One More Meal Before We Leave

The city gate loomed tall over the houses and people and trees. It used to be in disrepair when the Witch first arrived a hundred years or so ago. Since then, they had commissioned stonemasons and her magic to repair the walls, and now it looked whole and strong again.

Invisible to the naked eye, a giant magical dome hovered protectively over the citizens, ever defending, ever strong.

Inside the walls, around the perimeter of the city, were multitudes of obsidians, each as tall as a human. They hummed quietly with magic, powering the barrier. These obsidians protected the city against attacks from monsters and invasions from humans. If needed, they also protect the city from severe weather disasters, like extreme thunderstorms, that could cause flooding and damage structures.

The Witch and the Succubus were close to leaving the city, but the Succubus wanted one last thing before they truly headed out onto the road.

“My Lady, I want some meat skewers before we leave,” the Succubus said, glancing excitedly at the meat stand next to the gate.

“I thought you ate your fill already,” the Witch said. She wasn’t really that curious about the answer, but it seemed like a logical question to ask someone who just had a three-course meal that turned into a six-course feast. “You had plenty of meat already,” she said.

Sensing the meaning behind the Witch’s question, the Succubus smiled. “Oh, My Lady, this and that are feeding different stomachs.”

“But you don’t need physical food like the other demons,” the Witch said. “Now that I think about it, even last time, you liked to eat human foods.”

Succubi, unlike other demons, could survive and live just fine by partaking in the life energies of their prey.

“It’s an honor you remembered me from 135 years ago,” the Succubus beamed.

“Having a succubus as a Guide was a memorable experience,” the Witch said, all lights extinguishing in her eyes, not that there was much to begin with.

Thinking back, she remembered all sorts of things she didn’t want to remember or even have knowledge about. She couldn’t remember how many times she had walked in on the Succubus, her body contorted in various positions.

After the first two weeks, the Witch had become numb to the encounters. By the end of their trip, the Witch felt like she could write a book, complete with illustrations she never wanted to draw about the dexterity of the human body when pleasure was the motivation. The worst part was that she felt the book would sell well and earn her a lot of money.

Depending on how this trip went, she might request that her future guides not be a succubus, if there would be more future trips.

Out of sight, out of mind, even if it was just for a moment, so the Witch sent the Succubus to the grill stand. “Don’t come back until you finish eating. I’ll wait here for you.”

While the Succubus was getting her food, the Witch tilted her head up to examine the barrier. She might be gone for a while, so she wanted to make sure the barrier was alright. In her eyes, the barrier looked like a giant soap bubble. Its rainbow iridescent colors swirled about depending on what kind of energy was more concentrated in that area of the barrier.

The obsidians protecting the city were part of a magical device invented by wizards of the Golden Age centuries ago, before the Witch was born, before the war between humans and demons that depleted the population of magical beings.

Even though magical technology advancements leaped by bounds during the war, as arcane artificers died year after year, there were not that many of them left after a century of wars. The Witch was the last generation of arcane artificers that went to battle with demons, and even then, they hardly held ground.

As the Witch squinted up at the barrier, a tall cloaked man bumped into her. The Witch yelped and jerked away as pain shot up her right arm. Underneath the man’s cloak was metal armor. Although there was nothing sharp that hit her, she still felt pain from the smooth-surfaced armor for some reason.

“My apologies,” he said, his face half hidden underneath his hood as he bent his head in an apologetic gesture. At his waist, a flash of steel revealed his cautious hand on his sword. He must have been surprised as well.

“I’m alright,” the Witch said, lightly touching her right arm. Her arm was feeling slightly numb, possibly because the bump might have caused a pinched nerve when she jerked away. She gave her shoulder a twirl.

The man nodded and went on his way.

Even though the Witch’s shoulder and arm moved fine, something didn’t feel right. It was still numb.

“That was filling. My Lady, I got you a skewer too!” the Succubus said, walking back to the Witch with a stick stuffed with juicy grilled meat.

The Witch reached out with her right to take the food. Her fingers tingled, and she saw that the tips of her nails were crumbling into dust. The Witch almost thought she was hallucinating until the Succubus also gasped in shock and rushed over.

“What happened? What’s this?” the Succubus said, staring at her hand in disbelief. The demon wanted to touch her fingers but stopped for fear that even the Witch’s finger might start crumbling. Instead, the demon hovered her hand over the Witch’s, not knowing what to do.

“I think I just ran into one of the paladins,” the Witch said. “Maybe his Holy Power…”

“No, it’s still too soon,” the Succubus said. “Do you feel anything else?”

“No, my arm is still numb. Looks like the deterioration has stopped for now, and my fingers are still intact,” the Witch said, looking at the uneven edges of nails left on her fingers. She had never been so grateful that she was lazy in cutting her nails.

“My Lady, will you let me…?” the Succubus reached for the Witch’s arm. The Witch nodded.

The Succubus placed her hand on the Witch’s arm and transferred some demonic energy from the middle of her palm into the Witch.

Slowly, feeling returned to the Witch’s arm. When her arm was well enough, she patted the Succubus’s hand to stop.

“I always hoped my trips could be peaceful, but I never get my wish,” the Witch said wistfully.

“No matter what, as your Guide, I’ll always stay by your side, My Lady,” the Succubus said.

The Witch looked up at the Succubus, who met her eyes with great determination. “I know. Every one of you has always kept your promise. After all, you don’t want your Lord to be angry at you, either.”

The Succubus blinked and said, “That’s not the whole reas—”

“You also didn’t become one of the strongest just to die as well,” the Witch said, not wanting to hear any excuses or flattery from the Succubus, and grabbed the meat skewer from the Succubus’s hand and headed toward the gate.