The Succubae Seduction Bk. 02: The Twins Ch. 05

"Yes, but doesn't humanity have a right to protect itself against those that mean us harm?" Mark pressed. It was obvious to Eldon that the man had his own agenda to push.

By the look in Becky's brown eyes, she saw it too. "Every living creature, whether human or magical, has the right to defend itself. They don't, however, have the right to attack someone, or something, because they're different."

"Well, I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today," Mark almost cut Becky off. "I want to thank you for coming on today and giving us your controversial view."

"Thank you for having me." The creases at the corners of Becky's lips deepened as she forced a smile. It was a look Eldon and his sister knew all too well from when she taught them. Growing up, Becky had been their main teacher, instead of attending any sort of official school. She had a huge heart, but had little tolerance for idiots. She never had any kids of her own, and treated all of Lyden's children as though they were hers.

Just before the camera pulled off of her, he saw her pull out a phone. A moment later, Shelly and he received a text. It read, "Hurry and get here. Your father is in trouble." It was from the same number as earlier. It had to be Becky's phone, though it wasn't from the number they had stored for her.

Eldon had to catch his balance as the Orange Bubble picked up speed. He didn't know how far away they were, but doubted it would take long for them to arrive with Lyden Snow in danger. Eldon often wondered if the Orange Bubble loved him as much as Angela did.

"What do you think is going on? What have I missed while I was captured?" Brooke asked. Bridgette and her were looking at Shelly's phone along with Jessica. Eldon Wondered if he stunk, with all of the other woman looking at Shelly's phone.

"You smell good to me," Gloria nuzzled against his neck. "In fact, you smell like sex..." She trailed off, then shook her head. "Nevermind. We can fool around later. Let's go save your father."

Eldon wondered at her odd statement, but brushed it aside. If Dad was in trouble, they needed to hurry. Once, Lyden Snow had been a man with powers and abilities all his own. After dying at the end of the Chaos War, he was brought back, but lost all of his powers. For all intents and purposes, he was human and therefore vulnerable.

Shelly talked to Brooke as they rode. None of them really knew what was going on, and despite repeated texts to Becky, she didn't respond.

They must not have been far from Washington D.C., because it only took about fifteen minutes before the car stopped. They looked at one another, not sure what to expect when they stepped out.

Eldon went first, with his sister on his heels. The first thing he noticed was the noise. Two large groups of protesters were facing off against each other, shouting their own ideologies. The group on the left carried signs saying such things as, "Magic is evil," and, "Go home, devils," and, "Suck my blood and you'll suck the end of my shotgun."

On the right were opposing protesters with signs that read, "End the hate," and, "Peace before pride," and, "The worlds are big enough to share."

Eldon noticed Shlee Olsen standing between them, taping another segment. She noticed them stepping out of the Orange Bubble and signaled her cameraman to quit filming. They must have looked like a bunch of clowns getting out of the small orange Volkswagen Beatle. Gloria, Brooke, and Jessica came after Shelly. Bridgette had to remain in the fountain, unable to leave.

"I'm glad you came," Shlee grinned at Eldon as she walked up to the group.

Eldon looked around, figuring she must mean someone else, but the other women were giving him odd looks. When he turned back to face the reporter, her hand was out, waiting to be shaken.

Eldon took it, noting her powerful grip.

"I wasn't sure if you were in this world and would get my message, but I had to try. Did you pick up Becky along the way?" She spoke fast, though keeping her voice from carrying too far. Eldon had to focus his hearing to hear her over the protesters.

"We thought Becky sent that message," Shelly said, recovering from the shock of this woman first. "What's going on?"

Shlee looked over her shoulders at the protesters, and Eldon noticed that Michael was still among them, glaring at the group. He didn't know if the Paladonic Knight knew who they were, but wouldn't doubt it. He should have thought to put on a disguise, but it was too late now.

"It's not safe out here. Follow me." She turned back to her camera man again, who was giving her an odd look. "Frank, I'm going to interview these people, but not on camera. These are Lyden's kids, and—"

"I know her," Frank pointed to Brooke with a wide grin. "Well, I mean everyone knows who Brooke Snow is: supermodel extraordinaire and one of Lyden's wives. Man, that guy is so lucky having so many beautiful women." His eyes were large and star struck as he gazed at Brooke. "Listen, I want you to know that I agree with the peaceful group. If the Shadow World holds creatures as beautiful as you, then they can't all be bad."

"Frank!" Shlee snapped. "Where's your professionalism?"

"It's okay," Brooke said with a small smile and shook his hand. "I'm glad to know there are people like you in this world. But you should know that even beauty can hide evil."

"Yes, Ma'am." Frank was almost drooling on himself. Eldon was half certain that if Brooke said the moon was square and made out of silicon, he would agree with her.

"Frank?" Shlee asked, indicating the man should move out of their way. "Frank?" she had to repeat herself before the man blinked and looked away from Brooke.

"Oh, right!" he spluttered and looked around. "I'll, uh, get some shots of the protestors and, uh, whatnot for use later as stock footage. It was really an honor to meet you, Mrs. Snow. An honor!"

Shlee pushed him out of the way, and they followed her towards the government building. "Sorry about that. Frank is a nice guy, but he tends to be a bit of a pervert."

"A bit?" Gloria chuckled.

Eldon remembered that she could read the minds of those around them, and he was tired of being left in the dark.

"What's going on?" he asked his girlfriend, mentally requesting her to look into Shlee's mind. They fell back a bit, letting the other women in front of them.

"Not sure," Gloria said. Eldon looked at her, confused, and saw that she looked concerned. "I can't get a read on her. There are too many minds around here that I can't read. I don't like when I get blocked like this."

"Like Jessica?" he asked. The woman turned and frowned at him. Too late he remembered she could read minds too. Why was it that the women could read minds, but he was always left wondering? It wouldn't surprise him to learn that Shelly could as well. There were too many times she seemed to know exactly what he was thinking. It would be just like her to hide something like that from him. He sometimes wondered if all women could read minds, and some of them kept it a secret as a conspiracy against men.

"Would you relax?" Gloria chided him. "There's no conspiracy. No, your sister can't read minds. You wear your thoughts on your pretty face, and that's why she can read you. She cares about you, and knows you pretty well. Not every mind can be read. Some are magically blocked, and some are able to keep their thoughts to themselves."

"Magically blocked? Like the D.O.R.?" he asked, growing worried. The D.O.R. were immune to almost all magic. They were women who were supernaturally gifted, but the gift was somehow blocked in them, and they were raised to believe they were normal humans. From a young age, they were taught to hate anything from the Shadow World, and worse, taught to kill it. Only their highest ranking members knew the truth about what they were.

Was Jessica a D.O.R. agent? He tried to think back, and couldn't remember her performing any magic, besides reading minds. She was a gifted fighter, and knew how to kill ogres.

"If you don't stop that, you're going to give yourself a heart attack." Gloria flicked his ear with one finger, making it sting a little. "She has magic, and has used it on your sister. No, I'm not going to tell you the details, other than she was hurt and Jessica healed her. No, I can't read Jessica's mind. That was in Shelly's." Gloria paused as Eldon realized he was being an idiot, and changed his thoughts around. "If you keep thinking like that, I'm going to have to pull you into a closet and rip your clothes off. You could give Frank a few lessons in imagination!"

Eldon smiled, though her comment about giving Frank a few lessons bothered him a bit. Not that he expected someone to have clean thoughts about Brooke. She was a beautiful woman with her long red hair and green eyes. Eldon knew she was well over a hundred and sixty, but she looked to be in her late twenties. No, for some reason he felt a bit possessive over her, and considering it was his stepmom, that bothered him.

They reached the entryway into the large white government building, and were stopped by security guards.

Shlee showed them something and they were let through. "The press can get in almost anywhere." She grinned at them.

Eldon was about to ask what was going on, but Gloria's hand on his arm stopped him. He glanced back at the guards, but they were no help.

They travelled down a few hallways and up a flight of stairs, before halting outside an unadorned white door.

"Your father is inside," Shlee said in solemn tones that set Eldon's nerves on edge. He was about to demand answers, when she opened the door.

"Lyden!" Brooke squealed and charged into the room.

"You're safe!" Eldon heard his father exclaim. The relief in his voice spoke volumes about the love he had for this woman. He heard the same tones whenever he spoke to any of his wives.

Eldon felt a pang of jealousy strike him that he couldn't explain. He'd never lusted after any of his stepmoms before, and generally considered his father to be a lucky man to have the love of so many beautiful women. He shoved the feeling down with a confused vengeance.

Gloria's arm slipped around his waist as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I love happy endings," she declared.

Shlee sniffed and gave him an odd look. "Don't get happy too quick. I meant what I said about your father being in danger. Everyone get in the room."

"Wait a minute," Shelly demanded as Eldon moved to the room. "How do we know we can trust you? For all we know, you could be the danger."

Eldon stopped. For a split second, he mentally chewed his sister out for always being suspicious of every pretty woman.

"She's safe," Gloria spoke into his ear, and Eldon nodded. He trusted his girlfriend.

"I wouldn't have sent you that text if all I wanted to do was hurt your father," Shlee growled. She literally growled.

"Unless you wanted to off us all together," Shelly argued. Eldon noticed that Jessica was trying to pull her into the room, but his sister could be bullish when she wanted to be.

"Fine, stay out here," Shlee snarled, and sniffed again. "Becky should be here soon, so send her in when she arrives." She charged into the room followed by Gloria and Eldon.

"She can be trusted," Lyden called to his daughter.

Eldon knew better than to look back at his sister. If she decided to stay stubborn, looking at her would only make her dig her heels in deeper.

The room they entered was large, and there was another woman with them. The woman had long black hair and dark brown skin boasting of Hispanic descent. She had shocking blue eyes. Those eyes regarded them with a level of intelligence that intimidated Eldon. She was tall, almost as tall as their father.

"Everyone, this is President Martha Louise," Lyden stated, indicating the woman. Brooke hung on his arm like she was never going to let go.

"President?" Eldon asked. "As in..."

"As in President of these United States," she said with pride. Spending so little time on Earth, Eldon rarely paid much attention to politics. "It's nice to finally meet the twins that have been keeping our citizens safe." She held out her hand and Eldon shook it, noticing her delicate grip.

"Safe?" Eldon asked. He was used to dealing with the Pillars, so meeting this president wouldn't have been a big deal, other than it was the last thing he expected to be doing at the moment. Between Shlee's warnings, and the tension he could feel in the air, the word 'safe' didn't mean much to him.

"Ahem," Lyden broke in. "I've been telling President Louise about the ogres you slew a few weeks ago."

A few weeks? Eldon wondered. That was only a week ago by his timeline. Once again, the way time changed between the realms had thrown him off.

"Jessica helped us," Eldon pointed to her. He noticed that the woman was white faced and staring at his father. He recalled that her reaction was about the same the last time she'd met him. Eldon couldn't deny that his father could be an imposing figure. His fame from saving both worlds during the Chaos War, coupled with the stories of him coming back to life, and then all of the hard work he'd put into bringing the two worlds closer together, didn't make him an easy person to approach. Eldon knew he had a big heart though, and wasn't as scary as some of the stories made him out to be.

"You have quite the talented children, Ambassador Snow," the President stated with a smile, shaking Shelly's and then Jessica's hands. Jessica flinched when the woman took her hand, but didn't say anything. "I see they even brought the beautiful Brooke back to us."

"They were pretty impressive and made a good team," Brooke agreed. Such praise coming from the woman that had once been a trained assassin said a lot.

Gloria elbowed Eldon, making him grunt. "Madame President," he spoke up, "This is Gloria. She's a... uh—" Eldon didn't know how the President of the United States would take meeting a succubus, much less Aphrodite herself.

"I'm a succubus, Madame President," Gloria said with a smile.

The president didn't hesitate as she took Gloria's hand, and her smile seemed genuine. "I don't mind saying that I envy you. I haven't been with anyone since my late husband. What must it be like to be so open sexually?"

Eldon gasped at Martha's blunt statement. He was shocked that this woman would ask such a question, but Gloria just laughed. "Sometimes it can be just as frustrating," she said. "It's hard to find a man that can hit all the right spots. Harder still, to find a man that actually knows what he's doing!" She gave Eldon a not-so-chaste kiss, making him blush, but his pants to tighten.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Shlee pressed her ear against it, and then nodded. She opened the door and Becky stood there, wide-eyed.

"Brooke?" she said first, and then looked around the room. "Lyden? Kids? Oh, thank goodness you're all safe! I got this text message saying—"

"We got it too," Shelly said. Eldon was still trying to catch his breath after that kiss.

"I sent that text," Shlee said after glancing outside and closing the door. "After I interviewed some of the protesters, I overheard them talking about a plot to kill the President and Ambassador."

Eldon was wondering what his dad was doing in a room, alone with the President. She was attractive enough for an older woman, but Eldon suspected that his dad didn't sleep with just anyone. If both their lives were in danger, it would be easier to guard them together.

Then again, it would also be easier to take them out together. Where was the Secret Service? Shouldn't they be just outside the door?

"How did you get our numbers?" Shelly asked. Apparently she still didn't trust the woman.

"I gave them to her," Lyden said. "I know her, and her father owes me a favor."

"Who—?" Eldon started to ask who her father was, but another knock on the door interrupted him.

"Are you expecting anyone else?" Shlee asked as she pressed her ear to the door.

"No," Lyden and the President both stated at once.

Everyone exchanged glances, but Shlee waved them back from the door.

"Eldon, grab my neck," Shelly ordered him.

He knew what she had in mind, and grabbed the back of her neck. A moment later, she changed forms into a large shield. He handed the shield to Brooke and muttered, "Protect them."

Brooke took Lyden's daughter from him. Shelly had changed into a shield big enough to protect three people if they huddled together. The President, Lyden, Brooke, and Becky crowded together. It wasn't perfect, but it was the best his sister could do. If Brooke still had a weapon, she could fight alongside them, but Eldon suspected she was still recovering from her captivity. For that matter, he was still pretty sore from his exertions yesterday.

Eldon thought back to all the forms he could take, but discarded most of them. The ogre would be big and strong enough to handle most anything, but it was too dumb and dangerous to use around friends. The Merman would be pointless out of water, and most of the rest depended on what the threat would be. Without knowing that, it was hard to decide.

After a moment's more indecision, he changed into the body builder. It wouldn't do him much good if they had guns, but he was strong enough for close combat, and large enough to block some potential damage against Gloria and Jessica standing by his sides. It was his best bet against regular humans, which was the most likely result, considering who had made the threats.

"You're such a gentleman," Gloria whispered, "but it's not likely they can hurt me." He remembered her golden girdle, and the way Poseidon's trident had deflected off it yesterday. Realizing that she could read minds, he wondered if she could sense the threat. "No, their minds are blocked also. It's so damned annoying."

For once, he was glad that Jessica didn't try and insult Gloria for reading minds.

Shlee glanced at the room, saw that they were all ready, and opened the door. He suspected she could have kept it shut, and whoever was out there out, but it was better to face the threat than hide from it.

Eldon relaxed as he saw a kobold come into the room. It had to be reinforcements from Angela. Kobolds were part of her security force, just as golems belonged to Gaia. An elf followed after the kobold and Eldon knew they were in trouble. Elves were all but extinct. There was only one full-blooded elf left in either world, and that was a female.

Eldon took another look and saw that the kobold was really a man in a mask and body suit. These were imposters. Good imposters, but not perfect. Only humans would have to pretend.

"Death to the President!" one of them shouted in a voice he thought he recognized. It sounded mechanical, as though coming from a speaker.

"Kill the Ambassador!" another screamed as more fake creatures entered the room.

They didn't seem to be carrying any weapons, which was good, since Eldon didn't have any either.

A large wolf appeared out of nowhere, and Eldon thought this was a masterful disguise, until it ripped into one of the costumed humans. The man went down screaming, until the beast ripped out the man's throat. The wolf had strawberry blonde fur.

He didn't have any more time to think on it, as the man in the kobold costume attacked him, swinging what looked like an authentic claw at his face. Eldon ducked the blow, then brought his fist up and under the man's jaw. His attacker flew back into those still coming into the room, slowing them for a second.

Gloria transformed into a small dragon. Well, a small dragon in dragon terms. She was easily twice the size of any of their attackers. She bit into the man dressed as an elf and ripped his arm off with her claws.