To say that the ride back to the city was uncomfortable would be a gross understatement. Junior had gone through much since the death of his father, but he could say, without a doubt, that riding in a dark carriage holding the head of Luke Tome while he contemplated his impending death was undoubtedly the worse event of his life.

What unsettled him was the suddenness of it. No matter what indignity Fen subjected him to, he expected it. His torment was as certain as the rising sun. His death, the very opposite.

His life connected Fen to his realm. The succubi had plans for his world. No matter what, they would protect the lives of their summoners. He might not keep all his limbs, he might live worse than a dog, he might even be driven insane, but Junior never doubted he would live a very long life. Even if he wanted to die, Fen would never allow it.

Now, she was certain they would both die. Worse, she wasn’t fighting it, which went against everything he knew of the creature. Succubi were as arrogant as they were capable. Before today, he couldn’t imagine Fen backing down from a challenge. No matter the problem, an immortal life and a keen mind could wear it down to something manageable. Leashing a drakkon? Impregnating it to build an army of the creatures? Sheer madness but Fen had leaped at the challenge with a smile.

Yet, an angry Lou, Lou for saints’ sake, had her stymied. He knew his old rival was more formidable these days, but Fen controlled over a dozen succubi that had spread their influence throughout the capital. She kept him from knowing anything important, but he would have to be blind not to notice the massive amount of wealth his thrall moved through the estate, more recently out of the capital. She should have more than enough resources to take on one summoner. Even if she didn’t want to kill Lou, she should be able to wrap the young woman around her finger.

He was confused that she seemed reluctant to try. It said he was missing crucial information. Something he’d grown accustomed to, but it was much harder to accept with his life on the line.

The carriage came to a stop and a moment later, Fen threw open the door. She waved impatiently for him to hop out and led the way into the estate. The normally busy halls were empty, the other succubi and staff having evacuated. Junior quietly followed her to the study, a room that he should have made his own as the patriarch of the family. It hadn’t changed a bit from the last day his father sat behind the large desk, but his mind already considered it Fen’s space.

In the doorway, she carefully took Luke Tome’s head, gently setting it on the middle of the desk as she took a seat. Junior grimaced as he noticed the small bloodstains on the sleeves of his shirt, but he put his disgust aside. “Are you ready to talk now?”

“Watch your tone,” she said sternly, never looking up from the head.

“Does it matter? We’re apparently going to die soon.”

She finally looked up. Her human visage did nothing to soften the alien indifference behind her eyes. “I’ll punish you for that later. For now, you should at least understand why you’re going to die.”

Junior grit his teeth but held his silence.

“When summoning is spread to new worlds, it’s common practice not to share the dangers. Every sentient being is eager to have an unquestionably loyal servant of immense power and beauty to do their bidding. No one wants to hear about the creatures that incapacitate their summoners, turn their minds inside out, or devour them one finger at a time. They certainly don’t tell summoners that every time they power a circle, they risk death.”

The hair on Junior’s neck stood on end. “What does that mean?”

“It’s amusing to me that you berated your fellow summoners for their inability to think beyond their own experience when you possess of the same fault. The circle invites the Guardian of Dimensions to open a rift in space. A door. While you intend for a particular being to walk through it, an open door is open to any who can find it.”

“Then…something else came through the door?”

“Something indeed.” The succubus sighed. “There is so much you don’t know, little boy. You can’t imagine the creatures throughout the realms but even if you traveled a thousand worlds over a hundred lifetimes, it wouldn’t be enough to understand the things that live between realms. I speak from experience.”

A finger tapped the side of her head. “Have you ever wondered why every succubi is so competent? Those of the same faction share memories. The higher our circle, the more of our collective knowledge we have access to. I am merely circle three but that still means knowledge of countless worlds gathered over a length of time that would break your feeble mind.

“This is normally privileged information but I’m sharing it so you understand the weight of my words. Despite the collective experience of every succubus in my faction, enough knowledge to drown every human mind in this kingdom, we do not know what these things are. We do not know what they look like, what they sound like, or what they want. If they can speak, they’ve never chosen to do so. We have tried to connect with their minds and there is only one thought to be found. Hunger.

“That’s what motivates them. Pure hunger. They go by several names but the simplest translation to Common is lurkers, for that is exactly what they do. They swim through the void between realms, hungering for that which doesn’t exist in the immaterial. Some unsuspecting summoner or arrogant null caster opens a tear in space and they smell the life they hunger for, drawing them. If the caster is lucky, they’ll complete their business before the lurker can reach them and the creature moves on. If they aren’t, it steps through the door. Some are actually smart enough to put down protections on their door but lurkers are the only creature that can go through any barrier. Nothing can stop them.

“Thankfully, for the grace of the Guardian, they cannot stay on any realm for long. It is especially strict with them. They have but a moment before they are pulled back to the void but a moment is all they need. You saw the devastation it unleashed. If it stays true to pattern, it would have taken at least one of the summoners for a snack as well.”

“Saints.” The information was world-shattering. Summoning had survived because it was seen as a consequence-free path to power for the magically stunted. A contract was needed to bind an elemental, but unfavorable terms could always be rejected. A properly powered circle couldn’t be crossed, no matter how strong the visitor. Summoning was meant to be safe.

If it was known that every summoning risked inviting some Abyss spawn, the art would be purged from the kingdom with a vengeance. Perhaps by the summoners.

“Lurkers are incredibly strong. So strong nothing that stands against them survives. Nothing. You are lucky that there were other targets to take its attention or you wouldn’t have survived. Your master casters wouldn’t have survived. The drakkon wouldn’t have survived. I almost dare to say the dragons of your world wouldn’t have survived.”

“Surely you’re exaggerating,” Junior replied instinctively.

“No, boy, I’m not. I said they can cross any barrier. That’s because their strength is unmatched and no magic can stop them. Worse, contact with them saps…what I can only describe as the life out of creatures. Wounds they inflict can’t be healed.”

“That’s why you didn’t try to heal him…” Junior’s gaze moved to the head on the desk, his stomach roiling as he looked into the wide eyes.

“Mm. Even if every succubus on Burning Earth used every drop of mana they have, it wouldn’t have made a difference. Those things are unnatural.” Fen stared at him. “I’m telling you this so you know there is nothing I could have done to prevent what happened. The moment I felt its immense hunger, I warned everyone in the room but all except your mind naturally resisted the command. When Lou undoubtedly asks, I can truthfully say I did all I could and no amount of preparations would have given a different result. And it will not matter.”

“Why not? Lou isn’t unreasonable.” She could have done much worse to him but had opted to use him instead and she had many more reasons to hate him as opposed to Fen.

Fen chuckled. “Reason? Her father has just been taken from her. Where does reason come into this? You’re a fool if you think rationality will stay her hand. Unlike your predecessors, she isn’t ignoring our true nature. No matter what I tell her, she will always wonder if her father’s death was a part of some plot. She’ll resent me and every other succubus because of it. If we’re lucky, she’ll kill me. That is acceptable. What is unacceptable is that she pushes us away.”

“You…why are all of you so obsessed with her? Saints’ blessed asses, she’s just one woman,” he snapped, a long-held frustration finally slipping out.

The thrall only sneered at him, the way someone might look at a diseased rat dying in their foyer. “Lou is Lou and that is all she needs to be. Do not think of things that do not concern you.”

“Then, please. What does concern me? Perhaps a plan to save both our lives? I would rather not die.”

“Mm. I refuse to take any action that could make the situation worse but…perhaps we can mitigate the consequences. If her anger is divided…” The thrall nodded to herself. “Yes. We simply have to make her angrier at someone else than she will be at us.”

“Who?”

“Anyone! The crown. The nobles. The peasants. Stray dogs and cats, goblins, trolls, dragons, the fucking clouds, anything!” Fen jumped to her feet. “Yes. This can work. It may not save our lives but…” She stepped around the desk and grabbed Junior’s shoulder. He winced at the tight grip. “You are going to be very busy, Junior.”