Lamia's Dream

Chapter 18

I tired of my internet shenanigans around ten o’clock Thursday evening and headed to bed.  And, of course, I couldn’t fall asleep immediately.  Instead, I reminisced on my favorite parts of the week with Valerie.  Definitely, the night she was here with me.  In my room.  In my bed.  I still found it hard to believe that it had really happened. 

Continuing with improbable events, Alexandra and Samantha sat with us today.  Alexandra introduced the guy she sat with as her new boyfriend, Chad.  The pair would attend the basketball game with Valerie and me.  Samantha’s lack of boyfriend gave the rumors about her and Tatiana, another girl in the LGBT club, more credibility.  Who knows, maybe I would ask her about it tomorrow.

Something tapped against my window. 

I ignored it, believing it to be some random act of nature, perhaps a bird dropping something.  Then, it came again, not long afterward.  I checked my phone, my immediate thought Valerie.  No text saying she was flying over.  Maybe she wanted to surprise me.  And what a lovely surprise that would be. 

I looked out the window and didn’t see anything at first.  Not giving it a second thought, I opened the window and stuck my head out.  Faster than I could blink, something from below latched onto my neck.  Its sharp edges scratched against my flesh.  A sound in between a grunt and a howl emitted from my mouth.  I grabbed what felt like an arm and pulled whatever it was attached to into my bedroom. 

I threw a female body to the ground.  Legs kicked my nightstand.  I saw a blur of blonde hair, but it didn’t register.  In my frenzy I punched the body twice.  Some appendage blocked my third punch, and then she was up.  Before I could throw another, a hand gripped my shirt collar and yanked me forward.  Sharp nails poked my Adam’s apple, just short of breaking the skin.  Lethal green eyes stared into mine.  

"Who are you and who trained you to do that?" Lynn demanded.

"Your friend's boyfriend," I spat.  “And no one trained me.  I reacted.”

Her eyebrows lowered, her gaze analytical.  I was too angry to be scared.  She came into my room, threatening me?  Both of us breathed shallow, not taking our eyes off of each other. 

“You can get your hand off my neck…”

She did.  She also released of my shirt.  My bottom ran against the carpet as I separated myself from her.  With the distance between us, I took in the full sight of her.  Like Valerie, Lynn had claws and fangs.  And two, large black wings that protruded from her upper back.  They were pretty impressive.A long arm-like bone extended from her back.  At its height, it split into three longer, slender finger-like bones than ran downward.  In between each bone was a black, leathery material that made up the wing itself. 

Lynn caught me staring at her bat-like wings.

"I don't know what Valerie told you, but this is what we are.  And if you tell anyone, I will kill you myself."

Her look convinced me that she fully believed in what she was saying.

"Would you kill your boyfriend's cousin?"

"Unlike Valerie, I don't have some stupid thoughts of a genuine romance between us.  You’re expendable.  He's expendable.  End of discussion."

“Miles!”

My anger shifted to cold fear at the sound of my aunt’s voice just outside my room. 

Run! My look shouted to Lynn. 

Lynn glanced at the window, but dipped under my bed instead.  I stood up to close the window.  Just as I got to my feet, the door opened. 

“What was all that noise?”

My aunt remained in the doorway, surveying the scene.  The books and sheets of paper that were on my nightstand had been knocked to the floor.  A previous breeze spread the sheets throughout my room.  Only half of my comforter remained on the bed.

 “Nothing.  Just I- I got mad.  Jack told me something that really aggravated me.”

“Jack or this new girlfriend of yours?”

“Jack.  Everything’s fine with Valerie.  Perfect.”

My aunt’s eyebrows lowered, similar to Lynn’s look minutes before. 

“Do we need to schedule you some time with the guidance counselor again?”

“N-no.  Everything’s fine.  I promise.  I’m goin to bed now.”

My aunt gave me a final look, and then closed the door.

I leaned back against my bed.  Of all the things to mention, she had to say that…

“What’s she talking about?” Lynn asked. 

She emerged from underneath my bed, her fingers and teeth back to their normal size, her wings absent.

“Nothing,” I said.

“Don’t tell me nothing-”

“Fine then, it’s not nothing, it’s none of your business!” I said, drawing on all my strength to keep my voice low.

Lynn shared another critical gaze.  I looked away.  Whatever patience I had for this bizarre situation dissipated long ago.

“What kind of boy knowingly dates a demon?”

“You’re not a demon, you’re a Succubus,” I corrected, instinctually.

Lynn chortled.  “Is that what she told you?”

I didn’t respond.

“I suppose that’s technically true, as we didn’t come from the fiery pits of hell.  I guess I’m so used to humans depicting anything that’s different from them as being monstrous or demonic, I never bothered trying to classify myself.”

“Where are you from?” I asked.  In all this time since I learned their secret, origin was an element I hadn’t asked about.

Another incredulous look formed on her face.  “You already know too much as it is.  If there are things Valerie is unwilling to tell you, it’s probably for your own protection.”

Lynn made her way to my window.  “You don’t tell Valerie I made this trip, and I won’t tell her you’re crazy.”

“I’m not crazy,” I snapped.

“Right.  Because normal people are turned on by big black wings.”

Lynn climbed out of my window.  I watched her dark wings sprout from her back and then she went airborne.

I sat there for a few minutes afterward, motionless. 

“So, that’s the whole package,” I murmured stupefied.

I remembered that I had only seen Valerie’s fangs and claws in reality once.  And that was only a brief glimpse under the moonlight.  Lynn, with wings full spread, had been a lot more daunting. 

It was in that moment- sitting on the floor, in my pajamas, staring out the window into the pitch black of night- I began to comprehend I was dating a Succubus.