***The Mortal Plane***

***Amon***

I watched as Jeremy helped Betsy to sit down on the floor. The human's weak constitution didn't help me get over the fact that these people had heard us singing. Had it been obvious that we were trying to calm down the babies? There was nothing more embarrassing than mortals knowing that we had developed a soft spot for the fleshbags. If they knew, before long, they would certainly start giving us only rescue missions for babies without much profit in souls.

“Just so you know...” I wagged a finger at Loretta. “Playing wetnurse for your babies costs extra! Plus, we overachieved our goal and saved fourteen instead of one.”

“What? What do you want more?” she asked.

“To stay as long as we want,” Isabella pointed out helpfully.

“Why did they even abduct the babies? Were all of them abducted? I haven't heard of anyone else going missing.” One of the humans, a warlock from the looks of it, asked. He didn't look like the brightest man, but apparently he held a position of power because he was answered.

“My men reported that there are strange trees in the woods,” a female shapeshifter commented. “They have people grown into them and are leaking mana. I suspect that's how the fae created all of this. Haven't you magic users complained often enough about their seemingly endless supply of mana? Apparently, all it takes are a few human sacrifices.”

“More than a few in fact,” I point out helpfully. “Given how weak your mortal magic is, it is likely that most of that forest out there was cultivated over centuries by turning magically gifted humans into trees.” It was better just to rip the band-aid off, just so to get it over with quickly. The mortals likely wouldn't go away and leave us be until they were satisfied.

The contract said that we couldn't hurt anyone who didn't threaten Loretta or her child.

“I suspect that there aren't many of the fae outside this pocket dimension, or they would have called for backup. Just check for any families with a baby and check whether theirs is a changeling,” I explained.

They looked at me with dumb expressions.

I rolled my eyes. “Do I have to force-feed you every little conclusion?” I pointed at Loretta and her husband. “Child gets abducted by a team of two fae, one of them a changeling who is ready to take the child's place.” I point at the baskets with the babes. “Children are used as components for living mana engines. So what is the modus operandi here? Obviously, the fae abduct children with promising bloodlines and replace them with a changeling. The changeling lives with the parents for an indefinite amount of time until it decides to fake its death. Bang, the fae have their farm animal without anyone being the wiser and without a trail to follow.”

Uphir poked the fae prince's corpse, which twitched. “And in return, they get 'eternal' life, when in truth their natural lifespan is no longer than that of a human magus.”

One of the mortals gasped. “Is he still alive?”

“Half alive,” I corrected. “There is more than enough power in the fae to heal from almost anything given time. We didn't kill them off completely, which prevents the meat from spoiling.” I smiled, proud at our ingenious method of preservation. “And his tongue regrows fairly quickly, so I get breakfast every day.”

“That is enough!” The warlock from earlier growled. “Loretta! Dismiss them! Or I will have you and your husband locked away for summoning other-dimensional creatures, for causing a massacre on an entire tribe of paranormals, and for-”

He stopped because Isabella had moved up to him. Smiling, she clasped her hands in front of her chest just so to squeeze her tits in a tantalizing manner. “Are you one of the evil warlocks who prevented Loretta from marrying her beloved one? And by extension, the one who is responsible for causing the situation that forced her to call upon us in the first place?”

The man was an asshole, but he apparently wasn't stupid enough to openly declare himself as one of Loretta's enemies. That was too bad because it would have allowed us to kill him which would have likely resulted in the others attacking us, to which we could have reacted with even more killing. Sadly, it seemed like that wouldn't happen since all the mortals were very wary of us.

I cleared my throat and pulled Isabella away from him, careful not to touch the female inappropriately, which would certainly have caused the succubus to jump me. Then I smiled at the man, making sure to show him my pointy teeth. There was something about pointy teeth that unsettled every mortal. “You can't touch Loretta, or the baby, or Betsy. We declared a wâr against the fae in their name, and we demons are very prickly about such things. Fighting a wâr for them makes them practically family. Aside from that, her contract is still running, so you would also be smart if you stayed out from between us and any fae who might still be alive.”

He stuttered. “Y- y- y- ou all- allowed them to declare a war!?” Apparently the human understood a little bit of the demonic language.

It was such a hassle that they had only one word for war.

This time it was Jeremy who tried to defuse the situation. “No, no, board representative! You have to pay attention to the pronunciation. A wâr is more like a blood-feud to them. There is no war between us and the fae...”

Admittedly, his explanation sounded a little weak, given that we had burned down the entire fae village.

“Why haven't you killed all of them?” the shapeshifter asked. “It looks like you were partying here for long enough? And do you really expect us to stand aside once you go after that ragtag band of survivors?”

Jebril rolled her eyes. “Haven't we already told you that? It's because this place is great! The mana is so dense, it almost feels like home. We can stay here and train until we have to eventually go back.” She leaned closer and whispered, “Nothing against the Infernum, it's a great place with lots of mana, but most of the other demons there aren't so easy to live with.”

All of us seven demons nodded, startling the mortals.

One of the board members turned to Loretta for help. “You summoned them! Don't you know how to deal with them!?”

“Uuuh...” Loretta bit her lip, clearly at a loss, but then Betsy came to her rescue.

“Can I have that contract?” She pointed at my pouch.

“No,” I replied immediately, looking smug.

“Can I read it?” she reformulated.

I and all the other demons in the room immediately got sour expressions. The only law about written contracts was that both parties were allowed to review the contract at any time. It was clearly stated in article four, section five. Why I knew that? Because Ex actually made me read one of the damned things.

Without any other choice, I handed her the contract.

“Okay!” Betsy exclaimed excitedly. “Now we only need a few hundred lawyers...” Her expression fell when she saw the writing. “And a microscope...”

I huffed and returned to our dining table to take a sip of fae blood. Even if the humans managed to find some loophole, we would likely have enough time to get some serious training done. “We really have to bottle that fae juice and start selling it back at home.”

“It isn't as if we would have gone after those weaklings at the edge of the village,” Uphir consoled me. “We already killed every fae who dared to pick up a weapon in our presence. Fighting the remaining cowards would have been no fun.”

***The Infernal Plane of Lust***

***Isabella***

I reappeared back in castle P.o.P. with a sigh on my lips. Two months of uninterrupted training had passed in the blink of an eye until the humans finally figured out how to send us back. They had the surviving fae dissolve their court and evacuated them from their pocket dimension which satisfied the terms of the contract.

And Amon didn’t touch me once, even though I was nice to him all the time. It was only training this, and training that… I even went so far as to show him the basics of mental manipulation and how to defend himself.

How do other females lure in their males without a little charm magic or telepathic seduction?

At least he and his minions definitely got a lot stronger in that time. It gave me hope that my plan would actually succeed.

“Isabella! You are back!”

I looked up to find Claire gliding down into the courtyard. Apparently, she had seen me from one of the castle’s windows and simply jumped out. She still looked like me, but as she descended she changed back to her preferred form which was a shapely redhead with tits that defied gravity.

“I hope you appreciate that I was grounded in your place for almost a week!” she complained and crossed her arms upon reaching me. When she landed, she folded in her wings and had them seamlessly merge into a black dress that was showy and yet covered her in a tasteful manner. She had always been the shape-changing expert of the family.

Upon taking a closer look at me, she noticed my current state of mind. “Why do you look so down?”

“I am sorry, big sis,” I replied, unable to keep the dejected tone out of my voice. “It’s just that I was off in another plane and I didn’t get a lot of action lately.”

“No joke.” She poked me in the chest. “Your aura looks like you didn’t have a good meal in some time. Have you forgotten how to do the splits?”

I looked down at myself, but it was hard to judge my own aura. The only thing I could tell right away was that I had faded slightly in the last weeks. I was far from being malnourished, but as a form of energy vampires, succubi could easily tell the power levels of other beings. It was important to know whether pursuing a meal was worthwhile.

“No. It’s just that there wasn’t a ready meal available and the one who I am actually after didn’t show any interest in fucking.” I pursed my lips. “How do you get a guy to do the tango without using sex magic?”

My question was naive and hopeful, but maybe my big sister would have experience with such things.

She frowned, then laughed. “You mean, you want to seduce someone who knows that you are a succubus? And the contract forbids the use of influence? I don’t get the problem. Most mortals will do you anyway! Just strip naked and shake your tits and they jump you.”

“I mean a demon who knows that I am a succubus,” I clarified.

Claire stopped laughing. “Now, that’s a problem, but why would you want to do that? Don’t tell me that Jada rubbed off on you with her quest to find a permanent boyfriend. That’s hopeless unless you find a male powerful enough to be a Demon Lord. Any lesser men would be sucked dry rather sooner than later.”

“It’s kind of a restriction in our contract,” I moped and started walking towards the gate. “I am not allowed to influence his decision. I have tried everything. From being nice to serving him like a geisha, but he is somehow reluctant to reciprocate my attentions.”

“Well, duh,” my sister replied, making it clear that I was somewhat of a dunce. “If he is a demon, then that’s only natural, knowing what you are. Are you…” She stopped and then her expression took on a knowing smile. “Oh… so that’s what you are trying to do!”

I felt goosebumps running down my spine and quickly grabbed Claire’s arm. It was so stupid of me to ask her such an obvious question, giving her a piece of the puzzle to my plan. Even if it was just a little, Claire was smart enough to figure it out from there. “Don’t tell mother!”

Claire laughed and petted my head. “No worries. I won’t tell her, especially since the chance of succeeding is so low. But if you actually found a candidate, I won’t say no to the possibility. If you actually pull that off, I will even give you a helping hand once the murdering starts.”

Then she turned serious. “Actually, you might be running out of time. How fast can you build up your champion?”

I tensed. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged and waved her hands in a helpless gesture. “Apparently, the alliance we have been working on is crumbling despite our best efforts to keep them working together. Ashley has been influencing things, but there is only so much we can do without openly aligning ourselves with Khorne’s enemies, which would certainly open up another can of worms. Mother isn’t willing to risk the family with such a move.”

I nodded. Ashley already explained to me that resisting Khorne could be done, but that the family wouldn’t come out of such a conflict without losses. Mother was powerful, but she couldn’t defy an entire army. Which would mean that her daughters would have to join the fight and in any war there were deaths.

My sisters weren’t always nice to me, but my heart twinged at the thought of losing someone like Jada because of my selfishness. Despite everything, we were a family, something rarely found in the Infernum. Even the least nicest of my sisters didn’t teach me harsh lessons out of maliciousness. Our world was a cruel place, and one couldn't be too soft no matter what.

“I heard that mother got Khorne’s rivals to ally against him. Some of our sisters are undercover among their ranks and positively influencing cooperation which resulted in Mekedesh striking a mutual protection pact with Sogman and Lady Vegth,” I recalled. “But weren’t they supposed to hold out a few years at least!? Together, their legions are at least as strong as Khorne’s forces!”

“Ah, but therein lies the crux.” Claire circled her finger in the air. “They may be as strong as him together, but that would require them to work together without holding anything back. As it is, they are just a loose alliance in which everyone is looking out for their own benefits. You know how things go when demon lords work together. Their idea of cooperation is stabbing one another in the back at every opportunity.”

“So what went wrong?” I asked, fearing that Khorne had won a decisive victory.

“Sogman tried to leave Lady Vegth hanging when she led her forces into a major engagement. If she had died, Sogman would have been able to absorb her troops into his own and come out stronger than before. Which wouldn’t have been a bad thing for our situation. But as it is, she didn’t die and her forces weren’t completely defeated. In many ways, her survival sealed the alliance’s fate and resulted in them being weaker overall. Realizing Sogman’s betrayal, Vegth pulled out her forces and retreated to her own territory. It’s Mekedesh’s state that’s on the line after all. Khorne still has to be careful that she doesn’t fall into his back, but now he has only to deal with Mekedesh and Sogman. I doubt that we can get Vegth to commit herself fully a second time.”

I played with my hair while my tail flicked from left to right, as I listened to the recent political changes in the region. “But weren’t Vegth’s forces mediocre anyways?” I asked once my sister was done. “Her troops couldn’t have contributed too much to the battle anyway.”

“That’s true, but she had resources which the others need. Soulships and Anima Stones, for one. Her actual army may be small, but she had ships and the binding points which are essential for a legion’s revival. All that’s necessary logistics to keep the others going at full efficiency. An army that isn’t capable of moving itself as quickly as the opponent’s is damned to a slow death. It won’t be fast, but Ashley thinks that it’s a question of months, maybe a year until Khorne has dealt with his enemies and can turn his attention back to us. If he gets smart and hires mercenaries to keep Vegth off his back, things might develop even faster.”

I took in a deep breath and tried to relax. “Okay, that’s bad, but not all is lost. If you had told me that we have weeks until Khorne comes knocking that would have been a problem. But months, that is still something I can work with.”

Claire raised an eyebrow. “You have that much confidence in your man?”

I nodded. “I am certain that he is powerful and his growth is nothing less than astounding. All we have to do is to give him the time and the opportunity he needs without mother finding out.”

My sister hummed. “Well, supporting him will be your job, but I am not sure how we can give him more time. Ashley and our sisters are already doing their best to save what can be saved after the fiasco with Vegth. But I will reach out to the others and see what can be done without pissing into mother’s business. You are right about not telling her. She would be livid about you hatching such a dangerous plan. Too many ways in which things could go wrong.”

I couldn’t help but press my hands to my chest, moved by my sister’s concern for me. “Thank you. You never show it openly, but I love you too.”

My rosy world was crushed when Claire curled her lips in disgust. “There you go again, all gooey-eyed with those emotions.” She grabbed my upper arm and pulled me with her. “We are going to the training room and get ourselves a mirror. Then we won’t leave until you can hide your emotions and shapeshift properly! Haven’t I already sworn to give you a proper training lesson anyway?”

She shook her head. “No matter. Just know that getting yourself knocked up by that Khorne and hatching a male heir reflects just as badly on the rest of us as it does on you!”