Chapter 10
"What do you mean someone's getting killed?" Bo asked, her phone pressed firmly to her ear.
"I mean, I think your succu-sister is about to get her ass succu-busted for her own sexcapades. Seriously, I think the police are gonna be on their way if you don't put a stop to this."
Bo had an incredulous look on her face. "She took someone home last night?"
"Yeah, she really looked like she needed a good feed. Girl's hunger was practically eating her alive she said. So, I recommended her to a big, dark, and sexylicious guy at the Dal. I think you can fill in the rest of the blanks."
"Oh god. I'll be there soon."
"You might want to hurry bestie. They're kind in your bed." The russian girl hung up, leaving Bo to rush home.
As soon as the door closed behind Bo, Tamsin let out the huge breath of air she had been holding in since they had woken up this morning. Drifting back into consciousness, her eyes had opened to the succubus dozing on top of her. The woman's cheek rested on her chest, and the heat from her face radiated onto the detective's skin, making it unbearably sticky. She quickly slid from underneath the sleeping brunette, about to hyperventilate because she had just caught herself cuddling, plus the fact that it was with Bo didn't make it any better. It scared her to no end that she had woken up next to the other woman, one because she didn't 'do' cuddling, and two because it showed her desire for Bo.
All the barriers the blonde had built up to keep out those weak feelings, feelings that emerged whenever she saw Bo, were about to be smashed to bits. Her affection towards the succubus was now apparent, but maybe she could still salvage something from the ruins of those walls to protect Bo from her.
The question is, Tamsin thought sullenly, do I really want to?
"Of course I do," the woman said out loud, trying to persuade herself. It didn't work, and she flopped back down onto the couch, and her conflicted thoughts flitted erratically around her mind, going from Bo to cuddling to the case. Groaning softly, she thought about what life was going to have in store for her today.
Bo entered the house, bursting through the front door breathless. She expected to be hearing the worst, but as she listened, it was total silence. Kenzi was sitting on the couch, two pillows covering each side of her head, trying to block out the currently absent noise. Bo walked over and tapped her on the shoulder, breaking her focus on the floor, and the girl looked up at her. Removing the objects from her ears, she realized there were no more sounds being produced from upstairs.
"Sorry, I guess I was concentrating so much on my happy place that I didn't notice they stopped," Kenzi murmured sheepishly. Bo sat down beside her and smiled.
"What did your happy place include exactly?" The succubus asked. She was glad she had just missed the sounds coming from her room, and now she had some time to kill before Lily came down to explain herself.
"Well, fountains of alcohol, a forever shopping spree, never-ending happy hour, a bounce house, lifetime supply of candy underwear...stuff like that," she giggled.
"How about unlimited access to a certain wolfman to help you with that underwear?" Bo asked slyly, almost reading Kenzi's mind. The Russian girl looked apprehensive about Bo's statement at first but when she saw the big smile on her best friend's face, she couldn't conceal her excitement any longer.
"Ooh you but your sweet, sweet succubus ass yes," she squealed. "At first I was afraid because the wolf junk was a no-no, but..." She became serious again, looking questioningly into Bo's eyes to calculate her reaction.
The woman just laughed, happy that her bestie had finally found someone again and was probably durable enough for the girl's tastes. "You don't have to worry Kenz, Dyson and I are over. I'll always love him, but as a brother and friend. You've got the green light from me."
"Good, because that's gonna make it 10 times better when-" Kenzi was interrupted by a loud clomping coming down the stairs, and both woman turned their heads to see a muscular, dark-haired man come through the doorway. His handsome features were plagued with painful surprise and embarrassment as he watched the two woman stare at him from the couch. Coughing awkwardly, he kept his head down as he started to let himself out. Before he reached the door, Kenzi took the opportunity to humiliate him further.
"Thanks for swinging by sexy-face. Oh, and don't worry, your voice should come back in a few hours. Plus, concussions don't last forever! Take care now, bye-bye then."
The man gave her a dirty look before exiting the shack. Bo started cracking up at the ridiculous notions Kenzi had suggested, when Lily came down the stairs from Bo's room and silenced her laughs. The girl wore one of her sister's kimonos, and she was clearly trying not to do the walk of shame. Casually strolling to the kitchen, she attempted to make light conversation to save herself a bit.
"Good morning. Isn't it just, a great day? We should go do something!" She stalled, trying to steer the attention away from the gigantic elephant in the room.
"Oh, I'm afraid you already did 'do' something sweet pea," Bo said lightly, stalking her way towards her sister. "And his name was tall, dark and handsome." Her tone wasn't totally accusatory, but it wasn't exactly happy either.
"Uh...well I..." Lily tripped over her words, searching unsuccessfully for a valid reason why she didn't consult Bo first before feeding. "I was just, really hungry, and he seemed strong! So, I fed...and he didn't die or go into a coma so it's all good, right?"
"He might be a little sore though..." Kenzi added from her position on the sofa.
Bo cornered Lily, and she angled herself so she was looking right into her sisters eyes and the girl couldn't wiggle herself away. "You should've come to me first. It could've gone wrong, and I wouldn't have been there to help. You could've gotten yourself hurt, not to mention you could've killed him!" Lily looked at her like a kicked puppy, and Bo immediately felt awful for saying that to her. Pulling the girl into a hug, she rested her chin on the top the younger fae's head. "I trust you to make the right decisions, but I need you to trust me too. Promise me you'll at least try let me know when you plan to feed next time?"
Lily pushed the woman away to arm's length to stare into her eyes sincerely. "I promise." Giving each other the classic McCorrigan smile, they parted to get ready for the day ahead. Dyson had texted Bo on her way over to meet him and Tamsin at the precinct that morning before they headed back to the house, and it was getting late.
"Should I be worried about what I'm going to find in my room? We need to get ready to leave soon, but I need to know if there's a war-zone up there first," the older fae asked suspiciously, stirring her coffee slowly while eyeing up her sister.
The young succubus smiled guiltily, reaching down to grab a dustpan and little broom. Holding them out to the brunette, she said, "Here. You might need these."
Rolling her eyes, Bo plucked the the items from the girls grip, grumbling as she headed up the stairs. "You really need to get your own room..."
Later that morning, Bo and Lily arrived at the precinct, again stupefying almost the entire station. This time around, the magic spell expanded to include Tamsin, who couldn't keep her mind off of the brunette. Dyson noticed the change in her attitude as they stood around the blonde's file-covered desk, and he decided to pursue it further.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, pulling her away from the desk and the other woman, "You seem unfocused. If you don't want to go back to the funeral home, that's fine."
The blonde took the man's concern as pity, and she gazed at him angrily. "I'm not the one you should be worrying about. Those baby fae over there are probably walking danger magnets, and I'm pretty sure we're dealing with something more serious than the standard nutcase with a fetish toward flowers and dead people."
She took long strides back to her seat, and collected the files from the women, rudely interrupting their reading. "It's time to go back to Creepers' r 'us and bust this guy's ass."
"What, he gives you the heebie-jeebies?" Bo poked at her.
Walking ahead of the rest of the group, the Valkyrie lead them out into the parking lot. "You have no idea succubabe," she sighed heavily. "You have no idea."
Pulling into their destination once again, the group entered the grounds with a little more confidence as last time. Knowing what to expect, they waited for the director to come and meet them outside to escort them in, but he didn't show himself. Not sure of what to do now, the four started around back to examine the grounds for the second time.
The garden looked as chipper as ever, and each person went off on their own to walk sound the premises. Sitting down at one of the benches, Lily leaned her back against the cool wood, a tired headache forming in her brain. She obviously didn't get much sleep the night before, and it was effecting her ability to concentrate. Her eyes closed and her face tilted back some, she took in a deep breath, flushing out her sinuses with the soft and sweet smell of flowers and other plants. In between the fragrant scents, however, there was an individual smell that she couldn't put her finger on. It had a musty, old feeling, but it seemed fresh and mysterious at the same time. Sniffing deeply again and opening her eyes, she could tell it was coming from the back of the garden. Making her way around the path, she came upon the beginning of the woods. The trees thickened in density as she looked farther back into the forest, and the smell became more repugnant as she stepped off the trail into the brush.
"Hey guys?" she called to the others, "You might want to come check this out." The older fae heard her call and made their way to the trees to find Lily standing off the path, staring into the forest with her nose wrinkled and eyebrows furrowed.
"It reeks of death around here!" She exclaimed once they joined her. She had recognized that scent as soon as she reached the edge of the garden, and it put her on high alert almost immediately.
"Yeah I smell it too," Dyson sighed. "At first thought it was just the house, but it's stronger out here." Taking the lead into the trees, he motioned them to follow him. Tamsin and Lily followed close behind, while Bo took up the rear, grumbling about there always having to be hiking.
The brush thickened underfoot as they crunched their way farther into the woods. The forest lost it's cheery appeal while the light overhead dimmed as the trees became closer together. The chirp of birds and insects also dramatically decreased, and soon all that was left was the sound of their footsteps and the wind in the leaves. After walking about a half-mile deep, the group stumbled upon a small, rickety shack. Standing only a few inches taller and wider than Dyson, the shed consisted of planks of decaying wood to hold it together and a skinny, equally rotten door latched on by rusty hinges. It leaned against an outcropping of rocks jutting out from a short yet steeply sloping hill. Ferns and vines surrounded the outer walls of the shanty, but the door was strangely untouched by plants.
Dyson again took the gentleman's initiative to open the door first, revealing a gaping hole in the floor where dirt should have been. The fae looked around at one another, not surprised that there was indeed something darker to the grounds.
"So who wants to go first?" Bo said, shrugging her shoulders.
Tamsin was tired of playing follow-the-leader with Dyson, so before he could lower himself into the hole, she strutted over and dangled her legs into the darkness, trying to get a feel for something. Her feet touched ground, and she dropped into the tiny cave. Turning on her flashlight, she saw a corridor twist away from the hole, offering more passages.
"Are you guys coming or what?" Her voice rang up to the others and echoed around the hole. Dyson was the next to follow, and he helped down both Bo and Lily, one after the other, carefully holding each by their waist until their feet were firmly set on the ground.
Rolling her eyes at the man, his gumption to always be the hero was starting to sicken her, the blonde said, "This way," and beckoned the others to follow her. Rounding the corner came a cleared space and 3 openings in the dirt ahead, each tunnel seeming to get gradually wider.
"So this is the part where we split up," Tamsin said, turning around to face the others. "I'll take the one on the right I guess."
"Are you sure we should separate?" Dyson asked cautiously, not concerned for his safety, but for the sisters beside him. The smell of death was almost unbearable down there, and his wolf-senses told him something was definitely not right deeper into the hole.
The Valkyrie tilted her head and smiled sourly. "Fine. Then i'll take Bo and you take Lily. We can circle around again to the middle one if we have to."
Grabbing Bo's wrist tightly, Tamsin pulled her into the first tunnel. "Come on hotpants."
Dyson looked over at Lily, and she looked back at him with big eyes. Shrugging his shoulders and smiling, he said, "This way," and led her into the tunnel on the left.
Bo and Tamsin continued into depths of the tunnel. The brunette physically deflated when the blonde let go of her wrist, but settled for walking very close to her instead. The walls were made of sod, giving off a warm and earthy scent. Suddenly, they seemed to condense around the two women, squeezing them closer together. Abruptly, they dissolved off into a large cavern. The ceiling was high and every wall was made of tunnel openings, side by side all the way around the circular room. As they entered into the cavern, the darkness was cut only by the beams of the flashlight, and shadows cascaded over surface.
"Well. This is the perfect place to hide dead bodies, It's a freaking maze," Tamsin sighed, separating herself from Bo to walk along part of the wall. "Which one first?"
But the succubus didn't hear her, as she was currently sprinting into one of the openings in the far side of the chamber. "Lily!" she screamed, heading full speed into the darkness.
"Bo, what the fuck are you doing!" Tamsin chased after her, catching up to her and grabbing her by the waist with both hands. Spinning her around, she stared into the woman's wild eyes.
"She's in trouble, can't you hear her screaming?!" The brunette cried, struggling to get out of the detective's grasp.
All the blonde heard was the sound of their heavy breathing. "No, Bo there's nothing! Lily's with Dyson, he'll keep her safe! Stop!" The succubus gave one last flail of her limbs before collapsing into tears in Tamsin's arms. It was true, the phantom screeches bouncing off the walls weren't there anymore.
The Valkyrie awkwardly held the woman close, unsure of what to do. "I'm sorry, I just, I heard her," Bo sniffled onto Tamsin's shirt, "It sounded like Lily screaming to me, needing me to help her, she sounded like she was in so much pain..." The detective's heart melted at the brunette's sadness, and she wrapped her arms tighter around her.
"It's okay, everything's okay. I didn't hear anything. She's fine." The succubus stopped sobbing, and stepped back from Tamsin's embrace.
"Thanks," she said, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
"No problem succulette. Let's go find the bastard who decided to fuck with the wrong fae." She grabbed Bo's hand and intertwined their fingers, both to make sure she didn't run away again and to steady herself incase she heard anything pertaining to her.
Again treading deeper into the maze, they observed a glow coming from the other end of the tunnel. Cautiously putting Bo behind her, the blonde stepped out of the opening, calculating the scene in front of her.
A gasp escaped from the woman behind her as they gazed at the scene in the cavern before them. Bodies were strewn across the dirt floor, and the detective recognized them as the corpses missing from the morgue. In the middle of it all was a giant, grotesque being. The thing was almost transparent, it's body shimmering. It faced away from them, and it's back was covered in spikes and rough patches of skin, and it's skinny arms ended in claws. It's lower body trailed off into waves of blue instead of legs, and it floated in the air. The hunch in it's neck shielded it's features from the two woman, but Bo could tell if the creature turned around to them, it wouldn't be pretty. The glow was coming from it's body, illuminating the cavern with bright blue light.
"Shit. It's a vetala," Tamsin whispered into the brunette's ear.
"What's that?"
"A demon that steals bodies to walk around in and cause all kinds of trouble basically. They usually live in India, but I guess this one found it's way here. These things can be serious bad news."
"How do we get rid of it?" Bo asked, the hair on the back of her neck rising as the thing convulsed, shaking it's head aggressively, distracted by one of the corpses on the ground and not noticing them.
"The only way to cast them out for good is by funerary rites for the bodies they inhabit, but as you can see, we're kind of limited of what we can do right now. The next best thing is to chant good-hearted mantras to drive the bastard away for the time being-"
"BO!" A voice roared through the cavern, causing the vetala to hiss and both woman's breath to hitch in their throats. Dyson burst into the cave on the opposite side from Bo and Tamsin, clearly shaken up. Lily followed him, almost crashing into the man from behind as he came to a sudden halt. His eyes flitted over to the two women, confused that Bo wasn't writhing in pain like he heard. His glare then traveled up to the demon, and he cursed to himself.
The thing screeched, violently shaking the dirt walls, pissed off at the intruders in it's lair. Levitating quickly over to Dyson and Lily, it tried to slice them with it's long talons. The two rolled away just in time, Dyson running over to the two women. Checking to make sure they were okay, he grabbed Bo's shoulders, shaking her slightly. "Go! Me and Tamsin can handle this, take Lily and-"
He was cut off by a shriek from behind him. Letting the succubus go, all three adults turned to witness the sight of the vetala cornering the young fae on the wall, almost enveloping her in it's body. Devilish whispers came from the creature's core, multiple voices overlapping one another, holding the girl in a trance. She was weeping hysterically, her face blanketed with hot tears.
"What's it doing?" Bo asked angrily.
"He's talking to her inside of her mind, we need to stop it before he really does some damage," Tamsin replied. Bo unsheathed her knife, but the blonde just shook her head. "That won't work, just try to distract it so we can get her away."
The three spread out, each taking a side of the thing, Bo on it's far right side, Tamsin on it's left and Dyson in the center. The ungodly voices continued their chants, making the terror flood onto Lily's features and weakening her mindset.
"Hey asshole!" Tamsin yelled, catching the vetala's attention. She kneeled down to one of the bodies, taking out one of her concealed knives from her jacket and lifted it above her head, pretending to going to stab it in the chest. The creature howled at the sight of one of it's corpses about be defiled, leaving just enough time for Bo to roll into the surface of the thing and grab Lily from it's clutches. The demon's body was cold and evil, but the woman paid no mind to the feeling of it on her skin.
Dragging the younger succubus away from the vetala, she tried to stop the girl's screams. "Bo! You told me I wasn't evil, but you lied! He told me everything, I was born to kill when I feed. He showed me the real me, the monster inside. Who I am," she cried, the tears steadily streaming down her face.
"It's okay Bo, it's just what they do, manipulate what someone fears of loves the most, she'll be fine," Dyson said. "Let's get her out of here." Picking up the girl, his arms under her back and crook of her knees, he ran into one of the corridors. She curled up into his chest, sniffling and mumbling.
Bo looked back at Tamsin, who was staring down the monster to Dyson and Lily's retreating form, her thoughts conflicted. Tamsin caught her gaze and gave her a confident grin. "Don't worry succubabe. I got this." The succubus finally made her decision, jogging off into the tunnel, away from the valkyrie.
"Alright let's get this party started." Tamsin said smugly, crouching into a defensive stance. But instead of coming up with a snide mantra to throw at the vetala, her mind came up blank.
Shit, she cursed internally as the creature charged into her, her body slamming into the wall. Being a Valkyrie, she wasn't one for good-minding thoughts, and being under so much pressure made it even tougher to create one. The blonde felt her conscious slipping into the creature's control, it's mental tentacles searching the far corners of her brain to find a weakness.
It found it's target, and Tamsin physically tensed at the sound of Bo's voice echoing through her mind. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to block out some of the stimulation, but a vision of Bo appeared vividly in her mind, making it worse.
"Come on Tamsin, I know you want to. I love you Tamsin, stay with me forever." The vision changed from Bo begging on her knees to the two of them having sex. The succubus was rubbing herself up and down the detective, moans eliciting from both woman. The sight sickened and aroused her at the same time, knowing it wasn't real but still possible. Her own conscious trickled back into her mind a little, letting her grasp more control on her thoughts.
Tamsin used these graphic images to come up with her mantra. Forcing her eyes to open, she glared up into the vetala's glowing blue eyes. She concentrated on Bo's touch, her eyes, her smile. "I love her. You will never change that. I love her." She repeated the phrase over and over, causing the vetala to back off of her screaming. It screeched once more before evaporating into thin air. The blonde stood up slowly, massaging her temples. The enormity of what she had chanted to the creature scared her, but was true. Stumbling her way into the dark to find her flashlight and regroup the others, she knew there was yet another shit-storm waiting for her outside of the hole. She sighed, wishing she was just back in her bed, alone.
PS: I was on YouTube the other day looking for random songs, and I stumbled upon Disgusting by Kesha and it's weirdly perfect to describe how Tamsin feels about Bo right now! I just can't handle it, look it up!