Whispers in the Dark

<div align=center>She could feel it, that little surge of emotion within the shark man and for a moment her eyes glittered, perhaps she could have put one over on him, given enough time, given enough effort, but as the other officers began to arrive on the scene the succubus dialed back on the pheromones she was emitting, it wouldn't do after all if she turned the entire crime scene into an orgy!

As Lelei asked for her to stand the Succubus complied, but before the new arrivals could filter onto the scene the demoness scrunched her nose in concentration, offering a small wink to Lelei as streaks of blonde shot through her crimson hair, chasing away the vibrant color, at the same time a faint dusting of freckles bloomed across her cheeks and nose, a minor disguise perhaps, but better than being easily identified the next time she was seen.

"Truth huh?"

The succubus offered a wry smile and watched as the officers approached, as they questioned her she responded honestly, she was in the area to solicit both men and women, to replenish her energies when she had found the body in the secluded alleyway, she had attempted to heal the victim by infusing him with her own energies, but she had failed, he had been too far gone and she had been interrupted by the shark man!

As she had expected her words had been greeted with more than a little skepticism, a demoness trying to help a mortal? A creature who preyed on everyday citizens was stooping to try and help?

But as the book laden contractor approached and Lelei told her who he was and what his job was the Succubus smiled, waiting for him to approach, she couldn't help but grin at the bookish gentleman, enjoying his wide eyed and nervous approach as he took note of her wings, her tail, her story and the very with which she held herself.

No matter what test he ran, no matter what examination he performed or what questions he asked the results would come back the same, the Succubus could not have killed in this fashion, the body had indeed been drained of all fluids, however there was a strange mass in the corpse, a strange mass of gelatinous material that did not belong there.

As the demonic woman spoke with the officers and the consultant for the police she felt a stirring in the body of the man she had tried to help, a strange, formless desire that was barely close enough to lust for the demoness to even detect! She squirmed within her cuffs and her eyes turned on the body for a moment the mans stomach was swelling and stretching, the police about the body reacting immediately.

But their reaction was curiosity and caution! The Demoness however reacted in a very different way, her body rippled slightly, flesh and bone condensing as she shrank, an inch or two lost, just enough for her to slip out of the cuffs that had restrained her! She charged towards Lelei, dropping the restraints behind her and reaching out towards him!

While he was larger, and her own strength was not all that impressive, adrenaline and panic did strange things to a body! The demoness sought to shove the shark man to one side as a gelatinous mass erupted from the mans stomach! It flew through the air towards the spot where Lelei had stood, but if the demonesses panicked charge knocked him out of the way the mass would shoot past them both before splattering noisily on the wall behind them!

Once the panic had passed and the succubus had regained the inches she lost, filling out her clothing that had... For a moment at least threatened to slip from her body they would be able to get a better look at the object that had sprung from the mans body! Resting on the ground the object looked greatly like a jellyfish, with a spheroid, central body and a number of thin tendrils extending in every direction.

The object had no eyes, no mouth, no identifiable features, but since it had hopefully not struck either Naamah or Lelei it simply flopped about on the ground like a dying fish gasping for air...</div>

<div align=center>The feel of hands upon her back, the sweet rush that came from the desire directed her way more than the salve itself fortified the succubus, the feel of the cool substance spreading instant relief through her exhausted flesh and returning a little color to her cheeks.

As Lelei volunteered to walk her home the succubus smiled, offering the powerful creature her arm as she swayed, still just a little unsteadily and she looked out to the streets beyond the little alleyway where they had danced their little dance, discovery, keep away and then finally being released from police suspicion, nonetheless the demoness was more than a little irritated that now they would know of her, admittedly they knew nothing beyond her descriptions and the name 'Lily' but there was still a chance that information could be used against her.

As she accompanied Lelei from the scene the magical investigator would discover a piece of paper in one of his pockets, the deft fingers of the succubus seemed to have slipped something in there while he was... Otherwise distracted, it was a personal summoning circle, if he wanted to talk with her again 'off the clock' he now had the means to summon her wherever he wished!

Once they headed out onto the streets Naamah turned to look at the passing traffic, desperately she tried to remember the safe haven she had found not that long ago down here.

"That way, it's a place called the Demons lair, it's a strip club and bar, if a little seedy and run down, but it's one place my kind don't have to worry about disguises"

She smiled, faintly, weakly up to the shark man, taking from him whatever support she could as they made their way down the street, drawing no doubt more than their share of looks! Lelei was consorting with a succubus? Oh what a scandal that would be if that rumour spread beyond the underground, and even if it didn't spread beyond this place a good many of the denizens of the underground community would likely be hiding little grins around the shark man for a while!

"And yes, before you ask, I essentially live in a demonic strip club, you'd be amazed how many humans enjoy dropping past, sure, most of them are just looking for a place out of the publics eye, but I love the way that they seem so free, so unconfined"

Of course many of them were the lowest of the low, assassins, bounty hunters, pirates, predators, demons and much more had passed through the doors of the Lair even in the short time she had spent there, it was a good place to frequent when you wanted information in the Underground as well and it was a great place for her to play!</div>

<div align=center>The succubus could not help but offer a small smile at Lelei's little apology and she simply shook her head in dismissal, while she had taken it fairly badly at the time it was a little more obvious that despite his prowess and his fairly impressive sense of what was right for the time being he was likely in over his head, but all great cops were rookies once and she had no doubt that Lelei would recognize one of her kind in the future.

"Forget it, you've probably never seen a Succubus before so you didn't know what to call me, I understand, and at the time you didn't have any reason to want to know what I actually was, I was just a suspect."

His question though, and more importantly his concern that he couldn't stand by if she stole the energy of her partners brought a little twinkle back to her eyes, how was he planning on stopping her? she wanted to ask the question, she yearned to see his reaction, but she held herself back for the time being, simply taking his question as it was posed.

"Two things my friend, could you stop a flower from drinking in the rays of the sun? Would it be right to do so? When a living thing feels emotion it radiates that emotion as though they were miniature suns, I'm simply the flower, but a more vigorous feeding... I don't require the consent of the men or women for that matter that I choose to feed upon, but by the time I'm done with them they usually think it was their own idea, as a shapeshifter I can take whatever form would be most pleasing to my partner and that is always a powerful tool, but only if I wanted to claim a persons very soul would you have any problems with me.

I could choose to drain the soul of any man who chooses to... Enjoy my company, but for me the thrill of the game is more fun than seeking its conclusion, I choose not to take souls, but in the past..."

The succubus' voice turned a little sadder, her eyes averting themselves from Lelei's face as she led him closer to the Lair.

"Accidents have happened, when I was little my sire, my... father trained me in what my powers could do, but I didn't have much control, I didn't understand, and I was younger, I fell in love with a handsome young man. It was doomed of course, I'm not a one man kind of girl, and my powers were still a great mystery to me, he took me home one night and we... well I don't think you need all the details, but at the end I felt something strange, a powerful energy entering my body. It was a rush, it was... addicting, but when I looked down and into his eyes... They were empty. That look will always haunt me my friend, you have nothing to fear from me"

Fiction woven with small nuggets of truth, the man she had killed had not been some high school sweetheart, she had not been in love with him, in truth he had been a fifty year old man who had summoned her to him! But the empty look in his eyes, the shock she had felt and the rush, the thrill and the intoxication that came from taking a soul... That was real.

As they rounded a corner the Demons Lair came into view, not that anyone would know what it was unless they had been there before, it was a run down old church, all signs of the faith that had once been practiced here had been taken down, flashing lights and loud music pounded out and into the streets each time the doors opened, and the smell of alcohol was strong, but there was no signage stating the name of this place.

"Here we are, this'll do nicely"</div>

<div align=center>"Usually with company"

The Succubus gave a light, playful little laugh as she looked up to her new friend, friend? Perhaps plaything would be a better choice of word, but she was enjoying his reactions, both to her erratic actions in the alleyway, going from indignant to smartypants talkalot, to innocent victim, and now here in the street before the club that she was calling her home.

"The owner bought this place because it had been condemned, he is Powered and refers to himself as the Architect, you can probably guess what his powers are related to, he restored the architecture on the outside and modified the inside to become a place of refuge for those that no one else wanted to protect, I suspect it's why he stuck with the church motif on the outside"

Again she laughed and made her way towards the entrance to the Lair, her eyes shining with a new strength with each and every step she took closer, her posture grew straighter and more confident, the demoness was drawing strength from whatever was going on within the club! She turned, a new spring in her strength and a new energy about her, she beckoned towards Lelei and offered the shark man a small grin.

"Are you going to join me? You may find a few people here that you've met before, but this place is meant to be a haven"

Who could he have met before? All she knew about him was that he was someone who worked with the police! In that case who could he have met? Summoners did at times drop past the Lair when they discovered it, criminals too from time to time stepped inside to bask in the glow of a successful heist, Naamah could not help but imagine what his reaction would be if he found some criminal who had escaped his custody in the Demons Lair, relaxed and drowning themselves in cheap liquor!

"I do also wonder, do you like to fight? Or at least get some good exercise? This place is about more than just relaxation"

For the time being, even being just this close to the club was all she needed, the energy from those inside was washing over her, flowing through her and helping to chase away the lingering toxin in her system, it was energizing, a breath of fresh air that brought that sparkle back to her eyes and put a spring back in her step! She was ready for a second round of play, assuming of course her new plaything was curious enough to poke his fin in through the door.</div>