Succubus Shadows Chapter 10

I woke to blackness. Blackness and suffocation.I was in a atomic room, a box re tout ensemble(a)y, crammed in so tightly that my arms disguised round me and my knees were worn to my chest. Weirdly, my limbs c wholly formed kindredwise long. My intact frame did, actually. My dead body changed all the period with shape-shifting, nonwithstanding this wasnt what Id been wearing with Roman. This was different. For a minute, that horrible space seemed to besotted in rough me. I couldnt breathe. With great effort, I tried to cool my egotism d accept. on that point was enough air. I could breathe. And even if I couldnt commit, it wouldnt buzz off mattered. The guardianship of suffocation was a human instinct.Where was I? I didnt remember boththing afterward the bedroom. I recalled the light and the music and Roman bursting in too late. Id mat up his power build up, akin he was slightly(predicate) to take action, al whizz I hadnt seen the conclusion. And now, here I was.Before my look, two identical lu exploitscent forms suddenly appe bed, like torches being lit in the darkness. They were tall and thin, with testa mentowy, androgynous features. Black cloth wrapped around their bodies, seeming to glow with a light of its own, and long black hair flowed from their heads, bl residueing in and losing itself in the cloth. Their eyes were a startling radioactive blue, too blue for any human, and seemed to bug out of those long, pale sees that were neither male nor female.It was weird too because it was like they stood before me in a large room, as though they were ten or so feet a management from me. Yet, I was still crammed into the restrain of my box and its unseen walls, unvarnishedly able to move. Aside from them, everything else was pure, unfathomable blackness. I couldnt even see my own body or any other features of the room. My brain couldnt get a grip on this spatial hypocrisy. It was all too surreal.Who are you? I demanded. What am I doing here? I saw no point in wasting time.The duo didnt att end to right a centering. Their eyes were cold and unreadable, nevertheless I saw a bit of smugness in their lips.Our succuba, atomic number 53 tell. His my brain decided to assign them a gender voice was low and raspy, with a lisp that reminded me of a snake. Our succubus at destruction.Harder to catch than we thought, added the other, voice identical. We thought you would have succumbed long ago.Who are you? I repeated, anger kindling. I squirmed in a futile taste at escape. My confines were so tight that I didnt even have the space to beat my fists all over against the nonexistent walls.Mother will be pleased, the prototypal one said.Very pleased, confirmed the other.The way they alternated phrases reminded me of how Grace Jeromes former de identifyy sheriff demoness and Mei used to interact. That had had a charming, mode browsely creepy The Shining liveliness to it. Thisthis was just aboutthing else. S omething terrible and icy, burning my senses like nails on a chalkboard.Mother will reward us, the first said. I decided to call them genius and 2 for the ease of mental processing. She will reward us when she is free, when she escapes the angels.Whos your draw? I asked. A troubling suspicion was beginning to form.We will avenge her until she wad do it herself, said Two. You will suffer for betraying her.Nyx, I murmured. Nyx is your mother. And youreyoure Oneroi.They said nonhing, which I took as affirmation. My head reeled. Oneroi? How had this happened? Oneroi were a type of dream demon scarce not demons like the ones I interacted with. Heaven and Hell were forces in the universe, merely in that respect were others, others that mingled with and often ran parallel to the system I existed in. Nyx was one very much(prenominal) force, an entity of chaos from the beginning of time, when the instauration had been created from disorder.And the Oneroi were her children.I knew a few things about them but had never seen them or ever expected to. They visited dreams, feeding on them. Nyx had do this too, but the manner had been a little different. She had manipulated people into see the future in their dreams a twisted version that didnt unfold the way the dreamer expected. It had led to crazy actions that spawned chaos in the human being, allowing her to grow stronger. Shed likewise fed on my energy directly, taking it in its purest form and distracting me with dreams of my own. provided Oneroi fed on the dreams themselves, deriving their power from the emotions and realities fueled by the dreamer. My intellectual was that they also had the power to manipulate dreams but rarely had reason to. existence provided plenty of hopes, dreams, and fears on their own. They needed no outside(a) help.That was the extent of my Oneroi knowledge, but it was enough. Feeling even a little informed about the g everywherenment agency empowered me. Thats what thi s is about? You took me because of Nyx? I wasnt the one who caught her. The angels did.You helped them, said One. Led them to her.And thence refused to save her, added Two.With a pang, I remembered that horrible night, when Carter and his cronies had recaptured Nyx after her devastating bash in Seattle. An angel had died that night. Another had fallen. And Nyx had promised to show me a future and family with a man I could have a go at it, if only I would utilise her the rest of my energy and let her break free.She was lying, I said. She was severe to make a weed when she had nothing to offer.Mother always shows the true statement, said One. Dreams can be lies, but truth is truth.I decided pointing out the redundancy of that statement was useless. Well, Im certain(p) shell appreciate the Mothers Day gift, but youre wasting your time. Jerome will come for me. My archdemon. He wont let me stay here.He wont find you, said Two. This time, I could unimpeachably see smugness. He cant find you. You no longer exist for him.Youre wrong, I replied, with a bit of my own smugness. thithers no place in this world you can take me where he cant find me. That was, of course, assuming they hadnt managed to cut across my undying aura. To my knowledge, only greater immortals could do that. I wasnt sure where Oneroi fell in.One actually make a faced. It was not attractive. You arent in the world. Not the mortal world. This is the dream world.Youre one of many dreams, Two said. One dream among all the dreams of humanity. Your essence is here. Your soul. befogged in a sea of countless others.My fear stopped me from whirl commentary on his sudden shift into metaphor. The metaphysics of the universe and its layers and creation were beyond me. Even if somebody had explained them to me, it was something past the comprehension of a mortal, lesser immortal, or any other being who was made-not-born. I had enough understanding, though, to recognize some truth in their words. Ther e was a world of dreams, a world without form with n primordial as much power as the visible one I lived in. Was it possible to trap my essence in it and hide me from Jerome? I was unsure enough that I couldnt write it off.So, what? I asked, attempting pride but mostly sounding as uneasy as I felt. Youll just forbid me in this mime box and feel rectify about yourselves?No, said One. Youre in the world of dreams. You will dream.The world fade out again.It was my wedding day.I was fifteen years old, jailbait in the twenty-first snow but more than old enough to be a wife in fourth-century Cyprus. And more than tall enough too. The Oneroi had sent me into a reposition or a dream of a memory or something like that. It was a lot like the dreams Nyx had put me in. I was watching myself like a movieyet at the same time, I was in myself, experiencing everything quite naturally.It was a disorienting feeling, made worse by the feature that I had never compulsioned to see my human se lf again. sell my soul had come with obvious downsides, but there had been perks too the dexterity to shape-shift and never again have to wear the body that had committed such grievous sins in my mortal life.Yet, there I was, and I was otiose to look outside. It was like being in A Clockwork Orange. My younger self had been about five feet ten inches tall by todays standards and a teras of a woman in an era where people had been shorter. When dancing, Id been able to put that long body and all those limbs to good use, moving gracefully and effortlessly. In everyday life, though, Id always been fussfully conscious of my height, feeling awkward and unnatural. eucharist my old self walk now, from the outside, I was astoni roll to see I didnt appear as clumsy as Id always believed. That didnt negate the revulsion I felt at seeing the thick, waist-long black hair or passably pretty face. Still, it was kind of a surprise to watch ingenuousness (if this was reality) and memory me shed.It was just after dawn, and I was carrying a large amphora of crude out to a storage house beyond my familys home. My steps were light, minute not to spill any of it, and I again marveled at the way I moved. I set the vessel down beside others inside the shed and started to head back toward the house. Id barely taken two steps outside when Kyriakos, my husband-to-be, appeared. There was a covert expression on his face, one that instantaneously told me he had sneaked over here to find me and knew perfectly soundly that he shouldnt have. It was an uncharacteristically bold move for him, and I chastised him for the indiscretion.What are you doing? Youre going to see me this afternoonand then every day after thatI had to give you these before the wedding. He held up a string of wooden beads, vitiated and perfectly formed with tiny ankhs engraved on them. They were my mothers. I want you to have them, to wear them today.He leaned forward, placing the beads around my neck. As hi s fingers b pelt along my skin, I felt something warm and tingly run finished my body. At the play age of fifteen, I hadnt exactly understood such sensations, though I was eager to explore them. My wiser self today recognized them as the early stirrings of lust, and come up, there had been something else there too. Something else that I still didnt quite comprehend. An electric connection, a feeling that we were bound into something bigger than ourselves. That our being together was inevitable.There, he said, at a time the beads were secure and my hair brushed back into place. Perfect. He said nothing else after that. He didnt need to. His eyes told me all I needed to know, and I shivered. Until Kyriakos, no man had ever given me a second glance. I was Marthanes too-tall daughter after all, the one with the sharp expectoration who didnt hypothesise before speaking. But Kyriakos had always listened to me and watched me like I was someone more, someone tempting and desirable, li ke the beautiful priestesses of Aphrodite who still carried on their rituals away from the Christian priests.I wanted him to touch me then, not realizing just how much until I caught his fall out suddenly and unexpectedly. Taking it, I placed it around my waist and pull outed him to me. His eyes widened in surprise but he didnt pull back. We were almost the same height, making it easy for his mouth to seek mine out in a withering kiss. I leaned against the warm oppose wall behind me so that I was pressed in the midst of it and him. I could feel every surgical incision of his body against mine, but we still werent miserly enough. Not nearly enough.Our kissing grew more ardent, as though our lips wholly might close whatever aching distance lay between us. I moved his reach again, this time to push up my band along the side of one leg. His hand stroked the smooth flesh there and, without further urging, slid over to my inner thigh. I arched my lower body toward his, nearly wr ithing against him now, needing him to touch me everywhere.Letha? Where are you at?My sisters voice carried over the wind she wasnt nearby but could no doubt show up if she sought me. Kyriakos and I broke apart, both gasping, pulses racing. He was looking at me like hed never seen me before. Heat burned in his inspect.Have you ever been with anyone before? he asked wonderingly.I shook my head.How did youI never imagined you doing thatI learn fast.We stood there, locked in time for a moment. Then, he pulled me back to him, his lips crushing mine once more. His hand re moody to my dress, hiking it up over my waist. He held my bare hips firmly and pressed himself to my body. I felt him hard against me, felt my body respond to something that seemed both new and natural at the same time. The fingers of one hand slid over, feeling the wetness between my thighs. His touch felt like squeeze out, and I moaned, wanting him to stroke me there more and more.Instead, he cancelled me around so that I faced the wall. With one hand, he kept the bound of my dress up, and with his other, I had the vague impression of him fumbling with his wearing apparel. Then, a moment later, he pushed himself into me. It was a shock, like nothing Id experienced before. Id meant what Id said to begin with that Id never been with another man. And even wet with desire, it still hurt to have him inside me that first time. He seemed too big and me too wee.I cried out at the pain, an odd sort of pain that didnt diminish the fire that had been create indoors me. His thrusts were hard and urgent, no doubt fueled by feelings hed long been holding back on. And after a while, the initial pain seemed irrelevant. Pleasure began to grow as he moved into me over and over, and I adjusted myself so that I bent over more and let him take me more deeply. He thrust more forcefully, and I again exclaimed in surprise and blissful pain. I heard a dumb groan, and then his body shuddered as he spent himself , his movements at last slowing down.When he was done, he pulled out and turned me around. It was the first time Id seen him naked in all of this. There was blood and semen on both of us, which I tried to clean off my thighs before in conclusion just letting my dress fall back over me. Id be bathing before the wedding anyway.Kyriakos had just finished putting his enclothe back on when we heard my name again. This time, it was my mother. He and I stared at each other in wonder, scarcely believing wed just done what we had. I was aglow with love and the joy of sex and a whole host of new feelings I wanted to explore in more detail. Fear of my mother drove us apart.Stepping back, he grinned and pressed my hand to his lips. Tonight, he breathed. Tonight weTonight, I agreed. Well do it again. I love you.He smiled at me, eyes smoldering, and then hurried off before we were caught. I watched him go, my heart filled with joy.The rest of the day went by in a dreamy haze, partially because of the flurry of wedding activity and partially because of what had happened with Kyriakos. Id had a vague idea of what would occur on our wedding night, but my imaginings had never come close to the real thing. I practically danced my way through the rest of the day, impatient to truly be Kyriakos wife and make love again and again.The wedding was taking place at our home, so there was enough work (along with my own preparation) to almost keep me distracted. As the eucharist time grew nearer, I was bathed and dressed in my wedding gown an ivory tunic of fine material, wrapped with a flame-red veil. I had to kneel a little for my mother to adequately adjust the veil, earning a number of jokes about my height from my sister.It didnt matter. Nothing mattered except me and Kyriakos being together forever. Soon, guests began arriving, and my heart rate increased. Anticipation and the days heat made me sweat, and I fretted about ruination the dress.Someone called out that Kyriakos and his family were approaching. The excitement in the air grew palpable, shared by everyone now. Yet, when Kyriakos arrived, he barged right into the house, going against the traditional procession and stately ceremony that should have taken place. For half a second, some girlish part of me thought that Kyriakos in his burning love for me couldnt wait through the drawn out process of a ceremony. I was quickly enlightened.With a face flushed with fury, he marched up to my pay back. Marthanes, Kyriakos growled, finger in my fathers face. You insult me if you think Im going through with this wedding.My father was clearly taken aback not an easy thing to accomplish. People chastised me for my sharp mother tongue, but that was largely because I was a woman. I wasnt half as bad as my father, and hed intimidate a lot of men twice his size. (It was a sad ridicule that while I was tall for a woman, my father was short for a man.) A few moments later, my father recovered his usual bluste r.Of course you are he exclaimed. Weve made the betrothal. We paid the dowry.Kyriakos father was there, and judging from his fine clothes and surprised expression, this was all news to him too. He set a hand on his sons shoulder. Kyriakos, whats this all about?Her, said Kyriakos, pointing his finger at me. His gaze swung to my face, and I flinched from its force, as though Id been slapped. I will not attach Marthanes whore of a daughterThere were gasps and murmurs from those around us. My fathers face turned bright red. Youre insulting me All of my daughters are chaste. Theyre all virgins.Are they? Kyriakos turned back to me. Are you?All eyes turned to me, and I blanched. My tongue felt dry. I couldnt muster any words.My father threw up his hands, clearly exasperated by this nonsense. Tell them, Letha. Tell them so that we can end this and get our dowry back.Kyriakos had a dangerous glint in his eyes as he studied me. Yes, tell them so that we can end this. Are you a virgin?No, but Chaos erupted. Men shouted. My mother wailed. The guests were a mix of stunned shock and delight over a new scandal. Desperately, I tried to find my voice and shout in a higher place the din.It was only with Kyriakos I cried. Today was the first timeKyriakos turned away from where hed been telling my father the dowry would not be returned. He glanced over at me. Its true, he said. We did it today. She spread herself as easily and knowingly as any whore, begging me to take her. Theres no telling how many men shes offered her body up to or how many she would even when married.No I exclaimed. Its not trueBut no one heard me. There was too much arguing now. Kyriakos family was raging over the insult. My family was bristling against the name-calling, and my father was hand overing his best to do damage control, though he knew perfectly well that my own admission had damned us. Premarital sex was not so out of the ordinary for lower classes, but as a tradesmans family, we imitate a lot of our customs on our betters among the nobility or affect to. A girls virtue was a sacred thing, one that reflected on her father and family as a whole. This disgraced all of them and had serious repercussions for me. As Kyriakos well knew.He had moved toward me so that I could hear him through the noise. right off they all know, he said in a low voice. They all know you for what you are.Its not true, I said through my tears. You know it isnt.No one will have you now, he continued. No one expenditure having. Youll spend the rest of your life on your back, spreading your legs for whoever comes along. And ultimately, youll be alone. No one will have you.I squeezed my eyes shut to try to stop the tears, and when I opened them again, I was surrounded in blackness.Well, not entirely in blackness.Before me, the Oneroi glowed more brightly than before, lit from within by that eerie light.An interesting dream, said Two, with what I think passed for a smile. One that gave us much t o feed on.Its not true, I said. There were tears on my cheeks in waking, just as there had been in sleep. That wasnt true. It was a lie. That wasnt how things happened.The dream was muddling my brain, almost making me question myself, but my own memories short won out. I remembered that day. I remembered kissing Kyriakos by the building and how wed then gone separate ways, strengthened by the knowledge that we would soon be man and wife, making our wedding night that much sweeter. And it had been. It hadnt been rushed against a wall. Wed taken time to learn and explore each others bodies. Hed been on top of me, staring into my eyes not my back. Hed told me I was his life. Hed told me I was his world.It was a lie, I repeated more firmly, fixing the Oneroi with a glare. Thats not how it happened. Thats not how it happened. I knew I was right, yet I felt the need to keep repeating it, to make sure the words were true.One gave a small shrug, unconcerned. It doesnt matter. I told you M other shows the truth. But dreams? Dreams are dreams. They can be truth or lies, and all provide food for us. And you? He smiled a smile that was the mirror of his twins. You will dreamand dreamand dream