Chapter 35 Unexpected Visitor
Chapter 35 Unexpected Visitor
I drove home at war with myself. I was already starting to cross lines I said I wouldn’t cross. That line was compelling people to tell me the truth and have them do things. Of course, I made excuses that my actions were in their best interest. Rob was happy as I pushed him to ask for a date with Yuki. Abigail had told me the truth, and I was going to get her out of a bad situation by using my charm again. I screamed aloud in frustration in my car…I was justifying my actions.
Where would I draw the line? Would I start forcing a woman to have sex with me and justify it by saying I was increasing their aether cores? Would I use my soothing voice to calm couples fighting, easing their anger at each other? Only to find out later they were in an abusive relationship. Maybe I should just leave before I did something terrible. I could transition to the 22nd layer and start anew there. I drove home, still unsure what I would do with Abigail’s stepdad.
I stormed up to my room. The house was empty, and it was 9 am. I collapsed on the bed and pulled out my phone. Mary wanted to meet up this weekend. She was going to the game tonight with her entire family. She said a few of her friends were bringing their families too. Paige and her friends were leaving around noon, so they should be here around 3:30 pm. I had to be at the rink at 4:00 for the 6:00 puck drop, so I would just miss them. Chloe, the high-end escort, texted me asking if I wanted to go for dinner or to a club. I said dinner. She said she would make reservations at a restaurant called Marcel’s. She knew a waiter there and could get us in. I checked the prices online…food and drinks were going to run me a few hundred dollars. I guess she thought I was rich because I had hired her before. Also, even if I aged myself, would I still get carded? I just wouldn’t order any alcohol to be safe.
I called Iris next. She answered immediately. Abigail was getting settled in, and they were also going to my game tonight. I talked with Iris about Abigail, and they were getting along fine. They were going out food shopping as Abigail was apparently a good cook, and she didn’t like eating fast food. I guess that situation was ok.
I was getting antsy, or maybe a premonition? The hockey game tonight would have many people in the stands. Also, she did not know what was going on with Jade… and with her mother on her way here. I felt a pressing need for a release…I regretted not being intimate with Molly or Abigail at this moment. I needed a stress release. Who would be available…I checked my phone…the woman who sold me my new phone. I texted her. She was working till 6 but was free after…nope.
I reached out to Amelia. She was at an open house but said she was looking forward to seeing me play tonight. Guess that was a no-go. Maybe Rob was free to hang out to distract me. Instead of texting him, I decided to just walk over there. They lived in an outbuilding on the Monroe estate. I took the shortcut through the bushes and walked into the small two-bedroom outbuilding. Camilla, Rob’s mom was cooking in the kitchen. She was a tiny Hispanic woman.
With a rather thick accent, “Caleb, you have grown! My lord, you are a huge boy! Rob and Sophia are out shopping for the Monroe’s pantry. They just left, so should be back in two hours. You are welcome to wait.” The food smelled good, so I slid into a seat at the table. The food shopping errand was for the Monroe’s cook they frequently did. He gave them a lot of money for the food and in return, the extra food went into their family’s pantry. So in a way, they were getting paid for shopping. Camilla was wearing just a tee shirt and shorts. For some reason in the back of my head, I thought I came here to see Camilla as I studied her body.
Rob’s mother was young, mid 30s, as she had had Rob as a teenager. She looked tired as she prepped an enchilada casserole. “How goes your work, Camilla?” I asked. She liked being called Camilla, as Ms. Flores made her feel old. When she bent over to settle the casserole in the oven, I could see the outline of her panties through her shorts. I looked away, guilty. Camilla was like another mother to me….well, maybe an elder sister…step sister. Rob would never forgive me if I…
“I…I have to go,” I said, leaving hurriedly. Something was wrong with me. I had finally figured it out. My personal lust was out of control. I made my way home and, in my room, transitioned to my mind space to find Andromeda standing there.
“Awe, you figured that out too quickly.” She moved and sat on my bed in her human form. She was wearing a sleek white silky dress cut above her knees. Her red hair flowed like a river behind her. I was in shock to see her here. “After you funneled some of that tigerkin life essence to me, I decided to come and check on you.” She fell back on the bed in a sexy position on her side. “You may not realize it yet, but life essence has different racial…flavors to them. That tigerkin essence was quite exceptional and new to me. Intoxicating. So I came to check in and see if you could harvest some more.”
Her body rolled on the bed, teasing up her dress as she moved. I realized it was an illusion, a mental projection, but it was still hot as hell. “What did you do to me? I don’t feel in control of my thoughts.”
Andromeda sat up with her face suddenly going from playful to serious. She snapped her fingers, and a weight lifted from me. “I sent out a…request…for you to harvest more life essence for me. It doesn’t force you…just compels you. I was hoping you would gather more tigerkin, but alas, you are dragging your feet.” She made a playful pouty face. “I suppose you are cautious, which is good. My past agents on this layer harvested much faster than you but never lasted more than a few months before being chased away or hunted down.”
Andromeda got off the bed and walked around, searching my mind space. “You are learning to control this space.” I followed her into my library and then my dojo. Finally, she spoke, “I suppose I should give you a boon for coming down here and invading your mind space without being contacted. Forgive my curiosity.” I was stunned. The powerful demon was apologizing? I was at a loss for words. Seeing my confusion Andromeda continued, “Even though I created this mind space for you, our contract only allows me into your mind space if I am invited or summoned.” She grunted, “I have to pay a small penalty for my transgression.”
She walked to stand before me, “So young man, what do you ask of me,” she stood provocatively with her large breasts wanting to escape her tight white dress. I think she wanted me to take her, but how did that work in a mind space? Was this even real? I needed to be smart in my request.
“How about some answers to some questions? My incubus handbook was not comprehensive.” I asserted and willed myself not to get lured into a sexual fantasy.
She studied me with a frown but then smiled, “Fine…five questions you may ask. For every question, I do not answer, you will be granted two more.”
So if I stumped her, then I got a bonus question. Ok, my first and most pressing question is, “Can you explain how I improve a human woman’s core?”
She smiled and returned to my bed and patted the spot next to her. I sat. “My young incubus, what you do is simple. Most humans think arousal is just hormones and body functions. It is so much more. Arousal is actually the miracle of life. Arousal is a form of channeling… bringing in aether to their core to create offspring by forming a new nascent aether core. It is terribly inefficient but required for new life. That is why the transits exist, to filter down aether energy to the layers. Normally the small amount of aether a being attracts is slowly transformed into life essence to create a new life in the form of an aether core. Most times, the seed core dissolves when no embryo is created. What you do is make the process much more efficient by creating a gravity vortex….pulling in aether more quickly. When their aether core can not process it fast enough, the backlog forces their aether core to expand. You should be able to move individuals aether core up one tier at most; any larger and you will most likely rupture the core and kill them.”
I was puzzled by some things in my head and asked without thinking, “Then I am making them super fertile?”
“Your second question, and already thinking about offspring.” Her puffy lips were licked by a long tongue. “Yes, the process does make your partner, male or female, more fertile. Unfortunately, your seed has no life essence, so you are shooting blanks. You can learn skills to balance this and infuse your seed with life essence and power, but you can not have the vortex running when you do.” She lay down on the bed and patted next to her for me to do the same.
“You should open the ceiling in here. Create a beautiful blue sky with clouds and the scent of the outdoors,” she suggested staring at the ceiling. It took me a few minutes to do as she asked, and the space suddenly felt more open. I was going to have to open another corridor to move the bedroom in there.
Andromeda continued, “An incubus or succubus is one of the most powerful demons. We can facilitate cross-species mating with relatively high success. You just need to excite both parties involved with enough life essence to overcome the barriers. Although humans can mate with just about anyone, you are no longer truly human. I will give a warning, though. Any children you do have will be contracted to me as well.” My surprise at this caused her to giggle. “You really should have read the fine print, boy. Don’t worry, their contract doesn’t take effect till their 20th birthday, and I am always willing to bargain for their freedom. I am not as malicious as all that.” I didn’t know if I should be angry with Andromeda or myself.
I was down to my last three questions. So I focused on that. I was taking my time, formulating my next question, and Andromeda said, “I just finished a battle with an angelic fleet, and I do not wish to remain here much longer. It takes focus and aether reserves to hang out in your head space.” She said, indicating that she wanted me to hurry up.
“Ok, I am having trouble learning magical spells. I have the aether and the spell books, but aether manipulation is so difficult. What am I doing wrong?” She laughed with some condensation in her voice.
“You are trying to learn magic like a human? That is just too funny. Don’t tell other demons. They may die from laughter. You may be able to learn human magic but that is like choosing to walk instead of flying. All you need to do is invest a large amount of life essence aether in manifesting a new ability. The pedestal in the center of this room is linked to me and my vast knowledge. Any ability I know of or have researched completely is available to you. The amount of essence required depends on the ability you are imprinting.” That answered a lot of questions for me. “She pointed at my banner…all you need to do is form what ability you want, and your mind space will sort out the details if it is available. I thought you figured this out since you have the unlearned ability infuse life essence on your banner.” My eyes wandered to the banner, and I walked to my banner with my list of abilities and focused on trying and creating a new ability.
Healing Touch, Tier 0, 500 life essence
I turned to look at a smiling Andromeda who said, “Quick learner. Good. The cheapest ability to learn is around 50 life essence. The most expensive, around 10,000 life essence. All abilities will start at the upper tier 1 rank in power and can be advanced one stage at a time.” I didn’t fall for her trap. I was pretty sure she wanted my next question to be about a specific ability to unlock, but I had more pressing questions and only two chances left to get answers.
She looked impatient, so I asked, “Can I increase a person’s aether core more than once?” I needed to know this for Iris. I was hoping it would be a complete answer, too, so I could figure out if I should be careful when using my vortex on the same person over and over again.
The succubus queen cocked her head slightly and replied, “It really depends on how aggressively you expand a core. If you go slowly over years and years, you can keep growing it. You might be able to get a core two ranks up…maybe three. Patience is not one of my virtues, though. If you tier up a core in one go, then that core will heal solid. Once healed, it can take a good amount of aether before shattering but will not expand further.” Seeing me pay such close attention to her, she added, “Get your abyssal eyes to upper tier 2 in rank. Then you will be able to easily discern a person’s core when you harvest from it.”
I nodded in thanks for the complete answer to my question. I was down to my last question, though, and didn’t know what I should ask. Should I ask about my incubus form? The transits? Monsters? Demis? Andromeda’s appearance here had saved me 100 life essence by not having to contact her. My largest concern was my upcoming confrontation with Jade’s mother. “You said there was a war on the upper levels for power. But I am here, and it seems the humans and demis are getting along just fine. Should I worry about the demis on this layer coming after me?”
Andromeda seemed to think for a moment, “I have not been active on this layer for quite some time. Rumors are the demis have expanded their influence on the layer with some outside help…maybe not as much on your planet Earth…but definitely on the other planets harboring transit lines. I don’t deal in such petty politics.” She paused, “And neither should you. You are now of the demon race. The lessors should fear you. Grow quickly, my young incubus, and submit to no one.” This last was met with a slight sternness of an order, and then she was gone. I was left standing there.
I was basically told to be a proud demon and not take shit from anyone. I had the path to power laid out for me. I could improve and generate abilities by investing in life essence. I just needed to harvest the life essence. I returned from my mind space.
I was in my room, and it was around noon. I got a lot of answers. I needed to work harder but still needed to be cautious. How was I going to balance my moral guidelines with harvesting essence? I thought I had been doing fairly well with only a few hiccups, but as I grew in power, would I toss aside the lines I had drawn? Only time will tell. I decided to head to the rink early. With the game tonight, maybe the custodial staff would be there to let me in.