Flame of the Succubus Read online

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  I spent the next two weeks using the room Crowley had given me as a headquarters. We went above into the city when we got restless or had the urge to eat food, but otherwise, the three of us stayed below. Since there was no one to tell us how to train, I put together a routine for us to follow. I had learned early on when serving my sentence that empty days without a schedule weren't good for the body or mind.

  Mornings were for solo technique practice. Afternoons were for group practice and sparring. Evenings were for cultivating our Flame, individually or together. I was tempted to practice group Flame cultivation methods every evening, and my succubi clearly had the same idea. I, however, forced the three of us to work on cultivating our Flames individually as well, since I wanted us to reach our full potential.

  As the days passed, each of our strengths and weaknesses became clearer to each other. Allura was deadly from range, as I might have expected, and Ember was superior in a close-quarter brawl. But Allura was more nimble with her Flame and could manipulate her needles with an unmatched finesse. Ember, on the other hand, had more raw strength than Allura, which served her particularly well defensively. Given my sword's reach, I preferred to fight in a middle ground relying on a mix of strength and speed. My sword also meant I was equally capable of delivering and blocking attacks.

  I absorbed the remaining demon cores I had collected, one each day, giving a boost to both my pure and infernal Flame. My infernal Flame grew much more quickly than my pure Flame, threatening to overwhelm me if I didn't keep it in check. After absorbing each demon core, I had to spend several hours circulating my Flame to separate out the infernal component and reshape it in my dual-layered Flame structure. While the process had been arduous at first, as I became more experienced, my Flame responded more readily to my wishes, and I could circulate my Flame and purify it with less effort.

  I was sure that our bodies were growing stronger as our separate Flames became larger and more intense. I could sense the Flame permeating more and more of my body, a residual portion of Flame remaining throughout my entire body, even if the majority was resting within my lower gut. I didn't have access to any gym equipment to measure my progress, but I had likely passed normal levels of human performance long ago. When I infused my body with a focused cycle of Flame, I could move faster and strike harder than humanly possible. I was more aware of my entire Flame-driven body and could command instant changes of position and balance that would have dislocated a joint or torn a ligament in an ordinary person's body.

  Despite our progress, I was still unable to open another Node in Allura or Ember. I definitely had a larger quantity of Flame, and I could control it better, too. My Flame was thicker, for lack of a better word. More dense. When I circulated it through our existing Nodes, it carried a greater weight or momentum, but it still wasn't enough to open a second Node. I tried in one-on-one configurations, as well as the threesome that had opened Ember's first Node.

  Nothing worked.

  Soon, it was three weeks since I had last seen Crowley and a week until the sect tournament. Allura had scouted the city to gather more information about the tournament, and it sounded like the upcoming event would be extra packed. Outsiders in the Abyss tended to be Seekers, and with the Empire beginning to turn against Outsiders, more were turning to the sects for protection. There were rumors of more clashes between the Blood Army and sect members as well.

  I knew, from Crowley's advice, that I had to open my next Node to have a chance in the crowded field of contestants. From what Allura learned, the tournament would be a single elimination event, with matches drawn randomly between the remaining contestants. Only the tournament winner was guaranteed an invitation from one of the sponsoring sects, but those who put on a good showing would likely receive invitations as well. Sects would compete for the top recruits, sometimes engaging in shady tactics to make each other lose a favored recruit.

  It sounded like a big pain, but the only thing I could focus on was getting stronger.

  I had one week to open another Node. One week to break through this bottleneck.

  That damn Crowley had always told me just enough for me to figure out what to do next, never any more. So when I found my infernal Flame flaring in frustration after another failed co-cultivation session with Allura and Ember, I cursed the old beggar, trying to figure out what I was missing.

  CHAPTER 23

  The next day, we went through our routine as usual. Allura and Ember fought in Crowley's chamber. Since he wasn't around, we used the larger room for our daily practice sessions, returning to our room for our cultivation routines.

  I sat in the corner, proud of their progress and the knowledge that it was my Flame that fueled them both. Watching them fight was like watching them fuck. Fun and relaxing, but not as satisfying as taking matters into my own hands. Still, it was good to study them from a distance from time to time.

  Allura hovered in the air with her back to the corner of the walls and ceiling. She threw three black needles in a row at Ember. Ember spun to the side, her wings spread wide, knocking the first needle away. She raised her forearm and caught the second needle on a bracer made of solid Flame. The instant the bracer blocked the attack, it vanished. Allura had been training to conserve her strength, using the minimal amount of Flame to block and attack, and she could withdraw her needles' Flames back into herself.

  The third needle swerved in a curve that shouldn't have been possible. Ember ducked at the last second, but when she saw that she wasn't going to be able to clear the needle homing in on her, she instead snatched it out of the air with her hand.

  Allura pointed at me. "Shattershard. Got you."

  I wasn't involved in this match, but Allura was right. In a real fight, I could have made the needle in her hand explode. Who knew what tricks our enemies would have?

  Ember crunched her fist, breaking the needle. She opened her palm to show that it was glowing orange inside with a layer of thin Flame.

  "I know. That's why I used this." Ember bared her teeth at Allura as she spoke. The Flame vanished from her palm.

  That was the first time Ember had used that move.

  "Nice improvising," I said. I gave three short claps.

  Ember's tailed whipped in a spiral at my approval. She crouched and launched herself at Allura. Allura dropped down to the floor and rolled forward underneath Ember's charge. Ember careened into the corner where Allura had been, but she quickly flipped herself and pushed off the corner using her feet with hardly a sound.

  Another improvement. Ember had the more powerful direct strikes, but she tended to overdo it, wasting her strength on misses. I glanced at the broken sections of the wall, evidence of Ember's handiwork. Or footwork. I hoped Crowley wouldn't mind.

  This time, Ember had pulled her strength when she knew she would miss. Her control was improving. That was what we all aimed for. Controlling our body, mind, and Flame.

  The more we practiced, the more I understood how everything was connected. Combat, sex, cultivation—hell, life itself. Everything was linked through us and our ability to take our desired view of the world and turn it into a reality. Our strength. Our will. Our Flame.

  Ember cried out in pain, drawing my attention back to the duel. Allura had scattered a handful of needles past Ember, missing her on purpose. The needles had ricocheted off the walls and floor, and one of the return bounces had caught Ember in a wing.

  Allura was craftier than Ember, but Ember's advantage in raw strength wasn't trivial, either. Ember crouched again. When she began to leap, Allura rolled to the side while sending another pair of needles at Ember.

  Ember had feinted a charge, though. Instead, she unfurled her wings, even as blood trickled down one of them. They glowed orange briefly as she slapped them together in front of her.

  I winced at the loud boom that echoed through the room. Allura and her needles were blown into a wall by the sheer force of Ember's technique, a move she called the Thundercla
p. Before Allura could recover, Ember launched herself against Allura, pinning her arms against the wall.

  "Got you," Ember said.

  Allura mumbled something.

  "Look again," I said. "It's a draw."

  Allura held two needles in her mouth pointed inches from Ember's throat. With her ability to manipulate needles, Allura would have easily been able to send them the extra distance to pierce Ember.

  Ember let go of Allura. "Damn it. I hate losing."

  "I'd say you two tied."

  "Tying is the same as losing," Ember sighed.

  Allura spat the needles out of her mouth. They vanished. "Agreed," she said.

  "We're on the same side. I thought I ordered both of you to get along." My two succubi were playing well together in bed, but they both seemed to have a thing for trying to top the other in sparring sessions.

  Allura walked over to me, as did Ember.

  "We're happy to serve you and share you," Allura said, "but that doesn't mean we still don't want to compete for you."

  "At least when we're training," Ember said with large, fluttering eyes. "We'll make each other stronger. Please? Is that okay?"

  I supposed she was right. As long as they behaved in other situations, a little friendly competition wouldn't hurt during practice.

  "Fine," I said. "But no serious injuries. Come over here."

  I beckoned to Ember. The bleeding on her wing had stopped, but there was still a gash where the needle had cut her.

  She smiled, knowing what was going to happen. We embraced, and I bent over her to take her in a kiss.

  As our lips met, my Flame rushed down her mouth. Ember moaned at the flood of power.

  Ordinarily, when I channeled my Flame through her Node from a distance, I could send a small stream of Flame. Healing a minor wound would take at least several minutes, but I could circulate more of my Flame through her if I was entangled with her body. Kissing was the simplest way to boost our co-cultivation. While a more intimate encounter would provide an even bigger boost, this would be good enough for now.

  We held our kiss for several seconds. My affinity for my Flame was growing sensitive enough that I could feel the faint trickle of external Flame I absorbed from our surroundings. At the same time, the Flame I already possessed swept through Ember's body.

  Ember's hands worked their way down my back until she was groping my ass. I returned the favor by palming her firm cheeks, then squeezing hard.

  She tugged on my pants, but I stopped her and broke the kiss.

  "Not on the schedule. Later." I checked her wing, which had healed by now, a slight discoloration marking the newly knit flesh.

  Ember pouted but stopped trying to strip me. She fluttered her wings before folding them back behind her.

  "Thank you, master," she said, kissing me one more time.

  Allura sighed. "I should have let her break my arm. I'd get at least ten minutes with you."

  "No! We're training to win the tournament. No goofing off during practice."

  That was the one downside with having two sex-crazed succubi at your service. They tended to have one-track minds if I didn't keep them in line.

  Allura made a huffing noise. "Yes, master."

  "We've got a lot of work to do before the tournament," I said.

  "All work, no play…" Ember began.

  "But that's the problem. No matter how much time we spend playing in bed, I haven't been able to open a second Node in either of you."

  I reached for my sword, which I had laid to the side, and stood up abruptly.

  "Get ready. We're heading up into the city," I said. "I'm going to see Yaeger."

  I needed to do something to shake things up. Since Crowley wasn't around, I figured asking Yaeger for advice was the next best thing.

  I climbed out of the underground aqueducts and into the city with Allura and Ember following behind me.

  We made our way towards Yaeger's pottery shop, navigating the busy streets filled with demons and Fallen Ones. I had noticed more of the Fallen Ones in Duskfall over the last few weeks. I wasn't sure if I was simply becoming more observant, as the Fallen Ones tended to be quiet and stay out of the way of more powerful beings. Or were the Fallen Ones also congregating in the city?

  Based on what I saw on the streets, there was a roughly even mix of demons and Fallen Once, with a smaller scattering of sect members and Outsiders. The Fallen Ones looked like ordinary humans except for the shade of their skin, which could range from a tanned brown to an exotic red or green.

  The Fallen Ones tended to have smaller builds, and they didn't look particularly threatening. Allura had mentioned that Fallen Ones couldn't cultivate, either. They were at the bottom of the rung in the Abyss.

  While lesser demons couldn't cultivate either, they tended to carry themselves with a more dangerous, even arrogant air, like the ones we had already met. They came in all kinds of shapes and sizes, frequently having bodies that were a mix of animal and human parts. On occasion, demons could take on the appearance of an ordinary human, but they still had an aura of danger that Fallen Ones lacked.

  Outsiders were the rarest group, and the hardest to identify. Basically, if someone wasn't obviously a demon or a Fallen One, there was a good chance he was an Outsider. Sect members also tended to be made up of Outsiders, although some of them had lived in the Abyss for years. Outsiders tended to look like normal humans, except they were the complete opposite of the Fallen Ones, carrying themselves with the confidence of a Seeker. Any Outsider who had made it to the Abyss and survived pretty much had to be a Seeker, like myself. There was no room for the weak here.

  "Master." Allura stopped in front of us and pushed us back with one wing. We were passing by a large marble building that looked like some kind of fancy courthouse with stone pillars.

  I immediately saw the problem. Several of the demons milling about in front of the elaborate building had heads resembling bulls. Boviaries. I'd gotten so used to all the strange-looking demons that I hadn't given their appearances a second glance until Allura warned us. We hadn't run into them again since the incident at the city gates.

  "Let's go another way." I tried to lead us back the other way, but it was too late.

  "Hey!" One of the boviaries shouted. "Is that the succubus trainer?"

  The others bellowed and turned their attention to us. I counted six of them. After all our training, dealing with six boviaries would be a piece of cake.

  I stepped forward. "Hey, I've got no beef with you. I'm minding my own business, but you're the ones who keep looking for trouble." I drew my red blade partially out of its sheath. "And you're the ones who end up paying."

  The boviaries laughed. "Fool. We'll have our vengeance," one of them said as he reached for his double-bladed waraxe.

  No, they are the fools. Show them your power. The voice in my head hadn't spoken as often recently, but when it did, it was louder, clearer, more coherent. It was as if it was getting purified, more in control, like my Flame.

  I sighed and drew my sword. I looked over at my succubi. "Let's end it. No mercy." They nodded.

  I looked back to the boviaries, slightly puzzled by their response. I had bested one of their alphas in single combat. Were they stupid or just stubborn?

  The boviaries all held their waraxes now. Their intent was clear.

  I let a trickle of my pure Flame wrap around my limbs. I sprinted forward, ready to deliver a killing strike. I swung my sword sideways, and—

  A flash of metal knocked my blade away. The hell?

  A new figure stood between me and boviaries. The lower half of his face was shrouded in a dark mask, but he looked human. Or, rather, he looked like a Seeker.

  I could sense a steady aura of Flame emanating from the intruder. He held a metal spear low, its point aimed at me.

  "Die, trainer," he snarled through his mask.

  "You're with them?" I asked, confused.

  "His neck!" Allura cried out.

&
nbsp; It was partially hidden by the folds of his robes, but Allura's sharp eyes had spotted it first. Around his neck was shiny black metal. An obedience collar.

  Fuck. The boviaries had gotten their hands on a Seeker?

  I dodged backwards as the Seeker jabbed forward with his spear. I realized too late that the tip of his spear was glowing orange. The tip of his spear exploded with a burst of Flame, throwing me off my feet.

  "Aidan!" Ember screamed.

  At first, I thought she was worried for me. But as I twisted mid-air to land on my feet, I saw that our troubles were only beginning. More Seekers emerged from the side.

  Allura was sending a hail of black needles into the newcomers to buy ourselves time, but Ember was already grappling with a Seeker on the ground.

  A Seeker in dark blue robes swung a thick sword at me. My sight lines were lighting up, but at this point, they were more of a distraction than a help.

  I rolled under him to reach Ember. I aimed carefully, stabbing as Ember and another Seeker rolled past me on the ground.

  I knew my aim had been true when the Seeker cried out in pain. Ember freed herself.

  "Run, run!" I yelled to Ember, grabbing her by the arm.

  Ember didn't move. Instead, she seized my arm and threw me into the side of a stone building across the street. I used my Flame to somersault so that my feet hit the hard walls first. I bounced off the wall and recovered in a crouch.

  "Ember?"

  Allura swooped over to me. "She's taken!"

  No. I spotted the shiny black metal around Ember's neck. Ember turned to face me from the other side of the street. The other Seekers, at least four, flanked her on either side.

  No! She's mine!

  Black flames enveloped my body.

  Allura tugged on my arm, pleading. "We have to go, please master. I beg you."

  I would destroy them for taking what was mine, for daring to touch Ember. Dark flames rippled along the length of my sword.