Lamia's Dream

Chapter 24

With all of the madness of last night, I had completely forgotten that I agreed to go with Malik to the mall in Charlotte to pick up his tuxedo for prom.  He cared a lot more than I did.  I'd be renting one from a local store.  I had every intention of picking it up the week of Prom, but there was a fair chance I wouldn't go until the day before Prom.

While walking with Malik, I saw a jeweler's store.  I had been toying with the idea of buying something for Valerie for a while.  I knew it would make her prom night extra special.  If I got something now, hopefully it would convince her that I was committed to being with her despite the danger.  And, hopefully, an additional incentive for keeping me after the second month of our relationship.  I figured she had no intention of breaking up with me at her usual mark, but doing a little extra wouldn’t hurt my chances either.

I looked around the case and saw beautiful diamonds and gems out of my price range.  There was a silver necklace with a small ruby gem.  It would go well with Valerie’s prom dress and it was her birthstone.

"Can I see that one?" I asked the jeweler.

He delicately passed it to me.  My eyes traced over the gem, as if caressing it.

"What an alluring necklace.  I'm sure she'll love it."

"Yeah," I said, glancing back at the speaker.

A man of Middle Eastern ancestry, immaculately dressed in a suit, stood near the door way.  I had a feeling he didn't work here.

"She'd have to be a monster not to."

I turned to examine the man closer.  He scratched his neck, while grinning at me.  The image reminded me of Tyrone Biggums, a crackhead the comedian Dave Chappelle portrayed as part of his TV show.  Unless the muscular man from that night in the woods could change his racial make-up and lose almost hundred pounds at will, it wasn’t him.  And, given the difference in dress and mannerisms, the two had no reason to hang out.

"Um, I'm going to come back later," I said to the jeweler.

"Oh, alright," said the salesman.

I gently returned the necklace.  I exited the store giving the man a nasty look on my way out.

"You, though, look completely human to me."

"What else would I be?" I said, not stopping.

"A Succubus," he whispered.

I turned and glared at him.  The man in the suit walked closer to me.  His hands were out in front of his chest with the finger tips clapping as he moved.

"Or would it be an Incubus, as you're male?  She did tell you about the Incubi, right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied nervously. 

"Does that work on your teachers, Miles?  Or your Aunt Beverly?  Blatantly, obviously lying about something."

My anxiety quickly shifted to agitation.  "What do you want?"

"Everything.  But, at the moment, the most exciting question in the world is why a human teenager would knowingly be romantically involved with a Succubus."

"The same reason why a human teenager dates another human teenager:  because I love her."

I made a face after saying it.  Given our talk last night, I was still wary of using the l-word to describe my feelings for Valerie.

"You don't look so sure." 

I didn't know what to say.  The man in the suit began pacing.  The people around us strolled through the mall, engaged in their conversations, oblivious to us. 

"But you do feel something for her.  That much is undeniable… and unbelievable.” 

He made a sound, something between a cough and a laugh.  “Maybe you haven’t seen her transformed,” he said.  His longer index finger and thumb, both with a sharp nail, stroked his chin.  “That would really make you question your devotion.”

Had Valerie mentioned that she could transform?  I shook my head.  I couldn’t let him confuse me.

"Are you with the man we saw yesterday?"

"The Hunter?  I'm not with him romantically if that's what you mean."

"No, that's not-"

"Then say what you mean,” he said.  He scratched his neck again, and then snarled his teeth as he spoke again.  “You children today are so wasteful with words.  I expect better from you since you date a Succubus."

“And why's that?" I asked, genuinely curious.

“Because different words apply to different emotions.  I bet you think anger and rage are equivalent?"

I didn't respond.

He chortled.  "No, Miles, they aren't.  They different points on the same emotional continuum.  Anger is controllable.  But rage, blind rage, is far from it.  And while the line between the two is thin, they have a distinct taste to a Succubus.  A distinct shade of-"

I stared at him.

"You're curious.  And your affection for Valerie Wingfield has already led you to make foolish, dangerous decisions."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"Actually, I will.  The next time you interfere with the Hunter, you won't come out unscathed.  Consider that before taking your relationship with Valerie any deeper.  Like by buying her a necklace."

"I'm not afraid of your Hunter.  I'll take him on or anybody that-"

He disappeared.  Just as swiftly and mysteriously as he showed up.

I found myself staring into the space he had occupied seconds before, expecting him to reappear at any moment.  Even after Malik appeared in my line of vision.  He had to snap his fingers at my face to break my concentration. 

"Hey, who was that guy you were talking to?" Malik asked.  He carried his suit, covered in plastic, over his shoulder. 

"You saw him?"

"Uh, yeah.  He was here when I first looked over, but then some lovely little thing caught my eye.  When I looked again, he was gone."

"Yeah...” I replied as we started walking to the mall exit.  “What's this about you getting distracted by another girl?"

Malik shrugged.  "You know what I mean.  Other girls aren't any less pretty since we're in relationships. They just aren't worth more than a glance now."

"Lynn's turned you into a new man."

"Ha, whatev."

The conversation naturally slipped into a comfortable silence, giving me a chance to process that madness that had just occurred.  What in the world was that guy?  If he could disappear like that, there was no way he could be human.  Maybe he was an Incubus.  I'd talk to Valerie about this later.  The situation was so insane.

"Hey, think Lynn and I will win the write-in for cutest couple?" Malik asked, breaking into my train of that.

I thought for a moment for something casual and normal to say.  "Not when Valerie and I are your competition."

"Pssh, competition isn't the word I would use."