Shadow and Lust

Author's Note: This is a short set in the same wider setting as "The Voyeur Husband". Reading the other is not at all required to understand this tale. I do hope you all enjoy.

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Shadow and Lust

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Lounging comfortably in her chair Cassie watched the vivid blue's of the news feed scrolling across the bottom of her television screen. The anchor was going on again about the succubi in New York, repeating the same information they had been for the past few days.

Rolling her eyes, she reached for the remote to switch to a more amusing talk show. Just as her fingers brushed the buttons the picture in the corner changed. The reporter on the screen was just about to launch into another update on whatever was happening in Port Kent, Washington.

A clap of thunder shook the windows in the house. All at once the house plunged into darkness, and Cassie found herself staring at the blank screen hoping it would just come back on.

"Damnit," she muttered.

While rain hammered upon the window panes, the grandfather clock continued to tick from the corner of the living room. Slowly, Cassie got to her feet and let her eyes slowly adjust.

When objects began to take on a dark shade of grey, a bolt of lightning lanced down into the field outside. The thunder rolled over the house, and Cassie prayed nothing would fall off a shelf or wall. As her eyes struggled to regain their night vision, she used her hands to feel her way towards the kitchen.

Each step was careful, to not smash her toe against anything. She leaned forward, hands guiding her through the darkness and into the kitchen. For a brief moment the room was lit by a bolt of lightning. As the boom of the thunder shook the house once more, Cassie stayed put to get some vision back, before pushing forward again.

She found the counter, and fumbled about for the drawers. The rattle of odds and ends blended with the drumming rain, as she began feeling for the lighter and candles.

When the soft glow of candle light filled her kitchen, Cassie couldn't stop the sigh of relief. Finding her flashlight, she clicked it on, and began a stroll about the house, placing a few candles in the living room, kitchen, bathroom, and finally her bedroom.

As another flash of thunder sent stark shadows across her home, Cassie found herself hunting through her closet for her poncho. She really wasn't looking forward to going outside, but without the generator running, she'd lose much of the meat in her freezer.

She paused, glancing over at the framed Lord's Prayer hanging on her wall. She took some comfort from the words, before continuing towards the door.

So, with poncho hanging to her knees and a pair of rubber boots, Cassie pushed open the front door and stepped into the storm. Immediately rain cascaded across her face, and the strong winds had her poncho snapping around her.

A bolt of lightning illuminated the farm fields that surrounded her place. She watched it strike one of the trees across the road. Flames shot up among the leaves, as a thick branch fell downwards and crashed onto the power lines.

She swore, but the words were lost even to her own ears as another peal of thunder rumbled through the world. The flames from the tree already started to die down from the relentless downpour.

Holding her poncho tight, Cassie flicked her flashlight across her front porch, noting that her chairs were gone. As were the windchimes. She shook her head, then pressed out into the storm.

Moving around the house, she looked across one of the fields. Old Frank Basker's house was dark. Why wasn't his generator up yet? Old bastard would be getting an earful from his wife.

Just as she was about to turn away, Cassie saw a flash of light from one of the upstairs windows. She cocked her head, thinking she heard a sound, but it had been so washed away in the storm that she couldn't begin to tell what it was.

The light of her flashlight not even reaching half way to the distant home, Cassie stared, waited to see some sign of life. When a bolt of lightning lit the world again, an indistinct figure was leaving the back door, before all plunged back to darkness with the rumble of thunder.

Frowning, but guessing that Frank was finally getting out to his own generator, Cassie turned. Maybe she'd go check on them after.

Water from the already deep puddles splashed up her legs as she moved against the wind to the small wooden shed tucked against the side of her house. With slippery fingers she managed to open the latch and open it wide. The beam of her light swept across some of the basic tools she kept here instead of the larger shed out back, and settled on the generator she always kept filled.

Kneeling she flicked the switches she needed to and pulled the start cord. Water dribbled over her fingers, down the cord as she pulled twice more before the machine blared into life. Cassie smiled; no lights, but at least her fridge and freezer would be good to go. Backing up she closed the doors and turned to look back to Frank's place.

The bedroom light should have been glowing over at his place. But it was still dark as pitch. Cassie swung her light over, despite the uselessness of the act. With a frown she started to trudge towards his place, already feeling water seeping under her poncho and into her t-shirt.

Another bright flash, filled the fields with blueish white tinge for a few seconds. Illuminating the distant house, the crops nearly folding under the wind.

And a figure standing in the field, seemingly hooded, staring at Cassie with a red glow of its eyes.

Cassie screamed at the sight, turned and started running back towards her house. She tripped in a rut, and fell to her face. Water soaked into her pants, filled her boots. She scrambled to her feet, and ran.

Feet hammered up the stairs before she yanked open the door and almost fell inside, panting. She spun, flashlight scanning the front yard, but there was no sign of the stranger. She slammed the door, quickly locked it, and tore off her poncho.

It slapped on the floor as her heart pounded in her chest. Moving through the house and into the kitchen, she fumbled with the lock of the back door. As the deadbolt clicked shut, another bolt of lightning lit up the backyard and the fields beyond.

The figure with its glowing eyes was standing out there in the rain. Staring directly at Cassie silhouetted in the candle light, before thunder brought the darkness back.

"Fuck!" Cassie shouted, taking a step back. She raised the flashlight, its beam cutting through the rain, but the figure was gone.

She stood there, bangs sticking to her face, shirt clinging to her skin, as water ran over her eyes. She quickly wiped the running drops away, letting the flashlight run across the backyard, but could still see nothing.

Pulling off her slippery boots and tossing them to the corner, Cassie hurried down into the basement. Her flashlight illuminating the path as she descended into the damp cellar, bare feet making the old steps groan. Above she still heard the crash of thunder, the hammering of rain, muffled beneath the earth. She moved past the rack of wine bottles, and found the cabinet.

Wiping her hands on soaking jeans did little to help, so her slippery fingers fumbled with keys as her heart pounded in her chest. Above thunder crashed again, and she swore under her breath, finding the right key, slipping it into the lock and pulling the doors open.

She reached inside, pulling the shotgun from its hooks, and plunged her hand down to grab a handful of shells from the box. Shoving them into her pocket, she broke the barrel open, and slipped a shell into each empty tube.

When thunder rumbled again, she snapped the weapon shut with a satisfying crack. Slowly she turned, trying to find some kind of comfort in the wood and steel she clutched in her hands. When she didn't see the figure on the stairs, Cassie slowly approached them, climbing upwards.

The creak of each footfall pierced through the drumming rain as she climbed. Back into the kitchen, shotgun cradled under her armpit, flashlight swinging through the nooks and crannies of her home. Each shadow from her furniture was a monster, each crevice a hiding place for whoever was out there.

Whatever was out there.

Something tapped on the front window, and Cassie spun. The shotgun raising as lightning flashed, she saw the silhouette of a winged woman standing upon her porch. Her skin almost blue in the lightning's flare, the edges of her curved form showing not a stitch of clothing. Hair whipping wildly about her head, a pair of curved horns stark in that moment of light. As the flash faded, all Cassie could see were red eyes.

She lifted the shotgun and squeezed one of the triggers. The flash was over in an instant, the boom deafening in the confines. Shards of glass blew outwards onto the lawn, more cascading downwards to bounce off the sill. But, no creature stood there.

Standing in the middle of the living room, Cassie stared outwards onto her porch. Rain poured in through the ruins of her window, and the howl of the wind grew ever louder. She stared, watching, but nothing moved, as what she saw registered in her mind.

It was a succubus, just like they'd shown on the television. Like the ones in New York. The ones speaking to the United Nations. The ones claiming to be friends of humanity.

Finger settled gently upon the trigger, Cassie moved towards the window, leading with the twin barrels of her gun.

"Why fight what you cannot understand?" a voice said behind her, utterly feminine and smokey.

Cassie turned and fired. Chunks of drywall and splinters of wood shot through the kitchen, and Cassie found herself staring at a hole in her wall. The voice crawled in her brain still, the notes of it lingering as she cursed to herself. Cracking open the shotgun two shells popped out and fell to the floor, bouncing around her feet. Forcing herself to breathe, Cassie slid in two new shells with shaking fingers while struggling to hold the flashlight.

The crack of the gun closing was not nearly as comforting this time, with lingering wisps of those few spoken words crawling through her mind.

"There are such sights to behold. Such pleasures to savour," the voice purred, poison honey seeping in Cassie's ear as she spun again. The beam of the flashlight glinting on the shards of wet glass across her floor.

"Get the fuck away from my house," Cassie screamed, moving into the centre of the room, the beam of light flickering around her, searching.

"No."

The word burrowed deep. Full of venom, dominant. Cassie's breath caught in her throat, her heart skipped a beat. As the tendrils of that single word wormed through her brain, Cassie's eyes roamed around her; a desperate search for the creature.

"Come out then; show yourself," Cassie felt her shout tearing inside her throat.

"Not until you accept what you are," the woman, the demon said, making Cassie spin towards the shattered window, in time to see a tail snapping out of view, towards the front door.

"Yeah? And what's that?" Cassie shouted, levelling the gun at the entrance to her home, finger settling on the first trigger.

The whisper sounded in her ear, sinking deep, piercing into her soul: "Mine".

Spinning, heart leaping again, Cassie fired another blast. More drywall exploded in a cloud of dust, but nothing was there. Heart near smashing inside her ribs, Cassie stood, eyes roaming but afraid to move.

"I can see you. More of you than you show to the world. More than you reveal even to yourself. The depths of your desire, the debauchery you secretly crave," the succubus purred.

The crunch of glass sounded behind her. Taking a breath, Cassie turned again, ready this time. There was of course nothing at the window, as she fired towards her front door. Shards of wood shot outwards off the porch and into the storm.

"The very fabric of your soul rippling in the constant surge of what you call a sin, as if you understand the weave of the universe. All lies told to you, to dismiss your own soul. Your lust," the succubus said, the voice coming from the stairs now.

Cassie didn't bother to turn, already cracking the shotgun, empty shells ejecting, one bouncing off her foot. She reached into the pocket of her jeans, and found only two more.

"No, no, no," she whimpered, desperately searching for more.

From the kitchen she heard the deadbolt turning. Eyes turning to the side, she heard the creak of the door slowly swinging outwards. Trying to still her hands, she pulled the last two chances free, slipping them both into the empty tubes of the shotgun.

Claws tapped upon the floor as footsteps brought the succubus closer. Cassie snapped the gun shut and turned, levelling the weapon.

The dim light of the candles showed the dark silhouette of the demon, slowly entering the empty frame that split the kitchen and living room.

"To succumb is to be free. To resist is to continue an empty existence. Of bills, taxes, monotony, and frustration. Empty shuffling from one day to the next to keep your head above water. Friends who don't understand that you want them to bend you over their bed. A world that says to be strong you must stand, when I know you truly want to kneel," the succubus said, the final word punctuated with a bolt of lightning striking outside that splashed Cassie's shadow on the back wall of the kitchen.

For a heartbeat the woman before her was illuminated in perfect light. Her naked skin almost glowing, glistening from the cascading rain. Her curves soft, inviting, the gentle swell of her breasts swaying ever so slightly with each step.

"Go away," Cassie shouted, and fired.

The succubus burst into a cloud of mist, the window of the closed door exploded outwards, the cross framing snapping. Cassie's eyes widened, and slowly she stepped forward, seeing not a single wet mark from the succubus upon the tiles of her kitchen.

Reaching outwards her fingers traced the switch of the deadbolt, gut twisting with dread as she found it still locked.

Stumbling backwards, Cassie ran her fingers through her hair, feeling water running over her hand. Droplets ran down her face, the nape of her neck as she found herself back in the living room, shotgun loosely held in her hand.

"No," the succubus purred from the storm, or the shadows. Cassie wasn't sure which. Nor did it matter; she wasn't in control here.

Once again, a single word was lingering in her brain. A single word that told her that she was lesser. That the succubus was in control. And that part of her mind she'd kept buried so deep and for so long she didn't think it existed, said she liked it.

"The shackles of your so-called freedom have ensnared you. Making you believe that life is good, that it is worthwhile. But you ache, you hunger. I see you craving the taste of skin beneath your lips. To touch flesh that should be forbidden to you, by societal rules that seek to control you," the succubus continued, each word smokey and alluring. Each word poisonous with the ring of truth that slithered deeper and deeper. Its roots spreading as she fell to her knees and turned her shotgun upwards.

There was one thing left, to maintain control. To take the reins back from the succubus.

Opening her mouth, Cassie slid both barrels of the gun past her lips. She felt the metal against her teeth, hot against her tongue. The taste of cordite and carbon filling her mind.

"Do you believe in God?" the succubus purred, as Cassie's finger played along the trigger, her fingertip tracing it. Just a pull, just a pull and she could free herself.

Behind her she heard the door opening. A tear slipped from her eye, lost amid the wetness still on her cheeks. Footsteps slowly approached. Another flash of lightning and Cassie saw the demonic shadow cast beside her own.

Gripping the shotgun, her last shell sitting in the chamber, just waiting for the hammer to strike, Cassie felt more tears. Because she didn't want to free herself.

"God will not save. God will not free. God, will let you suffer, where I offer what you truly crave," the succubus purred, as she knelt behind Cassie, a wing wrapping around her. It was comforting, warm, despite the water dripping from its edges, running through Cassie's hair, lost in the wetness of her shirt.

Sharp claws tapped against small of her back, and slowly slid upwards, running over her shirt. The wet cloth dragged slightly, before those claws caught in the snap of her bra. The succubus didn't stop though, cutting a small tearing in the clinging wet shirt and shearing through the undergarment.

"Come my dear. I know the path you truly desire," the succubus whispered, her lips brushing against Cassie's ear. She felt her cold wet fingers releasing their grip on the gun, felt the metal slipping from her mouth before hearing it clatter on the floor. In her ears, they were the doors of Hell slamming behind her.

"Tell me, what you truly are," the succubus said, her tongue curling along Cassie's ear, as one last tear escaped.

"Yours," the damning admission spilled from Cassie's lips as she felt herself pulled into an embrace by welcoming arms and wings. She felt the side of her head pressing against the rain slick breasts of the succubus, and closed her eyes.

"Good girl," the succubus cooed as Cassie shifted herself closer, wrapping her arms against impossibly soft skin. Letting her fingers run across the smooth expanse of the demon's back and into the soft valley of her spine. Upwards they ran, a small fear that she wasn't real sparking through her mind.

The feeling faded as her fingers touched the base of the succubus's wings. Cassie let her fingers start to gently run over them, hearing a soft gasp from the demon. She turned, pressing her face into the succubus's chest and let out a heavy sob, tasted the rain upon the succubus's skin.

"I'm sorry," she cried, clenching her fingers tight. She didn't want to let go. Not ever.

"You have nothing to be sorry for my dear. You are very brave, for to succumb, to kneel, when everything tells you to resist, is no easy feat," the succubus said, her fingers running through Cassie's hair, claws gently grazing her scalp. Small shivers ran down to the nape of her neck, and she felt herself looking into those glowing red eyes swimming in the sea of black.

"Help me see. Help me find myself," Cassie said, lifting herself up higher, her breasts pressing against the demon's own through the soaked t-shirt that clung to her.

The succubus smiled, and leaned her head downwards, a lock of wet hair slipping from behind a curved horn. Her lips glistened, inviting, and soon were pressed against Cassie's own. She closed her eyes again, their soft caress relaxing and stirring all at once. She felt them parting, felt the tongue against her lips. Cassie groaned softly, kneeling there upon the floor. The storm outside raging, as lightning streaked from the sky.

The touch of tongue to her own, pushing deep into her mouth, towards the entrance to her throat as thunder rumbled into the world. As if God raged at how he lost this fight for her soul.

Crawling, shifting, Cassie was drowning and lost. She moved to the succubus, the only refuge for her mind, and refused to let her lips leave the succubus's. Let that tongue push deeply, consuming her. She groaned, the sound muffled as she clambered into the succubus's lap, wrapping her legs around the creature she gave herself to. Pulling herself tight, the pointed tips of the succubus's wings slid along the waistband of her jeans. Slowly they began to lift, curling inwards ever so slightly, dragging Cassie's shirt upwards.

As the wet cloth dragged upwards, it caught beneath her bust. Something like a muffled whine poured into the lustful kiss, before the succubus let her palm glide gently along Cassie's cheek. Slowly the claws drifted lower, flicking off her jawline and down the soft slope of her neck. Down, a single claw caught on Cassie's neck line, and began to tear through the fabric. As it split, the claw coursing softly over the curve of a breast, the shirt spread wide, until the succubus's claw clipped over the underwire of the bra.