Chapter 16: Eudora

Demie didn’t come back for a full week. Kate was quite glad for the attention, though I was getting a bit tired of ass fucking. Gets your dick covered in shit, y’know? Had to shower every time.

Demie stood in the apartment entryway as the door closed behind her, arms crossed. She looked at me, still seeming pissed.

Knock knock!

Annoyed at the interruption, she turned and opened the door. She still looked human so she wouldn’t freak out...

... the demon on the other side of the door! Another succubus by the look of her, red-haired, with the ubiquitous red skin, horns and tail. She wore a dark evening dress that framed her curvy body, old-style pumps on her feet, and a necklace of dark stones. She also seemed to radiate authority.

“Mother?” That was Demie.

“MOTHER?” That was me.

“Daughter...” the other succubus responded, pushing past her. She didn’t look much older than Demie. She looked around my apartment, barely glancing at me, and sniffed, that brief sound oozing disappointment.

Demie had closed the door after making sure that no one else was in the hall. “What the Hell are you doing here?!”

The woman turned back and took hold of Demie’s shoulders. “Why, daughter, I’ve come to see how well you’ve done for yourself here on Earth. I expected better. And you are?” She had turned to regard me, and I longed for those moments a few seconds ago when she had barely noticed me. Her gaze was intense!

“I’m ... Tom,” I said with difficulty.

“My master,” Demie said as she disengaged and rushed over to me. “Master, may I please speak with you in the other room?”

Master? I let Demie pull me into the bedroom.

For the first time, she seemed ... embarrassed?

She looked at me pleadingly. “You have to pretend I’m your slave, okay? If you don’t, then she’ll figure out the summoning spell went wrong and I’ll be sent back to Hell.” She then caught my thoughtful look. “Along with your soul, dummy!”

I stopped being thoughtful and nodded.

We stepped back into the living room. Demie’s mother had sat down on the couch, but even there, her presence made it seem like she was still standing. “Welcome to Earth!” I said grandly. “Would you like a drink?” At the older demon’s nod, I commanded, “Demie, fix your mother a vodka soda.”

Demie gave me a squint, unseen by her mother, and then headed to the kitchen. I sat at the other end of the couch and smiled my best smile.

“What may I call you, my lady?”

She watched me appraisingly. I couldn’t tell if that was good or not. “Eudora.”

I frowned, momentarily dropping my airs in confusion. “Like the old email program?”

“The what? Oh, this world has changed so much since I was last here. What is email?”

I was about to explain when Demie came back with Eudora’s drink. The older demon took a sip and nodded in appreciation.

Demie stood in front of the couch. “How are you even here, mother?”

Eudora took a longer gulp and then put the glass down on the coffee table. “Well, since you were already on Earth, I accepted the next summoning when it came.”

Demie rounded on me. “You used the book again?!”

I looked at her. “I thought you had the book.”

Both of us turned back to Eudora. “Who the fuck has the book?” we yelled.

54 days ago...

Detective Aaron Bilson held his nose. Even though hours had gone by since the fire had gone out, the smell of burning flesh was still strong around the remains of the melted tent which had become a makeshift shroud for the homeless immolation victim.

“Aw fuck...” Bilson gagged. He went around the corner of the alley to hurl. As his stomach calmed, he noticed something stuck between two piles of wooden pallets. He reached down and plucked out ... an old hardcover book?

He opened the tome. Lots of pages had been torn out, but the pages that remained...

His eyes widened. This ... spell? ... was why the perp had burned someone alive! He read it more closely. Power could be yours ... Power? He liked the sound of that.

37 days ago...

Bilson slammed the door as he arrived home. “Fuck!” he yelled. That goddamned lesbo! he thought. Calling me a walking donut. And what the fuck happened to that woman who thought she was a cat? A real cat had come out of the holding cell and he had looked like an idiot!

If only there was a way to get even with Dykeanna Shepherd ... There was ... he knew there was, but the price...

He went to the hidden cubby behind his furnace where he kept the more interesting things he never checked in to evidence, and pulled out the book. He read the pages again. Draw the circle, say the words, and sacrifice a life to the fire...

He put it away. No, he swore to protect and serve. Still, he wished someone would serve him sometimes.

4 days ago...

“Hey, Dykeanna...” Bilson sing-songed as he sauntered into Detective Dianna Shepherd’s office.

Shepherd bolted from her desk. “Uh uh ... y’know what, Bilson? Not today! Get your fat, bloated carcass out of my office!” Then she grabbed him by his collar, an unnoticed static electrical spark arcing between them, and then she shoved him out into the hallway, hard.

“What the fuck... ?” he said as her door slammed in his face.

Bilson tried to keep his mind on his work but he lost energy and interest fast. In the end, he went home early. When he woke up from his nap he pulled the book out of its hiding place again. Yeah, it’s time, he thought.

Last night...

Seamus Tarley stumbled to his door. Who the fuck was banging on it at ... he looked at the clock... 2 AM? He opened it to find...

“Bilson?”

“Hey, Seamus, you’re comin’ with me.” Bilson raised one of his arms above his head, and before Seamus could do anything, the butt of the detective’s gun came down on Seamus’ head, hard.

He woke up strapped to a chair. It was dark. “Ow, fuck!” he spat, his head pounding. Then he smelled it: gasoline. He was dripping with it. “Bilson?”

Detective Aaron Bilson stepped around from behind Seamus, smoking a cigarette.

“You tryin’ to scare me, Bilson? We had a deal!”

Bilson knelt in front of Seamus and the restrained man noticed the chalk circle and strange writing around the chair. “What the fuck... ?”

Bilson took a drag from his cig. “Yeah, Seamus, we had a deal. I keep wraps on the evidence that you raped that girl so it’s only her word against yours, and you keep paying me every month. It was a good deal...”

He stood up. “ ... but I got a better one.” He tossed the red-tipped cigarette and Seamus only had a moment to open his mouth before his entire existence became red hot searing pain. He screamed until he was out of breath, and when he breathed in, the flames rushed down his throat, cutting off his air and, within a few seconds, his life.

Once the rapist stopped moving, a busty feminine form detached itself from the shadows. “How may I serve you, master?” the classically dressed red headed demon asked as she fell to one knee.

The demoness had marveled at all the gadgets inside Bilson’s car, and how tall the buildings were as they made their way across the city. With her strange behavior and 1920’s style clothing and makeup, Bilson figured that she probably hadn’t been to Earth in 100 years.