Dhampirs of Sgiach

27. Kage

The Kage in the mirror blinked his eyes and Kage marveled at how his eyes and lips seemed to pop and his copper skin glowed. His hand moved to touch his lips and Dulcie swatted his hand. Her hair was cotton candy blue and her silvery eyes were flecked with blue and her smooth skin reminded him of peaches and cream.

“Don’t ruin it!” she ordered and giggled as he smiled at her sheepishly.

“You s*x Nephilim sure are lucky,” Darva said as she added the finishing touches to his lips. Her hair was cotton candy pink and she had crimson flecks in her silver eyes and her smooth skin was tanned to a warm brown. “You don’t need much to go from wow to panty soaking.”

Kage frowned thoughtfully as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a sheer top with tight jean shorts. He didn’t like his chest visible to everyone while waiting tables, so he wore a crimson tank top underneath that was tucked into the shorts. I wonder if Kieran would enjoy seeing me in this…

For the last week, he had been coming to the club early to work with Darva and Dulcie to learn how to dance. Once the club opened, he waited tables and watched the dancers. Everyone was nice to him and explained to him the feeding rules. Dancers on the stage fed on the lust they incited in the crowd. If a waiter was tipped for a lap dance, they fed on that lust. Customers could also pay for a full feeding from a s*x Nephilim.

Lucifer’s daughter Lilith oversaw those feedings. Matching the right Nephilim with the right customer. When Kage returned to the bar after bussing his last table, Ray, the bartender, handed him a red ticket.

“What’s this?” Kage asked.

“You have a customer in the back,” Ray answered with a grin. The dark-skinned incubus sniffed towards Kage. “Mmm… you smell good…”

Kage yipped and jumped as he looked up from the ticket.

Ray chuckled. “Don’t feel ashamed of what you are.”

“But…”

“You’re an incubus. We feed on s*x and sin and negative emotions. Does s*x for the hell of it feel wonderful? f**k yes. Is it annoying that we must feed on the sins of others if we don’t want to weaken and wither away? You bet. But do you want to know what makes it worth it?” Ray looked at Kage expectantly.

Kage nodded.

“The more we feed on their sins, the more we erode those sins from them. When I feed on someone who feels ashamed of how much they like s*x or the kind of s*x they like, I help them. Most of the time, I feed on couples and help them become more comfortable with the crazy s**t they like. My last feed was a guy who rejected the fact he liked men and not women. He and his wife were so unhappy when I first met them, it was good to see them happy after three feedings. Hell, they invited me to their divorce party.”

“Really?” Kage gave Ray a skeptical look.

Ray nodded. “We erode the negative out. Angelic Nephilim strengthens the positive. Dulcie doesn’t just feed on joy; she spreads it like bees spread pollen.”

Kage looked at the ticket thoughtfully and thought about last night with Kieran. Kieran’s desire for Kage was there, but it was tangled with so many other emotions, that he had gotten Kage off before pulling away and going to sleep. Like he had done every other time since he got out of the hospital. Then he remembered all the times he had fed before he met Kieran.

“How do I know they won’t hurt me?” he asked in a tiny voice.

“Lilith would never pair you with someone who would harm you. And if they do? They won’t make it out of here,” Ray said gently and reached over the bar to pat Kage’s shoulder.

“How do I keep Kieran from rejecting me?”

“If he rejects you because of the things about yourself you can’t change, you’ll both be happier not in a relationship. Now go and help your customer.”

Kage nodded and headed for the back rooms. His hand shook slightly as he handed the ticket to the receptionist. She smiled at him as she took the ticket and scanned it. “Room four,” she told him as she handed him a key.

The key was one of those old-time keys Kage had seen in movies and the rose head had a red tassel attached to it with a metal four. The hallway was done in cherry wood with a red carpet runner down the center. The heavy wooden door had a golden four embedded in the wood.

He looked at the door nervously. It had been a week since his last feed, and he had already begun to feel that strange hunger inside him. Kage knocked on the door before he unlocked it and entered.

The woman that sat on the bed looked to be in her mid-thirties with light brown hair that reminded Kage of sand. She looked up from the side table and the smell of rich chocolate filled the room along with the sweet scent of strawberries, and it wasn’t just from the box of chocolates on the table. Her sin called to Kage, along with her shame of that sin. His magic reached out on instinct, and he knew that sin. The addiction to s*x had driven her to the arms of men other than her husband. The shame of the betrayal of the man she loved.

Her makeup was understated and brought out the natural beauty of her face. Her clothes were more for drinks with her girlfriends, like many of the women in the crowd in front of the main stage. It seemed wrong to be dressed so nicely for an hour with an incubus. With a w***e.

Kage looked away and closed his eyes.

The sound of her movements let him know she had stood and walked to him before she gently touched his chin. He opened his eyes and looked at her. He was taller than her, even with her heels.

“What’s wrong?” she asked softly.

“You love him…” Kage answered in a tiny voice. “Why are you here?”

“Because I love him…”

Images filled Kage’s mind. The woman crying and begging her husband not to walk out. The woman in a room with another woman who listened as she spoke and cried. Hotel rooms filled with various men and shame. Through it all, her strongest desire was her desire to stop. Her sin called to Kage and his magic responded. There was a sickness in her. A sickness that Kage could help her heal from. A sickness that smelled of decadent white chocolate truffles with a strawberry cream center.

Kage took the woman’s hand and led her back to the bed. There was a dresser in the room, and he searched through the drawers until he found a small vibrator. It was still in its box. He handed it to the woman, and she looked up at him in confusion.

“You don’t want to have s*x with me. But I can’t feed on your sin unless you orgasm,” Kage said. “We don’t even have to take our clothes off.”

Annabelle. The woman’s name was Annabelle and she giggled softly as they lay on their bellies on the bed and chatted while they ate the chocolates. Her sin really had tasted of white chocolate truffles with a strawberry cream center and though it was still there, it seemed less, and she seemed lighter. Their hour together was almost done, and Kage was saddened by that knowledge.

“Thank you,” Annabelle said softly as she leaned over and kissed his cheek softly. “I haven’t felt this light in years.”

Kage watched her sit up on the side of the bed and put her heels back on. “It’s still there though,” he said softly.

She smiled at him. “My therapist said it wouldn’t be gone in one session. Just that when I feel the urge, to come let an incubus feed on me.” Annabelle was quiet as she looked off in thought for a moment. “I had been so scared to let an incubus touch me…” She turned and beamed a bright smile at Kage. “To think I would find myself feeling thankful to have met a dhampir/incubus hybrid.”

Kage smiled at her as he sat up. “I’m glad you're happy.”

“I’ll be sure to request you, Kage. And don’t worry so much about your dhampir. Give him time,” she said and squeezed his hand lightly before she left.

Artem was in the hallway when Kage got home, and he walked over to Kage when he noticed him. Ezekiel had been assigning dhampirs to patrol the halls day and night since they had begun to move into the apartments. Since the rats had kidnapped Kage, Echo, and Kieran, it was a comfort to know someone was always in the hallway who would alert others if something bad happened.

“Hey, Kage. Can I ask you something?” Artem asked as he met Kage by his door.

“You just did,” Kage said.

Artem rolled his baby blue eyes before he nervously pulled a hand through his freshly cut reddish brown hair. “What kind of things does Echo like? Like as a gift?”

Kage giggled. He had seen Artem sniff and smile at Echo more than once. “She likes tea. Kieran will see a new kind at the store when he goes out and she’s always excited when he brings it home.” He frowned then.

“What’s wrong?” Artem asked.

“He said he would keep an eye out for exotic teas when he can finally go out with the Sleuth again,” Kage said. Kieran had also promised snacks for Kage, but Kage found that he didn’t want Kieran to go out with the Sleuth.

“He’s getting better. He didn’t have a white-knuckled grip on the elevator bar today when he got home from work with Echo,” Artem assured Kage. “He also didn’t sway as he walked.”

“I know,” Kage looked at their apartment door. “But if he goes on missions with the Sleuth, it would be easier for someone to kidnap him again.”

Artem moved in close and nuzzled Kage, baring his neck to the slightly taller dhampir. It was a submissive action, one used for someone higher in a close family. Or by one male hoping to earn the approval of another to join their family. “Those bears are scary when one of their own is taken.”

Kage nuzzled his neck and kissed the soft skin near Artem’s ear as he breathed in his scent. “I know. They’re scary when Kieran steps a toe out of line too.”

“I think they worry about him as much as you do. You and Echo. When they left for work, she was practically shoving his lunch down his throat.” Artem chuckled at the memory and had a longing look in his eyes. Kage’s magic picked up on the desire.

“He forgets to eat when he spends most of the day napping. At least hunger doesn’t affect his ability to find anything. Or anyone,” Kage said. “I should head in. Good night.”

Kage found Kieran and Echo in the room he shared with Kieran. Both were in their pajamas as they slept. Cuddled together. Kieran had his face buried in Echo’s hair as he curled around her. Mrs. Squawkle was in Echo’s arms, trapped between them.

He watched them for a moment before he changed and crawled in on the other side of Echo. Both woke up.

“I can go,” Echo said. Her voice was thick with sleep as she struggled out between the two dhampirs.

Kage tightened his arm around her and felt Kieran do the same as his arm moved to wrap around Kage as well. “No. Stay.”