Doubt +18

Standard disclaimer applies: This story contains fictional depictions of erotic and vulgar scenarios, so if it's immoral for you to be reading it, please avoid it! All characters are at least eighteen, all situations are entirely fictional, and any resemblance to any real-life situations is entirely coincidental.

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—Lucius

After she pulled me into her dreams, it gave me cause to consider a lot of questions. I had never actually had a pact payment of my own before, not like this.

People usually bargained on their own lives, and then death was the answer, but I was forced to understand that this form of payment did not work like others.

There was something more elaborate to this form. That being said, it was once a common pact to be made, and there were still demons that had this.

I hunted one down. It took a few months of searching through cities and tracking down various demons that were free on the Earth.

Speaking with them was often a lesson in frustration, as their minds didn't work like a human's or a vampire's.

Often, my direct questions, such as outright asking if they knew a demon who had a pact payment, were met with indiscernible and riddle like answers.

But I was a vampire, and I didn't have anything else to do, so I kept my patience and spoke with these creatures for a time even if they didn't give me any useful information.

When they met me, they seemed able to sense Depravity in me, and they never had harmful intent. It was a strange thing, but demons didn't seem overly inclined to hurting one another.

They might feed on one another if they had kindred names of sin, but this was always mutually and politely done. I was not bothered by their company at all and only casually searched for my end goal.

Journeys could often be as enlightening or enjoyable as their destinations, after all, and this was one of those instances.

Eventually, with time and patient talks, I found a demon who could give me answers. He was an interesting creature with a subtle name, and he had taken up his residency in the most hilarious place imaginable.

It was a southern little rural town that was small but well kept and well centered in their churches. And this demon's name wasn't actually a sin unto itself. He was called Doubt.

I couldn't help but grin with Depravity when I found his home. It was in the middle of a street, all with two acres, neat little lots, and his two story home looked the same as every single one surrounding it. The only difference was varying shades of brick.

I like this one.

D seemed to be finding his voice again, now that Lott's daughter had entered our lives, and it was a fun thing. I had to agree with him on the sense of humor this demon seemed to have.

Me, too. I rang the doorbell of the house, and the answer was so immediate that I knew my presence had been anticipated and felt.

The demon who opened the door had taken the appearance and form of an unremarkable man in his early thirties. He was just handsome enough to make himself charming and welcoming to any human who would fall prey to Doubt.

"Hello." He was even polite, very coherent, but then his name was a subtle thing, so I imagined he had to be good at feigning sanity in order to reap his seeds where he found fertile ground in human minds.

"Good evening. I have curiosities I think you might have answers for."

His smile widened. "And you are host to a friend, little vampire. I invite you as a guest with full restrictions."

Fair enough.

I crossed the threshold when he stood back and felt the magic restrict me, but neither Depravity nor I minded. We followed Doubt as he led us into a living area and then around to a kitchen.

Hysterically, he had an ornate bible laying on a table in the foyer, with a purple ribbon as a bookmark. Decorative snow globes were displayed in a curio cabinet in the living room, alongside bookshelves with all manner of conflicting theologies.

"I like you," I said. It was straightforward and strange, maybe, but I'd spent months speaking with mentally unstable demons, so I couldn't really be blamed.

He grinned. "I have to be able to host things like scrabble parties for the Sunday School group I teach. The more exotic books are back in my bedroom in the closet. You have to hide the things that are too strange, or you'll scare them away, and they won't play."

And there we were. Some of the insanity and drive I was used to. Alright, so it was there for him, too. Good to know. "That's fair enough. Can I ask you something private about your life? Depravity and I are having some interesting events."

He tilted his head for a moment, his eyes twinkling, and then he laughed. "Oh, you're no fun, little vampire."

It was teasing, playful. "Everyone who mentions interesting events is supposed to have doubts, didn't you know? You don't have one. What if I said I didn't want to answer?"

I shrugged. "Then I wouldn't be so rude as to take up anymore of your playtime, especially since I'm terrible food for you."

"Damn. I can't ignore good manners. Okay, go ahead and ask. If I can answer, I will."

I had learned early on that even the darker creatures of the world were appreciative to hear a kind word and basic propriety.

'Please' and 'thank you' really did go a long way in most cases. And if they didn't, then they hadn't cost anything to begin with, so there wasn't a loss. "I earned a pact payment. She's been born, and I'm not entirely sure what to expect. She drew me into her dreamscape."

His eyes lit up with excited pleasure. "Oh, did she? You're a lucky one. Most of the time, the pact magic is blocked on the payment's end, so she must have been near something demonic to allow for a connection. Much like a phone call, I suppose. Most humans don't have our kind of phones, if that makes sense."

He spoke of all this so easily, as if it were obvious, and it was an amazing fact to me that, for demons, these kinds of things were obvious.

They couldn't follow logic, but they had vast knowledge that leaped to them easily. "As for what to expect." He shrugged. "The same as any pact payment."

"Yes, but I don't know what that is, and, well, I heard you had a ward of your own."

"Oh, right. You're a vampire. It's really easy to forget that you're not a full demon. I just sense you and think that you understand." Like any other demon would.

"I can show you." He got up from his chair happily. "It will be fun to show you." I made to stand, but he waved me back down and only called out down the hallway instead. "Abigail, come here, please. Pretend like we're alone. This person is a friend."

There was a pause, and then I inhaled sharply when the girl came around the corner to his call. She wasn't wearing a thing and appeared to be 19, maybe 20, years of age.

What was more, she was stunning. Her hair was a deep gold and long down her back, like something out a fairy tale. Her eyes were the color of warm chocolate, and when she smiled, her teeth were perfect. Freckles decorated her nose.

"Yes, Sir?" She looked up at Doubt with a smile that was real.

Depravity froze in my blood. It was like he was a hungry dog, and Doubt had held out the most wonderful treat. Doubt turned her in his arms so that she was facing us while he held her from behind.

While we watched, he took her hands and used them to cup her tits, showing them off. He was smiling behind her, and she lifted to his sensual touch. "This is a new friend. He's getting a pact payment, too, and wanted to see how we worked."

He used one of her hands to pinch her nipples and I hardened. There was something special about seeing him hold her, something deep.

"I'm not sure how to explain to you, vampire, besides to say that they're payments. They are whatever you like. They come to us, demons, as blank slates, untouched and obedient. I'm not sure how it will be for a vampire holding a demon because that's not something I've known to happen yet. I would assume that her blood would be untainted if I had to guess. Before they come of age for us, they seek knowledge that will be useful. Abigail, for instance, always enjoyed learning languages before I collected her."

He kissed her hair with loving affection even while he glided one of her hands down between her legs and pressed her own fingers inside of her s*x.

Blasts. Depravity was being taunted as all hell. And yet, for all of Doubt's casual objectification of his ward, it was clear that he cherished her.

"May I ask her some questions?"

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