Innocent Devil’s Harem Ch. 68 (Patreon)

December 11, 2021

NOTE: In case you missed it, I had a recent announcement about connecting outside of Patreon (me following you on Twitter, or liking my Page on Facebook, etc).

I'd also appreciate it if you could leave a rating on my Google page (it helps a lot, especially with establishing my reputation as a writer).

ARTWORK: I should have a picture of Serenity sometime soon. I'll also be giving the Demigod tier access to one of the Gabriella pictures (just one, since Ascended Demigod is the main Art tier, but that way at least everyone can see what she looks like).

In March, I'll then give the Apex Werewolf Tier to that image as well, while giving the Demigod tier access to the Serenity picture.

If you haven't already, check out the Preview of Gabriella in a Bikini, so you can at least see what she looks like and the quality of the art (it's VERY good).

IMPORTANT: A handful of weeks ago, I posted a bunch of chapters for the My Girlfriend’s an Oni Demon (now called Combat Healer with a ton of changes), and it looks like most of you LOVE IT.

It’s harem and LitRPG, set in a medieval fantasy world.

So, if you haven’t already checked it out, give it a chance, since several of you have said it’s just as good as Innocent Devil’s Harem (if not better, since some of you prefer a ‘fantasy world’ over a standard paranormal universe).

<< Chapter 67 | Ch 1 (Book1) | Ch 16 (Book 2) | Ch 31 (Book 3) | Ch 46 (Book 4) | Ch 61 (Book 5)

- CHAPTER 68: Mercy -

I’d never been in the conservatory before, having only seen the ensuing breakfast room in passing when Miriam took me this way through the dining hall, to get to the stairwell that led to the underground lab. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised by how nice it was inside, expertly designed to feel like a tropical paradise, just without the excessive heat and humidity.

And the subsequent breakfast room, through sliding glass doors, was also pleasantly designed with couches and low coffee tables, rather than a traditional dining table, feeling like a nice transition from the outside space to the inside of the house. The overall design was very open concept, much like the dining hall and grand foyer area.

The actual dining hall was empty, aside from the massive table, with no one in sight, so we passed through quickly on our way to the grand foyer.

It was there that we found Gabriella, standing next to a corpse with a knife sticking out of the chest, the redhead turned with her body angled more toward our direction, but looking toward the large front doors. I could hear Miriam and Gwen now, sounding like they were all the way on the east side of the house, carrying something heavy through the library just past the East Drawing Room, soon to be heading down the main hallway on the first floor.

“Hey,” I said to get my busty redhead’s attention, vaguely noticing that there was a strange smell in the air.

She squeaked and jerked a little in surprise as she focused on us. “Oh, Kai. You scared me.” She glanced at Natalie, and then at me again. “Did you get him?”

I nodded as we moved closer, patting the compass in my shorts pocket. “Yeah, there might be some stragglers out there, but…” My voice trailed off as I focused down at the girl’s corpse, shocked by how different it was from the old man. Mainly, whereas he almost became desiccated looking, and truly appeared to transition to a dead body, this girl’s hair was still blonde, her skin still smooth and flawless, only looking an unhealthy gray like how Michelle looked when she was truly dead back at the hospital.

Honestly, I wasn’t exactly sure how to quantify the difference, except to say that one shade of gray distinctly lacked the hue of life, whereas Michelle’s transformed light gray was healthy and appealing in its appearance.

But this girl sincerely looked dead…and still young.

Her eyes were closed, so I had no idea if her irises were still crimson, assuming they must be, but she overall looked peaceful as if she might just be sleeping. Granted, the black veil was still covering the lower half of her face, hiding her bare teeth and cheekless jaw that made her look like a true horror of the night when exposed.

But right now, she looked exactly how a normal person might look at their funeral, just without the cosmetics to give her skin some fake color. It made me wonder why there was a difference, such as if maybe this girl was actually as young as she looked, rather than being hundreds of years old or something.

Gabriella continued, not seeming affected by my pause. “Well, just make sure you leave one of those monsters alive, so that Miriam can use them to break the curse on your stone.”

Oh shit!

I looked at Gabriella in alarm, having completely forgotten about that.

She looked alarmed too. “You didn’t already kill them all, did you?” she asked seriously. “Is that why you were gone for so long?”

I shook my head. “No.” I sighed. “But dammit, I hope we can find one alive. We might actually have to make that a priority, since if there are any alive, then they might not be for long.”

Gabriella simply nodded, with me not being surprised that Natalie didn’t apologize for blasting that guy’s head off, instead of waiting, especially not when we killed another straggler before heading back. At the very least, while I was sure that the blue-haired vixen didn’t want to mess up my own plans, it was undoubtedly true that she really needed to see him dead for good.

Because, in a way, she could finally relax now, instead of feeling anxious that he was still alive and might get away if we didn’t keep a close eye on him. Granted, he definitely would have died either way, considering that black curse magic had continued to spread up his body, rendering his legs immobile.

Glancing to the hallway opening underneath the twin staircases, I saw Gwen and Miriam come into sight carrying a single wooden box that was roughly two feet wide and tall, while also being roughly four feet long, metal handles on the ends. It was obviously designed to be a typical wooden crate, not meant to store a much longer human body, but I knew Miriam was just aiming for a temporary place to store the bodies for now.

However, I hoped they had another box, because one was probably going to be too small to cram two people inside, even if the older guy was technically missing an arm.

Miriam spoke up right away when she saw me. “Kai, I’ll probably have you and Gwen carry this once we get the bodies inside this crate. I’m strong, but doubt I can handle that kind of weight.”

I simply nodded as they carried the box over, the two of them straightening out so that they were walking side-by-side now, with the four-foot wooden crate in between them.

She continued. “Just don’t use these handles, since they weren’t meant to deal with that kind of weight either. More than likely, they’ll just tear right off the wood.”

“Sure,” I agreed hesitantly. “But do you think they’ll both fit in there?” I wondered.

“This is just to transport them safely to the hidden basement. I’m afraid I don’t have containers long enough to really hold them long-term. I’ll have to procure a couple of coffins for that.”

“Cliché,” Gabriella commented simply.

Miriam simply shrugged as they set the box down about two feet away from the body. “Well, if you think about it, a coffin is literally designed to hold a body. If all you care about is having something just large enough to store a person’s corpse, then a coffin is the perfect tool to do so.”

“Make sense,” Gabriella agreed. “So how are we going to do this? Just pick her up and toss her in?”

“Carefully,” Miriam emphasized. “We will carefully put her in. That knife is exactly where it needs to be, and we don’t want to mess with it.”

“Right,” Gabriella replied. “I didn’t mean that literally.”

“I figured, but didn’t want to chance it,” Miriam said with a sigh, while I moved closer to the body in preparation to help pick the blonde vamp up.

Unexpectedly, I became hyperaware of the scent I’d noticed when Natalie and I walked into the room, suddenly realizing what I should have noticed before -- that it wasn’t a scent at all.

At least, not a physical one.

It was an aura.

A powerful aura left behind, like what had happened with Natalie, this one full of fear, agony…and betrayal.

The kind of betrayal that was felt after a brief glimmer of hope appeared, only for it to be crushed into oblivion. A small spark igniting, just before being snuffed out.

The sensation was so overwhelming, so powerful, so agonizing, that I uncontrollably dropped to my hands and knees, experiencing those emotions as if they were my own for a couple of seconds, feeling that terror, experiencing that crushing betrayal, stunned by the intense overwhelming potency.

“Kai!”

All four women said my name urgently, only for Miriam to continue right away, sounding extremely alarmed. “Kai, what’s wrong?!”

Still on my hands and knees, I focused on the gray face so close now, only to look up at Miriam with a pained expression. I almost felt bitter all of a sudden, and didn’t even fully understand why.

She just seemed confused by the look. “A-Are you mad at me for sealing her? I thought you were angry at both of them.”

I struggled to speak as I sat back on my heels, holding onto my thighs in the process, gripping my legs firmly as I tried to stabilize myself. “I…I’m not mad, it’s just…Miriam, don’t you feel that?”

Her emerald eyes widened. “What do you feel? An aura?”

I focused up at her in surprise, stunned that she didn’t sense it as I nodded.

Her emerald gaze shifted to the corpse again, seeming to look her over before responding. “Well, I can detect that something is there, but it’s too faint to really sense it. Might be because she’s female and you’re part incubus, since I personally tend to sense male auras better than female auras. Although, I honestly didn’t think much of it, since it’s not uncommon for people to leave behind an aura when they’ve been killed.”

Killed.

That’s what this was.

That’s what I was feeling in this aura.

It was the sensation of being killed when it wasn’t expected, just like Natalie mentioned earlier.

I looked up at the short minx in shock. “So then, sealing them is essentially like killing them,” I realized, wondering why such an obvious fact hadn’t fully sunk in previously. I mean, obviously, they were dead, but the assumption that they could come back to life made me not realize the significance of that fact.

That they were still dead.

That they’d both still been killed.

Just like I’d been killed only a day ago, prior to coming back to life.

And dying still felt like dying.

Miriam grimaced. “I’m sorry, Kai. I didn’t mean to upset you. I assumed we were on the same page about the threat they pose, and you seemed completely on board with how I handled the other guy. I would have talked with you about this first, had I known you would have had a different opinion.”

I was shocked by the direction this conversation had taken, causing me to sigh heavily. “Well, I didn’t have a different opinion, but this aura…” I focused up at her, finally realizing how truly bizarre it was that we were even talking about this. “Honestly, I’m kind of surprised you care what I want so much, as opposed to just doing what you know needs to be done.”

She mimicked my sigh, resting her hands on her bony hips. “Kai, this brand new relationship of ours is so very important to me. Yes, it would be detrimental to let either one of them go free, and I would make a point to ensure you understood the implications of such a decision, that lives would be lost if we let them go, but I wouldn’t risk us over something like that. Our relationship is too important.”

I nodded, taking a deep breath. “Well, as I said, I didn’t inherently have a problem with this plan.”

“But now?” she said hesitantly, her emerald eyes deeply concerned.

I didn’t respond, instead focusing on the fear and betrayal I was sensing, hoping that it would be like Natalie’s aura, where it was similar to a snapshot of the whole thing, allowing me to get to the core of who this person was.

And then, I felt it, the essence of what made up the foundation of this aura.

It was surprisingly neutral feeling, giving me no indication what kind of a person this girl was, other than this one trait, which seemed neither good nor bad. Unlike Natalie, who I knew might be stubborn due to her aura’s defiant nature that arose from her core personality trait to press on and persist, no matter what, I found this core difficult to define.

The neutrality of it implied nonconfrontational, almost as if she would go out of her way to avoid conflict, as if she completely opposed discord, and her life revolved around that aspect of her personality.

But then, as I tried to think of a name to call it, the word that came to mind was not what I was expecting.

Because if Natalie’s core aura could be defined as Defiance…

This girl’s aura could be defined as Compliance…

I honestly had no idea what that might even mean, but realized it made sense given her role as a supposed princess, who might live a life where she did as she was told, rather than one of superficial freedom where she did as she pleased.

However, I felt like one thing was clear…

She wasn’t a threat like that man was.

Miriam spoke up again when I didn’t respond, getting down on her knees to get my attention, almost like a physical gesture of her desire to be on my level. To do things together, rather than apart.

“Kai,” she said simply.

I looked up at Gabriella’s somber expression, and then glanced back at Gwen, before focusing on the small redhead in front of me. I then sighed heavily, glancing at the dead blonde next to me. “So…vampires inside your mansion can’t leave without your permission,” I commented quietly.

Miriam hesitated, seeming uncertain about what I was trying to say. “Normally, that’s not how ‘being invited’ or ‘uninvited’ works, but yes. It appears that’s the case. For them.”

I nodded. “Obviously, that man is dangerous, and highly skilled at fighting. But…” I paused to glance up at her. “But do you think this girl could pose a risk to your safety? If she wanted to?”

Miriam seemed to choose her words carefully. “It’s not a risk I would normally take.” She then sighed heavily, glancing down at the corpse too. “But no. At least, not within my own domain. There are certain measures I could take.” She paused again, looking back up at me tentatively. “Why, Kai? What are you wanting me to do? Because if she does try harming me, then it might mean I’m forced to really kill her. And not only me. I still have humans who work here, and if she brought harm to even one of them…” She paused with a grimace, seeming sincerely disturbed by the idea of one of her humans getting hurt, only to take a deep breath. “She’d have to agree to drink from blood bags, which I can get her without a problem, but if she hurts even one person…” Her voice trailed off again as she gritted her teeth.

I sighed, knowing this concern was truly who Miriam was. She cared about regular people, and had dedicated her life to protecting them. I spoke quietly. “I mean, can we wake her up and give her a choice? Or at least try to get a read on what kind of person she really is?”

Miriam frowned at that. “What kind of choice? Because I’m not interested in treating her like the princess she supposedly is. She’d either have to agree to be my prisoner here, and work for me like one, or else it would be better to just keep her sealed.”

I nodded in understanding, but didn’t respond.

Miriam continued. “Honestly, Kai. It’s almost like she’s sleeping right now. And waking her up, only to decide to seal her again would be much worse than just letting her be, indefinitely. We’d be forcing her to experience death twice that way.”

“I don’t think we’ll need to seal her again,” I blurted out. “I think she’ll do as you ask.”

“And what makes you think that?” Miriam asked seriously. “I mean, if she’s really a princess, she’s probably been pampered as hell all her life, and doesn’t understand the concept of doing anything other than exactly what shewants.”

I shook my head. “The core of her aura doesn’t feel like that.”

Miriam pursed her lips, not responding this time.

I looked up at her again to meet and hold her gaze, both of us quiet for a long few seconds.

She finally sighed heavily, her voice almost somber but somehow adorable as hell. “I will follow your lead, my love. Just know that we will both have to deal with the consequences. But if this is the route you wish to take, then go ahead and pull out the blade. You have to be the one to do it though. This is your decision.”

I scoffed playfully at that. “Yeah, but sounds like you’ll have to deal with the headache of that decision.”

She nodded with a small smile. “A headache I am willing to accept because I love you. But not one I want to accept if you’re not fully committed.”

I nodded, focusing on the blade within arm’s reach, realizing it didn’t feel nearly as simple as just reaching out and grabbing it. Truly, I understood the implications of this decision, and yet I knew what I wanted to do, because I could still feel the overwhelming sense of betrayal and fear in the aura hanging over the girl’s dead body.

Thus, with a deep breath, I scooted closer and reached out to wrap my fingers around the hilt.

I then began slowly pulling upward, not planning on going all the way, but instead wanting to just go far enough that the effect was lost. That way, I could easily just stab it back into the same spot if I decided this was a bad idea.

However, it wasn’t until I’d pulled the blade all the way to the tip that there was a change.

Suddenly, the girl’s chest rose slightly and she sucked in a shallow breath, only for everything to change in an instant.

One second, it was like she was waking up from a peaceful slumber, and the next it was like she was panicking.

Her crimson eyes flew open in alarm, and her hands immediately went for her chest, finding the knife with ease and gripping the blade with everything she had, trying to push it away.

However, my arm stayed in place, her red eyes finally locking onto me as tears rapidly filled them, blood beginning to pool through her fingers as she clasped the dull knife with all her might, using every ounce of her strength to try to prevent it from going in again.

It was the most raw desperation I’d ever seen in another person.

She didn’t want to die.

She wanted to live.

The whole thing transpired within a matter of seconds, and when she realized she couldn’t push the knife away, her tears began brimming over as a whimper escaped her throat, all while she started shaking her head back and forth, her crimson eyes pleading.

Yet, she didn’t say a word.

It took me a second to realize why that might be, wondering if more than just her cheeks were damaged. What about her tongue?

Fuck, she was totally mute right now!

No wonder I hadn’t heard her even try to say anything, other than a scream previously. Really, the only time I’d heard her speak was in my own memory, when she was asking the old man if killing us was really necessary for them to survive.

When she started groaning desperately, the sound pleading as if she was begging us to not hurt her, her legs tense now as well, Miriam finally spoke up.

“Princess,” she said both firmly and respectfully. “I need you to calm down and pay attention. Can you understand me? I’m afraid my Italian is a little rough. I can understand it much better than I can speak it.”

The blonde whimpered again, focusing up at the short redhead when she moved closer on her knees, only to groan more loudly, more pleadingly, sounding like she was choking as she tried to communicate her desperation.

Miriam was unfazed, her tone hard. “I’ll take that as a yes. You have two options. Either we seal you again, or else you will live here as my prisoner and do as I say. I expect…” She paused when the girl only became more frantic as she nodded urgently, her expression even more pleading, her body shaking violently now as she held onto the knife still resting on her chest, more blood dripping from between her fingers. Miriam spoke to me more quietly. “Kai, go ahead and put the blade to the side so she stops panicking.” She then continued, speaking to her. “Don’t move,” she added firmly.

As I slowly pulled the knife away, the blonde let go, but left her bleeding hands in the air where they were, as if to show she would obey in the most literal sense possible. She was told not to move, and so she literally wouldn’t budge an inch, having frozen solid.

“Hold still,” Miriam emphasized, reaching out for the veil, which immediately prompted the girl’s red eyes to widen in alarm, only for her to whimper as she closed them and turned her head away slightly, her bleeding hands still trembling in place over her chest. “So,” Miriam said as she peeked under the veil. “It really was you who bit my maid.”

The girl only whimpered in response, more tears squeezing out of her eyes as she trembled between us in sincere terror.

Miriam focused up at her maid. “Gwen?” she said simply.

The tall woman spoke without hesitation. “I sense sincere remorse in her thoughts, although that’s about it. The shadows are difficult to distinguish, possibly because she’s so frightened and panicked.”

The girl tensed at that, her eyes still closed, but stopped whimpering.

“Well,” Miriam said with a heavy sigh. “I don’t feel right about making assumptions when she can’t even speak in her own defense right now, so I’ll reserve such questions for after she’s had a chance to recover.” She focused up at me. “However, it’ll be at least half a day before I can get some blood delivered, so now we just need to decide if we should seal her again, until then.”

I gave Miriam a confused look, wondering if she was being serious, only to focus down at the girl the moment she reacted to that, urgently shaking her head back and forth with her eyes closed, whimpering loudly now in obvious defeat, the pitiful noises she was making being an obvious indication she’d do just about anything to stop this from happening again.

It was like everything about her nonverbal body language was saying the same thing.

Please. Please don’t.

Miriam abruptly reached out and grabbed the girl’s jaw firmly over the veil, causing the blonde’s entire body to stiffen all over again as she whimpered with her eyes still closed.

“Look at me,” the minx demanded.

The girl opened her crimson eyes, but it was obvious she probably couldn’t see her clearly, given the tears that cascaded out.

“I view you as a threat, and you’re not welcome here. So this is the only chance I’m giving you. Even one misstep, and that knife is going back in your heart. Or, I might even just toss you outside in the sunlight. Understand?”

She whimpered in response, her curled bleeding hands still trembling over her chest.

“Gwen? Does she understand?” Miriam asked seriously, still holding onto the girl’s jaw.

“I think she does, mistress,” she replied simply. “I sense no ill intentions in her thoughts.”

“Good enough for now,” Miriam sighed, letting go of the girl’s face. She then stood up, focusing down at me. “Kai, I’ll hold onto the knife, if you and Gwen would please take this crate outside and load up that man.”

I nodded, holding it out as I stood up too, handing the decorative blade off to her. “We also need to capture one of the stragglers to use on the stone.”

Her emerald eyes widened. “Oh shit! You’re right! With everything happening, I completely forgot.”

“Me too,” I agreed. “It was Gabriella who reminded me. But how long would it take to actually do, because finding someone who isn’t already dying might be difficult. Like, it’s possible all the survivors might be dead within the next half hour, if not sooner.”

“Fuck,” she hissed with a grimace, only to focus on Gwen. “Okay, change of plans. Gwen, you keep an eye on our unwelcomed guest, and I’ll go with Kai to find someone to sacrifice.”

“Yes mistress,” the maid replied, moving closer to accept the blade from her.

Miriam then focused on me. “Kai, I’ll meet you out back. Please wait for me while I go grab your stone.” She then took off underneath the twin staircases and down the hall, moving with surprising grace and speed in her leather pants.

I wasn’t sure why she preferred I didn’t go with her, maybe to avoid me asking a bunch of questions if she was going someplace I hadn’t been yet, but knew time was of the essence and it was better to just do as she wanted for now. Thus, I gave Gabriella a quick hug, asked Natalie to stay with them since she wouldn’t be able to help, and headed through the dining hall to get back outside.

Serenity was glad to see me, still diligently guarding over the tarp-covered body, but quickly grasped the urgency of the situation, with me already focusing more heavily on my hearing, standing near the gate, to see if I could pick up on any notable sounds.

But there was nothing.

Dammit!

Surely, they weren’t all dead, right?

There had to be more than just a handful that got away, maybe even a few who weren’t close enough to shield the main guy from the attack.

Shit, I wasn’t sure at this point, but my sudden desperation got the better of me, prompting my body to turn gray again as I sprouted out my wings and leapt for the sky, adorned only in my black gym shorts as I began to circle the mansion while I listened more closely to the surrounding sounds.

It wasn’t until I heard Miriam run out back that I focused on the mansion again, realizing I needed to either resume the search on foot, or else pick her up…

Or at least, that’s what I’d been thinking, prior to watching her spread her midnight wings and leap into the sky when she caught sight of me.

Shit, I knew she had wings, but I was so used to being the only one who could fly, that the two concepts completely slipped past each other in my mind.

But damn, Miriam could really fly!

And fuck, she looked so hot in her leather pants, her ivory shirt having dried out some so that she didn’t look nearly as exposed, though the damp material was still hanging provocatively on her cute tits.

Her expression was serious as she caught up to me in the air, with me just gliding as I examined her, noticing that she had a bottle of dark fluid in one hand, only for her to seem surprised at the look.

She then cracked a smile. “Did you forget I had wings, or do you just like what you see?” she asked playfully.

“Both,” I admitted. “Err, sort of,” I added, since I obviously hadn’t forgotten she had wings, instead just that she could fly. “Sorry, I know it’s not the time to get distracted.” I then sighed. “Miriam, I can’t hear anything other than normal wildlife.”

She frowned at that, looking around below. “Well, I do have a lot of land. Just over two thousand acres. Maybe one of us can search from the sky, while the other searches on foot.”

I nodded in agreement. “I’ll go on foot then, and hopefully be able to follow their scents too. Only problem is, there were so many of them, and they all smell so similar, that even that is going to be difficult to trace.”

“Okay,” she agreed. “I’ve got your stone in my pocket, so it’s safe. I’ll call out if I spot something.”

“Thanks,” I replied, beginning to fold my wings slightly into a controlled fall, aiming for the trees toward the back of her property, considering that’s where pretty much all the enemies had been heading prior to the disintegration spell attack.

Being well aware that most of the stragglers should be trying to escape, I decided to go straight for the second barrier, with me assuming they’d be trapped within, planning on just running in a spiral circle all the way around her property until I heard, smelled, or saw something of any significance.

All we needed was just one to still be alive.

Just one.

Thus, the moment I hit the tree line, I folded my wings and dropped to the ground, landing on one knee and then pausing to listen to the sudden silence, the noise I caused prompting a temporary break in the crickets and tree frog chirps. But then they started up again, and I was off, running as fast as I could along the edge of the second barrier.

When I came across the first body, I had a brief spark of hope, only to realize I didn’t hear a heartbeat, and that the majority of the guy’s naturally tan skin was pitch-black. Thus, I continued running, being a little less optimistic when I came across a second body, followed by a third.

All of them had managed to escape complete obliteration, but had still been hit just enough to slowly meet their fate before they even had a chance to realize they were trapped within an invisible cage.

The whole time, Miriam was silent up above, seeming to have picked up my intention and loosely following my spiral pattern, but with her starting from the middle between the innermost third and second barriers. Which was a smart decision, in my opinion, since most had probably at least gotten that far.

But even after making the first loop around the entire second barrier, and even after coming across more and more bodies on my second pass a little further in, I couldn’t find any others that were still alive. And really, as I thought about it, even the two guys that Natalie and I had killed looked pretty close to death, even though the curse had only creeped up half their body.

Fuck, surely at least one of them managed to not get hit by the blast!

Or maybe one that had been nicked by a silver bullet?!

Deciding to abandon my pattern temporarily just as I was finishing up the second loop and starting on my third, having lost a lot of hope after seeing several dozen dead from the disintegration spell, I instead aimed straight for the mansion again, planning on checking near the front gate where I knew Gwen had nicked quite a few in nonlethal areas.

Of course, she’d used silver bullets, but I felt confident those weren’t an instant kill if it hit in the arm or leg.

So then, maybe one of them was still alive.

Even after over an hour…

Again, Miriam seemed to pick up on what I was doing, because she shifted her trajectory in the air, following my lead as she aimed for the mansion too. She then began flying lower and lower as I got close enough to the northwest side of the wall to start running along it, aiming to get to the southern front gate.

By the time I reached it, she was practically hovering right above, watching me jump from body to body, double-checking if any were alive. Of course, all the previously mutated bodies were in their human form now, but none appeared to be among the living.

Fuck!

Beginning to go further into the trees, looking for blood trails or any other sign that would help me pin down another body, since the sea of werewolf scents was too much to be helpful, I felt my heart skip a beat when I suddenly heard the faint heartbeat of someone else.

Shit, we found one!

Not wanting to tip our catch off that they’d been discovered, I simply picked up the pace as I ran straight for the sound, even more relieved when I saw a pale naked body lying facedown on the ground, the breathing so shallow that it was virtually nonexistent.

Miriam didn’t have to be told what to do.

She quickly began flapping through the foliage, waiting until she was much closer to the ground before dropping down, only to run up beside me to focus on the naked form before us. The pale body hadn’t been harmed by the disintegration spell, but it had definitely been shot with a silver bullet.

Dark veins were running all up his body, originating from a spot in his thigh, looking like a vine of death was growing just underneath the skin, having spread virtually everywhere like the roots of a weed.

Miriam quickly began uncapping the bottle she held, with me finally realizing what it was when I caught a whiff.

Blood.

Specifically, her blood.

It smelled like her. An almost intoxicating aroma.

“I don’t know if he’s going to live long enough for this,” she said urgently. “But we have to try. He might be the last survivor.”

I abruptly held my hand up, just as she looked like she was going to start dribbling some on the ground, hearing the guy’s heart faulter and stop.

“He’s dead,” I whispered, feeling completely at a loss.

She looked at me in shock, only to grimace as she focused on the motionless body. “Fuck.”

I sighed heavily.

“I’m so sorry, Kai,” she whispered, slowly recapping the bottle. “We can keep searching, but I don’t think these guys are just being really quiet. As you mentioned earlier, it may be that there are none left.”

“Dammit,” I muttered, wishing I’d just thought of this sooner. How had I forgotten that was part of the plan? I mean, the unexpected attack kind of shifted my priorities entirely, with me just wanting to ensure everyone survived, but afterward it truly hadn’t occurred to me that we still needed at least one alive. Not until Gabriella mentioned it.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered simply.

I took a deep breath in resignation, still planning on searching a bit longer, but knowing she was right. They might all really be dead, which meant…

“So, I guess this means…” I took another deep breath. “You’ll have to go with your original plan.”

“Kai, I’m…” She grimaced and looked away.

Fuck. At this point, I was pretty much willing to not even worry about the cursed stone, and just forget about the mystery message altogether. But still…

“Does it have to be a guy?” I finally asked seriously.

She took a deep breath. “A guy is ideal partially because the intended target for the stone and curse, you, is also male. But no, Kai. I should be able to use a female as the scapegoat. But just keep in mind that she might die if it goes wrong. Maybe it’s a double standard, but I have a difficult time bringing harm to women or children. If I was going to take the risk, it’s easier on my conscience to use a man as a scapegoat. Not that I won’t use a woman.”

Dammit, was it even worth it?

Would I regret not doing it?

When I didn’t respond, she continued. “Would it be better if you helped me?” she asked hesitantly.

I glanced down at her. “What do you mean?” I wondered.

She frowned. “This kind of delicate process is one in which I need raw lust to fuel the magic, specifically from the scapegoat. Otherwise, it would be impossible to designate a different target for the curse, if I used magic my body had already processed and stored into an opal. But you could help me with that part.”

My eyes widened in surprise. “Like…a threesome? With you, and some random chick?”

She nodded slowly.

“But what about the ‘her dying’ part?”

She shrugged, her tone suddenly more lighthearted, like she was intentionally trying to lighten the mood. “We could pick an insufferable bitch who wouldn’t be missed,” she said casually. “Someone physically appealing, but who has all the worst possible qualities humans are capable of. The kind of girl men can’t decide if they want to fuck or just slap in the face. That way, the world would be a better place if things go wrong, and when everything likely goes as planned, then you won’t regret never seeing her again.” She paused, growing a bit more serious again. “That’s the best we can do though, at this point. At least, without having another enemy to sacrifice. Maybe the cameras will pick up on a straggler.”

I sighed. “Just feels kind of evil,” I admitted. “Targeting someone like that. Even if she’d be more than happy to participate.”

She shrugged a second time, her tone again more lighthearted. “Killing an insufferable bitch, just because she’s a bitch, would definitely be evil. But honestly, the risk of it going wrong is probably no higher than the risk such a person might take just from getting in a car. She’d be more likely to die of an accident than…” Her voice abruptly trailed off. “Oh…Sorry, my love, that was inconsiderate of me.”

I looked at her in surprise, only to realize what was on her mind. The knowledge that a car accident was exactly how my parents passed away.

I sighed heavily. “It’s fine. And I get it. No matter who we pick, you’ll probably have to kick them out the next day, with them wishing they could stay.”

“Precisely,” she agreed with a small smile. “But, at least this way, if it doesn’t go well, then it’ll be to one of the worst possible humans, aside from an actual criminal.” She paused. “I do sort of have a limit on who I’ll fuck. Homicidal and abusive humans exhibit the same repulsive aura that most incubi have.”

I frowned, speaking without thinking. “Well, hopefully that limit now goes further than their aura, right?”

She grimaced at that, her expression immediately somber. “Yes, of course, my love. I want you so much, and it’s why we’re even having this conversation. I don’t want to fuck anyone else without you there too, or at least not without your permission. And honestly, aside from this situation, I’ll never fuck anyone else again, if you want, aside from you.”

I couldn’t help but smile a little at that, sensing just how serious she was being right now. “Well, you can at least fuck Gwen for sure. And then, I guess we can just ease into things from there. I really enjoyed how much we fucked this evening, but don’t want to rush into things any more than we have.”

She nodded. “I understand, baby. And that’s the same general conclusion I’d come to. It’s been easier to accept than I was anticipating, but I knew the moment I fell for you that there was really only one way this was going to turn out. Especially when I need you so much more than you seem to need me.” She sighed. “And I’m fine with that, so we’ll work together to try to figure out this curse thing.” She smiled just slightly. “Or rather, fuck together, to figure out this curse thing,” she added more playfully.

I knew she was trying really hard to lighten my mood.

I gave her a small smile. “So now what?” I wondered.

She sighed. “I guess, let’s keep searching, just in case. Try to cover everywhere within the second barrier, and then we can even go out to the first barrier and check to see if maybe one somehow got caught between those. Werewolves do have a nasty reputation of slipping through even the toughest of magical defenses.”

I nodded, not very optimistic, but definitely on board for that plan.

And, at the very least, I still needed to hunt down a deer to crave my own lingering desire for blood.

So that’s exactly what we’d do.

We’d keep looking.

Cover the expanse of her whole property.

And then, if we still didn’t find at least one survivor, we’d just have to count our losses, focus on the vampire issue, and go from there.

Not the most ideal situation, but considering we all could have died tonight, or that I might have at least lost the people most important to me, I wasn’t going to let it weigh me down.

Serenity, Gabriella, Natalie, Miriam, and Gwen were all safe, and the looming threat, one that was far greater than we anticipated, was dealt with as well. Which meant we had time to figure everything else out.

Or at least, I hoped.

NOTE: Be sure to check out Combat Healer (formerly My Girlfriend's an Oni Demon). It's 65,000 words of goodness to read so far.

Chapter 69 >>