Finally, he pinpointed their location, and gazed directly at a patch of shadows that was criss-crossed with braces holding up the stand.
“Come out,” he said. “I know you’re there.”
Even as he said it, he was conscious of the fact that he was unarmed. Despite the fact he wasn’t mixing with the public, the chances of him being seen with a weapon strapped to his back was too high to risk. He flexed his empty hands nervously. Coming out without weapons was a serious miscalculation given that he was outnumbered. Possibly his last.
Sliding out of the shadows as if they were part of them came three young females. All three were dressed in tight fitting black clothing that revealed almost as much as it covered. They were all fantastically beautiful, so much so that Sam realized he’d stopped breathing. They could have been triplets other than the fact that each had different coloured hair.
“Hello, Samael,” breathed the red-haired one.
“Very nice to see you in the flesh,” giggled the brunette. “So to speak.”
The blonde grinned seductively at him. “We’ve been dying to meet you.”
Sam finally remembered to breathe, difficult though it was. These woman were the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen, annd they were here for him. Something was whispering at him again. These woman were his, to do with as he chose. His brain felt dulled, his thoughts murky.
Suddenly, a voice broke through the whispered promises, shattering the spell. It was Aimi, leading the cheer. He could hear her clearly and the sound punched clean through to his heart, the revelation falling upon him so quickly that he staggered with shock. He knew now what he faced. These weren’t woman. Not even close. They were Greater Demons — succubi — sent from Hell to seduce him.
Now that he could see clearly, he could make out the small horns peeking out of their long, wild hair. As they recongnised the change in him, their expressions suddenly hardened.
“What has that little tramp got that we haven’t?” asked the brunette archly.
“We’ve got a whole lot more.” The red head ran her hands suggestively down her womanly curves.
“And there are three of us,”added the blonde, smirking at him. She poked her tongue out lasciviously.
They stepped closer. His feet felt as if they were embedded in the soil beneath him. He couldn’t move. His mind was crying out for him to flee but his body just wouldn’t do it.
They crept even closer, their lithe bodies moving with the sensual smoothness of a serpent. The brunette reached out and touched him. Her slim hands were tipped with long nails which she ran down his arm. Too late, he remembered Hikari’s warning. Under no circumstances should he allow a succubus to touch him. Even through the long sleeve of his hoodie, he could feel the sensation, filling his body with burning desire.
The other two joined their sister, running their hands over his body. He wanted to cry out or flee — or both — but only sounds of pleasure emerged from his throat. He sank to his knees, his body lost in pleasure while his mind screamed soundlessly. Covering his body with theirs, the succubi smothered him, their happy cries merging with his own. They pulled down his hood and ran loving hands through his hair, stroking the horns that protruded from his head. Sam lost all track of time until, suddenly, a voice pierced the fog in his mind.
It was Hikari, come to check up on his student. “Sam? Sam, are you in there?”
“Here!” Sam managed to grunt.
The three succubi hissed with displeasure, fading back into the shadows as Sam’s master approached.
“Sam? Are you ok?” Hikari bent down to help him up but Sam shook off his hand angrily.
Somewhat jerkily, Sam got to his feet, then raced out of the cover of the stand and straight into Joshua. While Sam had been under the spell of the succubi, the game had finished. Led by Joshua, the players were walking through the tunnel and into the changing rooms.
Joshua. All Sam could think of was the way the other boy had looked at Aimi. Hatred filled him instantly. Without thinking, he grabbed the other boy by the throat and lifted him off his feet one-handed.
Behind him, all the other players stood in stunned silence, staring at Sam’s head, not reaching out to intervene.
“Sam,” Joshua gasped, terrified. “Your eyes, they’re … Let me go!”
Sam roared in fury, forcing the other players to take a step backwards. No-one wanted to interfere, and it took Sam another enraged, confused moment to work out why. The succubi had removed his hood and now his horns and his furious scarlet eyes — were on plain display.
“That’s enough, Sam,”shouted Hikari, emerging from the darkness under the stand. “Let him go.”
Sam looked around in confusion. The red glow in his eyes drained away. Suddenly, he became aware of what he was doing. He dropped Joshua, and the other boy collapsed onto the ground, gasping and holding his throat.
As the other boys in the team continued to stare mutely at Sam, unsure what to do, the silence was broken by the sound of running footsteps. Aimi pushed herself through the other players.
“Sam? Sam, are you okay?” she asked, her face creased with concern. Suddenly she noticed the other boy huddled at Sam’s feet. “Oh, Sam. What have you done?”
Crouching to help Joshua, she looked up at him, the accusation clear on her face. It was too much for Sam to take. He did what he always did when he didn’t know what to do.
He ran.
Much later, Aimi tracked him down, sitting in the darkness amongst the plants in their garden. He could feel how careful she was not to startle him as she slowly sat down beside him.
“How are you, Sunshine?” she asked gently.
Sam raised his head briefly from his knees to glare at her. “How do you think?”
“Judging from the fact that you’re out here by yourself, I’d say that you were probably embarrassed,” she replied, the tone in her voice light.
Sam buried his face back into his knees. “You could say that,” was his muffled response. “I’m a monster.”
Aimi shuffled closer to him and put one tiny arm around his shoulders. “You aren’t a monster, but I am curious as to what happened tonight.”
“Did Hikari not tell you?”
Aimi shook her head. “Tell me what?”
“About the succubi.”
Aimi looked horrified. Like Sam, Aimi knew most of the demon names by heart. “No! He said he saw some figures in the shadows but he couldn’t make out what they were.”
“They … they were trying to do things to me. I wanted to stop them, but I couldn’t.”
Aimi’s eyes slowly widened as realisation struck her. “They didn’t …?”
Sam shook his head. “No,” he said. “Thank God. Hikari coming along just as he did took them by surprise. If he hadn’t though …” He left the last bit unsaid.
“It’s not your fault.” Aimi hugged him closer. “They are she- demons from Hell, bred specifically to seduce men. What chance did you possibly have?”
“I should have resisted somehow. I should’ve done something, anything. Instead, I just stood there and let them … touch me.” Sam’s face crumpled with disgust at the thought.
“No man has the power to resist their charms. You did what any other man would have done.”
“But that’s just it, isn’t it?” He sat up angrily. “I’m not just any other man. In fact, I’m no man at all. I’m a demon.”
“You are a man, and a good one. Have you even considered that your demon blood would make you just as susceptible to their charms?”
Sam didn’t answer. He just sat there feeling miserable, as Aimi tried to comfort him. Perhaps she was right but it didn’t make him feel any better.
“Why do you think they were here?” she asked.
Sam shrugged. “They must know what’s coming and want me on their side. All I have to do is submit and I’ll be lost. They keep tempting me and this time, they almost succeeded.”
“But they didn’t, did they? They can keep trying as much as they like, but they won’t win. I know they won’t. I know what’s in your heart. You can’t affect something as true and good as that.”They sat in silence for a moment. “And what was that about with Joshua?” she asked.