I walked into the first crowded bar I could find and ordered a whiskey sour, remembering my first taste of whiskey with fondness. I went in search of sustenance, making my way through the crowd and toward the dance floor. The music was unreasonably loud in the cramped space, but my desire to satiate my never-ending need for sex magic took me to the nearest group of human girls gawking at what was likely the hottest man in the bar by the way they were watching him. Honestly, I couldn’t even tell you at this point. I was never interested in men, though I’d had my fair share of them over the years. The men in Hell believed they could change me, and that they were special in some way. Individual. Unique. They were not. They had so much in common with the next person that they often blended in my head.
The man these women were watching appeared to be breakdancing, and the humans crowded around him to watch. I swayed my hips to the music, trying to blend into the crowd as I sipped a little bit of their lust into my veins, telling myself that it had to be enough as their interest in him began to wane, and they started glancing around for another potential conquest. AsI turned around to move on to the next small crowd toward the back of the bar, I bumped into a small woman whose power about knocked me on my ass.
“Oh, excuse—” I cut off.
She smiled a little sheepishly at me, her eyes glazed over. “Sorry,” she mouthed at me, and I just stood there, spellbound as she moved past me.
Though I had never seen her in person, Adaela’s photos were all over the internet. As head of the Unseelie faction of thePax,she made a lot of press throughout the realms, much like the remainder of the leaders in thePax. She was simply stunning. I figured she had some glamour on in the videos I’d seen of her, but I wassowrong.
Adaela was shorter than I thought she’d be. With so much energy radiating off her body, I would have thought that such a tiny package wouldn’t be able to hold such immense power. She was wearing jeans that molded to her frame, with a cardigan and a green shirt that said, “Kiss me, I’m Irish.” I didn’t understand what the shirt’s meaning was, but she seemed comfortable, if not inebriated beyond belief. Her bright reddish-orange hair was pulled back out of her face in a high ponytail, thick enough that it seemed the band she was using was holding on for its life.
I laughed to myself. What a way to meet the person I would spend the rest of my life with—if she’d have me. I was obsessed, and that wasn’t a good thing for a succubus. I had never become this enthralled with another being, and I tried to figure out why that was. I didn’t even understand where that thought had come from. Why was my first thought at seeing her in the flesh that I would be spending the rest of my life with her?
I watched her stumble her way to the restrooms, mesmerized and amused, until someone else bumped into me. That struck me into action. I started to follow her to the restrooms,but was quickly shuffled away by Az’s son, Sinbad, out to the patio.
“Vada, what are you doing here?” Sinbad asked, finding a quieter spot where we could talk.
“I just moved into the neighborhood. I’m just getting a sense of my surroundings. What brings you to Earth?” I replied. The large patio resembled an upscale garden with greenery everywhere, hiding curtained-off areas for groups of people to sit. I’d guess it was a way to let folks cool down when inside got to be too much.
“I’ve been here for about forty years now. It’s a human holiday today called St. Patrick’s Day. You know me, I can’t miss a good party,” Sinbad said. “Are you settling in okay? I’m surprised my father let you leave his clutches.” He sat down near one of the curtained-off areas, taking a sip of a cloudy beer.
I lifted my lips in something resembling a grin. “He had to let me go sometime. It was time.”
For the first time I could remember, I was finally living for just myself. I knew in the back of my mind that Fate was playing a role, but I’d denied Fate at great cost to myself before. I could stop living in punishment for the sins of men, much like the one in front of me.
“I know the gossip mill is talking about you already. They’re excited for a succubus to be part of thePax,” Sinbad said.
“I imagine that my arrival on Earth has caused quite the stir. I’m surprised I haven’t been struck down yet. There’s bound to be a little chaos with me here.” My attention was pulled toward the alcoves with curtains drawn across them. “I didn’t think humans were so bold as to have private spaces on a patio for fucking.” I raised my eyebrows a couple times at Sin in a playful gesture.
Sinbad laughed, sitting back in the chair again. “While you’ll find those places here, this isn’t one of them. It’srelatively quiet out here compared to inside. Do you hear or smell sex in the air?”
I listened for a moment. “No, you’re right. I don’t. I need to remember that not everywhere is Az’s circle in Hell.” I scratched my neck in frustration. “I’m just fucking hungry. Don’t mind me.”
Sinbad leaned forward, eyebrows bunched. “Things are different here on Earth. Your feeding habits can be satiated, but unlike my father’s level of Hell, everything here on Earth must first be consented to. I saw you in the bar feeding off those humans’ lust. Be careful. There are some council members here tonight. If they weren’t wasted, they likely would have noticed what you were doing. That could have significant repercussions for all of us.”
Just then, a chorus of shouts and laughter rang out as the doors to the pub opened and beings spilled out. The noise distracted me from the conversation, and I homed in on Adaela amongst the group. She was hugging a tall man whose long, dark hair was tied back at the nape of his neck, and jealousy flared through me as I watched her eyes light up, her laughter ringing out across the patio. She had a husky laugh that matched the lower timbre of her voice.
As they neared us, I realized it was one of her best friends, Loki. I relaxed a little. Loki’s power was more subdued than Adaela’s, but it was still like a punch to the gut. He turned away, and I decided it was time for me to take my leave.
Finishing up my drink, I stood up, adjusting my dress so I didn’t flash the crowd. “Well, thank you for the advice. I will keep that in mind going forward. It seems I have a lot to learn about this new version of Earth. I am going to head home and try to get some sleep before I really dig into things tomorrow.”
The nightlife here was vastly different to the Demon Realm’s, which should’ve been expected. It still threw me for aloop. Even with attempting to mentally prepare myself for a whole different world, nothing could have prepared me for this. It was going to take some getting used to.
As I was walking back toward my place a few blocks away, I heard something in the alley on the side of my building. Always curious, I went to check it out, summoningVindictain case I needed her. Next to the side of a building, I found Adaela retching and two men I didn’t recognize lying dead beneath her feet.Not good. I surveyed the area, trying to find her friends, but they were nowhere in sight.
“You look like you’re struggling. Do you need some help?” I asked.
Beautiful tri-green eyes wet and makeup streaked down her striking face raised toward me, face radiating misery. “I’m fine, you can leave me alone here. This isn't my first rodeo.”
“Well, sweet girl, you’re in the middle of an alley only gods know how far away from your people with two dead men laying at your feet. Were they bothering you? Let me at least help you find your friends. Do you have a phone you can call them on?”
“I’m okay. I—” she bent over to retch again.
I grabbed her hair where it had fallen over her shoulders, the elastic tying her hair back earlier in the night nowhere to be found, and held it back for her. I couldn’t help but rub her back as she dry heaved again, sparks dancing down my fingertips. I wondered if she noticed them, too.
“You’re not okay. Where’s your phone? I will make the calls for you and stay until someone is able to help you out,” I said.
“Damn whiskey,” Adaela muttered as she fumbled for her phone in her back pocket. She handed it over to me. She was too inebriated to tell me what happened to the men, so I made note of the security cameras in the alley and told myself to figure out what happened as soon as I was able to get her to safety—not that she needed it, from the state of things.
