The Succubus In My Closet

Chapter 5: The Cost

“Yes, you are Pearl,” Erick breathed, still trying to wrap his head around the sight.

“Thank you, Ma… Thank you, Erick,” Pearl said happily. “You have my eternal gratitude.”

Just then, his 8:15 AM alarm rang.

“Damn it,” Erick cursed, throwing the covers off. “I almost forgot today was a work day!”

Erick prepared for work and showed Pearl where the food was. He strictly ordered her to refrain from wandering outside and hurriedly left.

The morning commute felt entirely different. Walking through the lobby of his office building, Erick noticed subtle changes that made him wonder if he had stepped into an alternate dimension. The security guard, who usually grunted indifferently, gave him an energetic nod and a hearty “Morning, Blight!” before laughing at his own pun. Everything seemed… manageable.

Erick walked with his back straight, his shoulders back, moving with a fluid confidence he was surprised he still possessed. The lingering essence of the succubus had left an invisible aura around him – a subtle, magnetic charm that seemed to gently tilt the world in his favor.

He sat at his desk and booted up his terminal. A few minutes later, Robert rolled his chair right up to the partition, leaning his elbows on the divider. He took one look at Erick’s face, whistled low, and grinned from ear to ear.

“Well, well, well,” Robert chuckled, crossing his arms. “Look who decided to take a trip down living lane.”

Erick looked up from his monitor, trying to maintain a poker face. “What are you talking about?”

“Come on, dude! You’re glowing,” Robert said, pointing a finger at him. “You walked in here looking like you just won a million bucks. You went to see the Doctor, didn’t you?”

Erick hesitated, feeling a sudden chill at the mention of the mysterious young woman in the apothecary shop. “I... I went by the address, yeah.”

“I knew it!” Robert laughed, slapping the desk. “Told you she works miracles. Whatever weird charm or advice she gave you, it clearly did the trick. You look like a whole new man.”

“Yeah,” Erick murmured, staring down at his hands, remembering the glowing runes, the scent of crushed lilies, and the stunning violet-eyed woman who was currently sitting in his living room wearing his oversized hoodie. “A whole new man.”

The workday dragged on like an eternity. For eight grueling hours, Erick had sat at his desk, pretending to audit digital logs while his thoughts spun in circles around the violet-eyed entity waiting in his living room.

The moment five o’clock hit, Erick practically sprinted out of the office. He didn’t stop for groceries, didn’t respond to Robert’s invitation for an after-work beer, and drove through rush-hour traffic with white knuckles.

He found the Doctor exactly where he had left her. She did not look surprised when Erick budged into her abode.

“What did you make me do?” Erick asked, standing before the Doctor’s desk. “I did not agree to summoning a succubus.”

The Doctor closed the thick book that she had been reading and pointed at the chair.

“She served her purpose, did she not?” the Doctor asked. “Don’t touch her again, and she will dissolve back to the Nethers in three days. She relies on your mortal essence to keep her guise in this world.”

“What? How do I even do that? I… I gave her a name, and…”

“Don’t tell me you became too attached,” the Doctor said, raising a suspicious eyebrow. “When you sleep with her, she feeds off your vitality. It’s got nothing to do with her intentions, that’s just her nature. So even if you don’t wish to send her back, you’ll be keeping her around at the expense of your own life.”

Erick fell speechless. Deep down, a part of him had known that there was always a price to pay. No one dabbled with the supernatural and came out unscathed.

“Does she know this?” Erick asked.

“I suspect not. Since you’re the one who named her, she is yet to learn more of her nature. All she has are survival instincts. But do not mistake her naivety for innocence. She will eventually evolve to become more or less like her kind.”

“I understand,” Erick said in resignation. He pulled out five hundred-dollar bills from his wallet and slid them across towards the Doctor. “I’m sure this costs much, but that’s all I have for now.”

The Doctor adjusted her glasses.

“Don’t pay me if you were not content with the result,” she said.

“I’m just confused, that’s all. I am the one who came looking for a solution. This is my token of gratitude.”

The Doctor looked at him for a moment. Then she took the bills and placed them in a drawer.

“In that case, I accept your offering. You can try dating again, I am sure this time around, you will find the one you had been looking for. But I will not be refunding you if that does not happen.”

The Doctor offered a disarming smile, which Erick could not help returning. He stood up to leave.

“Thank you, Doctor.”

“Good luck, Mr. Blight,” she replied, as if she already knew what fate awaited him.