A Woman on a Mission

I pulled on a short, light cover. It was still warm for late September, but I really enjoyed the look of it. The positive about being a demon, temperatures had to get pretty extreme to make me sweat.

“I’m heading to the camp to meet with the doctor and then lunch with my friend Dennis, today. I want you all to be on your best behavior. Don’t forget to have lunch. I should be back before our walk. Anything before I go?” I asked.

“Have fun, Maddie.” Winston smiled.

“Don’t get taken again.” Will snorted.

“Funny, Will. See if I bring you back a treat then…” I laughed.

There was a knock at the door. Annie opened it and let Anders in.

He was dressed in a light blue blazer, white button up shirt, and tan slacks. The blazer showed off his broad shoulders and trim waist. His black hair had been styled by Poppy that morning.

I could tell because Poppy favored an herbal scented gel that added a sage and honey scent to Anders’ normal aroma, which was healthier now he was feeding on something other than succubae. He smiled.

“You dressed nicer than I thought you would.” Anders said as his eyes made the slow decent down my body.

I was wearing a tight, lavender dress that clung to my full hips in the most enticing way. The little white cover I added went to my elbows and hugged my upper body, ending just under my chest. If I was going out, I was going to get as much energy as I could. If Anders was any indication, I was fairly successful.

“I’m meeting the last person to see my mother alive and one of my best friends today. Of course I dressed nicely.” I told him as I slipped on my white heels and crossed the room.

Anders offered me his elbow and I accepted. Since the agreement that I would give him three months to make me fall in love with him, I’d seen a big change in Anders. He was actually trying to be a good ruler now. He hadn’t order a succubus to anyone’s service since then. Anders was listening to what I said, the lessons I was teaching, and he was being more respectful of his harem.

We walked out to the car and he closed my door before heading to the driver’s side. It was a quiet, but pleasant drive to the camp in the northern part of the county. I realized this was the camp that Winston and Celia had been in.

I couldn’t fathom why they’d brought my mother all the way out here. True, it was one of the oldest of the camps, but there was another one closer to our hometown. They had probably already planned to experiment on her when they caught her. Those bastards.

I could feel my tension growing as we neared the Northland Camp. My excitement about finally killing the man who’d taken my mother from us was high, and I had to restrain myself. I didn’t want to give away my intentions.

***

When we got to the camp, I couldn’t help but wince. It was a prison in every sense. Gray, dull, sad. The feeling of death was all around it, even the fucking grass was dying.

Silver tipped razor wire glittered along the tops of the high fences. We pulled up to the large mechanical gates. An incubus in a guard uniform came up to the driver’s side door.

He recognized Anders and a small scowl slipped over his features before he schooled his face back into the strong, cool look he’d had before. I noted the look in his eyes. Shame. Sadness. Some anger. This wasn’t a man who’d turned on our people.

The guard waved us through and Anders steered toward the parking lot. I felt my stomach rise up to my throat and it had nothing to do with the doctor. This was almost as bad as ordering the succubae into the service of men. They were degraded and, even worse, hated because of what he forced them to do.

“Did you order him to work here?” I asked in a venomous tone.

Anders winced. “Yes. Any incubi or male concubi who didn’t volunteer for service were brought to me and I ordered them to go where they were needed. At least, as guards, they don’t have to kill.”

“That’s terrible, Vasili! How could you?! You forced them to betray their people!” My voice held all of the disgust I felt.

“It was what was needed. I don’t have to explain it to you. I don’t answer to you when it comes to ruling our people, Vasilia.” He scoffed.

I sighed. In a lot of ways, he’d changed for the better, but he still felt he was doing the right thing. Even Drayce was starting to see they were wrong and felt ashamed about his role. Nothing I could say would get through to Anders.

It was pointless to argue. He was ready to dig in. One thing that never changed, was when Anders got mad, he did things he regretted later.

After we parked, he guided me into the building. We were greeted by guards who checked us for weapons and contraband. These guards were incubi as well. They had the same look as the gate guard. It broke my heart. All this time, I’d been hunting and never knew what my people were being forced to go through.

“Is this place entirely staffed by men you ordered, Vasili?” I hissed.

“We can go home, if you’re unhappy about being here, Vasilia.” He scowled.

“I am unhappy, but I need to see the man who killed my mother. If you want to force me to leave, then you can. Just know, it will not help your case for winning my love.” I replied.

“Let’s go.” He grabbed my arm and guided me, roughly, down the corridor.

We went through a few bolted doors. The more I saw, the unhappier I got. Angry, sad looks followed us as we made our way through the camp. I could taste the overwhelming sorrow of the place, the despair. It made me sick to my stomach.

Once we got to the medical ward, we were guided to the offices in the back by a nurse. She was human and felt emotionless, as if she were empty. I knew this woman had to have seen some serious shit.

The smells and emotions of the ward were overpowering. I leaned against Anders more than I wanted to. He seemed to take it as fear and rubbed my hand with his in a comforting way. Sometimes, he was almost a good guy and I could see the man Drayce loved. Sometimes….

The nurse ushered us into an office with the name, Dr. Caleb Nettleston, on the door. We sat in the chairs in front of the doctor’s desk and waited. Neither of us could think of anything to say to each other. Anders was feeling grumpy about my judgement and I was trying to control my building rage.