Aisha fell to her knees in the sand and panted. Above the succubus loomed a little stone pillar that belonged to Silass, the nineteen-year-old mystic of the Sinai desert. Aisha had journeyed for days to reach his rumored location in the hope of finding a hermit young enough to make her task enjoyable. Having lost a wager with her fellow demons, her penalty was to venture to the mortal realm and have sex with a stylite - a pillar-dwelling Christian ascetic.
The first six stylites Aisha had found were either unbearably old or wielded such power and connection to God that she was terrified to even approach their lofty towers. But only a weak divine presence surrounded Silass's pillar, which was unsurprising considering that a hermit of his age was presumably just beginning his gnostic journey. Aisha could comfortably gaze upon his figure as he meditated on his platform, outlined against the hard blue firmament. His pillar was only two fathoms high - comically small compared to those of other stylites. Yes, he would be easy prey.
"Ho there!" said the boy, rising to his feet. "Traveler! Why do you disturb my prayers? Do you seek my counsel? Do you need intercession?"
"I have brought food for you," said Aisha.
"Bless you, kind woman! There is a pole over there, if you would-"
"I will climb up and give it to you."
"Oh. Well, I would prefer-"
"I am intent on communing with you, brother Silass!" Aisha kicked off her sandals and stepped up to the base of the tower.
"Fine, sister in Christ, you are welcome here but I insist that you veil your hair; this house belongs to the Lord, and I shall not allow women to tempt me, for as Paul instructed the Corinthians..."
Aisha ignored his babbling and slipped her fingers and toes in gaps between the stones. Her human form was muscular and dexterous, so she had no trouble ascending the tower, but her heartbeat quickened as each step took her farther from the Earth and closer to the heavens. The top of the tower flared out with a lip making it difficult to finish the climb, and Aisha made certain not to look down as she swung her body over the top.
"Woman! I say again, put on a veil!" Silass, who squatted on the opposite side of the platform, watched Aisha with indignation and fright. The boy was clearly not used to seeing a woman up close, especially one like Aisha with her generous curves and her long, luscious black hair. The boy must have been here for months; he was grimy with dust and clothed in tattered gray rags, but had not yet declined to the decrepit constitution of a lifelong stylite.
"I am Aisha, pleased to meet you."
"Pleasure," Silass grumbled. "Please share my water." He indicated a jug beside him, which was apparently his only possession. Aisha poured some water on her fouta towel.
"Hey, you are wasting it!"