Succubus by Muted Dragon

John removed his wedding ring as soon as he saw Xin walk into the dining room. “Damn,” he swore under his breath as he took in her full figure. At five-seven (five-ten in heels) with thick black hair straight down to the small of her back, Xin was a specimen. Her oriental features added a hint of exotic pleasure, while her blood red nails portrayed her as nothing short of a wildcat in bed. She walked with a sway in her hips, bringing men’s eyes toward her like iron fillings to a magnet. She inclined her head to the hostess as she passed, as if they were old friends. Her hands moved up to her hips, fitting easily around the slim waist. Pursing red her lips slightly, she scanned the room.

She could practically hear John’s thoughts, hoping that she wasn’t looking for her boyfriend, or worse yet, her husband. His heart jumped when her face drops slightly, not enough to make her look any less beautiful. In fact, it gave her an innocent touch. Xin could hear his heart restart with a fierce pounding as she walked toward his end of the bar.

“Is this seat taken?” She asked with a practiced tilt of her head. Her hair swirled around her shoulders.

“No, no.” John managed to cough out as he stared at her form. Xin pulled the seat out, leaning over enough so her chest would be at his eyelevel. As she sat, she placed her elbow on the counter, then cradled her chin on her hand.

“Uh…come here often?” John asked after getting the jealous glares of the other men.

Xin refrained from rolling her eyes at the line. “No, first time. Meeting an old college friend.” She paused, listening to John shift in excitement, or shift into a more comfortable position with his quickly tightening pants. “I didn’t mean to disturb your meal.” She said slowly, letting him see her dark eyes focus on the wine glass in front of him.

“Oh, no. Nearly finished.” He licked his lips. His hand fidgeted with the glass’s stem. “May I buy you a drink?”

Xin shook her head, weaving her web quickly. “No thanks. I only wanted some company while I waited.” She lifted her chin off her hand and brought the empty hand down to his. “It’s hard to be alone, isn’t it?” She gave him a feather light touch along his ring finger, right where his ring was a moment ago.

“Madam,” said someone from above her line of sight. Xin didn’t look up, noticing only the attire of a waiter. “There is a phone call for you.”

“You must be mistaken,” Xin said, trying to hide her irritation that the man has just broken her spell. In a few more moments, she could have been out of here and—

“It’s your mother.”

Xin involuntarily flinched at the word. She turned her eyes up immediately. Recognition washed over her. The waiter’s deep-set eyes showed no sign of aggression, yet Xin knew he wouldn’t be pleased if she didn’t follow.

“Where can I take the call?” She asked as she pulled her hands away from John’s.

“Follow me.” The waiter said with a small bow.

“Excuse me,” Xin said to John, hearing his heart sink. She stood and followed the waiter to the front door without her practiced sway. John watched in confusion as they walked out of the restaurant. What kind of place had a phone outside?

OOOO

“I was so close!” Xin mumbled with a huff as she followed the man down the street. He remained in character, pulling open the door of a black car. Xin sighed loudly and climbed in. The man entered after her. The door closed, and the car drove off.

“Hi, Randolf.” Xin said loudly enough for the driver to hear.

The driver lifted his hand from the wheel to tap his cap. “Good to see you, Xin. How have the times kept you?”

“In men’s dreams,” she answered with a glare at the man beside her. He ignored her as he mumble something under his breath.

In a moment, the car disappeared from the modern world, to reappear in the Kingdom of Tales. Instead of a car, they rode in a carriage pulled by Randolf who had returned to his natural form as a horse. He could shift, of course, but he preferred his horse body. Xin and Rythen—the ‘waiter’—remained the same, save for the change in wardrobe. She donned off-white peasant garbs with a thick grey cloak. Rythen had the brown robes of a sage, along with his heavy book on his lap.

Xin sneezed.

“You aren’t sick, are you?” Rythen asked, obviously concerned.

“No, I sneeze whenever we move between worlds.” She pinched her nose out of habit. “Why did I have to come back?”

“I told you,” Rythen said as he jostled when the carriage wheels connected with rocks. “Your mother called.”

Xin jumped away from Rythen, pressing herself against the door. “No, I will not—No!” She grabbed the handles but they didn’t budge. “Randolf, drop me off here.”

“Can’t, this is important.” The horse neighed.

Xin pounded on the doors the entire ride. She didn’t start scratching the walls; she knew that the fabric would regenerate and the wood would heal. When they finally arrived, Xin suddenly grabbed onto the carriage upholstery. “I am not going out there. I know what you are trying to do, and I won’t do it!”

Rythen sighed and waved his hands. In the next instant, he was pushing her onto the pathway. At the end of the pathway was a seemingly humble cottage. The important word was ‘seemingly’. There was a carefully tended garden with both flowers for show, and herbs for cooking and concoctions.

Xin was no match for Rythen as he pushed her through the door.

“She’s upstairs,” He said as he pointed her up the stairs. It wasn’t that she needed him directing her; she was raised in this house. Xin shuddered, then realized his words.

“What is she doing upstairs?” Xin asked in a hushed whisper. Rythen gave her his Look, translating into ‘Go.’ She sighed, dropped her chin to her chest and slinked upstairs.

Of course, from the outside, one would think this two-room cottage is only one story. In fact, it was two stories, and has enough rooms for a Faery Godmother to raise a brood of children. Of course, none of them were her own. There’s an unwritten law about Godmothers having children, for Godmothers can’t be mothers themselves. In any case, the brood usually included children abandoned in the forest, or the ones too sick to be helped by anyone else.

By the time Xin reached the top of the steps, the house realized where she should go, and the Godmother’s room was before her. Xin stood paralyzed for a moment at the door. Her foster mother, with more white than blonde hairs, with more wrinkles on her face than the oldest crone, laid motionless on her bed. The change in appearance meant nothing to Xin. She knew that everything must die, if it was smart enough not to be immortal. What will die must age.

It was the immobility that frightened her. Her foster mother was always running about, potions in her hand for commoners, or racing to complete a Tale. If she was sitting, she was eating, reading, writing, sleeping or a combination of the above.

“Mother,” Xin said softly as she shuffled to the aged Godmother’s side. She collapsed to her knees.

“Ah, good.” Her mother said in a trembling voice. “I was afraid the Fates would not be patient enough to wait for you.”

“The Fates listen to you.” Xin said, biting into her lips. She harbored no anger towards her mother. Hell, she saved her from death. No one would adopt a succubus into his or her home, even an infant one. Still, the Godmother had taken the child in her arms, named her Xin, and brought her home. The cottage had added another room for the child, changing the furnishings as she grew. Then, while watching each of the other children leave for what Fate had set out for them, Xin realized if she was the last female to remain, the Fates would likely make her the Faery Godmother’s apprentice. While the Fates would not mind a former demon for a Godmother, she knew that those she would have to deal with as Faery Godmother would mind. So she ran into the modern world to hide, using her succubus powers to destroy already rocky marriages so that the individuals would be able to move on.

The Godmother smiled as she lifted a wrinkled hand to Xin’s lips. At her touch, the lipstick, makeup and nail polish vanished.

“Good, now you look like the future Godmother.” She wheezed.

Xin jumped away from the bed, her eyes brimming with tears. “I was supposed to be a succubus, a demon creature. How could the Fates accept me as a Faery, much less a Godmother?”

The Godmother shook her head, still smiling. “Do you think that your only purpose is to increase the divorce rates in the modern world?”

Xin sighed, realizing that the Godmother of the Kingdoms of Tales could easily find her foster daughter, even if she left the realm. “I do not belong in your place. Perhaps as Seductress in the Kingdoms of Dreams, I could manage.”

“Ha!” Her foster mother coughed out with the voice of a much younger woman. “You know it’s all a game to you. You cannot play away the rest of your life!” She stopped when a cough rattled her entire feeble body. Xin stood by helplessly, watching fearfully.

When she quieted, the Godmother started again. “Of course, you must past the Fates’ test to take my place.”

Xin opened her mouth to object, but a heavy footstep behind her sent her spinning. She turned just in time to see Rythen wave his hand as he opened his book. Xin squeezed her eyes shut to avoid the blinding light. When she reopened them, she finds herself standing beside him on a well-worn path in the woods.

“Your duty is to test these men.” He read solemnly from his book.

“I refuse to take this test.” Xin said into the openness. Rythen looked up, searching the sky for signs that the Fates were listening. After several moments, he continued,

“There will be three men, seeking to find the dragon’s hoard.” He cast her a side-glance to check that she is listening. Xin crossed her arms impatiently. He smirked, but proceeded through the directions, “Test these men with whatever you can. All may fail, success is limited to one.” He closed the book with a sign and motioned his hands quickly. He was invisible to all but her. Grumbling curses under her breath, she waved her hand.

The first man stumbled onto the path, dressed plainly in burgundy, no more than sixteen years old. Xin could make out the beginnings of a beard.

“Shouldn’t he be off writing love poems to the shepherd’s daughter?” Xin asked under her breath as she watched him walk with wide eyes. A naked sword hung from his belt.

“His father thought it would only be fair if commoners could compete with princes for such treasures.” Rythen explained. “Couldn’t even afford a scabbard,”

Xin stepped onto the path, startling the young man. When he caught his breath, he edged toward her.

“The dragon’s hoard is that way.” Xin said as she pointed further along the path. “Take a right at all the crossroads. Do not talk to anyone on your way, no matter how beautiful or pathetic they look. If they shout directions at you, disregard them. Mine are true. When you get to the dragon, do not attack him with that pathetic stick. Very politely, ask for one piece of his hoard, something small, maybe an emerald.”

The young man didn’t say a word for several moments. “How can I trust you?” His voice cracked under her stare.

“You ever heard of anyone getting killed for being polite?” She asked with a scowl. “Start moving, it’ll get dark before you know it.”

He bowed and thanked her as he ran out of sight.

“How was that a test?” Rythen shouted angrily. Xin barely glanced over her shoulder.

“Men have a hard time following directions. Learnt that in the modern world. Send the next one.”

Rythen hissed through his teeth, “A harder challenge for the next one.”

Xin smirked.

The next man was slight, but a hood covered his face in shadows.

“Halt!” Xin shouted. The figure’s head tilted up, but Xin still could not see his face. “Imposter!” Xin spun around to Rythen and growled, “Don’t they test these Questers?”

Rythen was seething by this point and threw down his invisibility spell. “How is this accusation a challenge?”

Xin waved her hand and the Quester stood in front of her, slightly shorter than her. Xin raised her foot and sent it crashing down onto the Quester’s shin.

“Owie!” shouted the Quester just as Xin pulled off the hood.

“Can’t the Fates tell when they’re dealing with a woman?” Xin waved her hand and the woman’s shin suddenly stopped throbbing. As she straightened, Xin saw that the face was distinctly feminine, even with the hair ending at her earlobes.

“This is ridiculous!” Rythen grabbed the girl by the arm. “What is the meaning of this?”

Xin rolled her eyes. “You wanted the jewelry, didn’t you?”

“It isn’t fair that only boys can go off to get jewels!” The girl whined, her voice higher than most males. Xin wondered how open this competition was. Rythen shook his head and waved his hand. The girl disappeared.

“What did you do to her?” Xin asked with genuine curiosity.

“Paired her up with the first boy,” Rythen grumbled. Xin stifled a laugh as he recast the invisibility spell.

Finally, the third man appeared on the path, fully dressed in a knight’s armor atop a galloping stallion. Xin held up her hands to the charging man. He showed no signs of slowing. Shrugging, she dropped her hands at her side. Her image shimmered, then shattered as her demon form erupted. Black leathery wings with red veins across the webbing erupted from her back as her figure grew tenfold. She now stood as tall as the trees with claws for feet and hands, and black where the white in her eyes should be. Her chest resembled a knight’s chest plate, though infinitely stronger.

The horse fainted at the sight of her while the rider fell with the animal. He passed out with a concussion.

Xin restored herself to a more comfortable form and turned Rythen’s.

“How was that a test?”

“Oh, it wasn’t.” Xin said smugly. “I just didn’t want him killing the dragon just for the hoard. You know they take those things only as ravens take shiny things.”

“The Fates aren’t going to like this.”

“I know.”

Rythen sighed and shook his head. With a wave of his hand, they returned to the dying Godmother’s side.

“I failed the test!” Xin said with the more enthusiasm than anyone else who has said that phrase.

“No,” her foster mother smiled and said with her last breath, “I proclaim to the Fates that you are my successor.” She smiled at the sound of the words and closed her eyes for the last time.

Xin didn’t have the time to protest as the powers of Godmother transferred into her. Her bones vibrated from the sudden impact of the magic and powers. When it was complete, she laid motionless on the floor in fetal position. Her mother was gone, though her scent lingered in the room.

Rythen kneeled at her side. He touched her shoulder softly.

“This isn’t how it should be.” Xin said finally. “No Faery Godmother was ever darker than dirty blonde. None of them was so far from Faery. There were mortals, yes. But they are neutral. Nothing even close to a demon creature,”

“Times changes things,” Rythen said.

“What about the other girls? There were Pixies, mortals, Witches, Sorceresses, and even a Huntress!”

“But she wanted you.” Rythen paused to allow Xin to absorb the information and hopefully be so overcome with gratitude and honor that she would jump to her feet and accept her duty. No such luck. She didn’t respond.

“Well then,” Rythen started again after his faith in Xin collapsed. “Let’s start your lessons.”

OOOO