Chained in the Lab

Explanation

Henry

There had better be one hell of an explanation too. Contrary to human legend, Incubi weren't monsters. Though the stories made them out to be demonic rapists, the truth was much more nuanced. They did feed off of s****l desire, yes, but they didn't leave their partners as 1soulless husks. They could kill with a draining kiss, but they did not often do so. Henry hadn't heard of a case that wasn't in clear self-defense in five generations. Sure, some Incubi were playboy tomcats that'd sleep with anything vaguely capable of granting consent, but even the most promiscuous was insistent upon having that consent. Those who weren't, well, they didn't live to see a Summoning. You didn't find those ones outside of the Infernal because the other Incubi and Succubi killed them.

So, there was no logical reason for this being to be in chains. Not one that Henry could imagine. Still, this place had good credentials and Johann seemed like a decent guy, so Henry gave him the chance to explain himself. And, well, the Incubi was obviously capable of speech. If he felt he needed help he could speak up. Henry was honor-bound to do what it took to get him to a Warden or a Champion if he asked, and he had to know that.

"Oh, my, Johann," the Incubus spoke, looking up at Henry through his bangs. His tail twitched eagerly. "Who is this delightful morsel, now?"

"Zauriel," Johann said, "Meet Henry. He's the new guy. Grandma's a Veil Warden, so there's some magic blood in there. Figure we'd put him on the roster right away if you're both cool with it."

"Roster?" Henry asked.

"Zauriel here is contracted to the head scientist. You met him. Bit of a cold one, but a good guy. He's got Zauriel here to find out, well, a lot of things. Heard them yammering on about energy states and flux matter the other day, so it's over my pay grade for sure. Anyway. Zauriel stays in here, but of course, he'll starve without, um. You know. Company."

"s*x," Henry clarified.

Johann blushed crimson, while Zauriel snickered.

"Yeah, that. Uh. Yeah. So. We thought about hiring, uh, professionals. But. That's not really to Zauriel's taste, and it would get a bit expensive. So. Uh. Well, y'see, Zar's not all too bothered about gender, really, and the guards, um. We get, well, affected. Being right down the hall from his room. So."

"So the guards feed Zauriel. By having s*x with him," Henry finished. He looked down at Zauriel, who grinned.

"It's an equitable arrangement," Zauriel said. "I must admit I was shocked to be summoned by a scientist with no personal interest in my... charms. Still. I've my pick of strong, handsome partners, male and female, and my duties in return are not onerous. A blood sample here, a stress test there. They're working on a test for my max airspeed within the building. It's fun."

"Okay, all right," Henry mentally stepped back from crisis mode. "What's with the chains? This set up nearly gave me a coronary."

Johann frowned and shrugged. "The doc doesn't quite trust... that Zar'll stay put, I guess. I mean, he has to come back eventually because the doc's his contractor but..." he shrugged. "Doc says Zar's his responsibility and he wants to be sure no one can get hurt. So."

Henry's face must've shown his feelings about that because Zauriel laughed.

"No worries, Henry. I am, after all, terribly dangerous." He flashed fangs with a wink. Henry always wondered where those went during feeding. He'd been with a couple of Succubi and an Incubus in his time Underhill, and never gotten bitten. Well, not fang bitten. There'd been some hickeys. But that was part of the fun.

"Sure ya are," Henry drawled.

"Well, that and I'm quite fond of bondage," Zauriel winked. "Speaking of, is dear Annabeth on shift today?" He sounded honestly hopeful.

"Off until the weekend, I'm afraid," Johann said, voice apologetic. "She's maxed out her overtime this month."

Zar pouted. "Well. A pity. I'll have to console myself in this dear man's arms." He batted his eyes up at Henry. Literally batted his eyelashes. Henry choked back a laugh.

"And with that," Johann said, blushing again. Earth humans could be so easily embarrassed by such a little thing! "I'm gonna let you two, uh, get acquainted. And, uh, stuff. Um. Henry, if you don't feel comfortable with him feeding off of you, make a note on the little pad right over there, so we know to send someone else in."

"Not a problem," Henry said. Then. "Were you serious about a roster? Like a... schedule of..." He shook his head, unsure how to word such a thing.

"Not exactly," Johann said. "The doc keeps notes on who visits when, and, uh, there's cameras but no one watches them, it's for Zar's safety is all. You can even block them if you're not into exhibition. They only point to the door area. We just need to know who comes and goes, make sure he is getting fed enough and no one person is feeding too often. Addiction is a thing that has happened. Zar's careful but you can never tell who's susceptible until it happens."

Zauriel nodded sadly.

"Oh, and the doc might ask you to fill in some questions, after. It gets a bit, er, personal but... I mean that's why he's here, you know, for the sake of science. So. Uh. Yeah. The answers are all anonymous."

Henry shrugged. "I'm not prudish. You don't spend your teenage years Underhill and come out shy, let me tell you." He glanced at the Incubus. "I mean, he's probably already told you. Is that part of why I was hired?"

"Well, that and your freaking amazing references, but it sure put you on top of our stack. Is that a problem?"

"Hell no, I need the job and frankly," Henry crouched so he was eye to eye with Zauriel, "It's kinda nice having someone around that knows what it's like there, y' know?"

Zauriel grinned. "Yes, I do know. You will visit, not just for feedings? Yes?"

"Of course!" Henry promised. "I mean, it's not against the rules?"

"Hell naw," Johann said. "Zar's got friends from all over the building by now. It's cool. Just gonna warn you, he's a card shark. Don't buy the doe eyes, or you'll lose your shirt. Literally. He only plays strip poker."

"There's any other kind?" Zauriel asked.

Henry wondered how Zauriel could possibly win a game of strip poker when all he was wearing was a pair of scrub pants, scrunched low on his hips in a way he had to know was alluring. It still managed to look natural, not like he was putting on a show, just that he'd at some point figured out the way to look most appealing and then relaxed into it.

"Have fun, you two," Johann said. "And welcome to the Ash labs, Henry."