Page 13 of Tortured Soul
“It depends. It can go from less than a week if I’m using a lot of energy to a few. The longest I went without absolutely needing a feed was about three weeks.”
Kai nodded and resumed his typing. “Does it have to be…humans?”
I swallowed through the knot clogging my throat. “It doesn’t.”
He froze over his keyboard, his head turning slowly toward mine.
“Since you’re here alone, I assume you’re unbinded.”
“Correct.”
“And since every Succubus already produce enough pheromones to appeal even other Immortals when they can’t feed off them, I take it you—”
“Yeah.” I cut him off with a shaky voice. “My pheromones could lure even the most virtuous of Divine if I neglect my needs for too long or the horniest demon even if I had a boost an hour before.”
“Would you be open to finding yourself a fuckbuddy quickly?” he asked anxiously. “I—we don’t have individual houses…”
I gave him a shaky nod. “Marcus said that, yes. I was hoping I could quickly join a binded group and make myself small or—”
“I would have offered,” he jumped in, “but we’re already really crowded. There’s five of us. And only one bed and the couch.”
I shook my head hastily, eyes wide. “I wasn’t asking you to—”
“I know. I’ll ask around for you. But for now I’ll have to set you up in a shared house with others unbinded…I’m sorry.”
I wasn’t expecting him to be able to help me. Yet, I had to hide the pang of disappointment at the prospect of sharing a house with people who might eventually try to force themselves on me.
“Hold on a second.” He lifted a finger and stood abruptly to go rummage through a drawer in a cupboard behind his chair. He was mumbling and grunting as he opened a few, searching for something. “Ah! There it is. It should do it, at least until we find you better accommodations.”
He turned back to me and let himself fall in his chair ungraciously, holding a small, milky white stone between his fingers.
“That’s an opal.”
I hid a wince with an arched brow and narrowed my eyes at him.Damn, I hate opals. It brings back terrible memories.
“Is it the time I tell you that stones are just stones, and unless they were blessed by a witch, they hold no magic?”
Kai rolled his eyes. “Who do you think I am? Some random human called Karen, holding a stone store, telling you you’ll sleep better if you slip it under your pillow during a full moon?”
“I’m just making sure we’re on the same page here…”
“It’s not an opal fromhere,” he insisted. “This one was retrieved from the River of Tears back in Hell. I have a couple of them, it can always be useful.”
Thatpiqued my interest. A stone from the River of Tears? It was said that the source originated from the lowest level of Hell and was fed by the lost souls’ cries. I didn’t even know that river was real. Or that it produced stones…
“You’ll need to bleed on it, then place it next to your room window. Usually, a few drops would do the trick, but in your situation, I suggest yousoakit. It should act like a repellent. Except for you, everyone will feel the need to turn back from entering your room, no matter how potent your pheromones get.”
“Itshould?”
He nodded frantically. “I’ve used one before when I was entrusted with something that no one was to get their hands on. It worked. I’m guessing it’ll work for you too.”
How ironic that I’d be protected by a stone from Hell after I was freed by Lucifer himself.
But it couldn’t hurt to try, right?
“Why can’t I wear it all the time, even outside my room?”
“Do you want people to avoid you like you’re the embodiment of the plague?”
