Suddenly a Succubus - Book Six
Copyright© 2026 by Nyx Nyghtingale
Chapter 1
High above the Earth, cast in the rich, decadent warmth of the morning sun, towering pillars of clouds reach high into the atmosphere as if attempting to graze the Kingdom of Heaven itself. Powerful currents of air race amidst these clouds, propelling them across the sky at incredible speeds while their shadows dance across the surface below. To the average onlooker, the beautiful tapestry might appear as nothing more than a bit of nice weather, a field of floating cotton meant to brighten up their morning commute. They wouldn’t see the complex machinations at play in the depths of these clouds, nor would they understand the true size of these majestic formations.
They might, however, see occasional glimpses of a brilliant rainbow. A splash of iridescent color arcing between the clouds, appearing without rhyme or reason and disappearing just as quickly.
A frantic businessman hoping to scramble up the corporate ladder grimaces as he rolls his neck. He doesn’t mean to look at the sky, but there is little else to do as he seeks refuge from the persistent pain inflicted by hours hunched over his computer. When his eyes land on this unexpected rainbow, he can’t help but smile. He closes his laptop, calls his wife, and invites her out for an impromptu lunch date.
Sitting alone in the corner of a high school football field, a nervous young girl frantically taps a pen on an empty notebook. She wants desperately to create, to inspire others with her words while weaving tales of adventure and passion, but she cannot give shape to her boundless imagination. She falls backwards, tears in her eyes as the callous voices of indifferent teachers echo in her head. The clouds momentarily part above her and she sees a burst of color, a flash of iridescent radiance that fills her heart with wonder. Grabbing her notebook, she clicks her pen and starts writing.
An elderly woman nervously twiddles her thumbs while sitting beside a stranger. He was once her son, but years of spite have created too much distance for her to think of him as such any longer. He is a shell of his former self, perhaps for the better, and he weeps as he begs for forgiveness. The woman hesitates; she is scared of opening herself up again, scared of exposing herself to more lies, more betrayal, more manipulation, and she looks to God for an answer. An innocent ray of sunlight refracts into beams of color so vibrant that, for the first time in years, she’s inspired to trust once again. She turns to her son and smiles, taking his hand and pulling him into a tender hug.
Atop a small hill, surrounded by miles of forest and hiking trails, a girl awkwardly stumbles over her words. She’s been planning this day for months, yet now that it’s here, the words she’s rehearsed so many times simply won’t come out. Clutched in her fingers, nestled deep in a pocket, she holds a ring that once belonged to her grandmother. It twists and turns in her grasp, and in her frustration, an idle breeze happens to pull her attention to the nearby trees above her. She sees hints of a rainbow in the sky and furrows her eyebrows in confusion. The conditions don’t make sense, such a phenomenon shouldn’t be possible in this weather, but the impossibility of what she’s seeing crystallizes her thoughts. She pulls out the ring, falls to one knee, and turns to her girlfriend.
The two descend the hill as fiancées, both too excited to pay any further attention to the glittering iridescence above them.
Of the hundreds of people across the countryside that happened to see this rainbow, none bothered paying it a second thought. It was a momentary distraction, a simple anecdote to share in between conversations of greater import.
Had any of them looked just a bit harder, they might have seen the inconsistencies. The way the rainbow changed directions in midair, how it only lingered for a few seconds after appearing. They might have seen it collide with the towering clouds, leaving tiny gaps in the massive walls of fluffy vapor. Perhaps they might have drawn a connection between the lingering colors and the bursts of flame just ahead of this trail of light. No matter how hard they looked, however, they never would have seen the source of this particular miracle, for it was cloaked in illusory magic.
There were two such veils, each a circular cloak of demonic illusion centered on a being of immense power. They both raced through the sky on magnificent wings, hoping to best the other in a contest of speed.
Currently in the lead was Amara Lamour, a mortal succubus empowered by the lust of humanity. Her blackened horns buzzed with information, their resonance a way of reading the temperature, direction, and strength of nearby air currents. Her deep crimson tail acted as a rudder, guiding her movements as she angled her similarly colored wings to dive beneath a patch of darker clouds. A thin layer of sweat and rainwater sizzled atop her rich, sienna skin, and demonic embers cascaded through her wavy auburn locks. Feeling adventurous, she turned her glowing amber eyes to the skies above her, watching the love of her life disappear.
Vequaniel Bennett, eager to claim victory, charged through the storm clouds without a second thought. She was an angel of the Lord, and the Miracle bound to her soul gave her access to a fraction of Creation itself. Through this connection, she manifested a wave of magic and commanded the clouds to part around her, which they did without hesitation.
When she emerged on the other side, a triumphant laugh rang through the skies. The sun itself seemed to share in her celebration; its many rays bent towards her, exploding into bursts of color as they collided with her immaculate wings. A tapestry of pure white feathers, each lined with the golden radiance of the Divine, held her aloft. With a nimble corkscrew, she quickly spun around to shake off the lingering residue of the cloud, then locked eyes with Amara and gave her a playful wink.
Her short blonde hair dazzled in the morning light, and her bright blue eyes were more vibrant than ever. Above her head, an impossible collection of lights and colors spun so quickly that, to the average onlooker, it would appear as nothing more than a simple halo of pure, white light.
Determination filled her eyes as she turned towards the horizon, and a burst of magic propelled her forward. Amara, temporarily distracted by the intoxicating beauty of her girlfriend, shook her head to gather her thoughts. A few miles ahead, nestled deep in the rolling countryside of southern Wisconsin, a large radio tower served as their finish line. Amara set her sights on the sky above the tall spire, then connected with the innate well of demonic hellfire that served as the source of her magic. Powerful swirling flames pooled just beneath her feet before exploding with incredible force, launching Amara forward.
Vee’s daring plunge into the storm cloud had temporarily given her the lead, and Amara refused to lose without a fight. She extended her magic into the world around her, taking command of every scrap of nearby heat. She used this connection to form a pocket of magic, one perfectly suited to cutting through the sky, then flattened her wings. Heat pooled beneath and behind her, catapulting her forward at ever-increasing speeds, and the gap between them began to close. Sparks of Enochian magic trailed behind Vee, threatening to disrupt Amara’s infernal abilities. Her nose twitched and the buzzing of her horns grew erratic, but it only took a few seconds for her to power through and claim the lead once more.
With a final burst of hellfire, Amara passed over the radio tower and celebrated with a triumphant spin of her own. The heat around her dissipated and her pace slowed, allowing Vee to catch up. Her angelic girlfriend, however, opted not to slow down.
Vee tackled Amara at full speed, wrapping her arms around the demon’s waist and pulling her into a spinning dive. They both giggled playfully as they spun, not a care in the world. Their auras collided with equal force, scattering a magnificent flurry of magic invisible to any human eyes. Amara’s hellfire darted around and between Vee’s angelic light, both forces equally opposed in strength and determination.
“I never took you for a sore loser, love,” Amara whispered, her tail lovingly wrapped around Vee’s waist.
“What, a girl isn’t allowed to have a bit of fun with her new wings?” Vee countered, giggling all the while. “How about we say it’s practice. You and I both know it’s only a matter of time before we have to fight some kind of flying monster. Didn’t you say a dragon attacked you in The Wilds?”
Above them, the ground spun ever closer, yet neither girl seemed worried in the slightest. “Whatever you say, Vee. You’re just mad you lost.”
“You have more practice than I do! This was hardly a fair competition!” Vee briefly dug her fingers into Amara’s side, causing her to burst out laughing. The conflict was short-lived, however, as the two decided they’d much rather shower each other with affection.
Their magic collided one last time, creating trails of impossible auroras around them both. Their lips met in a tender kiss, and the conflicting auras settled into a peaceful resolution of their own. The sky around them calmed, then both girls glanced towards the rapidly approaching ground and decided to pause their affection. They drifted apart and soared back into the sky, settling once more amongst the clouds before reuniting.
“Okay, but seriously, how are you so fast?” Vee asked. “I really thought I had you at the end.”
Amara held up a hand and summoned a burst of reddish-purple hellfire. “I can control heat, remember? Controlled explosions propel me forwards while concentrated pockets of heat make me more aerodynamic.”
Vee drifted closer and happily kissed Amara again. “Well, enjoy your victory, love. You earned it.”
“Actually, speaking of flying mysteries,” Amara glanced behind Vee. “How do you stay up here without constantly moving your wings? Even when I’m giving myself a pillar of warm air, I’m still constantly making micro adjustments to stay upright.”
Beautiful, feathered wings moved between them as Vee examined her plush white feathers. “I’m not exactly sure, honestly. If I had to guess, the wings represent the idea of flying more than anything else. I still need them to fly—believe me, I’ve tried—but they don’t seem to obey physics the way yours do.”
Amara lightly traced her fingers across Vee’s wings, her demonic hands sparking as they touched the potent angelic manifestations. “Right, your magic doesn’t have to make sense. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.”
“To be fair, you also don’t understand how Tessa’s magic works, despite it following a very strict logic.”
“That’s different!” Amara protested, blushing out of embarrassment. “Although, speaking of the others...” She pulled out her phone to check the time.
“Should we head back?”
“Yeah, looks like it.” Amara pocketed her phone, then quickly kissed Vee on the cheek. “Race you back to campus?”
“Oh, you’re on, Hellspawn,” Vee said, grinning deviously. Before Amara had a chance to get into position, Vee turned south and launched herself forward without warning. A flurry of angelic sparks appeared in her wake, disorienting Amara just long enough to give Vee a considerable head start.
“Hey! Cheater!”
Angling herself towards Vee, Amara summoned her own burst of magic. The flames tickled the bottoms of her feet before launching her towards her girlfriend, laughing all the while.
Gravel crunched and scattered across the roof of Amara’s apartment building as she landed, with Vee following suit only seconds later. There was no victory to be claimed this time; shortly after declaring a second race, both girls had decided they weren’t in the mood for such competition. Instead, they spent most of the flight home lazily soaring through the skies, happily taking in the sights as they enjoyed their day off.
Amara’s demonic features vanished with a flurry of embers before she turned her attention to her outfit. To embrace the spirit of their first flight together, she’d manifested a black and red military flight jacket, but such a look didn’t feel right for strolling around campus. Picturing what she wanted in her head, she quickly altered her clothes to something more appropriate. The flight jacket became a fashionable long coat with black fur lining, and her baggy cargo pants shifted into form-fitting blue jeans. Once she finished changing, she turned her attention towards the bubble of illusory magic surrounding the roof.
“Can you leave your flight mirage up for a second?” Vee asked, stretching her wings out. “I’m still not used to switching these on and off yet.”
“Is that what it feels like?” Amara asked.
“Uh, not exactly. If I had to put it into words, I would say it’s more like finding different ways to manifest the light of my soul. Like I’m putting different filters over my true self to accentuate different parts of who I am.” Vee paused for a moment, walking over to the edge of the roof and lightly pushing her fingers against the edge of Amara’s illusory bubble. “You’ve always described your shapeshifting as ‘hiding your true self’ and this doesn’t feel like that at all. That thought almost feels ... I don’t know. Tricky?”
“I guess that makes sense, doesn’t it? That my abilities feel more like deception than yours?” Amara stepped next to Vee and grabbed her hand. After sharing another kiss, she noticed just how accurately Vee was tracing the flight mirage. “Wait, you can see my magic?”
Vee nodded. “I can, actually. It’s pretty faint, but there are small hints of demonic aura that cling to everything you create. Fittingly enough, it’s like seeing a series of tiny wildfires.”
“Well, at least I’ll be easy to pick out in a crowd should I ever disguise myself,” Amara said, chuckling to herself. “Although, does that mean other angels could see my illusions? Is this a side effect of how close we are? Or a direct result of you discovering the full extent of your strength?”
With a quiet, calm breath, Vee closed her eyes and clasped her hands across her heart. The feathers of her wings glowed bright, then vanished from existing, returning Vee to a more human appearance. “I have no idea, but I know I don’t want to find out. The only way to test that would be to find another angel, and that’s something I desperately want to avoid for as long as we can.”
“Hm, I dunno, the last angel I met ended up being the love of my life. From my point of view, meeting angels always works out in the end.” In anticipation of Vee’s response, Amara dropped her flight mirage and started walking towards the staircase.
“That’s a flawed sample size and you know it!” Vee said, chasing after Amara. “This is why you’re not doing better in our Chem Lab!”
Disappearing into the stairwell, Amara raced Vee towards the bottom of the stairs to avoid her wrath. After reuniting, Vee rolled her eyes at Amara’s immaturity as they approached Amara’s apartment. Inside, Vee grabbed a small snack from the fridge before opening up her backpack. “What’s your plan for today? Weren’t you meeting up with Tessa or something?”
“Nick, actually. He needs to start training, and I’m done listening to his excuses. You want to come with?”
Tension crept into Vee’s shoulders, and she stopped flipping through her notebooks. “That’s ... No, not today. You’re better suited for the job, and let’s be honest; there’s a good chance you end up feeding afterwards.”
Noticing the tiny shift in her tone, Amara walked behind Vee and wrapped her arms around the angel’s waist. She nuzzled her face against Vee, then whispered, “Hey, none of that. You saved my life, and possibly Nick’s that night. Sure, it didn’t end up exactly how we wanted, but that doesn’t diminish what you did. You’re incredible, Vee.”
Vee sighed, leaning against Amara for support. “I just ... I can’t help but wonder, y’know? Is there something I could have done differently? I could have asked Saoirse more detailed questions, or tried to connect with Tadghán more, or—”
Cradling Vee’s face, Amara leaned forward and kissed her to interrupt her nervous ramblings. “He’s alive and healthy. This new life will be a bit of an adjustment, but the important thing is that we’re facing it together.”
“You’re right, I know you are,” Vee muttered. “It’s just going to take some getting used to.”
After one last cuddle, Amara let Vee return to her things. “Now, what about you? Please don’t tell me you’re planning on doing homework all day.”
“I was planning on hanging out with Chloé, thank you very much. If we happen to get some homework done in the process, all the better. Besides, I’m still not happy with where my grades are at after all the school we missed while we were traipsing through The Wilds.”
“Speaking of Chloé, is Tessa’s secret project done yet?” Amara grabbed her water bottle and a collection of snacks.
“I don’t think so? Although, last time I checked, she said it would be ready any day now. Either way, I’ll make sure we’re all there for the grand unveiling.”
“You’re the best, love!” After packing her bag, Amara snuck in one last kiss before the two said goodbye.
Leaving her apartment, Amara took a deep breath and started towards the Athletic Campus. The cold March air was delightfully crisp, though she wished the wind would pick up. She much preferred the powerful gales present miles above the Earth.
Other than small handfuls of students traveling from place to place, Aurelius University was relatively quiet today. Few students trusted the weather this time of year, and opted to stay inside more often than not. Two days ago, the temperature had dipped below freezing, and the forecast predicted a burst of early spring warmth within the next week. Thankfully, Amara’s inner hellfire kept her perpetually warm, so the chaotic Midwest temperature no longer bothered her in the slightest.
Sliding her phone from her pocket, Amara pulled up Nick’s contact and started typing.
Amara: I’m heading over now!
Nick: Cut flying short? I’d hate to cut into your time with Vee
Amara: If you’re not there in the next 15 minutes I’m kicking the door off its hinges
Nick: Please don’t
Nick: I’m on way
Nick: Seriously though please don’t
Chuckling to herself, Amara slowed her pace. She had no desire to vandalize her campus, but nothing motivated Nick better than the threat of property damage. Off in the distance, the resonant chimes of the D’Ambray Chapel began to toll. They proudly announced the time with two powerful tolls, each delivered by the freshly restored bell hanging in the building’s tallest spire.
The sound was beautiful, and far superior to the chimes that had previously tolled every hour. Then again, Amara suspected she was biased. A week earlier, with a magnificent burst of angelic magic, Vee had reaffirmed her faith in herself while also accidentally restoring the original bell to pristine condition. She’d manifested her wings for the first time in her life, and the sudden burst of magical potential had allowed her to remove the heart of Nick’s lycanthropic curse. They still didn’t fully understand the wild magic that remained in his system, which is why they were meeting up today.
Amara timed her arrival perfectly, making it to the Gymnastics Building just minutes before Nick. He had a bulky gym back hanging by his side, and he walked with the posture of a child dreading going to school. To motivate him, Amara placed a boot next to the door handle and pretended to wind up a powerful kick.
“I swear to God, Amara!” Nick protested, sprinting closer at the last minute just in case Amara was bluffing. “I’d have to get a new key and I’m not really supposed to have this one, and I—”
Placing a hand on his shoulder, Amara tried to calm him down. “I was joking, you know that, right?”
Nick sighed, slipping the key into the door and unlocked it. “I know, I know, I just ... Being here, it’s ... ugh.” He gave up on his sentence as they walked inside, the door clicking shut behind them.
Friendly prodding aside, it was difficult to see Nick like this. He’d always dreamt of living a quiet life, even before they learned magic and monsters were real, and now he’d been pulled into the middle of a magical crisis of his own. Eager to comfort him, Amara decided that a regular hug wasn’t good enough; he was several inches taller than her, and his musculature made him appear even larger. Knowing him, it would be helpful to pair a comforting hug with a bit of playful distraction.
Connecting with her inner fire, Amara reshaped herself to be almost a foot taller while also manifesting her horns and tail. She pulled Nick into a hug and squeezed him tight, making sure his face ended up conveniently near her cleavage. “You have friends who care about you, Nick. The important thing is that you’re alive.”
He returned the hug instinctually. “I know, I just need to—Wait, what the heck?” Flinching in surprise, he craned his neck to look up at her.
“What do you think? I’m trying out a new look,” Amara said, flexing a bicep.
Her stunt worked, and Nick couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “Well, for one thing, I’m sure Tessa would love it. That being said, I think people might start to suspect something if you start walking around campus like that.”
“Aw, c’mon, we’ll just say that I’ve been eating a lot of protein! And that I got that weird height surgery or whatever!” Amara protested. As they talked, they both wandered around the facility to set everything up. Nick flicked on the lights, and Amara changed her clothes to something more befitting their anticipated workout.
“That process takes years, and people never get more than a few inches!”
Massive fluorescent lights blared to life, slowing warming to their full radiance over several seconds. As they gathered their full strength, they gradually illuminated the large space around Nick and Amara. Roughly half the space was dedicated to a massive spring floor marked with various white lines she didn’t understand. The other half held a collection of gymnastics equipment: balance beams, uneven bars, pommel horses, pits filled with foam cubes, and the like. Almost six months earlier, Nick had brought Amara here in an attempt to explore her changing body, and now it was time to return the favor.
Taking advantage of her larger size, Amara set up a series of large tumbling mats on the floor. Off to the side, Nick opened his gym bag and quickly changed. Compared to his normal active wear, today’s outfit was incredibly cheap. The material seemed painfully thin, and neither the shorts nor the shirt fit him very well.
No doubt he’d bought them to be disposable.
“So how did everything go with Tadghán yesterday?” Amara asked as she began stretching.
After several days of back and forth, Tessa and Nick had finally made contact with Tadghán; a native resident of The Wilds, and a werewolf himself. He’d accidentally fallen onto campus over a month ago, which is how Nick had been bit and infected with lycanthropy. No one blamed Tadghán for this—except for Tadghán, of course. He’d volunteered to lead Amara and Vee through The Wilds in search of a cure, but they’d been forcefully separated by a dragon attack on their way home. His sudden disappearance had been cause for concern, but thankfully they’d managed to reconnect with him via several notes left near the magic circle connecting the two planes.
“Apart from the context, it was really nice,” Nick said, joining Amara on the tumbling mats. “He wasn’t actually hurt by the dragon; he just got flung really far away. He asked me to relay his apologies that he wasn’t able to guide you home.”
“That sounds like him,” Amara smiled, surprised at how much she missed Tadghán’s delightful Irish lilt. “But what about you?”
Nick hesitated. “In his words, my condition is unlike anything he’s ever seen before. He feels the same kinship with me that he does with all other werewolves, but it’s somewhat diminished. For himself and others like him, there’s an understanding that the curse is a being unto itself. A separate entity that must be respected and treated with reverence. With me, however, there’s no separation. I’m one with this magic, for better or for worse.”
“That sounds pretty accurate to what Vee described. Removing the heart of the curse and whatnot,” Amara said. She stepped closer to place a reassuring hand on Nick’s shoulder. “What about you? How do you feel?”
“I’m still piecing that together. I still feel that itch, that calling to surrender to instincts that aren’t my own, but it’s been toned down considerably. Before it was this all-consuming force, something I couldn’t hold back no matter how hard I tried. Now, it’s more like ... I don’t know, it’s hard to describe. It’s like I’ve just downed an energy drink with horribly unethical amounts of caffeine, then chased it with ten shots of espresso. I have all this energy, and I can smell things I couldn’t before, and I’m so much stronger than I used to be, and I know that I could direct this energy into changing my body but I don’t want to! I just want to be me!”
Amara raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to speak, but Nick cut her off. “You don’t have to say it, Amara. This is the real me now, whether I like it or not, and I need to accept that my life is different now.”
“Different is scary, Nick, but it doesn’t always have to be bad.”
“Easy for you to say. It barely took you a month to realize that being a demon was something you’d secretly wanted your whole life. I’m quite confident the same isn’t going to happen for me.” Nick looked up at Amara again. “Are you planning on staying that size? Is that really necessary?”
“For your information, it is,” Amara said, sticking her tongue out. She took several large steps backwards before entering a fighting stance. She hopped from side to side to hype herself up, then threw several quick jabs into the air. “And that’s because I’m done throwing you a pity party. This shit is a part of you, Nick, whether you like it or not. The more you know about this, the easier it’ll be to build up your new life.”
“So, what, we’re going to fight? Why can’t we just run some tests by lifting weights or something?”
“Raw strength is only part of the picture, Nick. You’re a werewolf, and the magic of the moon wants to turn you into a ravenous beast. The only way you learn to control that is by letting yourself get angry in a controlled environment.” Amara lunged closer, pretending to throw a punch at Nick.
He didn’t flinch in the slightest. He did, however, humor Amara by adopting a fighting stance of his own. “I don’t get angry, Amara. You know this more than anyone.”
“Correction, you used to not get angry. How do you know if that’s still true? Now come on, try and hit me!”
Closing the distance, Nick threw his first punch. It was clean and controlled, but Amara had no trouble dodging out of the way. “What, is that all you’ve got?” she taunted. “I’ve seen your grandma throw better punches while fighting over the stuffing at Thanksgiving.”
“I know what you’re trying to do, Amara, and it’s not going to work.”
The two continued circling. Nick made several more attempts to hit her, and each time she avoided him with ease. “Bold words for someone who has yet to land a single punch.”
Nick ran closer and tried again, only this time Amara retaliated. She feinted to one side, dodged his attack, then shoved him with considerably more force than was necessary. He gasped and stumbled backwards, glaring at Amara before taking a deep breath to calm himself down.
Alright, Nick. No more Mrs. Nice Demon.
Their next engagement went much the same way. Amara deftly avoided a series of attacks before spinning to his side. Her tail smacked the back of his head, then she planted a heel on the small of his back and kicked him away from her. She laughed as arrogantly as she could, then said, “For someone who works out so much, you’re kinda shit at this. Are you sure you’re the person who taught me self-defense all those months ago?”
His nostrils flared as he turned to face her. “I know you think you’re helping, Amara, but this isn’t cool.”
“Well tough shit, Nick!” Amara shouted. “It doesn’t matter what you think, this is your life now! What happens the next time you find yourself trapped with a monster? We have no idea what the next problem is going to be, but we know for a fact it’s coming. What happens if Tessa’s hurt and you’re the only one there to protect her? Are you going to let her die because you’re too scared of wolfing out?”
Nick charged Amara, finally letting a bit of frustration show. “We’ve seen a lot of shit, Amara, and I’ve only been in danger once!” Once again, she easily avoided him and shoved him aside.