Mine...Yours Pt. 03

"Mom, please do not take that shot! Just take your blood test again and tell me what it says."

"Why, what's going on Gregory?"

"Please just do it."

"You are acting very strange son, but..."

"Mom if you do it I will come out and spend the day with you and Dad and I will bring pizza and wash and wax your van!"

There was silence over the phone. "Are you alright Gregory? You're worrying me."

"Please mom, just take your blood test."

I heard over the phone the "Ouch" of Mom pricking her finger, just like she has to do two to three times a day to check her blood glucose level. That coupled with having to take shots of insulin so she doesn't die makes things, difficult for her most times. My Mom has diabetes, had it ever since she was twelve years old. It's been hard for her, but she is still one of the happiest people I know. I don't know how she does it, but she does. The disease has started to affect her nerves, causing horrible cramps in her legs that wake her up crying and yelling as her muscles spasm. If this works...if this works...please!

I heard a gasp over the phone. "Mom!" There was silence.

"Something is wrong with the machine." I heard Mom say, but her voice was tremulous. "I checked myself earlier and the test read 190. The doctors told me, that normal for me is between 80-120. This says I am 113. It must be a false reading I need to test again."

I heard another ouch, but Mom was panting a little, I could hear the excitement in her voice. Then I heard a beep of her tester. "It says 113... Greg, it says 113!" I heard her laugh, and then she stopped. "I need to set you down Gregory!" I heard the phone land with a hollow "thunk" then the sounds of stuff being moved around.

"Mom? MOM!" I called. I heard the phone get picked back up. "I have some of the old color changing strips left. While I am still bleeding I am going to try one of those. Third times the charm right son? Also, the machine tester could be broken, these don't lie." She sounded so excited, and then quiet. I heard a sob.

"Mom? Mom, talk to me!" I heard her crying and I grit my teeth. "It's the same!" I heard her say between gasps.

"They are all the same Greg! I don't understand. Am I better? Is this permanent, or is this going to just last today, was it something I ate? What's going on?" She continued crying.

I tried to calm down, but I was so...excited seems like such a shallow word for how I felt! "Mom, first thing is when Dad gets home from work you set up an appointment with him to go to the clinic and get some blood work done. I think...I really think you're cured. You are no longer a diabetic Mom." I heard the crying intensify and I wished I was there right then so I could hug her. Even if they were happy tears, I never liked seeing my Mom cry.

A little later she settled down, and she still was sniffling. "Greg, are you still there?"

"Yes Mom. I'm here."

"Did you make this happen? Did you cure me? I know I say I don't want you to hang around those gobliny friends of yours...did they do this for me?"

How do I answer that, (Yes Mom, I made a deal with the Queen of the Succubae, and half of the payment was you being cured of diabetes!) I shook my head. "They did it for me Mom. Just wait until Dad comes home, tell him what happened, show him the test strips and go to the clinic. Okay?"

I heard her inhale a breath then let it out slowly. "Alright son, I'll do it. I love you."

"I love you to Mom...bye."

"Bye, oh wait! Tell whoever did this I will bake them an apple crisp! I want to thank them myself."

"I'll tell them, bye Mom."

I hung up the phone, and felt my eyes watering again. I walked back down stairs and saw Mother drinking some more coffee, and Lucretia nervously pacing the floor. Mother looked slightly up at me as I drew closer. She looked confused as I took the cup out of her hands and placed it onto the table. Her mouth full of serrated teeth dropped open as I drew her into my arms and gently hugged her close to me. She spoke first after a gasp of surprise.

"I saw you thought to do this to me when you came downstairs, I didn't believe you would!" she said softly.

I didn't say anything, but held her closer, my tears falling in her white hair. I took a breath to speak, but it caught in my throat and after my voice squeaked once I gave up and just held her.

"You don't need to speak Gregory Brooks. When you can speak clearly though, I would like you to tell me what this apple crisp thing is."

I chuckled and then let her go. Man what an emotional roller coaster today was being. I get attacked, threatened with death, make breakfast for royalty, and Mom gets healed of a lifelong degenerative disease. I glance at the clock. It's still not even 5pm yet!

"There was something else you wanted as your price?" Mother asked. I nodded. I went to the small cabinet just inside the back door where I came in every night from work. On it, was an empty plastic gallon milk jug. Every time I came in I would set my wallet, keys, can of chew and other items that find their way into my pockets while I am out. The coins all went into the milk jug, and they have been adding up over the years. The jug was about three quarters the way full and so heavy I was afraid to pick it up by just the handle.

I handed it to her, "See this jug?" Silly question, of course she saw it! "What I need is this. To take care of Lucy..." The owner of said names snarl interrupted me. "My name is Lucretia! Use it or lose your tongue!" I considered, I wasn't afraid of losing my tongue. I knew now I could defend myself against her, even if it was only sporadically. But I never liked people making up names for me either. She had a fair point. "Fine, Lucretia." Strangely, saying her name while looking at her, in her eyes I felt that weird tremor again. Just like in the kitchen when I was feeding the pair breakfast. I wanted...longed... I pushed the thought away for another time. Glancing back at the succubus I saw she must have been feeling something as well. What it was I didn't know, but her face was now pensive, agitated.

"I am going to need more financial help if she is going to be staying with me. I need the value of this milk jug in gold once a month." I figured there to be anywhere between 300-500 dollars in there. Mother unscrewed the cap and dumped some of the coins in her hand. She carefully examined each one.

"Anything else?" she asked, examining a penny closely. I shook my head. "What about revenge?" I blinked.

"I could give you your revenge, wouldn't you rather have that?" she clarified. I gulped. Send Mother after Dawn? She could make anything, ANYTHING happen to the woman who wronged me! My hands would be clean, I would have the perfect alibi I...

"No thanks. I appreciate the offer though." Lucretia snorted. Mother glared at her daughter.

"I hope you learn the lesson he just taught you right here daughter. It would do you well to remember it!" she snapped.

I was confused at what the lesson was myself and said so. Mother rolled her eyes at me, where did she learn to do that?

"From you." She said.

"Excuse me?" I asked, startled out of my thoughts.

"Rolling my eyes as an expression of frustration or exasperation. I learned that from you earlier."

Darn mind readers! Keeping me on my toes and surprising me!

Mother smiled...I shuddered.

"Done, I accept your terms and conditions as so thought, stated, and interpreted." Mother declared and clapped her hands sharply, once.

"Mother, I will not do this!" Lucretia stated firmly.

Mother ignored her and continued looking at me and went on as if she had not heard her speak. The words seemed to be more for Lucretia than me.

"We succubae have used this plane as our hunting grounds for eons. In all that time you humans, and vampyres, and lycans have remained alien. We do not understand you, and you do not understand us. I care not whether you understand our kind. I do care about understanding you." Her white eyes slowly shifted down my form and back up to my face. I had the hideous impression she was seeing much more of me than I wanted her too, all over again.

"This is why I want my daughter bound to you for as long as you wish to teach her. That way in turn she can teach others of our kind. That is why she will do this, and she still has an out. If you do not bind her strongly enough, she will find a loophole as you call it. Then she will kill you." She chuckled at that.

I shrugged. "She's been threatening to kill me since I met her. It's been kind of losing its force with how often both you and her say it. I have probably been threatened with death by you both twenty times, from when she swore by the Empty Throne to kill me, until now!"

Lucretia shrank back from her mother and looked like she was going to run. Mother kept staring at me, and I swear I could see something invisible shimmer next to her before it became still. "Is that what she said, her exact wording was to kill you?"

I swallowed, "Umm, I believe it was, "I swear by the Empty Throne to hunt you down and feast on every bit of energy you possess!" it was something like that."

"Did you swear this by something that was not yours to swear by, Lucretia?" she asked, her voice soft and dangerous.

"Y...Yes, Mother." Came the quiet reply. The Queen sighed and lowered her head.

"This changes nothing, wheels have been set in motion that are impossible if not foolish to stop. We will begin the binding, remember to keep firmly in mind what freedoms she will have and how she is to obey you."

I shook my head to clear out the cobwebs, still thinking of wheels and plans. "Wait isn't this a contractual negotiation? Aren't I supposed to sign something?"

"We could, I prefer the older method myself, much more concrete that a piece of paper."

"Then how...Whoa!" An invisible force lifted me and plunked me down in a chair at the kitchen table. It did the same thing to the still naked Lucretia, and I got a great view of her body as she sailed through the air and landed in the chair across from me.

I stared across at my soon to be student, who looked just as pole-axed as I did. "You ever done this before?" I asked.

"Once." She replied.

"How did it go?"

"I found a loophole and beat him so hard that he couldn't fly for a long time!" she growled.

What wings? I thought only humans did this contractual binding type thing. Suddenly Mother was standing next to us, and she had one of our hands in each of hers. Lucretia changed into her grey skinned form and glared at me with solid black eyes. Mother pierced Lucretia's palm with one sharp fingernail and did the same thing to mine. Then she slapped our hands together and our fingers locked into a tight hold on each other. I tried to let go, but my fingers wouldn't unclench! Mother smiled down at us, and I glanced over at her.

"So...what do we do now?" I asked,

"Now, you begin." She stated.

Chapter 11: Bound

"Begin what?" I hope my voice wasn't as high as it sounded. It was strange, the sensations were all incredible, and weird. I would try to explain it but unless you have shaken a succubus' bloody hand with your own, you don't really have a frame of reference. The contrast of my wide thick fingered hand and her long slender fingers with sharp claws was very disconcerting. I could feel the silk of her skin, with a touch of roughness from those little shiny black sparkles. They felt like glass of all things.

"We covered payments, and compensation for services rendered..." Mother began, and then Lucretia finished, "...now we cover how much control you have over my actions!"

Okay, now I see how loopholes could be formed. I could say she had to obey me, but if she just followed the letter of the law, obeying exactly my words, I could be found in breach of contract and she would try to kill me. In fact, pretty much everything could have a loophole in it! I don't have a genius IQ; I am not some super-smart Einstein in jeans and a t-shirt. I don't know what to say! I don't...

Actually, I got an idea. William had told me that it was the wordiness of the contracts that tripped humans up into deals that screwed them. Well, I am not very wordy, at least verbally. My head is like a dozen playful kittens and a crate of yarn. I can ramble on and on about the craziest stuff and miss whole conversation and important events.

Like binding myself to a succubae, got it.

Focus Greg. Keep it simple. What is the shortest and bestest (I know it's not a real word but it SHOULD be!) way to keep this binding safe for me? I could feel her blood mixing with mine, each beat of my heart pushing more of the red fluid out and into the mix forming in our hands, and dripping on the table. I could see little splatters of the liquid on the off white plastic surface. Kind of reminded me of oil and water, you can put the fluids in the same glass but they will still be separate. Her black blood pooling but still separate in color, as if it was too good to mix with my own My own...my...I got it!

I looked up from where our hands were joined, and gently rubbed my thumb on the back of her hand. She blinked and looked down at the caress. Then I spoke. "Mine."

Both Mother, and Lucretia looked at me, waiting for more, or at least an explanation. I shook my head, closing my eyes. I could feel pressure building in me, like when I activate my sight, but bigger. Much bigger. I opened my eyes to see their expectant expressions. Waiting for me to speak.

"Mine." I said again.

Lucretia looked up anxiously at Mother. "What does that mean?" Mother just stared at me, though her white eyes seemed a little extra shiny.

"Do you know what you are doing Gregory?" Mother asked.

"Mine."

"You are taking everything."

"Mine."

"You must give what you take." I could hear the warning in her voice. I smiled at her and for a moment I thought I saw a ghost of a smile pass her lips. She turned to her daughter.

"Your answer?" she asked.

"NO!" Lucretia snarled and tried to pull her hand away. I clasped tighter. If I let go, I just knew my mom would be a diabetic again. I would also be hunted and slaughtered by this beautiful creature in front of me. Yes I know. I said beautiful and I meant beautiful! She may be forty-three different kinds of obnoxious and not even remotely human except in having two arms and two legs but she was beautiful and I can admit it. Even though the fact that I am sitting at my kitchen table with two succubae and have a trio of monsters as neighbors means I probably need a shrink, I am still in the middle of this and will see it out to the end!

The pressure was more intense and I could see those annoying sparkles at the corner of my vision. I could feel heat coming off my body, and Lucretia's face twisted in surprise as I stared at her. "What the fuck?! What the...?"

I blacked out.

I felt cold steel against my cheek and I was sitting on something cold and hard. I heard clicking footsteps and then my leg was nudged with something very sharp, and poky. I snapped my eyes open and kicked out in the direction of what I felt and saw something jump back away from me.

"Lucretia?" I asked. It looked like her, sort of. She was smaller, and, well. I don't know. She looked more peanut shaped I guess. She was a touch shorter than me, and a little fuller. What the heck was going on?

"What is this place Greg?! How did we get here? What the FUCK did you do to me?" she said gesturing to herself. I shook my head and heard a little voice behind me.

"Oh! She said a bad word!" Another voice responded.

"I know kid, keep your ears covered until I tell you otherwise."

"No, I want to hear, and see her. I think she's beautiful!"

"I guess she is, if you get past the tail and the wings."

I knew those voices, but how did...?

"You must give what you take." Mother's voice said in my head. Huh. Makes sense, it's a binding, and I called her Mine. By me keeping the contract short and covering all the loopholes, I made it impossible not to expose myself to her. I looked over at her again, and she was fuming. "I guess this is what you look like on the other side, back home?"

She growled at me. I guess I was right. I turned to the cold metal vault Door behind me. Somehow both of the view slots were open and a heavy blue light was pulsing out through every crack it could find.

"Things have been getting really exciting in here Greg!" My Justice told me. "Me and the kid don't feel so trapped anymore."

"Greg! What the fuck is going on!" Lucretia shouted. The little boy behind the door covered his ears and stuck his tongue out at the now smaller succubus.

"She only has the one volume setting doesn't she?" Justice drawled as he took a drag off of one of his ever-present cigarettes.

I waved at the succubus. "Come on over, I'd like you to meet, uh, me." She looked as confused as I felt weird using those words. Just the fact that I had to say that phrase out loud meant I probably needed to have my head examined. Which, all things considered, probably was not a bad idea!

"I want to get out of here! Where are we?" She said again, but for some reason moderated her tone better. Huh, maybe my other aspects that I had cut off from myself had a positive influence? I don't know.

"Remember how Mother said I was broken?"

"Sort of, not really paying attention."

"Well these are my missing pieces." I said, gesturing to the two faces peering out from the view ports. Lucretia's mouth dropped open.

"Humans can do that? Isn't that like trying to cut off your own tail?" I heard Justice guffaw behind me and my Trust snicker. I didn't look back at them. Usually I would feel overwhelming sadness being here, along with a few laughs...what was going on?

Lucretia came closer and I caught my breath. Yep, peanut shaped. Her bust was larger, not obscene. Solid 34 B cup, a pleasant handful, her hips were wider, and looked perfect for my hand to cup and draw her in if she was standing next to me. Her skin was still grey and sparkly, and I wanted to touch it again. She turned to look at me, her eyes still wide in surprise at this new revelation in my personality. It was funny, maybe it was the lighting, or maybe I was looking at her with new eyes since I was close to my missing parts, but she didn't look so scary anymore. She looked...

"Why the hell would you split yourself apart like that? That is foolish, our kind couldn't live like that. Are all humans so blind?" She snarled.

Just like that...the magic was gone.

"I'll explain later. Right now we are in the middle of a binding, and now that we have a moment it seems, we need to get some things straight." I said.

She tried to come at me, but light flared around the door and she backed off. I looked back at, well, my selves I guess. "Which one of you did that?" They looked at each other and shrugged. "I think it was you, could be the other guy but he is still all wrapped up."

That was worrying, but I would deal with that later. I still had a wound up and off-balance succubus to deal with. Not that I was feeling all that balanced myself, but that's been the story of my life so far. If I ever find the Fate who puts me in these kind of crap situations... Let's just say I got a hefty slap in my pocket with its name on it!

I started to walk in the direction she had moved towards and found the spiral staircase that I used to leave. I could see her standing at the base of the steps, looking up. Her wings were trembling so much they made sounds like a towel flapping in a breeze. I finally got a good look at her tail and saw that it wasn't the typical affair that you see in so many pictures. The thing actually looked like prehensile monkey's tail, but smooth, without the hair. She kept her back to me, her arms hunched.