CHAPTER 16

The room suddenly stank of sulfur with just a hint of coconut and a hand touched Dana's cheek. Distracted, she turned her head, only to hear her on-screen avatar grunt in agony as he was impaled with a spear.

"You died," Lily told her, reading it off of the screen. She walked around the loveseat. She wore a tank top and a miniskirt, her hair pulled back into a small bun. A series of piercings adorned her face, and she wore a couple of glow sticks around her neck.

"Just the one time." Dana tossed the controller onto a nearby table. "I'm surprised to see you so late at night. Usually you come by earlier if you're nearby."

"Well, I was originally dropping in to see Mike, but apparently he's off in the Library." Lily sat down next to Dana and picked up the controller. "We were supposed to meet up, but he found out that Cecilia was captured or something. I didn't get much detail from that little green fairy. She was the only one I spotted on the way in, and she kept rambling about how nobody would play with her. I certainly know how she feels. Seems like nobody is ever around when I drop by. I mean, what does a girl have to do to get any actual attention around here?"

"Cecilia was captured? That sounds interesting." Dana wondered if she should offer to go help. She hadn't spent much time in the Library, but figured a pair of tireless eyes would be more than capable of helping out. "So what have you been up to?"

"A lady doesn't kiss and tell. Fuck!" Lily scowled at the game, her lip sticking out. "Did that guy just kill me with a giant barrel of apples? Fucker smashed my head in. Is this supposed to be fun?"

"Aw, I thought you liked things that were hard." Dana snatched the controller back. "My turn. And you're hardly a lady, so spill."

"If you must know, I was at a concert. Local band. Well, not local here. I flew in special for the occasion. That, and the bar they were at had the best rum punch I've ever had. I let myself get drunk for a little bit, that's how good they were."

"Really? Concert hopping and rum? Sounds pretty tame."

"I caught a guy slipping roofies to his date. Waited till he went to take a leak, offered him a blowie and sucked his soul out through his dick. Cops got called when they found him comatose. They took his date out in an ambulance as well. Guy was a serial offender, and I thought an eternity of torment would be a little funny." She tapped her head. "I'm letting some of the rougher souls pass him around like a pack of cigarettes right now. They can be downright nasty when I let them have just a pinch of freedom.

"That sounds more like you... shit." Dana tossed the controller back to Lily. "I promise I'm better at this game when you're not watching."

"Uh huh." Lily's eyes smoldered for a second when she picked up the controller. "Let's see what happens when I enhance my reflexes and... fuck!" Promptly after the game loaded, the succubus had walked her avatar off the edge of a cliff. "I'm still a little buzzed is all."

"Take another turn, it's fine." Dana fought back a grin, but mostly because earlier she had walked off that same ledge. The next ten minutes consisted of Lily consistently dying in the game and swearing in several languages before tossing the controller back over to Dana.

"Told you it was hard." Dana turned off the console using the controller. "Do you want to play Mario or something easier?"

"Hardly." Lily turned sideways on the loveseat, one leg folding up and the other dangling off the edge. Her open thighs revealed that she wasn't wearing any panties, and her pubes were currently trimmed into the shape of a heart.

Dana rolled her eyes. "Okay, that's a little distracting."

"Hmm?" Lily looked down at her crotch, then back to Dana. "Oh, this? You like what you see?"

"Naia already helped me out earlier."

"Damn nymph," Lily mumbled. "I knew I should have come home sooner."

"Maybe you could actually stick around for once, and not just sneak in to give Mike wet dreams and binge watch N*****x with me." Logically, Dana knew she should feel a little hurt that Lily didn't visit her more often. Emotionally, she couldn't care less. There was just nothing there, a yawning void where some of her feelings should be.

"Romeo and I have been working on something, so it's mostly business." Lily shifted her hips and a pair of black panties appeared, hiding her vagina away. "Even he understands that I need my space."

"Does he though?" It was an honest question. Mike had been nothing but kind to Dana, and she felt a little guilty for how she typically ignored him. He occasionally checked in with her, but she rarely went to him unless she was hungry. Even though she had seen him with the others, she had never personally observed the dynamic between Mike and Lily.

"If he didn't, you would never see me here at all, unless he commanded me." Lily's face was suddenly serious. "You can tell a lot about a man by how he treats those beneath him. For all intent and purposes, I am completely beneath him."

"That's true. I guess he could make you do whatever he wanted."

"And I've given him opportunity to. And he simply doesn't. I want to know why. That's why I keep coming back, and it's also why I don't mind helping him."

"Does he know you are murdering people at bars?"

"Yeah, well, a girl's gotta eat. We have a mostly unspoken arrangement where I don't give him the details and he seems to trust my decisions." Lily let out a sigh. "Besides, it feels kind of nice being able to pick what I want at the buffet."

Dana nodded, letting it go. "At least you have options now."

Lily smiled. "Every soul tastes different, but even the soul of the shittiest human is like the sweetest candy, and..." The succubus cocked her head, as if listening to a distant sound.

"You okay?" Dana asked.

"Gotta go see a man about some sand." Lily winked and vanished in a stinking cloud of sulfur.