Page 2 of Instructed By the Summoner
“It’s not difficult to summon the wrong class of demon,” Xak said, sounding more prim than menacing. Aprimincubus. That was it. Xak was changing his major. “But, no. People don’t generally summon incubi to kill people. Still, I’m not…”
He could taste the man’s interest, mingled with the magic. Anyone could summon a demon if they knew the technique. But true magic was rare in humans. He’d not expect to feel the rush of it, lust and power, on his first summoning. It was very intriguing.
Distracting. He meant distracting.
“Not…”Verydistracting. “You were intending to summon an incubus?”
“I intended to summon you, an incubus, yeah.” The human sounded almost offended that Xak might think otherwise. “With your name, not a class generalized summons; I was hoping for sex, not an exorcism-to-be. Do all demons come equipped with paperwork?”
“Only when we’re on filing duty,” Xak answered absently, trying not to be distracted by the way the man’s tongue wetted his full lips, or the pull ofhunger.“Sorry, you were trying to summonme?”
If he was, then this reallywassome plot by Lord Daskimos or one of Xak’s trickster friends.
“Properly. Ididminor in demonology. I know to summon demons by name.” The human held up an aged sheet of paper, tapping it with one finger. “See?”
Xak took a half-step forward, all he could manage within the circle. Even that was enough to flood his senses. He’d read all about the power that existed in desire, but he’d never had access to it before. As it turned out, Lord Daskimos was right. The theory was a dry shadow when compared to having a very fetching feast standing in front of you.
A feast who, Xak could now see, had much higher ambitions for his evening than a virgin incubus-to-be.
“That’s not my name,” he said, swallowing unexpected hurt. All that want wasn’t actually for him. “There, at the end, that’s a fricative trill not an alveolar trill. So,rnotrr. He’s legendary, though. Very … fierce.”
Xak stepped back, waiting for the human to dismiss him. He could do it himself, but the manhadsummoned him. The least he could do was send Xak back to Hell instead of making him do it the hard way.
Whatever he expected, it wasn’t the mingled frustration and disappointment in the man’s emotions as he carefully set the paper he’d shown Xak on a nearby table.
“Thisreallyisn’t my night.”
It wasn’t Xak’s either. For a second, he’d almost hoped… But it didn’t matter.
“I could help you with the pronunciation,” he offered. “You could still call him.”
The man shook his head and dragged his fingers through his thick, dark hair.
“No, that’s– Look, I’ve already had one guy try to get ‘fierce’ with me tonight. I really don’t need some legendary incubus pulling the same thing.” The man studied Xak again, lips turning up in a sad smile. “Besides, you’re the most attractive person I’ve seen in the whole thirty years of my life, and not terrifying even with the filing. I would’ve used the alveolar trill on purpose if I’d known the difference. Just so you know. I’ll, uhm. I’ll send you back now. Sorry for bothering you.”
Xak blinked at the barrage of words, hurt drowned out first by confusion and then concern. The man was so honest. And Xak didn’t like the taste of his unhappiness, threading through the lust.
The lust though … that wasdelicious.
For the first time in his life, Xak wished he were a true incubus, not out of guilt or frustration with his own failings, but because then he might be who the human was looking for. He might be able to touch him and chase away that unhappiness, make the power in him taste all the sweeter.
“I’m not an incubus,” he said in a rush, skin hot. “Not … officially. Not until I complete my first summoning, and I haven’t.” He shrugged helplessly, wanting to pace, but the summoning circle was too small. “So, I’ve never… It’s traditional to wait until the first summoning. Which. I have. Waited. If you tell me what you’re seeking in a partner, I can recommend someone. Someone experienced.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being a virgin,” the human said, studying Xak with new curiosity. “Social construct and, like, we all are at one point. Some people their whole lives.”
Despite himself, Xak laughed a little at the human’s attempt at reassurance, fangs flashing. Maybe the summoner could talk to Lord Daskimos about social constructs for him.
“Nothing wrongunlessyou’re an incubus.” Xak’s laughter quickly faded into a wry smile. “Sex is supposed to be part of the package. Sexisthe package.”
“Does not being an official incubus mean you don’t do the whole feeding on emotional energy thing?”
“No, I–” Probably best not to say he could already taste the human’s desire, and even though he couldn’t feed from within the circle, he’d stand here as long as he was allowed, just to keep tasting it. “I absolutely do. Theoretically.”
“That really sucks. Not the feeding. That you need to do something or, uhm, someone you don’t want to. And that you’re made to feel wrong about it. I don’t– I’m not good at that. Doing stuff that gives me the ick.”
“Why would you be?” Xak asked, with genuine distaste. “I know we do things differently, but even between humans, sex should be an exchange of pleasure.”
It was the human’s turn to laugh. Like Xak, he sounded more frustrated than amused.
