Succubated!

The first section of the ancient European text on demonology proved easy to interpret. Both Susan and Una had close-up experience with the subject explored in that passage: the possession and inhabitation of humans by demonic entities. Yael’s possession of Michael Belmont had changed the course of their lives.

“The nature of Daemonium,” Una translated as Susan took notes, “must always prey upon the weaknesses of Man. Creatures of sin, of emotion, and of desire, they must seek those souls most susceptible to temptation, which susceptibility springs forth from a denial of the flesh’s needs.” They exchanged glances, and Una took a deep breath. “This is heavy stuff.”

“Sure,” said Susan. “It might as well be talking about Father Michael. What did Yael call it, an ingress? I assume she meant your repressed gender identity issues.”

Una bit back a scowl, feeling faintly embarrassed about the topic even now. “Yes, although I meant the languages and translation. Let’s keep going.”

She placed a gloved finger on the next line. “Daemonium—that word is unfamiliar, but it seems to just mean all demons or demonkind, if you’ll make a note—cares not for the fate of a single mortal soul, for they watch the herd swell ever larger through aeons. To enjoy the fruits of the body, its movements and memories, they mix their humors and senses with those of the fleshly host. They become as one, promising union and harmony. In truth, a demon is like unto a blight upon a stalk of wheat, consuming and changing it so that only growing blight remains.”

Susan scribbled, her motions impatient. “This all confirms what Yael claimed, which is helpful, but I was hoping for something more juicy. There are other sections, right?”

Una made a note of where they were, and jumped forward to the next section, which bore a title she translated as “Sundry Forms a Demon May Claim.” Susan brightened.

The chime of a mobile notification sounded from within Una’s bag, sitting at the corner of the table. Susan held a finger to her smile in a mock shushing motion, and Una smirked and pulled her phone out quickly. The beginning of a message from John showed on the screen.

> Hey, missed you when I woke. You OK? Let me know. There’s a…

She put the phone away, resolving to read it later. Too much to learn about demons… maybe about myself.

“Let’s see,” the well-read succubus began again. “Unliving objects, such as a stone, house or tree.”

“Does that mean a dead tree? Or is this some version of unliving that really means inanimate?”

“Hard to tell,” Una said, scanning the text. “Ah. Durable in nature, to make fast the essence and thoughts of a demon, but unable to move. Are there really demons who… possess rocks?”

Susan shrugged. “There are certainly stories like that, right? An amulet containing an evil spirit? A doll with a demon inside, or a mask? Haunted houses… well, that seems complicated. Does it say whether it’s a temporary approach?”

Una nodded. “Sharp as ever, Miss Miller. Seeking always to escape to a more useful form, though some eternally bound shall be… shall be, that’s an interesting way of saying it… shall be bound until the prophesied Resurgence completes. I think that’s the word. Whoa, have you ever come across that term before?”

Susan wrote with an intent gaze on her notebook. “Spell the original, please. It’s not familiar but I’ll definitely cross-check. Keep going, is there more about this Resurgence?” Una spelled out the Latin term and tried to focus again on the words in front of her. Why is this giving me a funny feeling? Like I can’t quite remember something… well, I suppose that’s not surprising. There are a million things buried in Yael’s memories.

“Just that one mention,” she said. “But as you might expect, a mortal touching a demon-inhabited object might get possessed, assuming they’re vulnerable.” Susan nodded, and Una kept reading.

The next section was about demons possessing animals, which the author also described as less than ideal. “They will inhabit the flesh of a beast,” Una translated slowly, “but it is only a temporary refuge. The Daemonium allies with the follies of man.” She frowned. “I’m not sure ‘allies’ is the right word there. Their thoughts cannot match the animal’s, so their powers remain limited, and their speech.”

Una’s mouth opened in surprise. “Okay, listen to this part. In ages past, when Daemonium was driven forth into the wilderness by… their colleagues? It says ‘collegium,’ but in context that’s hard to translate. It could be an organization, a college…. So, when Daemonium was driven forth, and took refuge in the flesh of beasts, they knew themselves differently and forever more remembered their own shapes as horned, clawed, and fanged.”

She rubbed her own yellow eyes, and Susan rested one soft hand her shoulder. “I guess that’s some kind of explanation for your hooves and tail and all that.”

“I guess I should be glad that Yael didn’t take refuge in the flesh of a rodent. But who drove her and the other demons out? The angels?” She read further. “Nothing else about that. The next section is about possessing corpses. Ugh.”

Susan wrinkled her nose. “I do have some recorded phenomena about that in my research, but those accounts don’t make great reading.”

“It doesn’t sound appealing. The bodies decay and fall apart because of the conflict between the demon and the remaining life energies of a body with no soul, but the demons can control them for a while.” Una paused, her finger on the heading of the next section. “Aha. The Recourse of Uberdaemonium in the Fashioning of Bodies. I assume that means something like over-demons, archdemons.”

The young scholar rubbed her hands together, her expression eager, and Una couldn’t help but smile. Susan’s enthusiasm for learning had never waned. “Now we’re cooking!”

Una’s voice dropped to an almost reverent tone, despite herself. “The Dread Princes have dominion over the earth’s dross, to mold it into shape and form.” Susan leaned forward, her face inches from Una’s, and Una felt the heat of their shared breath. “They are the most terrible of the demons. Their forms are vast and fearsome, even beautiful, and they may take the shapes they desire.”

Una inhaled sharply as Susan’s hand slipped around her waist, pulling them both closer together. “Uberdaemonium is not bound by the rules of Aristotle or Galileo. Some may draw matter into themselves, even the bodies of men or beasts, twisting and changing it according to whim.”

Despite the warmth of Susan’s arm, she felt a chill as she recalled the colossal form of Nezz, with Thomas Spencer’s body embedded in the center, whirling and growing in a cloud of debris.

“Among the demon princes, some may even create new forms from nothingness, or mold the flesh of mortals like clay.” She looked at Susan. “I suppose I can do that when sex is involved, but is it the same thing? I don’t think Yael was a demon prince, or a princess…”

Susan tapped her lower lip thoughtfully. “I suspect the powers of a succubus are more subtle and specific than those of an archdemon, but it’s worth cross-referencing. Anything else? Does it say where they get the power to do this?” Una turned the delicate vellum page. The paper felt rough beneath her gloved fingertips.

“One more section before the end of the chapter. Ah, yes.” She cleared her throat. “In ages past, some few of the most dread daemonium ascended to new heights through the worship of the masses, through sacrifice, through prayer and the spilling of blood in their names.”

“That must be how Yael became the object of worship in ancient Uruk, right? Like the vision you shared right before you escaped from Spencer.”

Una nodded, her lips parted slightly, her tongue wetted to speak. She felt a sudden rush of excitement as she continued reading, and her breath came faster. “Mortal prayer and offerings, burnt or enacted in the demon’s name, did feed the demonic essence. The Uberdaemonium became as unto gods, worshipped in the world of men, granting followers boons and powers in exchange for their sacrifices.”

Susan wrote quickly. “Yes! This lines up with some of what I’ve been reading elsewhere. Scholars have long confirmed Biblical accounts of how ancient demons like Baal or Asmodeus were worshipped as gods in antiquity, especially in the Near East. But the connection between worship and power has rarely been made so explicitly.”

Why didn’t Yael become an archdemon, then? Her thoughts raced, willing memory to come forth, but only an itching sensation at the back of her skull responded. Una’s eyes scanned further down the page. “The cults of the ancient daemons were destroyed, their names forgotten and absorbed.” She blinked. “Well, that’s abrupt and dramatic!”

The succubus felt a sudden wave of fatigue and confusion wash over her as looking down from a great height, and she swayed in her seat. Susan gripped her shoulders. “What’s wrong? Are you all right?”

“I don’t know… I feel strange.” Una closed her eyes and leaned against Susan’s chest, breathing her scent, feeling her warmth and heartbeat. She took several deep breaths; without vision, she felt as if the world was spinning around her.

“Let me go to the bathroom for a moment,” she eventually said. “Splash some water on my face. You can let me back in, right?”

Susan nodded, a look of concern on her face. “Of course, mistress. Do you want to lie down for a moment? You’re looking awfully pale. Maybe you should take a break, drink some water…”

Una shook her head and stood, gripping the back of the chair. She steadied herself against the table and smiled weakly at Susan. “I think a splash of cold water is all I need.”

Susan followed her to the door and pointed out the direction of the ladies’ room. Once there, Una leaned against a wall of the small tiled chamber and took a deep, slow breath.

She felt a little unsteady on her feet, so she walked over to the mirror and looked at herself: the same dark, bobbed hair and yellow irises she’d grown used to over months now. “Yael,” she said to her reflection. “I used to stare in a mirror, and you’d bother me or give me advice. Can’t you tell me what’s happening?” She closed her eyes and waited, then opened them, but she was alone. She sighed and went to the row of sinks, running cold water from a tap and splashing a few handfuls over her face and the back of her neck. It helped; she felt refreshed, more awake.

Una looked up, saw her reflection again, and froze. She had a strange expression on her face, a look of distant sadness and resignation. Her eyes seemed darker. Una stared at them, transfixed, unable even to blink. Her vision grew blurry. She blinked rapidly, and saw that her reflection’s eyes were normal again: wide, golden, and frightened. She wet her lips and tried to say something, to reach out for the elder succubus’ presence. “B—Bad idea. Bad idea? Bad idea.”

“What’s a bad idea?” Una yelled, but her reflection only mouthed the words back at her. She felt dizzy, and reached for the sink to hold as her knees wobbled, then buckled completely. She sank to the floor. The cool tiles felt good against her skin. She rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling as she caught her breath.

Una closed her eyes. “Come on, Yael. Just give me a hint. Help me remember something.” She lay on the cold floor for long seconds, trying to relax and focus on the memories she knew must lurk somewhere within her mind.

Thoughts flowed past her awareness like leaves on a river, too quick or insubstantial for her to grasp. The memories seemed slippery, like trying to hold onto an eel, and they slid between her fingers whenever she thought she had one.

After some time, she sat up. “I can feel you, you know,” Una said. “I’m sorry I can’t access all those memories yet, but I promise I’ll keep working on it.”

Bad idea, her thoughts seemed to whisper. Be careful; don’t touch it.

Una got to her feet and returned to the library, where she found Susan waiting anxiously by the door. “There you are. I was worried! Are you okay?” She put one arm around Una’s waist, holding her steady. “Look, let’s stop with the Malleus. I have other things to show you, a folio of—or would it be better if I just took you home?”

Una shook her head, feeling bashful. “Sorry for worrying you. Let’s keep going. I’m feeling more focused now.” Susan nodded, but kept her arms around Una, leading her back to the table and sitting beside her, their legs pressed together and one arm draped over her shoulders. Una felt comforted by the contact, and she leaned against Susan’s shoulder, resting her head there.

Susan shifted a little, pulling forward a folio bound in pale leather. “This one’s even older and more fragile; we’ll have to use these brushes to turn the pages.”

“What does it contain?” Una straightened a little, her curiosity piqued.

“Well,” Susan said, “it doesn’t have a title on it, but I’m pretty sure it’s the collection that later works refer to as the Codex Sigillorum Daemonicum.”

Una’s eyes widened. “A book of demonic seals? I think I might know something about that. Jay used what he called a topographical… something, maybe a topographical inscription? …of my aetheric signature to secure the nanobots. But when I saw it, I thought of the word sigil, seal.”

Susan clucked her tongue. “That boy has been holding out on me again! Yes, it seems like he was working off a similar principle. The codex contains nothing but drawings of various demonic sigils or marks, and it’s the earliest known reference to the idea that such things can bind a demon, or maybe unlock a demon’s powers.”

Una looked closely at the volume. Strangely, the pages didn’t extend all the way to the loosely bound covers, but seemed incomplete. “Is it damaged?”

“Not exactly,” Susan answered with some reluctance. “Maybe? One source claims the book was cursed to never be complete. Others suggest a Church inquisitor burned it.” She took the pair of foam-tipped brushes and opened the cover. Inside, the half-width pages ended in a dark edge, but Una couldn’t tell if the darkening was a scorch, or mere age. She shivered.

Susan carefully flipped to a page near the middle of the codex, and Una saw a drawing of an ornately curving symbol, drawn in ink or possibly blood. In the lower left corner, near the spine, sat a label in Latin letters: NVSKA.

Abruptly, she recognized the shape. It was only half-complete, but she’d seen it during a dream, in a nightclub, on a demon’s bald head: the sigil of Kyber, known in ancient times as Nuska. “Yes,” she said. “That’s his. Or close to it… it’s not quite the same.”

Susan took a sheet of vellum and showed it to Una. “If I gave you some soft charcoal, is there any chance you could draw the rest of the symbol?”

Una shook her head. “Not right now. I’m sorry, I don’t know why… maybe Yael doesn’t want to remember it. Or I’m just not in the right frame of mind; maybe it’s the library. But I do know it, deep down.” Una’s voice was quiet, almost a whisper.

Susan nodded. “It’s okay.” She turned the pages again, past sigils with names like ASHTEROTH, KALKI, BELIAL, and others with no name at all. Una caught sight of one labeled MASTEMA, but the shape was unfamiliar.

Finally, Susan turned the page, and Una’s breath caught in her throat. “Wait!” she exclaimed, pointing. “This one! This is mine!”

The label in the corner read YAEL, of course. Like the sigil of Nuska, it wasn’t quite the same, not the exact shape that had appeared on Jay Sigma’s computer display. It’s the mirror image of that one, she realized, and changed somehow, again.

Susan nodded. “Well, it’s Yael’s. Does that make it half yours? Or your inheritance? I was wondering… do you know the other half of this one?”

Una furrowed her brow. “I… I think I probably could remember, if I tried to draw it.”

Gingerly, Susan lifted a sheet of clean vellum from a stack, lifted the page with the half-vanished sigil and slid the vellum under it. “Try it,” she murmured. “You can do this.”

Una’s heart pounded as she picked up the piece of charcoal and looked at the blank paper. She felt nervous and a little excited. “I’ll try. I can feel the shape in my mind.”

Having the left half of the sigil on the page in front of her helped. She could picture how each line continued from where it was severed. Una took several slow breaths, closing her eyes for a long moment. She opened them again, looked down and began drawing on the page, the charcoal making a soft scratchy noise. Susan watched intently as Una’s hands moved across the surface.

As the succubus completed each curve and angle, the sigil came into focus. She drew with confidence, her hand steady and sure. Una felt as though she could see the shape clearly, but her hand seemed guided by another, as if she were watching herself from above, a passenger in her own flesh. As she drew the last arc and connections, she felt something like a breeze stir her hair.

She finished the last flourish of the sigil. “There.”

Susan peered at it. “It’s kind of… beautiful? Like an abstract painting. But…”

Before Susan could finish the thought, the feeling of air moving intensified—No, she realized. Not just a feeling. An impossible breeze moved through the closed chamber, ruffling pages. Susan choked back a cry. Before their eyes, the vellum page crinkled and warped. Then it crumbled to pieces, the lines and strokes Una had drawn dissolving and blowing away like dust.

A moment later, only the blank half of the vellum remained, tucked under the page with the left half of Yael’s sigil. Like the ancient leaves of the folio, its edge had grown ragged and blackened, but otherwise it seemed unharmed. Una looked at it, and then up to Susan’s wide-eyed face.

Susan swallowed. “All right. So the book really is cursed, even if you add a page. Sorry to startle you, but I figured there was a possibility this might happen. I just didn’t think it would be so… dramatic.”

Una grew aware of her heartbeat again. “Should I try drawing my version of the sigil? I think I can remember what Jay’s digital reconstruction looked like.” Something in her gut clenched at the thought, but not with dread.

Susan bit her bottom lip. “I’m tempted to say yes, but maybe it’s best that we wait for another time. I’m waiting for permission to scan the folio for a digital copy before we have to return it to Monsignor Albert, and that’ll be time-consuming.”

Una raised an eyebrow. “Albert loaned this to the Office of Supernatural Affairs?”

Susan nodded. “He did, although I don’t think the Vatican is aware. I’m guessing he and Victoria Lombardi have some kind of… arrangement. It might have something to do with your meeting with him the other day.”

Una nodded slowly. “I wonder. He’s not reacting as I expected him to. I’m starting to think he’s actually trying to be useful.”

Susan turned the pages carefully, moving away from Yael’s sigil. “There’s one last thing I wanted to show you, because it relates to a theory I keep returning to.” Once again, Yael saw names of demons she vaguely recognized from research or the Vatican’s files: BELPHEGOR, ERESHKIGAL, HAAGENTI.

Susan paused, flipping through the last third of the folio, and finally stopping. “This one. Somewhat unexpected.” She tapped one slender finger against the page.

The title read BES, with another angular shape of indecipherable meaning. Una looked puzzled. “Supposedly an Egyptian god, right? Another example of a demon setting himself up with a cult to gain power.”

Susan shook her head. “That doesn’t seem likely in this case. Bes was a god associated strongly with—” She broke off, looking at something over Una’s shoulder.

Una turned to follow the scholar’s gaze, but the library was empty except for them. She looked back at Susan, who still stared at something in midair. Una’s eyes darted from side to side, seeking whatever had startled Susan, but she saw nothing unusual.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” When Susan failed to respond, Una waved one hand in front of the other woman’s face to get her attention, then reached to grip her shoulder. “Susan?”

Susan started as Una touched her, then blinked. “Oh! Oh dear. I’m sorry, what was I saying? I must have lost my train of thought for a second.”

Una looked around, then met Susan’s eyes. “Did you hear something? I didn’t see anyone, but you were looking at… well, something.” She gestured vaguely around them.

Susan looked confused, then her brow smoothed. “No, I don’t think so? I was just thinking aloud, I guess. Anyway, I was about to say that Bes was associated with the household, love, family; not exactly your usual sources of demonic energy. And this isn’t the only example of—”

Susan stopped talking again, and this time her expression froze in surprise, her eyes fixed on a point in the middle distance. Una grabbed her girlfriend’s shoulders and shook her gently. “Susan, can you hear me? What the hell is happening?”

Susan didn’t answer, and Una felt panic rising within her. Abruptly, the other woman’s muscles went slack, and Una’s grip was the only thing keeping her from slumping forward into the open books on the table.

“Susan?” Una pulled the limp woman closer. Susan’s eyes were open, but her expression was blank. Her breathing was shallow, but regular.

“Susan, wake up!” Una shook her more firmly, but the woman remained limp and unresponding. Una looked around wildly, but there was no one else in the room. She fought down a surge of fear. What the fuck?! First I get dizzy and nearly faint, and now Susan’s unresponsive?

Una lowered the young woman to the floor and knelt next to her, cradling Susan’s head. “Wake up! Come on, please!” She shook Susan again, harder, but the woman’s limbs flopped uselessly with the motion as if they weren’t attached at the joints, and Susan’s eyes remained open, unfocused. Una felt for Susan’s vitals, and they seemed normal, if weak.

The succubus was about to yell for help when Susan sat upright and spoke

“Epanophoric aporia: consignment, epiphoric.” Her voice was oddly toneless, and her eyes still stared straight ahead, seeing nothing.

“Susan?” Una said cautiously, then noticed the motes of gold swarming in her lover’s otherwise brown irises.

“Ekpyrosis dio sandhi averts. Recommencing,” said Susan. She blinked, then looked at Una. “Why are we sitting on the floor?”

Relief rushed through her, and Una hugged Susan tightly for a moment. “Are you all right?”

Susan looked confused. “Of course. I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be fine? I must have gotten distracted for a moment…”

Una brushed strands of dark hair out of Susan’s eyes. “You… don’t remember?”

Susan frowned. “How we got on the floor? Now that you mention it… no, I don’t. Weren’t we talking?”

Una looked at her for a few more seconds. She’s fine, she’s here, she’s herself. “We were. But Susan, something terribly strange is going on. I think Yael, the part of me that has her memories, has been trying to warn me not to mess with certain… things. The book, the symbols. And then you spaced out and said a lot of terms in Greek and Hindi.”

Now Susan looked surprised. “Was it the same as when you produced those spheres of water? At my apartment?”

Una shook her head. “No… yes and no. Same voice, different words. But yeah, it must have been something angelic.”

Susan bounced to her feet, her expression intensely curious. “What was I talking about just before it happened?”

Una scrambled up nearly as quickly, catching hold of Susan’s wrist and stopping her. “Wait, slow down! It happened twice. The first time, you froze for a second, but the second was much more disturbing. You’ve got to stop.” She leaned over and gingerly flipped the Codex Sigillorum Daemonicum closed. Whatever caused her to glitch out, it can wait.

Susan looked frustrated, but her expression softened when she saw Una’s face. “Okay, okay. I won’t go near it. I’m fine.”

“Thank you.” Una let go of her wrist. “I feared for a moment that you might be comatose. I’m not even sure I should mention what triggered you to freeze both times, in case it happens again. But seemed like a topic you’d been thinking about already. Susan, what if you’ve been having episodes like this on your own and nobody’s even noticed?”

Una was relieved to see Susan place a finger on her lower lip, her typical mannerism when contemplating something. “That seems unlikely. I would at least remember falling over, or dozing off…” She frowned. “Although I suppose brief lapses could have occurred without my awareness.” She glanced at the folio again and shivered. “I’m so sorry, Una. I didn’t think this line of inquiry would be so dangerous. Some sort of force obstructs us—maybe more than one!”

Una shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not angry. Just concerned. I think we’d better take a break from research for the moment. It’s getting late, in any case.”

Susan nodded. “I’m on the swing shift today, in case of anything urgent. But I have other projects to tend to. And then… maybe we can meet up sometime soon? I want to get a better look at those freckles.”

Una grinned at her. “Okay, now I can really tell that you’re feeling like yourself.” She gathered her things while Susan carefully relocated and locked away the books.

Her phone’s screen blinked to life, and she saw another message from John.

> Still worried about that e-mail. Any thoughts?

Wondering what he was referring to, she opened her messages and read the full version of his earlier text.

> Hey, missed you when I woke. You OK? Let me know. There’s a disturbing message I’m going to forward to you, showed up in my inbox this morning. Take a look and tell me what you think?

Disturbing message? What now? Still feeling shaken from Susan’s episode, along with her own bout of vertigo and disorientation, Una opened her e-mail and found the forward from John. The subject line read “Fwd: Potential Business Opportunity,” but her grip tensed around the device in her hand when she saw who it was from: Matthew Kyber.

Reverend Father John Hayes, the e-mail read. We haven’t had the pleasure of meeting in person, but of course we have some friends and interests in common. The lovely Una Belmont, for instance? I hope this missive finds both of you well. Hi, Una!

I’m writing you today about a different mutual interest: the Bleecker Street Haven. I’m sure you know the facility’s director, the inimitable Letitia Phillips, is getting on in years. It would be a shame to lose someone as devoted and passionate as Letitia, wouldn’t it? I’m not saying that’s inevitable, of course.

But it’s always a challenge to find the resources needed to keep the Haven running, and to keep its programs relevant and effective. I’m sure the Haven’s staff and clientele would all benefit from the support of a generous backer, and it just so happens that Kyber Media has a keen eye for local community investments.

I’m not proposing anything too radical; after all, a building doesn’t need remodeling every day, right? But sometimes the smallest repairs and updates make all the difference between a homeless shelter and a home. A new roof, a fresh coat of paint, a little rewiring, maybe some upgrades to the heating. Now, Ms. Phillips doesn’t know me from Adam (or Satan), so I was hoping you might serve as an intermediary in these negotiations?

I’m sure we could work out a mutually satisfactory agreement. Please let me know when you have time in your hectic schedule to chat.

With my best wishes,

Matthew Kyber
Founder/CEO, Kyber Media

Una read through the message a second time, her lips pursed tightly together and her jaw set. “Fuck.” Kyber clearly knew that John would pass this along to Una. She wasn’t surprised he’d discerned her connection to the Haven, but the audacity of contacting her lover directly… and threatening Letitia’s position. She felt sick to her stomach, but somehow unsurprised.

“What is it?” Susan asked from the door, and Una looked up. Susan’s expression grew serious. “Something bad?”

“A nuisance and a pest,” Una admitted. “I’ll tell you about it later; you’ve dealt with enough today.”

She typed quickly back to John.

> Don’t respond, don’t engage, and definitely don’t mention this to Letitia. I’ll deal with him.

She tapped her phone off and exhaled. Just what I need, she thought ruefully. A deserving target for my frustrations.