The night has been long. But their lying together, short. Her husband had returned home and they had consummated his return. Their being together had been different. She knew that it would. He wasn’t the same but neither was she. She had tried to lessen her power, to hold back, not to draw too much attention to herself nor to lose any of it, but she also knew that it was only a fabled solution, there was no way she could restrain herself, her essence and power, not this time nor the next, and they would have to be together again and again now that he had returned home from the holy wars.
He had taken from her essence without knowing, though she tried to hold back. She could feel his impurities, the voice had been right. There was an imbalance in nature from what he had done, what him and so many of the others had done, had been a part of. False belief.
Inhuman actions derived from egoistical intentions under the guise of righteousness. Before the wars, it had been okay, who he was and his actions, much of it didn’t have any effect on her. But returning from a holy war, Willa knew what was going to happen and there was very little that could be done about it.
John was a knight. And his bravery and courage had always been in tact. But when he was called to go to war against others, whose ilk was not the same as his, under the banner of religiosity and a claim to one universal truth, Willa knew the toll that it would take on them, the debt that their relationship would have to pay… She had hid it for so long but with time, her essence and power had grown.
Willa was a succubus and her very nature was aligned with a very specific balance of belief and action. Her essence and power was reactive as much as it was inductive and while loving a knight like John had been possible before the war, after, to be with him in any form, especially physically, would drain her because of the corruption.
“Hey,” John whispered from next to her. “I’ve missed you…”
Willa turned to him. His eyes were fluttering, sleep was coming to him quickly, swifter than what she remembered from other times after they had been together. She knew that it was because of her, he had taken a lot of her essence even though she hadn’t freely given it. It was how it worked, his participation in the holy war and all its corruptibility had taken plenty of his own essence and polluted it so, he needed hers, and much like a leech, he’d sucked it from her. As a succubus, she once siphoned from him when he was not tainted and while her power was still dampened. But in six years, he had changed and so had she. By morning, he would feel like a new man, and she would feel as if a fever had come to her.
But as she looked at him fall asleep next to her, she okayed it. She loved John. And although she was afraid of what was to come next for her, there was something sublime and also peaceful about being the one person that could restore him…
Even if it meant her death.
That’s it everyone. That’s WILLA. I hope that you’ve enjoyed the three-part story from me and Anthony Pugh. I have a fascination with supernatural beings like vampires, shifters, and succubus and such, and I really wanted to tell a time-period story, short and dark and mysterious, and this is what came out. I am grateful to Anthony Pugh for stepping in and giving form and life to these characters! They were every bit as dark and provocative as I envisioned them. Also, Jerry Nilsson, for designing the WILLA logos and promo art. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, he’s my right-hand at GNOSIS Studios. And thank all of you for continuing to read the story and for being a part of this CHARACTER + OBSTACLE = STORY Substack. Stay tuned, there’s more content coming!
Talk soon —
Brian
1/17/23
Well done! I liked the twist and your worldbuilding was subtle. Thanks for sharing this story!