v2 CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: In which chance cohabitants and prodigal relatives discuss boundaries.

Una’s hand shot out and locked around the intruder’s right arm, pulling him toward her. Using a move she’d learned from James Kincaid, she swung a leg in an arc that swept the intruder’s legs out from under him, then yanked his arm backward over her hip.

As he fell, Una pushed his shoulders downwards with her other hand, forcing him to land flat on his back. He grunted, and tried to break her hold by rolling over, but Una straddled him, one leg pinning his arm, and the other keeping him pinned down by the throat. She lifted herself up, then tightened her palm for a spear-hand strike, her sharp black nails poised to thrust into the intruder’s neck.

“Who are you?!” Una screamed, “Why are you here?! Tell me or I’ll kill you!” Inwardly, she raged further. They’re not taking me again. They can’t have me without a fight!

The intruder gasped and tried to answer, his voice muffled. Una felt the rise and fall of his chest beneath her thighs, and saw his throat move against her leg as he swallowed. She finally got a look at him: a slight man with pale skin and a shock of bright red hair—too red to be natural—that faded to a close shave on the side of his head. A wide, mobile mouth gaped in surprise below pale blue eyes framed by black plastic glasses. He wore a baggy, black leather jacket over a button-down.

Realizing the man couldn’t answer, Una eased up on his throat. “Start talking, or you’ll die where you lie!” She wasn’t sure if she’d go through with her threat, but she hoped the man couldn’t tell.

“My name is Jay Sigma! This is my home! You’re in my loft!”

Una hesitated, recognizing the name. But her anger overrode her caution. “Bullshit! You’re here to kidnap me! I won’t go back!” She raised her hand again, but the man’s words stopped her.

“I swear, Micki, I’m not here to hurt you! But you’d better get off me before--” A whining noise increased in pitch as he spoke, emanating from somewhere near the man’s chest. Startled, Una looked down to see some sort of brooch pulsing with light--and then it somehow unfolded and expanded, metal cables snaking out from its sides to wrap around Una. Abruptly, the brooch exploded away from the man’s chest and slammed upwards into Una’s midsection with incredible force, as if an airbag had deployed in front of her.

The impact drove the breath out of Una’s lungs. Cables encircled her torso as the burst of hurled her into the ceiling, where her back smashed into the steamy plaster. Then, like a trap sprung, the cables contracted and drove themselves into the ceiling, tightening and locking.

Una hung suspended in the air, naked and strung up by the cables. They pinned her arms to her sides, but her legs dangled freely, still soaked. The shock and impact had stunned her, but Una’s mind raced frantically. Spencer’s goons—or a Vatican black ops team sent after me… I have to—I have to—

Words surfaced into her mind like bubbles rising to the surface of a pond, and she screamed them out as her rage found an outlet: “Ghoram belen, maan pureytu!” Una felt power surge through her, and saw the cables begin to smoke and char where they met her skin. The man calling himself Jay Sigma staggered to his feet, a hand clasped over his throat, coughing.

Una squirmed, but the cables held fast. She kicked out with her heel against the ceiling, hoping the force might tear a cable loose. A chunk of plaster rained down on her captor’s head, but the cables still didn’t budge.

“Stop!” the man yelled. “Just let me deactivate it.” Una tensed her muscles again and flexed her arms and chest, gritting her teeth and bellowing. Fueled by the energies she’d summoned, the succubus’ physique strained against the bonds, her muscles bulging and rippling beneath the crimson skin. With a cracking sound, a cable broke, and Una’s arms came loose.

She pulled a hand down, stretching the cable tight, and yanked with all her might. With a snapping noise, it came loose. Una pulled her other hand down and ripped away the remaining cables, which fell to the floor with a heavy clatter. She dropped, landing in a crouch, and then straightened up to glare at Jay Sigma, who was backing out of the bathroom door, his hands up.

“Listen, I’m sorry I startled you,” the man said. “I don’t know what happened to you, but I’m not here to hurt you. I’m Jay Sigma, Susan’s friend.” The demoness’ eyes were still blazing with fury, and she tilted her head to one side, sizing him up like prey.

“If that’s true, why would you stand outside a shower watching a naked girl masturbate?” Una growled, her tail whipping the air behind her. “Does that seem normal to you?”

“Maybe because I’m a pervy freak who hasn’t gotten laid in weeks? Who came home to find a hot chick jilling off in--”

Una didn’t let him finish the sentence. She leaped forward, driving her knee towards the man’s midsection, but he stepped nimbly to one side and caught her leg. Una’s bare leg was slippery with moisture, though, and her momentum carried her past Jay Sigma, who pushed her leg downwards, throwing her off-balance. Una twisted in midair and landed on all fours.

The succubus’ scarlet body glistened, steam still rising off her skin. Suddenly, Una felt acutely aware of her nakedness; her breasts swayed slightly with each movement, while her legs were splayed open. Jay Sigma looked down, clearly distracted as well; she could see the outline of his erection in his dark jeans.

Una pivoted on her hands and kicked out at Jay’s legs, sweeping them out from under him, but this time he rolled with the fall, breaking it with a tuck and jump, and ending up on his feet.

“Jesus, you’re going to make me do this?” Jay pulled a baton from inside his jacket, then swung it harshly to one side, telescoping it outwards. Una tensed for a moment, then crouched low, her hooves scraping against the concrete floor of the living room. He had the advantage of reach, but she was stronger; she just had to find some way to use that to her advantage.

Jay took the initiative, swinging the baton and striking Una across the shoulder. She yelped and danced backwards, trying to avoid another blow. When he struck again, she took a gamble on her strength and pushed forcefully with her hooves, leaping high into the air and twisting out of the way, then landing hard against the coffee table and sending it crashing to one side.

The succubus pushed off from the table and hurled herself at the man. He backpedaled, yelling.

“That’s a three-thousand-dollar Italian designer table! Goddamnit, Micki! And don’t think I didn’t see your gross old coffee mug sitting in it without a coaster!” He struck again, but Una caught the baton’s shaft with one hand, then swung her fist into Jay’s shoulder. Jay Sigma’s grip weakened, and Una pulled the baton from his grasp, tossing it behind her.

Jay rolled out of reach, behind a kitchen island. “There are weapons all over this place, demon girl! I take security seriously.” He yanked open a drawer and came up with a four-inch knife, waving it in the air. Una laughed, the anger and adrenaline pumping through her body.

“A paring knife? That’s your security measure?” She sneered, feeling her Yael-ness slipping out. “You gonna peel my juicy peaches with that, lover boy?” She hefted her breasts in her hands, then let them bounce. “You can’t fucking handle all this, you scrawny ass little tech-nerd voyeur!”

“Fuck you too!” Jay yelled, pointing the knife at her. “And this isn’t the security precaution, okay? This is just a Tsuchime Damascus Steel paring knife. This is the security precaution.” Una could scarcely believe it when he brandished something that looked like a spice jar.

She scoffed. “Really? You plan to season me to death?”

“Crystallized holy water,” Jay said, his face twisted in an arrogant sneer. “Special mix. You wanna try some?”

Una stopped, staring at the jar and remembering the awful burning sensation of holy water in her throat. “Bulllshit,” she said. “Ice crystals melt at room temperature. Even I know that.”

Jay’s expression somehow got even more cartoonishly obnoxious. “Not if it’s chemically bonded to a crystalline framework lattice such as—wait, why am I explaining this? Come get some!”

Una glared, trying to gauge the distance she’d need to cross to slap the jar out of Jay’s hand. At this point, I don’t even care if he’s a stalker, a Vatican agent, or Susan’s friend… I just want to wipe that smug look off his face.

The succubus vaulted over the island, but Jay Sigma was ready for her, with the jar held high. Una swiped at him, and Jay danced out of her way before he shook the jar at her, sending out a puff of sparkling vapor. Una tried to leap back, but her hoof caught on one of the steel legs of the kitchen island. When the crystallized cloud contacted her skin, it burst into flame, and the pain was excruciating. Una screamed in fury and thrashed towards Jay, her fiery skin and hair igniting the surrounding air.

“Shit, shit!” Jay Sigma was yelling in panic, turning away towards the stovetop. He grabbed a fire extinguisher mounted on the wall. Una flailed, trying to pat out the flames that crawled over her arms and face, then flinched as foam sprayed over her. Jay doused the flames, the fire-retarding foam clinging to her bare skin and mixing with her wet hair in a disgusting slurry.

“You’re going to pay for this, worm!” she screamed. Una felt the power she’d called forth surging into her muscles, with nowhere to direct the tension and anger. Turning, she saw a pile of trunks and seized one. “You think you’ve got weapons lying around?! Here’s my take on improvised arms!”

She hefted the trunk over her head and ran towards Jay, who stumbled backwards and threw up his hands. “No! Please, not that one!” Una paused for a moment, then turned to one side and hurled the trunk with all her might. Jay rolled frantically to the side, and the trunk struck a concrete pillar.

The lid burst open, showering the room with expensive dresses, silk blouses and ballgowns, some of them floating in a cloud of dry-cleaning bags. The trunk flopped over and disgorged the heavier half of its contents: a varied collection of bondage instruments, sex toys, dildos and vibrators, along with leather and latex accessories that spilled across the floor like an alien clutch of eggs.

Jay moaned. “I had all of this so nicely organized!”

Una just stared, her head covered with a mixture of charred hair, extinguisher foam, and soot.

Suddenly, she began to laugh. “You… you’re really not with… the Vatican, are you…” She pointed at the mess, trying to breathe. Jay was bent double himself, trying to suppress a laugh with one hand pressed to his side. Una sank to her knees, and before long, both of them were roaring with hysterical giggles, lying on the smooth gray floor next to each other.

Una held her sides, wheezing. “I… I can’t… breathe…” Jay wiped tears of laughter from his eyes and sighed.

A long silence prevailed.

Eventually, Jay Sigma spoke. “What the fuuuuuuck! What the fuck, Micki Belmont?”

“I’m going by Una these days, actually.”

“Oh dear, excuse me, I’m sorry. WHAT the fuck, UNA?!”

Una stared at the ceiling, which she noticed had fancy acoustic foam panels in the corners to reduce echoes. “Well, maybe if you hadn’t been peeping on me. That a habit of yours?”

“It’s my bathroom! You were in my loft!”

“You told Susan we could use it! That’s why I have the key and the passcode, and I assume that’s why you know who I am!”

Jay threw his hands up. “That was weeks ago! Susan told me you’d be using it when you were hiding from the Vatican, and then she told me you were missing.” He rolled onto one side and leaned on his elbow, looking at her. “I got home from Hong Kong yesterday morning, dropped off all my acquisitions.”

He indicated the trunks and crates with a nod. Una saw that many of them were electronic equipment with Chinese labels, some in unmarked polystyrene containers. “Then I went out. But I get this entry notification, and I think… that’s weird? Who has access to the loft? Who could have an etheric signature that reads as unknown, but still gets accepted by the scanner? That’s not even supposed to happen!”

Una interjected. “All right, I get it. But let me explain to you what a normal person might have done. For instance: wait until someone’s done in the bathroom. Knock on a wall. Say something so you’re not just… hovering.”

“Normal people? You mean boring people?” Jay gave her a scornful look. “And it was so early in the morning! How was I supposed to know you weren’t the creeper?”

Una’s jaw dropped. “I was naked and taking a shower!”

Jay raised an eyebrow. “Again, in my loft. Plus, you were doing more than just showering.” He cleared his throat. “Ooh, fuck, fuck me with that big cock, daddy. Cum in my wet little cunt, yes! Yesss…” Jay imitated Una’s voice, exaggeratedly high-pitched.

Una balled her fist again. “Are you always like this?”

“Do you always attack people when they try to use the bathroom?” Jay retorted.

Una glared at him. “It’s not like you were brushing your teeth!”

“Uh, I was about to brush my teeth, but something distracted me!” Jay pointed at her with both hands. “By the way, were you always red? You seem to be, you know… totally possessed.”

Una sighed, feeling the fight go out of her. He’s incredibly irritating, she thought, but not… malicious. He’s like a cat, always getting underfoot. And I did just step on his tail, so to speak. By trying to kill him.

“Possessed…? Maybe after a fashion, if you can possess yourself. I’m Una now. Micki Belmont is sort of… graduated?”

“Huh. I’d love to hear the story, but I should clean this place up.” Jay got to his feet and extended a hand to the naked succubus lying on the floor. Una hesitated, then reached up and took his hand.

She looked around the wreckage of the loft: the bathroom door had a broken hinge, and the expensive coffee table was on its side, but most of the damage seemed to have occurred in the kitchen, where the island had a huge dent in it, and scorch marks streaked one wall. Una blushed, or would have, if her blood could redden her further.

“Hey, uh, thanks. Sorry about this.” Una said. “I’ve been a bit on edge lately, and that wasn’t… a good look for me. Let me help.”

Jay Sigma rubbed the dark stubble at the back of his head. “Seems like you’ve been through some shit. Susan told me you’re wanted by the Vatican. But hey—I can take care of this. You should grab your phone. You have, like… nineteen unread messages and voicemails from Susan, and someone named John.”

Una blinked. Shit! Susan must be frantic! She moved towards the bedroom, then stopped to glare at Jay. “Wait… you were in my room? You looked at my phone?”

He just raised his hands and shrugged.

***

Jedediah Hunter stacked another long, flat piece of slate on the boundary wall. He stepped back, wiping the sweat from his forehead, and surveyed his work. The wall had seen better days, but at least now it was standing straight, the stones lined up in a neat and even pattern.

He took the burin in hand and leaned down to inscribe a warding rune on the first stone. Not much sense in fixing a wall unless you’re gonna keep the varmints out, he figured. As the sharp tip of the tool scratched the stone, a noise caught his ear: the low drone of a motorbike coming from down the road.

Jed straightened up, listening intently. Dense trees and craggy hills shrouded the way here, along with a few other tricks to keep wandering travelers out. Few vehicles came up the winding, unpaved path to this estate. As the sound grew louder, Jed adjusted his hat, pulling it down over his eyes.

A compact black Suzuki zipped up the dirt track, its rider hunched over the handlebars. The driver brought it to a stop next to the wall, then killed the engine, letting the bike settle onto its kickstand. The rider swung a leg over and stood to stare at Jed through the featureless visor of the helmet.

Jed tilted his head, looking the rider over, noting the wisp of white-blonde hair escaping from under the helmet, and the slim figure in tight leathers.

“This is private property, and you trespass here at your own risk,” he grunted in a low, gravelly voice. “Leave now, and none will trouble you. Whatever your business, conduct it elsewhere. Whoever you seek, you’ll not find ‘em here. Turn away, before the masters of these lands turn your path for you.”

The rider said nothing, but stepped closer to examine the wall. Jed didn’t move; he just kept a firm grip on the burin, watching the figure’s every move. Two gloved hands went up to the helmet and flicked the fastenings open. The rider pulled the helmet off, shaking her head slightly to free the pale locks. Then she stared at Jed. Her eyes were the gray of an overcast sky, and her expression was just as blank.

Jed stepped forward, his mouth curving in a grim line. “Seems you don’t hear too well.” He stopped close enough that the rider could feel his breath on her face and saw her lips tighten in response. “You’ve been given warning.”

The woman’s face hardened into a tense mask. “And you have no idea who you’re dealing with,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I know exactly who you are,” growled Jed. “Cass.”

Cassandra’s stoic demeanor was no match for her uncle’s attitude, and her mouth cracked in a smile. Jed laughed and wrapped his arms around her in a tight bear hug, lifting her up and spinning her around before putting her down. Cassandra gasped for breath.

“Damn, girl. You get lighter every time I see you. What are they feeding you down there?” He chuckled.

Cassandra shook her head. “Got a lot of pizza in New York, I guess. Good steakhouses too.”

Jedediah spat. “City food. Give me a rabbit and a handful of grits any day.” His face sobered as he examined his niece. “You look tired, too.”

Cassandra looked away, her mouth set in a grim line. “It’s been a hard few weeks. But I’m not so tired that I can’t help you, old man. You finally fixing the border?”

“Can’t properly be the guardian at the line without a proper line,” Jedediah replied. “Your Pa’d never forgive me if I didn’t do my job, and neither would the ancestors. Go on then, pick up some of that shale over there and find a spot to patch. It’ll save me the lifting and carrying.”

Cassandra nodded and lifted a heavy piece of slate easily in one hand. As she approached the wall, Jedediah cleared his throat. “Say, you see Skylar down New York way?”

Cassandra’s brow wrinkled in irritation. “Sky and I don’t really… socialize well, Uncle. You know that.”

Jedediah sniffed. “I don’t know why you two gotta go at each other all the time. When you were little, you used to let her play with your dollies--”

Cassandra set down the slate with a clatter, on top of an older piece with a worn-out rune. “Don’t play with dolls anymore, Uncle.” She turned away, heading back for another rock, but Jedediah continued.

“I know, I know… you got your own troubles. That’s why you’re here, ain’t it?” He saw Cassandra’s shoulders tense.

She picked up another slab of slate without turning to face him. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

Jedediah scoffed. “You gonna handle Great-Aunt Sarah, and Cousin Abe, and your own gran? That’s who’s sitting on the tribunal, just so you know.” He licked a finger and lifted it to the wind. Satisfied with the direction, he leaned down with the burin.

Cassandra made no reply, instead continuing to lift and move the flat stones. Jedediah let the silence stretch as he finished a second rune, then straightened up to watch her. Her movements were methodical and precise, each stone fitted carefully into place.

“Thanks, Uncle Jed,” she muttered finally. “I didn’t know about the tribunal.”

“Elders wouldn’t bother dragging you back here if it wasn’t serious. They know you’ve got your hands full down in the city.” Jedediah stretched, rubbing his lower back. “Damn, these stones are heavier than they used to be.”

“I’m lifting the stones, Uncle. You just inscribe the runes.” She hefted yet another.

“Let an old man keep his dignity, Cass. If it’s not the stones, it must be my damn back.” He shuffled a few paces, bending slightly from side to side. Cassandra ignored him, and just kept moving rocks.

“Don’t suppose there’s much truth to what they’re saying, is there?” Jedediah ventured.

Cassandra hesitated for just a moment, the rock held aloft. “Depends what they’re saying. Gran’s never met a rumor she couldn’t stretch.”

“They’re saying you’ve been seen… with a demon. Class five features, red as a cherry, likely a ’bus. Doing things you ought not to with it.” Jedediah looked sideways at Cassandra, whose expression betrayed nothing. She finished slotting a rock into the wall.

“What things?” She avoided his gaze.

Jedediah snorted. “Things a man ought not to with a demon, but the things you’ve been known to do with women, Cass. Things a proper hunter shouldn’t do with a demon, or with an animal, or with a woman.”

Cass gave him a long, hard look. “That how you feel about me, Jed?”

Jedediah’s jaw tightened. “That’s not fair, Cass. You know how I feel. You know I love you, and Sky, and I couldn’t care less if you fancy the girls. But there’s rules, and there’s duty, and this…” He waved his arm in a sweeping arc, encompassing the wall and the surrounding land. “…is a duty passed down to us, for a reason. We’re guardians of this world, Cassandra. And it’s a dangerous, evil world, filled with wicked things. The line has to be maintained, or they’ll find a way through.”

Cassandra looked frustrated, and her accent slipped through. “Why you gotta recite the family credo at me like I’m ten and green, Uncle Jed? I know all this, and I keep to it. I hunt demons and protect humans, just like I’m supposed to.”

“Don’t have to tell me. I know the kind of hunter you are. That’s why they’ve got their backs up.” Jed shook his head. “This clan needs you; Lord knows we don’t have much else. And I’m not out here tending the wall so I could pick a fight, Cass. I’m trying to warn you.”

“Then warn me and be done with it. Tell me about the tribunal.” Cassandra picked up another stone.

Jedediah put a hand on her shoulder and turned her around. “The tribunal’s concerned that your judgment’s been compromised. You’ll be examined, but I can see as well as Cousin Florabel, and I know you’re not possessed. Then they’ll give you the talking-to, you’ve had that before.”

Cassandra winced. “They gonna use the mirror box?”

“I’d be surprised if they didn’t, Cass. This is a big deal to them, and there’s a lot riding on it. I know you’ve never been one for lying, either… but you have to satisfy them somehow, Cass.” He ran his gnarled fingers through his hair, his face troubled. “Make sure they know you’re loyal and will do as you’re told. Otherwise, you might find yourself on the wrong side of that wall.”

Cassandra’s face went blank, as if she’d taken a mask and placed it over her emotions. Then she hurled the shale in her hands into the forest. It crashed against the bark of a tree, shattering into pieces, and birds scattered from the branches. Cassandra looked after it, her breathing heavy, then slowly turned her head back to Jed. “Sorry about that.”

“Cass, listen.” Jedediah’s voice was a little lighter. “You know I’ll always stand up for you. But they know that too, so my words don’t carry much weight when things get this serious. Just… appease them for now, that’s my thought. When you get back to New York, I’m sure you can sort it out somehow.”

Cassandra sighed, her breathing heavier than when she’d been lifting rocks. “I’ll have to.”

“Now come on over to the farm. I got an extra shift today since your no-good cousin Bert’s gone and gotten himself hexed by a swamp hag. Boy’s got a knack for finding trouble. Guess that’s an asset in a hunter. So, if you help me slop the pigs, Aunt Loreen’s got dinner on by now. We can eat, and she made up the spare bed, so you can stay with us before you go to the main house tomorrow.”

As Jedediah picked his way along the old stone wall, easing along the inside of the jagged border it made, Cassandra walked her motorbike along the road, keeping pace. The sun sank low in the sky, casting long shadows over the rough stone and the scraggly pine trees that crowded close to the wall.

“I’ve missed Loreen’s cooking,” Cassandra said. “She still making those cornbread cakes?”

“Only every other night,” Jed grinned. “But I bet she made extra for you.”