Harry
I waited until the old man was almost back to his room at the end of the university’s third floor and stole out of the shadows.
“So,” I said, “how did Caleb take to being placed in the cells? Did he cry? Beg?”
Jax startled, clutching his heart as he turned to face me.
Pathetic , I thought to myself. How did this sorry, wrinkled bastard ever get to have a legacy within the organization as a fighter?
“Oh, , forgive me, I didn’t see you there,” he said, rubbing the scar on his cheek and forehead. “I was just heading off to pray a bit before bed. I must be more tired than I realized.”
“Where is Caleb, Jax?” I kept my voice purposefully low.
The bishop cleared his throat. “I didn’t take him immediately to the cells. I left him in the visitors’ rooms to-to fast and—and pray?—”
I grinned at him; I couldn’t help it. Everything was playing out just as I’d foreseen it. “You’re too soft, old man. Come with me. There’s something I’d like to show you.”
“Now , you know he can’t leave, so it doesn’t matter?—”
I began striding back down the hall toward the elevators without letting him finish his protest. Once we were both inside, I pressed the button that would take us to the fifth floor, and then up we went. I unlocked the door to my bedroom with my keycard, and then gestured for him to go inside.
“The window, if you would,” I said.
He goggled at me through those thick lenses, but then did as ordered, and I followed him as he walked over to one of the large windows at the back of my room that looked out over the campus’s front lawn.
“You see, I had a theory about Caleb,” I said as we looked outside together.
On the couch, breathing in soft, wet hisses, was Mercy. She was sitting as still as she could, but I wouldn’t have much time for my game if she didn’t behave herself.
“A theory?” parroted the bishop.
“Yes. You see, I know of a certain bishop in this organization that has had a soft spot for him since we were kids. I figured that said bishop, knowing what kind of terrors lay in store for his favorite little demon, might see fit to bend the rules a little. Perhaps even… pretend not to notice that his security card”—here I raised the edge of his belt, revealing that the white card was indeed gone—“had been taken from him?”
Jax didn’t speak, but his throat worked up and down as he watched from the window of my room. Below us, a car screeched off into the night. I couldn’t help but smile. After graduation, I had specifically asked for a room on the top floor of the university—mostly so I could be certain none of the organization’s magical writs could reach me here—but also for the ability to watch everyone’s comings and goings.
“Well?” I asked, taking a seat on the couch opposite Mercy behind him. “Which of the archdiocese’s cars did he take?”
Jax hesitated, then answered, “The Jag.”
“Ha! Wilson owes me twenty bucks.” I sat forward, glancing momentarily to the veiled nun in the chair across from me. “He bet me it was going to be the Escalade, didn’t he, Mercy?”
The nun made a hissing, groaning sound and shifted in her seat. She wouldn’t last much longer. The run in with Caleb had sapped more of her restraint than I’d anticipated. If I didn’t hurry, she’d end up ripping her clothes off and jumping the bishop’s bones.
It’s better than the old bastard deserves , I thought.
“What you did to him was wrong,” said Jax. “Does your father know about the?—”
“My father doesn’t need to know everything that goes on around here, now does he?” I shouted. I could feel the shift of my teeth in my mouth; eagerness, irritation—who knew? “Imagine how upset he might be to learn that the man he trusts to run the lower sector of the organization betrayed him by letting Caleb Knight escape after he’d been plucked like a ripe fruit by Carmilla de Mornay—the succubus he’s been hunting for the better part of fifty years?”
“Caleb doesn’t deserve this,” Jax said softly. “You were prepared when you awakened—he’s going to be on his own?—”
“Oh, come on,” I snorted. “I used to get into all sorts of shit with the man, bishop. He’s always had a predilection for dipping his wick where didn’t belong, and it doesn’t take a succubus’s power to seduce him. Trust me, I went out bar hopping with him on more than one occasion. He made himself the perfect target for succubus bait—that had nothing to do with me. You can’t bait a great white with a minnow; we know from experience we had to have a target she would grab, and he was perfect.” I stared at him, hoping to relay the meaning behind my words. “Besides, you made sure he was always particularly careful about using protection, weren’t you?”
Jax went quiet, then sighed. “But there will be a time that he doesn’t. You and I both know it. It could be when he meets a girl he really likes. It could even be this time?—”
I let loose a guffaw. “You… you’re joking!” The laugh spilled out of me like the bubble of oil from a well-tapped vein. “He didn’t! He actually came inside her without a condom? Oh, this is good. This is too perfect!”
“,” Jax’s mouth turned into a sour frown. “We can’t know for sure what happened. Caleb’s memory is hazy after all, and he couldn’t tell me everything anyway?—”
“Couldn’t?” I asked. “Or wouldn’t?”
Jax glared at me, both hands tightening on his cane in aggravation. “Whether he couldn’t or wouldn’t doesn’t matter. He was intimate with the succubus, which means he was caught in her web. We know this is true because your veiled sister confirmed it, and he believes it could be a possibility. I want to know what the hell were you planning to do with him, and why, knowing that Caleb could possibly have already awakened as a demon, was there a reacquisition request for weapons that could have killed him?”
“That’s my business, old man,” I snapped at him. “Breathe a word of this to my father and I will have you in stocks for a week and then hanged, understand?”
There was a long pause before the bishop said simply, “I see.” He strode toward the door of my room, sighing. “It seems we both have secrets to keep, but know that I will discover your game eventually, child. Caleb is?—”
“A fool,” I said, my patience wearing thin, “who will serve a greater purpose for my mission. The succubus is all that matters. I was backed with the authority of the archdioceses to select my team, and that means if Caleb had to die for this mission, he should be so honored. He’s the first bait she’s ever taken, and that fact cannot be overlooked—and oh! How perfect it would be if he finally broke his own little rules, eh? He’s going to have one hell of a time once he starts waking up, isn’t he? I know when I turned, nothing could have prepared me for?—”
Across from me, Mercy groaned, a distinctly sexual sound, low in her throat. My cock twitched; I needed to get rid of the old man. I was wasting time in gloating to a priest when I was so excited, I could have been allowing myself to enjoy fucking her tonight.
“You’re condemning him to eternal hellfire,” said the bishop. “We both are.”
“Then I suggest we seek forgiveness later, hmm? I hear God’s big on that stuff,” I said, standing and walking to the door. I opened it and waited for the doddering fool to get the hint. “In the meantime, I have things I need to take care of, and I’m tired.”
“I’ll see you after mass.” The bishop glared before pausing once more and looking back at Mercy. “You already knew it was inevitable that Carmilla would choose him, didn’t you? What good is it to have the sister confirm what you already knew would happen?”
“Because now I have proof that Caleb, precious, shining Caleb, messed up and fell victim to his own inner demon, which makes him just as weak as I was.”
“Do you not think your father will be interested in learning that the boy is potentially on his way to an awakening?”
“That, dear bishop, is for me to tell him. Once I can confirm it, of course. Caleb’s been a slippery devil one too many times—and don’t for one second think I don’t know where he got those condoms from, old man. Were Father to find out that you’d delayed his grand plan… he might finish what he started with you all those years ago.”
Jax’s mouth twisted into a hate-filled grimace. For one brief second, I could see the fire in him that had made him a monstrous hunter agent when he was a younger man. “Do not forget the story of Cain and Abel, . Hatred only begets hatred?—”
“What I remember,” I said, leaning down so that I could level my gaze on his, the reddish glow of my eyes reflecting in the glasses on this nose, “is that one brother ended up living for another seven hundred years, the other died. My plan is working better than I had ever hoped—and it’s in part thanks to you. Who knows what kind of lunatic Caleb will become after thirty years of denying his heritage? In one fell swoop, I will catch both him and de Mornay, and then he can get sent off to be Father’s new lab rat while I finally get to be free of my old man’s control.”
Bishop Knight shook with rage. “You were hoping he would escape.”
“No, dear bishop, I was hoping you would let him out, which would guide him back safely into the arms of his demonic mistress. So thank you for playing the part admirably. Once I am rewarded… I will be sure to note your service to the organization as well. Now. Has there been any update from the team that was tracking Carmilla?”
Jax’s body sagged. I knew it would break the man to know he’d played a part in getting Caleb further embroiled in my plot, but I couldn’t help how good his pain tasted against my tongue.
“Not yet. They’re still chasing shadows, from what I hear. We will hope the Lord continues to bless and keep us,” Jax whispered, then left the room and closed the door behind him.
“Finally,” I breathed as he left. I smiled over at Mercy. “You’re probably just as ready for him to be gone, eh?”
She squirmed in her seat. I strode over and lifted the veil from her face, running the back of my fingers along her cheek as I examined the bloody holes along her mouth. Her eyes, still sewn shut, shifted beneath her lids. I took my handkerchief and dipped it into a nearby glass of water, then cleaned the needle holes around her mouth and wiped the blood from her face. She leaned into my ministrations, sighing in content.
“I think,” I began, leaning down and kissing her cheek gently, once the blood was gone, “you deserve a reward for how well you behaved yourself. It must have been hard”—I moved my mouth to hers, tongue lapping at each wound—“to be near such a reckless animal like that.”
Mercy’s skin began to glow, shifting from sallow white to a more natural tone as I kissed her. The wounds healed, closing over until nothing, not even a scar, remained. Her lips flushed to a rosy color; her mouth shrank to normal size.
“He smelled divine.” Her voice was whisper soft. “The two of them together… heaven.”
“I know, I know,” I said, taking the scissors and carefully cutting away the threads on her eyes, before pulling the cloth free. “You did well tonight, Mercy, and I think you deserve a reward—I think we both do.”
Once freed from her bindings and veil, I kissed her again, yanking at the hem of her dress.
“Get this ugly thing off,” I commanded.
“Please, don’t stop,” Mercy pleaded. Her eyes were open now, the wounds healing, the blood fading away and leaving only the soft blue color. “I need more…”
“You know I’ll take care of you—if you can behave. Get undressed.”
As Mercy pulled the offensive nun’s outfit off, I slipped out of my black sweater and pants, ditching everything on the sofa behind us until I stood before her, and Mercy knelt, staring up at my nudity, the soft pink of her nipples hardening as she eagerly eyed my cock.
“Go on,” I urged her, voice hitching as she leaned forward and took me between her delicate fingers, eagerly rubbing up and down along my shaft until my knees nearly buckled.
If it weren’t for the fact that Mercy’s touch made me feel so good, I would have traded her in for a new one months ago. She tended toward rebellion, this one; constantly had to be punished and kept in check. It would have embarrassed me if Father knew, but like this, when her soft mouth opened and she took my cock against the pillow of her tongue, I could forget what a pain in the ass she might be the rest of the time—until it came time to punish her, that was. But even that…
My dick swelled in her mouth. I stroked her blonde hair back from her face, groaning softly as she worked herself expertly in all the methods I’d trained her in. She grinned as precum dripped from the tip and lapped it up like a hungry beast. I knew, within myself, that’s all I was supposed to see her as, but as Mercy slipped the entire length of my cock into her mouth, I lost all ability for reason. She moved quickly, the blowjob a little rougher than usual; a little needier. She was trying to take it from me now, and I wasn’t ready. I wanted more from her, first.
“Not yet, Mercy,” I shuddered, pushing her head back gently. I was in a good enough mood not to be cruel, so I spoke softly, encouraging rather than restricting. “Don’t rush. Let me enjoy it.”
“But I need it.” She tried to suck my cock again, pulling hard with her greedy little throat until I thought she might actually take it from me. My good mood shattered; I felt rage building.
“I said not yet .” I shoved her away, and she tumbled onto her exquisite backside, fury flashing in her eyes. I turned away from her, purposely not even giving her eye contact. “Maybe that’s enough for now. Why don’t you get into your box?”
“, please!” she begged, crawling toward me on her hands and knees. “I’m sorry, I just need it so badly… I need you so much…”
I kept my face angled away from her, a smirk tugging at the side of my mouth.
“Your wounds are healed, aren’t they? That should be enough.”
She knelt on the carpet, hands clasped on her lap. Her entire body, gorgeous as it was, trembled with need; the signs of her want were trickling down the inside of her thighs. As much as I wanted to take her, I had to keep her submissive and docile. It was the only way the organization would allow me to keep her around. If she didn’t bend to my will, she’d be dead in minutes. I always enjoyed the ones that were a bit more… spirited, though.
“Yes, ,” she said after a moment, defeated.
I turned and stared at her; at the jagged, cross-shaped tattoo just below her belly button. It was the only mar on her otherwise perfect flesh.
“Mercy… you struggled tonight, but you did well. Perhaps you can make it up to me after all.”
She looked up expectantly before casting her gaze down on the floor again.
“Perhaps I was too harsh.” I beckoned her forward. “Come over here and make it up to me, and maybe… maybe I’ll forgive you.”
The tiny flicker of hope in her eyes; her need, sent a thrill through me that felt like an electric shock straight to my balls. She crawled across the floor to me, and I pulled her onto the bed and laid down, letting her kneel between my knees.
“Slowly, this time,” I stroked her cheek. “Don’t try to make me finish before I’m ready.”
Hunger; raw and animalistic, lit her face. She licked her lips and began, once more, to run her tongue along my dick. I laid back against the bed, having to bite my knuckles to keep from uttering a curse out loud. Her mouth was like heaven; but there was no way I could let her take me in that way to completion. The matching cross-shaped tattoo on her tongue had been rubbed away, many, many months ago.
I didn’t know if she knew—since I’d never told her—but she certainly seemed hell bent on trying to get her feedings from me like that, these days. None of the other special investigators seemed to have the same problem—so it might just be as issue from her feeding repeatedly on a cambion. If the Church knew the bindings could fail after repeated uses with me, they’d take her away, and I’d have to train a new one—or worse, be forced to use the communal rooms below. I wasn’t ready for that to happen. At least… not yet.
Not until I had my reward from getting my hands on Carmilla de Mornay. She might have been claimed by my father, but the harem of veiled sisters I’d receive from capturing her…
My cock swelled at the thought of it, threatening to burst inside Mercy’s mouth, but she sensed my desire and stopped moving before slowly pulling her mouth away. I could have died right then and there, but she’d done as asked. I breathed heavily and motioned her upward.
“Come here, now.”
Mercy complied, clambering up and positioning herself above my cock, one hand stroking it carefully as her pussy, wet and eager, rested just above the tip. The evidence of her arousal was running in rivulets down her legs now, but like a well-trained animal, she waited for the command word from her master.
“Go on,” I said, knowing that I couldn’t wait much longer either. “You want your reward, don’t you? Take it.”
She bit her lip, nodding excitedly. As she slid herself slowly onto the length of my dick. The two of us moaned together in unison, but I didn’t want it slow anymore. I grabbed her hips tight in my grasp, shoving her the rest of the way down before repeating the process again and again. She whimpered quietly, trying to keep her voice low as I thrust into her, pumping as hard as I could. There was no time fucking a succubus would ever feel like less than sheer ecstasy, and I lost myself in the tightness of her cunt as she orgasmed, sending a thrill through me. I closed my eyes, unable to hold off any longer, and then I came, hot and sudden. As I filled her, Mercy let loose a haggard cry that was both relief and pain, and then collapsed on top of me, panting.
I waited until I could catch my breath again, and then shoved her aside onto the bed and sat up. Beside me, the succubus, temporarily satiated, was slipping into sleep. Her abdomen glowed with that peculiar, deep red that meant her body was trying to take in sustenance, but the tattoo kept her from being able to convert it into anything that would allow her to use her demonic powers. Her face contorted as the two demands fought against each other.
I rolled her onto her back, watching the tattoo burn away just a tiny bit more. I’d had her for almost a year now—longer than the others, and if I couldn’t hide how rebellious she was, then it wouldn’t be much longer before I was forced to resort to using the communal succubi in the cells… something I didn’t even want to think about. Not because they were communal—I didn’t care one whit about that—but because they’d already been so broken that fucking them was like having sex with a corpse that was somehow still breathing.
I lifted Mercy and carried her over to her box, a large wooden crate in the corner. She’d be sleeping for a while, but just to be certain, I resealed the sides with a pitcher of holy water, careful not to get any on myself. While touching it wouldn’t kill me, it still burned. It was in this box she’d stay until I had need of her, which could be days, or on the rare occasions I’d pushed myself, weeks—usually depending on how badly she’d been behaving.
I cursed as I looked down at the tattoo on her belly. Too much of the holy magic was going, too fast. If we didn’t get to Carmilla de Mornay very soon, I’d be up shit creek without a paddle or a boat. I slammed the lid closed and padlocked it, then strode over to the table where I’d left my suitcase and pulled out the small hand whip.
I knelt in the center of the floor, said a quick prayer for forgiveness, and sent the first strike of the whip against my left shoulder. The sting of my flesh being sliced open by the sharpened tails brought an utterance to my lips that was somewhere between praise and curse. I struck myself again, the right shoulder. The iron tang of copper bit into the air. It was a great deal many more strikes until I felt convinced that I had atoned sufficiently. I panted, moving toward the bed. Already, I could feel the wounds sealing themselves up, the afterglow of both the sex and the punishment hurrying the healing process along. I fell face first onto the mattress, still completely naked.
“Whatever happens,” I muttered as my eyes slipped closed, “I won’t be Abel.”