For the Love of Life

Adam Jennings belted out his favorite song in the world at the top of his lungs. With all the enthusiasm of an American Idol contestant and none of the talent, his trusty Ford F-150 made for the perfect stage. No audience to be found on this stretch of I-20, not that he wanted one. Much as he loved the man’s music, Adam was no Zac Brown.

East Alabama might not have been the average person’s idea of paradise, but it was perfect for Adam, especially in late October. The massive tourist season of the summer was over, the weather was cooling down, and college football was underway. And with his favorite team, the UAB Blazers, rarely being that good, Adam was able to enjoy his favorite sport relatively stress free.

As he drove west towards Birmingham, Adam had to squint a bit due to the glare of the setting sun. It wasn’t low enough to pose a problem yet, but it wouldn’t be long. Still, his vision was good enough to see hazard lights off to the shoulder ahead of him. Much as it might not be the safest thing to do in this modern world, Adam could never bring himself to pass by someone with car troubles. After signaling and slowing down, he pulled off to the side of the road. But as he approached the vehicle, his heart sank at what he saw – a beat-up Ford Ranger with a license plate saying “RMF T1D3,” short for Roll Mother-Fucking Tide. That meant only one thing.

“Mack. Goddammit,” Adam muttered.

Adam was in no mood to deal with an asshole like Mack McDonald, but one thought of what Maria would say spurred him on. It was the right thing to do. After making sure the way was clear, he stepped out of his truck and looked around for Mack. He saw nobody at the back of the truck, but heard Mack’s thick country accent coming from the other side.

Adam stepped around the truck and saw Mack leaning against the hood of his truck. God, he looked like a douchebag, especially with his wife beater and jorts. What surprised him was the young woman standing with Mack. She was quite the looker by any measure, maybe mid-twenties and a little over five feet tall. Still, she wasn’t tiny; the girl had curves in all the right places. With every slight move she made, her long golden blonde hair seemed to shimmer in the late afternoon light. Adam might’ve been tempted to drool over her, if he weren’t so worried about what she was doing with a man like Mack.

“Everything ok? Havin’ trouble with your truck?” Adam asked casually.

“Naw, nothin’ like that,” Mack said with a laugh. “Just found this little lady on the side of the road. Figured I’d do the neighborly thing and offer her a ride.”

“Uh huh.” Adam didn’t buy it. “Ma’am, did this man demand some sort of compensation in exchange for a ride?”

The look in the woman’s eyes told Adam everything he needed to know – he had hit the nail on the head.

“Now, look here!” Mack spouted in anger. He tried to puff out his chest to intimidate Adam, but all he really did was draw attention to his beer belly. “This don’t concern you none, Jennings. Y’all need to get movin’. Go on, get!”

Adam looked over Mack’s shoulder for any sign from the girl, but she remained frustratingly mute. “Ma’am, I can’t tell you what to do. All I can say is this man here is nothin’ but trouble. He’s bad news. If you need a ride, I’ll take you wherever you need to go for free, no strings attached. Just say the word.”

For some odd reason, the girl’s eyes darted back and forth, almost as if she was having a massive internal debate. In his thirty years, Adam had long since learned to get a read on most people, but this girl was something of a mystery. Maybe it was her icy blue eyes or her full pouty lips throwing him off, maybe even her sexy cropped T-shirt, but whatever it was, he found himself unable to read her completely.

“Ya best get gone,” Mack reiterated.

Adam sighed, knowing he couldn’t force the issue, much as he might want to. But as he turned to go, a sweet voice stopped him in his tracks.

Adam turned and locked eyes with the young lady. She still seemed somewhat unsure of herself, like that debate in her mind was ongoing, but he wasn’t about to leave her with Mack.

“Hop in,” Adam said, opening the passenger door to his truck.

“Jennings, you’re a real asshole,” Mack sneered.

“Takes one to know one,” Adam shot back.

With that, Adam cranked up his truck and pulled back out onto the interstate. He said nothing for a few minutes, not wanting to overwhelm the poor girl. Even though she sat in silence, he did notice she would glance his way every so often. Each time she did, a little smile passed her lips. Finally, Adam decided to speak.

“No,” she shook her head. “I’m fine.”

“That’s good. I’m Adam, by the way.”

She smiled that little smile again. “Evelyn. Thanks for the ride, Adam.”

“My pleasure. Where you headed?”

Evelyn shrugged. “West. Birmingham’s good, if that’s ok.”

“Fine by me,” said Adam. “Let’s see, we’re commin’ up on Talladega, so it’ll be about forty-five minutes.”

Adam’s eyebrows shot up at this. “Beg pardon?”

Evelyn just smiled and ran her fingers through her hair. “I don’t have any money, but I’ll gladly pull my weight, if you know what I mean.”

“Yeah. He said he’d take me as far as Pell City for a blowjob or to Birmingham if I’d go all the way. I mean, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, but you’re much cuter than that fat slob. So, like I said, when do you want me?”

“What do you mean? You don’t want me?” she replied teasingly. “Wait, you’re not gay, are you?”

“Definitely not gay!” Adam chuckled. “Still, it’d be pretty shitty of me to take you up on that. The whole reason I said what I did back with Mack was so you wouldn’t have to do somethin’ like that. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t judge you for whatever you’ve had to do to survive up ‘til now, but you won’t ever have to do that for me.”

“Ya ain’t gotta be so forward with me, Evelyn,” Adam said with a warm smile. “I’m happy to get ya goin’ where ya need to be outta the goodness of my heart. It’s the right thing to do.”

Evelyn eyed him for several long seconds, almost as if she were trying to read his mind. It should’ve made Adam uncomfortable, but he felt strangely at ease. Finally, she gave a smile and a flirty little hair flip.

Try as he might, Adam was finding it very hard to resist Evelyn’s natural charm. He was sorely tempted to take her up on her offer, but he knew he’d regret it in the end. After a few more minutes of silence, he heard the distinct sound of her stomach growling.

“I’m fine,” she shrugged.

“Wow, nobody in this truck believed that whopper of a lie,” Adam laughed. “When’s the last time you ate?”

Evelyn sighed. “Ok, I could eat. Been since yesterday morning. But like I said, I don’t have any money.”

“Don’t worry about it. I got it.”

“The right thing to do?” Evelyn asked, rolling her eyes melodramatically.

A little bit later, Evelyn sat in a Waffle House booth in Pell City. As they waited for their food, she studied Adam intently. She’d meant what she said in the car – he was very good-looking. Cleanshaven and fit, he seemed the complete opposite of that slob, Mack. He kept his hair high and tight in a buzzcut, and his jeans and polo lacked any stains or holes. Adam didn’t press her too much for conversation, but always had a warm smile to give her. Every time a server would walk by, he had a kind word for them, too. Each of the workers seemed to know Adam personally. Everything about him surprised her. If only…

“Waffles are up!” said the waitress, interrupting her thoughts.

“My pleasure, Mr. Jennings,” replied the bubbly black girl. “Earl’s got your check at the register whenever you’re ready. No rush.”

Much as Evelyn didn’t want to admit it, she was starving. As good as her waffle smelled, she could only pick at it for so long before pouring on the syrup and diving right in. Thankfully, Adam didn’t seem to mind her fervor. The way he attacked his scrambled eggs, he seemed almost as hungry as she was. They ate in silence, though she sensed he was dying to ask her more questions. She’d have to figure out how to respond when he finally did.

“I’m gonna go settle up. Be right back,” said Adam.

A few moments later, Evelyn saw Tameka walk up with a Styrofoam cup in hand.

“Here ya go. Brought ya a Coke for the road.”

“Thanks,” said Evelyn.

As she placed the cup on the table, Tameka leaned in close and whispered, “Listen, it ain’t my business how you two know each other, but I feel the need to tell you the truth. Adam Jennings is good people, wouldn’t hurt a fly. So, you’d best not hurt him.”

Evelyn didn’t even have time to reply before Tameka was already off to another table, consoling a toddler that had tripped. Thankfully, she got the kid laughing again by scolding the floor for being bad and naughty, tripping people up and such. Evelyn couldn’t help but smile at that exchange. Unfortunately, her smile was short lived as she saw a customer walk in the front door. It was Mack McDonald.

“Can’t complain, Adam. You?”

“Uh huh. Sure,” Earl chuckled. Lowering his voice, he then asked, “Who’s the girl?”

Adam shrugged. “Hitchhiker. She was about to hitch a ride with Mack McDonald, but I convinced her she’d be askin’ for trouble.”

“Uh oh, that might come back to bite ya. Look.”

Adam turned in the direction Earl was pointing and let out an exasperated sigh. Mack had just walked in and was strolling up to Evelyn and Tameka with a smug grin on his face. Adam might’ve laughed at Mack’s missing tooth if it weren’t for what he saw and heard next.

“Evenin’, ladies! Did ya already ditch that needle-dick Jennings?” Mack chortled. “Just as well. I’m a hell of a lot better company than that dumbass. You can ask Miss Tameka. She sees me here all the time!” he continued, grabbing the waitress on the ass for good measure.

“Mack, you’re an asshole,” Tameka growled, trying to maintain her composure.

“Want me to handle this?” Earl asked Adam. “It’s my place, after all.”

“Naw, I got it,” Adam grinned.

“C’mon, gals. All I’m lookin’ for is a little coffee an’ cream!” Mack continued, his voice echoing through the diner.

It looked to Adam like Mack hadn’t even seen him when he came in, instead going straight for the girls. That was good; he had his back turned and had no idea Adam was coming up behind him. In one swift motion, Adam grabbed Mack’s hand from Tameka’s behind and twisted it into an armlock.

“Mack,” Adam hissed in his ear, “I’m gonna give you one chance to apologize to the ladies for actin’ like a racist, sexist piece of shit.”

“Ugh … fuck you, Jennings.”

“Do it,” Adam said, applying a bit more pressure to Mack’s arm.

“Gah! I-I apologize, ladies. Won’t happen again.”

“Good boy,” Adam replied, releasing Mack and spinning him around to place himself between Mack and the women. “Now, why don’t you mosey on outta here?”

“Jennings, you’re such a goddamn buttinsky,” Mack seethed.

“Go on, now! Get your dinner someplace else tonight!” Earl shouted from behind the counter. “Unless ya want me to call the law?”

“Wouldn’t be your first run-in with the sheriff, would it?” Adam asked with a smug grin.

Mack stared Adam down for a second before saying, “You can piss on me all you want, Jennings, but it don’t change a thing, and you know it.” With that, Mack turned and beat a hasty retreat into the parking lot.

“Either of you hurt?” Adam asked.

“Only my pride,” said Tameka. “Thanks for that.”

“What the hell is his problem?” Evelyn asked.

“Mack’s basically the town miscreant here in Pell City,” Tameka explained. “Rarely does enough to get him in bad with the sheriff, but just enough to be a royal pain.”

“Yeah, and I’ve had two too many encounters with him for one day,” Adam agreed. “What say we head on out ‘fore number three rears its ugly head?”

“Sounds good,” said Evelyn.

Evelyn followed Adam back out to the parking lot to his truck. As she was climbing in, she caught a glimpse of Tameka through the window. She glared daggers at Evelyn, reminding her of the waitress’ words from earlier.

“Hey, you ok?” Adam asked.

“Yeah, fine. Just staring off into space. So, Birmingham?” Evelyn asked.

“Yeah, about that. It’s gettin’ pretty late, be dark by the time we get there. May I ask what your plan is? Got somewhere to stay?”

She shrugged. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it. You’ve done plenty.”

Adam said, “Like I said earlier, I can’t tell ya what to do. What I can tell ya is I wouldn’t be able to sleep a bit tonight thinkin’ ‘bout you sleeping on the street somewhere, or worse. If you really want me to take you all the way to Birmingham tonight, I’m happy to oblige. If I’m startin’ to get creepy and you want to go on your own from here, I won’t stop you, either. All I’m sayin’ is I’ve got a spare bedroom at my place, no charge.”

Evelyn eyed him for a long time, her face looking more and more confused. “And you seriously don’t want anything from me in return? I mean, as nice as you’ve been to me, I’d be more than willing.”

“Nope. Not how I operate,” Adam smiled.

“No girlfriend. So, whaddaya say?”

“Huh. I guess a free bed does sound good.”

Adam shifted into gear and drove them south for about ten minutes, eventually pulling off into a neighborhood with a gravel road. After a few twists and turns, they arrived at a dirt driveway leading down an embankment to a house near the river. Evelyn marveled at how isolated the area felt, even with it being less than half an hour from the interstate. At Adam’s beckoning, she followed him up the stairs and into the house.

While the outside looked exactly as one would expect from a lake house, the inside was more of a surprise to Evelyn. This was no barebones river shack – this was a warm, inviting home. The main area was a massive open concept with a kitchen, eating nook, and a living room with two huge leather sofas. A vaulted ceiling made the room look even larger than it already was. Across the living room, she saw a door leading to a screened in porch, which itself gave access to the boat dock on the river.

“Welcome in! Take a seat, make yourself at home,” said Adam.

“It’s beautiful,” she replied, sitting on one of the two sofas.

“Thanks. Want anything to drink?”

“No, I’m fine.” As Adam sat on the sofa across from her, Evelyn continued to eye him with great curiosity. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t really get you, Adam.”

“Well, you see some random girl on the side of the road, offer her a ride, and constantly refuse to accept any compensation when she offers. Then, you bring this stranger into your home and offer her a free bed for the night. I mean, how do you know I’m not going to rob you blind, or worse, try to kill you in your sleep?”

Adam laughed. “I don’t believe you’d try anything like that.”

“How do you know? You don’t really know anything about me, after all. You haven’t even tried to find out where I’m from or what my story is.”

“Not my place to pry. I’m curious, of course, but I figure the ball’s in your court on when and if you wanna open up about all that. You won’t get no pressure from me.”

“But again, how can you trust me without knowing any of that?” Evelyn pressed.

“In a word, my gut. It’s never steered me wrong. Trust me, I thought about walkin’ away or just takin’ you to Birmingham and lettin’ that be the end of it, but I couldn’t. My gut kept on and kept on, and I knew it wouldn’t be right to do that, even not knowing anything about your past. Of course, if you wanna talk about anything, I’m more than happy to listen.”

Evelyn pursed her lips at that. “Maybe in the morning, if that’s ok. For now, I could use a good night’s sleep.”

“No prob. Follow me.” Adam led the way down a short hallway off the main living room. “Here’s your room, bathroom is right next door. Mine are on the other side of the house, so no worries about anyone walkin’ in on ya. No obligations for me tomorrow, so feel free to sleep as late as you like.”

As Adam turned to leave, Evelyn grabbed his arm and pulled him in close, planting a kiss on his cheek as she did so.

“You sure I can’t interest you in a bedmate for the night?” she purred in his ear.

Adam gritted his teeth, feeling the uncomfortable confines of his jeans. “Shit, girl. Gettin’ harder and harder to say no every time you ask. But you said it best: you could use a good night’s sleep.” Then, in a move that surprised Evelyn, he leaned in and kissed her softly on the forehead. “I’ll see ya in the morning.”

“Goodnight, Mr. Jennings,” Evelyn replied with a sultry grin before closing the door behind her.

With that, Adam took a seat back in the living room and switched on the TV. He tried several channels – local news, ESPN, a sitcom – but nothing managed to distract him. All he could think about was the blonde bombshell sleeping in the next room. Much as he knew he was doing the right thing by declining her advances, he had to admit to being tempted. There was something irresistible about Evelyn. She was enchanting and mesmerizing, almost otherworldly.

“Only one other gal ever could get to me this bad,” he muttered to himself with a grin.

After a while, Adam gave up and decided to turn in. First, he made sure all the doors were securely locked, then activated the alarm system. After that, he made for his bedroom and locked the door behind him. The last thing he always did before crawling into bed was to safety check the handgun in his nightstand. He didn’t think Evelyn was a danger to him, but better safe than sorry. As Adam drifted off into unconsciousness, he couldn’t help but remember the touch of Evelyn’s lips to his cheek from before.

Adam awoke early the next day, his sleep more restless than he had expected. After showering to clear his head, he went through his usual morning routine, making coffee and going over local and national news on his laptop. An hour or two later, he heard the sounds of Evelyn stirring in her room and decided to fry up some bacon for breakfast. As he finished making the food, Evelyn joined him in the kitchen, clad only in her crop top and a pair of panties.

“Morning,” she said, running her hand through her tousled hair.

“Mornin’ to you, too,” Adam grinned. “Sleep well?”

“Glad to hear. Breakfast is ready, I got some extra crispy pieces and some juicier pieces, whichever ya like.”

The pair stood at the kitchen island and munched on their food in comfortable silence for a while. Adam tried his best not to ogle Evelyn’s gorgeous body, but he had to sneak a glance or two. She really was a unicorn, being relatively short but with ample curves. Evelyn was definitely no stick figure, and it suited her. She caught him peeking once or twice, but gave no objections. Once she had finished her breakfast, Evelyn sauntered around the island to stand close to Adam.

“I really do have to thank you for giving me a place to sleep last night,” she said, running her fingers across Adam’s chest. “I feel so much better. I’m ready for anything today might bring. Anything.”

“Don’t have to what?” she whispered, her lips centimeters from his. “Don’t you like me? I mean, a girl can only try so hard before she gets her feelings hurt.”

Adam’s mouth dried out as his logical side started to lose the battle of wills. She was right – he did like her. Still, he tried to keep from following his baser urges and ripping her clothes off. But as she stood there, Evelyn cupped Adam’s face in her hands and stared into his eyes. Her icy blue eyes were so enchanting, they seemed to hold him prisoner. After a moment, he could’ve sworn he saw them start to glow.

“You want me, Adam. Take me.”

Adam saw her lips moving and heard Evelyn speak those words, but he also felt them in his mind for some odd reason. His brain knew something was wrong, but he was powerless to do anything else. Adam relaxed and allowed Evelyn to have complete control over him. But just as she began tilting his head down to kiss him, she broke away completely, snapping Adam back to reality.

Adam’s limbs felt numb, like he had been sitting on them for too long. He shook them a few times, at last feeling his blood flow return to normal. It was then that he realized Evelyn was lying on the floor in the fetal position. For some reason, she was bawling her eyes out, as if the entire world was coming to an end.

“I can’t … I can’t…”

“Hey, it’s ok, Evelyn. You don’t gotta feel the need to do anything like that for me,” Adam said, kneeling beside her crumpled form.

“No, you don’t understand,” she wailed.

“I’d like to, if you’ll talk to me,” he replied, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “C’mon, let’s go have a sit.”

Adam helped Evelyn to her feet and led her back to the living room, sitting her on one of the sofas. He moved to sit on the other sofa, but before he could, felt Evelyn grab him by the arm and pull him down to sit next to her. Her eyes were beginning to dry out, but he could tell she was still distressed about something.

“Talk to me. What is it I don’t understand?”

Evelyn gulped. “Gods, I’m going to be in so much trouble for this…”

After a few long seconds, she took a deep breath. “Adam, I’ve been lying to you. Well, not exactly lying, but lying by omission. I’m not what you think I am. I’m not some random girl who ran into you by happenstance. The truth is … I’m not human, Adam. I’m a demon.”

Adam’s eyebrows shot up at this. “A demon?”

“Yes. Specifically, a Succubus.”

Adam stood and paced the floor for a minute as he tried to comprehend this. He saw the sincerity in Evelyn’s eyes. She truly believed what she was telling him, but how could he believe her? There was no possible way it could be true. Worse, he now worried about her mental state and wondered if she might be dangerous.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Evelyn said. “You’ve got to be thinking I’m crazy and need to be locked up.”

“It’s ok, I get it. It sounds impossible.”

“I mean … I try not to say things are impossible,” Adam replied as politely as he could, “but it’s really farfetched. A demon? Seriously?”

“Is it really so farfetched, though? I mean, you were looking right into my eyes a minute ago when they started glowing.”

Adam took a step back at that. “I thought I imagined that,” he replied, the fear apparent in his voice.

“And your body? Don’t you think it’s strange how you felt powerless until I looked away? Even then, you had to regain your strength, didn’t you?”

“You’re crazy, lady!” Adam shouted, turning to leave.

“I’m telling you the truth! I swear!” Evelyn yelled back, now in tears once again.

Adam stopped short of the hallway to his bedroom, cursing himself for being so harsh with her. He might not believe her, but that was no reason to treat her like that. He was better than that, and he damn well knew it. Keeping a close eye on Evelyn, he walked slowly back to the sofa and sat next to her.

“It’s ok,” she sniffled through her tears. “I know it’s a lot.”

“I wanna believe you’re tellin’ me the truth, but you’ve gotta give me somethin’ more concrete, ya understand.”

She took a deep breath. “I can do that.”

Evelyn then stood and moved to the center of the room. At first, nothing appeared to be happening, but her body soon started shaking ever so slightly. After a few seconds, a row of tiny flesh-colored spikes began protruding from her forearms and thighs. Her face was next, which now bore a number of black whisker-like objects that gave her the appearance of an eye mask. The final change was a pair of tiny black horns emerging from her mess of blonde hair on the top of her head. Her transformation complete, Evelyn turned to face Adam once more, her eyes showing more than a little shame.

“Um … wow,” was all Adam could say.

“I know – I’ve got to be hideous by your human standards,” she replied, hanging her head a bit.

Evelyn sighed. “That was my mission, but … I couldn’t do it. Gods, you must hate me right now. I’d probably better go…”

As she turned to leave, Adam said, “Your mission was to kill me. Why? And why didn’t you?”

The look of surprise on Evelyn’s face was apparent. “You don’t want me to leave?”

Adam shrugged. “The way I see it, you could’ve killed me at any time. And, well, color me curious. I wanna know what’s really going on.”

“Well, better get some fresh coffee!” Adam said with a grin.

After Adam refreshed both their cups, they again sat on the sofa. Evelyn said nothing and just circled her finger along the rim of her mug, unsure of where to begin. All the while, Adam never pried or pushed her for more information, despite his desire to.

“I’d better start from the beginning,” Evelyn said. “I live on Earth, but not the Earth you know. My Earth is in a parallel universe from this one. In my world, humans never came into being at all, that is, they never evolved. Instead, we demons became the dominant species on the planet. My ancestors were incredibly advanced, able to have their equivalent of the Industrial Revolution around the same time as your Bronze Age. Unfortunately, for all their brilliance, our predecessors also lacked any semblance of self-control. This was almost our undoing.

“We demons feed differently from you humans. We eat food, yes, but our bodies also require a different form of sustenance – life. Every demon needs life energy, be it Vampires, Werewolves, Harpies, or even we Succubi. Feeding on life energy is the defining genetic trait that makes one a demon. Different subsets of demons feed on life energy in different ways. This energy is not only what sustains us physically, but also what powers our technology. With their newfound technological prowess, my ancestors embarked upon the Great Harvest, intending to gather enough life energy from the world that their people would never go hungry again. By the time they were done, nearly all living creatures and every natural resource had been destroyed. It took them a mere two decades from the start of our Industrial Revolution to destroy the planet.”

“Two decades?!” Adam exclaimed.

Evelyn nodded sadly. “Like I said, my ancestors lacked any semblance of self-control.”

“So, how have you survived this long? You said your Industrial Revolution happened around our Bronze Age. That’s about five-thousand years!”

Evelyn continued, “The generation following the Great Harvest, led by the great Succubus Lilith, quickly realized they would outlive the amount of life energy their parents had collected unless drastic changes were made. They could not continue to consume energy at the same gluttonous rate, so Lilith proposed mandatory rations on life energy. Not a solution I’m proud of, but a necessary one. Even so, that would only delay the inevitable; we needed a new source of life energy. By good luck, one positive of this situation was that our technology grew exponentially in the years following. Within a century of the Great Harvest, our top scientists had developed a permanent solution to our energy crisis by creating a wormhole to a parallel universe – your universe.

“When our first explorers stepped into your universe, they discovered an Earth still teaming with life and rich with natural resources. The original plan was for us to simply move in and take command of this second Earth, but that was ruled out when Lilith realized this would only continue the cycle of destruction. She developed our current system of using this new Earth as a farm from which we could collect life energy to sustain our own people. This was particularly successful when we discovered that you humans produce far more life energy than any other animal on the planet, no matter how big or powerful. Lilith is so revered for her wisdom that her family line continues to lead the Succubi to this day.”

“That’s great and all, but it still doesn’t explain what you were doing earlier,” Adam said.

Evelyn’s face turned sad. “You see, we Succubi are unique among demons in that we can absorb far more life energy than is necessary for us to survive. We can then store that energy within our bodies and bring it back to our Earth, where it can be stockpiled and distributed to our citizens. However, while a Succubus can normally take life energy at a mere touch from most animals, humans are a more difficult puzzle. After much trial and error, we discovered the only way we could take the energy we needed from a human was through sexual intercourse. In this way, we have found our means to survive through humans … although the human never survives the energy transfer.”

Adam sat quietly as he considered everything she was telling him. Much as he sympathized with her people, he had to admit to being more than a little offended at her people treating humans as nothing more than livestock. Still, the fact that Evelyn still hadn’t killed him herself intrigued him.

“So, this is where the legend of a Succubus stealing a man’s soul comes from.”

“Yes,” Evelyn agreed.

“Do you always target men, or are our women in danger, too?” Adam asked pointedly.

“There are male Succubi, but we only send women on these collection missions. We never wish to decrease the female human population, since they are the ones who produce more offspring-”

“For you to hunt down,” Adam interrupted.

Much as Evelyn wanted to deny it, all she could do was nod.

“So, why didn’t you kill me?”

“You see, only the best of the best among Succubi are chosen for missions into your world. It’s incredibly dangerous, after all, traveling to another universe. We go through rigorous training in preparation, much of which is learning the history of the human world, enabling us to fit in without drawing attention to ourselves. Our leaders have always maintained that we demons are superior to humans in every way imaginable. They teach us that humans are primitive creatures, far behind us in technology and more apt to destroy each other and their world than anything else. As such, killing a small number of humans to save our own world shouldn’t be a big deal. I’ve always had my doubts about the truth of their teachings, but you changed everything, Adam. You treated me with kindness and respect, even refused my advances, all because you have a code of honor. Even with my doubts about our indoctrination, I never expected a human to behave like that. I couldn’t kill you. I’d never have forgiven myself.”

Much as Adam wanted to be angry at her, he couldn’t. He felt the pain in her words, and knew in his gut she was being sincere. After a moment, he moved a bit closer to her on the sofa and placed his hand on top of hers. Evelyn flinched at first, but soon intertwined her fingers with his.

“So, I’m guessin’ you’ve never done one of these missions before, right?” Adam asked.

“Nope. First one, and I’m already a failure. Shit, they’re going to kill me.”

Adam’s ears perked up at this. “Like, legit kill you?”

“Probably,” Evelyn shrugged. “I’ve basically committed high treason by telling you everything I have.”

Thinking for a moment, Adam then asked, “Would they come after you?”

“What do you mean?”

“If you were to stay here on Earth, my Earth, would they come after you?”

Evelyn’s eyes darted back and forth as she pondered this. “I honestly don’t know. It’s never been done before. But even if they didn’t, it still wouldn’t work.”

“Why not?”

“I can’t survive very long in your world.” Evelyn turned her head and held up her hair, revealing a metal disc sitting just below her scalp on the back of her neck. “You see that implant? That’s my life support system. We aren’t sure of every difference between your Earth and ours, but there’s something about this universe that slowly kills us the longer we stay here. My implant provides me with a constant drip of life energy, enabling me to stay here longer. But sooner or later, it’ll run out, and I’d be dead within an hour.”

“So, it’s like an oxygen tank for scuba divers?”

“Exactly, though it lasts a pretty long time. I’d say I have about five days left.”

Adam leaned forward to take a sip of his coffee, still letting all this new information sink in. “Y’all have been doing this for thousands of years, right? How has nobody from our world figured it out yet?”

“We have a number of rules and regulations for these harvesting missions. First, we only need the energy of about ten-thousand adult humans to provide enough energy for an entire year on our world. This may seem like a lot, but-”

“With over seven billion people on the planet, just a drop in the bucket.”

“Right,” said Evelyn. “Our second rule is in who we target. We only go after loners, men with no family or dependents. This avoids attracting attention from their deaths, which always appear as nothing more than sudden heart attacks. But the biggest way we protect ourselves is in our timing. We have scouts that come to your world throughout the year to gather information, but all harvesting missions take place in the days leading up to your All Hallows’ Eve.”

“And Halloween is today,” Adam realized.

“Exactly. Our research has determined that most humans are superstitious enough to accept any strange deaths or unexplained disappearances as long as they occur around this time. As for our targets, most are more than willing and cooperative with our efforts, even if they don’t realize what’s really going on. If they’re more unwilling, then we have to use our empathic powers to persuade them.”

“Pretty sure Mack would’ve gone right along with ya,” Adam mused.

“Yeah, he was my first target. Couldn’t believe how fast I found him. But when my second target just happened to come along, I decided it was best to go with you. I thought I could easily find Mack again later to complete my mission. I just never counted on you being so sweet that I couldn’t go through with it. Gods, I’ve made such a mess of this…”

“Hey, stop that. You’re no failure. You’ve just realized something the rest of your people haven’t. That’s on them, not you.”

“Maybe, but where do we go from here?” Evelyn wondered. “Sooner or later, I’ll have to return home, and it’s not like I could stop any future harvests if I wanted to. My world still needs life energy from humans to survive.”

Adam sighed. “I really don’t know. Seems too big for the two of us right now. One step at a time, I guess.”

“I guess,” Evelyn replied, feeling more frustrated and conflicted than ever.

“I have to say, you’re not what I expected from a Succubus, in a good way. You are beautiful, of course, but much sweeter than all them fairy tales talk about.”

“Thanks,” Evelyn said with a tiny smile. “This mission was never personal to me. Just doing what I can to try and help my people. The fame and prestige from being a life energy harvester doesn’t hurt, either.”

“I’m guessin’ y’all are national heroes, then, huh?”

“Pretty much. Still, there are many Succubi who go on these missions for sheer fun and enjoyment. They love the hunt, the thrill of seducing an unsuspecting human and watching the light go out in his eyes as they screw him … it’s pretty disturbing, to be honest. I’ve never wanted to be like them.”

“That fits pretty much with what the legends say,” said Adam.

After a brief pause, Evelyn continued, “So, I’ve opened up to you. Is it your turn, now?”

Adam gave a laugh. “Guess that’s fair. What do you wanna know?”

“You and Mack,” Evelyn said with a wry grin. “There’s clearly history between you two. What’s the story?”

At this, Adam stood and walked over to rummage around in a nearby trunk. “Well, two years ago, I wasn’t the loner I am today. I was happily married to the love of my life. Here ya go, this is her. My Maria,” he said, handing a picture to Evelyn.

“She’s beautiful,” Evelyn smiled, admiring the buxom redhead in the photo.

“Yeah, and smart, too. Studied dentistry at UAB, had her own practice here in town. Best part was us working together. When she wasn’t working her practice, she’d help out with my job. I’m a flipper, or I was, at least. I bought rundown houses and fixed ‘em up to sell for a profit. I’ve got the construction knowhow, Maria had the eye for design. This place here was our last project together.”

“What happened to her?” Evelyn asked.

Adam’s face twisted in pain. “Mack was a professional semi driver back then. Had a bad habit of drivin’ recklessly, always goin’ too fast, weavin’ in and out of traffic. One day, he was doin’ what he always does on I-20 when he cut a lane change too close. Lost control of his truck, went across the median and straight into oncoming traffic. He hit my wife’s car head-on at almost eighty miles an hour. Worse, she survived long enough to be airlifted to the hospital, where she finally gave out after three hours of surgery. I can’t imagine how much pain she must’ve been in…”

“Adam, I’m so sorry. You don’t have to go on.”

“Naw, it’s ok. Anyway, the police investigated and found that Mack was at fault based on eyewitness accounts. He also had two previous wrecks on his permanent record with the trucking company, but was never disciplined. I met with the victims of those accidents and learned they were too poor to hire lawyers, so they never got any real compensation. I’m not someone who wants to sue people, but I felt I had no choice. Mack was dangerous, and the company was just as liable for keepin’ him on so long. By the end of it, the company went under, I received a massive settlement, and Mack was basically blacklisted from ever being a trucker again.”

“I can see why there’d be bad blood between you. He blames you for losing his job, even if it was his fault, and you blame him for your wife.”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

Evelyn bit her lower lip for a second. “Mack was my other target. Would you like me-”

“No, please don’t go after him,” Adam said quickly.

“You sure? The world wouldn’t miss him.”

“Maybe so, but that don’t make it right for me to be judge, jury, and executioner. Trust me, there’ve been times I wanted to get revenge, but … Maria’s always stopped me.”

“Maria? How?”

Adam shrugged. “I know I’m gonna see her again one day, once my time is up.”

“Oh, I get it! You’re afraid she’d be angry at you for getting back at him.”

“Nah, not angry,” Adam grinned. “Somethin’ much worse – disappointed.”

“You really are a good guy,” Evelyn said with a smile.

“I try. Sometimes I succeed.” After checking his watch, Adam continued, “It’s getting later than I thought. Wanna head out and grab some lunch? I know a good place upriver, if you wanna take a ride in my boat?”

“I’d love to! But wouldn’t it be cold this time of year?”

“In Alabama? Not likely, but jeans and a windbreaker might not be a bad idea. I’ll grab you a jacket. Unless you’re just dyin’ to wear a skimpy bikini!”

Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Men. No matter which universe I’m in, you’re all the same.”

“And you love us for it!” Adam chuckled.

“Ok, just let me freshen up a bit.”

“Take your time.”

Evelyn bounced off to her room, straightening her hair as much as she could before tying it back in a long ponytail. She found herself strangely excited that Adam didn’t want her to leave, that he wanted to spend more time with her, even knowing what she really was. All she could think about was ripping his clothes off and having her way with her, even if she knew she couldn’t. She wouldn’t risk his safety, no matter how horny he made her. All the same, she’d take the company for as long as she could before having to deal with the reality of this mess of hers.

“I’ll figure out that shit later,” she muttered to herself.

As Evelyn left the room, she failed to notice her communicator on her nightstand. It was a compact device, roughly the size and shape of a credit card, but provided her an instant link back to her universe. What’s more, her superiors had intentionally neglected to inform her that such a device could be activated by either party.

“Are you certain?”

“Yes, High Priestess. I would not have called you personally otherwise.”

“This is certainly a unique problem. For thousands of years, our rigorous training has yet to fail even one of our agents. But this Evelyn … she seems to have resisted all our indoctrination efforts. Worse, that primitive could try and spread the truth throughout his world, threatening our lifeblood.”

“I do not believe he is a cause for concern. Even if he were to reveal what he has learned, none would believe him. But Evelyn is a clear and present danger to every Succubus in the human world at this moment, and perhaps also to the demon world as a whole.”

“I agree. We must act swiftly to ensure our future. I shall send for our best agent at once.”

Mack McDonald flew down the interstate in silence, still fuming from how things had turned out the day before. He had met the hottest little thing he’d ever seen in his life and was this close to sealing the deal with her. Of course, that bastard Adam Jennings had intervened and made off with his piece of ass for good measure.

“Fuckin’ prick,” Mack muttered to himself. “I hope she bites his cock off.”

Just as he thought his luck would never turn around, Mack spotted something up ahead of him. On the side of the road stood a gorgeous young woman with long, black hair. Best of all, she had her arm extended and her thumb up, signaling she needed to hitch a ride.

“Oh, happy day,” Mack chuckled.

Mack signaled and pulled off into the emergency lane, slowing to a stop as he reached the young lady. Now that he had his first good look at her, he smiled at seeing she was even hotter than he thought she’d be. Tall and leggy with tits and ass to spare, she had the cutest face that seemed to beg him to fuck her. Yep, he’d be getting lucky by the end of the day.

“How you, little missy?” Mack asked as he exited his truck.

“Could be better,” she replied in an adorable high-pitched voice. “I’m really sorry to bother you, but I could use a ride.”

“Where ya headed?”

“West. Birmingham, if possible.”

Mack rubbed his graying beard as he pondered her request. “Welp, I gotta be honest, that’s farther than I was plannin’ on goin’ today. Though I s’pose I could be persuaded to take ya all the way. That is, if I could get some compensation in return.”

“I’d be happy to, but the problem is I don’t have any money. I wouldn’t be able to help you pay for gas.”

“Mm. Well, maybe we can work somethin’ else out. Tell me, how old are ya?”

“Twenty-four,” she replied, putting a bit of a lilt on the last word.

“Perfect. If, say, we could have us a little roll around the hay, I’d be more than happy to take ya to Birmingham after. Now, just to be clear, I mean all the way – I’d like to get my dick in that sweet little pussy of yours. And no condoms, neither. I hate that shit. That’s the deal, feel free to decline.”

The young woman said nothing at first, but after a moment, a sly grin spread across her lips. She sauntered up to Mack, pushing her ample breasts out to touch his chest. Her nipples were already rock-hard, and she could see in his eyes he felt them.

“Know somewhere private we could go?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“I know a nice spot just up the road,” Mack grinned. “Hop in.”

Mack drove them west on I-20 for a couple of miles. The next exit was a relatively empty one, consisting of only a single gas station near the interstate and not much beyond that. Not even a mile later, he turned off onto a gravel road, soon arriving at a secluded clearing near a riverbank.

“How’s this for private? Don’t nobody else know ‘bout this spot,” Mack said with pride.

“It’s perfect,” the mystery girl said. “If you have some blankets, maybe we get busy in your truck bed?”

“It’s like you can read my mind! And I got somethin’ better than blankets.”

With that, Mack pulled a foam bedroll from the back of the cab. The girl’s eyes lit up at seeing how well prepared he was, and she soon followed him around to the tailgate of his Ranger. The second Mack had the bedroll set, she was on him, pushing him onto his back with a steamy kiss. She took him a bit by surprise with her forcefulness, but he wouldn’t think of complaining. Before long, she was already tugging his jorts open and pulling out his cock.

“Ooh, feels like he’s ready for me,” she purred, stroking him a few times.

“Now, don’t ya tease me, girl,” Mack shot back with a grin.

“Never.”

Before Mack could even ask, the girl stood over him and whipped off her shirt, revealing her firm breasts for him. Better still, her body appeared to be well tanned, making Mack smile. Her cutoff jeans and thong were next to go, revealing a bare pussy and a body lacking even a single tan line. Mack couldn’t help but think he had hit the jackpot.

“You want me?” she asked, lowering her pussy to graze the tip of Mack’s cock.

“I do.”

“Good. Now, give it to me.”

Mack was pleasantly surprised by the girl’s enthusiasm. When he’d gotten women to agree to this in the past, they’d always just opened their legs and let him do as he wanted, never participating themselves. But this little nymphomaniac was something special. She rode him like her life depended on it, almost as if she’d die if he didn’t squirt his seed into her. Mack, of course, was happy to oblige.

“Ooh, you’re amazing,” she moaned, tweaking her nipples as she bounced on his cock.

Her pussy was so tight that Mack couldn’t even respond. He’d had great sex before, but this felt so different. It was as if her tight slit was refusing to let him go, not that he’d want her to. He managed to utter that he was close, causing the girl to lock eyes with him and lower her face to his. She begged him to cum, begged for his seed, and the way her eyes seemed to glow, there was no way he could refuse. As he felt the familiar heat welling up in the pit of his stomach, Mack could’ve sworn his vision started to go blurry. Soon, he gave her exactly what she wanted and exploded into her tight little pussy. Just as he started to orgasm, Mack’s vision gave out and he fell unconscious.

“Filthy swine.”

She stood with a satisfied smirk on her face, admiring Mack’s lifeless body. She could feel her body now brimming with his life energy, plenty to help her people survive a bit longer. After dressing herself, she reached into the pocket of her cutoff jeans to retrieve her communicator.

“Come in, High Priestess. This is Megara.”

“Report, Megara. What is your status?”

“Good news. By luck, I ran into one of Evelyn’s intended targets. Took care of him.”

“Excellent. What of the traitor? Do you know where she is?”

“Not yet, I … wait a second. Yes, I see her!”

“Where is she? Can you reach her?”

“No, she’s in the middle of a river. I see her on a boat with some guy, maybe her other intended target. Not sure. They appear to be headed south.”

“Understood. Stick close to them as best you can, but don’t allow them to see you. I’m terminating her employment from our end. Once that’s complete, move in on the second target.”

Evelyn stood at the bow of Adam’s pontoon boat, the Maria. The leisure boat couldn’t go very fast, but she still felt a sense of freedom and happiness feeling the breeze in her face. This was nothing like what she had always been told the human world was like. Humans might not be perfect, but men like Adam were just happy to have life’s simple pleasures.

“Gods, lunch was soooooo good,” said Evelyn.

“Yep, can’t really beat a family owned burger shack with boat parking!” Adam agreed.

“I know it, I … wait, what was that?”

“Huh? Everything ok?”

Evelyn scanned the shoreline, but wasn’t sure of what she had seen out of the corner of her eye. “Huh. I thought I saw something. Probably just my imagination.”

“What did you see?”

“I thought I recognized someone, but-”

Before she could say another word, Evelyn collapsed down on one knee. Her breathing was heavy and she began sweating profusely. In desperation, she reached behind her head and twisted her disc implant free, allowing her to examine it.

“Shit!”

“What’s goin’ on?!” Adam asked, his concern rising.

“Somehow, the power’s been cut on my life energy supply,” said Evelyn. “If I can’t get it working again, I’ll be dead within the hour.”

“Can you fix it?”

“Not sure. I need to analyze it back in my room.”

“On it! Goin’ at full speed, we should be home in less than five minutes.”

Adam punched the throttle as far as it would go, pushing his little boat to its max. It wasn’t much, maybe thirty miles per hour, but he knew his Maria wouldn’t give out on them now. A couple of minutes later, they rounded a bend and saw the red roof of his boathouse about a hundred yards away. By that time, Evelyn had practically doubled over on the boat’s bench seat in discomfort. Knowing they couldn’t afford any mistakes, Adam swung wide and lowered their speed just enough for him to get the boat into the boathouse in one fell swoop. After tying them up, he rushed to Evelyn’s side.

“C’mon, watch your step. We’re almost there,” he encouraged her.

Adam helped Evelyn step carefully off the boat, then led her up the walk to the house. By the time they got inside, she had weakened to the point that she was almost hanging off his shoulder. At that, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the guest bedroom.

“My multitool,” Evelyn said, pointing at the nightstand.

“Got it.”

After helping her sit on the bed, Adam handed her the odd device. It looked to him like a credit card, but it was soon clear it was far more than it seemed. Evelyn activated a touchscreen on the device, which then emitted a laser from its backside. She used this to scan her life energy disc. After a few seconds, she sighed in frustration and turned off the multitool.

“Shit. I’m dead.”

“What happened?” Adam asked.

“My life energy supply has been completely cut off and the disc deactivated,” Evelyn explained. “The only way that can happen is on the orders of my superiors.”

“You’re saying they’re trying to kill you? Why?”

She shrugged. “Somehow, they must’ve found out about my betrayal. It’s the only thing I can think of. Doesn’t matter, anyway. I can’t survive here without life energy.”

Adam’s heart sank at seeing the resignation on Evelyn’s face. She had done the right thing, and her reward was a slow death she could see coming a mile away. She moved back to recline on the bed, and Adam could see the unsettled look in her eyes. She tried to appear strong and assured, but he knew the truth. Evelyn didn’t deserve to die, certainly not like this. Adam sighed, knowing he was insane for what he was about to do, but also knowing there was no other choice.

“I’ll give you mine.”

“What?” she asked as her head popped up in surprise.

“You said you can’t survive without life energy, so I’ll give you mine.”

“No, you won’t!” Evelyn replied, trying to look authoritative in her weakened state. “If you do that, you’ll die!”

“Probably, but I’m still gonna do it,” Adam shrugged.

“I can’t ask you to-”

“You don’t have to. I want to. Evelyn, you had orders to kill me and chose not to. You saved my life. The least I can do is return the favor.

Seeing Adam unbuttoning his shirt, she lunged forward and grabbed his hands. “Don’t do this, Adam. You have everything to lose. Please.”

Smiling, he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “You’re dying, and I’ve got it within me to save you. If I chose not to, you really think I’d be able to live with myself?”

“Adam…”

He then gently pushed her onto her back, an easy task with her weakened body. Much as she wanted to protest further, Evelyn was powerless the moment he touched his lips to hers. He kissed her so sweetly and lovingly, it was like nothing she had ever felt in her life. At last, he withdrew and resumed unbuttoning his shirt.

“I’ve never once forced myself on a woman, and I don’t plan to start now,” Adam said. “Please, just let me do this for you.”

Tears now began streaming down Evelyn’s face as she saw the truth. Adam wanted nothing more than to save her, but even in that, his honor wouldn’t allow him to take her against her will. He was practically begging her for permission to save her life. Her people had humans all wrong. They weren’t the primitive savages the demon world painted them as, certainly not with men like Adam around. Much as she wanted to refuse him, she couldn’t.

“Okay.”

Adam nodded and allowed his shirt to fall to the floor, followed shortly by his jeans and boxers. Had Evelyn been stronger, she’d have pounced on him, seeing the size of his weaponry. He then reached for her jeans, unbuttoning them and helping her slip them over her curvy hips. After that came her panties, leaving Evelyn nude from the waist down. Try as he might to mentally disconnect from the situation, Adam couldn’t help but admire her beauty. Evelyn simply oozed sex appeal, from her toned legs and bubble butt to her hairless pussy.

Adam gently pulled Evelyn to the edge of the bed, allowing him to slip right into her slick tunnel. His eyes immediately bulged from how tight she was, but he managed the presence of mind to disregard those sensations. Saving her life was his only concern in that moment, even if it killed him. The poor girl was so fatigued she was shivering.

Just gotta give her my life energy … whatever that is.

He had no idea if it was working, but she seemed no worse off, so he kept going. It wouldn’t be very long, not as gorgeous as Evelyn was. Adam knew he could last longer if he tried, but that wasn’t the point right now. She needed him. He was the only one who could save her life. As he felt his orgasm approaching, Adam focused only on giving himself freely to Evelyn. Even if he didn’t survive, he knew it was the right thing to do. A moment later, he lost all control and exploded into her convulsing pussy.

“GAH! Oh, gods!” she moaned.

Evelyn couldn’t believe it. He had made her cum. She wasn’t sure if it was his sexy body or his incredible selflessness, but something had sent her over the edge. For her to orgasm from sex was almost unheard of. Moreover, she suddenly felt like she was brimming with energy, like she could run a marathon then and there. But the sound of Adam collapsing onto the bed jolted her back to reality.

“Adam? Adam! Gods, are you ok?!” she asked, shaking him a bit.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Hella hungry, though,” he chuckled.

Once again, Evelyn was dumbfounded. Not only was Adam alive, but he appeared no worse off from their joining. In all the many generations they had been harvesting life energy from humans, not one instance of a human surviving an encounter with a Succubus had ever been recorded. Any human sexual partner died immediately after their final orgasm, always painless, never prolonged.

“This defies everything we thought we knew,” Evelyn breathed.

“Huh? Whatcha mean?” Adam asked, still a bit groggy from their lovemaking.

“You’re alive! This has never happened before! We’ve always thought it a physical impossibility. But could that mean … hang on.”

“Uh, Evelyn?” Adam replied, seeing her reach for her multitool. “Mind tellin’ me what the hell is goin’ on?”

Without a word, she placed the device on her chest and tapped a button on the touchscreen. It flashed for a few moments before beeping. Evelyn’s eyes widened in shock as she read the results on the screen.

“There’s no way.”

“What are you talkin’ about, girl?” Adam laughed.

“Well, you know how we Succubi can absorb more life energy than just the amount we need to survive?”

“Yeah, that’s why y’all are the ones who collect it and bring it home.”

“I just took a reading of my reserves. They’re filled past their normal capacity! I have no clue what you just did, but whatever it was generated more life energy than even the best Succubi of all time have ever collected. I’m talking a hundred times more!”

“Huh,” said Adam, scratching his head. “I wonder if it has anything to do with me giving it willingly? It’s all I was thinkin’ about during, to be honest.”

“That’s got to be it!” Evely squealed. “We’ve always believed the only way we can harvest life energy from humans is to seduce them and take it by force. Sex just facilitates the intimate connection required for the transfer. Since we usually take it, most humans aren’t prepared for the sudden departure of life energy, resulting in their immediate deaths. But by giving it willingly, you managed to survive the transfer while also generating exponentially greater energy levels in the process!”

“I’m just glad you’re ok,” he replied, kissing her on the cheek.

“Oh, I’m more than ok. This changes everything! If I bring this information back home, then our world’s energy crisis will be over. No more killing, no more covert operations.”

“Holy shit,” Adam muttered, realizing the gravity of her statement.

Evelyn’s mind raced as she dressed herself. She was still wanted, yes, but if she could only find a safe way home, what she’d learned certainly would earn her a full pardon. But how to do it? That was the tricky part. If she had been marked to the point of having her life energy supply cut off, then none of the wormholes back to the demon world would allow her through. As she continued to consider her options, she glanced out the bedroom window and caught sight of something shiny in the thicket across from Adam’s house. In an instant, her survival instincts kicked in.

“SNIPER!”

Evelyn pushed Adam to the ground before diving on top of him. The second after they hit the floor, a bullet made of bright blue energy broke the window and whizzed overhead.

“Shit! You ok?” Adam asked.

“Oh, yeah. Never better,” Evelyn replied, rolling her eyes.

“I’m guessin’ somebody’s after you?”

“Has to be. You humans don’t have access to energy weapons yet.”

“Energy weapons? Just perfect. You got one you can fight back with?”

Evelyn shook her head. “No, they only trust us to carry weapons after we’ve completed three successful missions. Regardless, fighting back isn’t an option.”

“Why not? I’ve got a gun in my room. I assume you demons can still be hurt, right?”

“Oh, of course. We’re just as frail and killable as you humans. But I need a way back home to deliver the information I’ve learned. If I don’t, that knowledge dies with me. As is, none of the wormholes will let me through, so surrender looks to be my only choice.”

“You can’t do that! They’ve already tried to kill you twice, right? They won’t miss a third time,” Adam protested.

“It’s my only choice! Look, they don’t just want me out of the picture. They’ll also want to make an example of me. Surrender gives them that chance. I know it’s a risk, but I’ve got to try.”

Adam grimaced, knowing she was probably right. “Ok, but I’m still goin’ for my gun, just in case. Oh, try to make yourself look weak when you’re surrendering. They don’t know you managed to recharge your life energy, right?”

“Good call,” Evelyn grinned. “Please, be careful Adam. No matter what happens out there, you have to promise you won’t get involved.”

“I can’t make a promise like that,” Adam replied.

“Please. It’s better for everyone.”

Adam sighed in frustration. “I’ll try. No promises, but I’ll try.”

“Thank you,” said Evelyn, kissing his cheek.

“Report, Megara.”

“I’ve found Evelyn,” Megara said, lying prone in the thicket of trees. “I fired a sniper shot, but she saw me just in time. She is currently out of sight.”

“Have you surveyed the dwelling? Is there any possible escape route?”

“None except the front door. If she wants to get away, she’ll have to go through me. Wait, I’m detecting some movement. Stand by.”

“Understood.”

Megara focused her sniper scope on the front door. It slowly creaked open, followed by a pair of open hands coming into view from inside the house. After a few seconds, she saw a wobbly Evelyn emerge with her hands clearly in the air.

“What is she doing?” Megara wondered, steadying herself for another shot.

“I surrender!” Evelyn shouted. “I’ll come quietly!”

“Come in, High Priestess.”

“Situation report?”

“Evelyn has emerged from the dwelling. She states she wishes to surrender and come in quietly. I do not see any weapons on her. Do I have permission to fire?”

There was a long pause. “Do not fire unless she resists. Approach with caution and subdue her. If she wishes the shame of a public trial and execution for high treason, we shall be more than happy to oblige.”

“Copy that, but what of the human target? I believe he is still in the dwelling, and I can’t restrain Evelyn and eliminate him at the same time. Do we let him go?”

“No, he knows too much and must be dealt with. Subdue the traitor, then await further instructions. I’m dispatching a containment squad to your location, ETA is five minutes.”

“Understood, High Priestess.”

Megara took a deep breath and activated the laser sight on her rifle, allowing her to use it up close. She slowly emerged from her hiding spot, keeping the red dot trained on Evelyn the whole time.

“Nice and easy. No sudden movements, now,” Megara warned her.

“I understand.”

Megara wasn’t the least bit surprised by how winded Evelyn sounded. It had been over thirty minutes since her life energy supply had been cut off – she had to be close to doubling over from exhaustion. After a few more steps, she watched as Evelyn had to lean against a nearby tree, panting and heaving all the while.

“Our ride should be here soon, maybe five minutes,” Megara said. “Is that filthy human still inside?”

“He is not filthy!” Evelyn snarled, glaring daggers at Megara.

“Whatever,” she snorted. “I have no idea what caused your training to fail. Either you were weaker than we anticipated, or he was something unexpected. Or both.”

“Megara, it doesn’t have to be like this.”

“What the hell are you babbling about? You betrayed your people. Of course, it has to be like this! You’ve given us no other choice!”

“That’s not what I mean,” Evelyn sighed. “The hunting, the killing, it’s all unnecessary.”

Megara shrugged. “It is ugly, I’ll admit that, but it’s the only way for our world to survive.”

“What if it weren’t?”

“Stop talking!” Megara shouted, aiming her rifle at Evelyn’s face. “You were my best student, Evelyn, and you betrayed us. I will not listen to the words of a traitor. I do hope whatever you got from that human was worth it. Soon, you’ll be dead, and him along with you.”

“You can’t! He’s innocent in all this!”

“Irrelevant. High Priestess has given the order. You told him too much, and he must be eliminated for the greater good. Hope you said your goodbyes.”

Evelyn hung her head, trying to make herself look as weak and helpless as possible, but kept her eye on Megara’s weapon the whole time. After a moment, she saw what she needed. A slight relaxation in Megara’s grip. Knowing this was her only chance, she lunged forward and knocked the rifle from Megara. The shocked look in Megara’s eyes told Evelyn her act had worked – she had not suspected she’d be this strong. Before Megara could try to retrieve her weapon, Evelyn twisted her into an armlock.

“Adam, run!” she shouted. “She’s going to kill you, too!”

“You bitch!”

Megara spat in disgust and managed to wrest her arm free from Evelyn. Still, she couldn’t go for her weapon with Evelyn between her and it. A moment later, Megara dropped her human disguise, allowing her natural horns and spikes to appear once again on her limbs and head. With a flick of her wrists, the spikes protruded even further, each one becoming a razor-sharp blade three inches in length. By the time the transformation was complete, she saw that Evelyn had already done the same, true to her training.

“Megara, stop this! There’s another way!”

“Shut up!”

Evelyn sidestepped and barely avoided Megara’s opening swipe. She struck back as best she could, but this was not a fight she had the advantage in. The only way out of this was to convince Megara to stop.

“Hasn’t it even crossed your mind how I’m so strong right now?” Evelyn asked, blocking another strike.

“You always did have good endurance,” Megara sneered.

“You know it’s more than that. I’ve uncovered the truth, Megara. What I’ve learned in my time here will change everything!”

“I’m not listening to your lies!”

Evelyn twisted Megara’s arm behind her back once more and said, “I’m not lying. We don’t have to kill humans anymore. The only reason they die from us harvesting life energy is because we take it by force.”

“Let me go,” Megara seethed.

“But when I explained the situation to Adam, he gave me his life energy willingly. He even managed to survive the process!”

“That’s bullshit!”

“There’s more, Megara. The energy I obtained from him was greater than we’ve ever thought possible! A hundred times more! This could save our entire world!”

“I said SHUT UP!”

Using every ounce of her strength, Megara managed to twist her body around and slash Evelyn in the stomach. With her stunned for the moment, Megara then executed a leg sweep, dropping Evelyn onto her back. From there it was a simple matter for her to retrieve her rifle once more.

“You are under arrest.”

“I don’t care,” said Evelyn. “This is bigger than you or me. I’m telling the truth, and you know it. I can see it in your eyes. You want to believe me.”

Megara snorted. “You have to be lying. If you knew something so valuable, there’s no way you’d tell me. Your life wouldn’t be worth much if you did.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I had to tell someone, and you’re the only one here. If I die, this knowledge dies with me. I can tell you want to see if it’s true, Megara. This could save every demon alive!”

“Drop your weapon!”

Evelyn’s head jerked around at hearing Adam’s voice. To her dismay, he now stood a few feet away with a pistol aimed at Megara.

“Dammit, Adam. I told you to run!” said Evelyn.

“Not without you. Now, drop the weapon,” he said again to Megara.

“Oh, do it, human. See if she makes it out alive,” Megara retorted, gesturing to Evelyn.

Adam gritted his teeth and placed a bit of pressure on the trigger. “Don’t make me do this. I don’t want to hurt you – all I want is the girl.”

Megara gave him an inquisitive glance. “Why? This isn’t your war, after all. What could prompt you to risk your life for her?”

“It’s the right thing to do,” Adam said simply.

“Well, do it, then,” Megara replied. “Kill me, like the savage primitive you are.”

Adam wanted to very badly, but just as he was about to fire, an unseen force blew him backward, landing him on his ass. He looked up and was shocked to see a glowing point of blue light in the skies above. A moment later, the point expanded into a hole that seemed to rip the clouds apart, from which came at least two dozen demons, each one armed to the teeth with weapons and armor. He was surrounded.

“Drop the weapon, human,” one of them commanded.

Adam knew when he was beaten. Keeping his hands in clear view, he tossed his pistol to the dirt, where it was retrieved by the nearest soldier. A moment later, both he and Evelyn were bound in handcuffs. The soldier in charge then approached Megara and saluted her.

“Ma’am, glad to see you’re unharmed.”

“At ease, lieutenant. We’d better be getting back. Kill the human before we go. I’d rather take his energy first, but I’m in a rush to get home.”

“No can do, ma’am. High Priestess has given the order herself: the human comes with us. She wants to deal with him personally.”

Megara pursed her lips, but gave no resistance. “Far be it from me to stand in her way.”

The soldiers grabbed Adam and Evelyn roughly by the shoulders and pushed them to the center of their congregation. After a moment, a bright blue light surrounded them, blinding Adam as he felt a sickening sensation in his stomach. When he opened his eyes again, he saw they were in a laboratory of some sort, futuristic with glowing blue walls and floor tiles.

“Welcome to my home,” Evelyn muttered.

“It’s nice,” Adam commented. “Nicer than I expected based on what you told me.”

Evelyn shrugged. “This is the Inner Circle, where government officials live. Everywhere else is basically slums.”

“I gotcha,” said Adam, understanding in an instant how things worked.

“Lieutenant, take the prisoners to Interrogation. I have to report in,” said Megara.

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Megara watched as the soldiers escorted the pair from the room. She then left the scientists to their labors as they prepared the wormhole equipment for the next mission. On her way to meet with her superior, Megara stored her weapon in the nearby armory; not even her rank qualified her to carry a weapon in the presence of the High Priestess. At the end of another long hallway stood a single door with a pair of guards. After they confirmed her credentials, she was permitted to enter the dimly lit room.

“High Priestess,” said Megara, kneeling before the throne. Even with her back turned, there was no mistaking the presence of their leader.

“I take it your mission was successful?” came a voice.

“It was. Both the traitor and the human have been brought in alive.”

“Excellent. I shall interrogate them both at once.”

“Of course. Do you wish my assistance?” Megara asked.

“No. I should like to take care of this personally.”

“I understand. I’ll monitor your exchange from the coms room.”

“You will not.”

Megara blinked at hearing this. “I apologize, but I do not understand?”

“You will not monitor this interrogation. It is to be completely private, and I wish no record of it as of yet. I shall have my personal recorder on me, but nothing more.”

Megara was taken aback at this. What the High Priestess was suggesting was highly illegal. All interrogations had to be monitored by a third party under demon law. Still, this was the most powerful and influential person on the face of the planet. Whatever she wanted, she got. Even as she was tempted to question her further, Megara bit her tongue and nodded.

“Yes, High Priestess.”

“Very well. You are dismissed.”

With a final bow, Megara took her leave. As she arrived back at the armory to retrieve her weapon, she could feel her mind racing. Her orders to not monitor the interrogation put her in a difficult spot. Did she disobey and follow the law, or obey orders and break the law?

“My career might be over either way,” Megara muttered to herself, pulling her multitool from her pocket.

Adam sat next to Evelyn in a simple room with a single locked door, waiting to see who would come to sit across the table from them. He struggled as best he could against the restraints holding them to their chairs, but nothing seemed to work. Adam was still working on comprehending the entire situation, but Evelyn had a grim look on her face. It was as if she was expecting them to be killed at any moment.

“Hey, it’s gonna be ok,” he said, giving her a wink.

Evelyn cracked a tiny smile. “You’re sweet to say that, but no, it’s not. Not for you, anyway. You know too much, especially with them bringing you here to our world.”

“I can’t be the first one,” Adam remarked, pointing at the patch the guards had placed on his forearm. “Enough humans have come here for them to know we’ll slowly die here like you will on Earth.”

“Yeah, but how many of those do you think ever made it back to your Earth alive?” Evelyn countered. “Gods, I’m so sorry. I should’ve just run, but I had to drag you into all this. Now, they’re going to kill you no matter what.”

Adam shrugged. “If so, I ain’t goin’ down without a fight.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” said a voice over the intercom.

A moment later, the door swung open and slammed against the wall. In the doorway stood a tall woman with deep red hair. She was clearly a demon, and Adam surmised one of much higher rank, with her long, twisted horns and greater number of arm spikes. Her aged and wrinkled face seemed expressionless for the most part, but the look in her eyes was one of icy confidence. It seemed to Adam that she saw them as nothing more than gnats to be swatted.

“High Priestess,” Evelyn gasped.

“Evelyn. How disappointing that we find ourselves here.” The woman then turned to Adam and continued, “Introductions. I am Lilith, High Priestess of the Succubi and the most powerful being in the world, direct descendant of Lilith, our greatest leader of generations past.”

“Adam Jennings,” he replied curtly.

Lilith eyed him for a few moments. “Hmph. You must be something special. You are the first of your kind to meet me and not cower in fear before my greatness.”

“When someone plans to kill me, I tend not to give ‘em the satisfaction,” he shot back with a wry grin.

Lilith gave a throaty chuckle at this. “So cocky.”

“High Priestess, let him go. Adam is innocent,” Evelyn pleaded.

“We both know that is impossible,” Lilith said. “He knows far too much. Sending him back to his world could result in the exposure of our own.”

“That’s bullshit, and you know it,” Adam snorted. “A world of demons that sends Succubi to harvest life energy from humans? Even if I told someone, who the hell would believe me? They’d lock me up and toss the key in the Coosa river.”

“Not a risk I can afford to take, not as the leader of my people. Your death, unfortunate as it may be, is necessary, Adam Jennings. Yours, on the other hand,” she said, glaring at Evelyn, “is one I shall take great pleasure in.”

“High Priestess, I know I have broken the law and betrayed my oath, but I must say my peace. I believe you will understand once I’ve finished.”

After a moment, Lilith nodded. “Speak, then.”

“Thank you,” Evelyn said. “High Priestess, the reason I did what I did is because I’ve learned humans are nothing like we’ve been taught. We’re told they’re nothing but primitive savages, but Adam proved every preconceived notion wrong. He’s kind, gentle, thoughtful, and slow to anger except in dire situations. He’s too good a man, and I couldn’t bring myself to stab him in the back.

“I realize this is a betrayal, especially in telling him of my true nature, but in my betrayal, I have learned information vital to the survival of our people, perhaps even to the entire demon world. As I’m sure you know, my life energy supply was cut off during my time in the human world, but I managed to survive. The reason for this lies with Adam. I refused to have sex with him and take his energy by force, but when he realized I was dying, he decided to give me his life energy willingly. In so doing, not only did he survive the transfer, but-”

“You managed to harvest over one hundred times more energy than ever thought possible,” Lilith finished, sounding almost bored by this prospect.

Evelyn’s eyes went wide at hearing this. “You knew? Did Megara tell you?”

“Ah, so you told Megara, too? Well, that is unfortunate. She is our greatest asset, but no exceptions can be made in this. It seems you haven’t just killed yourself, you’ve killed Adam and Megara, as well.”

Evelyn couldn’t believe her ears. “No. You … you’ve known about this all along?! For decades, you knew of this power that could end our world’s energy crisis and did nothing?! How could you?!”

Lilith’s face turned to one of sinister satisfaction as she said, “Yes and no. I’ve known all along, but I haven’t kept this secret for decades. No, I’ve kept it for millennia.”

“That’s impossible! We demons live no longer than humans!” Evelyn replied. “They might think us immortal, but those are mere legends and superstition.”

“Normally, yes. However, the life energy you harvested from Adam is not normal life energy. It did not draw from his life force, but from his very soul. It seems he shared a piece of his soul with you. In smaller quantities, this energy could theoretically power our world for absurd lengths of time, but I found a far better use for it. After adjusting our technology to accept this new type of energy, I developed the means to restore my youth with it.”

“But that would mean-”

“I am not descended from the original Lilith. I am the original Lilith. Come now, Evelyn, did you really think you were the first Succubus to ever discover this power? Did you really think not a single Succubus had ever confided the truth to a human even once before? Silly girl. I was the first to make this discovery, and it has served me quite well all these many years.”

“You bitch!” Evelyn spat. “You’re the traitor to our people!”

“Silence!”

Adam and Evelyn recoiled as a series of painful electrical shocks flowed into their bodies from the chairs.

“I don’t … understand,” said Evelyn as the shocks ended. “You … confided in a human … trusted him … yet still used this power for your own selfish ends? Why?”

“Because the vast majority of living creatures, humans and demons included, are destructive fools. The humans have been warring with each other for their entire existence, fighting over plots of worthless land. Demons, of course, are no better. After all, how long have the Vampires and Werewolves been at war? And for all our great advances in technology, we still stripped our world barren in a mere generation. After the Great Harvest, I knew no demon could be trusted to lead. It had to be me. Only I knew the truth then, and only I am wise enough today.”

“We are not the same people we once were!” Evelyn protested. “The hardships we’ve experienced were the greatest teachers we could have ever asked for! Perhaps our ancestors would have misused this new power, but not us! Not after everything we’ve been through!”

“Doubtful,” Lilith snorted. “When I first made my incredible discovery, I naïvely showed it to my best friend. She saw me as a heretic, tried to kill me on the spot. The man I had fallen in love with, my human, tried to stop her. He died protecting me. After I was forced to kill my best friend, I knew there was no other that could ever be trusted with this secret. If our people were to survive and not destroy themselves in the process, sacrifices had to be made. Which leads me to the two of you.

“You can rest assured, Evelyn, that I will grant your precious human a painless death. I hold no animosity towards him for threatening Megara. After all, he only behaved as any creature would when facing imminent danger. You, however, will experience a most excruciating end. Your public execution will be a perfect example for the demon world. I only wish you had not told Megara of this. It pains me to have to end her, too.”

“How sweet of you, High Priestess.”

Before Lilith could comprehend the voice over the intercom, the interrogation room door burst open. Four soldiers filed into the room with weapons drawn, each one of them aiming at Lilith. Once the four were in position, Megara herself strode in, her face twisted in disgust and hurt.

“Megara? What is the meaning of this intrusion?!” Lilith barked.

“You know damn well,” Megara hissed. “You had the power to end our energy crisis all along and chose not to?!”

Lilith’s eyes widened in panic at this. “I … I-I don’t know what you mean to-”

“Cut the bullshit!” said Megara. “I heard every word of your little speech, as did my elites. We know. High Priestess Lilith, you are under arrest for high treason.”

Lilith tried to resist for a moment, but the two nearest soldiers overpowered and cuffed her with ease.

“How is this possible?” Lilith muttered to herself. “I cut off all communication devices in this room!”

“Not all of them,” said Megara with a smirk. She then walked up to the still bound Evelyn and reached into her pocket.

“My multitool?” Evelyn asked.

“Yep, also a two-way communicator that we can activate from our mission control,” Megara replied. “That’s how we learned of you giving away our secrets, and now how we learned of our own leader’s treason.”

“You ungrateful little bitch,” Lilith seethed. “You had better let me go, or-”

“I’m the one giving orders now, Lilith,” Megara said, her face turning dark and serious as she got up in Lilith’s face. “How many?”

“What are you babbling about?”

“How many good demons died for you to keep your selfish little secret? HOW MANY?!”

Lilith gave a lopsided grin. “You’ll never know. You don’t deserve to know. You are all unworthy and beneath me. I may die from this, but it’s you who’ve ruined our people.”

“Get her out of my sight,” Megara spat. Once they were alone, she turned to Adam and Evelyn. “Quite the mess you’ve given us.”

“To be fair, she only exposed the mess,” Adam piped up.

“Hm. I suppose that’s true.”

“So, what happens now?” Evelyn asked. “Are we still to be executed?”

“I don’t see how that’s possible,” Megara admitted. “Once the information of this new energy goes public, everyone will demand to know who discovered it and how.”

“You plan to tell the populace?” Evelyn replied, a little surprised.

“If I don’t, then I’m no better than Lilith. Still, we do need to be careful with this. Her concerns about misuse of this energy might have been selfish, but they do have merit.”

“You gonna release us or not?” Adam pressed, still struggling against his restraints.

“Depends,” Megara shot back. “You gonna pull a gun on me again?”

“Long as I can go home and you don’t hurt Evelyn, we’re good,” said Adam.

Megara eyed him for a few moments more before flipping a switch on the wall, releasing Adam and Evelyn from their restraints.

“It’s time for you to leave, Adam Jennings,” said Megara. “Evelyn, if you’ll wait here. I’ll be back once I’ve delivered him back to his universe.”

“With all due respect, I’m watching him walk through the wormhole with my own eyes,” Evelyn replied without flinching.

“Fine. With me,” Megara huffed.

Evelyn gripped Adam’s hand tightly as the wormhole generator powered up in front of them. Logically, she knew he couldn’t stay, nor could she go with him, but it was all she could think about in those moments. Finally, the swirling blue light reached critical mass, indicating Adam’s path home was ready.

“It’s time,” Megara said from behind them. “I’ll give you a minute.”

Once they were alone, Evelyn turned to Adam, trying her best not to cry. “Thank you for everything, Adam. Saving my life, my people. Lilith only loves living. But you … you love life so much. It just might give my world a second chance.”

“Hey, you saved mine first,” he said with a grin. Adam then tilted her chin up and wiped a tear from her cheek. “I don’t suppose I’d ever see you again, huh?”

“I really don’t know. We’ve got such a mess to clean up here, and who knows how today changes our energy crisis. So much to work out.”

“I understand. Still, if you’re ever in my neck of the woods again, promise you’ll stop by for a visit, ok?”

“Promise.”

As Adam turned to leave, Evelyn lunged forward and planted a long deep kiss on his lips. He was surprised at first, but found himself returning her ferocity in kind. After several long seconds, they finally parted, each breathing heavily.

“I love you, Adam,” Evelyn said. “Maria was a lucky woman.”

“Not as lucky as me,” he replied, cracking a grin.

With that, Evelyn stood back and watched as Adam stepped towards the wormhole. He paused just before entering and turned to face her once more. After a final smile and a Boy Scout salute, Adam Jennings disappeared into the swirling tunnel of blue light. Evelyn stood there for several seconds longer, perhaps expecting he might reappear, but it was not to be. Hearing the wormhole equipment power down, she sighed heavily and left the room, finding Megara waiting for her in the hallway.

“Glad you decided not to run,” she said.

“I wanted to, but even I know too much is at stake,” Evelyn answered. “Where do we even start?”

“Start with your relationship with Adam Jennings. Tell me everything.”

For the next month, Adam went through life in a daze. He drank heavily, hardly left the house, and barely ate or slept. He hadn’t been this bad since Maria’s death. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, it was all because of Evelyn. She had made a massive impact on him in their short time together, even admitted she loved him before they separated. He had been so close to telling her he also loved her, but he had chickened out at the last second. Now, he felt only regret, knowing he had lost the second great love of his life.

“Maybe it’s for the best,” he’d always grumble. “After all, what would Maria say?”

Even though he pretended otherwise, Adam knew she would have been disappointed that he let Evelyn get away. They had talked at length many times about what they would want if the worst happened, and Maria had insisted every time that Adam should find love again. He had always resisted, of course, even refusing to date after Maria’s death, and now that love had just shown up on the side of the road for him, he had been too hesitant to do anything about it until it was too late.

As Adam wandered the house that morning, he couldn’t help but feel ashamed of what he had become. Empty beer cans littered every surface, dirty dishes still waited in the sink to be cleaned, and he seriously needed a shave. Still, he lacked any motivation to take care of any of those chores. Just as he plopped down onto the sofa, he heard a knock at the front door.

“Hello?” came a sweet voice from the other side. “Excuse me, sir, but I’m a Jehovah’s Witness. I’d like to talk to you about our Lord and Savior, if you have a minute.”

“Seriously?” Adam grumbled to himself. He was in no mood to deal with any kind of solicitation, let alone a Jehovah’s Witness. “Piss off!” he yelled.

After a moment, another knock. “I’m sorry, but it’s really important I speak with you!”

“Aw, hell,” Adam growled, rolling off the sofa. After crossing the living room, he swung the front door open. “What the hell do you-”

Just like that, Adam Jennings was rendered speechless. Before him stood a woman in her mid-twenties. She was a short thing, just over five feet tall, but with luscious curves in all the right places. Her long golden blonde hair seemed to shimmer in the sunlight and her icy blue eyes seemed to pierce Adam to his soul. He thought he’d never see this beauty again in his life, but here she was.

“Hi,” Evelyn said with a grin.

“Evelyn?!” Adam rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. “Wha … how the hell did you get here?!”

“It’s a long story,” she replied. “May I come in?”

“Uh, sure,” said Adam, suddenly nervous about the state of his home.

Evelyn took notice of the mess as she stepped inside. “What the hell happened here?” she giggled. “You running a bar or something?”

“Um … well-”

“Oh, Adam,” Evelyn cooed, realizing the truth. “You missed me, didn’t you?”

Before Adam could reply, Evelyn had wrapped him in a tight hug. Just like that, every bit of anger and frustration he had felt over the last month melted away. Maria was the only other woman who could have this kind of impact on him, but realizing that fact made Adam more terrified than he had ever felt in his life. After a few moments, Evelyn kissed him sweetly on the cheek and led them to the sofa.

“So, you must be wondering what I’m doing here, right?”

“Pretty much,” Adam nodded.

“Well, we’ve been hard at work for the last month,” Evelyn began. “It took a lot of work to adjust our equipment, but once we did, we confirmed everything I knew. The energy I collected from you is more than we’ve ever seen before. If we can figure out a way to harvest this energy consistently, our world’s energy crisis will be over for good. That’s why I’m here. We need more data on the specifics of harvesting this energy, and since we’ve already done that once, Megara felt putting us back together would give us the best chance to understand all this.”

“Wait, does that mean-”

“I’m back for good, Adam,” Evelyn smiled. “That is, if you’ll have me. I would never want to impose-”

Before either of them knew what had happened, Adam lunged forward and planted a hot, steamy kiss on Evelyn’s lips. She recoiled in surprise at first, but soon leaned into him, savoring every moment of his touch. They kissed for several long minutes before finally separating to catch their breath.

“God, I love you. I know I shoulda said it before I left you before.”

“So, I guess I’m not imposing?” Evelyn replied with a grin.

“Please,” Adam snorted. “Maria would kill me if I didn’t go for this.”

“Good,” Evelyn said.

“So, how’s this gonna work?”

“Honestly, we just need to be together. Based on our limited information, this sort of energy is generated when someone willingly gives it during sexual activity, but is further enhanced by genuine feelings of affection. I have a new implant that’ll keep track of our relationship and tell our scientists everything they need to know. Once we’ve gotten through a trial phase, Megara will start making plans to send more Succubi to harvest life energy. And this time, it will be from willing humans. No deaths involved.”

“That all sounds good, but to pull it off, you’d have to tell these humans the truth, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah,” Evelyn nodded. “Megara’s in charge, now. We’ve talked this over many times, and we’ve come to the same conclusion. We’ll have to reveal our existence to your world leaders at large. It’s the only way. Otherwise, our existence would slowly drip out from the various humans we coupled with, only for them to be locked up in asylums.”

“I guess that makes sense. Still, it’s gonna change everything for both our worlds. You ready for that?”

“Ready or not, it has to happen. It’s long past time. Our two worlds need each other.”

Adam paused a moment before asking, “So, what happened to Lilith? I know you said Megara’s running things in your world.”

“Dead. Put on trial for treason, convicted unanimously, and publicly executed. Once the recording of her interrogating us went public, she was finished.”

“Megara distributed it out publicly before her trial? Wouldn’t that result in a mistrial, or does demon justice work differently from ours?”

Evelyn smirked. “Oh, Megara kept it private, but a group of hackers managed to find it and distribute it. There are conspiracy theories that Megara’s government wanted them to find it, but nobody really knows if there’s anything there.”

“Clever girl,” Adam chuckled.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, but Evelyn soon had to ask the question that had been burning in our mind.

“You really want me to stay here with you, Adam?”

Adam laughed and gestured around the house. “You think I’d be able to survive without you? Hell naw!”

“Aw, we’ll get you cleaned up,” Evelyn giggled. “And don’t worry, it’s not your job to take care of me. I’ll pull my own weight however I can.”

“You ain’t gotta worry about a thing, girl. Remember that settlement I got from Mack’s trucking company? I’ve got more money that I need, as long as I’m smart and frugal. The two of us will be just fine.”

“Excellent,” said Evelyn, planting a kiss on his lips. “Now, let’s get this place cleaned up. Starting with a shower and a shave for you.”

“Good idea,” Adam nodded. “Be right back!”

“Get back here, mister,” Evelyn countered, grabbing his arm. “I plan on cleaning you up myself.”

Before Adam could even think of protesting, Evelyn had dragged him into the bathroom. As opposed to their only other moments of intimacy, she took her time with him, washing him from head to toe and exploring every inch of his body. After a quick shave, Adam delighted in doing the same to her. By the time they were both clean, they only just managed to dry off before bolting to the bedroom. An hour later, both were spent and happier than they had ever been in their lives.

“So, that’s your job now?” Adam asked between his heavy breathing.

“Pretty much,” Evelyn giggled. “I just hope Maria would approve.”

Adam smiled and kissed her on the forehead. “I know she would.”

One year later

Megara paced around the small lounge, her mind racing at what she was about to do. It would change everything, but she knew it had to be done. Looking up, she found a comforting smile from her counterpart, United States President Clint Roth. He was rather young for a world leader, being only forty-five, but she had no room to talk, being chosen to lead her people at a ripe old age of twenty-five.

When she had first met Clint six months ago, Megara had considered their relationship as nothing more than professional. One world leader to another, the first step towards solving her world’s energy crisis. But as she got to know him, she started to realize how wrong she had always been about humans. It was no wonder Evelyn and Lilith had fallen in love so easily. Clint was always a perfect gentleman with her, once he got over the initial shock of her being a Succubus. The romantic aspects of their relationship just seemed to happen one day.

“You’re doing the right thing,” Clint reassured her.

“I know. It’s just … what comes next? What if the world doesn’t react as kindly as you have? They might decide to-”

“Whatever comes next, we’ll face it head-on.”

Megara’s eyebrows shot up at that. “We?”

“Yeah. We,” said Clint. “C’mon, I’m the first U.S. President to be elected as a bachelor since James Buchannan! I meant what I said when people asked about it – I’d know when the right gal came along. Well, she’s come along, and she’s sitting right in front of me. As long as you want to stay, you’re not going anywhere.”

“Thanks,” she replied with a tiny smile.

After a knock, the door opened. “It’s time, Mr. President,” the aide said.

“Thanks, Barbara.”

Without another word, Megara stood and smoothed out her business suit and skirt, ensuring there were no wrinkles. After checking her long black hair in a mirror, she nodded and followed Clint out the door. Soon, they arrived at the entrance to the stage where she would make her big announcement. As she focused on the podium ahead of her, Clint gave her a peck on the cheek. She returned a smile, took a deep breath, and stepped out onto the stage.

“Good morning,” she said into the microphone. “I would like to thank the honorable delegates of the United Nations for allowing me to speak today. I come before you today to make the world aware of a situation that has impacted my people for almost our entire existence. It is, sadly, a situation that also affects each of your nations, even though you have never known of it.”

There was a rumbling as the congregation pondered her words, but Megara held up her hand for silence.

“The truth of the matter is … I am not human. My name is Megara. I am the leader of the Succubi and the most powerful demon alive.”