The wind rolled in through an opened window, sending the bottom edge of Sarah's bathrobe dancing. She had not slept any more, partly because she was afraid her brain might continue the story, but more specifically, she wanted to know what Diana had to say to her as soon as possible. As such, she had sat in her bathrobe until her phone's alarm informed her it was seven AM. She rushed out of the room, then pretended to be composed, taking the stairs calmly one at a time in an attempt to not seem too eager.

The house smelled of baking, but when Sarah entered the kitchen, she only had the droning hum of the oven for company.

Two notes had been left on the counter. One was in a handwriting that was best described as 'a right handed man writing with his left foot' that only read 'gone out'. The other was in a cursive that would've made a medieval monk proud, which read 'Don't feel too great. Staying in bed for a bed. I made breakfast muffins. Will be done soon. Don't worry about me. I'll be okay in a few."

Sarah sighed, slightly annoyed that she had to wait longer for whatever Diana had to tell her, but was distracted by a loud DING from the oven. A muffin took the edge off most of her initial frustration. She tossed the hot muffin from hand to hand until it had cooled enough to eat, then wondered how to spend her morning if answers wouldn't be forthcoming. Still tossing the muffin, despite no longer being necessary, she returned to her room, dropped down on her bed and picked up her phone to check for messages. There were none.

"Free morning," she mused out loud to herself, she put her phone down on her bed and left the room, not bothering to get dressed beyond the bathrobe.

"Guess I'll read a book or something," she continued her monologue, heading to Diana's library, sure there must be something that would interest her.

Now that Sarah had the time to observe it properly, Diana's library looked like a bookstore from a cliché fantasy novel. It was filled with odd, old tomes, bound in leather and written in strange languages. There was plenty of fiction as well, but nothing that directly caught her attention. In the end, she found a small stack of children's books hidden behind a pair of doors. She picked a few at random and considered where to read. She had settled on the lounge when the loud chirping of birds attended her to a door she had not noticed on the first tour of the house. With her small pile of books balanced on one arm, she pushed it open and stepped through it... Into a spacious backyard. It was mostly moss and a single weeping willow next to a lily filled pond. Remains of the summer's flowers bordered the edges of the garden. With the autumn sun quickly warming the garden, Sarah breathed in the pleasant morning scents and, delighted, took place under the tree. She dropped her stack of books next to her, sighed contently and started.

"It's a funny thing about mothers and fathers..."

"Oh! Sarah! There you are!"

Sarah put down The Lion, the Witch and the wardrobe, and made a mental note that she was on the start of chapter five.

Diana left the house, surprising Sarah by being fully dressed in a neat skirt and blouse combo. She had the top three buttons open, still teasing any onlookers with the orange lace of her bra, but it was a remarkable improvement to Sarah, who was suddenly very aware she was still in her bathrobe and pajamas.

Holding two steaming mugs, Diana reached out to Sarah, despite still being several feet out of reach.

"Cocao," she informed Sarah when she took the offered drink, then sat down in the moss across from her, tucking her legs below her body as she did.

"I see you found something to do while you waited," Diana started in a vague attempt at conversation.

"Not a lot of my usual reading in there," Sarah replied, inclining her head towards the general direction of the library, "Couldn't even make heads or tails of most of them."

"They're for work," was all Diana had to say, offering a mysterious smile, "Don't worry about them. You have more pressing concerns."

Sarah, who was enjoying her slow morning, frowned, "Like what?"

Diana took a sip of her cocoa, then ran her fingers through the moss, separating the green foliage, before finally gently coughing and letting the cat out of the bag.

"You're not going to like hearing this, but your aunt screwed you."

"Aunt May? How? Why?"

"Before I tell you more, I need you to promise me to stay calm and not freak out."

Sarah leveled her gaze till she could see herself reflected in Diana's glasses, then slowly nodded her assent.

Diana breathed in deep, fidgeted with the rim of her glasses for a moment, then smiled weakly before finally saying what she had on her mind.

"Let's start at square one... I'm a succubus."

Sarah took a sip of her chocolate milk, then drummed on the cover of the book still in her lap. She decided on a soft chuckle as a response.

"So, you like sex? That hardly seems worthy of a confession."

"No, I don't just like sex. I need it to live, as much as you need food and water."

"Bit of a drama queen, but you do you..."

Diana sighed, downed the entire cup of steaming cocoa in one gulp and stood up, starting to unbutton her blouse as she did.

"Watch," she said. Sarah took an unimpressed sip of her drink and watched Diana take off her blouse, then unzip her skirt and drop it to the dirt.

She ran her hands through her fiery red hair, then calmly coaxed two spiraling horns from the wild mane. They were as pliable as the actual hair and she shaped them to resemble a ram's, then held them still while they solidified.

Sarah blinked, unsure how else to respond. She removed her cup from her lips, slowly lowering it.

Next, Diana stretched out, still as graceful as ever as she clasped her hands above her head. A sound, much like two umbrellas opening rapidly at the same time, resonated through the garden and two large leathery bat wings burst from behind Diana.

Sarah's cup dangled from her hands, leaking the brown liquid into the moss.

Finally, Diana put her hand on her lower back, pulling out a tail like a rabbit from a hat, which swished cheerfully behind her, until she got it under controlled and rested the forked coriaceous appendage between her legs.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Sarah's cup dropped to the floor, spilling the last of the cocoa into the soil and she opened her mouth to scream. Nothing came out

"Hey," Diana pouted, "You promised you wouldn't freak out."

"Do I have a choice?" Sarah breathed, "You're... You're..."

"A demon," Diana finished, then added, sounding somewhat hurt, "And I've been nothing but pleasant to you."

"...So you can eat my soul!" Sarah started, then suddenly her brain took over and she started rambling.

"Wait, do I have a soul? Should I have been going to church? Is this why you don't want religious stuff in your hose? Can I call the lord Jesus to smite you? Was there blood in the muffins? Am I tainted by staying in your house?"

"I don't eat souls," Diana patiently answered, somehow having indexed her raving questions neatly, and answered them in order, "Yes, you do. Only if you want to. Yes. No. Only blood orange, and no."

Meanwhile, Sarah had chosen to slap herself in the face, talking to herself as she did, "Come on, Becker. Wake up, Wake up."

Diana took the three steps she needed to get Sarah, placed her hands on her knees as she hunched down, then looked over her glasses to make eye contact with Sarah. Sarah responded by scooting backwards, dropping her book from her lap, and remembering she was sitting against the unyielding thick trunk of a tree.

"I mean you no harm," Diana sighed, "Please calm down and listen to me."

Sarah continued to gasp for air. Diana sighed, then took off her glasses entirely, fixing Sarah in her gaze. Sarah felt a wave of serenity wash over her and suddenly noticed how beautiful Diana was. All she wanted was to be held by the otherworldly woman. And maybe find her lips.

A moment later the feeling was gone and the sense of impending dread returned.

"As you can see," Diana said patiently, "If I wanted to harm you, you'd let me. Now, let me explain..."

She straightened herself out again, stretched and finally sat down again, neatly tucking her legs under her as she had before.

"I hope you don't mind if I don't go back in disguise right away. It's nice to have the wings out..."

Sarah regained some sense of self control and chuckled nervously.

"Fine," she said, "I'll listen and then I'll wake up a little later and you'll just be a strange woman that likes to bake in her underwear."

Diana offerend an apologetic smile, "I'm afraid only half of that is true, but let's see. I started at the beginning, which leads us to point two: Your aunt."

"Aunt May?"

"Your aunt loves gambling a little too much. And she's not good as she'd you like to believe. Plus, like most compulsive gamblers she has some very poor judgement."

"And?"

"Well, she gambled with you as a stake."

Sarah laughed, finding this just more proof that she was in a dream.

"What kind of casino would allow that?" she challenged the claim.

"Cristal's kind. Now, next. Do you know what a cambion is?"

"That's French for mushroom, isn't it?"

"No, that would be champignon. A cambion is the child of a mortal and an incubus, or succubus."

"So?"

"It needs a virgin womb."

"Well, that puts me out," Sarah said hurriedly, "Total slut, right here."

"Liar," Diana retorted, though she sounded amused, "I know you're a virgin."

"...how?"

"Those horrible dreams you had tonight, about the inquisition."

"Yes?" Sarah asked, not realizing she hadn't told the woman what her bad dream had been about.

"Those were the doing of a friend of mine. A mara, which is how I had a walk in your memories. Shame about that high school boyfriend of yours. He was..."

"Yes, yes. I remember, big dick. Tasted awful."

Diana laughed, "Did it? I didn't see that, but I know you've never been with a man. The nightmares were an unfortunate side effect."

"...You could've just asked."

"And you would have lied," Diana observed rationally, "Like just now."

"So?" Sarah mumbled, "You want to impregnate me with a demon baby?"

"If that's okay with you," Diana replied, "Though I am not an unreasonable woman. It's not your debt, so I shan't insist on it. That said, the debt must be paid in full."

"Can't Aunt May write you a check?"

"Bad credit. Especially with Cristal, which is why she's making a run for it to Florida. But as I said, I'm not unreasonable. There are other ways to pay the debt."

"Like?"

"Even an immortal creature like myself needs money in this world. You could work for me until you've paid the amount."

"Which is... how much?"

"A lot," Diana replied, holding the O several seconds before she finally clamped down on the T.

"What's with the long O?"

"That's the amount of zeroes in the sum."

Diana smiled as she saw the look of horror on Sarah's face.

"Then there's the quickest way. Have the cambion and raise it. All expenses would be paid, hence me needing money."

"...I don't want children," Sarah said hastily, putting her hands on her stomach and slowly sliding them down, before finally flinching at a thought, "Especially not with horns."

"Those come in later," Diana assured her, before continuing her offers, "There's also option three. You stick with me for a while, so I can feed off you."

"Which you'd do... how?"

"Sexually."

"Any other options?"

Diana smiled wider, showing off her teeth which now included fangs on the top and bottom rows, "There's one more, which will be most pleasing to you."

Even though Sarah was still convinced she was dreaming, she might as well humor whatever part of her psyche was concocting this bizarre scenario. Aside from that, she thought that if she stayed in the dream longer, she might be able to remember it if she could ever afford therapy.

"Hit me," she said.

"Maybe if you're good," Diana teased, "But..."

Sarah breathed in deep.

"There's a human emotion that is far more delicious than lust to creatures of my persuasion."

"Which is?"

"Happiness."

"So you want to... eat my happiness?"

"Just a little bit, every once in a while. Honestly, nothing that can't be cured with a big tub of chocolate ice cream."

"Then why don't you eat the ice cream?"

"Eating doesn't work the same way for us it does for humans. Different biology."

"Thought for the rest it's all compatible? That's convenient."

"Indeed, anyway..."

Diana stood up and curled her horns back to wherever she hid them.

"If you tell me where'd you find happiness, I'll help you attain it. And then feed off you sometimes. You'd just be one of many. One of them is coming later today. You've met her, Nia."

"...The florist?"

"The very one. Even took a cambion for me. Sweet girl. So, just tell me what would make you happy and we'll get you there."

Sarah quietly watched Diana hide the signs of her infernal nature, wink over her shoulder and then head back inside, not bothering to get dressed .

"But," Sarah said quietly to herself as she looked at the cocoa staining Diana's shirt, "I don't know what would make me happy..."