Suddenly A Succubus

Vee watched as the demon held out its hands, trying to focus its energy. She had no idea how strong it had become, and she hadn't gleaned any helpful information from their conversation. She hoped her circle would buy her enough time to finish the banishment spell.

In only a matter of seconds, she felt the heat in the room grow exponentially, and then the demon's hands caught fire. The flames were extraordinarily hot, and had an unnatural purple tinge to them.

How is it breaking through the Enochian? It shouldn't be that strong!

Vee began speaking louder, willing the magic of the book to hold the demon down as long as possible, but she could sense it was only a matter of time before it broke free. She was only seconds away from finishing the ritual when the entire circle shattered, the demon's wings appearing in a burst of flame.

The magic shock that emanated from the broken circle threw Vee backwards, colliding with the far wall of the bedroom. Her book fell from her hands, but thankfully she managed to keep hold of her sword. She had a feeling she was going to need it.

The demon looked at her, its features twisting in the light of its unholy hellfire. Its horns seemed even longer now, the whites of its eyes had turned completely black, and its fingers had elongated into incredibly sharp claws. Its wings were gigantic, far bigger than Vee had expected, and they cut off her path to the bedroom door. Most dangerous of all was the hellfire; it enveloped the demon's horns, poured from its eyes, and embers would periodically travel down the demon's wings or tail.

Change of plans. Kill the demon if possible, escape if not.

Thankfully, Vee had come prepared for a fight, even if she'd done everything in her power to avoid it. Bright lights started flashing, the fire alarm having been triggered by the intense heat, and within seconds water began pouring from the sprinkler system. The demon screamed, its unholy voice stinging Vee's ears as she took the opportunity to attack. The element of surprise was on her side; it was clear the demon hadn't expected the sprinklers to be loaded with holy water, and its flames were already weaker in its presence.

Vee aimed her sword at the demon's chest, hoping to end this quickly, but its speed caught her off guard. The sword missed its mark, piercing the demon's shoulder as the radiant energy started hissing. In combination with the holy water, she could tell the demon was in rough shape, but she knew she didn't have much time before the holy water ran out.

Pulling the sword free, Vee tried to focus on weakening the demon as much as possible. She had the clear advantage, the demon was moving much slower than she was, and she threw everything she had at it.

Moving quickly, her sword sang through the air as she landed strike after strike. She did her best to push the demon into a corner, but it continually managed to sidestep her as it parried her blows. The demon clearly had no fighting experience, and was using its arms to block her sword when dodging was impossible. After a series of successful cuts, however, Vee noticed the demon start to change.

Its claws and the back of its wrists began to calcify, growing a black, bony material that matched its horns. With this new change, the demon was able to meet her sword strikes with its fists, deflecting her attacks.

While the hellfire was still held at bay by the holy water, the two now seemed to be on somewhat even footing. They danced around each other, trading hits as each tried to gain advantage over the other. Vee was unquestionably the superior fighter, but she had no practice fighting against a demon like this. Every time she thought she'd gained the upper hand, the demon's tail or wings would knock her off balance. She had no idea what to do against an opponent that had three extra limbs to fight with.

After a brutal couple minutes of fighting, Vee could sense that the holy water had just expired. With the tide of the fight about to change dramatically, she managed to push the demon away, and tried to run for the door.

With surprising speed, the demon lunged forward, tackling her from behind, sending them both crashing through the door and into the second story hallway. After they both staggered to their feet, it let out a roar, another burst of flames erupting from its body, and then realized that its hellfire was no longer being stunted. Its hands ignited once more, and it leaped forward.

Vee managed to narrowly dodge the attack, jumping towards the loft. She pulled out a bottle of holy water, sliced the top off, and threw it at the demon to try and disorient it. The water hit its mark, and bought her enough time to move closer and grab the demon's face, letting loose a powerful blast of light.

The demon screamed in pain, and Vee took a moment to look around. The building had been evacuated, thankfully, but she immediately noticed that it had started to catch fire. Without a reserve of holy water, the sprinklers simply couldn't handle the overwhelming heat of the demon's infernal flames. As much as she wanted to help, she knew this might be her last chance to escape.

Running for the edge of the loft, Vee jumped over the railing, landing softly on the first floor below. She stumbled, briefly, and realized she was likely more hurt than she realized, but she was thankful the demon hadn't gotten any truly devastating hits in.

She ran for the back entrance, and was only a few steps away when it erupted in hellfire. Looking behind her, Vee saw the demon standing on the loft, where it kicked the railing to the floor. Soon the other entrance caught fire as well, and Vee realized she was completely trapped.

The demon jumped from the loft, landing in front of Vee as the two stared at each other. They were both panting, covered in sweat, and while the demon had sustained more injuries, Vee could tell its wounds were already starting to mend.

For several moments, they both stared at each other, neither speaking as they slowly circled around the room. Vee was hesitant to make the first move, already scared at how much she'd underestimated the demon, but she knew time was not on her side now that the house was burning down. She reached into her belt, pulling out a small bag, and the demon finally lunged at her.

She jumped out of the way, spilling the contents of the bag on the floor as she did. A heavy line of salt followed her, and she extended it as long as she could before turning to face the demon, who had just charged again.

When it crossed the line of salt, Vee saw it flinch with pain and took her chance to attack. Brandishing her sword, she managed to catch the demon's waist, her sword hissing as the holy energy worked its magic. She'd been so focused on her successful strike, however, that she failed to see the demon's tail lash out. It grabbed her ankle, knocking her off balance before throwing her against a nearby wall.

Vee screamed out as she collided with the wall, her vision briefly blurring as she fell to the ground. Thankfully, due to the line of salt it had just crossed, the demon was too disoriented to capitalize on her moment of weakness.

Her supplies dwindling, Vee grabbed her last item from her belt, a small rosary, and wrapped it around her offhand. She rose to her feet, moving close to the line of salt, hoping it would continue to act as a deterrent to a direct attack. She whispered another prayer, empowering the rosary, and prepared to continue. The heat was starting to get to her, and she could feel her stamina fading fast.

The demon lunged again, ignoring the effects of the salt line. Its speed, unfortunately, had not dwindled since the fighting began, and it managed to catch Vee off guard.

She fell backwards, the demon on top of her, as she managed to land a punch on its jaw. The magic on the rosary detonated, its holy light stinging the demon, but it wasn't enough. She tried to follow it up with another strike from her sword, but the demon grabbed the blade, stopping it dead. With a flick of its wrist, it threw the sword across the room.

The demon's tail snaked around her offhand, and her other hand was soon pinned as well. The demon clenched its free hand, its bone-covered knuckles striking Vee's brow with a sickening crack. Her head hit the ground, disoriented, as another strike met her chin, cutting into her lip.

She looked up at the demon, barely able to see as her damaged eye started to swell. She was trapped, completely pinned beneath the demon's body, and she had no more energy left in her to keep fighting.

This is it? This is how I die?

The demon grinned, its black horns wreathed in hellfire. She felt its terrible hands close around her neck, its claws pushing deeper into her. With one last smirk, the demon's eyes flared, her bright amber irises glowing.

"Amara... please..." Vee whispered, barely able to speak as Amara's hands threatened to finish her off.

---

Her blood raced, fire coursing through her veins. There was freedom in her movements, true freedom that only came from complete abandonment of pretense, and her thoughts were fixated on stopping Vee.

I can't go to Hell. I don't belong there! I WON'T LET HER!

She barely registered what was happening, as her instincts had long ago taken control. She hardly even felt the dozens of scratches that covered her body.

Pain.

The heat felt incredible, she'd never felt so at home.

Fire.

Something wet covered her fists.

Blood, fresh.

Her vision was blurred, not from injury or holy magic, but from overwhelming rage. Everything was red, and she could feel her hatred reflected in the flames that consumed the building around her.

"Amara... please..."

Her heart skipped a beat.

No. Something's not right.

Amara shook her head, doing everything in her power to stop, to pull herself back to her senses. When finally looked down, a horrible scene lay waiting for her.

She was sitting on top of Vee, pinning her down. Her hands had warped into a twisted parody of themselves, blackened bone claws pushing into Vee's neck, drawing blood. Vee stared up at her, tears running down her face, mixing with the blood that poured from a deep cut on her brow.

Her face was full of terror, overwhelming despair, and worst of all, resignation.

She let go, watching as Vee gasped for air. Horrified, Amara stood up, stumbling backwards as she looked around at the house, now completely engulfed in flame.

Amara panicked, unsure what she should do, before reaching out and trying to connect with the flames. She saw the color change, and she was able to extinguish a small patch of flames near the front exit, but the door caught again in mere moments.

"It's too much! I-I can't... I can't stop it!" Amara cried, her voice shaking with fear. She looked over to Vee, still laying on the ground, and realized that the loft above her was starting to buckle from the fire. She heard a loud crack and watched as the structure started falling to the floor.

"NO!!" Amara screamed. She jumped forward, moving much faster than she thought possible, and grabbed Vee off the floor. She curled her wings around her, hugging her close to her chest, and ran for the back entrance.

She crashed through the door, rolling across the back lawn a few times before finally stopping. She laid Vee on the ground, desperately hoping she was still alive. After a moment, Vee inhaled painfully. She rolled onto her side, coughing up blood while she struggled to breath. She looked up, staring at Amara through her bloody tears.

"...Why?" Vee cried, her voice clearly damaged from the smoke.

Amara fell backwards, scrambling to her feet as tears attempted to form, but were quickly burned away by the flames around her eyes.

Sirens sounded in the distance, quickly moving closer as the flames from The Jade Palace climbed higher in the sky. She broke out into a sprint, wings ready, and leapt into the air.

Her wings carried her higher and higher, the smoke hopefully hiding her escape as she kept ascending. The hot air from the fire pushed her skyward, and the wind filled her wings as she fled, the open sky welcoming her for the very first time. The sirens of the emergency vehicles seemed to follow her, drowning out her thoughts as she desperately tried to flee from what had just transpired.

She was having trouble thinking straight, her mind replaying past conversations and thoughts.

"You don't understand, Nick. I was itching for an excuse to hurt him."

"Demons are fucking terrifying. Every instinct in my body is telling me to run, that I shouldn't have freed you."

Without even realizing it, Amara found herself descending onto the roof of her apartment complex. She crashed shoulder first into the gravel, skidding to a halt as her tears finally appeared. They ran down her face, cutting through the soot as she screamed up into the sky. She curled into herself, grabbing her knees as her tail wrapped around them, and wept.

What am I becoming?