Chapter 10

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒆𝒏

°. ⋆༺♱༻⋆. °

I must have misheard.

“They… killed you?”

But the expression in Jennifer’s face was as serious as a heart attack.

“Yes, Lilith. They sacrificed me, in fact.”

“So then… How are you here?” It felt like a stupid question, but then again, after such a revelation, nothing seemed to be far-fetched.

“For the sacrifice, they needed a virgin.” Here, Jennifer winced. “Well, oops.”

“Oh, right,” my cheeks flushed. “So… what happened then?”

“Well, they’d left. And I woke up and all I felt was this agonising hunger. I made it to the main road where I found one of our old classmates. And, well, I…”

“Jennifer?”

“I fed on him.”

It was too much for me to handle. First, Jennifer had told me that some famous band had started a fire simply to get her in a vulnerable position and ultimately abduct her. Then, I’d learned that they killed her —and somehow she was still here, alive and seemingly well— in a sacrifice,which did not work because she was not a virgin. And finally, she confessed to murdering an innocent guy by feeding on him, whatever that meant.

“Yeah, no, I’m done,” I got up abruptly. “Whatever freakish bullshit this is, I want none of it.”

“But don’t you believe me?” Jennifer asked with a pleading desperation that made me pause and turn to face her.

“I don’t… I don’t know. Can’t you put yourself in my shoes? It’s a bit… surreal for your best friend to tell you that she is supposed to be dead and that she fed on a guy.”

“Not just one guy.”

“Excuse me?”

“It was not just one guy,” Jennifer said more firmly.

My eyes narrowed incredulously. “You mean to tell me… that you’re killing people?”

“No,” Jennifer scoffed, as if I had used the wrong word, “I’m killing boys. Boys are just placeholders, they come and they go.”

“Yeah, right, great,” I chuckled mirthlessly, “boys are placeholders, Jen, and killing them means nothing. Lovely. I am done here.”

“Lils, wait!” Jennifer reached out to grab my arm.

I slapped it away harshly. “No, Jen. I don’t know what kind of freakish shit happened that night in the woods and how you are still alive, but killing people is wrong, beyond wrong, and you can’t just not acknowledge that.”

“You don’t get it,” Jennifer’s voice shattered, “I don’t mean to be this way. But I am a demon, Lilith. I am not Jennifer Check anymore. I am just a girl possessed, a monster… a succubus.”

My heart stuttered at that word.

I slowly sat down next to her.

“Say that again,” I ordered firmly.

Jennifer chuckled, as if she understood that she finally had my attention. “A succubus, Lilith. Does that amuse you for any particular reason? They’re sex demons, basically, you know that?”

“I know that and more,” I admitted, “I did some research while I was absent from school… I knew something was off about you. Plus, I had heard all the rumours and I just… I could not take it anymore. I searched for hours. I found an article about succubi and it just sounded… fitting. I cannot believe it.”

“Well, congratulations, Lils. You hit the nail on the head with that one.”

“So how… What’s that like for you?” That was probably a stupid question to ask, but it’s not like I had a guide on how to approach a demon or something.

“What do you think?” Jennifer asked bitterly, “I have to feed, like, once a month, or else I feel hollow and I look like a mess.”

“You could never look like a mess,” I blurted out before I could help myself.

Jennifer flashed me one of those breathtaking smiles of hers that always made me lose my composure. Not fair.

“Thanks, Lils,” she leaned close, until her forehead was pressed against mine. My breath hitched. “I actually invited you here because I wanted to ask you something, too.”

“Yeah, okay…” I muttered, the whole succubus stuff momentarily forgotten.

“Will you be my girlfriend?”