The Thaumaturge [Chapter 19: Revelations]

Author's Note: A longer chapter with some exposition to set up the conflicts ahead. No chapter poll this week, as there's not a specific choice we're ending with, and I'm already well underway on the next chapter (it might go up as early as next week; I haven't decided on sequencing for the month yet.)

But I'll have another poll up later this week on a broader narrative question I've been considering where I'd welcome your input.

Thanks for reading!

---

Ever been walked out of a place while surreptitiously being held at knifepoint?

Yeah, me either.

Michelle, however, seemed surprisingly adept at the task at hand.

She pulled one of my light jackets out of the closet, draped it over her shoulders; for all appearances as if she'd been cold, and asked me if she could wear it.

Then she jammed herself -- and, more carefully, the point of her blade -- up against me, strategically arranging the jacket to make it less obvious that she was an inch away from skewering one of my kidneys.

"Be casual on our way out," she instructed. "That way nobody has to get hurt."

I nodded, trying to keep my nerve, to stay calm. "I will. Like I said, I don't want them involved in this, okay?"

The point of her knife in my lower back had my heart racing. But I had options, I reminded myself.

I'd picked up my phone while she'd been grabbing one of my jackets. I was keeping my hands lightly resting against my jeans. If she decided to try anything, I'd decided that my first choice was going to be clasping together my hands to stagger her with a mental attack. I liked that better than my odds of subtly reaching into my pocket and triggering the emergency dial on my phone; it would be faster, maybe buy me a little time even if it didn't incapacitate her fully. I could feel my internal locus of power slowly refilling; it was still low, but I hoped it would be enough to get me a precious second or two.

Together, we walked out the door of my bedroom.

The folks at the party glanced our way. Michelle gave them a cheery wave. "I'm gonna steal Matt away for tonight, guys. See you all later."

"Really?" It was Chris. He looked at me, astonished at what he clearly viewed as yet another successful hookup under my belt.

I shrugged and nodded.

"Well, careful dude, they say your chances of surviving a serial killer are way lower after they take you to a secondary location," he quipped.

I let out a genuine, if slightly nervous, laugh that had nothing to do with the joke and everything to do with the irony.

But -- terrified of putting my roommates in danger -- I kept my wits about me. "Well, when you talk to the police, let it be known I was last seen walking her back to her place," I said, deadpan. "Also, tell them about how my smile always lit up a room."

Chris laughed at that, shook his head, and waved me off, turning his attention back to the conversation he'd been having.

Alyssa furrowed her brow. "But she drove here."

"Uh, last seen walking to her car, I meant."

"Okay," Alyssa said, dubiously. As we turned to go, she mouthed don't make this weird at me.

Too late for that, I suspected.

Sam was quiet, watching, as Michelle and I walked out the door.

---

I felt a sense of relief once we were away from my apartment. I could escape whenever I wanted if things turned volatile, could maybe even use the ring to overpower Michelle. I felt confident that Lauren's magic would help me stay safe; I just didn't want my roommates to become collateral damage in my magical life.

Once we'd gotten out my apartment and I wasn't making any attempt to run, Michelle relaxed a little as well, leading us towards a nondescript Honda. "This is my car. Get in the passenger seat." She opened the door for me, waited until I was inside and the door was closed before walking around to the driver's side, eyeing me the whole time.

I waited until she'd sat down and turned on the engine, pulled out of the parking space. "Look, I've played this straight with you, haven't made things get complicated. Time to talk. Where are we going?"

"Back to my place, like I said." Her voice was quiet as she pulled out onto the street.

"Why are you doing this, Michelle? Who are you?" I kept my eyes on her hands; she'd put the knife away, but I wasn't about let myself relax.

"I've got questions for you."

There was silence after she said that; I watched the road, carefully, as she drove us a few more blocks further off campus. I wanted to be sure I knew where we were going. I wondered how far away she lived.

"Yeah, well, I've got questions for you, too," I said, after a moment.

"Tough. Look, once we get to my place-"

She was interrupted; the car's speakers blared into life, ringing first, and then, robotically announcing, "Incoming call from Stephanie."

"Shit," she muttered. She glanced at me. "Stay quiet."

She hadn't needed to tell me to be quiet. There was now an extremely bad feeling growing in the pit of my stomach.

Stephanie.

Michelle had just walked me out of my apartment at knifepoint. And now she was getting a call from someone who had the same name as a witch who'd been possessed by a succubus against her will. A succubus that Viv, Lauren, and Diana had played a role letting loose.

It did not seem likely that it was a coincidence.

Uh oh.

Shooting a warning look my way, Michelle hit a button on the steering wheel, answering the call.

"Stephanie," Michelle said, casually. "This isn't really a good t-"

"I don't care if it's a good time." Stephanie's voice was calm, authoritative. "It's been four days since you last checked in. What's going on? Report."

"Uh, well, it's like you said, there are werelions in addition to the witches," Michelle said, haltingly. "Quite a few of them, really. A pretty big pack. And, uh, there are some other..."

"None of that was supposed to be your focus," Stephanie interrupted again, impatiently. "What about the witches? Any others?"

"N-no, it's like you said, just Vivian and Lauren. But, um..." Michelle eyed me.

"But what?" Stephanie's voice was irritated. "You're being weird, Michelle."

"They've got a thaumaturge."

"What?" There was a stunned silence from Stephanie for a moment. "How? Where'd he come from?"

"How am I supposed to know where he came from?" Now it was Michelle's turn to be annoyed. "You told me this would be a simple job, that the werelions were probably demanding tribute from them, that they'd be low on power. Now I find out they've got a thaumaturge? Who knows how long-"

"Michelle," Stephanie said. Her voice had turned soothing, husky. "Relax. Remember your training."

The effect on Michelle was decidedly...odd, to say the least.

She stiffened, briefly. It reminded me of a dog's ears perking up upon hearing a dog whistle -- like she was responding to some stimulus that she could hear, but I couldn't.

And then Michelle relaxed, and in a more even monotone, said, "Right. My training."

"Good. Now. This thaumaturge. You've got to get him, start starving them of power." Stephanie's voice was firm, a schoolteacher assigning homework.

Michelle glanced at me; I could see the misgiving in her eyes. "But...I'm supposed to take care of the witches, you said. You didn't say anything about a thaumaturge."

"He's been giving them power, Michelle. He's part of the problem," Stephanie said, all earnestness.

"But he's not a threat himself, he might not-"

Stephanie's voice cut in, commanding once more. "Michelle. Remember your training. He's helping the witches, their ally. Get him, interrogate him, find out what he can tell you about the witches. Then report back to me."

Michelle stiffened again, then stopped arguing. "R-right. My training. I will, Stephanie. Okay. Bye."

And then Michelle pulled into a parking spot in front of an apartment building, turned the car off. She paused, sitting quietly for a moment.

Finger on the button I'd need to mash for an emergency-dial escape-by-phone, I tried to decide what to do.

I was extremely tempted to bail on the situation at this point. I'd played along this far to try to learn more, and I had now learned more.

Michelle was working with Stephanie. Who wanted her to get rid of Lauren and Viv. Revenge was the motive, I assumed. If a botched ritual had led to me getting possessed by a succubus, I might want revenge, too.

Maybe it was time to go, make a plan with Viv and Lauren.

Except...there was something odd going on. The way Stephanie had said remember your training a few times, the sudden compliance. Some kind of magical hypnosis or compulsion, maybe?

And if Stephanie really was an enemy, hunting Viv and Lauren, we'd need to know everything we could. Maybe I could turn the tables on Michelle.

I decided to push my luck. I could still leave whenever I wanted, try to turn the tables on her with the ring. My options hadn't changed.

So, instead, I asked, "...Are we going inside?"

My voice seemed to startle Michelle out of whatever reverie she'd been in. She glanced my way. "Yeah. Just...stay in the car until I get around to the passenger side."

She flicked her knife open and got out out of the car.

---

My biggest worry was that we were walking into an apartment with someone else in it; Stephanie, maybe. If we were, I resolved to get out of there immediately -- I didn't want to risk the situation getting out of control. Hell, maybe it was already out of control, but I couldn't let it get to the point where I couldn't leave when I wanted to.

But after Michelle unlocked the door, I could see the lights were off and it was quiet inside; nobody else seemed home.

Michelle evidently lived alone.

She gestured for me to sit down in a chair at her dining room table. I did so, glancing around the room.

It was pretty spartan -- almost no personal touches. A bare kitchen counter except for a coffemaker, a half-empty pot of coffee still sitting on it. A bowl and glass or two in the sink. The dining room table was empty, a blank space. A couch; no TV. Two doors, probably to a bedroom and a bathroom...

...And then my eyes stopped on something hung on one of the walls.

The woman had an honest-to-god conspiracy theorist bulletin board setup.

The corkboard's central feature was a map of the university campus; a few locations were circled in red, like the library and gym. Around it were an array of photos. A series of 3-5 shots each of Viv and Lauren were at the top. These weren't professional photos or pulled off their social media -- they were photos of them around campus.

Beneath that were an array of photos of other people: Clint. Maya. Brooke. There was even a photo of Elana. A few other people I thought I recognized as werelions I'd seen with Brooke. A few people I didn't recognize -- maybe more werelions, or maybe something else?

And several photos of me. One as I was going to class; one as I was headed to the gym. One of me, sitting in a bar, talking to Viv -- the day after our first date. Photos of Alyssa and Chris.

"I'm, um, really hoping candid photography is a hobby of yours, because this is kind of creepy," I managed weakly, staring at it all. In addition to all the photos, there were a ton of photos, with little sticky notes hung off of each of them -- names, home addresses, notes about their schedule.

She'd been stalking Viv and Lauren. Me, too, I supposed. For at least a week, probably longer. There wasn't another way to put it.

"Something like that," she said, wryly. She pulled another chair out from the table, spun it around, and sat down, resting her arms on the back of the chair and staring at me. "Maybe a little antiquated, doing it this way instead of on a computer. But I've always like having the physical objects. Helps me think."

"So you're hunting Viv and Lauren," I said. I kept my voice neutral.

She nodded, slowly.

"Why?"

"Witches are dangerous. All magical creatures are."

"Creatures?" I furrowed my brow. "I wouldn't say they're-"

Michelle waved her hand. "This university and the area around it is fucking teeming with magic -- those witches, the werelions, signs of at least one vampire...did you know there's even a fucking gorgon on campus? At least, I'm pretty sure that's what she is. There's probably even more than that. I haven't been looking that long, I'm probably just scratching the surface. It's honestly unbelievable. But the witches are definitely the worst of the bunch."

I blinked. She'd certainly done some homework.

"...And yet you're taking orders from Stephanie," I pointed out. I put confusion into my voice, hoping she'd explain it.

Her mouth twisted. "Yeah."

I waited for her to continue.

She didn't.

"Anyway, Lauren and Viv aren't dangerous," I said, mildly.

She rolled her eyes. "If you don't think they're dangerous, then you don't actually know them that well. Did you know they summoned a succubus to possess Stephanie?"

"I-it's not like they did it on purpose," I protested.

Her eyes went wide. "So you did know."

I held up one placating hand -- my other one was staying on the phone. "Look, I'm sure what Stephanie has told you sounds bad-"

Michelle scowled. "Yeah, it sounds really fucking bad."

I winced. "I-I get it, but I don't think Stephanie's given you the full story. They had good reasons."

"Matt. There aren't any good reasons to summon a demon. Only bad ones." She rubbed her face, suddenly weary. "Shit. I can't believe you knew."

I didn't know what to say to that. Any explanation I could come up with was too convoluted. And...well. She did sort of have a point. "Look, they're not...evil, Michelle. They just made a mistake."

"This is why all magical creatures are a problem, Matt. Even if they mean well, they hurt people."

"So why are you working with Stephanie, then?"

"I..." She looked torn, conflicted, but eventually looked away, to one side. "...I can't talk about it."

It certainly felt like that confirmed my sense that something odd was going on here. "She...did something to you, didn't she?"

She leaning forward, eyes on me across the table, intent. "Look. I can tell you like them, Matt. But c'mon. Viv and Lauren have hurt people. They're going to keep hurting people -- whether it's on purpose or not. Witches always do."

"Let me help you with Stephanie," I countered. "Look, we can talk about Viv and Lauren once we've resolved that, okay? Let me call one of them, they'll..."

"Call one of them?" She was shaking her head slowly. The look on her face turned dangerous. "Fuck. I was hoping you were...I don't know. An uninformed pawn, maybe didn't know them well, didn't really understand what they were capable of. But it's just like Stephanie was saying. You're their ally. Their friend. You're part of the problem."

"Michelle, at least let me-"

"I liked you, Matt. I didn't want it to be this way." I could hear the regret in her voice, that she'd made a decision she didn't like. "But Stephanie's right. I should interrogate you. For real."

The knife was back in her hand.

I took stock of my well of power; it still felt low. Too low for my liking; I didn't want to risk using the using the ring and having it not work. Escape was the sure bet. I made sure I was gripping the phone, ready to dial myself an emergency escape.

"Get your hand out of your pocket, back where I can see it," she said, suddenly eyeing my hand, body tense.

I ignored her. "I didn't want it to be this way either," I said.

I felt bad for Michelle. I didn't understand what hold Stephanie had over her. Whatever it was, I doubted it was especially wholesome.

I hesitated, fingertip on the button on my phone to mash for an emergency dial. "If...if you ever need help with Stephanie, Michelle...come talk to me."

I probably shouldn't have said that, because she clearly took it as a farewell. Her eyes narrowed, realizing I had some trick up my sleeve.

She lunged across the table at me, knife stretching out, moving fast -- not supernaturally fast, just unexpected and sudden. Light glinted off the edge of the point as it sped towards my torso, her other hand outstretched as well, reaching for the arm that was currently holding the phone in my pants pocket.

I panicked, and as I repeatedly pushed the button on the phone to get the fuck out of there, I reflexively leaned back in the chair, away from her outstretched arms and the blade of the knife.

Then I could feel the spell start to take hold. It did something odd to my perception; time seemed to slow, dilating. My senses became incredibly difficult to parse.

I'd pushed back off the table too hard. The wooden chair I was in tipped backwards, further, further -- too far, and suddenly I was falling backwards.

I felt Michelle's hand wrapping around my forearm, trying too late to pull my hand off my phone. The point of her knife nicked me, right at the base of my neck above my t-shirt, just enough to draw blood-

And then reality lurched around me, there was a yanking jolt, and instead of falling backwards in a chair onto the vinyl flooring of Michelle's apartment, I was collapsing in a heap onto the Lauren's carpet. Time sped up, like a lagging video stream suddenly playing quickly to catch back up to where it should be.

The room roiled around me -- it felt a bad hangover, rollercoaster-induced nausea, and dizzying vertigo all at once. I groaned, fighting the urge to vomit from the disorientation, my brain doing its best to grapple with suddenly and impossibly being in a completely different place.

"Matt?" It was Lauren, voice panicked, rushing out of her bedroom. "A-are you...who's this?"

It registered that another person was on top of me, also groaning.

The spell had dragged Michelle along with me.

Ah, shit.

---

Ten minutes later, I was still nauseous, but slowly improving.

Blessedly, Lauren had been quick to react when I'd incoherently groaned, "she's--attacked--hunting--help." Neither Michelle nor I were in any state to do much of anything, and between the two of us, we'd been able to get Michelle subdued.

I'd spent the last few minutes getting Lauren caught up: How I'd met Michelle. Her realization that I was a thaumaturge. The phone call I'd overheard. The brief conversation at her place. My suspicions that Stephanie had done something to her mind.

Lauren was walking a slow circle around Michelle. "Jeez. It's hidden well. Cleverly disguised; I couldn't see it without really looking closely. But you're right, somebody's done a real number on her."

"Stephanie, right?" I recalled the husky voice on the phone.

Michelle was glaring balefully at Lauren from the chair that we had zip-tied her to.

Lauren peered more closely at Michelle. "...Probably? We should have Viv look at her to confirm; she'd recognize Stef's style better than me, I think." She glanced at Michelle, curiously. "Michelle...do you want me to unravel whatever spell she's put on your mind?"

"If you use magic on me," Michelle gritted out, "I. Will. Kill. You."

"Yikes. Uh, okay." Lauren was taken aback by the venom in her voice. "Well, if it's Stef who did this to her, and she's actively resisting my attempts to remove it, it'll be really hard to undo this. Stef was a lot stronger than me, and working with an unwilling subject is tough."

"Maybe the enchantment or whatever is making it so she doesn't want you to remove it," I said.

"Yeah. Mind magic's tricky that way," Lauren agreed.

I moved to stand in front of Michelle. "Look. No questions about Stef. What was your plan for Lauren and Viv?"

"Just let me go, Matt," she said, voice tense.

Lauren stepped away, pulling out her phone. "Uh, look, I'm gonna call Viv, get her take. See if you can get anything out of her." She walked into the bedroom, presumably so Michelle couldn't overhear.

I sighed, pulled another chair to sit in front of Michelle. "I don't see how we can let you go. Stephanie has put some magical compulsion on you."

"So, what...you're just going to keep me here? C'mon, Matt. People will notice before very long. I may not have roommates but I've got a job." Michelle leaned towards me -- as far as she could, anyway, bound to the chair, voice persuasive. "I'm just a few missed shifts and unanswered calls away from a wellness check, a missing persons report, and a bunch of problems for you."

"You abducted me from my apartment and then came at me with a knife, Michelle," I pointed out. "You weren't going to let me go."

She lapsed into silence.

"What will you do, if we let you go?" I asked the question curiously.

She shrugged. "Go hunting someplace else. I know when I'm beaten. I'll be gone in a day. You have my word."

"But you'd report back to Stephanie, first," I guessed.

She hesitated. "Yeah. I have to."

"And you can't tell me why."

She nodded.

"And what happens when Stephanie tells you that you have to finish the job she gave you? Says remember your training?"

Michelle didn't stiffen, the way she had when I'd heard Stephanie saying it over the phone. Instead, she blanched.

I shook my head. "Look, I get the sense that you probably didn't like witches much before Stephanie did...whatever she did, and you probably like them even less now. But I think you should let them try to fix it for you."

She just shook her head. "No. No magic."

"But that might be the enchantment talking," I said. "Look, put yourself in my shoes. I like you. Well, liked you. But you kidnapped me and tried to kill or at least injure me to keep me from escaping. I heard a phone call where someone instructed you to get rid of me. You've stated your intent to kill my friends...yes, they are my friends, Michelle."

She was scowling.

I continued after a moment. "Anyway, you've clearly got some kind of magical compulsion, or something, on you. How can we trust your word at all right now?"

She looked away.

I checked her restraints to make sure they seemed good, then opened the door to the bedroom and slipped inside to go talk to Lauren.

---

"Viv didn't pick up. It is pretty late, after all. I left her a voicemail," Lauren said, softly, as I closed the door behind me.

"What do you think? About Michelle?"

Lauren pursed her lips. "We can't let her go. She can stay here tonight, we can decide what to do with her in the morning. Nobody will go looking for her that fast. But I...think this is really bad, Matt."

She sat down on the edge of the bed. "Look, Michelle herself is one thing. Human hunters like her are pretty rare. Mostly they focus on magical creatures that are more directly inimical towards humans, with clearer weaknesses than witches. But hunters who go after witches aren't unheard of; we could handle that. But Stephanie doing this is..."

She trailed off, green eyes were full of that same fear in them I'd seen earlier.

I tried to give her a reassuring smile. "Is it out of character for her? Like...could this be somebody else's work?"

Lauren hesitated. "I-I mean, I wouldn't have said Stef is quick to anger or anything. When we didn't hear from her, I figured she was just...letting bygones by bygones, not plotting revenge. But...a succubus possessed her. It must've felt extremely violating."

That struck me as a bit of an understatement. It might've made her kill her own boyfriend. "How dangerous do you think she is?"

Lauren's expression was grim. "She's smart. Powerful. She knows Viv and I well, knows our capabilities, knows how we think and how we react. We don't know anything about what she's been up to since she left. And now she knows we've got a thaumaturge, so she'll be thinking about how to neutralize that advantage. If...if she planned some kind of attack where she really wanted to hurt us, I don't like our odds."

Well. That was sobering.

Lauren sat down on the edge of her bed, looking shaky. "We could reach out to Stephanie. Try to, I don't know...apologize? Maybe we can smooth things over."

The idea that they could just smooth things over struck me as unlikely, and I suspected Lauren knew it.

If I wanted an apology from someone, I wouldn't send a hunter after them.

"I think it's worth trying, but I think we should be prepared for it not to work," I said, firmly. "We all need to be safe, need to make some plans. You should get Viv here as early as you can tomorrow."

Lauren nodded. "You know...you don't have to be involved, Matt. Maybe you should just, y'know, distance yourself. Hang out with the werelions for a while. This is witch business." Lauren's voice was small.

I shook my head. "No, no. Look, she tried to kidnap me. I'm in it with you." I stood up. "Okay if I sleep on your couch? That way if Michelle somehow slips free I'll hear her.

She shot me a look that was pure gratitude. "Thanks, Matt. I-I don't think I want to be in the apartment alone with her."

"No problem. I, uh, think I'll be safer here, too." I hesitated, trying to find of a way to say it gently. But there wasn't a gentle way to say it. "Y'know, uh, if I wanted some revenge because I thought you'd gotten my thaumaturge lover killed...my first thought would be to go after your thaumaturge."

I could see the worry and guilt on Lauren's face; I felt bad for her. She swallowed, and nodded.

---

It took a long time to doze off on the couch. Michelle grumbled for a while, complaining and shifting, but eventually lapsed into silence -- whether she could actually sleep, tied to the chair, I wasn't sure. To be honest, I didn't care, as long as she couldn't escape.

And when I did finally doze off, I became aware of something tickling my nose.

Something round and soft, pressing against my groin.

A musky perfume, heady and intoxicating.

I opened my eyes to find that there was a woman in my arms.

"Mmm, hi there, honey."

I tensed up at the voice, but then relaxed.

It was Callistryllaxia. I was dreaming.

The demon's back was against my chest; in the dark room I could just make out the shapely curve of one of her hips.

"Uh...h-hi...where're your wings?" I asked, trying to orient myself; her sudden proximity, soft body against mine, was distracting. Her hair brushed against my face. One of my arms was draped over her; I could feel the full mounds of her breasts underneath my forearm.

She laughed, low and throaty. "My form's malleable, honey. Spooning is more fun without wings. The tail, on the other hand, is still useful..."

I felt something whip about my hips, coiling around me and pulling my groin into her ass harder. Her tail was surprisingly strong; I let out a grunt at the pleasurable sensation of my cock nestling into her butt.

"So ready for me," she purred in satisfaction.

I was rock hard already; as usual, everything about her proximity was intoxicating.

But then she looked around. "Why are you on a couch? Taking a nap?"

"Uh, not exac-"

She sat up, pulling away from me, and looked around. "Wait...are you at a girl's place?" Her voice was mock-scandalized; she shoved me, although somehow her fingers on my forearm ended up just being teasing and sensual instead of forceful. "But why are you on her couch instead of in bed with her, then?"

I hesitated, trying to figure out how to explain the situation.

...And then her eyes found Michelle, asleep and zip-tied to the chair. "Oh my god," she murmured, approvingly. "Look at her. Wow, Matt. I underestimated you. You're way more fun than I thought. Did you tie her up before or after you two did the deed?"

I glanced at Michelle, wondering if we would wake her, but there was an odd stillness to her, an inertness. Like she was just part of the background as opposed to actually being present.

This was a dream, after all.

I pushed myself up to sitting, trying to get my jumbled thoughts together. "Uh, no, Michelle and I -- that is, the zip ties aren't really, um, a sex thing-"

"Oh, please. I can practically smell it on you. I can tell you fucked her."

"Y-yeah, but..." I tried and failed to think of a way to quickly explain what was going on.

Instead, though, I stared silently at the succubus, for a moment. In the dim light of the room, she almost seemed to be made of darkness herself; the shadows did her dusky skin all kinds of favors, playing provocatively over the full swell of her big tits, the dim light from the windows catching on the way her tight waist flared out to generous hips.

She turned to face me, pale red eyes fixed on me, and let out a soft, rich laugh at my loss of words. "Such an interesting life you have that I'm getting little glimpses of."

I fought to think clearly -- a herculean task given her naked proximity, the way my senses drank her in.

Callistryllaxia had given me useful information, last time; in some ways she was the reason I'd had sex with Michelle in the first place. Conquests. Callistryllaxia had been the one to mention conquests to me. "Yeah, Callis...uh, Calli. I guess this is my latest conquest. But then she turned out to be...uh, one of the bad guys."

At the last moment I'd remembered she didn't like it when I called her Callistryllaxia. Probably best to stay on good terms with the succubus; Calli it was.

"Your conquest?" There was skeptical amusement in her voice.

Calli leaned towards me and inhaled. The movement was so sensual, animalistic, like a wolf scenting her mate, that I almost nuzzled her in return. At least when I'd fallen asleep in the library and she'd visited my dreams, she'd started clothed. With her this close and naked, my cock was screaming at me to just pin her down on the couch and fuck her.

"You don't seem any more powerful. A new conquest? You're sure?" she said, doubtfully. Idly, she caressed her tits, massaging them, rolling her nipples between her fingers.

The movement caught my attention; I couldn't look away from just how fucking big her breasts were, how soft they looked, the way they spilled out over her hands. I fought to keep my mental footing. "Yeah, I mean, I fucked her..."

She let out a dark, delighted laugh, and I lapsed into silence.

"Oh, honey." Her voice was teasing. "This isn't the frat house definition, just a matter of getting getting your dick wet. Just because you had sex with her doesn't mean she was a conquest." As she spoke, she inched closer to me, twisting to face me on the couch. "I mean, we've fucked. Am I one of your conquests?"

I didn't respond. My mouth was dry, my cock was throbbing.

The idea of her being one of my conquests was laughable. She was so...in control of all of our interactions. If anything, I was the conquest.

"I suppose it's my fault..." she murmured, clearly enjoying my silent acceptance of her point immensely. "I was just starting to tell you all about it last time when you finished. Well, maybe I can share a little more now."

As she spoke, her tail snaked forward, the spade-shaped tip of it toying with the waistband of my pants.

"Even conquests of human women make thaumaturges stronger," she whispered, coyly. "Not as much as a conquest of someone or something magical, of course...but some. But a conquest of anyone requires dominance. Someone must give in, succumb, lose themselves for you."

Comprehension dawned on me. Viv and Brooke had been conquests. Because, with my orgasm locked away, I'd been unable to cum. I'd fucked the two of them to good and thorough orgasms.

But that wasn't the case with anybody else. Elana, Lauren, Diana, Michelle...I flushed, embarrassed, at the realization of just how many non-conquests I'd had.

She saw that I understood, gave me a sharp-toothed grin. "It makes you realize what a tricky little loophole you had with the gorgon, doesn't? I mean, who knows how powerful you'd be if you had taken the opportunity to fuck a few more women. Of course, you'd also be so pent up that you'd probably have gone insane by now..."

As she spoke, her tail deftly snagged my shorts, pulled them down. My cock bobbed free, rock hard.

"B-but..." I knew how quickly this dream would end, once she was actually trying to drain me. I tried to fight my way through the haze of pleasure towards a coherent question. "I-if I can't last, how am I supposed to make women..."

"I know. The rules of thaumaturgical magic are so deliciously cruel, aren't they?" she whispered, coyly. "You grow in your power by dominating others...but your power makes it so hard for you to control someone else...You're so sensitive, so easy to please..."

She moved towards me. I felt the round slopes of her naked breasts brush against t-shirt I was wearing; the fabric caught on her hard nipples.

And then, as if to prove her point, the head of my cock brushed up against her lower abdomen. The light, slow graze along her smooth skin sent a rush of pleasure through me.

"Fuck." The word came out of me involuntarily, a whispered groan. Just having my cock touching her was almost enough to make me cum; I fought to keep control of myself. I needed to ask more questions.

She glanced down, then back up at me, pleased. "You're leaking. So needy." The word swirled out off her tongue, satisfying and lewd.

I stared down at the lush curves of her body, just inches from mine.

"I bet you'd like to make me your conquest, wouldn't you, honey?" The words were a purr. "Imagine how much more powerful a conquest like me would make you."

"I-is that how it works?" I managed.

"Oh, yes. The more challenging the conquest, the more power you gain. And I mean, how hot would fucking me into submission be? Pounding my little pussy until I just couldn't take it anymore..."

My cock twitched, and I became aware that I was trembling. The images the words conjured in my minds were so evocative; it was so easy to imagine how satisfying it would be.

"Imagine how I'd feel cumming all over that big dick," she murmured. "The sounds I make when someone's just stretching m-"

It was like every syllable out of her mouth was casting a spell over me, heightening my arousal. Rational thought evaporated before the torrent of filthy words. It too much just to listen to her talk about it.

I had to have her.

I pushed her down onto the couch.

She let out a little gasp. "Oh, Matt," she said, wickedly. "What are you gonna do? Have I been bad?"

She said the word bad like it was an invitation to do whatever I wanted to her.

Everything that happened after that was a bit of a blur.

I fell atop of her. My hands were everywhere -- on her tits, at her throat, reaching down to squeeze her ass, roaming over that flat stomach. Her warm skin under my fingers was intoxicating.

If I'm honest with you, a few moments of that -- squeezing those big tits, that round butt in my hands, her tight waist -- would've made me cum on its own. That aura about her, the feeling of all that flawless naked skin underneath mine, was more than enough on its own.

But I wasn't content with touching her. I felt possessed, almost crazed with arousal.

Without any warning, I unceremoniously shoved myself inside her. Her body yielded gloriously before my cock, and I buried myself in her all the way to my balls.

The last time she'd drained me in my dreams, she'd used her breasts.

The time before that, when the witches had summoned her, Elana had made it impossible for me to orgasm; that had blunted some of Calli's power.

So, really, this was the first time I'd ever slid inside a succubus under my own power.

She let out a pleased, languid sigh as my cock parted her. "Mmm, I love a man who just takes what he wants. Are you going to conquer me with that big cock?" Her lips parted in delight; she looked up at me expectantly, as if waiting for something.

And roughly a quarter-second later, the sensation of being sheathed inside her registered.

It felt good. So impossibly good. Precisely the right mix of tight, wet and soft; the perfect balance between stretching to accommodate and gripping tight around me.

What I wanted to do was fuck her, hard. Deliver exactly what she'd been talking about; find out how she sounded when she was taking a big cock like mine, really getting railed.

But that desire stood no chance in the face of the overwhelming feeling of being inside her.

So instead, I felt myself crest helplessly over the edge, cumming immediately as I penetrated her. "O-oh-ohhh-fuck-"

The first rope of cum that her wet little pussy pulled out of me was intense, accompanied by the hardest full-body contraction I've ever felt during an orgasm. My entire body locked up. My toes curled. I felt my fingers dig, pleasantly, into the soft mass of her butt. My vision went white and sparked at the edges.

She wrapped her legs around me, using it as leverage to rock up and down my length even though she was underneath me. "Mmm, that's it, give it to me, honey."

Her voice in my ear was a command, and each rocking movement up and down my cock coaxed yet another jet of cum out of me, again and again. The motion seemed to prolong my orgasm, somehow; it just kept going on, and on.

If I'd been even remotely lucid, it probably would've occurred to me that it was a feeding strategy, how they drained as much as possible from a man in a given feeding. But I was hardly lucid. I wallowed in the pleasure for a long time, groan after groan as it peaked, repeatedly.

When it finally subsided, I was panting, sucking in air like I'd run a marathon. I was still atop her; with effort, I pulled myself up, looking down into her eyes.

Her extremely amused, satisfied eyes. "You know, sometimes I wish that I grew more powerful from conquests. I'd basically be a goddess at this point."

She was a goddess. The thought flitted through my mind unbidden. I looked down at her, the vision of dark beauty underneath me.

It was easy to see how men lost their souls to succubi. I was half-ready to offer her mine right now.

It was an extremely disquieting realization. I knew exactly what she was. Knew the danger she represented. And fucking her felt so good that I wanted to give her everything anyway.

She seemed to register what I was thinking. "Oh, don't worry," she whispered. "We made a deal, and it doesn't include your soul. Three feedings down, now, Matt. Only ten to go."

That brought me back to the moment. If this was anything like the last dream, she'd be vanishing soon, and I had lots of questions.

One first and foremost in my mind.

"You, uh...you possessed a witch, right? The first time Lauren and Viv and the others summoned you. Named Stephanie?" Maybe she could shed some light on Stephanie's motivations.

Her brow furrowed, almost cutely, in curiosity. "Yes, one of the witches' little friends. A little while ago; I remember her. Why, honey? Planning your next conquest? Having been inside her head, I think she might be biting off more than you can chew." Still buried inside her, I felt her pussy give a little clench around my cock -- which hadn't softened in the slightest.

"A-ah-" I flushed with embarrassment at the involuntary sound as it sent a ripple of pleasure through me. My cock was so sensitive in the wake of the orgasm, and with her still underneath me, it felt like my nerve endings were on fire. "No...just...looking for some insight. Did you, uh...kill a man? A thaumaturge, I mean. While you were possessing her?"

Her expression went neutral; the red eyes looked distant. I was suddenly looking at someone -- something -- else. Something totally alien.

I felt her arms twine about my neck, languidly, pulling me closer. She was strong, I realized. Much stronger than her frame and soft, voluptuous body implied. I let her pull me lower, back atop her...but I wasn't sure if I could've resisted even if I had wanted to.

Her voice lowered, became a whisper in my ear. "Oh yes. When I'm walking the world in someone's skin, thaumaturges are impossible to ignore. And this one loved her. It was so easy to find him, to guide her actions to get him in bed...and then to drain him dry. To drink him all up. He died happy, of course. With her name on his lips."

I wasn't sure which was worse as she said all this to me: the dawning horror I felt at her words, or the arousal I felt in spite of them. God, her hot breath, the way her lips brushed against my ear...

"Of course," she continued, the whisper almost conversational, "Stephanie was horrified. I could hear her screaming, inside her own mind. There was nothing she could do, of course. I was in charge." Callistryllaxia let out a little shiver. "I could feel her mind break with the knowledge. It was...exquisite."

Fuck.

Part of me was repulsed by that, the unapologetic, matter-of-fact way that Callistryllaxia was discussing this.

But only part of me. My cock didn't care; still inside her, it was ready to go again. The words themselves didn't matter; her lips on my ear, her body underneath mine, was everything.

"W-why?" I breathed. It was the only thought I could shape into words.

Her hands loosened, and -- a little reluctantly -- I pulled back, so I could look at her face.

"We're all bound by our natures," she said. Her voice had an odd note in it. Regret, maybe? "I can only be who I am: a creature of appetites, of craving, of desire."

The last word was so erotic, coming out of her mouth, that it took me a moment to register that as she spoke, she'd started to evaporate. She was less substantial already, her features blurring, turning smoky.

I had so many more questions. "W-wait! You said there was more than one way for thaumaturges to grow in power!"

She shook her head, amused. "Bye, Matt. Maybe we'll talk about it next time."

And then she was gone, and with a jolt, I started awake.

Alone on the couch, still rock hard, and with another mess in my pants.

---