Vol II, Ch 68 – Sometimes it’s not the mirror that’s your worst critic, but rather the voices that you ascribe to others.

The high priestess was saying something to the vyxa girl peeking into the room, but my mind was far too lost in thought to pay them attention.

The idea that incubi and succubi were the same was simultaneously completely obscene and made so much sense. They did look basically identical, so far as I knew, and yet humans went out of their way to differentiate them as though they were two completely different types of demons. Even as long lived as demons were, they still had to reproduce. It was the completely logical conclusion that there would be both male and female vyxa; I’d simply never thought to consider it. Very few humans likely ever did.

Which was a bit stupid of me, if I were being honest, given that I was now a vyxa myself.

Much more mind numbing, however, was the concept of me having some kind of “heat.” Which if the priestess could be believed, was apparently a thing that could just happen.

I had to assume she didn’t mean the lust I felt when I began to hunger for blood, or the lust while I was drinking blood… or right after I drank blood. Unless that was what she meant?

No, she’d spoken about it as though it were something that didn’t happen all the time. In fact, I was fairly sure I remembered her saying it was rare. Unless there was something wrong with me—which I doubted, given that succubi were very much known for being exceedingly sexual—this “heat” had to mean something else entirely. Something that I had yet to experience. And if the assumption that it was somehow far worse than the “normal” bouts of lust I had to deal with held true… the idea of it had me feeling exceedingly nervous.

Lost in thought, I completely missed the vyxa approaching us, only noticing her again when the high priestess pressed an arm against my back.

Hetkala began speaking in Thelsian once more as she said, “And Aqua, this is Seni. She’ll be taking you to have a bath and a meal, which I’m sure you’re quite pleased to hear. Risteldna or I would have offered you our own blood, but unfortunately we are forbidden from doing so. As are all priests and priestesses here, I should note, so please do inform us if someone attempts to break that rule.”

I struggled to pay attention to her words, even as one of her hands ruffled the top of my head.

The vyxa, Seni, now stood in front of me, giving me a wide smile. We were about the same height, though she probably had an inch or two on me. Like all vyxa, her skin was just as red as mine. Her hair was long, falling almost all the way to her bottom. A few streaks of white colored her bangs, contrasting with the otherwise solid black I was used to seeing.

The oddest thing about her, though, was her clothes. She had on something that I could only describe as being similar to a religious vestment, colored white, much like the priestesses, and with the temple’s flowery green symbol on the front. A short shawl hung loosely over her shoulders, keeping her arms half bare. The vestment was far shorter than any I’d seen before. Not that I’d seen many. It barely came down to her legs, and worse, an open slit in the fabric rose up both of her sides, all the way up past her hips.

I blinked and looked up to meet her gaze. Like my own eyes, hers were bright red, and her tail swayed happily behind her. As she looked me over, frowning briefly at my oversized stolen cloak, I couldn’t help but fidget. A growing unease began to churn within me.

It was the closest I’d ever been to another succubus—another vyxa. The only time I’d ever actually interacted with one. Something about that fact hit my gut hard, making me queasy.

I felt… wrong. It was difficult to say why, but it was as though I suddenly felt outclassed in some way that I never had been before. As her smile faded, I nearly flinched, fearing that she’d found me somehow lacking.

But that was silly, wasn’t it? What did I care what some… some succubus thought of me?

When she stepped forward, I managed to hold my ground. I refused to admit that Hetkala’s arm against my back helped at all. Seni reached out a hand. I stared at it for a long moment before I hesitantly joined it with my own. We did the standard demonic “handshake” of raising our hands up before giving a small bow or nod. Afterwards, Seni said something to me and smiled once again. I couldn’t help but feel like I was doing something wrong still, but I nodded back to her all the same, as though I had any idea of what she might have said.

Hetkala interrupted, and after speaking to Seni in their strange language, she turned back to me. “Don’t you fret, little Aqua. Seni is going to take good care of you until you’re back here with me, and then we can go over your lessons and rules here, as well as any questions you may have.”

Right. The bath.

I hated to admit it, but I was in desperate need for one after slumming it in the streets for several days and then taking part in that arena fight.

Hetkala said something else to Seni, and then the vyxa grabbed my hand. With a tug, she pulled me forward, almost skipping down the hall. I nearly had to jog to keep up with her.

It took her barely a minute before she went on what I could only assume was some kind of long rant, or perhaps just incessant small talk. Of course, it made little difference to me what she was saying, given that I couldn’t understand a word of it. Occasionally, she would look my way, seemingly asking me some sort of question, yet clearly not expecting a response. I felt it safe to assume that the high priestess had told her I didn’t know a word of their strange demonic language. Ruyee, or whatever it was called.

“Do we really need to run to get there?” I grumbled.

She paused, turning toward me, her eyes wide. For a moment, I wondered if my words had somehow silenced her.

Then her face lit up into a bright smile, and she began rambling yet again, full of what I could only describe as an eager excitement. As she towed me forward, her feet skipped on, somehow even faster than before.

If her goal was to make me feel more at ease, I had to admit she was doing a fair job at it.

After plowing down several hallways, we made it to an exit. My excitable companion thrust the door open wide with a hard shove and strode out, still yanking me along behind her.

We entered into what I would consider a proper garden, and a rather fanciful one, at that. The statues and stone paths were smooth and clean, barely a hint of moss on any of them. Terraced beds of flowers and flowering bushes swirled in and out around the paths, trees, and various benches and things one could sit at. And what wasn’t flowers, stone, or hedges was instead an odd teal-colored mossy grass that I’d never seen before which filled in the rest.

Down the middle, and surprisingly going beneath the castle-like temple, a simple, rocky stream stretched up the hill. It held a few short, trickling waterfalls as well as the occasional artistic fountain statue. I couldn’t tell if the stream had been created artificially or if they had built the garden up around it.

With my hand still gripped tightly in hers, Seni pulled me up one of the pathways that snaked up alongside the stream. Her continued chattering now included the occasional wave of her arm at something or other, but she never stopped or slowed no matter how much she gestured. Even as we came across another vyxa, she exchanged a few words with her but kept moving at speed.

I stared at her perhaps longer than I should have, but with so many new thoughts rolling through my mind, I found it difficult not to. A minute or so later, I realized just what she was likely to take my prolonged stare to mean and blushed.

We parted from the stream and headed toward another building. Though calling it a building felt odd, given how open to the air it was. Rather than doors, it had three pointed arches atop pillars for an entrance, the middle one standing the tallest at four or more times my height.

Seni brought me through them and into the structure. Its ceiling was a series of massive panels of glass, somehow fitted into thick wooden beams that came up to a point down the center. The sun shone brightly through, reflecting down into the large rectangular pool in the middle of the wide open building. At each end, a statue poured a slow stream of water, and along the inner edges of the building was yet more plant life, as though they’d decided to include a garden in here as well.

I was beginning to realize that this place really liked both its statues and greenery. Though as this was supposed to be a sanctuary, it at least gave the place a surprisingly nice atmosphere.

We’d arrived at what was clearly meant to be the bath, yet I couldn’t help but feel nervous at just how open it was. Worse, several other vyxa were already here, all but one already in the large pool of water, completely bare. All of them were women, though I wasn’t sure if that was a relief so much as something that simply put me further on edge.

My feet came to a stop and Seni’s hand slipped from mine. She turned to ask me something as I froze in place.

A private bath was far too much to hope for, it seemed. On top of which, I likely couldn’t even ask or complain about it, since they were all unlikely to know Thelsian.

I was stuck bathing here with them.

As the vyxa noticed us, and me in particular, their conversation cut off. Each of them stared, eyeing me up and down. My tail curled around my leg as my anxiety spiked. Once again, a strange feeling rolled down my spine.

Like I didn’t belong here. Like I was some kind of an impostor.

And it was true, I wasn’t really one of them. I was human, or had been.

Yet here I stood in front of them, wearing their skin. Why did the idea of them hating me seem so terrifying?

Seni took a step back toward me as my gaze fell down to my feet. She said something, but I didn’t bother to respond. It wasn’t like we could understand each other. The silence dragged as neither of us spoke or moved for what may have been a full minute. Then she stepped forward again, and before I could move back, her hands gripped one of mine.

I looked up to see her giving me a soft smile. The swelling dread inside me wavered.

It took an embarrassingly long time before she finally coaxed me into stripping off my clothes.

— — —

As Hetkala plopped down into the chair of her office, Risteldna, First Guardian of the Sanctum, stepped inside after her and closed the door behind them. The high priestess let out a big sigh, stretching out all four of her arms.

“She’s cute isn’t she?”

“I can’t say I’ve ever truly seen the appeal,” the guardian replied.

The high priestess hummed, only just then remembering Risteldna’s similar past remarks. “You’ve mentioned so before, yes. Still, you can at least admit that she’s cute, can’t you?”

“By a given definition of cute, I suppose.”

Hetkala smirked as though she’d won something between them.

“Would you like me to contact Flauri’el for you?” Risteldna continued.

As though something had flipped inside of her, Hetkala’s bubbly demeanor fell away, and a far more serious expression took its place. Normally she liked how straight to the point Rist tended to be. But at that moment she couldn’t help but feel a bit miffed.

“No. I believe we’ll be keeping this to ourselves for now.”

The guardian priestess’s brows raised in surprise. “Are you sure? I don’t imagine she’ll be happy to find out we’re hiding her here.”

Hetkala waved her words off. “If little Aqua doesn’t wish to be found, then we’ll shelter her, as is our duty. She’s given no indication that she wants Flauri’el to know that she’s here. In fact, she’s suggested quite the opposite. Besides, who’s to say it's truly her? I do believe Flauri’el described her as having black hair, not white, and her name was very clearly stated as being ‘Ruby.’”

As the high priestess shrugged, Rist gave her a look. “We both know what a bunch of nonsense that is.” Then she sighed and lowered her voice. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Hetkala.”

“Perhaps, though I’ll remind you that we are supposed to be a sanctuary. I, at least, try to take that seriously. Not to mention that Flauri’el is still avoiding her clan somehow. We have plenty of plausible deniability.”

Then she smiled and leaned forward, a little of her previous mirth returning. “Plus, we could do with a bit more excitement around here again, wouldn’t you say?”

The first guardian’s glare made it clear exactly what her thoughts were on that idea. As the head of the Sanctum’s guardians, its safety and protection fell primarily on her shoulders.

“No. I would not say. And as a high priestess, neither should you.”

“Oh, you never want me to have any fun!”

“Your ‘fun’ almost always includes more work for me.”

Risteldna glared, but there was no bite behind it. For a brief moment, a corner of her lips rose, giving the barest hint of a smile. Then her expression softened.

“I’ll keep your secret, not that it will stay one for long. Just be careful, Hetkala. Don’t do anything to get yourself in trouble.” Her words were quiet, almost to a whisper. Then her back straightened, and she turned partially toward the door, her way of indicating that she was about to leave.

“When do I ever do anything to get myself into trouble?”

As Rist raised a questioning brow, the high priestess relented. “Yes yes, alright. I’ll be careful. Now go patrol the hallways or whatever it is you’re off to do.”

The guardian rolled her eyes, not saying anything as she left. For a glorious full minute, Hetkala enjoyed the quiet calm of the room. Then a knock sounded against her door, and a priestess peeked inside, clutching a stack of papers in one arm.

“Oh, High Priestess Hetkala, you’re back.”

The high priestess nearly deflated at the sight, but managed to keep her posture prim.

Her lighter tone turned serious once again as she said, “Don’t dawdle in the doorway, Belial. Either be in or out. This is the second time this week I’ve had to admonish you for this.”

It was going to be a busy day.