This is my first NonHuman entry, and I would adore some reader feedback.
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The Nephilim were on the earth in those days-and also afterward-when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
Genesis 6:4
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I recognized him for what he was almost immediately. It's not obvious if you don't know what you're looking for. The white, unhealthy pallor passes for normal pale most of the time in the dimly lit club setting, which is their modern preferred hunting ground. The fangs are retractable; you'll never see them until it's too late. They don't actually shy away from crosses or garlic, at least not any more than they avoid all other foods. There is only one food to them, and it is everything. Blood. The stories get a lot of stuff wrong. Most are too tame, leaving out the overtly sexual aspect of a vampire feeding. They have a certain something that attracts mortals to them like moths to a lamp. They can have sex with humans, and frequently do. No offspring ever result from this, mostly because the human never lives, but vampires are sterile anyway. That whole undead thing.
This one was using his supernatural charm on a group of girls. They were absolutely fawning over him, no doubt each was secretly despising the other girls for being there and forcing her to share the attention. A tall blonde girl laughed at something he said, placing her arm against his and fluttering her lashes. The other girls glared. Vampires have that effect on people. They're attractive, charming, charismatic, and the humans can't believe their luck when they're chosen by one - right up until the point the vampire rips their throat out and sucks them dry.
Movies and stories romanticize this aspect. Real vampires don't sparkle, they don't fall in love with mortals, and they never, ever stop feeding once they've started. That is, unless someone like me stops them. I have charms and skills of my own - I'm half succubus. My mother passed on the best of the succubus traits to me, and none of the flaws. Kind of like that Blade vampire in the movies. All I have to do is concentrate, and I can make any man fall under my spell. Any woman too, for that matter, but most of the time I prefer men. They are naturally stronger physically - sexist but true - and I can feed off of them longer.
Yes, I feed on them. Not blood or anything so crude as the vampires, but their life source, their energy. You can't see it, and the more sexual the relationship, the more I can take in. The sex is perfectly pleasant for them, I assure you. I never feed on them for too long; unlike vampires, I can stop. In fact, I can go for years without feeding, but I don't like to, as it slows down my reflexes and weakens me. As a vampire hunter, I need to be sharp. I'm stronger than mortals by nature, but a few months without feeding will reduce me to little more than an exceptionally charming and magnetically attractive human woman.
I have reason to believe that vampires killed my mother. Succubi and vampires don't feed on each other, but like most supernatural species, they hate each other. There are bigger politics at work in our secret underground than you might think. For a society that remains hidden from humans, we have surprisingly major issues. My mother was involved in many, and I believe the vamps sent an assassin to take her out. I'm not positive, but that's my suspicion. I don't need confirmation to validate my hunting; vampires are the scourge of our society, reviled by all other supernaturals. For the most part, killing humans is frowned upon, though our society does little to actually enforce it. When my mother died, I was raised by a human. Penny knew what my mother was, she knew what I was, yet she still took me in and gave me shelter. She was an extraordinary woman, and I still mourn her loss, but when you are as long-lived as most supernaturals, you can't get overly attached to mortal humans without expecting to lose them.
My relationship with humans is closer than the average supernatural, because of her. It's also partially because of Penny that I hunt down the vampires and try to stop them BEFORE they destroy another human life. It's not easy, you have to track them to whatever lair they bring the human back to and break in before the feeding begins, but preferably after the sex, so they're distracted and easier to stake. That part the movies get right. I never leave home at night without a wooden stake strapped into my ankle holster.
I watched the vamp across the room smiling at the girls They usually only take one human at a time, even with a vamp's speed and strength, two can be a lot to handle. As soon as one girl gets bit, the other freaks out and tries to escape, and the vampire is unable to tear themselves from the feed to rein the escapee in. I've seen it happen. Unfortunately I can't always get in to their lair in time to save the humans. The vamp appeared to zeroing in on the tall blonde who'd touched his arm earlier. It would appear his target was acquired.
I sighed. I should have fed earlier today, but I hadn't planned to be hunting tonight. As a succubus, it was easy for me to avoid the bore of having a 'day job'. I set myself up as the mistress of a few wealthy men in town, and they were only too happy to provide me with an apartment, car, and spending money. I used them, yes, but they also used me - for the best sex of their lives. I promise you not one of them regrets the arrangement, and they have more than enough money to spare. Thursdays I usually met with James, but he was out of town on a business trip this week. I'd been sitting at home, out of habit, restless and bored when I decided to go out. I hadn't planned to hunt, exactly, my thoughts had been leaning more toward finding a snack.
Yes, I have men on the side too. I like to feed often when I'm hunting, and I won't drain my main sources of all their energy. Succubi have nothing to fear from mortal diseases and infections, we're completely immune. I can sleep with the entire city condom free and I'll never catch anything. Our bio systems just aren't set up that way, although we look and feel perfectly normal, even in the bedroom. It's a good thing too, given that sex is our source of food. We can't get pregnant by full-blooded mortals either, although sometimes half or quarter blood supernatural and human mixes can impregnate us. They don't always know what they are either, so a girl has to be careful. Other races don't have the same safety from pregnancy with mortals that we have. Fae and human mixes are especially common, and most of them have no idea. Sometimes I can tell right away if they're half something, but not always. Better safe than sorry, and I pack condoms everywhere I go.
Tonight was not going to be a feeding night for me after all, but at least I could make sure it wouldn't be one for the vamp. He appeared to be coaxing the blonde into leaving with him, much to the chagrin of her friends, who looked on jealously. She was demurely flirting, dropping her eyes and playing hard to get. He cajoled some more, using every ounce of his vampiric charm, not that he needed to; she'd been his from the moment he'd said hello. No girl wants to be seen as easy, so hence the pretended reluctance. She turned to her friends, presumably saying goodbye. 'I'll call you,' she mouthed at them, holding up her hand with pinky and thumb extended in the universal sign for phone. The other girls smiled bitterly, envy written clearly across their faces. The vamp took her hand and led her across the room, smiling winningly. I quaffed the rest of my gin and tonic - succubus bio systems also mean I process alcohol quickly, so no worries about it impairing my abilities - and picked up my purse as I followed them from a distance.
The vamp and the blonde made their way outside, and stood on the sidewalk while he hailed a cab. I stepped forward as well, hoping there would be another one in quick succession so I wouldn't lose them. Luck was with me, and no sooner had they pulled away from the curb when another cheerful yellow cab appeared. I hopped in and buckled up.
"Follow that cab," I said. It was a cliché, but it was all too often the case in my life. I sighed a little inwardly. Here we go again. The cabbie didn't even blink at my request, just nodded and pulled away. We followed the vamp a few blocks before his cab pulled over. "Stop here," I requested. We were a block behind them, the better to escape the vamp's notice. I stayed seated, fishing out money, while the vampire led the blonde girl into an apartment building. I cursed silently. This made things more complicated. Handing the cabbie his fare and a generous tip, I bolted from the cab as soon as the door closed behind the vamp and the blonde, speed walking to the apartment building's door. Fortunately it wasn't a key access one, just an ordinary door. I opened it and stepped inside. The vamp was gone.
