain things. I have not seen her since then, and neither has anyone else. When did she die?”

“A few weeks ago.”

“She left you her books?” Celeste asked.

“Yes.”

“Anything else?”

“Her staff.”

“Thank the light. If that had fallen into the wrong hands, it would be . . . unfortunate. What else?”

“A box filled with spell components. Sticks and stones, stuff like that.”

Celeste leaned back. “She must have trained you somehow. Binding demons is not a task for novices.”

I explained about how Grandma Amy made me take Latin and got me into studying chemistry. “But I didn’t know anything about this until I got the books.”

“You’ve managed all this in a few weeks?”

“Pretty much. I mean, the chemistry of this stuff is not complicated. I’ve been able to improve some of it.”

Celeste gasped. “You altered the spells? In the Key of Solomon?”

“The succubus binding spell was in Liber Officiorum Spirituum. I don’t think they would have worked as well the way they were written.”

She stared at me, aghast. “What did you do?”

I explained about the process I’d used to avoid damaging the blood cells and sperm, as well as the magic circle.

She looked at Katarina. “And it worked? I mean, I can see that, but . . .”

Katarina held up her hands like, Here I am.

“Astounding,” Celeste said.

“What do you know about my grandmother?” I asked.

“Less than you would like to know, I am afraid. She was a very powerful sorceress, one of the most powerful I have ever met. But she was difficult to deal with. She could be quite abrasive and profane.”

I laughed softly. “That was her.”

“Even so, she taught me a number of things. The last time I saw her was perhaps twenty years ago. You were just a child.”

“Did you know my parents?”

Celeste leaned back in her chair. The cat hopped off the box and onto the table. It hissed at Katarina, who just stared back at it, then turned to me, pushing its head at my hand. I scratched its ears a couple of times.

“This is your familiar?” Katarina asked.

“Yes. Her name is Isolde. She is inhabited by a very old spirit.”

“I can see that. English?”

“Perceptive,” Celeste said.

“My people were Vikings. I’m sure she senses that.”

“So this Norwegian thing is not just an act?”

“Swedish,” Katarina said. “But no. Jimmy prefers me this way in any case.”

Celeste snorted, then sighed. “Jimmy, I am not sure it is my place to answer questions about your grandmother. To do so would attract attention I would prefer to avoid. I have a calm, enjoyable life here that has been mostly free of demons, and I would like to keep it that way.”

I nodded. “There’s nothing you can tell me?”

“Is there something specific you want to ask me?” she asked.

“Does the word Breamstone mean anything to you?”

Celeste gasped loudly. “Where did you hear that name? And by the light, do your best never to speak that word again!”

“What does it mean?”

“It is a group. And a place. A piece of land, with a . . . building on it. That is all I dare say.”

“Where is it?”

“To speak any of the names so soon after that one would invite the same attention. Do you know where you were born, Jimmy? Don’t say it aloud!”

I’d been born in a little town up north, named Zagan’s Rock. “Yes.”

“It is there.”

“Are the answers I seek there? About my parents?”

“Yes. But I would implore you not to look for it until you are better prepared. Where did you see that word?”

“It came to me in a dream this morning,” I said. “My grandmother spoke it to me.”

Celeste sighed. She didn’t say anything for a while. “It is no accident you came here today, then. I will do my best to help you.”

She stood up, and we went back to the front of the store. She measured out the mandrake root, and then gave me two rolled snakeskins and a baggie of dried poppies.

“It is probably best if I ask you nothing more about this. I only hope you know what you’re doing, Jimmy.”

“Me too. What do I owe you?”

“There’s no charge,” Celeste said. “And I don’t mean that out of generosity. To sell it to you would create a link between us. A gift will not.”

“Thanks.”

“Good luck.”

Chapter 11

Katarina and I went over to the lab that night to conduct the ritual.

“Master, I trust you and believe in you, but are you sure about this? Volach is a powerful demon.”

I had checked and double-checked all my formulae and calculations, and it all seemed solid.

“We have to do something. They’re looking for you, and maybe me too. I’m sure.”

“All right.” She rubbed my shoulder and tried to smile.

The first thing was the keratin powder. I put the snakeskins in a beaker and added a measured amount of sodium hydroxide, then put it on a burner. As it simmered, I had Katarina stir it. Meanwhile, I laid out the magic circle on the floor with Grandma Amy’s ashes. By the time that was done, the keratin solution was a thick, milky fluid with only a few strings and clumps left of the snakeskins.

“It is finished?” she asked.

“Looks like it.”

I neutralized the pH, then strained and rinsed the solids. I put the resulting paste in a dryer and turned on the heat.

While the powder was drying, I set up the brazier next to the circle with the charcoal and got the fire going. I measured out some sulfur and set it with the mandrake root. I created another set with the poppies and Volach’s business card.

Then I went over to the Biochem lab to get the acetic anhydride. I’d reviewed the Material Safety Data Sheet for it, and I decided to save it until right before we needed it because of the handling risks. It wasn’t especially toxic, but it was highly corrosive, reactive, and flammable. Worse, when it burned, it produced toxic fumes. So I would have to be very careful setting it on the brazier.

Eventually the keratin powder was dry. I set it out with the other stuff. Then I put on the gloves and safety glasses I needed to handle the acetic anhydride.

“Here goes,” I said.

I opened Clavicula Salomonis to the ritual. I lit the gas ring and tossed the sulfur, keratin, and mandrake root on the brazier. A thick, foul smoke filled the air as I lifted the staff and began to read.

“Volach the wise, ruler of serpents and slithering things, I call to you.

Volach the wise, I summon you to appear.”

The smoke from the brazier began swirling around the magic circle.

“By the power of Hell and all the spirits of the world, I call you to me.

By the power of God and the spirits above, I command you to appear.”

The moment I finished the last line of the incantation, there was a low thump, and the smoke from the brazier coalesced into a tall form inside the circle.

“Oh, what the fuck?” a deep voice said.

The smoke cleared. Inside the circle was a handsome man in slacks and a crisply starched white dress shirt. His dark features looked more like a male model than a demon lord, even though there was a vaguely serpentine cast to his face.

He turned toward us but was immediately stopped by the circle. He reached all around, finding himself trapped. He slammed a hand against the barrier and I had a distinct feeling that blow was strong enough to kill, had he been standing next to me. But the barrier held.

“Oh. Impressive. Very impressive.”

He looked up at us. “Who—” Then he noticed Katarina. “Oh. It’s you. Hey, sugar-tits. How you been?”

“I am fine,” she said evenly.

“He’s got you on a leash now, huh?”

I did my best to ignore this exchange and flipped to the binding ritual. I poured the acetic anhydride into a beaker, tossed in the poppies and business card, and set it on the coals in the brazier. Then I began reading again. It was similar to the ritual I’d used on Katarina, except that I didn’t have his true name.

“Volach the wise, through these offerings, I command your spirit.

Volach the wise, through these offerings, I call on Hell to command your obedience.”

His flippant mood evaporated instantly, and he looked out of the circle in growing panic.

“Hey, hey, kid, you don’t want to do this. Trust me.”

“Volach the wise, through these offerings, I command you to bind yourself to me.

Volach the wise, through these offerings, I call on the kings and princes and dukes of Hell to compel your obedience.”

He pounded on the barrier again.

“Just stop, let’s talk this out, okay? You don’t know what you’re doing. Seriously, you have no fucking idea what this will do!”

“Volach the wise, through these offerings, I command your spirit to obey me in all things.

Volach the wise, through these offerings, I bind your spirit to mine.”

But when I got to the last line, something happened. I felt the same binding energy I had created when I bound Katarina – but this time it just fizzled, as if it had nowhere to go.

There was a long pause.

Then Volach began to laugh. He leaned forward against the circle, putting on hand on his knee, laughing in both relief and amusement.

“Oh. You were this close, kid. This close. As strong as this fucking circle is, I was sure you’d found something to close the binding. But that fucking card? Is that the one I gave to your neighbor?”

“Uh. Yeah.”

He laughed. “You really think this is my first rodeo? You think I just hand shit like that out? Something that could be used against me like this?” He laughed again. “You’re very talented, I’ll give you that, but you’ve got a lot to learn about demons, kid. That card? It’s sanitized. Never been in my possession long enough. Morax and I, when we go out on things like that visit to your building, we pass this stuff around, back and forth, so it never picked up enough of us to be used. I’m not that fucking stupid.”

I sagged. Everything else had worked, and it broke down because I hadn’t thought of that possibility.

Now what was I supposed do?

Volach laughed again. “But hey, this works. I’ve been looking for you two. We’ve got business to discuss, you and I. Some accounts to settle. May as well talk it out here.”

“Business?” I asked. I had just gotten started with this stuff. How could a demon have any business to discuss with me?

“Yeah, business. Starting with that sweet piece of ass over there.”

I looked at Katarina. Oh. She cringed.

“I’m going to put this in terms that may be easier for you to understand,” Volach said. “If you own a football team, you can’t just go and sign away another team’s star wide receiver, you know what I’m saying? If you decide to do it anyway, you know what happens? The league hits you with a big fine, maybe you lose some draft choices on top of that. That’s what we’ve got here. Now, I get it. She’s very good. One of the best. I’ve enjoyed her myself. But if you want this very productive and popular succubus on your team, you’ve got to pay the transfer fee, you understand?”

“Which means what?”

“I’m getting to that. The other issue is your grandmother.”

“My grandmother?” I asked.

“Yeah. She was one of our most effective agents. Worked for us for a long time. But then she made a very expensive bargain with my boss, only to decide right afterward that she was retiring without paying her bills.”

“Wait – agents? What the hell are you talking about?”

“This Hell, kid. The only one. What you don’t appear to understand is that there are a lot of things we need to do in the mortal world that can’t be done by demons like me. For some of it, we’ve got your girlfriend over there, but that’s only part of it. Harvesting souls. Keeping the books even. For the rest of it, we need mortals. Like your grandmother. They do us favors, we do them favors. Some people want long lives, some want money, some want pussy, some want power and influence. Some want all of that, like the guy you had running things up here a while back. Long as they do what we ask, they get what they want. Your grandmother only cared about staying alive.”

“But she died,” I said. “In a fire. There was an explosion in her apartment.”

Volach laughed. He laughed hard enough to lean against the barrier and put his hand on his chest. “Yeah, a fire. I’ll get to that. Do you know how fucking long your grandmother lived, kid?”

I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer. But I asked. “How long?”

“It was about five hundred years, give or take. Her family left Hungary after the Turks invaded. I first met her in Vienna, I think it was around 1551. She had talent. We made her an offer. It was all fine until about twenty years ago. Problem was, she decided to disappear. And when she disappeared, she left her accounts in a serious deficit.”

“What kind of deficit?” I asked.

“That’s between her and the bean counters, kid. They finally caught up to her a few weeks ago. But what happens when someone like her dies with a debt to pay, is that debt passes down, because once you’re dead, there’s no easy way to work it off. So in this case, it passes down to you. Sins of the fathers, and all, except in your case, its sins of the grandmother.”

“It falls to me?”

“Right,” he said. “So between that and your new girlfriend, you got bit of work to do to balance the books.”

I stood there as the reality of this settled into me. A few weeks ago, I had a normal life with normal concerns. Now I’d gotten myself into something I would never have believed before Grandma Amy died.

“What if I say no?”

“Jimmy . . .” Katarina whined.

Volach laughed. “You don’t actually think it’s that easy? I’ll tell you. Two things, really. First, all that stuff I told you about that we can give you? We can take it away, too. Think you’re short of money now? You have no idea. Your health? We can take that. Same with your career, your friends, pretty much everything. That ward on your apartment is impressive, but unless you plan to stay there forever, we can make your life very, very difficult.”

“What’s the other thing?”

“That would be your grandmother. You mentioned that fire. I don’t suppose you happened to talk to the fire department about it at all? Anything like that?”

“One of their inspectors came to talk to me,” I said. “He said it was really strange. He’d never seen anything like it before.”

Volach laughed. “That’s because the last time anything like that happened was, oh, maybe two hundred years ago.”

“Anything like what happened?” I asked.

“When someone as powerful as your grandmother comes down and joins us, she doesn’t get treated like all the other souls. She’s way too useful. Your grandmother’s a demon now, kid.”

I gaped at him. “My grandmother is a demon?”

“Amira. She’s a Duchess of Hell, actually. The big man took a liking to her. Has fifteen legions reporting to her already. She’s young and hot again, she’s got powers and responsibilities. But the process of bringing a mortal down here to make that happen is what blew up her apartment.”

Something dawned on me. “She was hiding from it.”

“That seems to be the size of it, kid. But there’s more. What she’s got now, all of that is contingent on the books staying balanced. The debt passed from her to you, so temporarily at least, it’s in balance. But guess what happens to her if you turn your back on all of it?”

I sagged. It was a while before I could say anything.

Katarina came over and took my arm. I looked at her. She managed a weak smile.

“Doesn’t sound like I have a choice here,” I said finally.

“That would be about the size of it, kid.”

“What do you need me to do?” I asked.

“We’ll be in touch. We’ve been looking for you ever since Amira came down, but she apparently left a ward that prevented anyone from finding you. And now that she’s a demon, she couldn’t find you either. Kind of clever of her, actually.”

“Okay. Now what?”

“You summoned me. You got to dismiss me.”

“How do I do that?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Volach said. “The staff, kid.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant, until I focused on it. I saw the bond with Katarina, but there was also a weaker, much more tenuous thread of energy between me and Volach, in and around the circle. I could tell immediately that it was nowhere near strong enough to control him. It was just holding him here. And with a thought, I snuffed it out.

“There we go,” he said. “Have a nice night, folks. I’ll call you.”

And with a deep laugh and a thump, he vanished.

◆◆◆

I cleaned everything up, put away all the lab equipment, and altered the log on the acetic anhydride to hide what I’d used. Then I locked it all up.

Katarina held my arm on the way home.

“I’m sorry I got you into this,” I said as we left campus.

“There is a path forward for us, Jimmy. It may be that my coming into your life was a good thing for me.”

“Why’s that?”

“I will stay here as long as you live. If you live as long as your grandmother did, that is half my life, almost.”

“It’s not eternity.”

“No,” she said. “But if you become a powerful demon as she has, I would be allowed to remain in your service. I would not be punished or sent to the Wood of Suicides. I would be rewarded for bringing you. We would remain together.”

“I guess there’s that.” The thought of becoming a demon was something I couldn’t even begin to get my mind around. “I need to find out what my grandmother did. I need to find out what happened in that place, whatever it is.”

“I agree.”

We climbed the stairs and returned to my apartment. I set the books and staff down on the table. Katarina hugged me from behind.

“May I try to cheer you up, Master?”

I was going to say no. But then I remembered that since I was going to be paying for her company, I might as well enjoy it.

“I’m really tired. I’ll let you decide what to do.”

She kissed me. “My poor Jimmy. Get undressed and lie down in bed. I will be there.”

I did. She appeared a moment later in another tiny little nightgown, this one in liquid black silk. It covered her, barely, but she might as well have been naked from how it clung to her breasts and body.

“Do you like this?” she asked.

“It’s amazing.”

“I am learning what you enjoy.”

She made me hard with her mouth and then climbed up to straddle me. I felt myself sinking into her wetness. The nightgown covered everything, but I could feel her gently squeezing and massaging me.

Katarina leaned forward and rested her hand tenderly against my cheek. “That part of me that hates you, Jimmy . . . She does not hate you anymore.”

“Really. Why not?”

“Because I see who you are meant to be now. Remember what I said about succubi being drawn to power. Volach is a great and terrible Duke of Hell, yet you nearly bound him. Your challenge is not your strength, but your knowledge. I take all responsibility for that, Master. I should have known Volach would not be so careless with that business card. I am sorry for failing you.”

“It’s okay. I have a feeling this was going to happen one way or another, whether or not I’d succeeded in binding him.”

She kissed me. “I will teach you the ways of demons. You are meant for great things. I would serve you even without the bond, even though I treasure our bond now.”

I kissed her back. “That’s good, since we seem to be stuck with it.”

She stared down into my eyes. I saw the little fleck of green. “When you become a great demon, will you still be as kind to me as you are now?”

I had to stifle a frisson of unease. I wasn’t ready to go there, and I knew I wouldn’t be for a long time.

“I don’t know that will ever happen . . . but if it does, I promise not to treat you like the other demons have.”

“That is good, Master. Now let me take care of you.”

Chapter 12

I had another dream.

I was along the same verdant inlet, down near the water now. Katarina walked beside me, but it was young Katarina, the Viking girl. She wore the same rough dress I’d seen on her that first night, and she carried a pair of dried fish.

We walked through a cluster of low wooden buildings with thatched roofs. Women in similar dresses and bearded men in tunics and leggings walked past us in both directions. Long fishing boats lay along the water, and men stood near them hanging their catch on wooden racks to dry.

“This was my village,” she said. “The day before I died.”

Her voice was higher, purer, more innocent.

I followed her through the village. We left the buildings behind after another minute. Up ahead was smaller, rougher dwelling. A thin trail of smoke flowed from the chimney.

“Our spákona,” she said. “A seeress.”

I ducked under the lintel to follow Katarina inside. Thick scented smoke filled the single room, and it was hung with dozens of totems and bundles of dried herbs much like Celeste’s shop. An old woman in a shapeless dress sat by the fire cooking. She looked up as we came in.

Katarina handed her the fish. The woman quickly tucked them away in a basket.

“Who will I marry?” she asked.

It seemed a reasonable question to ask. She was beautiful and surely sought after as a wife.

The old woman reached into her dress and pulled out a little cloth sack. Inside was a handful of  small bones carved with runes. She cast them on the floor and looked down.

The woman let out a low moan as she examined the bones. “Darkness hovers over you, child. You will never marry. So many men will have you. So many, but you will never know love, not once. Evil surrounds you like a fog.”

We were on the cliff again. The warriors were coming. Katarina looked down.

“This was why I jumped. I took her prophecy to mean that every man attacking our village would rape me. There were dozens. I knew I was going to die. It seemed the easier choice.”

I looked back at the horde of men approaching. Katarina took my hand.

“I would have loved you,” she said.

◆◆◆

I woke with a jolt.

The sun peeked in through the blinds. Katarina lay beside me, still wearing the black nightgown. She looked over as she realized I was awake.

“You’re still here,” I said.

“I like watching you sleep. I can feel your dreams.”

“You can see what I’m dreaming?” I asked.

“No. I can only feel the emotions in you. ”

“What did you feel just now?” The dream was already fading.

“Sadness. What were you dreaming, Jimmy?”

I didn’t want to tell her. I didn’t even know if what I’d dreamed was real, and I didn’t know which would be worse – that it wasn’t, or that it was.

“I don’t remember.”

◆◆◆

The only things I had today were Dr. Vicenza’s modeling and analysis that afternoon and one of the Biochem lab sections right after it. I spent the morning grading homework and working on one of my process models. Meanwhile, Katarina organized all my cupboards and closets, periodically coming out with various bits of junk to ask if I wanted to throw anything out. She now began each morning by asking what I wanted her to wear, so today she had on workout tights and a slightly-too-small Huntington College tank top.

“Do girls in Sweden really not wear bras in the summer?” I asked at one point.

Katarina laughed. “I do not know where she heard that. Women who need them wear them. But Swedes are not obsessed with nudity the way Americans are. Women go topless on the beach and elsewhere. Sunbathing in the park. But I am happy to go without. I do not like them, and it is not as if I need one.”

I was still fiddling with my flow model when Katarina looked out the window.

“Jimmy, that cat that came by the other morning is sitting outside.”

“The gray tabby?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“I’m pretty sure she’s a stray,” I said. “She hangs around the building. I feed her now and then, so that’s why she’s there. Do you sense anything weird?”

“No. It is just a cat. Should I feed her?”

“Go ahead. She likes that deli turkey in there.”

Katarina got a slice and opened the door. The tabby walked over, and Katarina fed the turkey to her and scratched her head. Once she was done eating, she trotted off down the walkway.

A little while later, Katarina produced that same phone I’d seen her with before. I didn’t think anything of it until she started texting someone.

“Wait, does that thing actually work?” I asked. “I thought you just manifested it like your clothes.”

“Oh, it is a real phone. Hell has a corporate account. I can make it come and go as I need to.”

My jaw dropped. “What?”

“Which part do you not understand?”

“The account.”

“Demons need to operate in this world too, Jimmy,” she said. “Succubi especially. Seducing people would be much more difficult without one, don’t you think? The hookup apps have made things so much easier for us. You have no idea. Volach will probably get one for you, so they can keep in touch.”

That made a certain demented sort of sense. “Just out of curiosity, which mobile company is this account with?”

She told me. I can’t say I was surprised. “Do they know?” I asked.

“That it is for Hell? Of course.”

“Who are you texting?” I asked.

“Hayley. I was asking if she wants to study together today. She said yes.”

“Where?”

“I thought we could meet in the student lounge in the Biology building while you are in class.”

“Huh. Sounds good, I guess,” I said.

“You have done things with her, yes? She did not tell me, but I sensed it.”

“Yeah, but only once, and not everything.”

“Hayley is very much attracted to both of us,” Katarina said. “She hides it with you because you are her teacher, but it is there.”

I looked up from my book. “Really? You can tell?”

She rolled her eyes at me.

“Jimmy, for the hundredth time, I am a succubus. This is what I do.”

I laughed weakly. “Let’s not rush anything, okay? She’s just expecting to study with you.”

“I just only wish to be prepared, Master.”

◆◆◆

We walked over to campus after lunch and parted company at the Chemistry building. Katarina went off to find Hayley. I lingered briefly to watch her perfect breasts bouncing under her tank top as she walked off.

I emerged from class about an hour and a half later and went over to the Biochem lab. I didn’t see Katarina, but I sensed her nearby and decided not to let myself get distracted. There were about twenty kids in the lab. I went to the front and introduced myself. I recognized a couple of them from my Chem 240 class.

“Guys, I’m Jimmy, and I’m going to be doing your next few labs. Huiqian had a family emergency and had to go back to China.”

One of the students raised his hand. “Do you know when he’ll be back?”

“As far as I know, he should be back in a few weeks.”

“Do you know what happened?” another one asked.

“I do not. I’m sorry.”

This lab was a basic protein extraction and purification exercise, and I got them going on it in about ten minutes. Then I went up front to work on my own homework.

I tried not to think about what I’d done last night, just a few labs over. The ritual left a sour stink in the air even after I’d cleaned everything up. If I did anything like that again, I would need to use a different lab. Since I had to remove the pentagram, I would need to make another one next time, which meant using more of Grandma Amy’s ashes. Sooner or later, that might become a problem. I didn’t have an infinite amount of them.

I wondered if there was any way I could create a portable pentagram. It seemed clear that it was the interaction of the flames and the ashes, in a specific orientation, that created the confinement. I could see no reason why it would need to be fixed in one place.

But I would have to do it in a way that didn’t cause the ashes to start flaking off. If I fixed them in place more securely, it might be possible. And maybe in doing it, I could use some materials that might make it even stronger. There was probably something along those lines in Picatrix. I turned to a clear section of my notebook and started scribbling down some ideas.

A girl in ripped black jeans and purple hair came up to my lab table.

“Um, could you help us with something?” she asked.

I looked up. “Yeah, sure.”

Then I noticed her eyes widening as she looked down at my notebook, where I had drawn a large pentagram with a bunch of notes scribbled around it. I reflexively flipped it over. I could tell she’d seen it, but she didn’t say anything.

I went over to help her and her partner. They were having trouble with the precipitation step, and I quickly realized they weren’t using enough ammonium sulfate. Once I got them straightened out, the girl who’d come over to get me grinned.

“Are you, like, really into heavy metal or something?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah. Something like that.”

When the lab was over, I went downstairs to the lounge in the center of the first floor. Katarina was sitting with Hayley on a couch with their books around them.

“Hey, guys.”

“Hi, Jimmy,” Hayley said. She nervously pushed her long red hair back over her head as I approached.

“Hello,” Katarina said.

“How’s the studying going?”

“Oh, Katarina has been such a big help,” Hayley said. “She knows so much.”

I gave my succubus a look, but she just smiled.

“Well, glad it’s working out.”

“I am so happy to have another friend here,” Katarina said. She looked over at Hayley and then gave her a side hug.

Hayley laughed. “It’s funny how this worked out,” she said.

I laughed. “Yeah, I suppose it is.”

Hayley got up. “Guys, I’d love to hang out more, but I have class to get to. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Have fun.”

She and Katarina hugged again, then she hugged me quickly. I watched her walk off. That little hug was enough to remind me what she felt like when we were making out, and I suddenly wanted more.

“You like her,” Katarina said. “I can feel it.”

“Yeah. She’s cute. And interesting.”

“Did you see how nervous she was around you?”

“That was me?” I asked.

“Yes. She has the crush on you. She is trying not to show it.”

I knew Katarina wasn’t going to get jealous, but I couldn’t help reaching through our bond to feel her, because I knew she must have felt the little thrill she’d given me with that news.

“About the studying, though . . .”

She smiled again. “Well, Hayley is very intelligent, if you have not noticed. But I have my ways. At my age, there is much I have learned about human biology.”

I laughed. “I suppose so.”

◆◆◆

On the way home, I brought up something that I’d been wondering about.

“That cat Celeste has.”

“Isolde. Her familiar.”

“How does that work, exactly?” I asked.

“A familiar is a spirit in animal form that serves as a companion and helper to a sorcerer,” Katarina replied. “There are many different kinds. Some are spirits of the natural world, others are spirits of humans who lived long ago, both good and evil.”

“But how do they help?”

“Again, it depends on the familiar. It will improve your connection to the spirit world. They can help focus and intensify your spellcasting. You and your familiar know the same things, see the same things. You could see through your familiar’s eyes, and some familiars can impart certain abilities to their masters. It all depends on what sort you acquire.”

“Do you think I need one?” I asked.

“Most spellcasters acquire one eventually.”

I tried to remember if Grandma Amy had anything like that. We never had pets.

When we got back to the apartment, I went into the books. Clavicula Salomonis had a section on summoning familiars. Liber Officiorum Spirituum didn’t address the subject directly, but it did note that many demons could provide familiars. I mentioned it to Katarina.

“Yes, that is common,” she said. “In fact, do you remember the other demon that Volach mentioned? Morax? He is a provider of familiars to those spellcasters who serve him and his associates. You could do much worse than ask him for one.”

I thought about that for a few moments. “I’m already kind of on his payroll.”

“Yes.”

“So how do we do this?”

Katarina pulled out her phone and began scrolling through something. Then she turned on the speakerphone and set it down. It began ringing.

“Wait, are you serious?” I asked.

“You can try summoning one if you like. But if you are beseeching Morax for a familiar, this would be a much easier way to do it. Hell has adapted to modern times, after all.”

A deep voice answered. “Ah, hey babe, how you doing?”

“Hello, Morax.”

“Is your boyfriend there?”

I got the distinct impression of a thick, bull-headed man.

“Uh, hi,” I said.

“Hey, perfect timing! I was just about to reach out to you two. Volach and I have a job for you. Figured we could meet up. You know that sports bar on McKinley, the one with the girls in those little cheerleader outfits?”

It was a theme bar a few blocks away. I’d been there a few times for football games. “Yeah, I do.”

“Tomorrow night at six. Does that work? We’ll have everything you need. This is kind of time-sensitive, you understand?”

“Okay. Uh, we’ll be there. The reason we were calling, though . . .”

“What, you need more than that sweet thing you got already?” He laughed.

“Katarina said you can provide familiars,” I said.

“Oh yeah, for sure. You’re gonna need one.” He paused for a second. “Yeah, I have just the thing. Perfect for you, you’ll love her. She’s on the way, just give it a few minutes.”

I gaped at the phone, though I knew he couldn’t see that.

“Just like that?” I asked.

“Hey, it’s what I do, kid. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He hung up.

I looked at Katarina. She smiled.

“I told you,” she said.

Nothing seemed to happen right away. But after a few minutes, I heard a soft, urgent scratching at the door. I got up and opened it.

It was the gray tabby. She rushed into the apartment, something she’d never once done before, and rubbed against my legs, purring. Then she jumped up on the kitchen counter and sat down.

I stared at her, jaw down. It was the same cat . . . and yet it wasn’t.

Her eyes were different. She’d had typical cat’s eyes, typical enough that I couldn’t quite even remember what they looked like.

Now she had brilliant green eyes, almost like emeralds. I would absolutely have noticed them before.

And I felt something else I’d never felt from her. There was a connection between us, not unlike my bond with Katarina.

“Charlotte,” I said. “Her name is Charlotte.”

I didn’t know how I knew that, but somehow I did. She looked at me and meowed loudly, as if to confirm it.

Katarina stood and reached for her. Unlike Isolde, who hissed at her, Charlotte stood up and pushed herself against Katarina’s hand, letting her scratch her head.

“Hello, Charlotte,” she said.

Charlotte continued purring and now looked at me. I went over and began petting her. She purred loudly, rubbing herself against my arm.

“I sense much power in her, Jimmy.”

“Me too.” It was there. I couldn’t quite get a feel for it, but it was there.

I tried to reach into her, to see what she was, but what I felt was nebulous. Devotion, affection, a desire to serve. But that was it. Our connection seemed incomplete somehow, like she was waiting for something. What, I couldn’t really tell.

Chapter 13

We ate dinner. I had nothing to feed Charlotte beyond the deli turkey, but she seemed perfectly happy with that for now. I spent the rest of the evening on homework and grading. Hayley as usual had done a perfect job on her project, which was good because I was rapidly losing my objectivity about her. Charlotte curled up on the table beside me and went to sleep.

It had been kind of a long day, and I was tired, so even though Katarina came to bed in another tiny little black nightgown, I was content to hold her until I fell asleep. Charlotte hopped up on the bed with us, and curled up in the crook of my arm on the other side.

◆◆◆

I had another dream.

But this – oh boy, this was the most lucid, vivid dream I had ever experienced in my life. I knew I was dreaming, and the world was still fuzzy around the edges, but I could feel and hear and smell things like I had never been able to in any other dream.

I was walking through a pleasant pine forest. The trees were widely spaced, and I could see for some distance between them. There were other trees, ash and elm, and smaller shrubs. The ground was thick with leaves and pine needles. Up ahead, I saw a small cottage, barely more than a shack.

As I approached, a beautiful woman of about twenty-five emerged from it. She had long black hair and a full, voluptuous body. She wore a long dress with a laced bodice, like a waitress in a German biergarten. I was about to speak when I saw her eyes: bright, sparkling green.

And then I knew who this was.

“Charlotte?”

“Hello, Master.”

“Is this a dream?”

“Yes. But it is a very special dream that only we can enter, as master and familiar.” She laughed, looking around her. “So many dreams like this I had as a witch. But being here as a familiar . . .” She laughed again. “. . . is so unfamiliar.”

“You were a witch?”

“Yes. I was hanged for it. I was powerful enough to avoid being lost among the other souls, but not powerful enough to be made a demon. So I remained here, waiting.”

“What is this place?”

“Germany,” she said. “The countryside outside of Munich. This was my home.”

“When?”

“I died in 1593.”

I gasped. “You’ve been waiting that long?”

“Time passes differently in the spirit world. I am aware of how long it’s been, yet at the same time, it feels like only yesterday.” She stepped up to me, gently resting her hand on my chest “You are so young . . . yet so powerful. Your bloodline is so strong.”

A thought came to me. “Did you know my grandmother?”

“No. But I knew of her. Her power was well known.”

She looked up at me. “I am so eager to serve you, Master.” Then she laughed at the look on my face. “Yes, in that way of course, but in so many others.”

She took my hand.

“Come, Master.”

Charlotte led me inside the cottage. It was much like the seeress’s cottage in Katarina’s village, bundles of herbs and plants and dried things hanging from the ceiling and laid about a table and filling shelves around the walls. But there were also crystals and stones, and bowls and jars of powder and sand in a dozen different colors. There was a stone fireplace, and a low bed in one corner. She led me to it.

“There are so many things I can help you with. But first we must seal our bond, my Master.”

“This is a dream.”

“Have you never been with a woman in your dreams?”

“Oh. Right.”

She loosened the bodice on her dress and let it fall off. Her body was lush and rounded, big breasts, wide hips. A thick, dark triangle of hair covered the junction of her firm thighs.

She laughed again. “I am yours, Master, and this is your dream. If any of me is not to your liking, you can change it.”

Well, that would work. I took most of the hair away, leaving only a little strip like Katarina’s. Her breasts were a bit droopy for my taste, so I firmed them up, firmer and higher than any woman with her big boobs in the mortal world could have managed. The rest of her was delicious, so I left her as she was.

Charlotte laughed again, taking her breasts in her hands. “This is what you like? That would explain Katarina.”

“Yeah.”

She took off my clothes. I was hard for her, and she dropped to her knees before me. “I never pleasured a man like this as a mortal woman. But I know what you desire.”

She took me between her full lips. It was a dream, so I had no trouble entering her throat. She moaned around me, going slowly up and down, sucking gently and working her tongue against me. It was like dream sex, fuzzy and fluid, yet with the intensity of the real world.

I pulled her to her feet and kissed her, cupping her big breasts. She kissed me back, then pulled me down to the bed. I slid down her body, taking her hips in my hands and her sex in my mouth.

I could feel her reactions, and I realized I had as much control over her body here as I had with Katarina using the staff. So I made her come immediately.

Charlotte gasped, thrusting her hips up at me and groping at my head. “Master!” she cried out.

I did it again, then a third time, before the first had even completely ended. I rose, climbing over her and thrusting into her swimming wetness. She wrapped herself around me, welcoming me in even as she shook in the aftermath of that triple orgasm. I drove myself into her over and over. I made her come a fourth time, feeling her clamp down around me.

She cried out again, digging her nails into my back. I pounded her body, watching her breasts shake under me. Then I exploded into her, sending shot after shot of thick dream-seed into her spasming pussy. I felt the familiar bond strengthening, drawing me closer to her.

I saw who she was now, what she could do. She’d been a master herbalist and gemologist. All those things in Grandma Amy’s box that I hadn’t yet figured out – Charlotte knew all of it intimately. She would be able to work with me to improve the herb-based spells in ways I would have never been able to do on my own.

Morax had chosen well, indeed.

Afterward, we lay together, still dreaming. Charlotte cuddled against my chest.

“So, you were a witch . . . and now you’re a cat?” I asked.

“I inhabit her. We are two, yet one. She remembers your kindness to her. That was what drew us together when Morax pulled me from the spirit world and sent me to you. I am certain it is why I feel so loving and affectionate toward you. She loves you. Other humans were cruel to her. One broke her tail with a broom.”

“Oh, shit. That sucks.” That news made me madder than I would have expected before all this started.

“On the other hand,” she went on, “I have not been with a man in four hundred years. So it may not just be her.”

I laughed. This was starting to make some sense.

“So how is this going to work?” I asked.

“You can call on my knowledge when you are working. You merely need to concentrate when I am near. The answers will come to you. You can look through my eyes, and I through yours. We know the same things. And because I am a cat, there will be other things that will change for you. You will find that your vision at night has improved. You may find yourself feeling more quick and agile.”

Damn. Talk about a package deal.

“What about here?” I asked.

She snuggled against me. “You may come to me in your dreams whenever you wish. I will be here, and we can be together like this. But take care, Master. You must not let this place become an addiction. Some sorcerers who have stayed too long in the spirit world have found it difficult to return. Some chose not to return at all.”

“What happens then?”

“Think, Master. What are you doing now?”

“Uh, you mean my body? Sleeping?” Then I got it. “Oh.”

“Yes. You have much to do in your world. As much as I will treasure our time here, we must ration it.”

“Got it.”

She rose up and kissed me. “So you should wake now, Master.”

And I did.

◆◆◆

Katarina lay beside me in that same delicious little black nightgown. Charlotte was curled up half-on and half-off my chest in almost exactly the same position she’d just been in the dream. She stood up, stretching and yawning, and then flopped over on top of me, purring. Katarina reached over and scratched her head.

“Were you with her?” she asked. “I know you were dreaming. I could feel you.”

“Uh. Yeah.” I looked at Charlotte. There was an intelligence and awareness in her intensely green eyes that I had never seen in an animal before. Shit, I thought. Did I just have sex with a cat?

Katarina laughed softly. “I am not jealous, Jimmy. I know how familiars work.”

I tried to explain what just happened. Unlike other dreams I tended to have, I remembered everything vividly. Charlotte sat there listening to us.

“This is good,” Katarina said. “She will be a great help to you.”

I reached up and scratched Charlotte’s head. She leaned back against my hand as I did it, purring loudly.

“Let’s hope so.”

I had no cat food or anything else a cat needed, so Katarina and I decided to go to the pet superstore about half a mile away. Charlotte followed us out of the apartment. I thought she was going off to take care of business, but instead she followed me to my car and leapt right in as soon as I opened the door.

“Uh.”

“She is your familiar, Jimmy,” Katarina said. “Not just a cat.”

I guess we would see how this worked. The pet store was in a big shopping center, and Charlotte followed me closely across the parking lot. I saw people with their dogs coming and going into the store, but no cats.

When we entered, no one seemed to notice at first. But then a woman with a dog on a leash looked over at us just as her dog lunged forward.

She let out a little gasp of surprise when she saw Charlotte. My familiar, for her sake, just turned toward the dog and hissed. The dog stopped in its tracks.

I decided not to say anything. We went to the cat section and picked out a cat box and some litter. Then we went over to the canned food. Katarina picked Charlotte up and showed her the various options.

“Uh, sir?”

I looked over. One of the sales associates was standing nearby.

“All animals need to be leashed in the store,” he said, “even cats.”

“Uh, sorry,” I said. “We just got her. I’ll get one.”

“The cat leashes are the next aisle over.”

“Thanks.”

However they managed it, Katarina and Charlotte settled on some food. Katarina was loading it into the cart. But when we went to look at the cat leashes, and I showed one to Charlotte, she hissed and waved a paw at it, claws extended. I looked at Katarina.

“I guess not.”

“Like I said, Jimmy, she is not just a cat.”

“I don’t suppose she really needs one.”

So we checked out and left. I pulled up the banking app on my phone as we left. All this sorcerer stuff was putting a dent my meager bank balance. One way or another, I needed to get things in order here.

Chapter 14

I had Chem 240 at ten, so we had to get back home. Charlotte followed us onto campus, but then wandered off and flopped onto the grass in a sunny spot on the quad when we got to the Chemistry building. She seemed to understand that she couldn’t come inside with me. Katarina  kissed me goodbye and went over to the Biology building.

I gave Dr. Vicenza the graded homework and sat down. Hayley appeared a few minutes later and sat behind me. About a minute later, a text came in. It was her.

Hey

Hey, Red

LOL no one calls me that

Well, I know its natural

OMG

That is awful you hardly saw it

I saw enough

Not going to see it again the way this is going

Well, I don’t want to get in trouble with the school

I’m screenshotting this and sending it to Katarina

Kinda interested to see what she says tbh

There was nothing for about a minute or so. Then:

OMFG

Under that was a screenshot of her text conversation with Katarina, and the screenshot Hayley had sent to her was at the top. Katarina replied, I thought it was natural, but Jimmy wouldn’t tell me.

Hers is natural too in case you’re wondering

LMAO

WTF is up with you two??

Do the math, I guess

Class had started, and she didn’t respond for a while.

The math?

I think you know what I mean

Can you just tell me?

Katarina likes you

So do  I

1+1+1 = 3

There was another pause of about five minutes. I began to wonder if I’d badly misjudged the situation. But when Dr. Vicenza began holding forth on some point unrelated to the lecture, she texted me back.

Well that is definitely some math all right

Yes

I’ve never done anything like this before

Like, not even close

First time for everything?

LOL

I guess so

Still not sure tho

Well, no rush

Another pause for a few minutes.

I like both of you too

K

Hold that thought, Red

Isn’t it kind of orange tho?

LMFAO

Now that you mention it

She sent back a smiley, but that was it.

◆◆◆

I found Hayley waiting outside the building when I left class. She gave me a smile that was both shy and sly at the same time.

“Are you meeting up with Katarina?” she asked.

“Yeah. Come on. Let’s get lunch.”

Charlotte appeared from under a bush and fell in behind us. Hayley didn’t seem to notice her. We found Katarina waiting in the Biology lounge and went over to the student union. When we got our food and went outside to sit on the patio, Charlotte came up and hopped onto our table.

Hayley let out a little cry of surprise. “Oh, my God!”

But Charlotte just took the fourth spot at the table and lay down watching us. Katarina reached over to scratch her.

“She looks just like that cat that I see around your building,” Hayley said.

Katarina and I exchanged a look.

“It is her, actually,” I said. “She’s taken to following me around.”

“Wow. Seriously?”

“I’ve been feeding her.”

Hayley gingerly reached over to pet her. Charlotte accepted the attention. “She has such pretty eyes. I’ve never seen a cat with eyes like hers before.”

I remembered what Charlotte told me in our dream. You can look through my eyes, and I through yours. But how did it work? Did I just need to focus on it?

Apparently so.

With only a moment’s concentration, I was looking out at the three of us, me between Katarina and Hayley. I had a vaguely distant look on my face. I looked over at Hayley, who was looking at me – Charlotte, that was – with increasing affection as she scratched my head. Charlotte purred more deeply.

We will know the same things.

Which meant she knew how I felt about Hayley.

Charlotte stood up and went to her, pushing against her arm for more attention. I pulled my vision back to myself.

“I think she likes you,” I said.

Hayley laughed nervously. “I never had a cat.”

“First time for everything,” I said.

Hayley gasped a little, then gave me a mock glare.

I had Chem 520 after that, and I left Hayley and Katarina together. Charlotte followed me, then disappeared again. During class, I kept coming back to a dilemma. Whatever I felt about Hayley, and I was liking where this was going with her and Katarina, I didn’t know if I had the right to get her mixed up in my other life. Things were rapidly expanding in ways I wasn’t sure I fully understood. Even the encounter with Charlotte at lunch got weird pretty quickly.

Hayley was very smart. That much was clear from grading her exams and homework. She’d scarcely missed a single thing so far. Which suggested she was not likely to miss other things if she became an element of my life. Katarina and Charlotte were part of that world and fully understood; Hayley was not.

The smart thing to do, for her sake and mine, was to cut it off before it went any further.

Then I remembered that little look in her eyes at lunch, the delicious shade of dark red in her hair, and how she kept grabbing my hand every time she came that night. I just didn’t want to do it. And though I didn’t want to get that bent out of shape over a girl I’d known all of a week, there we were. It wasn’t about how long I’d known her. There was a connection there, whether I liked it or not.

So.

The class ended before I came to any kind of conclusion.

◆◆◆

Katarina was home by the time I got back with Charlotte after my lab section. She reported that she and Hayley spent another hour sitting and talking before Hayley had to get to class.

“Any further insights?”

She beamed. “If I were still working for Hell, I would rate the prospects of my returning with her soul as very good. As I am not, I will simply rate the prospects of my returning her to your bed as about the same.”

I laughed. “We never made it to the bed, but okay.”

I had gotten my mail on the way up, and I realized that among the other junk was a fancy-looking envelope from some law firm. I tore it open. My head began buzzing as I read it.

The firm represented Grandma Amy’s assisted living facility. They were putting me on notice that they were filing a claim against her estate because of the damage in the fire. Supposedly, the fire investigation “suggested” that she had started some kind of fire on the floor of her apartment, which then led to the explosion. They also claimed to be in possession of “evidence” that she had caused the explosion deliberately. I was supposed to provide them with all evidence of her assets and any potential insurance coverage.

“Shit,” I said.

“What is it?” Katarina asked.

I explained. “But she had no assets and no insurance, so I don’t know what they’re expecting here.”

Still, I wondered if I might get a copy of the investigation report. What had they found to suggest something like that? Rob the fire investigator left me his card, so I called him. He told me he couldn’t discuss it over the phone but that I could request a copy from the county for a small fee. He gave me the web site. It cost ten bucks and might take a week.

I wanted to call the law firm too, but we had to meet Volach and Morax for dinner at six.

I was really not sure what this was going to entail, but at least it was a public place. I decided to dress Katarina up a bit, and I settled on tight jeans under a cowl-neck silk cami top with a neckline that plunged well below her breasts. As I got dressed, she stood there admiring herself in the mirror.

“You are liking the silk on me? With the nipples?”

“Yes.”

“Did you play with dolls as a child? You enjoy dressing me to a rather interesting degree.”

“If I had a doll like you to play with as a kid, believe me, I would have.”

Chapter 15

The restaurant was about five minutes away. This was one of those places that dressed their waitresses in heavily sexualized theme outfits. In this case, it was cheerleaders, and the waitresses wore stylized uniforms from all the schools Huntington played in their conference. Charlotte came with us but stayed outside. We got seats at the bar and waited.

Volach and Morax showed up precisely at 6:00 p.m. Volach looked just as I remembered him. I’d envisioned Morax as a big, bull-headed guy, and my imagination hadn’t failed me. “Bull-headed” was awfully close – he looked a lot like a bull with a human head. He wore a tight muscle t-shirt over jeans. Volach was in slacks and a white dress shirt with ruby cuff links and carried a small leather case.

“Good to see you again, kid,” Volach said, “though I prefer my own transportation to being summoned.” He laughed loudly.

Neither one of them moved to shake my hand. Instead, they looked Katarina up and down.

Morax whistled softly. “Damn, the boys are sure going to miss you, babe.”

Katarina smiled thinly but said nothing. One of the waitresses led us to a table. Volach waved at me. “We’re on the clock here, kid, so order whatever you want.”

I ordered a beer. I wasn’t sure what Katarina might want, but she ordered a beer with a shot of vodka on the side. Volach and Morax then ordered glasses of the most expensive cognac on the menu.

“All right, let’s get a few things out of the way here,” Volach said. He pulled out a smartphone and a credit card out of his case and set both of them in front of me. “Those are for you.”

The phone was already keyed to me, somehow. It looked like a typical smartphone, except there were several apps I didn’t recognize.

“Sugar-tits there can explain how that thing works. Credit card is for your expenses. It will work for other stuff, just keep in mind anything unrelated to work goes on your account.”

“My account?” I asked.

“That’s the next item. Since you asked the other night, I had Accounting pull your balance sheet.”

He pulled out a folded sheet of paper and set it in front of me. I opened it up.

Balance carryover – Breamstone incarn. …. 4196

(fr. Amira)

Succubus V – perm. xfer …. 500

(Katarinix-s. – unsched.)

Familiar …. 3

(Charlotte Schwarz, d.1593)

Employee familiar discount …. (3)

(per Morax)

Current balance …. 4696

It took me a while to decide where to start with this.

“This doesn’t represent money,” I said

“Well, I guess that depends on your definition of ‘money,’ kid. But those are souls-equivalent you owe us.”

“What?” My head swam. Were they expecting me to take the souls of almost five thousand people like Katarina had been doing?

Morax held up his hand, seeming to understand what I was freaking out about. “We’re not expecting you to round up five thousand souls,” he said. “We got other people who are much better than you at doing that. This is just soul-equivalents, like he said. Different jobs will pay a certain number of souls. You keep your nose clean, you got a shot at paying this off eventually.”

Okay. That was maybe doable. Not great, but at least I wasn’t going to be expected to commit mass murder or something like that.

My eyes were drawn back to the first line. That word again. Breamstone. The word Celeste had begged me never to repeat.

“Do you know what this first line is for?”

“Can’t say that I do,” Volach replied. “But that’s the balance.”

“The second item is Katarina?”

“You got it.”

“Wait. Are you telling me that Katarina is worth 500 souls, and Charlotte is effectively free?”

Morax rolled his eyes. “This is why I prefer dealing with the business majors.”

“It’s a question of return on equity, kid,” Volach said. “Familiars don’t really cost us anything since they’re drawn from souls we already have on hand. Those souls aren’t doing anything just sitting there, and they can help folks like you do a better job. So it’s in our best interest to get them out here working.” Then he turned to Katarina. “This one over here, though, was bringing in four, five souls a year, and you took her completely out of circulation. So we got to replace that cash flow somehow.”

“Okay. What does ‘Succubus V’ mean?”

“My job title,” Katarina said. “Hell is a bureaucracy, like I said. All demons have titles of one sort or another.”

“For her, that’s Succubus, fifth rank,” Volach said.

“What does the ranking go up to?”

She smiled at me. “What do you think?”

“Uh. Ten?”

Katarina gasped and slapped me on the arm. “Jimmy! I am so much insulted! How could you say that?”

“It goes to five?”

“Yes! Is that what you think after everything we have done? That I am no better than average?”

My face burned in embarrassment. Across the table, Volach and Morax were doubled over in laughter, holding their stomachs and slapping each other’s shoulders.

“Uh. Sorry.”

She slapped my hand again and leaned back, crossing her arms. “We will discuss this later.”

Volach leaned forward onto the table, wiping his eyes and gasping for breath. “Oh, kid, you got so much to learn about keeping succubi happy. Don’t ever, ever question her skills like that. That’s the one thing they won’t abide.”

Katarina continued glaring at me.

The two demons threw back their cognac, and Volach flagged down the waitress for another round. We ordered dinner. I had kind of lost my appetite but ordered a burger. Katarina got a salad. The two demons ordered giant steaks, blood-rare.

“Okay. To get down to the matter at hand here,” Volach said when the food came and the waitress left again. “What we need you to do is track someone down for us. A certain demon named Caacrinolaas who has gone rogue.”

He pulled a stack of papers out of his case, along with a large broken feather and a faceted, blood-red crystal about the size and shape of a grape.

“Rogue?” I asked. “Is that possible?”

“It ain’t easy, no, but it happens.”

“And you can’t find him?”

“The process of going rogue breaks their connection to the infernal bureaucracy,” Volach said. “Once that happens, we know no more than you do. But up here, sorcerers like you have abilities we don’t in terms of summoning and binding. I got plenty of powers, but I can’t cast those spells to save my life. That’s where you come in.”

“Okay. You just want me to summon him back?”

He slid the crystal across the table toward me. “Much easier said than done, but you got it. Summon him, and bind him into this.”

“What is that?”

“A ruby.”

“A ruby?” I had no idea what this thing might be worth, but it had to be a lot.

“Binding a demon as powerful as Caacrinolaas requires a very valuable stone,” Morax said. “This thing is for this job and this job only. Do not think of absconding with it unless you feel like adding significantly to your balance.”

I picked up the feather, which was about a foot long and cracked in the center.

“That’s his,” Volach said. “His true form is a dog about the size of a horse with griffon’s wings. During his escape, he lost that.”

That was good. Having an actual piece of this demon would make binding him a hell of a lot easier than relying on, say a business card or my sperm.

Volach passed the stack of papers over. “That’s all we know about what he’s been up to.”

I looked it over briefly. It seemed Caacrinolaas had been trying to run some kind of side operation.

Volach put everything back in the leather case and handed it to me.

“Is there a deadline here?” I asked.

He chuckled. “Fine choice of words. I guess that’s your deadline.”

“I guess you guys are on a different timescale.”

“You could say that, yeah.”

I looked down at the credit card. “You said anything unrelated goes on my account. What’s the exchange rate?”

Morax laughed. “It’s like lobster at a restaurant, kid. Market Price. There’s an app on your phone that will tell you.”

I opened it up and scanned the home screen. There were four or five that I could sense were infernal in nature, but I saw one called “Soul Trader.” I opened it up.

It was structured like a fairly typical stock market app. I was surprised to see that there were different types of souls being bought and sold – there were ratings on them, what seemed to be in terms of power and purity. But there was also a benchmark, which was currently trading at $235,051.

“Is that really what people are selling their souls for right now?”

Volach laughed. “That is precisely what that means, kid. Normalized across whatever it is they’re actually asking for.”

I ran the numbers in my head. “So . . . if I charge 250 grand worth of stuff on this, my balance only goes up by one?”

“Put another way,” Morax said, “you owe us roughly a billion dollars.”

Yeah, put that way, it didn’t sound so good after all.

“You haven’t told me what this job is worth,” I said.

They looked at each other.

“He’s not so dumb after all,” Morax said.

“Maybe not,” Volach said. “Look, the big man is royally pissed about this. Caacrinolaas fucked up some things he does not like having fucked up. So I got people breathing down my neck on it, and trust me, in Hell, that’s not a place you want to be. Get him back, that’s 500 souls. That’ll pay for her right there. You get him back in a hurry, we can talk bonuses.”

“What’s a hurry?”

“A month? But kid, this ain’t gonna be easy, trust me. Don’t underestimate this guy. Just get it done. You make me look good, I make you look good. That’ll get you in line to do some jobs that could clear the rest of it.”

Seemed like we had a plan.

◆◆◆

Katarina was still in an enormous snit when we got into the car with Charlotte.

“Look, I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m an engineer. My brain works in base-10. It was just a reaction, not what I really think about you.”

Her mood warmed up a notch. “So you do not think I am average?”

“You are very, very far from average. You are about as far from average as any girl I’ve ever met.”

“I have been doing this for twelve hundred years. I am not average.”

“I know that,” I said.

“Jimmy, we are bound together for all eternity. If I am not pleasing you, my existence no longer has any meaning.”

“You are absolutely pleasing me.”

She managed a weak smile. “This is not like my giving two fish to the seeress in our village and hoping she can tell me who I will marry. We are stuck with each other.”

My jaw dropped just a little. “Wait. That actually happened?”

“What?”

“The seeress.”

Her eyes widened. “What about her?”

I explained the dreams I had. The color drained out of her face as I spoke. Neither of us said anything for about ten seconds.

“That happened,” she said finally. “What I told you in the dream . . . it was why.”

I took her hand.

“Why are you dreaming about these things?” she asked.

“I don’t know. It’s the bond. You’ve been telling me you can sense my dreams.”

Charlotte hopped onto Katarina and meowed loudly. Katarina looked down and began petting her. She curled up in Katarina’s lap. Katarina bent down and hugged her. Charlotte meowed again.

“What I sense are the emotions you have for us,” she said. “I wish I could return them as Charlotte does.”

I sighed. “You can’t?”

“Succubi are not capable of love, Jimmy. I have told you this. You are asking a blind person to see.”

“You seem capable of a lot of other emotions. You looked like you were ready to strangle me tonight. You told me a few days ago there was a part of you that hated me with all the fires of Hell.”

“Hate is easy,” she said.

“Some people think hate and love are two sides of the same coin.”

Katarina sighed. “Jimmy, you have my complete obedience and devotion. There is not a single thing in the world you could ask me to do that I would not happily do. Do you really need more than that?”

“I guess not.”

She sat back, holding Charlotte in her arms. “Can we please go home?”

I nodded. “Okay.”

◆◆◆

I half-expected Katarina to want to demonstrate just how far from average she was, but instead she came to bed in a long, loose nightshirt, albeit in black silk.

She lay down beside me and cuddled under my arm. Charlotte curled up on the other side, and Katarina reached across my chest to scratch her head.

“I am glad we have her,” she said.

“I feel like I’m going to need her on this.”

Charlotte meowed at me.

“She agrees,” Katarina said.

“You can tell?”

“I . . . yes. It is hard to explain. We are bonded to you. I can sense what she is thinking in some ways.”

So I just held them both and went to sleep.

Chapter 16

I had no classes on Thursday morning, so I sat with Charlotte going over the stuff Volach gave me and Grandma Amy’s box of sticks and stones. Charlotte sat on the table next to me, watching. But everything was different. With her there, I somehow knew things that I knew I hadn’t known before.

Start with the ruby. Looking at it, I knew it was about as clean and deep-red as rubies got, and that rubies of this quality were rare even in small sizes. An example this big was extraordinarily valuable. Here, Charlotte’s knowledge merged with my own. I’d read somewhere that red in rubies was caused by chromium impurities. I did a little research on my laptop, and everything kind of snapped into place.

Ruby was corundum – aluminum oxide. The aluminum and oxygen atoms were joined together in a hexagonal crystal lattice. Pure corundum was colorless, but Cr3+ ions could replace Al3+ ions, and when they did, they absorbed light in the yellow-green region of the visible spectrum, creating a red color in addition to a sort of red fluorescence. The more chromium, the more red.

But there was a problem – chromium also distorted the lattice because Cr atoms were larger than Al atoms and had different electron orbitals. The more chromium, the more distortions, and those distortions created defects, reducing the clarity. There were other geological reasons why rubies typically had defects and inclusions, because of the chemical conditions in which they formed.

Knowing what Charlotte knew about binding demons, I saw immediately that the absorption and fluorescence were what held the demon’s spirit inside the stone, given the right enchantments to get it in there. The demon’s presence caused stress in the crystal lattice, which was why strong demons had to be held within stones that were both large and very clean. Too many impurities weakened the lattice and created pathways for escape. So it was a very tricky balance.

Here was the thing I didn’t understand. Rubies could be created synthetically, and synthetic rubies were far cleaner and more chemically pure than natural stones. That was necessary because synthetic rubies were commonly used in high-powered optics for lasers and similar technologies. In fact, that complete absence of defects was one method of identifying them. So, was there really any reason you needed a natural ruby to bind a demon? I couldn’t see it. The key was the chemistry and physics of the lattice, not the origin. The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that a synthetic ruby would actually be better.

There were a variety of ways of making synthetic ruby, but a method known as the Czochralski process produced the cleanest and most chemically pure stones. A little more research brought me to the website of a wholesale gem supplier who had optical-grade Czochralski-process rubies in the same size and shape as the one Volach gave me, for about $1,000. That was quite a contrast to the natural one, which strongly resembled a stone that had sold at auction in Geneva last year for $31 million.

After considering the matter for a few minutes, I got out my demonic credit card and ordered one, paying extra to have it overnighted.

Then I went back through Grandma Amy’s box of crap. This time, I recognized everything. Some of the crystals were for binding, others were for specific incantations. There were quartz prisms in various sizes, along with a cavalcade of other gems: garnet, beryl, spinel, tourmaline, amethyst, as well as ruby and sapphire. There was also a set of loose non-gem stones that carried power because of where they were from, all of them etched with various symbols. I was about to set them aside when my hand fell onto a dull, shapeless lump of quartzite.

Breamstone.

The word came unbidden to my mind. This stone was from Breamstone. Whatever that place was.

“Jimmy?” Katarina lay on the couch reading one of my textbooks. I’d been giving her some space after last night, but now she sat up, face filled with concern.

“What?” I asked.

“I sense turmoil in you. What is wrong?”

I looked down at the little rock in my hand. I didn’t want to say it. “This stone. It has something to do with that place. I think Grandma Amy took it from there.”

Katarina came over and sat down next to me. She had on yoga pants and one of her little cami tops, and it was enough to momentarily distract me from the stone.

She took my arm and leaned against my shoulder.

“What do you sense in it?” she asked.

“Nothing except that name. Don’t say it.”

“I will not,” she said. “It gave me chills when you did. It is a word of power.”

“There’s something here I need to find out.”

“Yes.”

I leaned over and kissed her forehead. “You please me. You do.”

She hugged my arm against her breasts. “I know. I am giving you what I can, Jimmy.”

Then I went over the other stuff Volach gave me, which was essentially a report on what happened with Caacrinolaas.

According to Liber Officiorum Spirituum, Caacrinolaas, who went by several other names like Glasya Labolas and Gaylos-Lobos, was a Count of Hell who commanded thirty-six legions of spirits. His demonic portfolio included both inspiring homicide and inducing people to love each other, as well as bestowing the power of invisibility. There was a lot of that kind of contradiction in the lists of demons, so I didn’t think much of it.

I read the description to mean that Caacrinolaas was responsible for inspiring crimes of passion, and Volach’s report confirmed that. I cringed as I began reading. Caacrinolaas was responsible for a very specific type of crime of passion, which was murder-suicides committed by jealous spouses and lovers. When such a person was in the throes of rage and jealousy, Caacrinolaas would be drawn to them and work his mayhem.

But a couple of years ago, Caacrinolaas did a very un-demonic thing. Being drawn to a particular feuding couple in Brazil, Caacrinolaas immediately fell in love with the woman, who was beautiful, voluptuous, and passionate in all the ways Brazilian women are renowned for. Rather than inspire another murder-suicide, he induced her husband to drive off a cliff, caused the woman to fall in love with him, and then disappeared. Worse – from Hell’s perspective at least – he covered his tracks by injecting what amounted to a magical virus into his records, causing the entire operation to shut down.

Because this portfolio was such a plentiful source of souls, it was clear to me why the upper management of Hell wanted things back in order and Caacrinolaas back on the job. But Hell being what it was, it took more than two years for the recovery job to filter up through the bureaucracy to the mortal world. No one knew where he was now, but it was presumed he was living in hiding with the Brazilian woman.

Now I understood the problem I was facing. I had read enough of the summoning rituals in Liber Officiorum Spirituum, Clavicula Salomonis, and Liber Incantationum to know that much of it depended on a particular demon’s portfolio. Thus the need for the snake scales to summon Volach. But Caacrinolaas abandoned his portfolio, which meant I needed to figure out a new set of materials to summon him. That didn’t look like it was going to be easy.

When I couldn’t read anymore, I called up the lawyer who was representing the assisted living facility. He wasn’t immediately available, so I left a message. He called me back about half an hour later.

I spent a few minutes explaining that they were trying to get blood from a stone – there was simply nothing left of Grandma Amy’s estate. The lawyer explained to me that he was representing their insurance company, and it was mainly a matter of covering their bases so the adjuster could check off a box saying they tried. He promised to send me a copy of the fire investigation report so I could see what they were looking at.

After lunch, Katarina, Charlotte, and I went over to campus, me to Chem 520 and the Biochem lab, and Katarina to study with Hayley. After class, I checked in with Dr. Paulson and turned in the labs I’d graded. He thanked me profusely for helping and told me that Huiqian would likely still be gone for a couple of weeks.

“That’s not a problem, is it?” he asked.

“No, it’s fine. Not a big deal. I need the extra money, honestly.”

“All right, great. I thought I’d pass on that a couple of the students in your lab were rather complimentary about you this morning. Said your instructions were much easier to follow.”

I nodded noncommittally, but didn’t say anything. Huiqian was a nice guy, but his English was not that great.

When I got to the lab, about half the students were there. I got situated up front and reviewed the lab plan. This was another protein purification process, but a more complicated one.

When the two girls I helped last time came in, the one I had talked to walked up and quickly put something on the table next to me as she went to her seat. It was some kind of circular sticker. I flipped it over and realized that it was a pentagram. The two of them grinned at me, and the first girl gave me a little wave.

Yeah, no mystery who had talked me up with Dr. Paulson.

I got them all going on the lab, which passed without incident. Afterward, the girl with purple hair drifted over toward me but didn’t say anything right away.

“Thanks for the sticker,” I said.

“I had it,” she said. Her shoulder-length hair was bright – almost neon – purple. She had a nose ring and wore some kind of goth outfit, this lacy baby-doll dress with black thigh-high stockings that were low enough to show the garter straps. There was a black choker around her neck, a ton of makeup around her eyes, and tattoos all up and down her arms.

“Are you into heavy metal, or something else?” I asked.

“No. Wicca. I’m a witch.”

I looked her over again. I wasn’t normally into goth, at least not before all this demon shit started happening, but she was pretty cute. And as I got a better look at her, I realized she had rather large breasts, as large as Charlotte’s, which was saying something. But she had a narrower waist and hips than Charlotte did and lacked Charlotte’s thick butt.

“Really?” I asked.

She’d noticed me checking her out and smiled. “Yeah.”

“In tenebrarum gente, cui nihil admixtum erat luminis, serpentibus congruunt.”

Her jaw dropped a little, but she didn’t seem disturbed or upset. Instead she glanced around us quickly, then leaned forward.

“That’s not heavy metal,” she said quietly.

It was actually a line from the original incantation I’d adapted to summon Volach.

“No. It’s Latin.”

“What does it mean?”

“Roughly, serpents enjoy the darkness where there is no light. I wouldn’t repeat it unless you know what you’re doing.”

Her eyes widened, and she looked behind herself again. “What’s it from?” she said softly.

“A book I have. What’s your name?”

“Morrigan.”

“Okay, Morrigan, it was nice to meet you. I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

She took a deep breath, pursed her lips, and leaned back. She smiled at me again. “Okay. Bye.”

◆◆◆

When I got over to the Biology building, Katarina and Hayley were sitting together studying. Last time they were simply sitting next to each other. Today was a little different. Hayley was leaning back against Katarina, who sat with her legs on the table in front of her. Katarina had her arm up on the back of the couch, and Hayley was leaning against Katarina’s chest with her fingers just intertwined with Katarina’s above her. Both of them were reading.

“Hey, folks,” I said.

They looked up.

“Hello, Jimmy,” Katarina said.

“Hi, Jimmy.”

Hayley sat up and let go of Katarina’s hand. She reached around to pull all that luscious red hair over to one shoulder.

“How was your class?” Katarina asked.

“I met the Irish goddess of death.”

They both looked at me in confusion.

“Never mind,” I said. “It’s getting late, and I’m tired. What are you up to tonight, Hayley?”

She smiled. “Um, nothing really.”

Katarina put her hand on Hayley’s shoulder. “You should come over.”

“We could just order a pizza or something,” I said. “No pressure if you’ve got something else to do.”

Hayley nervously looked back and forth at us for a moment. “Sure, okay.”

Chapter 17

We walked back to my building. I stopped at the grocery store on the way to get a 12-pack of beer. After asking me if it was okay, Katarina grabbed a bottle of Swedish vodka. I didn’t like using the demonic credit card for food, but I was so short of money right now that I didn’t really have a choice. If this job worked out, I would clear far more debt than this represented.

Charlotte joined our group on the way and followed us up to my apartment.

“She was just a stray?” Hayley asked as we climbed the stairs.

“I think so.”

But I’d forgotten that the grimoires and other stuff were all still sitting out from that morning. I quickly scooped them up and set them aside while trying not to act as if I didn’t want Hayley to see them.

She saw them anyway. “Wow, what are those?”

“Uh, some old books I inherited from my grandmother when she died. I’m still going through her stuff.”

“Oh, that’s cool.” Then her forehead creased a bit. “They’re in Latin?”

I realized she could see the spines from how they were stacked up. “Yeah.”

“The Key of Solomon? Book of the Office of Spirits? What are they?”

Katarina and I looked at each other.

“Wait, can you read Latin?” I asked.

“Yeah, I took four years of it in high school,” Hayley said. “There are so many Latin terms in medicine, and I wanted to be able to understand them. Do you read it?”

“Yeah. Same here, really. But I took it undergrad too.”

“Do you mind if I look at them?” she asked.

It was too late to say no. I grabbed Picatrix, which was the least demon-focused volume, and handed it to her. “Just be very careful. They’re really old.”

“Oh, for sure, I will.”

She sat down at the table to look through it. As she flipped through the book slowly, I opened up the beers and passed them out.

“This is so cool,” she said. “Have you read through them all yet?”

“Not every page. But yeah.”

“Is it some kind of medieval spell book?” she asked.

“I think so.”

“You should try casting one.” She laughed. Then she handed the book back.

I ordered the pizza, and we sat down on the couch to watch a movie when it arrived. Katarina handed out shots of vodka when we started eating.

“Is this like, a Swedish thing?” Hayley asked.

“Yes,” Katarina said.

Hayley tossed hers back, and Katarina laughed. “You are supposed to sip it with your food.”

Hayley laughed with her. “Oh. Sorry.”

Katarina poured her a refill. The girls sat on either side of me. By the time we were done eating, Hayley had downed two more shots and a beer and seemed a bit drunk. Katarina had barely touched the pizza but had three shots, though she didn’t seem to be affected by it.

Hayley was now sitting right next me, head against my shoulder. I tried not to think too hard about the last time we were on the couch together.

“Katarina, can you tell me something?” she asked.

“Yes, what?”

“Do you even own a bra?”

Katarina laughed softly. “No.” Which was the truth, after all.

Hayley sat up to look at her. “Seriously? None at all?”

“No. I do not like them.”

Hayley sat back. “How do you deal with the attention? I mean, you’re not exactly flat-chested.”

Katarina shrugged. “People look at my hair, they may look at my breasts. I do not care. They are just breasts. All women have them.”

Hayley sighed, laughing softly. “You’re a brave woman.”

“You should try it,” Katarina said.

“I wish.”

“What is stopping you? You are not large. I do not think you need one.”

Hayley looked at me. “You’re being very quiet.”

“Don’t mind me.”

The girls both laughed. Then Hayley sat up. “I guess I’ll be right back.”

She got up and went to the bathroom. She came out a minute later with her bra wadded up in her hand and stuffed it into her backpack.

“I don’t wear one for the support. This is why.”

She looked down at her chest, where her nipples were sticking straight out against the fabric of her top.

“I think you are beautiful,” Katarina said, “and you should be proud of them.”

Hayley laughed and sat down. “Okay.”

But that was as far as things went that night. When the movie was over, Hayley got up from the couch.

“I’d love to stay longer, guys, but I do have some homework. Thanks for dinner.”

“Perhaps you can come over tomorrow,” Katarina said. “We could use the spa.”

Hayley nodded. “Yeah sure, that would be cool.”

She gave me a tight hug and a peck on the cheek, then hugged Katarina. “Night.”

“See you in class,” I said.

When she was gone, Katarina nuzzled with me. “I tried, Jimmy.”

“She’s getting there. It’s fine.”

“Yes, I agree.”

“So how is my extremely not-average succubus tonight?” I asked.

She fingered my shirt for a moment. “She would like you to get the staff and show her no mercy.”

I laughed softly. “Sure about that?”

She smiled. “I am giving you what I can, Jimmy. I obey you in all things.”

“Okay. Come up with an outfit and meet me in there.”

I got Grandma Amy’s staff and went to the bedroom. I stripped naked and sat on the end of the bed. Charlotte came in and hopped up beside me.

“Sure you want to watch this?”

She just meowed and curled up on the corner of the mattress.

Katarina came in a few moments later. She wore another little black nightgown, but this one was more straps than fabric. The neckline dipped well below her breasts, and the bottom barely covered her sex. She turned a circle, showing me the back, which dropped down to the crack of her butt. On her legs were a pair of thigh-high stockings. The sight of them reminded me of Morrigan, the girl in Chem 320, but I tried to put her out of my mind.

“You like the silk, yes?” she asked.

“I do.”

“And the stockings?”

“Very nice.”

I stood up with the staff and took control of her body. As before, I left her only in control of her voice, her mouth, and her pussy. She moaned as I did it, eyes closing. I dropped her to her knees. I entered her mouth as she looked up at me in complete submission. For a while, I just held her head and fucked her throat as she sucked on me. When I started to get close, I withdrew and brought her back to her feet.

I turned her around, spread her legs, and bent her over at the waist, having her hold her ankles, leaving her wet pussy open and completely exposed before me.

“No mercy?” I asked.

“No, Master. None at all.”

“All right, then.”

So I made her orgasm then and there, and I kept her right at the peak of it. She moaned loudly, whimpering and crying out as I entered her from behind. I felt her spasming around me even as she tried to grip me with her muscles, to suck and massage my cock as she’d always done.

I kept her in a continual state of orgasm as I held her hips and thrust into her steadily. I didn’t want to rush this. She was almost wailing now, lost in the twin states of ecstasy and submission, trying to pleasure me even as she shook uncontrollably around me. But though I tried to pace myself, it was too much for me as well. I began pounding her taut buttocks, and after another minute, a wave of pleasure washed over me and into Katarina, spurt after spurt of seed going inside her.

She was still coming. I withdrew, making her stumble forward onto the bed and lie on her back. Charlotte watched us dispassionately. I entered Katarina again as she begged for my cock. I used the staff to spread her out as if she was tied up, and I pounded her over and over. She was still trying to milk and massage me even in the midst of her ten-minute-long orgasm. I came again, filling her up with everything I had.

I rolled over. I needed to catch my breath. So I released Katarina’s body – everything except her orgasm. She immediately curled up, shuddering and shaking. “Master . . .”

“No mercy. Get that into your mouth.”

She obeyed, rolling over and swallowing me up. I listened to her whimpers of ecstasy and distress as she went up and down over me, sucking and working me with her tongue. By now, she seemed to have reached some kind of equilibrium, still at the peak of this endless orgasm but able to control her body enough to focus on me.

When I came a third time, squirting thick ropes of seed down her throat, I finally released her. She had been orgasming for at least twenty minutes.

Katarina collapsed onto the bed beside me, shivering and twitching in the aftermath. It was a long time before she could say anything.

“Twelve hundred years . . .” she gasped.

“And?”

“Twelve hundred years . . . and I have never felt anything like that.” She rolled weakly over against me. “Do you know how many men I have been with?”

“Do you want to tell me?”

“I do . . . if it will not bother you.”

“Have you been counting?” I asked.

“My memory is not like yours, Jimmy. I just know.”

“How many?”

“Five thousand, four hundred, and twenty-seven. Including you.”

That Viking seeress had known her stuff, I guess. “That’s a few more than me.”

“Of that number, none has given me pleasure like you just did. No man or demon.”

“That’s good to know.”

She cuddled closer to me. I just held her. Charlotte came over and sat on top of us, right where we were lying together. Katarina laughed weakly and reached up to pet her.

Chapter 18

I wanted to talk to Charlotte that night, but I wasn’t entirely sure how to do it. I knew I had to be asleep, but what I needed to do then, I wasn’t sure.

It turned out to be fairly simple. I slept. I dreamed. At some point during one of them, I realized I was dreaming. I said to myself, I need to find Charlotte. And like that, I was back in the forest, back in the lucid, intensely vivid spirit world.

I came upon Charlotte’s cottage. She emerged from it, smiling.

“Hello, Master. I would have thought Katarina had sated you tonight.”

I laughed. “She did. Unless watching us made you needy.”

She laughed with me. “I shared more of it than you seem to realize. I am your familiar, Master. I know what you know and feel what you feel.”

“Good. Because I have some questions for you. This shouldn’t take long. I know I can’t stay here.”

“Ask. But I know what you are wondering about.”

“Caacrinolaas.”

“There are divination spells in your books. You must learn where he is, and what he is doing now. Then you will know the materials you need to summon and bind him. It may take time. You must be patient and methodical.”

“But if he’s broken from Hell, should I even do this?” I asked.

“He is a demon, Master. He cannot escape his nature.”

“Okay. I guess that works.”

She smiled warmly and put her hands on my waist. “There is something else you wish to ask me.”

I shook my head. “If it involves Katarina . . . no.”

“Did you ever wonder why succubi must be made from the souls of virgins who die by suicide? It is because they gave up their lives never having known mortal passion, never knowing all its many facets. Far easier then to turn them into something that uses the worst parts of mortal passion as a weapon. A succubi who was capable of love would be far less effective at it. You cannot ask her to be more than she is, Master. She cannot escape her nature either.”

“I get it. I do.”

She rose up and kissed me. “Good. Wake now, Jimmy.”

◆◆◆

When Hayley arrived at Chem 240 the next morning, I saw the difference in her right away. She had on a loose top but nothing under it. She saw me looking and smiled. After she settled into her seat, a text came in.

I’m giving it a try for one day

It works

For you, yeah lol

For me, it’s like I’ve got my high beams on at night

lol

Still want to come over tonight?

Yeah, Katarina and I were texting about it

It’s all good

Class started, and there was nothing more for a while. But about twenty minutes later, she texted me again.

This is going to sound weird but do you mind if I read some more of those books?

The old ones?

I promise to be super careful

I struggled with what to tell her before concluding that she had no reason to think they were anything but old books my grandmother had owned.

Yeah, sure

Thanks

It’s one of the things I loved about taking Latin

Reading the medieval texts. Almost like time travel

Yeah

Some of them are kind of creepy, though

Fair warning

Creepy is good lol

I left it at that, though I knew things were rapidly approaching a point where I was going to have to make some decisions about where Hayley fit into my other life, if at all.

When I got back home after my Chem 240 lab section that afternoon, the lawyer had emailed me the fire investigation report that Rob prepared. There were photos of the fire damage and a dry summary of the actual fire and how it developed. There wasn’t much that was remarkable about it, except for the part about the strange circular burn mark on her floor.

This burn mark presents an extremely unusual appearance, and is something this investigator has not seen in 31 years of investigating residential fires. The depth of the char in the floorboards and the melted carpet around it indicates extremely high temperatures were present, such as those that might be created by a powerful incendiary device. That possibility, however, conflicts with the identity of the resident-victim and the general lack of burn injuries on her body, which was found immediately next to the burn mark. In addition, no chemical traces or other evidence of such a device was found at the scene. In the opinion of this investigator, there is insufficient evidence to identify the source of this mark.

Having talked to Volach about Grandma Amy’s death, I was pretty sure what that source was. A connection to Hell might have done the same kind of damage that made Rob suspect an incendiary device. But I wasn’t about to tell the lawyer that.

The synthetic ruby I ordered had also arrived in my mailbox. I compared it with the one Volach gave me and decided that my intuition had been correct. It would work.

That taken care of, I wanted to get to work on figuring out the divination spells I needed to track down Caacrinolaas. The location spells in Liber Officiorum Spirituum were all focused on finding objects – treasure and lost items – not individuals. Liber Incantationum had several spells that seemed like they would work, but they cross-referenced a lot of astrology that wasn’t completely explained. That sent me to Picatrix, which covered the subject in exhaustive detail.

But this wasn’t the astrology I was familiar with – vague nonsense about the stars and planets bringing back lost loves and similar trivialities. Picatrix was mostly drawn from serious works of astronomy from the medieval Islamic world, and much of it took an empirical approach that I hadn’t expected to find. These Islamic scholars criticized much classical astrology as being derived from pure conjecture rather than observable evidence.

The author described various spells – essentially experiments – that could be conducted to test theories about what effects the stars and planets might have on the world. And while it was clear that the physical world was not really affected by the positions of stars or planets, the spirit world was. Certain divinations were much more effective at certain times and alignments, and ineffective or useless at others.

This was going a bit far afield from what I was familiar with, as I had taken only a single general education class in astronomy. Charlotte knew quite a bit more, but only from the perspective of a medieval witch.

Katarina was still trying to decide what sort of bathing suit to wear that night and had been coming in and out of the kitchen with various options she’d manifested for me to assess. When she walked in wearing a little neon-blue string bikini, I looked up from the book.

“That seeress in your village,” I asked. “Do you know how she did that reading on you?”

She nodded. “Yes. She cast her rune stones and read the pattern. She was not always right, but many times she saw things accurately. Do you like this?”

She spun around, showing me the thong bottoms.

“I like it.”

“Better than the black one?”

“Yes. There’s nothing in here about rune stones.”

“I do not think it is the stones exactly, but rather allowing some randomness that the spirit world can affect. Do you want me to wear this?”

“Yeah, you look awesome,” I said. “Hayley had something like that last week.”

“Yes, I know. She sent me a picture.”

A long t-shirt appeared over the bikini, and she laid down on the couch to play with her phone.

I sensed that Charlotte agreed with Katarina on the need for randomness. But based on the discussions in Picatrix, I was going to need to carefully work out the right time and place to do it if I was going to have a chance of finding anything about Caacrinolaas.

Then I remembered the set of stones in Grandma Amy’s box. I hadn’t paid much attention to them because I’d been distracted by the one from Breamstone. So I got them out now. It was obvious to me that they were a set of rune stones similar to what the seeress used. There were twenty-four of them altogether.

When I had them all out on the table, I recognized – through Charlotte – that I was correct. Grandma Amy had collected them from various places of power, including Breamstone – whatever that was. The challenge was reading them. That was something Charlotte was familiar with, though the specific combination of runes in this set was not something she’d seen before.

I figured I would start simple, just casting the stones to see if I could read some answers to basic questions. I knew what astrological conditions were most auspicious for this; what I didn’t know was how to determine what they currently were. The information seemed to be available online, but I had a hard time matching what I found with what was in Picatrix. Then I remembered something I’d seen on my demon phone.

In addition to the Soul Trader app, there were several others that had been preinstalled. One was a service request app that connected you with the infernal bureaucracy; I wasn’t interested in getting involved with that one. Another was a contact list. But there was also one that was stylized like a conventional weather app, except that it read the current and upcoming conditions in the spirit world. A bit of tinkering with the settings, and I got the information in the same format that was used in Picatrix. I was in business.

As it turned out, the current conditions were generally auspicious for reading information about people and spirits I had some connection to, but not ideal. For demons in particular, they would be better in a few days when the moon was better aligned with Mercury.

So, what to ask? The biggest issue in my mind right now was Hayley and where she was in relation to me and Katarina. I guessed I would start there.

I held the staff in my hands and tried to empty my mind the way Charlotte suggested. In a few moments, I could feel a better connection with the spirit world. I focused on my questions about Hayley. Then I picked up a small handful of the stones and cast them on the table.

At first, the patterns meant nothing. But reading them with Charlotte’s expertise, the message began to emerge.

In the center of the pile, several stones had come together suggesting a confluence of joy and male and female energy. Well, that was clear enough. Around those three were runes for protection, wisdom, and hardship, which Charlotte read as suggesting uncertainty needing wise guidance. That could refer to me or Hayley, or both of us. The rest of it was unclear.

This was a lot vaguer than I would have liked. Divination was clearly not like chemistry. There was just too much about it that was open to observer bias – seeing what you wanted to see. So, of course I was seeing the possibility of having Hayley and Katarina together tonight, as well as the risks that encounter would entail. No real rocket science there. I really needed something more rigorous.

It slowly began to occur to me that one problem here was the limited number of variables. There were only twenty-four runes that in no way covered all meaningful concepts. It was left to the caster to combine this limited set into something coherent, and that just left way too much to the caster’s ability to interpret without projecting bias onto the results. That was hard enough in the lab; with these rune stones, I didn’t see how observer bias could ever be anything but a major question mark over the interpretations. This was just not going to work in a way I was comfortable with. It seemed no different than consulting my horoscope in the newspaper.

But was there another way to do this? I’d improved the spells I used on Katarina and Volach. Could I improve this?

What if, I thought, I could introduce sufficient randomness into a much larger set of variables that the spirit world could affect, using a lot more ideas and concepts, and did it in a way that eliminated the risk of observer bias? I could never eliminate it entirely – science didn’t work that way – but surely I could do a lot better than the rune stones. I knew how to design experiments by now. I just needed to do it here.

I looked over at my laptop. I’d been modeling some pretty complex processes for my Chem 520 class. Computational fluid dynamics involved a lot of variables and randomness, all the way up to stuff that required cutting-edge supercomputers. Could I actually program a divination model? I certainly wasn’t envisioning anything as complex as what I had been doing for Dr. Vicenza.

I decided I would find out.

My basic idea was to model a random flow of particles, each of which represented a specific concept in a database. After allowing a sufficient level of randomness to develop, the model would then have them flow down a specific path. The first twenty-four to reach a certain point would represent my answer.

It took me a while to settle on what to use for the data set. Too large a set would complicate the model and greatly slow down the process; too small, and what I got would be too vague. I finally decided on a range that my laptop could process in a reasonable amount of time. Into that, I deposited a set of general words and concepts that I found online as part of a psychological testing database. Then I added my name, Katarina’s, Hayley’s, as well as a few others who seemed relevant.

That taken care of, programming the model wasn’t too challenging. I already had something that would work with a little tweaking. I finished programming and debugging the process around seven. It was time to test it out.

I cleared my mind and focused on the same question about Hayley. When I felt like I’d gotten the attention of the spirit world, I started the model.

Katarina appeared beside me just after I hit “run” and put her hand on my shoulder.

“Hayley is on her way over. Are you about done?”

I looked back at my laptop. The model looked like it would take about thirty minutes to finish. I probably wasn’t going to get answer in time for it to be of any use. But this was a test run anyway. I wasn’t comfortable making any real-world decisions with it until I’d played with it a lot more.

“Yeah, it’s good.”

“She’s just going to meet us down in the spa.”

Chapter 19

I mixed up some drinks with Katarina’s vodka and poured them into three plastic cups. Kelly had some friends over already, and I told him we would stop by later. There were a few kids in the spa, but it wasn’t crowded. I tried to ignore the looks that Katarina got in her shiny blue bikini as we settled into the water.

Hayley appeared a few minutes later in the same yellow bikini she’d had on last week. She slid into the spa between us.

“How’d the rest of your day go with your experiment?” I asked.

She laughed. “I got used to it. Might try it again tomorrow.”

“Once you get used to the freedom, you will not go back,” Katarina said.

Hayley laughed again. “I guess we’ll see.”

I passed one of the drinks to her and she took a sip.

“Was your grandmother into the occult or was she just a book collector?” she asked.

I started internally. “Why do you ask?”

“Those books of hers. I went and looked them up when I got home. You know they’re works on magic and demonology, right? That’s what you meant by creepy?”

I nodded slowly. Hayley didn’t miss much, as I’d been concerned about.

“Yeah, that’s what I meant. Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out what her deal was with all that stuff.”

“I don’t mean to be nosy,” she said. “I just find that kind of thing fascinating, because even as weird as a lot of it is, you can still find bits and pieces of modern science and medicine, the basis of it, you know?”

“Yeah, for sure.”

Kelly and his group came down a little while later. He’d finally found a new roommate, a tall guy named Ahmed who was studying computer science. I recognized one of the girls with them from the last time I’d been over to Kelly’s apartment. She looked over at us.

“Have you guys seen that girl Sabrina lately?” she asked. “Seems like she disappeared.”

“No,” I said.

Katarina betrayed nothing in her reaction. “Who was she?” she asked.

“This girl who was hanging around the building for a long time, just dropping by for parties. No one really knew where she came from, but she was hot, so the guys let her in.”

“She was the last one with Nathan the night he died,” one of the other guys said.

“Oh.”

“The cops were looking for her,” Kelly said. “Did you talk to them after that?” he asked me.

“No. But I don’t think those guys were cops.”

“Yeah, they were super fucking weird,” he said. “Didn’t really ask about Nathan. Just Sabrina.”

It was getting dark by this point, but something about the night looked strange and unfamiliar to me. The darkness was there, but I could somehow still see into the shadows around the pool. I could make out details that I shouldn’t have been able to detect. A moment later, it occurred to me what was going on.

As Charlotte had promised, my night vision was significantly improved. The more I looked around, and the darker it got, the more obvious it was. It wasn’t so much “seeing in the dark” as just being a lot more sensitive to even small levels of ambient light.

I didn’t know how useful this might be, but it was awfully cool.

We all went back up to Kelly’s apartment an hour later. By this point, there were about fifteen kids hanging out and drinking, and I got caught up in talking to Ahmed about my divination model, not that I put it that way. He had some suggestions for streamlining the results module to make the selection process as truly random as possible. Around nine, I felt Katarina come up behind me and take my arm.

“There you are.”

“Where did you two go?” I asked.

“We were talking to two friends of Hayley’s. They were asking about Sweden. Somehow they are now all convinced that girls in Sweden do not wear bras.”

I laughed. “A blow for freedom.”

She leaned against my neck. “But we are tired of talking.”

“And . . . ?”

“Hayley wants to see your books again,” she said.

“Okay.”

“I will get her.”

The three of us went back across the hall. My model had to be finished running by now, but the laptop had gone to sleep and the screen was dark. I didn’t want to bother with it in front of them, so it would have to wait.

I let Hayley look through Clavicula Salomonis while I made another round of drinks.

“This is all just so wild,” she said. “Some of it I can’t decipher, but it’s really a book of spells.”

“Yeah.”

“Have you tried any of them?” She was grinning.

“The preface says they won’t work unless you’re ‘worthy.’ So conveniently, not working doesn’t prove anything.”

She closed the book after a few more minutes and stood up. Katarina came up behind her and slowly put her arms around Hayley’s waist. They were still in their bikinis, just having put shorts on over the bottoms. Hayley sighed nervously and leaned back against Katarina.

I walked over toward them.

“Guys?” Hayley said.

“What?” Katarina asked.

Hayley put her hands on Katarina’s arms. “I’m still not sure about this.”

“About what?” Katarina asked.

“The three of us. Together.”

“You’ve been with Jimmy,” Katarina replied.

“Yeah.”

“Perhaps we need to take it slower,” she said.

Hayley turned her head. “What do you mean?”

“Last week was Jimmy. This week could be my turn. Then we decide about the next step.”

Hayley let out a nervous laugh. Then she looked at me. I could tell this idea was appealing to her, but she wasn’t sure what I thought.

“I can be patient,” I finally said.

Hayley bit her lip. “Are you sure it’s okay?”

“You’re nervous about class?”

“Yeah. That’s some of it.”

“Well, Katarina isn’t your TA,” I said. “We agreed dating could be an issue, but that was between the two of us. If you were mainly with Katarina, and I was just around, that seems less of a problem. You said you were mainly into girls.”

“I like guys, too. I do. I like you.”

“If this is what you want tonight, I can just hang out here on the couch and read.”

Hayley laughed again and looked at Katarina. “Okay?”

“If we leave the door open,” Katarina said. “So Jimmy does not feel too lonely.”

Smiling at me and each other, they went into the bedroom. I sat on the couch with Liber Razielis Archangeli and tried to concentrate on the divinations. Charlotte hopped onto my lap.

For a long while, I didn’t hear anything beyond some quiet talking. I looked down at Charlotte, realizing I could send her in there to watch, before deciding not to get greedy.

Gradually, the soft feminine moans and gasps grew in volume. I realized that Hayley was making most of the noise. The moans turned into whimpers, and the whimpers into cries. Then she was sobbing with pleasure as if she had to be on the verge of orgasm, but it went on for several minutes. Finally the sobs reached a crescendo, and she cried out like I had never heard a woman do, as if the pleasure was so intense it was killing her. Her peak went on for about ten seconds before she began gasping and laughing. Katarina joined her.

A few moments later, I heard Hayley’s voice. “Jimmy?”

“What?” I replied.

“I’m sorry.” They both began laughing again.

“It’s all right.”

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yes. Fine.”

They went back to talking to each other. I just barely heard Hayley say, “I swear to God, that was the biggest one I’ve ever had in my life.”

“That is good,” Katarina replied.

Things were quiet again for a little bit. Then I listened to Hayley returning the favor. I could feel what Katarina was feeling now, and I just lay there watching her orgasm wind up. She made considerably less noise, but I still heard her come when she finally did.

They talked for a little bit after that. Then I heard Katarina call out to me. “Jimmy?”

“Yeah.”

“We would like you to come in here now.”

I rose from the couch and went into the bedroom. I found them lying naked together, both somewhat drained but still welcoming. They looked absolutely fucking delicious. Katarina’s breasts were larger, but Hayley’s were still perky and wonderfully shaped. I looked from a long cascade of red hair to a long cascade of blonde hair.

“Didn’t sound like either of you needed any help.”

“Get undressed before I change my mind,” Hayley said.

I did, lying down between them. At first, I just pulled them both to me, kissing and holding them. Katarina slid up to offer her breasts to me, and Hayley joined her, smothering me in firm, pert flesh. I sucked on random nipples for a minute or two before I felt their hands going down to my erection.

Hayley moved down, kissing my stomach, and Katarina went with her. I quietly focused on the hope that Katarina would not get carried away with things, knowing her skills were beyond any mortal woman. She seemed to sense what I was thinking. They came together around my cock, kissing and licking and sucking together.

I lay there and let them work for several minutes, just enjoying the feel one mouth, then the other, going over me, feeling their long, luscious hair sliding over my thighs.

Katarina sat back a little and kissed my stomach. “Who do you want first?”

“You guys decide.”

She looked over. “Hayley?”

Hayley took her mouth off of me, kissing the head gently. “Okay.”

She sat up and threw a leg over my waist. I watched myself moving slowly into her wetness, just past the little patch of orange-red hair above her clit. She bottomed out, and Katarina moved behind her, reaching up to cup Hayley’s breasts and kiss her neck. Hayley turned her head to nuzzle Katarina as she began to move over me.

I held Hayley’s hips and watched them making out above me. I reached for Hayley’s nipples, and Katarina held Hayley’s breasts out. Hayley moaned, moving back and forth over me.

After a minute or so, she leaned forward onto my chest. I pulled her to me and kissed her. She kissed me back eagerly. Katarina lay down beside us. Hayley rode me more rapidly now, rubbing herself firmly against my erection. I felt her growing wetter and tighter as she rose toward orgasm again. Then, with a whimper, she pressed her face against my chin, and I felt her contracting around me in release.

“Mmm.”

I kissed her again. She sighed against my neck and slipped off to lie beside me.

“Your turn.”

Katarina took her place. When I was inside her, I felt her sucking and massaging me as she always did, though much less intensely. I reached up to play with her wonderful breasts as Hayley snuggled closer to me. I wanted more of her.

“Come up here,” I said. I motioned for her to get above my head.

She laughed softly. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

She reversed herself and threw a knee over my head. I pulled her down to my mouth as she leaned against Katarina. I licked up at Hayley’s wet, swollen pussy, flicking my tongue rapidly over her clit. I felt them both moving over me, and I reached up to feel their breasts. They were holding each other now and kissing.

Pinned under them, all I could do was lick and thrust upward. Hayley came again after a few minutes, thighs shaking against my head, and Katarina joined her moments later, pounding herself down onto me.

Somehow I hadn’t come yet. They flopped into a heap on top of me. I felt hands on my slick erection.

“Who do you want now, Jimmy?” Katarina asked. “I think you should finish with Hayley.”

Hayley pulled at me. I slipped back inside her, looking down at the mass of deep-red hair around her head.

“You’re okay?” I asked her. “Should have asked before.”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry. It’s all good.”

She pulled my hips forward. I bent to kiss her, then leaned further down to suck on a pert nipple.

Katarina slid over, laying herself just above Hayley’s head so her breasts were right in front of my face.

“Here. Less work for you.”

Hayley laughed, moving with my thrusts. I wasn’t going to last long like this. I buried my face in Katarina’s perfect breasts and sucked on all the firm flesh. I felt Hayley squeezing me as I grew closer. It was nothing like Katarina, but it felt good. Another minute of this, and I came deep inside her with a grunt.

She rubbed my back and kissed me as I caught my breath.

“We’re still not dating,” she said softly. “But that was awesome.”

“Yeah.”

I slid off to lie between them.

With Katarina’s energy to draw on, I wasn’t done with them by a long shot, and Hayley was happy to continue. A little bit later, they rolled together to lick each other, and I took them both in turn from behind, back and forth. Katarina held nothing back this time, and Hayley came with an enormous shudder around me just as I exploded inside her again. Then I let them ride me until they were sated, and I came into Katarina to end the night.

◆◆◆

I was just drifting off beside Hayley when I remembered the model. I knew I was never going to get to sleep wondering, so I got up carefully.

“Jimmy?” Katarina asked softly.

“Be right back.”

I woke up my laptop. It was still on the programming interface showing the completed model and the output. The twenty-four words the model had selected were in a column. My jaw dropped as I read down the list.

RANGER

POOL

BULLET

LIQUOR

OAK

UNCERTAINTY

GREEN

HOME

HAYLEY

CLASS

OPERATE

NERVOUS

SEPARATE

RED

ORGASM

VAGRANT

KATARINA

ORGASM

THREE

JIMMY

JOINED

ETHIOPIA

HAPPINESS

SLEEPY

That was . . . not bad at all. There were some irrelevant terms mixed in, but given what had actually happened, the accuracy was shocking. And if you just tossed the words that didn’t seem to fit instead of trying to invent connections – especially after I realized with a shock that green could mean Kelly – the smaller set was even more obvious.

POOL

LIQUOR

UNCERTAINTY

GREEN KELLY

HOME

HAYLEY

CLASS

NERVOUS

SEPARATE

RED

ORGASM

KATARINA

ORGASM

THREE

JIMMY

JOINED

HAPPINESS

SLEEPY

What were the odds that a completely random sampling would pull in all three of our names, plus orgasm? All of it, more or less in order the way it happened? Basically zero. Almost no real interpretation was required here, which meant very little observer bias. And there were some things I still wanted to do to fine tune it.

Damn, I thought. This could actually work.

Chapter 20

We slept in together and then went out to breakfast. Waking up between Katarina and Hayley, I felt better about my life than I had in quite a while, even if there were still a lot of unresolved issues to deal with. But doing it with people in your life you cared about sure made things easier.

I still wasn’t sure how I was going to segregate Hayley from the demons, or if that was even going to be possible. She was smart. Really smart. She was one of those kinds of people, of whom I had met only a handful in my life, who kept surprising you with their intellect and imagination. That was one of the reasons I was attracted to her. But if she stuck around, she was going to figure things out sooner or later.

We parted with a group hug and promises to get together that night. She and I had stuff to do as far as school went, and Katarina pretended to.

On the way back, Katarina hugged my arm against her chest as we walked, smiling up at me. “Are you happy, Jimmy?”

“Life has been worse,” I said.

“This is what I can give you.”

“It’s fairly awesome.”

“Hayley and Charlotte can give you the things I cannot,” she said. “But I have given you Hayley and Charlotte.”

“That’s . . . one way of looking at it. Yeah.”

She stretched up and kissed me.

When we got back, I showed her what I’d done with the divination model and what it had produced. She was quiet the entire time I was explaining it, before sitting back in her chair with a long sigh.

“Jimmy, this is arousing me in ways I cannot begin to articulate. You are an enormously gifted sorcerer.”

I could tell by the front of her top that she wasn’t kidding. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen her nipples that erect. I took one between my fingers. It felt like a cooked carrot.

“It’s not done yet, though. I have more to do.”

“You don’t need this to tell you what I would like to do to you right now,” she said.

“No. But I need to work. How about later?”

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I will wait. I am skilled at waiting.”

I spent the rest of the morning fine-tuning the model based on my discussion with Ahmed. I ran a few more test divinations based on fairly simple things. That helped me optimize it further, but it also demonstrated the limitations of my five-year-old laptop. So, since this was work-related, I went online and ordered a new one with the demonic credit card, maxing out every possible option for data processing power. I wound up with something that cost just north of $6,000, but it would allow me to expand the database. Adding rush handling and shipping padded the bill even more but would get it here in a couple of days.

Afterwards, Katarina showed me just how much the model was turning her on.

I had to focus on mundane matters for the rest of the weekend. Hayley spent the night with us Saturday and Sunday nights, and then walked to Chem 240 with me on Monday morning.

“So we’re clear, I’m dating Katarina,” she said as we got to class. “You and I are just hooking up on the side.”

“Of course.”

She went to her seat with a sly smile.

◆◆◆

The new laptop arrived that afternoon, and I spent about an hour getting it set up and loading the optimized divination model. I expanded the database, but it was still able to complete a run in about five minutes. I ran a few more tests before concluding that it was polished enough to start trying to find Caacrinolaas.

The question was what exactly I needed to focus on. I needed to summon and bind him, not just figure out where he was. That meant I needed to know what he was doing right now and what he was using his demonic abilities for. I strongly suspected he was laying about as low as he could and using as few of his abilities as possible. But, being a demon and used to having certain powers, I was also confident that he would have slipped up from time to time.

I finally decided to just focus on what I knew, run the model, and see what it came up with. Katarina and Charlotte sat with me while it ran. This was what it produced.

BRAZIL

FLY

CORNER

UNUSUAL

WIDEN

RANCH

HAWK

ROCKY

BROKEN

JIMMY

COVER

BREAST

ELM

EVAPORATE

BREAM

RED

ORGASM

ERUPT

ZAGAN

SLIPPERY

STONE

THONG

THRUST

ELEMENTALLY

There was a lot here that made some sense. Brazil, breast, orgasm, thrust, and thong made it pretty clear what Caacrinolaas was up to right now. You could probably toss slippery into that pile as well. But several other things leapt out at me, starting with my own name. I double-checked the database and code to be sure I hadn’t accidentally done something to make my name more likely to show up. I couldn’t see anything.

Looking the list over again, I noticed some other things. Rocky, Jimmy, Bream, Zagan, and stone. That was just too damn much. Breamstone was near Zagan’s Rock, where I had been born.

I ran the model five more times to see what it might produce. Some of it changed, but several words came up every single time.

ROCKY

JIMMY

BREAM

ZAGAN

STONE

RANCH

HAWK

RED

BRAZIL

ORGASM

ELM

I didn’t dare run any kind of search on Breamstone. But Zagan’s Rock was an established town, and it didn’t take a lot of effort to discover that there was a neighborhood up there called Red Hawk Ranch. Brazil and orgasm were obvious enough. Clearly he was keeping himself and this woman busy. I didn’t know what to make of elm.

“This is fascinating, Jimmy,” Katarina said. “I am in absolute awe of your skills.”

“Kind of amazed it’s working this well myself, to be honest.”

Charlotte meowed loudly and pawed at the screen. I realized she was pawing at elm. I knew – through her – that elm trees were associated with death and the underworld, but also love and feminine energy. That fit pretty neatly with what I knew: that Caacrinolaas had caused the death of this woman’s husband in order to have her for himself.

I looked up the flora around Zagan’s Rock. American Elms were fairly common, and Red Hawk Ranch appeared to be covered with them.

“Elm is the component I need to summon him,” I said.

Charlotte meowed again and rubbed herself against my arm.

The problem was that I had no elm, and I wasn’t sure where to get some. There was really only one option I could see: going back to Soul Journeys.

◆◆◆

So the next afternoon, after the Biochem lab, I went back over there with Katarina. I didn’t bother to call first because I was afraid Celeste would tell me never to darken her door again. I figured I would have a better chance of getting her help in person.

When we walked into the store, I saw Isolde sitting among the displays in front. Charlotte immediately ran over to her, and they calmly assessed each other for several moments. That was enough to distract me from noticing who was behind the counter.

“Is that your cat— oh, hey!”

I looked over. It wasn’t Celeste.

It was Morrigan, the goth girl with the purple hair. She took in me, Katarina, and Charlotte as I struggled to get my bearings.

“You work here?” I asked.

She smiled. “Yeah, I do.” She was dressed more sedately than the last time I saw her, just a black skirt with a short black top that laced up in front. She turned toward the back of the store. “Aunt Celeste! You should come out here. It’s the guy I told you about from school.”

Celeste appeared through the beaded curtain and stopped short, startled. “You.”

“Yeah. I, uh, I need a few things.”

Morrigan’s mood deflated a few notches. “You know each other?”

“Morrigan, this is the man I told you about.”

Morrigan’s eyes widened. She looked over at Katarina and stepped back from the counter, gasping softly.

“Hello,” Katarina said.

The four of us stood there for a few moments.

“You have a familiar now,” Celeste said finally.

“Yeah. Her name is Charlotte.”

Celeste looked down at her. “She was a witch.”

Charlotte meowed.

“Yeah,” I said.

“You have the smell of Hell all over you,” Celeste said. “All three of you.”

“I owe them. Thanks to my grandmother. I’m trying to work it off. That thing you asked me never to speak of. I’m kind of stuck with this.”

Celeste took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “What do you need?”

“Elm. Leaves or wood, I don’t think it matters. Do you have red hawk feathers?”

“Yes, to both,” she said. “What are you summoning?”

“It would take too long to explain. Something that has gone rogue.”

“You have a means of binding it?”

“Yes. I have a piece of its true form.”

Morrigan finally found her voice. “You’re actually a sorcerer? What are you doing TA’ing Biochem labs?”

“Turns out there’s a lot of crossover there,” I said. “You’d be surprised.”

She looked at Katarina. “And you’re really . . . a succubus?”

“Yes,” Katarina said amiably. “But I am bound to him. There is no cause for concern on your part.”

“Morrigan, the elm leaves are under the counter on the far left,” Celeste said. “I’ll find him a red hawk feather in back.”

Morrigan broke out of her inertia after a moment or two and gathered up a bag of elm leaves. Celeste returned with two feathers from the stock room and set them on the counter.

“I would like to pay you this time,” I said.

“They’re dead leaves, Jimmy, and some feathers I collected on a hike. Neither is worth creating a connection here. I sympathize and want to help you, but I need to protect myself and my family.”

“Okay.”

“That pentagram I saw you sketching out,” Morrigan said. “That was a spell?”

“Morrigan!” Celeste snapped. “You have no idea what he’s involved with. Stay as far away from this as you can!”

“He’s the TA for one of my labs. I don’t have any choice. I need that class. It was full last semester.”

Celeste let out a frustrated groan. “Please keep my niece out of whatever it is you are doing.”

“In all likelihood, this will be over in a few days,” I said.

“All right, then. Good luck.”

We turned to go.

Morrigan waved after me, smiling. “See you in class.”

◆◆◆

I adapted the summoning spell from Liber Officiorum Spirituum to use the elm leaves and feathers based on what I learned from the divination model. I went over to campus one night and rendered the red hawk feathers down to a powder. I ground up the elm leaves and mixed the two together. I still had some mandrake root from summoning Volach, and the sulfur wouldn’t be an issue. That combination would be enough to snatch Caacrinolaas away from his Brazilian love nest.

But the spell for binding his spirit into a gem was quite different from the spell I had intended to use to bind Volach. This one didn’t require me to brew up any heroin. All I needed was the gem and a physical piece of him, which I had.

The last issue was my idea about a portable pentagram, so I wouldn’t need to keep using up Grandma Amy’s ashes. I envisioned something I could roll up and carry easily, but I kept coming back to the problem of the ashes flaking loose. So, after researching things with Charlotte, I decided that a platform of beechwood, sealed with white glue, would work for the pentagram once I mounted the gas ring onto it. Finding raw beechwood lumber took some work and a drive across town to specialty building store, but once I did, the pentagram only took about an hour to put together.

Katarina, Charlotte, and I went over to one of the chem labs that night. I set everything up and lit the brazier with the powdered elm, feathers, sulfur, and mandrake root. I placed the ruby and Caacrinolaas’s feather in the center of pentagram, then lit the gas ring. Stepping back, I started the incantation, holding my staff in the air. It was essentially the same spell as the one I’d used for Volach.

“Caacrinolaas the bloodthirsty, ruler of passions and bloodshed, I call to you.

Caacrinolaas the bloodthirsty, I summon you to appear.”

As before, the smoke from the brazier began swirling around the magic circle.

“By the power of Hell and all the spirits of the world, I call you to me.

By the power of God and the spirits above, I command you to appear.”

When I spoke the last word, the smoke from the brazier swirled into the pentagram, and with a low thump, Caacrinolaas appeared. He was naked, flushed, and very much erect, and there was little mystery about what he’d been in the middle of.

“What . . . Oh for the love of . . . Fuck me! You couldn’t have waited another five minutes?”

He looked young, fit, and largely inoffensive, with long shaggy blonde hair. He reminded me of a human golden retriever.

“Did I interrupt something?” I asked.

“Yeah, you fucking did.”

He explored the pentagram and looked around the room. He slammed his hand against the barrier, then seemed to notice Katarina.

“Katarinix? Is that you?”

She gave him a little wave. “Hi,” she said.

His mood slipped a few notches, and he looked back at me. “Who are you?”

“I’m new,” I said.

“New, and you’ve already bound a top-tier succubus?”

“Yeah.”

I started the incantation to bind him into the ruby.

“Caacrinolaas the bloodthirsty, through these offerings, I command your spirit.

Caacrinolaas the bloodthirsty, through these offerings, I call on Hell to compel your obedience.”

“Hey, hey, hey, pal. Wait, wait a second.”

I ignored him.

“You got yourself a succubus, great. Have you figured out their limitations yet? I was where you were, then I met Adriana, and everything changed. Love matters! It does!”

I kept going.

“Caacrinolaas the bloodthirsty, through these offerings, I bind you to this gem.

Caacrinolaas the bloodthirsty, through these offerings, I call on the kings and princes and dukes of Hell to compel you to enter.”

“Love is what I do. I can make her love you, I swear! Wait!”

I almost lost my place in the incantation, but it was too late to stop.

“Caacrinolaas the bloodthirsty, through these offerings, I command your spirit to obey.

Caacrinolaas the bloodthirsty, through these offerings, I bind your spirit into this stone.”

“Noooooo . . . ”

With the last word, Caacrinolaas dissolved into a cloud of vapor that spiraled into the ruby. After a moment or two, he was gone. The ruby glowed with a soft red light.

I shut off the gas. Then I turned to Katarina, whose face had gone pale. We just looked at each other for a few moments.

“I’ve decided to take you at your word,” I said. “And accept who you are.”

“He was lying, Jimmy. Did you believe him?”

I sighed. “It wasn’t really a question of belief.”

“Did you?”

“If I did, I would have stopped.”

Katarina nodded and looked down at the floor. “If you had stopped, it would have broken my heart.”

I paused. She took in the look on my face.

“Not being able to love you doesn’t mean I don’t have one,” she said.

I nodded. “Okay. Let’s go home.”

We gathered up the pentagram and the brazier. I turned toward the door. I didn’t see the figure in the hall until we stepped out.

“You guys have some serious fucking explaining to do,” Hayley said.

Chapter 21

The three of us just stared at each other for several long moments.

“How much did you see?” I finally asked.

“All of it? Enough. I was coming back from seeing a friend of mine at her dorm, and I saw you guys coming in here. This late, with all that stuff, I could tell something weird was up. Especially after reading those books of yours.”

“I guess that’s one way of putting it,” I said. I looked at Katarina, who just stood there with a dispassionate look on her face. “Come back in here,” I said.

We returned to the lab. I shut the door.

“Guys, look,” Hayley began, “I’m not one of those people who rejects things out of hand just because they conflict with my belief system. I think I have an open mind. I just need to be convinced. Beliefs are either evidence-based, or they’re not. I don’t know what I just saw, but I’m assuming there’s an explanation for it. I want to hear it. Now.”

“There is,” I said. “You just may not like it.”

“It’s not about liking anything. I just want the truth.” She put her hand on her head. “I think we have something good here, the three of us, I just need to know what the hell is going on. I’ve had this feeling in the back of my mind that there was something you weren’t telling me, and I guess this is it.”

“Are you really sure you want to know?” I asked.

“Yes. Jimmy. When I told you I’ve mostly dated girls, that’s because I’m really only attracted to men who are smart as I am, and who can deal with my being as smart as them. To be honest, you’re the first one I’ve met who clears both of those. But I need you to be straight with me.”

I took a deep breath.

“Okay,” I said. “I am a sorcerer. Katarina is a succubus. Charlotte is my familiar, and she’s inhabited by the spirit of a witch who lived in sixteenth-century Germany. I owe Hell five thousand souls because of something my grandmother did. She was also a sorceress, and she lived for five hundred years before something went sideways. Now she’s a Duchess of Hell, or something. I’m not sure. Tonight was a job I was doing to recapture a rogue demon. His spirit is trapped in that ruby. Also, I created a computer model that seems to be pretty good at predicting the future.”

Hayley’s eyes narrowed at me as I spoke. She didn’t say anything for a few long moments. I listened to her breath whistling through her nostrils.

“Show me,” she said finally.

Demonstrating Katarina’s true nature wasn’t hard. She just shifted form and clothing a few times. Hayley sighed and nodded.

“I knew there was something about you. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Are you really from Sweden, or is that just an act?”

“I am really from Sweden. I was just born in the eighth century.”

“You aren’t taking classes at Huntington, are you? I mean, you’re smart and you know a lot, I’ve just noticed that you never seem to go to class.”

“I am not,” Katarina said. “I have just pretended in order to explain my presence here with Jimmy.”

Hayley cocked an eyebrow at her. “And the bra thing?”

“I am twelve hundred years old, Hayley. Bras did not exist when I was mortal, and I survived the first thousand years of my existence without them. I truly do not like them.”

Hayley nodded slowly. “So you used to be mortal, and now you’re a succubus? How? And what is a succubus, exactly?”

Katarina explained her origin briefly. “I am now bound to Jimmy,” she finished. “Your soul is not at risk.”

“Other than your cover story, which I guess I understand, have you been bullshitting me about anything else?”

“No,” Katarina said. “I would still very much like to be your girlfriend. I have enjoyed these past few days with you a great deal. That is not bullshit.”

Hayley sighed again. Then she looked down at Charlotte. “And you’re a witch?”

Charlotte meowed.

“If you can understand what I’m saying, jump up on that table and lift your right paw.”

Charlotte jumped up on the lab table, sat down, and lifted her paw.

“Sit up straight,” Hayley said.

Charlotte did. She meowed again.

“What does that mean, that she’s your familiar?” Hayley asked me.

“I know what she knew as a witch, what she knows now,” I said. “I can see through her eyes if I want to.”

“See through her eyes?”

“What she sees, I see, when I want to.”

Hayley looked at Charlotte again, then back at me and Katarina. “Go out in the hall. I want to see something.”

We went outside. Hayley followed, pointing down the hall. “Go all the way down there. I’m serious, if I see your faces in the window, we’re through.”

We went. Hayley shut the door, and I focused on Charlotte.

Back in the lab, Hayley positioned herself in front of my familiar, looking back at the door. She quickly lifted her sweatshirt. Then she went back to the door and opened it.

“Come back in here.”

We did.

“How many fingers did I hold up?” she asked.

“You showed me your boobs.”

She pursed her lips. “What color bra?”

“You’re not wearing one.”

Hayley rubbed her forehead again. She looked dizzily around the lab, eyes coming to rest on the ruby, which still glowed with a soft flickering red light.

“And there’s a demon in there?”

“Yep. His name is Caacrinolaas. He went rogue, and they told me to recover him.”

“That was what I saw you doing?” she asked. “I saw him appear, then disappear.”

“Yes.”

She went over and looked at Grandma Amy’s staff. “What is this? You were holding it.”

“It’s my grandmother’s staff. It’s enchanted, I guess, for controlling and summoning demons. For a long time, I just thought it was her walking stick. She always had it with her.”

“What kind of wood is this?”

“Bog oak. That’s why it’s so dark.”

“I’ve heard of it. This dark, it’s probably five thousand years old or more.” She looked up. “Can you cast a spell with it? Just something to show me?”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t work like that. I’m still getting started with all this. Those books of my grandma’s, there’s still a lot I don’t understand. I know how to do a few things, like summoning and binding. I’m working on divination now. That’s the model I mentioned.”

“What does it do?” she asked.

“I used it to find Caacrinolaas. It’s kind of like casting rune stones, except a lot more sophisticated. I programmed it to eliminate as much observer bias as possible. There’s not much interpretation involved.”

“Can I see?”

“It’s on my laptop back at the apartment,” I said.

“Okay. Let’s go. I want to see.”

“Are you angry with us?” Katarina asked.

Hayley looked at her, then me. “I’m more . . . needing to understand what all this means for us.”

We gathered up all the summoning stuff again. I put Caacrinolaas in my pocket. We walked out of the building and across the darkened campus.

“Hayley, I like you a lot,” I said as we walked. “If we’ve kept this from you, it’s because, well, this isn’t the kind of thing you advertise.”

She didn’t look at me. “I’m still here, Jimmy.”

“Okay.”

“I like you a lot, too.”

“Okay,” I said.

Now she glanced over at me. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t care this much.”

We crossed McKinley Boulevard and walked across the parking lot to my apartment. When we got inside, I opened up my laptop and showed her the model.

“How does it work?” she asked.

“I focus on the spirit world, so the spirits will speak to me through the randomness. Like I said, it’s like casting bones, just a lot more sophisticated.”

“I mean, the programming. I’ve coded stuff, maybe not this sophisticated, but I have. Tell me exactly how you did it.”

“It’s Fortran,” I said. “Do you know Fortran?”

“Yes.”

So I broke down the whole process with her, scrolling through the code and explaining what it did. She finally sat back, biting her lip softly.

“This is really impressive, Jimmy. I mean, if it actually works.”

“It does. I know it sounds crazy, but it does.”

“Let’s try it. How do we do it?” she asked.

I thought about it for a moment or two. “You’re still doubting.”

“I need to be 100% convinced to go forward with this, with you guys.”

“Is there something it could do that would convince you?” I asked. “Something it could tell you?"

She was pensive for a few moments. “There’s a thing that happened to me when I was thirteen that I’ve never told anyone. There’s just no possible way you could know about it, and no way you could just pull it up on your computer right now.”

“Okay.”

I took the staff and focused myself, on Hayley and whatever she was thinking about. Then I started the model.

“It will take a few minutes.”

“I can wait.”

We sat there quietly waiting for the run to complete. When it did, the usual list of words came up.

CHECKERS

SCHOOL

NEIGHBORHOOD

UNDERGROUND

WALK

PLAID

TREE

NEW YORK

CAVALCADE

SHAVE

DRAINAGE

SWEETEN

UNDULATE

MOUNTAINEER

TERROR

ORANGE

HIDDEN

CHINA

SLIMY

SHAME

UNLOCK

RIBBON

CLOSET

THUNDEROUS

Hayley’s breathing grew more rapid as her gaze ran down the list. Her eyes widened and her hand went over her mouth. I watched her looking up and down the column of words repeatedly.

I waited for her to say something.

“How?” she finally whispered.

“The spirit world seems to know things,” I said. “I can call to it. All I can assume is that it affects the randomness in a way that produces the results. I’ve run several dozen queries on it. It’s not an accident. It keeps doing this. It was how we found Caacrinolaas.”

“What is it that happened to you, Hayley?” Katarina asked. “This list disturbs me.”

“If you’re comfortable telling us,” I said.

It was a little while longer before Hayley could respond.

“One day when I was walking home from middle school, this old guy started following me in his car. He had a plaid shirt on. His car had New York plates. I tried to get away from him by going down an alley. He got out of his car and followed me. He was calling to me, calling me ‘Sweetie.’ I ran and hid in a culvert. I can still remember the muck and goop at the bottom of it. When he finally gave up and left, I went home and hid in my closet for an hour, shaking. There was a thunderstorm that night. I still remember it.”

Katarina put her hand on Hayley’s shoulder.

“I’ve never told anyone about that,” she went on. “No one. My mom and I fought that morning over the top I had on that day. I was ashamed. I thought she would think it was my fault.”

I put my arm around her. She leaned against me. Then she let out a long sigh.

“I guess I’m convinced now,” she said.

Chapter 22

When Hayley finally calmed down, and it took a while, we talked some more. I showed her the other stuff I’d done with the summoning spells. We looked through the books together as I explained my theories about modernizing it.

“Do you have much background in biology?” Hayley asked at one point.

“Not really. Inorganic chemistry for the most part.”

“I feel like I could help with some of this,” she said. “I think there are some things you must be missing without that knowledge.”

“Probably. But do you really want to get mixed up in this?”

“Do you really think I can just go back to my life and pretend none of this is going on? I mean, I’m dating a succubus now. You need me.”

Eventually we walked her back to her dorm.

“What are you going to do with that ruby?” she said as we got back on campus.

“Return it to the demons who hired me.”

“And that will pay down your debt?”

“That’s the idea,” I said.

“Seems like we need to figure out how all that got started.”

“I plan to.”

We stopped at her dorm. She hugged us both. “Just let me know what happens.”

◆◆◆

I called Volach the next morning to let him know we had Caacrinolaas. He was surprised but thrilled at the quick work.

“We discussed a bonus,” I said.

“Yeah, yeah, let me work it out. Some of this stuff, the financials, is not up to me. But people will notice this, kid. You got a good future in this organization if you can keep it up.”

We made a date to meet for lunch at the cheerleader restaurant the following day. I dressed Katarina in tight jeans and a loose v-neck top that left most of her breasts on display. When we arrived, Volach and Morax were already there at a table by the front window, and I could tell they noticed her outfit. Once we ordered, I took the ruby out of my pocket and set it in front of them.

Volach picked it up, smiling, and stared into it.

“Son of a bitch. Nice to see you again, asshole. We got some things to discuss.”

“You might notice something there, though,” I said.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“That’s not the ruby you gave me. It’s a synthetic.”

His eyebrows went up. “A what?”

“Lab-grown ruby. I decided a synthetic would work better because it’s much more chemically pure. Turned out I was right.”

“Wait, how the fuck did that work?”

“I just did it. So, that brings up another issue. I still have the other one.” I took it out of my other pocket. “I did a little reading on this stuff, and this one probably set you guys back quite a bit. Looks a lot like one that sold at auction last year. $31 million.”

Volach looked at Morax, who was equally stunned.

“Kid,” Morax said slowly, “that is the stone that sold for $31 million. We bought it for this job. I didn’t think anything else would be able to hold him.”

I looked down at the ruby. That possibility hadn’t occurred to me. But it was good. I ran the math in my head.

“The way I see it,” I said, “I saved you some money. You can sell this one again, or keep it, or whatever you want. But from where I’m sitting and where the benchmark is trading today, this is worth 128 souls off my balance.”

The two of them leaned together and whispered to each other for a few moments. Then Volach stood up. “I need to make a call. Be right back.”

He walked outside and pulled out his demon phone. He was on it for about five minutes before he came back and sat down.

“Accounting will credit you 125 for it,” he said. “There were some fees associated with the auction.”

I looked at Katarina, who nodded slightly. I handed him the ruby.

“Done. So that’s 625, plus the bonus.”

Volach nodded. “Right. About that. Upper management is picky about this stuff. When souls trade, there needs to be an exchange. Just finishing early doesn’t necessarily produce more value to one side or the other. In this case, Caacrinolaas has been gone for two years, and another month – give or take – doesn’t represent a meaningful shift in the balance. It just gets a lot of angry demons off my ass, and the big man off theirs.”

He reached down to the booth seat between him and Morax, and lifted up an old wooden case I hadn’t noticed.

“This is not to say, mind, that your expedience with this matter has not been noted and appreciated by some important people. So I have been instructed by Astaroth to offer you this.”

He slid it across the table toward me. It was a flat case about a foot long and several inches wide. The wood was dark with age, and intricately engraved with symbols of power. The latch and hinges appeared to be gold.

“What is it?”

“Open it,” he said.

I did. Inside, sitting in a velvet-lined depression, was a dark, unadorned wooden stick. It was ten or twelve inches long and as thick around as a cigarette. The bark had been stripped off, and the wood had been polished until it gleamed.

Katarina gasped. “Is that what I think it is?” she said.

“A stick?” I asked.

Volach and Morax both laughed softly.

“Not just any stick,” Morax said. “That is a divining rod. A very special one.”

I scowled down at the case. “Wait, are you talking about a dowsing rod? That nonsense?”

“It’s usually nonsense,” Morax said. “If you just grab any stick and try it, no, nothing will happen. But if someone like Astaroth, whose portfolio includes finding treasure, should deign to enchant it for you, that’s a whole different story. Only a handful of those exist.”

“We know you’re short of cash, kid,” Volach said. “This should help. This way you don’t need to run up the balance on your card.”

I picked it up. I could sense the power in it, though it was nebulous.

“How does it work?”

“You’re going to need to figure that out on your own,” Morax said. “They seem to work differently for different people. Lot seems to depend on what your definition of ‘treasure’ is.”

I set it down and closed the case.

“I guess this will do,” I said. “Just one other thing. Can you tell me what exactly happened with my grandmother? The fire department report said it looked like someone set off some kind of incendiary device in her apartment.”

The two of them sat back and looked at each other. Morax sighed.

“Understand that I wasn’t involved in this one,” Volach said. “I’ll just tell you what I know about how it works. Amira . . . your grandmother . . . she used us to extend her life about four hundred years beyond her natural span. When a mortal gets that old by doing that, they have to refresh things now and then. So when she split, all that would have stopped. She would have started aging again, and aging faster than normal. The twenty years she was in hiding with you, that seems pretty close to what it would have taken, based on how old she was physically. And when their time is up, that triggers whatever deals they made with us.”

Morax nodded. “Most souls just go down of their own accord. Hers, being much more powerful, would have opened a direct connection between Hell and the mortal world. That kind of creates a backlash, you can imagine.”

“I’ve seen it when it actually happens,” Volach said, “and it can be pretty spectacular. I’d say Amira’s neighbors were lucky she didn’t take any of them with her.”

The two of them laughed.

“Okay,” I said. “Thanks.”

◆◆◆

Hayley came over that night, and I ordered a pizza. We sat around eating, drinking Katarina’s vodka, and looking at the divining rod.

“Charlotte doesn’t know anything about these?” Hayley asked.

“Just that the real ones are extremely rare.”

“You’re sure this one is real?”

“Yes,” Katarina said. “Trust me. I have seen one before. There are perhaps five in existence. Most are lost and buried.”

“Have you tried using it?” Hayley asked.

“Not yet. I’m just getting a ‘monkey’s paw’ vibe from it.”

“Meaning?” Katarina asked.

“It may find things,” I said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll be better off.”

“If we’re careful?” Hayley said.

“Jimmy, I think you should do it,” Katarina said.

Charlotte put a paw on my arm and meowed. I could tell she agreed with them.

“I guess it can’t hurt to try it out.”

I got a similar feeling from it that I got from Grandma Amy’s staff. I closed my eyes and emptied my mind, trying to open myself to the spirit world the same way I did with the model.

For a few moments, I felt nothing. Then the rod twitched in my hand as if it was alive. It startled me enough to make me jump.

“Was that the rod?” Hayley asked.

“Yeah.”

“What do you feel, Jimmy?” Katarina asked.

I closed my eyes again. I definitely felt something, but it was vague. Whatever the rod sensed, it was not nearby.

“I think we may need to go driving.”

“I can drive,” Hayley said. “You hold the rod.”

We all went down to my car. I sat in the passenger seat with the divining rod as Charlotte sat in my lap. Katarina got in back.

“Where are we going?” Hayley asked.

“It’s a long way. But go to the highway, north.” Then I got another feeling. “No. Wait. It’s underground, whatever it is. We need a shovel.”

Hayley drove out of the parking lot. We stopped at the hardware store just long enough to get two shovels and three flashlights. About ten minutes later, we were on the highway. Once we were moving, I got my bearings again with the stick.

“We’re going the right direction,” I said, “but it’s going to be while.”

We drove north into the hills, leaving the town behind after about twenty minutes. Hayley and Katarina talked while I sat there and focused.

“There’s something they’re not telling me about my grandmother,” I said after a while.

“What do you mean?” Hayley asked.

“I get that she got pulled to Hell after everything she did working for them. I don’t get the part about her immediately being made a Duchess of Hell. Does that actually happen?”

“Most demons were once mortal,” Katarina said. “I told you that.”

“But does it happen right away like this?”

“It is very rare,” she said.

“Were you were made a succubus right away?” Hayley asked.

“No,” Katarina said. “There was . . . a period in between. That is all I wish to say.”

I reached over and rubbed her arm. She managed a quick smile.

“How do you become a duke or duchess?” I asked.

“Only one of the kings of Hell can do it,” she said. “In her case, it would have been Astaroth.”

I thought for a moment about what I’d read in the grimoires. There was a list of the major demons I’d seen. “He’s not one of the kings. Is he?”

“He is now. Your books are out of date.”

“Huh. And he would have raised her. Why?”

“She must have done him a great service at some point, or he needed something from her now,” Katarina said. “That is all I can think of.”

For the first time, I wondered if I might be able to summon Grandma Amy – Amira – now, and ask her. I had everything I needed to do it.

I just wasn’t sure I wanted to. Or what it might set in motion.

We’d been on the road for about an hour when the rod suddenly twitched again.

“Up ahead,” I said. “I think the next exit.”

Hayley steered us off the highway, and the rod pointed left. We drove for another ten minutes. I had never been in this area beyond driving through it on the highway. We were in an area of undeveloped woodlands, the hills rolling up and down as we drove. It was dark now, and even with my improved night vision from Charlotte, I couldn’t tell if the land was private or public.

The rod twitched again. I saw a road up ahead. “There. Turn right.”

Hayley slowed down and turned. It was an old, narrow two-lane road.

“We’re getting close,” I said.

About a mile or two down the road, the rod twitched strongly, pointing to the left into the woods.

“Stop. Here.”

Hayley pulled to the side of the road and parked on the shoulder. We got out.

“That way,” I said.

About fifty feet off the road, we came to an old wire fence. We climbed over and followed the rod through the trees for a hundred yards or so, Hayley and Katarina walking behind me with the shovels. Charlotte hopped over and around the fallen logs and branches in the darkness, running beside me.

Then I heard Hayley calling to me. “Jimmy, slow down! You’re going too fast for us.”

I turned around and realized I’d left them about twenty yards behind without even realizing it. I’d just been moving through the forest with Charlotte. Then I remembered what she’d said about being more agile.

“Is this you?” I asked her. She meowed back at me and rubbed against my legs. Katarina and Hayley caught up to me, and we continued at a slower pace. The ground suddenly sloped down into a narrow ravine.

As we reached the bottom, the rod twitched again, pointing down.

“Here,” I said.

I saw nothing of significance on the ground below us. It was covered in leaves and fallen branches, with rocks here and there. But I got a strong sense that there was something under it.

Katarina and I started to dig as Hayley held the flashlights. Almost immediately, we hit pieces of old rotten wood buried under the forest litter, along with some deeply rusted pieces of iron. As we got deeper, I realized there was a large wooden wheel, like something off of an old carriage. It fell to pieces as we tried to move it.

Less than a foot down, my shovel hit something metal – some kind of flat iron plate. Katarina and I dug around it, and it turned out to be a square iron box about a foot across. It was rusted but still intact. We levered it out with the shovels.

There was an old lock on it, but one blow with the shovel broke it off. The lid was rusted shut, and I had to use the shovel to break it loose. I opened it up. Hayley pointed the flashlights, and we all looked down into the box.

“Holy shit,” I said.

“Oh, my God. It worked,” Hayley said.

Inside was a collection of gold coins, covered in a layer of dried mud. I picked one up and looked at it. There was a liberty head on one side and an eagle on the other. It was dated 1839. The rest of them were the same.

Hayley picked one up. There seemed to be at least a hundred of them.

“What do you think this was, Jimmy?” Katarina asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe a payroll box or something. Who knows what for? There must have been an old highway where the current one is. Maybe this wagon got loose and rolled down the hill.”

“What do you think this is worth?” Hayley asked.

I laughed weakly. “I have no fucking idea. We can’t just take these to the bank.”

“I think we should go,” Katarina said.

I picked up the box. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.”

We got back to the car in a few minutes. I saw nothing in either direction. I tossed the box in the trunk and got back on the road. I took the wheel this time.

We drove in silence for a while. Then Hayley spoke up.

“Guys, this is big,” she said. She’d been playing with her phone. “Those are U.S. gold eagle coins. It’s hard to be sure, but they’re probably worth a couple thousand dollars.”

“That seems quite low,” Katarina said.

“No,” Hayley said. “I don’t mean the whole box. I mean each.”

I did the math in my head. I had to sell these things somehow, which I knew was not going to be that simple, but . . . damn.

“We’ll split it,” I said.

Hayley immediately objected.

“All I did was drive and hold the flashlight. This was your thing. You got the stick from them. I didn’t do any of that.”

“You helped,” I said.

“Jimmy, we’ve hardly talked about this, but you know my parents are both doctors. My mom is a cardiologist and my dad is a neurosurgeon. I don’t exactly need the money. I know you do.”

I attended Huntington as an undergraduate on a nearly full scholarship, and I had tuition remission as a TA, but I still had student loans from five years of room, board, and living expenses. If Hayley was right, this would wipe all that out and more.

“Okay. Thanks.”

She reached over and rubbed my arm. Charlotte, who was on her lap, meowed loudly. Hayley bent down and hugged her.

“What are you thinking about, you cute little witch?” Hayley said to Charlotte. “I would love to be able to talk to you like he can.”

Charlotte meowed again, and I thought about her home in the spirit world.

◆◆◆

That night, as I lay in bed with them, listening to Hayley’s quiet breathing as she slept between me and Katarina, I kept thinking about that fence we’d climbed over. That land belonged to someone, whether it was privately owned or state parkland. I was pretty sure it was not okay to go and dig up treasure on someone else’s land.

I got up quietly. Katarina looked over.

“I need to look up something,” I said. “Shouldn’t take long.”

I went to my laptop. Charlotte hopped up on the table with me and watched. It took about ten minutes on Google Maps to find the exit we took and retrace our route. Eventually I found the general spot where we must have stopped along the road. There were no landmarks, but it seemed close enough.

Going up and down the road, I eventually found an entrance to the land and figured out the address. Using that, I went to the county planning office and, after about fifteen minutes of searching through plat maps, figured out the parcel where we’d dug up the gold. Searching on that brought up the record for the deed.

And the first line, where it listed the owner, leapt out at me.

I was shocked, yet at the same time, I wasn’t. I just sat there staring at the words on my screen and wondering what I’d gotten myself into.

BREAMSTONE, LLC

I copied the name into the search bar. My fingers hovered over the return key.

I felt Charlotte’s paw on my hand.

I wasn’t ready to do it. Not until I was more confident in my skills. Deep in my gut, I somehow knew that the moment I ran a search on Breamstone, it would set in motion something I could not control.

So I went back to bed.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” Katarina asked.

“Pretty much.”

I rolled over, putting Hayley between us. I held them both and tried to get to sleep.

◆◆◆

The story continues in Demon Hunter 2: The Vermillion Cabal

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