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A FLICKER OF LIFE STILL remained inside Eden’s mark when she drew her magic out of him. Hearing that everyone who lived in Nox was essentially doomed had her acting rashly. Whatever the reason for her decision was, she left a small trace of her magic inside the almost weightless shell and picked it up. She slung it over her shoulder next to her purse, grabbed her umbrella, then climbed back into the rain. She slid the window down, but she couldn’t lock it from the outside. The water that had dripped from her umbrella would dry before the wife came home and discovered her husband was missing. Eden hadn’t left any traces of herself behind. The rain would wash away her scent, so no one would be able to track this crime back to her.
The assassin swiftly descended to the ground and pushed the ladder back up with one hand. She ran on the balls of her feet so her heels didn’t touch the ground. While she would never be able to run as fast as a vampire, she was a blur of speed as she headed for a nearby hospital.
Ingesting the energy of her victims always gave the succubus a boost of strength. She paused in an alley long enough to strip his clothes off and stuffed them into a rubbish bin. Then she sped off and dropped the body at the doors to the hospital further down the block. Instead of leaving the area, she sprinted to a deep patch of darkness a short distance away. The sound of rain drumming on her umbrella could draw attention to her, so she took shelter beneath a tree and waited to see what was going to happen.
As Eden waited, she glanced around and saw a stone statue of a hound lurking near a crumbling wall. It was so lifelike that it almost looked like it was going to start growling at her. About the size of a normal dog, its upper lip was lifted in a frozen snarl. Eden had seen a lot of strange things in Nox, but it still gave her a start.
Her heart thumped hard and fast when a Night Cursed nurse spotted the husk. She sounded the alarm and several of her colleagues came running to assist her. They were all dressed in ridiculously short, tight white dresses and high heels much like the ones the assassin was wearing. Some wore tight red or black cardigans and half of them wore little white hats with red crosses.
The target was placed on a gurney and a hot doctor came running next. He was handsome, had dark brown hair and a ripped body beneath his blue t-shirt, jeans and white lab coat. He used his stethoscope to listen for a heartbeat even as his patient was wheeled away. Eden’s eyesight was sharp enough to make out that his nametag said ‘Travis Napier, MD’. It was rare for cursed beings to have names. She’d only seen a few of them scattered here and there.
Eden withdrew the last traces of magic from her target and he expired before they could wheel him to an examination room. The prodding sensation in the back of her head finally faded away as her mission was fulfilled. Dread that she’d done something she couldn’t take back seeped into her as she slunk away. A carriage stopped to pick her up when she hailed it. The skeleton took off after she called out where she wanted to go. The storm hit a few minutes later. Wind rocked the vehicle, making the magical lanterns that clung to its side sway and flicker madly.
The sense of dread stayed with Eden when she disembarked a couple of blocks away from her home. She raced through the mostly dark streets with hail nipping at her heels. The hard, icy pellets stung her skin where the umbrella couldn’t shield her. It felt like punishment for making a stupid mistake that could end in her demise.
She entered the mansion through the back door and headed straight for her apartment. The few holes that had been torn in her umbrella by the hail would be repaired by magic. So would the mud stains on her shoes and dress from her mad dash. She dumped her clothes and shoes in the hamper in the bathroom and took another shower.
By the time Eden stepped out, her sick feeling of dread was beginning to seep away. It had been stupid to take a risk like that. She still didn’t know what had possessed her to leave the body where it could be found. Usually, she burned the husks so only ashes remained. This wasn’t the first time she’d stripped the remains and left them where they could be found, but she’d never been bold enough to dump them in front of a hospital before.
After pulling on comfortable clothes, Eden poured a glass of wine and sank down on her favorite chair. Rain and hail lashed the window as she stared moodily at the streetlamp. The faint light was even harder so see now that rain obscured it. She hadn’t really examined her motives for leaving some of her kills where they could be found. This time, she could no longer ignore it. “I’ve got a death wish,” she said bleakly. Why else would she risk drawing attention to herself like that? If word got back to the Immortal Triumvirate about this, they would instantly know who to blame. Eden was the only one who could drain her victims to mere shells like that.
She stared out at the storm, contemplating her future and flinching a little when bright lightning flared every now and then. The succubus had killed hundreds of targets by now, but she’d only started leaving the bodies out to be discovered within the past couple of years. It should be enough to raise the alarm. Deep down, maybe she wanted the Guardian of Nox to show up at her door and reap her soul. If anyone deserved it, it was her.
