Chapter 127

Chapter 127

After Bedelia, I had a short session with Charlotte, who Iris invited to the party.  Charlotte was not what I expected.  She had a great time and was experienced, but her body did not respond to the saliva as most others did.  It was more muted, almost like she had some type of defense against my abilities.  My vortex did not function as effectively, either.  It was like I was straining the entire time I was inside her and fighting to pull the life essence through her core.  She reached gratification, but it was from the physical act of sex and not my demonic saliva.

After we separated on the bed, she had her brilliant smile on.  I studied her core intently in my sight, and it had a shimmer to it.  It was somewhat similar to my special cleansing core from Andromeda that allowed me to fight undead and purge their death essence.  I surmised Charlotte had very feint angelic blood, or maybe she had been blessed by an angelic.  My instincts told me it was the former, but it was negligible.  Even with that wisp, she had defenses against my abilities, though.  I wanted to investigate further, but Charlotte got up and left.  She went to the hotel to prepare for the flight early in the morning.

After Charlotte, I planned to relax.  As I walked to the pool, I was not the only one having sex.  There had to be two hundred horny teens at the house.  A constant parade of the more adventurous teens was using the bedrooms, not everyone by far, but a fair number.  My incubus senses could feel the steady emanation of lust being generated.  I set a vortex in the air, but it barely pulled anything at this distance.  Still, large contained orgies might need to be investigated in the future.

We did not mind the rooms being used as we were flying out at two in the morning to help us get back on track with our day-night circadian rhythms.  We were not going to use the beds again before our flight took off.

After a swim, I had showered and was dragged back into the master bed by Lucy, who had awoken.   Evie had left, but Lucy had apparently not been satiated.  “Sis was right,” she said as she pressed me down on the bed and mounted me, “best poke and screw of my life.  I just might have to come and visit you.”  I let Lucy do what she will.  Wearing herself out while riding me.  Her sex drive reminded me of Artica, who was always ready and willing.  When she reached exhaustion, she curled up to fall asleep again.  I did not think she would wake before we left.

It was settling into the night, and people were either finding a place to sleep or leaving after Artica’s hired security checked them to let them drive.  I was by the pool, and a number of people thanked me for the most epic party ever.  Iris sat next to me.  “Thanks, Iris.  This was fun and felt almost normal.”

Iris smiled and came and sat in my lap.  The air was a little bit cold, so I wrapped my arms around her and warmed her with my heat.  “Are you still going to hunt the aboleth?”

“Yes.  I am leaving Sunday night,” I whispered.

Iris scooted in tight, “How did you make out tonight?”

I quickly checked, and my life essence was almost maxed at 208 of 220.  I did well.  I am going to use the life essence now.  Earlier in the week, I had added Elixer of Quickness.  I had promised Vida I would give her the enhanced taste, but after struggling for a period with the decision, I shelved the upgrade for a later time.

The quickness enhancement was going to be much more useful for my partners, and I had promised Aritca’s sister, Frost, the quickness improvement.  Now I had 200 life essences for my own enhancement, and my decisions were:

Abyssal Strength

Lower

Tier 2

200 life essence

improved muscular strength

Abyssal Endurance

Lower

Tier 2

200 life essence

improved fitness

Abyssal Smell

Upper

Tier 1

100 life essence

pick out and identify faint smells

Abyssal Taste

Upper

Tier 1

100 life essence

identify poisons

Chronomancy

Upper

Tier 1

100 life essence

alter your apparent age

Incubus Tail

Upper

Tier 1

100 life essence

control your tail and it’s form while in incubus form

Incubus Wings

Upper

Tier 1

100 life essence

improve the strength and appearance of your wings

Melodic Voice

Upper

Tier 1

100 life essence

soothe and calm your target

Aphrodisiac Saliva

Lower

Tier 2

200 life essence

your saliva is a potent aphrodisiac

Seductive Gaze

Lower

Tier 2

200 life essence

seduce and charm your target with your eyes

If I was not fighting the aboleth, I would have chosen the aphrodisiac salvia as it quickly helped me get more life essence.  My partners were also becoming immune to its current potency, so I needed to increase the power.

I only had one of two choices for a fight with a monstrous creature.  Abyssal Strength or Abyssal Endurance.  Both had their merits, but deciding on strength did not take long.  Hitting harder was always a good way to win and end a fight as quickly as possible.

The life essence was invested, and I felt my muscles burn as their capability was being upgraded.  In my lap, Iris stirred uncomfortably, “Caleb, you are getting really hot.  It is like I am sitting on a heater.”

“I am upgrading my muscles.  I am becoming even less human,” I muttered.  The heat rose and then faded.  I could sense the change.  My muscles were cables and bones iron, and I had passed further into realms of monsters.

Iris said, “Do not say that Caleb.  You are a good person.  A bit lecherous but a good person.”

“A bit lecherous?  Well then, I think I will prove you right!”  I stood and carried her into the bedroom I had used all day.  I moved the passed-out Lucy out into the living room.  We laid down a blanket on the bed to cover the myriad of wet spots and had slow, passionate sex.  After our session, we just lay there.

At two in the morning, Artica woke everyone up in our party.  The Aussies were left to sleep.  The party had made a mess of the house, and I knew I was probably going to lose any security deposit, looking at the size of the cleanup.  Artica was the most functional after me.  Everyone else drank too much, and even those with the endurance enhancement felt it.

Charlotte had returned to the hotel and wore her perpetual smile as we arrived at the airport in the dark.  The pilots and Charlotte loaded our luggage, and we all made to our seats.  Everyone was too tired to do anything but sleep.  When the plane lifted off and reached altitude, Artica and Abigail went to share the bed.  They just wanted to sleep.  I rested in a large chair in the cabin and went into my mind space.

I moved to the library, and all five constructs were here.  “Any updates?”  I asked the group.

Casper cocked his head and shook no.  Lilith reiterated, “What he said.  It is going to take some time.  Even then, we still have to teach you what we learned.  But I think I found the start of something.  We can make the ritual circle in your mind space and then use life essence to project one of us out into the world.  The theory seems to hold for about an hour’s worth of cohesion in the real world.  Only one of us can be projected at a time, though.  After the time elapses, we should be snapped back in here—if we still have a connection.”

“That does sound promising!  How long before we can do it?” I asked Lilith.

“Well, what I suggested is not in any of these books,” she said testily.  “It is a theory.  I have to rewrite the ritual circles to alter the flows to push instead of pull and where the power is sourced from to power the circle.  I need to draw on fifty different books to do so,” she pointed for emphasis, “and even then, it needs to be tested before actual implementation.”

I nodded, “So you are close then?”  She through the book she was reading at me.  And I had it freeze in mid-air.  “Lilith, your disrespect for arcane knowledge is shocking!”  She just grunted and took another book.

“I just wanted to remind everyone the aboleth assault is in two days.  I  am to fly to Boston after we land in Virginia,” I said solemnly.  I was canceling my previous flight and just taking the private plane to Boston.  It was going to cost me about twenty thousand in additional fees and fuel, but I was fine with that.  According to Iris, it was the last stop before the plane flew to its home hangar in Florida.  It meant my team was going to have to deal with the visiting Aurora without me.

Nashima stood, “We are ready.  It has to be a young aboleth since it is on this layer.  And even though it has all the knowledge of its ancestors, it should be manageable.”  Everyone mirrored her confidence, including a nodding Calypso and tail-wagging Casper.  They almost seemed anxious for the opportunity to confront the abomination.

I returned to rest on the plane, and we landed in Holywood to drop off Reika.  After refueling, we were back in the air in less than an hour.  People started to stir as we were halfway to Virginia.  When we landed, it was mid-morning.  I hugged everyone and got back on the plane.  Jade was joining the wolfkin team with Serina leading it.  I told Artica and Bedelia they could not go.  Since they were essentially in my employ, I was not going to risk them.

As we took off for Massachusetts, Charlotte’s smile persisted even though she was tired as well.  When we got in the air, it was just two and a half hours to Worcester, MA.  We were landing at a small airport in Worcester, MA.  Rincewind and company would meet me there to plan.  It was then an hour’s drive to Boston to meet up with the other teams to coordinate our assault.

“Charlotte, please join me,” I asked the hostess to sit.  She had had drunken sex with me at the party, and it did not seem to faze her as she sat across from me.  I asked, “How was your week in Sydney?”  I listened politely for about thirty minutes as she told me everything she had done in the city.  She was happy with everything and thought the party was spectacular.

“I liked how on the ball you were when we stopped and needed things.  The restaurant and limo to the restaurant in Hollywood for instance,” I complimented her.

“Thank you,” she said with her ever-present smile.

“Do I tip you and the pilots?  I admit this is my first time renting a private plane,” I said conversationally.  I had a ten thousand in cash in my duffel bag with my transit gear.

Charlotte blushed, “No.  Not everyone does.  We are paid well, and last night—that was me.  Not…” She said, a little flustered.

I held up my hands to stop her.  “It is fine.  I apologize as well.  Not my best performance.”

Her eyes went wide in surprise, “You are being too modest.  You handled yourself—with distinction.” She laughed softly.  I smiled and realized it was just me who had been uncomfortable with her angelic heritage.  It was something I was extremely curious about for a few reasons.  Andromeda used to be an angelic, and I had a fragment of her ability nestled next to my core.

I realized how caulous I was being with my next offer.  “Charlotte, how much would it cost to hire you on a full-time basis?”

“As a flight hostess?  Are you getting your own plane?”  she asked with some interest.

I had toyed with the idea but did not see that happening unless the auction of the goods went well.  “Not presently but in the future.  Rekia, the woman we dropped off in Pasadena, is working on a new enterprise for me with her friend.  They need competent staff.  Maybe when I get a plane, I will need your services there.”  I just wanted to keep Charlotte in my pocket because there was an inkling in my mind that she might be important in understanding something about angelic blood down the road.

“Would I have to relocate from Florida to California?”  she asked as she considered the offer.  “In terms of compensation, I make just over a hundred thousand a year but pay for my own health and dental.  And I get most of my meals comped when working.”

“Yes, you would have to move to California.  But eventually, operations will be shifted to Virginia.  I can offer one-twenty and health and dental,”  I said, figuring I was paying for a very expensive secretary with a trace of angelic blood.

She seemed hesitant.  “And what we did last night…is that part of the package?”

My mind was thinking yes, that I wanted to study her more closely and see how her innate defenses worked.  Instead, I said, “That is completely up to you.  You can see my people are pretty open.”

“I will think about it,” she said as she moved to clean the bathroom and bedroom.  When we landed in Worcester, she approached, “Six weeks annual vacation, and I am in.”  We shook on it, and I texted Artica and Bedelia about the new hire.  To my moral compass, it felt like I was going off the rails.  I was hiring a person so I could possibly experiment on her.  It was nothing invasive, but it felt like I planned to use her without telling.  That was not like me, but I felt no guilt—just awareness.

I walked off the plane and into the tiny terminal.  Lezerath was waiting for me.  She talked as she drove us to a hotel in the town of Needham, just outside of the city.  We walked up to the room to find Rincewind, Achellion the dragonkin, and two men I did not recognize.

Rincewind stood up from the bed, “This is Artemis.  He was my apprentice back in the seventies.  Probably the strongest mage produced of Earth in the last five centuries.”  I shook his hand, and he was human in my abyssal sight, but his aura swirled with aether defenses.

Rincewind moved to the other man, who appeared human, but he had a guise my abyssal sight could not penetrate.  “This is Taramis.  He has a mastery over fire and illusion magic.  He agreed to come to Earth from the nineteenth layer to help,” Rincewind informed the group.

They were all tier three in strength in my abyssal site.  That was if they were not obfuscating their true strength.  The setting was a normal hotel room with five of the most powerful beings on the planet.  Rincewind went into his plan.

“There is a massive network of caves deep under the city of Boston.  It was built by burrowing creatures back when the city was being built.  They flooded during the Revolutionary War.  The aboleth has cleared the tunnels and set them up as a false lair.  The other four teams will be assaulting the tunnels,”  everyone listened but seemed already aware of this information.

Rincewind continued, “We will be the only team assaulting the true layer of the aboleth to the north of the city here,” a holographic map appeared between us.  A red flashing dot indicated the true lair.  “Taramis will conceal us on our approach.  Once the other teams engage the aboleth’s enslaved in the tunnels, we will begin our assault.”  Everyone nodded at the plan.

“Now it is not undefended.  There are orog,” some grunts from the group.  Rincewind looked at me, “Orog are orcs but twice the size and breed for generations to live in the dark.  I believe they are the aboleth’s core minions and are what helped him reach this planet.  I do not know how many there are.  Apollyon and Achellion will lead the way and handle them.  We will be behind in support.”

I had not figured to be fighting more than just the aboleth, so my pulse started to accelerate.  No one else seemed concerned, so I hid my anxiety.  “Lezerath and Artemis will deal with the initial wave of mental assaults.  I will be tracking the creature’s location and keeping us on track to corner it and slay it.  It can not escape.  We only have one good chance.  If it gets into the ocean, it will dive and be lost to us.”

He looked everyone in the eye.  “You all have abilities and magic that can slow the monstrosity.  Use them to disorient it and attack from range while Apollyon and Achellion damage its physical body.  This is not going to be easy.”

We spent the next hour going over the holographic map, which was actually a spell cast by Rincewind.  He had mapped out the tunnels and where he suspected the orog and aboleth would be when we reached them.  There was no time to socialize as we were headed into the city to meet the rest of the teams.  Only the team leaders knew that we were going to be the spearhead.

When we reached a rundown building near the waterfront, Rince wind led us inside.  I noticed a few familiar faces.  Serina and Jade were standing together.  A number of the wolfkin I had led into the Bermuda portal standing with them.  The two vampyre units were obvious but clearly, individuals as they had spread themselves out.  Lord Del Roy was among them, noticed me, and nodded.  He then moved to talk with another vampyre.

There was a mix of humans.  I assumed there were the mages of the Magus Arcanum.  I counted four women and seven men.  They probably composed two separate teams but were all grouped together.  None of their faces struct familiarity with me.

I was looking for the Rakshasa but didn’t need to.  He suddenly burst through the doors and walked confidently to join everyone in the center of the warehouse.  With everyone present and accounted for a man who had been seated with his back to me stood.

Dexter weighed into the center of the assembly and spoke loudly and confidently, “Now that everyone is here.  Let us begin our work for the evening.”

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