Blood Bonds Pt. 04

"Find her?" Kevin asked.

"No," the demon said with a slight shake of her head, then growled something in what Sarah recognized as Lycan, her expression dark. Kevin's eyes widened, then he shook his head, barking his response.

"What? What does that mean?" Ana asked, looking between the two.

"Nothing. She may just be out of my range," Talera said, shrugging, face carefully blank.

""No, I can read you too well," Sarah said, shaking her head emphatically. "You don't have a range."

"Of course I have a range. I'm not omnipotent," Talera snapped, scowling at the black girl. "No one will hurt her."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because I'd destroy them if they tried."

Sarah swallowed hard, the expression on the demon's face giving her a chill. Ana shuddered, regarding the three of them for a long moment, eyes narrowed, then sighed and sank to her knees on the beach running her fingers idly through the sand, letting it slip out of her fist and blow away on the breeze.

"You're going to...change tonight aren't you?" Ana asked after a few moments, watching the sparkle of the falling grains in the golden sunlight. "That's why we're all here..."

"Yeah," Talera said with a small nod, flexing the wings as she sank down on her knees onto the sand beside her friend, sunlight sharpening her angular face. "We decided that, uh, it was now or never. It's not safe anymore. For anyone. As long as I'm human."

"Sort of," Kevin huffed under his breath.

"Once it's done, we hope everyone will back off," she continued, ignoring the big blonde.

"Do you really think that'll work?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He lowered himself to the beach, reaching out one hand to catch Sarah' waist and pull her into his lap. She sighed and leaned back against his massive chest.

Talera offered an unconvincing shrug, but didn't answer.

"We get to be here for that? To see it?" Sarah asked, picking up the trailing conversation before it became uncomfortable.

"Of course," the demon said, giving her a look. "I'll need fresh blood afterwards."

"WHAT!?" Sarah nearly shrieked.

Talera regarded her levelly for a full ten seconds then burst into laughter, tears forming at the corners of her black eyes.

"That's not funny!" Sarah muttered, thumping Kevin on the knee, feeling his silent laughter against her back.

"If I had done this the traditional way, when it was supposed to happen, it would have been a big ceremony, and none of you would have been allowed to be there," the succubus said, tone thoughtful. "When I got into all this, that was fine with me but... I don't want it to go down that way now. I also wanted to offer, well, what I can before it's no longer mine to give."

"You mean...?" Sarah started, voice faltering.

"To become a succubus," Talera completed the thought, nodding, looking between Sarah and Ana. "Once I'm Turned, I most likely won't be able to do it any longer. I'm not really a succubus as it stands, but I can draw on Ash's power to turn another and direct the process. I mean... I can have another do it later if you don't want it now but then change your mind or whatever. Or if you don't, that's— I understand—"

She stopped talking before she got on a roll, catching her lower lip between two elongated canines, looking at the two girls briefly before looking back out at the water, leaving them to the privacy of their thoughts.

Sarah exhaled explosively, considering the offer. To be immortal. Forever young. A sex goddess. Demon. Something other than human. It was tempting.

But it wasn't her.

Looking up, she met Talera's eyes, and knew that the demon understood. She let out a shaky sigh, hoping she wouldn't regret her decision later.

'Um," Ana murmured. "I think... no... I KNOW— I want it."

"Are you sure?" Talera asked. " Maybe I should have said this first: there are some drawbacks. You'll lose your ability to have a normal life. There is some amount of danger from Hunters, the Church, crazy people. You can have friends, career, all that. But nothing will be permanent. People will die, times change. And you'll live on. Your family now can never know, and you'll have to watch them age and pass on."

Ana huffed a bitter laugh, without humor.

"Family? You guys are my family," she said, looking at all of them. "My mom's a meth addict in New York. I haven't seen her in ten years. She's probably dead in some abandoned building. My grandma raised me for a little while after my mom skipped out, but she died six years ago. It's just been me since then. I don't even know who my dad is. I'm not losing anything. Can I have kids?"

"Yes, Ash's mom was a succubus. You can only have a couple, maybe three, but you can change someone if you love them enough."

"I want it. Now. What happens? How does it work?"

Talera grinned, scrolls writhing at her temples briefly. "Just a kiss."

"A kiss? That's it?" the Asian asked, quirking her slanted eyebrows, mouth twisting doubtfully.

"It's not a normal kiss. But damn, it's a good one."

"Well, yeah, I should hope so. Then what happens?"

Sarah reclined against Kevin, attention split between the exchange in front of her and her own thoughts.

It amazed her how little she'd known about her friend. Ana had never mentioned her family, and understandably so, but it saddened the other. Her family was so normal. Happy, with their share of issues, but she suddenly felt a new appreciation for what she had in light of others' hardships. She idly wondered how Kevin was going to handle the changes in his life with his parents. They were familiar with the world he'd fallen into, however accidentally, and having met them only once, she wondered how they would take the news that their son was now a werewolf. She made a mental note to ask him later, when things had calmed down, if there was anything she could do to help.

As if sensing the direction of her thoughts, though she'd never heard werewolves were telepathic— another mental note— he squeezed her elbows gently, then snaked one arm around her stomach, holding her tightly, reassuringly.

The explanations over with, Talera rose to her feet, floated really, and held out a hand to Ana, who shuddered violently at the demon's touch, releasing a small gasp.

"I'll have more control over that right?" Ana asked through gritted teeth. "Sending a wave of lust through everyone I touch could be a hassle after a while. I might draw attention to myself if I make the kid at Starbucks blow his wad every time I reach for my macchiatto."

"No kidding," Talera snorted, but nodded. "You'll be able to turn it on and off at will."

"Why can't you?"

"Long story," Talera said with a shrug. "My demon likes it. We don't quite agree on the definition of acceptable human contact. I'm working on it."

"You guys, uh, want us to leave?" Kevin asked, the vibrations of his deepened voice thundering through Sarah's chest.

Ana glanced at Talera, who shrugged, then looked back at the two on the beach.

"Fine with me," she said lightly though a nervous twinge made her voice waver just a little. "It's not like I have anything to hide anymore, right?"

"They'll come in handy anyway," the demon noted, a smirk on her ruby lips. "You'll need all the energy you can get after the change. Hope you guys are prepared to be exhausted. You've both been with me, but compared to an actual succubus, her first time... "

She left the thought incomplete, but grinned devilishly. Kevin let out a growl of laughter and Sarah felt a definite stirring in his jeans under her ass.

"Down boy," she muttered, squeezing his hand around her waist, but grinning as well.

"They've both been with you?" Ana asked with an indignant squawk. "Where was I for all this?"

"Relax," Talera commanded, pressing both her palms flat against Ana's cheeks. A sharp hiss caught between her clenched teeth, her eyes rolling back in her head, as her knees went out from under her. Hanging in midair, held, apparently, under Talera's spell, she laughed sheepishly.

"That was dirty," she breathed, timidly pressing her feet to the sand again, legs slightly wobbly, cheeks on fire.

Talera just grinned, raising her wings high above her head, shadowing all of them.

"Do it," Ana growled, taking a deep breath.

-Be sure- the thought pounded into all their heads.

"DO it!" Ana ordered, smiling darkly.

Talera came forward with alien grace, tail snaking around Ana's waist and pulling her close. Ana closed her eyes, parting her lips.

For a second, Sarah saw a blue glow light the black depths of Talera's eyes, then she shut them tightly. Sarah began to tremble slightly with anticipation, and behind her Kevin groaned softly, his arms tightening almost painfully around her waist...