Chapter 3

Each breath, more and more strained, her vision blurry from blood spilling into her eyes- The air was thick with a distinct scent overwhelmed with blood, a mixture of her own and many others. The sword of her Grandmother's protectively wrapped in her red sticky fingers, she strained against a strong presence keeping them away. With blurred vision, she couldn't see her enemy but was on the verge of buckling under their strength. Fire disintegrating weak muscles, she wouldn't be able to hold them off much longer. His deep voice began taunting her knowing his victory was close. "Silly girl, your arrogance will be the death of you," blue eyes fluttered shut as hard pavement collided with her back, the sword falling beside her, clinging loudly in her ears. "Your attempt to over throw the Dark was a failure, and you'll never see the chance again."

Death was close, she could taste its bitterness. The thought wasn't terrifying, life was a game, she smiled wanting the last laugh. "I'll give the Morrigan your love," she spoke breathlessly with her head tilted toward the sky in a nonchalant matter. "I put her head in my attic to feed the rats."

"And yours will go in the sewer." He sucked in a breath raising his weapon high, she refused to watch not wanting his face to be the last thing she saw in life.

Lauren came to mind instead.

She spent her last breaths in fantasy as her wife.

Bo Dennis Lewis.

And then nothing.

The water splashed over the sides of the tub as she broke the surface gasping. The sound of life filled the room, confused, she desperately wiped wet strands of hair from her eyes. The little girl stood smiling down into her panicked gaze, anger quickly replaced confusion and she launched at the ghostly figure. Falling face first onto the cold floor, she scrambled to sit up and met her taunting smile from across the small bathroom.

"What the hell was that?" She demanded feeling the burn in her arms from straining to stay alive. The vision seemed so real. Her heart raced in her chest beating wildly from fear and adrenaline, similar to how she felt in battle moments before. Even the smell of death remained imbedded in her nostrils, her hands trembled against the tile as she fought to keep the contents down in her stomach.

"I come bearing the gift of prophecy." The young face of the Nain Rouge remained expressionless. "You have chosen a dangerous path."

"I didn't choose anything," she snapped reeling from her own death. The sensations real and intense, she needed time to process everything. The vision didn't make sense to her. Yes, lately the urge to rule was overwhelming, but she still managed control over her wicked subconscious. "Ruling is in my blood, my grandfather is the Blood King, but that- That doesn't mean I would go kill the Morrigan and take on the Dark Fae by myself." The words sounded incredulous spoken out loud. "Those aren't my plans, sorry sweetheart. Your vision is wrong."

"Was it... Wrong the last time?" The Nain Rouge questioned smiling with confidence that infuriated her. The idea that the little girl could be right about the course of her future was disturbing. It made her feel insane and out of control.

She was in complete control.

"This prophecy isn't real. I have power over the course of my future. I can control who I kill and who I don't-"

The abrupt laughter of the little girl stunned her silent. She closed parted lips watching the young appearing Fae grin evilly. "You have control over who you kill?" The question felt like a slap to the face, her stomach dropped knowing where the conversation was heading. "I also foresaw the day you would attack the one you wished to marry. It's rare when my own predictions shock me. I had to see for myself the day the beautiful caring Ysabeau betray her own heart to fulfill the selfish desires of a succubus, on the day you planned to marry at that. How many humans have been slaughtered since? You, my dear Ysabeau, are a threat to everyone, including light and Dark Fae. I came as a mirror before you, do you see the great champion who defeated the powerful Garuda? Or do you see someone potentially worst? If you can attempt to kill the one that you love-"

"Enough!" She didn't want to hear anymore. The Nain Rouge was right but instead of facing the truth, she preferred to runaway and ignore it. The creepy dead girl didn't understand what she dealt with on a daily basis. The constant struggle to deny the evil associated with her biology anything was a draining fight in itself. "I didn't kill Lauren. I would never.. EVER kill her." She stressed each syllable fully believing in them. "You don't know anything. You're lifeless and miserable and strive to spread your misery to others. It doesn't work with me, sorry but you're wasting your time."

"As I said before, dear Ysabeau. I come before you as a mirror..." With one last smirk, the image of the little girl faded into thin air, disappearing before her eyes.

"Arghh," the sound of a guttural moan caused his eyes to snap open. They strained against the intense pounding behind them. Sensing an unfamiliar surrounding, pounding ignored, he stood up and instinctively wrapped strong hands around rusted steel bars. Trapped in a cell cold and dimly lit, he wracked his brain for answers looking all around for an escape route.

Bo was the last thing he remembered. The succubus had killed another innocent human, he tried to wake him but couldn't, she refused to give him life back, tried walking out... And then... He... Tried to stop her but she... She did something, somehow got inside of his head and... And then nothing. A frustrated hand raked through his hair as he fought back an aggressive roar threatening to rip through his chest, nothing made sense.

Bo managed to control him without the use of her blood, how? The succubus was tampering with abilities requiring several years of training to develop and properly harness. Without the help of another succubus to guide her, it wouldn't be possible for her to have such a spike in power. Even with the help of another succubus, years of training would still be required to properly develop her new found strength, knowledge and power sanely.

Becoming increasingly restless, he remembered being a small boy and hearing the legends of Aife burn around the world like wildfire, spreading fear and shock amongst the people. Hundreds of the King's men died in battle against the growing band of rebels, never standing a chance against them.

Aife was never born a succubus. There were no succubus' found in either the King or Queen's bloodline. Having known Trick for so long, he learned everything about the war, treaty and the woman who raised an army with the use of her blood. Aife wasn't born a succubus, but possessed by an incubus. He gave her a fraction of his strength and power, being a blood sage, it was rumored the power of the succubus came naturally to her. Another rumor claimed the incubus had fallen madly in love with her, but Dyson didn't believe it.

Not much was known about the incubus and succubus demons, other than they loved to prey in the dream realm. Legend of their origins traced back to the heavens, they were cast down for being corrupt and wicked, on earth they took the form of man. Notorious for being gorgeous, closely resembling the perfect forms of angels, behind perfect smiles and eyes lied evil in its purest form. They didn't love humanity, they loved messing with humans for entertainment. Striving off sex, they raped and tortured men and women, their offspring resulting in the Fae.

The legend of the demons also stated this was used as a form of revenge for being cast down to earth. Fae offspring were created to slaughter God's human creation.

It didn't work.

Fae had human in them, they could still feel emotion and weren't possessed by evil. A majority of Fae looked human, possessing more human traits than demonic ones. After awhile, the Demon's stopped breeding with humans, deeming the Fae failures to their vengeful plan of human extinction. The Fae were left untouched, continuing to reproduce within their own kind or with humans. Reproducing with humans would result in human offspring, reproducing with Fae would produce Fae offspring, a demon could reproduce with humans and produce Fae offspring, and two demons would reproduce demon offspring.

Bo was a succubus, but it remained unclear if she was Fae or Demon. What little is known about the incubus and succubus deem them full blown demons with lineage leading back to the heavens, but Aife wasn't born Demon and Bo's father was rumored to have been an incubus, but not even the Blood King was entirely sure of her father's heritage. Every now and then, she showed signs of demon, but she also had a heart and the ability to love and care for others.

At least, she used to.

The many recent deaths were beginning to make sense now. Somehow, Bo learned to feed in the dream realm, he was familiar with the method, recognized her stance above the young man's body; her skin glowing gold as she channeled her spirit into his sleeping mind, consuming all life to quench a starving appetite. Overwhelmed with a sudden surge of power, its origins unknown, she had to constantly feed to keep up with the toll ushered on an unprepared body and mind overloaded with unimaginable capability and strength.

She needed Trick immediately.

The Blood King would have answers, he dealt with the same problem centuries ago with his own daughter.

Sitting in an unknown jail cell was going to be a problem, he went back to the front of the cage, looking from right to left. More cells lined the dungeon like space, "where am I?!" He called out unable to see any prisoners in the faint light, but their scent told him he wasn't alone.

"The Morrigan's prison." A deep voice drifted down the hall. The answer made his head hurt more. He was in Dark Fae custody awaiting a meeting with one of the most wicked Fae in history. The Morrigan rightfully ruled over the dark having little compassion for others and loved having her dungeons full of prisoners to torture and mutilate on a whim. He began pulling on the bars in an attempt to free himself, mustering all of his wolf strength, he let out a mighty roar and then growled in frustration.

There was no escaping without a key.

Eyes closing, so nice, feels awesome- "This might work." Wide awake and alert, she focused tired eyes on the young looking wizard sitting across from her. Several books lied scattered around the two, there was no exaggerating the Blood King's library, it was huge. "Adloiasous Soliosis." She fought back a chuckle thinking it sounded like a wicked STD. "You could temporarily wipe someone's memory out." He looked up at her from the book in his lap. "That should tame an evil succubus."

The term sounded bad, she wanted to cringe. Is that what they were dealing with? Hours spent together were spent discussing Bo, Talisin was nice enough to put aside his own curriculum to focus on her problem. He was intrigued from the beginning, and possibly had the hots for her. Mission rescue Bo had become both of their priorities, escalating at Dyson's disappearance, she rarely saw Trick and Hale anymore. Filling in as a temporary bar tender was fun, she gave herself and Talisin free samples and knew how to entertain the Fae with drunken humor, sobering up immediately at seeing the Blood King walk by, serious as ever lately. "Temporary? It would wear off and then she'd go all psycho again." She yawned and then looked down at her phone. It was late afternoon, she was hung over and a few hours away from having to watch the bar again.

"You must be exhausted." His concern seemed genuine as he closed the book and stood on long legs. "Why don't you get some rest? I'll keep reading and figure out what won't take me a century to learn." She immediately shook her head needing to save Bo. "Kenzi, it's fine. You're human. Your body demands more rest than mine. I could go several days awake before I yawn once. Please just take a nap, I'll be fine continuing alone."

She hesitated needing sleep, but needing Bo more. Growing up in a chaotic household, tragedy wasn't new to her, she dealt well with life's unfortunate events, but everyday without her best friend was beginning take its toll on her. "Alright." She threw in the towel feeling uncharacteristically down. "I'll see you later." With a tired smile, she stood up and left the library in search of a warm nurturing bed.

The Dal seemed normal and collected on the outside, but inside was pure chaos. The Blood King roamed the halls stressed out, mostly giving orders, along with Hale, an official search party of their guards were sent out to find Bo and Dyson. They feared the worst, one of them killing the other and then fleeing. Kenzi wondered if Bo had it in her to kill Dyson. Exhaustion prevented her from thinking too long. Her room was small but comfortable, it was enough. She collapsed on the bed and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Walking, each step felt foreign, she was a visitor on the set of a show. Watching the main character approach the doorstep, she could see the desperation pooling silently in a drunken daze craving who lied on the other side of the door. For long minutes, she stood on an outside mat reading 'welcome' staring into the small glass of the peep hole. The vision still felt real. Why in her dying seconds would she think of Lauren and the love they once shared? It went against everything her subconscious whispered.

There were no voices tonight, vodka drowned them out, except the Nain Rouge's taunting smile remained... The key to Lauren's home shook in her hand entering the lock.

Everything was how she left it, neat and clean. A strange sense of deja vu came over her. Walking into Lauren's home, she silently closed the door for the 100000th time since knowing the Doctor. She knew exactly where she'd be, working hard on some new vaccine or decoding weird Fae DNA. Sometimes, her voice could be heard as she spoke to herself out loud recording notes. Sometimes, the succubus would stand outside and listen savoring the sound of her voice. Strong and brilliant, she could spend a lifetime listening to the sweet sound, especially at her spoken name, in a whisper or moan-

The succubus shook her head reaching out to the wall, she was beginning to sway. Her head fell against her forearm submerged in darkness, listening to her own breathing. The doctor was nearby, she could feel her in the other room. This wasn't a good idea, what was she doing there? The vision replayed in her mind and out of frustration her hand came up into a fist, hitting the wall with a hard thump that shook the doors in the hall. The city no longer felt good, she was destined to be alone with no one around to kill. Something convinced her she was immortal, maybe she was, but without feeding she'd spend forever sick.

Maybe that was okay.

For some reason, being drunk also meant she had a conscious again. Feeding on the desperate drug addicts, killing them, she thought of their families. She had to flee- A soft touch to the shoulder, she emerged from her thoughts only to feel her breath catch in panic. "I have to go," she dropped her arm turning away from the hand. Not wanting to see the eyes of the woman she once loved, she kept hers closed until reaching the living room, stumbling into the door-

"Bo," she could have fallen to her knees at the desperation, pain soaked her name, drunk and conflicted, the sound pierced her heart. "Please stay..." Captivated by the doorknob, the exit, her hand felt powerless to grasp it. It yearned for Lauren, to hurt or hold her close, she wasn't able to decipher which she wanted more.

"I need another drink." She felt like her recent victims. Out of control, desperate, she needed help controlling the beast. Love wasn't what brought her there, her intentions weren't sweet. "Do you have Vodka?"

She left the roses at home holding only the thorns.

"Yes," she stood across the room with the darkest circles under her eyes. The alcohol had nothing to do with the beauty she found in her exhaustion. Knowing Lauren, she probably only slept when passing out and rarely ate while conducting research. "Sit, please?" Her blood sitting in a glass plate under the microscope with the doctor's eyes examining every detail in search of a cure, she didn't have to be around to kill the doctor.

She would do it to herself.

The blonde moved with unsteady hands, her demeanor shaky. A familiar feeling came over her, convincing her to calm the doctor down. She deserved Lauren to be terrified of her, but it was hard to watch. "Breathe," she stood near her now, close enough to reach out. The blonde's back was to her as she poured the clear liquor into a small glass. The extent of her weight loss was painfully evident. The urge to run her hands over the contours of each protruding bone intoxicating. Her eyes came up as Lauren faced her. Glass falling, she remained focused on her tear stained face, ignoring the shattered glass completely.

"Sor- Sorry, it- it was," she stilled the doctor from kneeling down, loosely holding onto her forearms. "Your eyes."

"I'm hungry." She responded with an electric stare watching her stand back up. Her doctor, girlfriend, and then fiance always had this affect on her, but things were different now. "Sorry," Lauren was none of those things anymore, she released her and took a step back-

"It's okay." The doctor took her hand urging her back to her.

Lauren struggled to remain composed, it was a losing battle. Her dark eyes filled with tears, they fell one after the other accompanying unsteady breathing. She seemed on the brink of a nervous break down, even the hold on her hand seemed desperate, unable to ever let go. 'I missed you' didn't do her deteriorating appearance justice. She gave into desire and snaked her arms around a starving body, feeling the tips of Lauren's hip bones press against her. She embraced her dearly, holding her delicate form as close to her as possible. The human meant to be her wife would never fall short of being the most beautiful woman in the world. Speechless, she didn't use words to comfort the doctor, her hands found their way under a tucked shirt, exploring milky pale skin as her mouth found the corner of her lips, tasting the salt from her tears.

The doctor's hands came up to her face as she trembled against her body. The alcohol was quickly being replaced with the desires of a succubus, she felt light headed needing to devour and ravish the woman teasing her neck with blunt fingernails. "Lauren," she whispered pleading, unsure of what she was fighting. Sex was undeniable for her, especially when Lauren was involved, following the need to consume life. "I can't- I shouldn't-" She wished the doctor would push her away, force her to leave- Their lips met instead, her protests silenced by a sudden kiss.

There was no turning back.

Lifting her light frame from a pool of glass, she set the doctor on the kitchen's island never releasing her lips. She fed hungrily on them, devouring all emotion. Her precious hands were felt on her face and deep in her hair, they spoke of desperate longing and despair, needing her closer. With a moan, she joined the doctor on the island covering her thin body like a sheet with her own. Bo Dennis Lewis. Looking up, she broke the kiss feeling Lauren's mouth move to her neck. The Nain Rouge stood before them, she could feel urgent hands move along her body, they tugged at the strapped sword on her back. Ignoring the dead eyes of an unwelcome child, she focused on the woman of her desires instead. Panting breaths, flushed skin, dilated pupils yearned for deeper contact, they matched her own eyes screaming to touch, taste and ravish naked flesh. "Lets go to bed."

Her boots hit the ground, pulling Lauren by the waist, she hoisted her former fiance from the countertop with ease feeling the doctor wrap her thinning arms and legs around her. A slave to her instincts, she swallowed down all concern, Lauren's starvation didn't matter. With her lips, she fed her pleasure along with false reassurance. The thought boiled violently in the back of her mind as she slammed the blonde against the nearest wall becoming more aggressive with the lips in her mouth. Darkness weighed heavily on her shoulder, whispering terrible things into her ear, they were all so appealing. Raking her teeth along the bottom lip against her tongue, she wanted to feed, needing the warmth and euphoria like a helpless junkie.

The blue in her eyes suddenly came alive. Seeing the flesh of her lover's neck, she sucked the skin there into her mouth feeling a hand cup her breast. This is foolish. A voice appeared inside of her head, she ignored it nipping along flushed skin sighing against the heated flesh against a frantic pulse. "Off," eager hands accompanied the breathless command, tugging at the thin material of her shirt. She allowed them to undress her, kissing the doctor almost violently before the sword on her back and jacket fell to the floor.

The back of her legs somehow found the arm of the couch, Lauren removed her shirt discarding the black material. Listening to the breathless inhales and exhales of their lungs, her former fiance stared only at her body, never her eyes. She quickly freed her breasts from a black bra taking one mound against a rough palm and the other with a famished mouth. Losing her hands in a sea of blonde, she drowned in pleasure despite feeling the child's presence. There was no shame in the way her head fell back sighing in bliss. Lauren's touch was as raw as her own, a mixture of pain and love, the doctor had every right to be angry. Falling back onto the couch, her former fiance fell with her. Biting her neck, a hand slipped under the waistband of her black jeans and she moaned out loud at the polar sensations of pain and pleasure.

Their lips met again, fervently. Fingers doused in wetness teased her clit mercilessly, she felt her own voice vibrate down the blonde's throat with each whimper and moan. "You're so close," a hot voice tickled her ear as the hand began moving faster against her. "I can feel you." The darkness behind closed eyes seemed to flicker with a thousand shooting stars. "You are here to feed, my lips are right here." They emphasized their point by sucking along the shell of her ear. "Use me, Bo. Just use-"

Strong arms constricted around the doctor, firmly holding onto the soft skin of her face, she kissed her sucking urgently into her mouth. The succubus' legs began to tremble around the blonde's waist, she became woven into the woman she fed on. Eyes vibrant, they rolled into the back of her head lost in ecstasy. She didn't want to recover from the orgasm in a heap of quivering limbs, shaking and more alive than ever, she sat up entangled in Lauren and possessed her mouth, ripping the clothes from her skin. Moaning, she grabbed the hand still pleasuring her and removed it, holding both the doctor's wrists with one hand behind her back, she took the blonde's breast into her mouth sucking harshly before raking her teeth over a hardened bud. Trailing the skin between her breasts with her lips, they sucked down her stomach, nipping above her bellybutton before maneuvering the blonde onto her back underneath her.

Staring down between their bodies, she unbuttoned the doctor's pants watching her former fiance do the same to her own jeans. She slid Lauren's off first and then allowed the blonde to do the same to her. No words were spoken, the doctor avoided her gaze closing her eyes as she took her lips again. Urging the doctor onto her back, she felt the delicate skin of her inner thighs press against her hips invitingly. She hovered above Lauren releasing her lips to look down between their bodies again, fingers following the gaze, she traced the bones of her ribcage continuing down her flat stomach. Reaching the heat of her center, her hand abruptly moved upward disappearing into blonde hair, grazing her lips with her own before watching her head turn away suddenly, crying outloud. Thrusting her hips into the doctor, she also voiced her pleasure moaning with each stroke of her clit against Lauren's. Burying her face into the expanse of her neck, bruising the flesh with her mouth, she felt desperate nails dig into the expanse of her back wanting to swallow Lauren's screams. Lifting her head, breathing heavily, with heavily hooded eyes she craved to feed again. Her former fiance seemed withdrawn, moaning what she wasn't able to control, her head faced the couch cushion with eyes strained shut and moist lips parted.

Cupping her face with one hand, she nipped at her bottom lip feeling her back arch high against her quivering abs. Capturing her name before it left Lauren's mouth, she felt the flood of euphoria drown them both, causing entangled arms and legs to tremble against each other. The woman she took and fell from ecstasy with could only breathe hoarsely into her mouth as she continued thrusting against her. With bright blue eyes, the hand cupping a flushed face tightened as she focused on giving life rather than taking. The feeling was still new to her, having done it a handful of times, watching the color change in the doctor's eyes, they became lighter and vibrant as she gave her more and more of herself, so much of her own life that she could almost feel the world begin to fade around her. Normally, she'd only give a small minute fraction to wake the dead, but this was different. She wanted to fill Lauren with a part of herself, breathing in the life and energy of a succubus, only darkness finally caused her to stop.

Do you realize what you've done?! A voice boomed inside of her head. The world came back fuzzy at first, clearing to the sight of an angry child standing by the couch with a horrified expression painting her dead face. Looking away from the unwanted intrusion, she met Lauren's peacefully sleeping eyes. Wanting to drop her head back onto her pale chest and drift back to sleep, weak and starving, it wouldn't be a good idea.

Turning her head, she met the dead girl again. Enjoy the show? She spoke to the Nain Rouge through her mind, not wanting to wake the doctor. I personally think you should have waited outside to chat...

You know why I'm here. She responded seriously her dead face somber. I come to warn of great disasters. This wasn't a good idea, Ysabeau. She's going to be sick, deathly ill and where will you be to comfort her? You are irresponsible and foolish.

Losing patience with the Nain Rouge, she carefully stood from the couch kneeling beside it to slide her arms under the sleeping woman. I'm gone for a month and look at her. Gently lifting her into her arms, she stood up holding her like a little child. She looks like she hasn't slept or eaten in years, I know her. She doesn't know when to stop. I'm stopping her, she's no longer empty. There's no need to spend twenty hour days in front of a microscope anymore. Even if she never sees me again, even if I die, now she'll be okay.

This was an act of disaster. Opening the bedroom door, she approached the bed they once shared. Forcing this burden upon her wasn't noble, why did you come here in the first place? You are a wicked species, no Fae has truly trusted you. The Blood King was wrong in allowing you life. The words were viciously spoken in her head, it had no affect on the way she softly placed Lauren on the mattress, covering her naked body with their favorite comforter.

Both Dark and Light wanted you burned on a stake as an infant, Aife's crimes against the Fae was enough to condemn you both to death, but the Blood King protected you. Allowing you to live with humans in hopes you would grow with a conscious and heart. Your father has been a mystery to us all, you are still a mystery, and when light began to shed on a hero great enough to defeat the Garuda, earning all of our trust, you turn and begin to kill to satisfy your biology. What else does it demand, Ysabeau?

A piece of mind. She retorted sarcastically leaving the room. What are you so worried about? Aren't you dead already? She questioned softly closing the door before walking down the hallway. The last thing my body demands is an annoying know it all, I think you're safe.

I never claim to know all, just devastation. I feel the worst from you, Ysabeau. My purpose is to witness great disasters, you have given me plenty to watch since your birth. Collecting discarded clothing from around the livingroom, it was hard to focus on their conversation. The sword shook in her hand from bad nerves, she had to feed immediately. Strapping the scabbard to her back, she stopped at the front door before leaving, turning her head.

The Nain Rouge stood in the middle of the room staring blankly into her eyes. "Maybe you should have burned me to a stake because I murdered the humans I grew up with." The memory of her high school sweetheart came to mind. "My name was Beth and I was a freak of nature, the Blood King was stupid. He knew what I was, and it sounds like he knew where I was. Why did he put their lives at risk?" She was furious now. "To keep me in the dark, to save your asses? What did you think would happen? The baby will just grow up thinking she's human, becoming nothing like her evil parents who slaughtered the Fae on a whim, great plan guys. It didn't work." Turning the knob in her hand, done with the Nain Rouge, she angrily slipped out into the night needing to feed.