Incubus

LEWIS RUDNICK sat on a slightly uncomfortable chair next to a window, nibbling on his dinner. He ignored the other patrons of the restaurant and the staff as they scurried about. Lewis gazed outside, watching the bustling crowds walking the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver. Lewis was hunting. Lewis is an Incubus, which is one of several Mutari races. As he watched the people, he read their Vis -- their life force flow. Lewis was unable to produce Vis of his own and therefore had to take it from others to survive. 

As he watched, he noticed other Mutari as they passed by the restaurant window. Being an Incubus meant that he could not only read the Vis of others, but was able to tell if they were Human, Mutari or a Mage. As he watched, a Troll and a Succubus passed by. The Troll was no doubt escorting the Succubus. Lewis turned to his meal, taking a bite and shaking his head. The Succubus would be a whore, no doubt; they all were. They couldn’t make their own Vis either, and most got it by waiting for their johns to climax, and then taking a portion of their Vis without them noticing. Lewis refused to do this. Still he didn't blame the Succubi for being what they were. It kept them alive. Gone were the days when a Succubus or Incubus could drain a human of his or her life force. No; the Mages saw to that. If a Vampire, Succubus, or Incubus were found killing humans for Vis, the Mages would kill that individual. So the Succubi were whores. As for the Incubi most of them died a slow, painful death at a young age from Vis starvation. This was a fate that Lewis refused to suffer.

The truth was that most Incubi and Succubi felt guilty if they killed someone. This was not a problem for Lewis. He never felt guilty for killing people for their Vis. And he was smart about it, so he didn't get caught. 

The Troll and Succubus were inside a jewelry store at the moment, which was probably a front for a Goblin-run banking guild. As they exited, she looked at him for a moment, and then turned down the Mall. Lewis twisted his class ring in concern. It was enchanted to make it so that no other Mutari or Mage could tell what he was. 

Lewis went back to his dinner thinking about the business trip that had brought him to Denver. He traveled for work, which was something he found to be helpful. He rarely killed in the same city more than once a month, thus keeping law enforcement and Mages from catching on to him. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a homeless man walking the street. Lewis looked at the man and read his Vis flow. He smiled. The man's flow was sickly looking but still strong; this meant that most likely he was a drug addict. Lewis watched the man walk into an alley between two buildings. He would be a perfect target. Lewis would drain the man of his life force to the point of near death, and then make it look like he overdosed on drugs. Denver PD would never think twice about it, and Lewis would have enough Vis to last him another week until he was in L.A.

Lewis finished dinner, and left the restaurant deciding to scout out the homeless man’s life a bit. He pulled up a map on his phone, making mental notes of streets and buildings in the area. He acted like he was just walking around enjoying the sights; the whole time noting where the bum went. Lewis thought of the homeless man as “Patches.” This was his name for all of his homeless victims. 

During his free time over the next day or two, Lewis watched Patches, getting his routine down and figuring out how social he was. If a person was always around other people and never alone, Lewis would have to find someone else. This didn't seem to be the case for Patches. Lewis was happy to see that the man was a creature of habit, and also a loner. 

Making his way back to his hotel, Lewis thought about how good the hunting was in Denver in the winter. This year it was unseasonably warm, but in winters past, Lewis had done well in the area. It wasn't uncommon for the local fire department to go looking for bum-sicles the day after a cold snap. Those were the nights Lewis loved the most. He would drain a victim of every last ounce of Vis without having to stage a death. That wouldn't be the case for Patches. Oh well, Lewis thought.

His hotel was on the upscale side, and Lewis walked into the lobby trying to decide what to do for the evening. He wasn't planning on moving on Patches just yet, he needed to wait awhile. Lewis liked to build a small amount of extra Vis before taking down a target. He could use the Vis stored in his body however he pleased. That meant that he could make himself heal more quickly, or he could become stronger and faster. Lewis was even able to make himself appear younger. But he had to be judicious with his Vis, he could only hold about a week’s worth of it at any given time. He would drain nearly a week’s worth from Patches, but Lewis would need a bit more. For that task, he took a page out of the book of the Succubus. Not that he was going to sell himself for sex, but rather he was going to pick someone up and take a bit of their Vis. 

In his early years, Lewis would have never thought himself a ladies’ man, but as soon as getting Vis became life or death, he'd learned how to seduce just about anyone. Tonight he was going to go to a local club and see if he could find someone to come home with him. Taking Vis from people without them noticing was a tricky task. The Succubus hookers could only take a small amount from their clients. If a human noticed that they felt too tired or off in any way, the Succubus would be found out. For Lewis, he would get women drunk before taking them back to the hotel, and then let them stay the night. As such, he could take a lot more Vis from them without them noticing. He got ready for the evening, showering and shaving. He would be going for drunk girls that were easy, but he didn't leave anything to chance. 

The club was booming with sound as he walked in the main entrance. People were packed along the bar, talking and having a good time with friends. Lewis ordered a drink and sat at the bar, taking his time and not putting in much effort yet. In a few hours, the place would turn into a meat market, and it wouldn't take too much effort to meet someone.

A woman with shoulder length red hair sat down in a huff next to Lewis. She looked at him, and he tilted his glass in her direction.

"Good evening," was all he said.

She just nodded to him, and ordered herself a drink. They sat, keeping to themselves for a few minutes before Lewis decided to break the silence.

"I'm Lewis Rudnick," he said.

"It's nice to meet you Lewis; my name is Becky," she said.

Lewis wasn't planning on trying to pick the woman up, it was too early in the evening, and he didn't want to put in the effort, but he checked her out anyway. She was fit, and in her mid-to-late twenties, if he had to guess. Her eyes were a light blue, her skin fair like cream. She wore a dress formal enough to be business appropriate but provocative enough for a night out. 

"Sales?" he asked.

Becky laughed, "How'd you guess?"

He shrugged, "You're in shape, your makeup looks great, and your outfit has just the right balance of professional and sexy." He observed, "You want people to take you seriously, but you aren't above using feminine charm to help make a potential client a bit more cooperative."

Becky held her glass up and congratulated him "Very well done. And what is it that you do?" she asked warmly.

"I work in computers. I do consulting mostly, but I travel a lot. I work mostly with business owners and the like," he said, truthfully. 

Lewis didn't like to lie. A lot of men intent on picking someone up lied in an attempt to impress women. In Lewis's experience, that wasn't the best approach. If you lied to people, you had to keep lying to them, which got to be a pain, and you never knew when it would bite you in the ass. 

After a few more drinks, he found Becky to be an extremely charming girl. She was in town on business like he was, and she didn't know anyone either. Before long, Lewis found himself becoming enthralled with the woman. He wasn't even drinking or looking around for people to pick up. Before he knew it, the bar was starting to clear out, and Lewis felt a twinge of disappointment. Unless he broke off his conversation with Becky soon, he wouldn't be able to find anyone to take back to his hotel. 

He started glancing out of the corner of his eye, trying to find someone he thought he could pick-up without much effort. 

Becky stopped talking, "Am I boring you?" she asked.

Lewis smiled sheepishly, "No you aren't...I'm..."

"Looking for someone to pick up," she said knowingly.

"Yeah, I'm sorry."

"You should be," she said, "And here this whole time I thought you were going to offer to take me back to your hotel room." 

Lewis was at a loss for what to say. Despite what the movies would have you think, women don’t throw themselves at men they've only known for a few hours. And if they do, it takes a lot of booze to do it.

"I didn't think you'd take me up on the offer," he admitted.

"Well, how would you know if you don't ask?" she asked wryly.

Lewis thought for a moment what the hell, "Would you like to come back to my hotel?"

"No," Becky said. Then, with a grin, "I'm joking. I would love to go back to your hotel, but can we get some food first?" 

Lewis smiled broadly "I think I can manage that."

They were able to find a fast food place that was open. He and Becky talked more as they ate and continued talking on the way back to his hotel. Lewis was a little worried about Becky not being drunk. He might not be able to take very much Vis from her without her noticing. He pushed the thought from his mind, telling himself the lack of Vis was worth spending the night with such an enjoyable person.

As they rode the elevator up to his floor, there was an uncomfortable silence. Becky was likely feeling apprehensive about her decision to spend the night with him. Lewis understood this; he'd been surprised by her offer. Part of him figured she'd done it on the spur of the moment.

"Do you do this often?" she asked.

He eyed her, "What do you mean? Sleep with people I've just met?" 

"...Yeah...I mean I don't, but I just wondered if you did," she said.

Lewis laughed "I am a man Becky, and a traveling one at that," he said like it was an answer to her question.

She tried to hide a smile with a scowl, "So you're a slut, huh?"

He chuckled, "Guilty as charged." And then, "In all honesty I understand if it bothers you ... but you asked."

She made a placating motion, "No, no, I understand. Seeing you at the bar I kind of figured as much..."

"So you were working me all night, huh?" he accused.

Becky blushed, and the elevator opened. They made their way to his room without her answering him. He swiped his key card, and they entered. He went to a mini bar, and asked if she wanted something to drink. 

"No, I'm fine," then after pausing for a moment added, "You know what? Why not." 

She's getting cold feet he thought.

"Are you sure you're comfortable with this?" he asked.

This was another reason why he preferred drunk women. The sober ones were much more likely to lose their cool, and decide they weren't comfortable with a one night stand. 

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

Becky deflated, "I broke up with my boyfriend of six years a few months back." She sat on the edge of the bed, "I haven't had any luck dating at all. One of my girlfriends thinks I need a one night stand to clear my head." She looked at him, "Sorry."

Lewis sat down next to her. Strong emotions increased the amount of someone’s Vis, and Lewis looked at Becky as her life force glowed. His body wanted to take it in, and a part of him told him to take it from her. There was that part in every Incubus, Succubus, and Vampire. It was part of their primitive animal mind seeking what it needed for survival. Lewis pushed that side of him away. 

"But you feel guilty, like you're cheating?" he asked.

"Have you been in this situation?" she asked.

Lewis had been a normal human up until he turned twenty, and that's when he changed, becoming what he was now. He too had felt guilt about sleeping with people behind his girlfriend’s back so he could take their Vis. She'd found out of course, and dumped him. It wasn't long after that that Lewis had killed his first person. He'd slept with those women to get what he needed to live, he told himself; but even years later he felt glimmers of guilt each time he slept with someone. Lewis found it odd that he felt remorse for being with people, but he didn't feel remorseful about killing. He refocused on Becky.

"I have actually, though my situation was different," he admitted.

Their conversation continued to focus on Becky's feelings about cheating on someone she was no longer with. Lewis knew that no matter her original intentions, Becky was not going to have sex with him that night. Part of him was irritated with the night’s outcome. She was a source of something that he needed. He could still attack Patches without any problems, but that would mean using the Vis Lewis had stored in his body. As he spoke with Becky, he watched her Vis flow throughout her body. It was a pulsing dark golden amber that moved around her. In the back of his mind, Lewis was aware of his own Vis. It too moved around his body, but unlike Becky's; his Vis was weak. His body wanted to attack her. It wanted to pin her down, and drain every last bit of that golden amber Vis from her, but Lewis resisted the urge. Instead, he increased the amount of Vis his own body was using. This made him not want to hurt Becky. He would need to be extremely careful with the Vis he had left. Even if he had been able to sleep with Becky and take some of her power, there was always the chance that he would be unable to feed on Patches. If that were the case, Lewis would need to find another source of Vis before he became sick. 

There were, of course, other ways to get Vis. He could pay for it. Mages were willing to sell Vis to an Incubus, but it cost thousands of dollars. He'd had to do this before on several occasions. He could also find another Mutari to give him Vis, but again the cost was extraordinarily high. No, Lewis was not willing to waste his hard-earned money on Vis. 

He'd stopped paying strict attention to Becky. He tried to re-focus on her, no longer thinking about his own needs. He liked Becky. It tore at him to find women he liked, for his was a life of seclusion. Lewis would never marry or have a family. He couldn't even risk having a steady relationship without the threat of being discovered as a mass murderer. In this way, it was sad to meet people he actually enjoyed. 

Becky yawned "I'm sorry Lewis," she said honestly. "I didn't mean to give you my life story...all you wanted was a good time." 

Lewis waved her comment off, "It's fine...really it is. It is getting late, however. If you want to go back to your hotel I won't stop you, but you are more than welcome to crash here, too."

He stood to go get ready for bed, walking into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He was surprised when Becky took him up on his offer to stay. He slipped under the sheets with her, and turned off the light. She stayed on the opposite side of the bed, which suited Lewis just fine. He rolled onto his side and fell asleep quickly. 

The phone rang, waking him with a start. He reached over to the nightstand, pulled it off the hook, and brought it to his ear. It was the hotel’s wake-up service. He hung the phone back up and rolled over.

Becky was starting to stir next to him. She rolled over and put a sleepy arm around him. She opened her eyes and looked at him. She moved away as she became aware of her arm around his body. "Sorry..." she said, "how did you sleep?"

Lewis yawned, "Fine, and don't be sorry." He got out of bed and made his way to the shower, letting Becky know he'd be back. As he stepped into the stream of hot water, he told himself that Becky would be gone when he got out. She wasn't. As Lewis came back in the room, Becky was doing her makeup in a mirror. 

"Want breakfast?" he asked.

"Sure."

As they ate breakfast from the hotels restaurant, Lewis found himself thinking more and more about Patches. The weather was turning colder, but not cold enough to kill. There was a chance that the man would be able to find shelter, and Lewis would lose his chance. Lewis looked out of the restaurant window. Lewis had picked it because Patches slept in the alleyway across the street. All during his meal, Lewis had shot furtive glances out the window to see if he could spot Patches. Just as Lewis was getting worried that the man was gone, his crumpled form made its way out of the alley and frightened a woman walking along the mall. Lewis felt comforted, and fought the urge to smile.

"Do you want to go to dinner tonight?" Becky asked.

"Um...what?" Lewis spluttered. He hadn't been paying close attention, and was caught off guard by the question.

"Dinner." Becky said, "I want to take you to dinner. You wasted your night with me last night, and I feel like I owe you dinner." 

Lewis thought for a moment. He honestly didn't have time for dinner. Tonight was his last night in Denver, and he needed to drain Patches of his life force. Add on top of that, Lewis needed to find someone else to take Vis from so he wouldn't run low. He didn't have time to go out with Becky and take care of what he needed to do. 

"I don't think I can," he said.

Becky looked disappointed. Great you made her sad he thought. What harm is dinner?

An idea came to him.

"Could we maybe meet a little later?" he asked.

Becky perked up, "sure that's fine with me, like how late?" 

He thought for a moment, thinking about Patches’ schedule. He keeps to himself. The sun will be down early, and with the cold, people won't stay out late. Lewis liked to work late at night when everyone was asleep, but he couldn't risk that with the weather getting cold. The cold simply required more finesse.  It gave you the advantage of the assumption that the victim had frozen to death, but it also demanded the vigilance of catching them before they found shelter.

"Would eight-thirty be too late?" he asked.

Becky pursed her lips, "No that should work well for me. I fly out in the afternoon tomorrow." 

"As do I. I just have some things to wrap up," Lewis said.

Becky smiled, "When is your flight?" 

"One," Lewis said.

Becky nodded, "One-thirty," she said indicating the time of her flight. "Want to take a cab together?"

Lewis smiled, "I have a rental, but you can come with me if you want." 

"Sold," she said brightly. Then getting up, "All right, I'll see you in your hotel's lobby at eight-thirty then?"

"It's a date," Lewis said.

Becky winked, "That it is." 

She walked off, leaving Lewis to his day’s work, which is to say that he didn’t have any real work to do for the day, so he went back to his room. He changed out of the suit he'd been wearing, putting on a pair of sweats and a hoody. Lewis was rather good at finding drug dealers, and had scouted out a few in the days prior. He got his rental car from the hotel valet, and went out looking for a dealer. 

It didn't take him long to find one, and it took him even less time to get a needle and some drugs. Lewis himself had never used drugs, nor did he have a desire to try them. Drugs were hard on one’s body, which meant using Vis to heal; Vis that no Incubus or Succubus had to spare.

After he had the drugs, he looked over the notes he had about Patches, trying to decide how and when he was going to feed on the man. Lewis was meeting Becky later in the evening, which gave him time to feed, run back to the hotel, and shower and get ready. As the sun set, Lewis left his hotel in search of Patches. Lewis got a cup of coffee and watched Patches out of the window of the Café as he made his way down the Mall. Lewis knew that he couldn't kill the man on the Mall. There were way too many people; but if he could follow him into an alley, he could make a move on him. 

Lewis left the Café and pretended to window shop as he watched Patches. The man was panhandling and bothering end-of-day shoppers. Lewis smiled to himself and walked by Patches.

"Spare any change?" Patches asked in a pathetic voice. 

In his peripheral vision, Lewis could see a couple of cops patrolling the mall. When Patches spoke, Lewis jumped away from the man nervously. Lewis made sure the cops saw him. Lewis walked away from Patches, putting on a worried look. Lewis walked by the cops and made a comment about how they needed to keep dangerous vagrants off the mall. The cops rolled their eyes, but went to shoo Patches away. Lewis watched Patches talk to the cops, and then walk away in disappointment. Lewis looked away from the cops, and walked down the mall knowing where Patches would likely go. 

Lewis left the mall and looped back around; walking up 17th until he found an alley he knew to be one of Patches’ favorite spots. Lewis looked around, making sure he wasn't being watched, and then made his way down the alley. As he walked, he confirmed it was empty of people until about halfway down the alley. Patches sat on the ground using a dumpster on one side, a pile of boxes on the other, to shield himself from winter wind. Lewis stood before the man and looked down at him, figuratively and literally. 

Patches looked up. His wrinkled and weathered face showing confusion, and apprehension. Then his face shown with recognition.

"You are the guy who had the cops chase me off!" he accused.

Lewis smiled, "yes I am, I didn't want you on the mall, Patches." 

The man looked more confused, and now there was a touch of fear coloring his visage, "My name isn't Patches." 

Lewis pulled a pair of leather gloves from his pocket, and began to put them on, "Your name isn't really important now, is it?" 

Patches looked at the gloves and then tried to stand and run away. Lewis flexed the Vis in his body, his muscles becoming strong and fast. He moved in a blur, blocking Patches. He shoved the man to the ground and landed on top of him. Before Patches could call out for help, Lewis crushed his lips onto the man’s, tasting filth and grime. Then Lewis pulled on Patches’ Vis. At once, Patches tried to scream as his life force was taken forcibly from his body. Lewis let himself relax as Patches went limp, unable to muster the strength to fight back. Vis rushed into Lewis, filling him with a sense of euphoria and power. His body demanded that he take all of the man’s life force, not letting any go to waste, but with much effort Lewis stopped pulling on Patches Vis. 

Lewis rested on his knees and leaned back looking down on his victim. Lewis breathed heavily trying to clear his. There was just the hint of Vis left in him. Patches was going to die. Lewis pulled a drug-filled syringe from his pocket and rolled up Patches’ sleeve. There were track marks running up the man’s arm. Law enforcement wouldn't think twice about Patches overdosing. Lewis stuck the needle in the man’s arm, draining its contents in his veins. Then he rose. Patches would be dead in just a few minutes from the drugs. Lewis walked out of the alley the way he'd come, heading back towards his hotel.

An hour later, he walked down to the hotel lobby to find Becky waiting for him. She looked lovely with a black dress on. She stood and smiled to greet him. Lewis felt calm and relaxed as Patches’ Vis ran through his body. He was going to do his best to enjoy his evening. Deciding he deserved a little downtime and that he'd earned the break, he took Becky's hand and walked out of the hotel.