Not What She Seems (6 page)

“So,” Lilith began, “
Elora and I were just discussing how things work around here, and what I expect of my girls.” Sylvia sat quietly, not trusting herself to speak yet. She wanted to see where she was going with this. “Elora understands how the territories work-”

“Good, maybe she’ll stay out of mine now,” Sylvia interjected sm
ugly. So much for keeping quiet, she silently chastised herself.

“Let me finish,” Lilith warned. “There are rules to all of this that go way back, rules for the rules, if you will.
Elora has challenged the assigned territories and we must deal with it accordingly.”

Sylvia saw out of the corner of her eye it was
Elora’s turn to look smug. She resisted the urge to lean over and punch the smug smile right off her face. It wouldn’t do to lose control in front of Lilith. She needed to stay calm and poised if she wanted to gain her favor in the matter.

“It is so very rare that a succubus
challenges another for their territory, but now that it’s taken place it cannot be ignored. I’ve spoken to Elora, before you arrived, and she wishes to proceed with the Challenge. Which is her right, of course.” She emphasized the last few words for Sylvia’s sake.

This news was too much for her
. Calm and poise were the last things on her mind now. “You mean she could withdraw the Challenge, but she won’t? Why not?” she demanded, addressing Elora directly. Her eyes flashed dangerously, and she wished they were out on the street instead of in Lilith’s office so she could handle her as she saw fit.

Elora
smiled sweetly at her, mocking her as if she knew the only thing keeping her safe from Sylvia’s rage at the moment was Lilith’s presence. “I like your territory better than my own,” she shrugged nonchalantly. Sylvia could swear she was enjoying pushing her buttons.

“Well, too bad.
It’s not yours for the taking. It’s mine!”

“It
was
yours, Sylvia, and you can keep it…
if
you win the Challenge.” Lilith cut their bickering short and both girls fell silent as they turned their attention back to her.

“What ‘
Challenge’ are you talking about, Mother?”

“When a succubus lays claim to the territory of another, both may hunt there
, until one or the other seduces an Innocent. Whoever brings down an Innocent first gets the territory in question.”

“But that’s not fair!”
Elora pouted. “Lilith, you
know
it’s next to impossible to find an Innocent these days!”

Sylvia bit her tongue to tamp down the enormous grin that wanted to spread across her face. To keep her territory she needed to corrupt
an Innocent? This was going to be too easy, provided she could seduce Mason before another succubus sank her claws into him. Based on Elora’s reaction to Lilith’s decree she was willing to bet the poor girl hadn’t seen a single Innocent in Boston yet.

“Hard to find, but not impossible,” Lilith reassured her. Her eyes narrowed as she glanced at Sylvia
, and for one moment, she struggled to maintain her poker face. Lilith was often unnerving but she was determined to keep her advantage in this Challenge a secret.

“This rule was put in
to place thousands of years ago when Innocents were much easier to come by, but you’re both resourceful girls. One of you will track down and sleep with one of them. Whoever does so first takes the territory in question.”

“But it’s
always
been mine! Why do we have to do this stupid Challenge? Why can’t you just make Elora stay in her own territory to hunt, like she’s supposed to?” Sylvia whined. It occurred to her that if she took this news too easily Lilith would know something was up.

“I just ex
plained it all to you, Sylvia. Really now, must you be difficult? This is simply how it’s done,” Lilith replied firmly. “Now both of you, go. I don’t want to hear about this from either of you again until someone’s defiled an Innocent. And don’t even bother trying to lie about it. I’ll know.” Sylvia was tickled pink to see that the last comment had been directed at Elora. “Off with you girls, you’ve wasted enough of my time today with this foolishness.” She flapped her hands at them as if shooing away a small animal.

Sylvia rose first and headed towards the door without waiting to see if
Elora was following her lead or not. Lilith’s desk phone rang once before she picked it up and as Sylvia was about to pass back into the waiting area she caught the agitation in her tone.

“This morning?
Where? Any idea who it was?”

Sylvia paused and turned to look back at Lilith.
Elora had stood up but was frozen in place in front of her chair, unable to move as she too had caught Lilith’s conversation.

Lilith hung the phone up abruptly. “There’s been two more,” she told Sylvia, ignoring
Elora for the moment. “One found in the Charles River this morning, one discovered stuffed in a dumpster in the North End a few hours later.” She paused, lost in thought. Sylvia had never seen her so uneasy before. “It’s definitely a Hunter. Same details as the first.” Silence filled the room as Lilith mulled it over, and the two girls waited to hear what she had to say next.

“My source at the police department is due some payment for this inside information.
Elora, you’ve got a date with him tonight, on the house. Don’t expect a tip, this one’s a freebie.” With that she waved them off again. “Go, go on now. I’ve got to check in on all the other girls and try to figure out who’s missing. Neither body had any identification so I’ve got to figure out who they were.”

Despite the terrible news that the
Hunter had claimed two more succubi, Sylvia couldn’t help but smirk as she rode the elevator down to the ground floor. Elora stood silently beside her, until she noticed Sylvia’s expression.

“What? What’s your problem?” she demanded.

Sylvia chuckled. “Oh, nothing, no problem at all. Enjoy your date with Lieutenant Brisby tonight. I’ll give you a hint- he’s no Innocent. Oh, and watch out for those chompers…he’s a biter.”

Elora
scowled at her as the elevator doors parted and Sylvia stepped out into the lobby. She exited the building without another glance back at Elora. The new succubus in town seemed hell bent on making her life miserable for the time being, but for now the joke was on her. All of the girls dreaded dates with Brisby. He had very poor energy, terrible personal hygiene, and he liked to play a bit too rough, even for the succubi. Elora had her work cut out for her in the evening ahead.

~~~

Out on the street she decided she needed a new outfit for her date with Mason the next day. She entered the nearest T station and hopped on a train to head over to H&M to find what she was looking for. As the crowded subway jolted along Sylvia had the uncanny feeling she was being watched. She was used to people staring at her, men did it all the time, but this felt different. It made her uncomfortable somehow. Looking around she saw plenty of men openly staring at her but she couldn’t pinpoint the creep making her feel so agitated.

She got off the train a stop early, eager to shake the disquiet she felt.
If her gut told her something was wrong, she’d listen to it. She never second-guessed her instincts and they had served her well in the past. Many other passengers exited at the same time and Sylvia was hyperaware of those surrounding her as she hurried up to the street level. All she could think about was the Hunter that was picking off Boston’s succubi one by one. Was he one in the throng of people rushing around her, going about their busy day? By the time she made it up to the street Sylvia’s heart was hammering and she was out of breath with fear.

As the crowd dispersed she steadied herself, sucking in the cool autumn air as she worked to calm down. She was being ridiculous. Maybe th
e Hunter had seen her on that train but she wasn’t going home with anyone at that moment, and no one had even approached her. Even if the Hunter knew she was a succubus, she was just one face in the sea of many. He had no way of tracking her down.

Much
calmer but still on edge, she began walking to her destination. A few different men passed her by, throwing off signals they had interest in her, and some even had decent energies, but Sylvia ignored them. Maybe she could ask Lilith to give her more dates, but only with well-established clients. She hated the thought of all the work she’d have to put in to stay satiated with only lower grade feeds, but if it kept her safe it would be worth it. Her brush with whoever it was on the subway that had made her so frightened brought the reality of the Hunter among them closer to home for her. None of them would be safe until he had been caught. She made a mental note to tell Lilith what she had experienced on her ride the next time they spoke.

Inside H&M Sylvia felt an immense sense of relief. The store was only marginally busy and she immediately felt safer away from all the eyes on the street. She began flipping through the racks, searching for just the right outfit for her date. Her tension melted away as she consid
ered her options. Arms full of clothing, she headed to the dressing room to see how things looked on her.

It took about five different outfits before she settled on the right one. It was
a long, sky-blue wrap cardigan that tied at the hip, accentuating her slender hips and tiny waist. The top was conservatively cut, not too high, not too low, and for a moment Sylvia considered finding something that showed off more cleavage until she remembered it was an Innocent she was trying to seduce. The cardigan molded nicely to her ample breasts and she decided it was showy enough. Mason would have to be blind to miss her rack, if he hadn’t already noted her full breasts during the K-cup fiasco.

The black skinny jeans she wore underneath the cardigan showed off her slender, shapely legs. Even with the long sweater
on she looked leggy and lean. She frowned as she examined the back of the outfit. The cardigan covered her ass and she felt remorseful about hiding one of her fantastic features. No matter, she could show off her ass the next time they met. She would do whatever it took on this date to make sure there was a next time. Not only did she yearn to feed from an Innocent but now her territory depended on it too. She had to make this work in her favor. She would be whoever Mr. Mason Kent needed her to be in order to sleep with him. This was a game Sylvia could not afford to lose.

As she left the dressing room and began hanging up her discarded choi
ces to be returned to the racks she did a double-take at a young man shopping nearby. Sylvia cringed as she quietly made her way to the register to make her purchases. She knew that young man, though she couldn’t recall his name. It was the guy she had picked up in a bar in Chinatown recently, the first mid-grade on the night of her double feed. She could still hear the desperation in his voice as he pleaded to see her again while she made her hasty exit. She had no interest in repeating a night with him or causing a scene in the store so she did her best to get out of there undetected.

Bags in hand, former feed successfully evaded
, Sylvia felt better out on the street until she remembered the weird feeling she had gotten on the subway. Her nerves got the better of her and she hailed a cab to go home. As she watched the city streets pass by she hoped the Hunter would be caught quickly. She’d never been fearful in this city she loved, and she didn’t care for it. Once the Hunter had been caught, once she slept with Mason and reclaimed her territory, life would go back to being business as usual.

Chapter 7

Sylvia was so excited about her date with Mason she could hardly sleep that night.
Succubi usually didn’t date, in the traditional sense, as they preferred one night stands to actual relationships, but she would put up with some old fashioned courting if it got her what she wanted in the end. She didn’t just want to defile Mason now, she needed to defile him in order to secure her place in the city. There was a lot riding on this initial date. She had to grab his interest and keep it long enough to get him into bed. That would be easy with any other man, but Innocents like Mason didn’t work like all the others. It would take more than a flirty smile and a flash of her big breasts or shapely ass. She looked forward to the personal challenge Mason presented.

Secretly Sylvia wanted to win
Lilith’s Challenge to show up Elora more than she looked forward to re-establishing the rights to her own territory. Elora was a pest that required extermination, and winning the Challenge was the perfect way to show her she’d picked the wrong fellow succubus to toy with. She would humiliate her in front of Lilith and make her regret the day she had ever come to Boston when she finally slept with Mason. There was no question in her mind that she would succeed at bedding the Innocent; she just had to play her cards right and be patient.

When morning finally arrived Sylvia could stand it no longer. She downed a hot cup of coffee and threw on an old sweatshirt and
her favorite pair of jeans before hastily putting her hair up in a ponytail and brushing some powder on her skin to make it matte. She hurried out the door and down the street towards Chinatown to her favorite nail salon.

Inside
the salon her usual nail technician greeted her and got right to work while Sylvia watched the TV overhead as the local news team rehashed the newest murders. Her heart sank when they identified one of the victims as Tiana Meyers, a fellow succubus she had rather liked. The other victim was unknown to her but even just seeing her picture flash across the screen confirmed for her that she had been one of her brethren as well. The reporters did not reveal the specifics of the murders but called them ‘gruesome’ and ‘unusual’. Sylvia snorted to herself. ‘Gruesome’ and ‘unusual’? Well, that was one to describe being murdered, then having every available opening in your body stuffed with rose petals seeped in holy water, and having an apple crammed into your dead mouth, like some kind of twisted pig roast. The newscasters went on to report that the Boston Police Commissioner was calling these murders the work of a serial killer.