NOVEL NEXT v2 CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: In which motives and texts are subtly interrogated.
Una hurried after the elegant woman, who strode purposefully ahead of her down the hall. Although she wore heels with needle-point stilettos that must have elevated her by at least a few inches, her stride remained long and confident. Gabriella stopped at a door labeled ‘Staff Lounge’, gesturing for Una to follow her inside.
The room was more ordinary than Una had expected, given what she’d heard from Susan about the Office of Supernatural Affairs. It was a long, well-equipped breakroom complete with appliances, a couch, a small dining table and a sink. The only anomaly was a glass-fronted case with “Break Glass in Case of Emergency” written across it in large red letters, but Una couldn’t see anything inside.
A tall, heavy-set woman sat at the dining table, drinking a cup of coffee. She wore a black turtleneck sweater under a tweed coat and wore her pale hair coiled in a tight bun. Gabriella coughed, and the woman looked up, raising one eyebrow. The aide to the OSA’s director said nothing, but tilted her head towards the door. The other woman nodded and stood, taking her coffee cup and walking out of the room with a brisk step.
Once the door had closed again, Gabriella spoke in a low voice. “Miss Belmont. Please sit.” Una did so, perching quietly at the edge of a chair by the table, while the other woman busied herself in a cabinet. “Coffee? Tea? Spring Water?”
“I don’t suppose you have any Darjeeling?” Una’s voice sounded timid to her own ears. Gabriella nodded, pulled a tea bag from the cabinet, and put an electric kettle on to boil.
“So,” Gabriella said as she produced a teacup and saucer with a graceful motion. “You’re a succubus, yes?”
Una swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes. Well, something like that. And it’s a relatively recent development.” She watched as the woman prepared her tea.
“I’ve heard.” Gabriella turned to look at her. “What’s it like, going from Catholic priest to sex demon?”
Una laughed nervously. “Strange to say, it feels like something meant to happen all along. I would claim that God works in mysterious ways, but I’m not sure divine guidance applies in my case.” She accepted her tea gratefully from Gabriella.
Gabriella sat in a chair across the table. “So, what do you know about the Office of Supernatural Affairs?” She opened a bottle of water, dextrously maneuvering her long nails to avoid catching on the cap.
Una shrugged, blowing on the steaming surface of the liquid. She regarded the other woman carefully, noticing the way her dark brown eyes seemed to bore directly into her. With a nonchalant gesture that seemed practiced and deliberate, Gabriella tucked one lock of glossy black hair behind her ear, exposing a dangling silver earring shaped like a star.
“Well, I know what Susan told me; you’re researching and tracking a wide variety of supernatural activity.” She sipped her tea; it was too hot. “I hear your director has a lot of influence over government policy. And everyone knows you provide services for people affected by curses or incidents stemming from portals or magic; that’s in all your public service announcements. Does that cover it?”
Gabriella clucked her tongue. “Not nearly, but it’s a start.” She crossed her legs primly, and Una caught a whiff of flowery perfume as the woman leaned towards her. “We do a bit more than that. The director has her fingers in all kinds of pots.” Her enigmatic smile made it clear she wouldn’t elaborate.
Una leaned forward as well, suddenly determined not to be intimidated. “Is Susan one of those ‘pots,’ perchance? If you’ve read up on me, you must know I dislike bosses who use their employees as lab rats.” The words slipped out before she had the sense to stop them, but she kept her gaze locked firmly with Gabriella’s, refusing to blink or break contact. She may look older than me, thought Una, but… anyone I’ve been has years on her… well, except me, the combined result.
“What if I told you I’m also an anomaly, someone with unusual gifts and a unique origin?” Una’s eyes widened, but before she could speak again, Gabriella continued. “Just wondering if that would change your opinion of your girlfriend’s coworkers.”
Una frowned. “It wouldn’t either way. But I’d be curious to hear your story.”
“Maybe someday. I’m curious—you haven’t accessed our services, have you? You’re a possessed person, and you’re eligible for benefits and support. Therapy, occupational counseling… specialized health care and help with side-effects. That’s most of what we do on the lower floors, but you never registered yourself.”
The abrupt change of subject threw Una for a moment. “Well, it’s not something I ever really considered,” she said, feeling uncomfortable under Gabriella’s direct gaze. “I value that kind of ministering, of course. But I know resources are finite, and I wouldn’t want to take anything from someone else in need.”
The other woman’s eyes narrowed slightly. “So… you’re a very selfless person?”
“I try to be, yes.” Una took another sip of tea; this time, it was the perfect temperature. “But I’m also terribly awkward much of the time, and it can be easier to just deal with things on my own.”
The tall woman shifted in her seat, and Una saw a flash of metallic shine beneath the sheer fabric of her blouse. Straps of gold lamé; some kind of bodysuit? It’s a good thing I’ve feasted so well and so recently, Una thought, otherwise I’d be drooling. She could tell Gabriella’s body had lush curves draped in fine layers of professionalism and polish.
“You’re not on your own, are you? You and Agent Miller were just fucking in one of our conference rooms, weren’t you?”
Una, in mid- sip, choked on her tea, nearly spraying a mouthful all over the table. She swallowed hastily. “I—yes, I guess we were. We didn’t mean to… that is, there were reasons—”
Gabriella cut off her stammers with a raised hand, palm out. “No need for details. The demon-on-angel thing is pretty cute, in its own way… and Victoria and I understand that you each have special circumstances. Just try not to ruin all the paint and drywall, please? Getting repairs approved by the government is incredibly tedious.”
Una nodded. “I’m sorry for that. It won’t happen again. But you didn’t answer my question.” She set her teacup on the table and frowned. “Is Susan part of some sort of experiment?”
Gabriella’s expression remained impassive, then cracked into a smile. “Of course not,” she said, and Una heard the ring of truth in the words, even if the woman still sounded guarded. “Unless you count her own self-experimentation, but you must know about that.”
The taller woman stood up and began pinning her waves of dark hair up in a tight chignon at the crown of her head. “All right,” she said. “I can give you clearance to access the library now. Come along! Victoria may have finished with your angel by now.”
Una blinked. “Clearance, just like that?”
Gabriella showed Una two rows of brilliant, even teeth. “You’ve convinced me. Do you have any guesses what sort of gifts I might have?”
Una considered the possibilities. “You weren’t reading my thoughts, were you?” She didn’t like the idea, although she’d never felt tempted to wear the telepathy-blocking charms or devices others put stock in.
“Not quite that invasive. I’m an empath. Director Lombardi frequently asks me for my read on people, especially those she’s meeting for the first time.” Gabriella gestured for Una to follow and they left the lounge, walking towards the far side of the building.
“So you pick up on emotions and honesty,” Una mused. “What was your read on me, if I may ask?”
Gabriella glanced back at Una, her gaze lingering on the succubus’ figure for a moment longer than necessary. “Honestly?” She turned a corner, and Una hurried to keep up. “You seem genuine enough, and at one level, you’re quite forthright. But I can’t get a handle on your feelings. You’re a strange mix of naïve and experienced, innocent and world-weary. Conflicted, which can’t be a surprise? Still, your intentions are sincere, and it’s obvious you care for Susan.”
Gabriella stopped and tapped a code into a keypad next to a reinforced oak door. “Here we are! Even if Susan hasn’t arrived, we have all the dangerous or classified materials locked up—feel free to browse.”
Una raised an eyebrow. “So you have a collection of ordinary books on supernatural phenomena?”
Gabriella laughed. “Certainly; the sort of thing you can find in any library these days. Reference works, popular non-fiction. There’s a children’s shelf that’s been helpful for some of our clients’ kids. ‘My Daddy Changes with the Full Moon’ and so on.”
She turned the knob and swung the door open, stepping aside. “You’ll need Susan’s access card for anything restricted. Enjoy… and it was nice to chat with you, Una.” Gabriella’s smile had a hint of mischief in it, as did the brief wave of her fingers before
Una stepped past her, through the door, and found herself alone among the books.Una blinked, her eyes adjusting as the door clicked shut behind her. The library was dim and crowded with shelves; they lined every wall and obscured the back of the chamber. It wasn’t an enormous library, but seemed to contain a wide variety of materials: old leather-bound tomes, new paperbacks, file cabinets stuffed with papers, and everything in between.
A small, low reading table sat in one corner near a shelf of brightly colored books. Una picked one up at random and read the title, ‘The Little Orc Who Came to Stay.’ She smiled, noting that the orc on the cover wore a pink sundress, and couldn’t help thinking of Paisley. I should give that orc a call sometime, if only to have a bitch session…
A soft gleam radiated from somewhere beyond the shelves; someone had a reading lamp on. Una followed a path through the stacks, turning a corner into what turned out to be the longer section of the L-shaped chamber. In the dusty silence of the library, she could hear pages being turned, and the occasional scratch of a pen.
As she came around a corner, her eyes fell on a familiar figure seated at a table, her back to Una: Susan, poring intently over a stack of books and documents, her glasses perched on her nose. She hadn’t noticed the succubus’ presence. Una took a quiet step closer, then another, until she stood only a foot behind Susan’s chair.
Una reached out a hand, then hesitated. Susan’s attention was wholly focused on a large volume spread open on the table in front of her. Una leaned over her shoulder and saw that it contained dense columns of tiny type and intricate woodcut illustrations of demons and other creatures.
“Mmm, hello love! I don’t exactly know how, but I can feel you there.” She turned her head and looked up at Una over the rim of her glasses. Her expression softened as their gazes met, and Una felt the pull of desire deep in her belly.
She leaned down and kissed Susan softly, savoring the warmth of her lover’s lips. Susan sighed into Una’s mouth as the demoness cupped her chin, tilting it upward and kissing her again more deeply. The scholar pulled away. “How was talking to Gabriella?”
Una shrugged and sat in the chair beside Susan, scooting it closer so their legs pressed against each other. “Well enough. I think she wanted to suss out if I was up to no good.”
Susan smirked. “My meeting was mostly getting scolded, and then I got permission to have you here. So let’s get to research! I haven’t had as much time in here as I would have liked. Director Lombardi keeps sending me off on errands and tests of my acumen.”
Una peered at the book on the table. “Is that one of the texts you were hoping they’d have here?” It was an impressive tome, bound in red leather and stamped in gold with an ornate cross, but looked centuries old, with worn edges, faded ink and foxed pages that crinkled and smelled musty when turned.
“Yes indeed. This is the 1684 edition of the Malleus Maleficarum Unexpurgatum, incredibly hard to find after the Vatican suppressed it. The earlier versions were mostly about finding and trying witches, although of course Heinrich Kramer was an incredibly repressed misogynist. He pinned the witch label on any woman he suspected of lustful behavior… or whose behavior he wanted to ‘investigate’ himself.” Susan waggled her eyebrows and gave Una a knowing smile.
“Not that amusing,” Una replied in a somber tone, leaning over to examine the black lettering crawling over the page, “when you recall how witch trials executed between forty and sixty thousand women under the auspices of our Holy Church, most of them innocent old ladies. Hmm, looks like… Latin and Early New High German?”
Susan nodded, her expression growing serious. “You’re right about the witches, of course, but that’s not why I’m interested in it. Besides Kramer and Sprenger, the Unexpurgatum had a third unnamed author, who included many unique details about demons. For instance, even in Kramer’s original, he suggested some demons are noble! And this mysterious author, who some later sources suggest might have been a demon, goes into that in greater depth.”
Una shifted in her chair and frowned. “I’m sure I can help you translate more of this, just like we used to do. But can we really trust the Malleus? It’s where the idea came from that succubae reproduce by taking the seed from men, transforming into incubae, then impregnating women.”
Susan looked at her partner levelly. “Una. Given everything you’ve experienced, does that sound impossibly far-fetched? We know Yael has been changing mortals’ genders for a long time, at least.”
Una nodded. “Fair enough. We can proceed like researchers and mine for useful information, regardless of how fucked in the head the authors were.” She caught herself swearing and considered briefly. Am I having this reaction because of something that happened to Yael centuries ago?
Susan rifled slowly through the pages, using a bone stylus to flip each section. Una noticed she was wearing thin cotton gloves and looked around for another pair. By the time she found them, Susan was pointing out a passage. “Here’s what I wanted to get your opinion on,” she said. “This title, for starters. ‘Means by Which Demons May Assume Tangible Form,’ I think it says?”
The couple leaned forward to study the text together.
