Succubs on Top Page 0,43

exuberance lately. A drug couldn't make you good at Tetrisor churn out an album's worth of songs in under a month.

"I don't know what it could be then. I've tried almost everything once," I admitted sheepishly. Immortality allowed experimentation without the dangerous consequences mortals faced. "But I haven't made enough of a study to really ID anything. What do you think? Some kind of amphetamine?"

"I don't really know either."

I rubbed my temples, sensing a nasty headache coming on. I wanted nothing more just then than to go home and veg on the couch with Seth on one side, Aubrey on the other, and a plate of brownies on my lap. It wasn't going to happen.

"I've got to get back down there. We're short two people now. I'm going to be here until closing again."

"You want me to come over after work? I'm supposed to paint at Terry's, but I can bail on it."

I assured Seth he didn't need to change his plans for me and then returned downstairs. Functionality had resumed as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. The only thing noteworthy was the way the other staff watched me now. Not with mockery or amusement, but something else. If I hadn't known better, I would have said my respect rating had just shot up.

I got home after work, drained. Weak with exhaustion, mental and physical. When I absorbed life from victims, it was usually to sustain my immortal existence and shape-shifting. But life was full of other things that required energy. Breaking and entering. Working two twelve-hours shifts in a row. Staying virtuous around the man of your dreams. Reprimanding one of your best friends and discovering he was probably addicted to something nasty.

The need for vitality itched within me, making me irritable and anxious despite my worn-out feeling. For me, that energy-longing translated into lust, a sudden need to be touched and consumed by someone I could consume in return.

I called Bastien.

"What is it now?" he asked sarcastically. "I suppose you're just going to cut to the chase and call Dana. That way you can get it over with and tell her how her neighbor has a plan to seduce her and bring down her organization. Maybe while you're at it, you can mention the break-in and get me arrested. You could even key my car if you wanted. It would be a perfect ending to my already ruined career."

"Oh shut up," I snapped, not having the patience for this. Apparently I still had some fury left in me from earlier. "First, you were not going to bed Dana last night, so get that out of your system. Second, you probably deterred her by answering the door in the first place, as stoned as you were. Third, if you'd really wanted to endear yourself to her, you would have shown more concern for me rather than coming off as an uncaring asshole."

"How is your ankle?" he asked reluctantly.

"Fine. You know how it goes." A sprain was barely a day's concern for an immortal. "Good enough to go dancing on."

"Dancing?"

"Yes. I want you to take me out. Now. I just had the worst day ever. "

"Sorry."

"Sorry? Are you turning me down? Since when have you been such a grudge-holder?"

"It's not just that...well, okay, maybe a little. But Bill invited me over to watch a football game."

"You hate football."

"Yeah, but I might see Dana. Sorry, Fleur . You're on your own tonight. "

Annoyed, I hung up and dialed the next best dancer I knew.

"Cody," I said, "we're going clubbing."

"Okay," he returned agreeably, "but I'll have to bring Hugh and Peter."

"Ack. They dance almost as badly as Seth."

"Yeah. But I promised I'd hang out with them tonight. Unless you want to come over here? We're playing D&D right now. Do you know how many hit points a succubus has?"

"All right, all right. Bring them along."

I hung up. It didn't really matter who came anyway. I mostly just wanted people to go out with. Companionship gave the outing some semblance of normality, though it wasn't like I needed any of them for what I was going to do.

"Jesus, woman," breathed Hugh when I answered my door an hour later. "You're kind of screwing with my sisterly feelings for you."

I had on a pleated black skirt that covered less than half my thighs. My top was off the shoulder with three-quarter sleeves, and it stopped just above my belly button, leaving my midriff bare. It was made of clinging, stretchy