Hell To Pay (3 page)

Near the end of what seemed like the oldest book, Simon encountered a sketch of a lovely and very naked woman. His frazzled mind perked up a bit, although he had to repress yet another shudder of fear as Irena’s beautiful but murderous expression flashed through his mind’s eye.

Incantamentum de Daemonium Libidum,
read the caption. “Incantation of Demon Lust.” Simon’s eyes grew wide as he realized that the spell would actually summon a magical being, a demon whose purpose was the fulfillment of lusty desires.
A succubus.

The idea of summoning - of
speaking to
- a supernatural being set Simon’s heart to racing.
What secrets could they reveal? What could be learned from them?
The book claimed that summoning the demon was dangerous but could be done with proper precautions. To get it to do anything, though, it would have to be paid. Paid in souls.

What IS it with magicians and souls?
he thought with disgust.
Can’t anybody do something without going to Hell, or sending somebody else to Hell, or killing them, or something?
He didn’t know what Irena had been going to do with his soul - they could be used for all sorts of hideous things, none of which Simon had any inclination to try. Or they could be “stored” in a proper container for later use. Or for trading with demons. Yet another shiver of dread ran up his spine.
She might have given my soul to a
demon
to eat.
Any remaining trace of regret Simon might have felt for Irena’s fate was now gone.

His eyes wandered back to the sketch. It was actually quite fine, minimalist but with details in just the right places to inflame a man’s mind with desire. A thought came unbidden to his mind.

This I have to see.

A Month Later...

Simon looked over the room carefully... for about the fiftieth time. He had removed all the furniture from the apartment’s second bedroom, and brought in a small but very sturdy table with shelves underneath to hold various objects called for by the books’ rituals.

He hadn’t used it much. Most of the spells were things he had no interest in doing, and most of the rest were things he didn’t need to do. He’d used one spell to alter his appearance, just to see if it worked. It had, and it had creeped him out something terrible. He’d used one of the healing spells on a small purposefully-inflicted cut, and it had sealed, well,
magically
. There was no question that the books really held magical secrets. But only one really interested him. The summoning spell.

After very carefully reviewing it, and all the surrounding material, he had created a circle of containment on the floor of the empty room. It was very carefully constructed and there was nothing that could fall or otherwise disrupt it. The spell contained no promises or offers of fealty, only a command of attendance. Without making a further bargain, just summoning the demon shouldn’t do anything irrevocable. And he
had
to know. Had to see.

So there he stood, carefully inked summoning spell in hand, ritual candles backed up by electric lights (and a battery lantern.) While he had streamlined and strengthened the internal logic of the spell it had seemed prudent to use the phrasing in the book: Simon’s Latin had come back quite well with a month of forced study. He shouted the final phrase.

“Prodio et oboedio!
”

There was no puff of smoke, no flash of lightning, no clap of thunder. There should have been, but there wasn’t.

She just was.

Simon’s jaw dropped as he took her in. Standing in the middle of the circle, looking around with interest, was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. The most beautiful woman he had ever
imagined.
Long red hair fell to her bare shoulders, glowing like a flame over pale skin. Brilliant green eyes flared as she locked her stare onto his face. Her tongue slowly slid over her lips and she smiled lazily. He couldn’t speak.

She put her hands on hips covered by a painted-on skirt. Despite all logic and reason she was dressed for a night in a modern dance club, with a leather corset framing a devastatingly curved body. Breasts just the perfect size threatened to slip out of her top, gently shaking as she moved. In her high-heeled boots she matched Simon’s six-foot height exactly and he could almost feel her pressed to his body. His cock stiffened painfully.

Finally, she spoke. “You’ll catch flies doing that, you know.”

This was not what Simon had expected. “Do... doing what?”

“Standing there with your mouth open like that. Do that Downstairs, and you’ll be sorry. You don’t know from flies until you’ve been Down Below.”

She’s teasing me
. He shook his head slowly.
She looks like a club girl and she sounds like one. The
perfect
club girl, but just a club girl. But she has to be...

“Who are you?”

She looked impatient. “I’m the demon you summoned, dummy. And before you ask, I’m not speaking your language. You’re hearing it, and you’ll hear it in your own manner of speaking. It’s magic. It’s how it works.”

“But you look... human.”

“Well, what did you
think
I would look like? I try to appear in a form the summoner will find... tempting. I
do
have a certain image to maintain. I must say, I like your taste in clothes. These feel absolutely
wicked.
Of course if you asked nicely, I’d take them off.” She leered at him, but there were actual hints of humor in the smile. Simon knew that if she did that, he’d be lost. He didn’t dare.

“I... I don’t know. I knew you’d be beautiful but I didn’t really think...” She preened at the word “beautiful” and the smile made it even
harder
to think.

“What a sweet boy you are. What do you
want
me to look like?”

He still couldn’t speak coherently. “What you look like now is
amazing
.” Another charming smile at this. “What... what do you look like usually?”

This time she actually laughed. “Careful! Aren’t you afraid I’m really some hideous monster? With leathery wings...” She leaned toward him, not quite crossing the border but close, so close. Her voice lowered.

“... and terrible claws...” She waggled exquisite black-painted fingernails at him. He leaned in, captivated.

“... and razor-sharp fangs... the better to
EAT YOU WITH!”
He jumped back with a cry as she screamed out these last words, mouth open wide. Then she laughed again, harder. The sound still came from between impossibly perfect lips. “You should have
seen
your face.” She smacked her ass as she laughed and the slap of her skin on the ridiculously tight skirt went right down his spine with a shudder.

“Don’t
do
that.” She nodded with a Cheshire grin. She had to do what he said within the limits, but trying to get her to stop scaring him was probably a lost cause. He tried to regain some authority. “Whatever you look like, it can’t pass the circle. Show me.”

She disappeared.

His jaw dropped again.
No she can’t I can’t lose her I’ll never have the nerve again...
He got his mouth working.

“No! Don’t go! Come back!” She reappeared, still smiling wickedly. “Where did you go? How did you get out of the circle?”

“I didn’t go anywhere. I can’t get out, you
know
that... don’t you?”

“I thi... I mean, of course I do. But what just happened? Tell me the truth.”

“I did what you said.” She
almost
managed an innocent look. She’d never been innocent but she’d had a
lot
of time to practice.

“I told you to show me what you look like. You vanished. Explain.”

She pouted. “You’re no fun. I showed you what I look like, just like you wanted. I don’t
have
a physical body. Not a real one. Although if you’d reach in and touch me, you’d never know the
diiiif-errrr-ence
...” She said this last in a singsong tone and reached to him. His hand started to come up without conscious thought, but he stopped it with an effort.

“So you vanished because you don’t look like
anything?
” That almost made sense. She nodded.

“If I’m not projecting an image, I don’t have a form your senses can detect. You humans are practically blind and deaf. Pathetic.” The sneer was back. She couldn’t keep her contempt hidden
all
the time.

“Anyway, here I am. What would you have of me, mortal? Some woman you love just can’t stand you? One of your enemies to be brought low by a scandalous affair?” She sniffed and the look of contempt intensified. “Or can you just not get a girl and want me to take your virginity for you?
That
one never gets old.” The succubus had had a
long
time to develop her sarcastic voice. It was a work of dark art.

Despite himself Simon laughed. He stopped at a withering glare from the demon. “I can get my own girls, thank you. Mostly I just wanted to have a look at you. To talk to you.”

This got a full-blown snort of derision. “Sure you did. You damned your soul to peek at a succubus. Brilliant.” She looked at him hungrily. “Easiest soul I ever took.”

Inside, Simon felt a bolt of terror hit his stomach.
No! Not just for summoning! I have to give it to her! That’s what the book says!
But he swallowed and managed to hold his voice steady. “I haven’t damned my soul for anything. You haven’t got any claim on it unless I give you one.”

She laughed viciously. “You sure?”

Fighting for control, he said, “You are bound to obey me by the spell of summoning until I release you or the circle is broken. Tell me the truth: can you claim my soul just for summoning you?”

A look of utter disgust crossed her face. “I hate the smart ones. No, I can’t. Upstairs doesn’t like people doing
anything
with demons but just this won’t get you sent Down Below.”

“Upstairs? You mean...
God?
” Even seeing her standing in the middle of the circle, it was hard to reconcile that what looked like a beautiful woman was a supernatural and immortal being who had knowledge of Things Beyond.

She winced and glared at him. “Yes. Don’t say that name.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t like it.” Her mouth clamped shut in anger.

“Does it hurt you?”

“No.”

“Then why don’t you want me to say it?”

“I said I don’t like it, moron.”

“Tell me the truth. Why does that word bother you so much?”

Somehow, it felt like the force of her glare made the circle ripple a little bit and he winced himself, but it held. “Because drawing too much attention from the Other Side is fatal for a demon. If I say the name, I’ll be struck down.”

“What would you do if I
told
you to say it? I’m not!” He blurted out this last as an image of her exploding in the middle of the floor flashed in his head.

“I’d tell you to go fuck yourself. You have the right to command me within reason, not to make me kill myself.”

“How can you die? You’re immortal, aren’t you?”

“Look who knows all about demons.” Somehow she just kept getting more and more derisive. “Of course I can’t die, idiot. But I can be destroyed and...” She just jerked her head up. “...has
no
sense of humor.” After a pause, she said, “At least not where we’re concerned. Obviously
you
people are some kind of Divine joke.”

Simon ignored this. “If God made you, why would He strike you down? Why doesn’t He just strike you down for rebelling?”

She shrugged. “We weren’t made Upstairs, and I have no idea. All I know is if we follow the rules we’re safe.”

This was yet another boggling revelation. “What do you mean, He didn’t make you? He made everything, didn’t He?”

The anger turned back into mockery. “Was your shirt made Upstairs? I ask rhetorically, as it’s obviously as far from Divinely inspired as it’s possible to be.”

“No. Well, not directly. What has that go to do with it?”

She jerked her head with an upward glance again. “... made the Angels. One rebelled. After the War, He went into business for Himself. He made us to help Him. I’m as much the product of Creation as your shirt.”

“So you’re
not
a fallen angel?”

“Do I
look
like an angel?”

Simon considered this. “Well, you’re dressed a little racier than I’d expect, and you’ve got no wings, but the rest of you could be.”

The anger instantly turned back into a sweet smile. “You
are
a nice boy. Let me out of here and I’ll make it worth your while.” She leaned forward and Simon’s eyes almost jumped out of his head and down her cleavage. He pulled back with an effort.

“Not just now,” he said when he had his brain under control again. “Like I said, I just want to talk.”

She laughed and it went right to Simon’s raging libido. “This
is
a new one. What do you want to talk about?”

“Life. The Universe. Everything.” He couldn’t help himself.

“Wrong department, sweetie. I do lust. I don’t do philosophy. Is Hell real? Yes. Is it awful?
You
won’t like it. What happens when you die? You go there. That’s as much as I know.” She seemed to be enjoying the conversation, despite her professed ignorance.

“Are there other demons? Ones who know more?”

“Yes. No.” She was also apparently enjoying his confusion.

“Who knows more?”

“Upstairs. Him. They don’t pass on a lot of information.”

Simon stopped to reflect on this. So much for getting the secrets of the Universe out of her. “Can you teach me more magic?”

“Yes.” This made her smile even wider.

“Why does that make you look so smug?”

She tried the innocent look again. “No reason. I like to help.”

“Tell me the truth. Why does the idea of teaching me more magic make you so happy?”

She sighed. “Because any magic
I
teach you is going to be diabolic. Practice it much, and it’s right Downstairs with you. You would have figured it out anyway. Like I said, I hate the smart ones.” She didn’t look all that hateful, more resigned.