”The Captain said he wanted to see you in his office.”
Wu was clearly in a hurry, but he stopped briefly to convey the Captain’s words.
Nick swallowed the last of his coffee, then binned the cup. He and Hank walked the few paces over to the Captain’s office.
”I heard you solved the case. Well done.”
”Thank you.”
”I wasn’t quite clear about that community, but I suppose that doesn’t really have an impact on our case.”
”Uh – yes.”
”I understand it was a community of homosexual men?”
”Yes.”
”So a hate crime was behind our murder. Well, that’s not surprising really. And they were all Wesen?”
”Yes.”
”Did you and Hank go in together?”
Though there should be no reason for his reaction, Nick felt his cheeks heat up. Why did he always react this way? He had nothing to be ashamed of.
”No. I went in alone. I felt I would blend in better that way. Not that it worked very well.”
”Yes, I see.”
”Nick doesn’t look anything like those men. They’re sort of elf-like.”
Renard said a German word that escaped Hank’s notice.
Nick, remembering Monroe’s explanation, nodded.
”Yes. That’s what Monroe said they were.”
”Did they see that you’re a Grimm?”
”Yes, in the end. When I tried to take the artisans in for questioning.”
”Right. In your report, you mention certain rites -”
Nick was wondering what a Zauberbiest knew about elven sexual rites, if anything, but felt he had no choice but to reply.
”Apparently, they – uh – use sex – to perform a rite that supposedly safeguards the community.”
”I see. That must have been – awkward. Did they ask you to join in?”
Unbelievable. Why did Renard have to rub that in? Was it a sort of bullying behavior? Or was he truly interested, as a Zauberbiest?
It was as if Renard could read his mind. Suddenly, Nick noticed that his Captain too, was blushing. Then why –
”I am trying to determine if we need to worry about their rites. But this sounds harmless. It’s their business. Nothing for us to investigate further. No Grimm business.”
”They – uh – wanted us to join in, but of course we left the room and – waited. I kept trying to tell him that Hank and I aren’t -”
”But in a way you are, aren’t you?”
Nick felt as if Renard has slapped his face. Surely that was unusually cruel?
”Not like that, as you well know.”
”Actually, Nick, I think you and Hank should stop saying that you’re not a ‘real’ couple. It might weaken the bond and could still bring about the apocalypse.”
Nick and Hank stared at their Captain, wondering if he was right and if so their not sharing a room could have a detrimental effect on the balance – that reminded Nick of De Jong’s insistence that a man alone was out of balance. Then they both noticed the faint tremors are the corner of Renard’s mouth. He was making a joke. Unbelievable. And about something like that too.
”Uh – right. Is that all, sir?”
”Yes, that’s all.”
Nick and Hank returned to their other cases and tried to live down the embarrassment. They had never seen Renard in a joking mood before. Perhaps that meant that for once, their situation was stable. As far as they could tell they were safe from the Royal families at the moment.
Their Captain’s sense of humor didn’t manifest itself again for the next couple of weeks.
One day, Wu reported an odd series of incidents across the city. Men had reported being sexually assaulted by some mysterious ghostly creature. They awoke pale, fatigued – more tired than when they went to bed in the evening – and could recall having been visited by this vague female creature during the night. It had started when a few men had been to see their doctors about their unsual fatigue. During the course of the consultation, the details about the ‘dream’ or visitation had come out and eventually, someone had thought it best to report it to the police.
”That’s all I know, but I thought I should mention it to you. You know in case this is a -”
Wu lowered his voice and continued at what was barely above a whisper.
”Wesen activity.”
”Good thinking. Thanks.”
Hank looked uncomfortable.
”What do you make of that?”
”Well, if it’s not just a case of overactive imaginations or drugs, it does sound as if it might be some kind of Wesen behind it. I’d better call Monroe and find out.”
”You do that. I’m going to read Wu’s report. Maybe we should go out and question some of the victims? Or their doctors?”
”Both, I should think. Just a moment. I’ll just call Monroe and ask.”
No one replied at Monroe’s house, so Nick called the pharmacy. Rosalie picked up.
”Oh, hi, Nick. What I can do for you? Is it Monroe you want?”
”Maybe you can tell me – I don’t know if you’ve heard, but we’ve had reports some men have been – victims of either vivid dreams or visions or – they’ve been – well, sexually assaulted by a female ghostly creature that visits them during the night.”
”Succubus. Yes, of course, I’ve had a few requests for strengthening tonics. I was about to ask Monroe to call you. Usually, this only happens once or twice a year, but lately there’s been more. Maybe it’s a case for a Grimm.”
”Are these succubus creatures dangerous? Can they kill a man by – doing what they do?”
”It’s succubi. One succubus, two succubi – and – in theory, yes. If a succubus returned to the same man too many nights in a row. I suppose he might actually be so exhausted he’d die. But I haven’t heard of it happening to anyone. This is just – either it’s a group of succubi or one that is unusually active. And that – is a bit sinister. I’ll need to read about it and I’ll get back to you.”
”Thanks. So it’s something we need to investigate?”
”Well, as police officers I don’t know if there is much you can do, but as a Grimm – maybe. Still, these aren’t truly evil creatures like most Hexenbiests. It’s just the way they live. So I’m not sure I’d like to see you go chopping off heads -”
”I wasn’t going to do that. But maybe if I talked to one of them – I could maybe persuade her to leave?”
”It’s worth a try. But you need to be careful, so you don’t get – targeted yourself. Any single man is at risk, or even a man with a partner who is alone at the time.”
”Is that all – isn’t there anything else I could do to – uh – protect myself?”
”Not really. But remember, if it does happen, it’s not dangerous. You’ll be tired and weak afterwards but not to the point that you’ll need medical help. Just come to me and I’ll get you a strengthening tonic. Or you could – show your commitment to Hank – hold his hand, hold him – kiss him. You know. They never target couples or even someone who’s not alone in the room.”
That didn’t make Nick feel that much better. In fact, quite the opposite. Though this was a female creature, he had no wish to be – raped – by anything or anyone. He was uncomfortably reminded of the time Adelind had tricked him into having sex with her by assuming Juliette’s shape. That was a miserable memory, since in the aftermath of it all, he’d lost Juliette and Adelind had become pregnant, carrying his child. Which was the worst kind of rape he could imagine. He forced his mind away from anything Hexenbiest related and decided to get on with the case.
”Are you ready to go?”
He nodded at Hank, then decided to warn him about what Rosalie had said.
”This creature – or creatures – they’re called a succubus and apparently two are called succubi, according to Rosalie. They sexually assault men at night leaving them tired and weak. It’s not really dangerous and apparently, these are not truly evil creatures like many Hexenbiests, but Rosalie says that there are unsusually many reports of these incidents and that was a bit – sinister – that was the word she used. She’d look it up in some book and get back to me. And – not being alone, being with your partner if you have one, is about the only thing a man can do to defend himself.”
”What? So this thing – it’s a Wesen, right? – can just go ahead and – like – rape you?”
”Yes and yes. It is a Wesen and apparently, there’s nothing anyone can do unless they’re married or something. So Monroe is safe, the lucky devil.”
”He would be. And that’s it? We are pretty much at risk of falling victim to this creature if we run into her? Ouch. Are they pretty?”
That seemed a bit irrelevant to Nick, but he shrugged it off.
”I don’t know. I didn’t ask. Does it say anything about it in the reports?”
”Hold on a sec. Yes, of course, here it is. An extremely hot girl. Young, sexy, naked. I can see that it would be hard to refuse.”
”I suppose if you put it like that. Rosalie said that it’s not really dangerous and if it – did happen to one of us – we should go there and get a strengthening tonic. That should help with the fatigue.”
”Ok. I have the addresses of the victims here. Should we just pick one at random?”
”I guess so. What about the doctors?”
”I have the address of one of them here. Want to go see her first?”
”We might as well.”
Half an hour later they were let into a relatively young female doctor’s surgery. She seemed stressed out but willing to give them a few minutes.
”We have been informed of the – apparent sexual attacks – on men throughout the city. What is your opinion about that?”
”I have seen three different patients come in with symptoms of extreme fatigue and physical weakness, but – as to the cause, I can’t really say. Only one of them was even willing to offer an explanation. To be honest, I found his story to be nonsense. There are a dozen different explanations to such incidences of fatigue. Vitamin deficiency. Overwork. Stress. Bad nutrition. Drugs. Some even say it might be our over dependence on backlit screens. I’d need to know more before I could say anything about the cause.”
”And you find it unlikely that sexual activity could lead to that sort of fatigue?”
The doctor hesitated for a moment, then shook her head slowly.
”No, I wouldn’t say it’s unlikely or at least not impossible. A man overdosing on Viagra, having sex with a real life partner might – under extreme circumstances – I suppose – get the same symptoms. Just like someone playing a computer game for several days at a time, not getting enough hydration or nutrition. So I suppose it’s possible. But then you’d need to wonder about his partner. Or perhaps partners.”
”Uh – yes. Is that all you can tell us?”
”As I said, I don’t have any more information to go on, so no, at the moment, I’m afraid I don’t have anything else to tell you. I have had tests taken and in a few days, I’ll see the results, but really, I’m not expecting to find anything unusual. Unless there’s a high concentration of Viagra in my patients’ blood. I’ll let you know.”
”Thank you.”
Hank looked incredulous.
”Wow. That was – weird. I never thought about that Viagra thing.”
He sounded secretly wistful and Nick was wondering if Hank was rather hoping to run into a succubus. Maybe he would welcome an encounter with one. Nick shook his head. Hank hadn’t been forced to have sex with a Hexenbiest. It was different for him.
In the afternoon, they interviewed two men who were reluctant but willing to tell them about their experience. One of them – an expensively dressed executive in his forties – exhibited a mix of embarrassment and excitement.
”I thought I was dreaming, you see. It’s not something you’d expect, having a really hot woman walk in on you during the night. Uh – actually, that was what was so dreamlike – she didn’t walk as much as float – but I figured that was because I was so sleepy. Then when she moved on top of me, I pretty much felt so stunned I didn’t do anything to get away. Not that I would have, I think. It was – amazing. You won’t believe this, but it was probably the best sex I ever had. She was just so – intense. Kept going for so long, in the end, I knew I was – honestly, I’ve never had that problem before – exhausted and was beginning to well, pass out. In the end I must have because when I woke up – hours late for an important meeting – I was in such bad shape I had to call in sick. That didn’t go down well with the higher-ups I can tell you. I was heading for Albuquerque for another important meeting, but of course I couldn’t go. Fortunately, Rick – that’s my doctor – makes house calls so he came up to my penthouse suite and checked me out. I told him what had happened and he didn’t believe me. I mean -”
”Had you ever seen this woman before?”
”No, no way. I would have remembered.”
”Can you describe her?”
”Well, it’s kind of hard to tell. I think she was blonde or – her hair might even have been white. Like I said, I was tired and it took me a while to really pay attention. She was wearing – at first it seemed she was wearing like a gown or something but then she wasn’t wearing anything. Believe me, she had a perfect body. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was unreal. All your wildest dreams come to life.”
”Do you have any idea how she got into your apartment?”
”I had security check out the locks and they say that nothing appears to have been tampered with. Which is odd, but I mean – she got in somehow, that’s all I’m saying.”
Nick couldn’t think of anything more to ask the executive. He didn’t sound too upset about his condition, even though it was obvious he was still suffering from fatigue. The pallor on his face hinted at some serious health condition, but according to Rick, his house call making doctor, he was just tired and not sick at all.
Hank had another couple of questions, but Nick couldn’t help thinking they didn’t really add anything to the investigation. It was merely to do with the woman’s appearance and her activities. Their witness didn’t seem to mind sharing all those details. Nick almost expected him and Hank to high five each other in their enthusiasm over this creature who had worn out a man who at least in his own opinion, was in great shape just by – having sex with him. Granted they seemed to have been going on for hours, but still.
Their next witness was much more shy about his experience. He was older and had recently been divorced and it seemed he was embarrassed more than anything else.
”I – have no idea how she got in. It was odd, she didn’t seem to be walking but rather floating through the air. I don’t mean up near the ceiling, just a little above the floor, and of course I must have imagined that.”
”Did you recognize her? Had you seen her before?”
”No, never. She looked as if she was maybe thirty years old. I’ll be sixty in the fall so normally I’d never have a chance with a woman like that.”
”Can you describe her?”
”She had long hair, past the shoulders. Her eyes were so compelling I don’t really remember anything else about her face. At first she was wearing a dress or something but that disappeared almost immediately. I never saw where she put it. Then – she was just on top of me and -”
He looked pleadingly from Nick to Hank and back again.
”I see. How long would you say this experience lasted?”
”I’m not sure. Towards the end I was so tired I think I just passed out. Maybe – at least an hour, probably close to two. I’m sorry I can’t be more specific. Then this morning, I was so exhausted I couldn’t get out of bed. I was shocked and didn’t know what to make of this. It’s never happened to me before. In the end, I decided to call in sick – I’m an accountant. Then by lunchtime I wasn’t feeling any better and I could hardly make my way to the bathroom – I called my doctor.”
”Does he or she make house calls?”
”No. I had the cab driver help me out to the car then help me inside the doctor’s surgery. My doctor has run some tests on me, but at first glance, he says there’s nothing wrong with me. I just need to rest. And no more – sexual activity of this kind – at least not for a while.”
”Thank you. I have no further questions for you.”
At least Nick didn’t and it seemed this time, Hank didn’t either.
”Wu just texted me with the address of another guy who’s agreed to see us. He’s a college student. Twenty-two years old. It’s not far from here. We can get there in fifteen minutes.”
”Ok, let’s go. It sounds like the same woman – or creature.”
”Yes, it does. She didn’t keep mr Roche busy for as long as mr Devlin.”
”Probably because he couldn’t take any more, being so much older.”
Hank smiled.
”Yeah, it will be interesting to hear what our college student will have to say.”
Though perhaps not for the same reasons.
”Yes.”
Their new witness Jonah Thomsen, wasn’t shy about his experience.
”It was like – wow – I thought the guys from my fraternity had sent her, but now I’m not so sure. Where would those guys meet a woman like her?”
”Start at the beginning.”
”Right. It was around two a m. I was checking out tomorrow’s assignment. Then I felt a little weird. I can’t say exactly how, but I looked up and there she was. Just inside the door. Don’t ask me how she got in, but the door wasn’t locked so I guess I might not have noticed when it opened. She moved really quickly and suddenly she was on top of me and – boy could she move. It was awesome.”
”Can you describe her?”
”Yeah – she was blonde or something. With long hair. Big dark eyes that sort of drank you in. She was wearing something but then she wasn’t. And she was perfect. You have no idea. Like your wildest dreams come true.”
”How long did this experience last?”
”I’m not sure. At least three hours I think, probably more, because I heard some of the other guys get up for their first lectures, like way early. Then I don’t know exactly what happened, until one of my friends was knocking on the door. He said he’d been there earlier like around nine or so, but I didn’t answer, so he came back after his first lecture and when I didn’t say anything, he walked in. So the door wasn’t locked. He said I looked like shit. And I felt really weak. Like I couldn’t walk. And I almost couldn’t. Brad had to help me to the bathroom. He said I should get the nurse check me out and I said ok. So he went to get her and she said I was really exhausted. Told me to go easy on the drugs and the studies. Or – well, especially the parties. So I guess I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to go to the next one.”
Mr Thomsen looked as pale as the older men, but somehow slightly less exhausted so obviously he’d been stronger than the others, which was hardly surprising.
”Hey, Wu’s got another witness for us. Do we go and talk to him or is this enough?”
”Where is he? Is it far from here?”
”No, just a couple of streets over.”
”Ok, we’ll talk to him too, then I think we need to get back to the precinct and write our reports. It’s not as if we can go and find the perpetrator.”
”I don’t think either of these guys would want to press charges either. They don’t seem to have any complaints.”
”No, it seems not.”
The next witness was older than mr Thomsen but younger than the other two. Late twenties, would be Nick’s guess, but it was hard to tell. This guy was so well groomed it didn’t come as a surprise when he announced rather dramatically that he was gay.
”So I ask you – what’s wrong with me? There I was, just getting off the phone with a – close friend of mine – Gavin – and there she was. It was around twelve thirty or midnight. I was going to ask her what she was doing in my bedroom, because it was obvious she’d got the wrong address. She didn’t reply. Instead she pounced on me and – that’s what’s so weird. I – she got me going too. I swear, I haven’t done anything with a woman since high school and even then it wasn’t very much. For obvious reasons. I came out to my family when I was thirteen or fourteen so you can see how abnormal this was. At the time, I wasn’t really thinking, but when I came to the next morning, I was horrified. I’d never reacted like that before. This could be – I mean, it’s like nothing will ever live up to this. What am I going to tell Gavin? It can’t have turned me straight, because I refuse to let it. Still, it feels – Oh, I don’t know.”
Their witness didn’t have anything in specific to add about the clothing or any other aspect of the woman’s appearance, except to say she had ‘hair to die for’. A sort of mix of white and silver that was completely unbelievable. He’d like to know who did her hair. Other than that, his story was similar to those of the other witnesses. He had been kept busy for almost as long as the college student. Obviously he too had a lot of stamina.
Outside, Nick put away his phone, where he’d recorded the interview, then turned to face Hank.
”I don’t know about you, but I’m getting pretty tired too. Let’s get back and fill out our reports. We won’t get much further today.”
”You’ll get no argument from me. If nothing new comes up, I’d like to get out of here and back to the house. Unless Wu has something more for us.”
But it turned out Wu hadn’t found out anything more and since he’d recently worked double night shifts he was already at home.
Since they didn’t have anything else to do, Nick and Hank decided to make an early night of it, after filling out their reports.
Nick remembered his thoughts from earlier about doing more cooking.
”You told me that you cook sometimes?”
”Sure. Why? It was usually to impress some girl, but yeah.”
”How about doing some cooking with me tonight?”
Hank looked surprised and slightly amused, but shrugged.
”Why not? Anything you had in mind? Chili?”
”Yes that sounds great. I don’t have that much in the fridge so we’ll have to go shopping first.”
”Ok. I’ll add some of my specialities.”
”Let’s hope mine won’t clash with yours.”
”It’s a chili. Almost anything goes.”
So they spent twenty minutes shopping on the way back, then spent more than an hour cooking. Nick offered to do the dishes, because he’d noticed that Hank wasn’t too keen on that part of the cooking experience.
When the chili was done, they sat down at the table and tried it. It seemed they could work well together, in the kitchen as well as on the job.
They discussed the case for a while, but turned to other less serious topics and all in all the evening was a success. They both decided to turn in early. Nick noticed that he felt up to reading for a while before going to sleep. It had to be a first, since – he hardly remembered when.
The following day they spent catching up on two other open cases, because no news of the succubus as Rosalie had referred to it, came in. She didn’t call Nick all day either, so he was able to focus fully on the other cases. It wasn’t until after five that afternoon, that she called again and told him what she’d found out from her book.
”If this is the same succubus, she could be trying to give birth. She will need to – suck the strength out of far more men than usual in a short time, or it won’t work and she’ll have to start over. According to the book, that’s extremely exhausting for her and she might have to wait for another year or more before she can try again.”
That had an ominous ring to it, just as Rosalie had warned him.
”Ok. And you can’t think of anything to protect a man from them?”
”Sorry. There’s nothing to be done. Except – be with one’s partner. Focus on her or him. Physically touch. Preferably kiss. Other than that, it’s better to just let it happen, I’m afraid.”
”I see. And you don’t have any suggestion about how to find this creature?”
”Not really. There are so many men here in Portland, you can’t even set a trap, because how would you know who she’d pick? There’s no obvious pattern, at least not that the writer of this book has noticed. But if you do find her, just try to confront her the way you do with any other hostile Wesen. The book doesn’t say exactly how to catch her and I’m not even sure it can be done, but you can try. Talk to her, that’s your best bet. They’re just as intelligent as any other Wesen.”
”And she’d talk back?”
”I don’t know. You just have to try. I don’t have any other suggestion.”
”I was afraid of that. Thanks anyway. At least I know a bit more than before.”
Nick filled Hank in on the new info, then decided to go and report to Captain Renard in person. Hank was still writing his report. Wu didn’t have any new info to add either, so at the moment, they were pretty much stuck.
”Sir. I have found a little more info about the female creature that’s been – apparently – sexually assaulting men all over Portland lately.”
”I see. Let’s hear it then.”
”To begin with, Rosalie told me it’s called a succubus.”
Renard looked startled.
”A succubus? It’s been years since I last heard about one of those. Mostly it was – locker room talk. With other boys. I’m not sure I’ve ever met anyone who’s encountered one.”
”You can read our reports. We put in all the info we’ve found out so far. Wu has been looking into it as well.”
”Right.”
”I just thought I’d let you know what we’ve found out, but I’m afraid we haven’t gotten much further. Just interviewed a few witnesses and a doctor. They seem rather sceptical.”
”That’s hardly surprising. We Wesen know about the succubi but not that many have actually encountered one. They’re very rare. A non-Wesen doctor would never even have heard of one. Keep an eye and an ear out, but don’t waste any more time trying to find the succubus. They’re probably almost impossible to find unless she comes to find you.”
”Uh – yes – so I’ve been told.”
”Is that all?”
”Yes, so far.”
”Ok, that’s all for now. I think I’ll make an early night of it. You will let me know if anything happens in the Goddard case, won’t you?”
”Yes, of course.”
Nick joined Hank again at the desk, at least for while longer. A few minutes later Wu dropped by and the three of them chatted over a cup of coffee, before Wu had to get out on the streets again and Nick and Hank decided to visit another crime scene on their way back to the house.
Renard went down to the parking garage, got into his car and drove back to his condo. He left the car in that parking garage, then took the elevator up to his place.
After having dinner on his own, in front of the tv, he once again decided to make an early night of it. The past couple of weeks had been grueling and not only because of official police business. But at the moment, even the Royal families were lying low, it seemed and he decided to make full use of the lull in hostilities.
It didn’t take him too long to fall asleep, but towards two or three in the morning, he came to with a start, his Zauberbiest senses warning him of an intruder. A remarkably beautiful woman was floating his way. He had time to realize what was about to happen, then the creature pounced on him. Even if he’d tried to fight her off, he knew even Zauberbiests didn’t stand a chance against a succubus. All he could do was accept the situation and make the best of it. After all, it had been months since Juliette and there had been no one after her.
The following morning, Renard came into the office late. He looked pale and drawn and all he wanted was to get into his office unnoticed by any of his officers. A cup of coffee would have been nice but if he’d stopped in front of the coffee machine the risk of anyone seeing him would increase. It was a risk he wasn’t willing to take.
As he was about to close the door behind him, he heard Wu’s cheerful voice greeting him.
”Good morning, Captain.”
He was sorely tempted to ignore the greeting, but thought better of it. Reluctantly, Renard turned to face the sergeant.
”Oh, late night?”
”Mind your own business, sergeant. And get me a coffee.”
”Right, sir. I won’t be a minute.”
Renard hurriedly closed the door behind him. What incredibly bad luck. And how observant sergeant Wu was. It would be just his luck if Wu figured out what had happened.
Less than ten minutes later there was a faint knock on Renard’s door and Wu came to deliver the coffee. It wasn’t from the machine, so Renard had no idea how Wu had managed it, but he didn’t care anyway. He just grabbed the coffee without a word and sank down on his chair.
Outside, Nick and Hank had just come in, one at a time. Wu was wondering what the deal with that was, since everyone knew they were house mates. At least that was what they told everyone. Unlike Wu, everyone didn’t know what had happened a few weeks earlier. So he was wondering about his colleagues, but like the Captain had told him earlier he should just mind his own business. Except, he really needed to share that little bit of information about the Captain with Hank and Nick.
”Guess who just walked in looking extremely tired and grumpy?”
”No, who?”
”Renard. You don’t think -”
”You mean the succubus?”
Hank’s eyebrows shot up.
”That’s what I was thinking. I sure haven’t received a visit and it’s been way too long since the last -”
”And that was way too much info.”
Hank was laughing as he said that so Wu knew he meant no offence, but actually he was right. Way too much info. Better keep it that way too.
More reports came in, from victims and doctors, but there were no other witnesses. No one had seen or heard anything. It seemed like a hopeless job.
Nick and Hank had to focus on other jobs, but by now, at least a hundred different men of all ages, from late teens to late sixties had been targeted. It was extremely frustrating not to get anywhere, but the police was busy with other jobs and there wasn’t much time to consider the mysterious case anyway.
One evening, Nick got a call from Trubel, who needed his help with a problem that threatened her and Josh, so Nick took a few days off and went to see her.
Hank continued working on the most urgent case, but kept an eye on the reports that kept coming in. He and Nick had put up a map to see where the succubus attacks had taken place, but found no particular pattern. It was extremely puzzling. They still weren’t sure if this was one single very active succubus or a group of succubi that had targeted Portland.
Before he left, Nick had checked if any other cities in the area had had similar attacks, but it seemed none had. He had expanded the search to include the whole nation and then he did find other areas. The last known such incident had taken place three years earlier, but puzzlingly, that had been in South Dakota. Before then it was seven years earlier, and in Florida. He was sure that if he looked further back, he’d find more clusters of attacks, but this line of inquiry didn’t seem to help his investigation, so he decided to focus on other cases instead.
While Nick was away, Hank had decided to try to clear his desk and stayed at work until past nine in the evening, even though nothing new came in after five or six. He typed out a report on a case he had been able to close, then concluded he couldn’t get much more work done that evening and got up to leave.
He didn’t run into anyone he knew particularly well, but said hello to a few uniforms on the way out. Though he was beginning to get used to sharing Nick’s house, it also felt great to come back to have the whole house to himself.
He turned on the tv, got a beer out of the fridge and began to set out the stuff he wanted for dinner. Like this, on his own, he didn’t bother with too much cooking, but he did prepare his sandwiches exactly the way he wanted them. Not that Nick ever got in his way. He even offered to do the dishes most nights, because Hank really hated doing that.
After watching a movie he’d intended to watch for some time, Hank decided it might be time to go to bed. It was about eleven thirty and he was hoping he could get in early the next morning to get a bit more work done on his own. Of course there was no guarantee that Renard wouldn’t pair him up with someone other than Nick, if the work load demanded it. Or Wu might have a new case that required his presence out in the field. He’d just have to see what happened. But going to bed was a good idea either way.
He began to drift off to sleep, letting go of all thoughts of work. Then he began to feel as if someone was looking at him, so he came awake with a start. An incredibly beautiful woman was standing by the door. As the thought struck him, she began to move – not so much walk, as float through the air towards the bed. Hank knew what was coming and though he knew he should be concerned, all he felt was expectation. Excitement. Besides, there was no time to think. The creature was on top of him and from then on, his mind began to function far more slowly than normally. It was as if everything was just a dream.
Towards morning he dozed off or passed out – he wasn’t really clear about those last moments. When he came to again, the creature was gone. He felt completely exhausted, weak enough to have trouble getting out of bed. Whenever he tried, he sank back down onto the bed and had to lie there for a long time before his head stopped spinning. In the end, he grabbed the phone to let Wu know he’d come in later. He was hoping he was imagining the tone he thought he detected in Wu’s voice. Throughout the morning and early afternoon he tried to get up and eventually he was able to get to the bathroom. On his way back, he grabbed something in the kitchen, but he had to stop and rest like a ninety-year-old just to get back to his bed.
Despite the extreme fatigue, Hank could hardly stop smiling. This had been the most – he vaguely recalled having done things with Adelind, during the time she’d had him under some kind of spell, and that was unpleasant, but he could hardly remember anything concrete so that hadn’t felt very real to him. This – though undeniably more ‘unnatural’ was far more vivid in his mind. He knew he should probably feel bad about this. After all, a kind of Wesen had had some kind of supernatural sexual experience with him. But it had all felt so great. In fact, he was a little concerned that he’d have trouble enjoying sex with an ordinary woman after this.
He fell back to sleep and woke up to hear the phone ringing.
”Hey. It’s Wu. Are you coming in at all today?”
Hank hesitated. He’d never intended to call in sick, but it was a fact that he was unable to get out of bed and get ready for work.
”I’m sorry. It’s some kind of flu thing, I think. I feel really sick.”
”Ok. I’ll inform the Captain. Don’t worry, we’ll manage here without you for a while. But it would be great if Nick could come back soon. Any idea when that will be?”
”No, sorry. Not a clue. Hey, I know this is really inconvenient, but it can’t be helped.”
”Sure. No problem.”
Was it his imagination or was there a slight hint of laughter in Wu’s voice? Hopefully not. But Hank recalled how they’d all laughed over Renard’s supposed encounter with the succubus. Oh, who was he kidding? Of course the possibility had occurred to Wu. How could it not? His only consolation was that Wu couldn’t possibly know anything. Whatever he guessed, there was no way he could be sure. Part of Hank was hoping Wu would encounter the creature too. That might shut him up a bit.
The rest of the day, Hank spent alternately sleeping and lying barely awake, feeling drowsy and lethargic. It wasn’t too bad, but he was getting impatient to get back to work.
When he tried really hard, he was able to go to the bathroom – if he rested on the way – or – using the same tortuous method – have a snack from the kitchen. Towards evening, he felt marginally stronger, but not really strong enough to go to work. Even so, he knew he was going to make an effort to get back to work anyway. He couldn’t just lie here while crimes were committed all over the city.
Earlier than usual, he drifted off to sleep and so he had no idea what time it was when he came awake, knowing somehow that someone was in his room. Sure enough, the lovely creature was there again, and though this time, Hank was a little wary of the fatigue he knew would follow the encounter, he knew of no way of resisting and frankly, didn’t really want to. This was just too – incredibly hot.
The same experience repeated itself that night too. This time, he knew he was even more exhausted and barely came to until most of the afternoon was gone. He was hoping Wu would just assume he was still on sick leave.
Towards evening, Hank found himself half hoping the creature wouldn’t show up again. If he was being completely honest with himself, he didn’t feel up to any more exertions, no matter how enjoyable.
But some time during the night, the creature did return and this time Hank experienced a moment of fear. Hadn’t Nick said that too many encounters with this creature might even prove fatal? Not that a third encounter would kill him, he wasn’t that weak, but still. The first thrill was beginning to fade and Hank was getting a little – jaded. It wasn’t as if the second experience had been that much greater than the first.
He remembered very little from the third encounter and must have passed out quite early on. When he finally came to, he began to realize he’d been out for hours, maybe the better part of the day. He woke up to find Nick standing over his bed, looking concerned.
”Hey, wake up. Come on. Hank. What’s wrong?”
Hank felt stupid and dazed. It took him a long time to come fully awake.
”Hey. Just tired. Succubus.”
Hank seemed to fall back to sleep again, so Nick lightly slapped his face.
”Stay with me. Come on, Hank. Don’t doze off again.”
”What?”
”How many times?”
”Huh?”
”How many times did she visit you?”
”Three.”
”Three? Oh, no. Listen, Hank, I think I’d better take you to see a doctor. This is exactly what Rosalie was warning us about.”
”No. No doctor. Not sick. Just – so very tired.”
”But you’re just too exhausted. I don’t know what to do. I’ll see if I can get a doctor to come out here and take a look at you.”
”No. Just need sleep.”
Nick considered for a moment, then decided to let Hank be for a while. He returned a little while later with a sandwich that he tried to get Hank to eat. When Hank had swallowed two bites, Nick gave up, then returned with a glass of water. He was able to get Hank to take a few sips. For a few hours, he stayed in Hank’s room and kept an eye on him. Most of that time, Hank was asleep. He looked pale and drowsy and when Nick shook him, the whole body felt numb, almost as if – Nick decided that if Hank wasn’t any better by morning, he’d call Dr Harper. He was sure she’d come out and take a look, if he asked her.
Then towards morning, Nick suddenly became aware of a presence in the room. He tried not to face her so he would give himself away as a Grimm. In any case, the creature just kept sliding towards them. What was he supposed to do? According to Rosalie, all he could do was – damn. Submit to her – hoping she’d leave Hank be – or – how on earth had he ended up in this situation? A couple of years back, he never would have guessed he’d be forced to –
Desperately, he grabbed Hank’s hand. To his relief, Hank’s eyes opened and he thought there was a glint of awareness there. But the creature kept floating closer and in a second she’d be on top of – one of them, hopefully not Hank.
With a feeling of inevitability, Nick pulled Hank into his arms and held him. The chill down his neck, told him that wasn’t enough so reluctantly, he pressed his lips to Hank’s. For a second, it felt as if Hank was recoiling from him, then he felt an answering pressure. The chill down his neck receded and that had to mean the creature was leaving.
Nick let go of Hank and turned to face her.
”Wait. Don’t go. I want to talk to you.”
This time, it seemed his status as a Grimm registered and the creature backed off far more quickly than before.
”No, don’t go. I’m not going to hurt you.”
The creature hovered motionless near the door. Maybe it was Nick’s imagination, but it looked as if it had an inquiring look on its face.
”You can’t keep doing this. My friend is too weak. You might kill him.”
Then Nick made a leap out of bed and pounced on the creature. In his hands, it transformed into a small, gnarled creature. It even looked a bit slimy and was covered in an unattractive skin that looked a little like lichen or algae. Some seductress. There weren’t even any overly feminine traits. It was hissing in alarm, and Nick tried not to hold on too tightly. He had no wish to hurt it. There was a swelling about halfway down the creature’s body and he remembered Rosalie’s claim that it might be about to give birth.
Somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to hurt it. He decided he would have to let it go.
”Don’t come near my friend again. It would be best if you left Portland altogether. I’m not going to hurt you. I’ll let you go now.”
He did let her go and within seconds, she was gone. If he was lucky, maybe she’d stay away. In any case, he was sincerely hoping she’d leave Hank alone. He also didn’t have any wish to experience her embrace. After Adelind and this distressing business with Juliette, not to mention the Wesen Blue Moon and – his and Hank’s union – he’d had enough with – unusual – sex. If he never had to go through anything like that again, it would still be too soon.
He was wondering if he should call Rosalie right away or wait until morning – which wasn’t too far away. Since it was so late – or early – he decided to wait. Around eight, he thought it might be time, so he punched in her number and waited.
”Hey, Nick. Any news about the succubus?”
”Yes, that’s why I’m calling. It seems – uh -”
He broke off and cast an inquiring glance at Hank, who fortunately, seemed to be awake and aware.
He made a face and nodded slightly.
Nick took that as permission and continued with his statement.
”It’s been here, while I was away, and – uh – visited Hank three times in a row. Then it came back a fourth time, but we were – uh – able to avoid it and then I caught it. It looked – a whole lot less seductive, I can tell you. Just a small, gnarled, scaly thing, with a bump about halfway down its body. I couldn’t bring myself to hurt it so I let it go. After pleading with it to leave Hank alone and preferably to leave Portland too.”
”Ok. Well, it should be about time for that. So it might. Did it reply?”
”No, but it seemed curious of me, rather than terrified.”
”That’s good. I’m hoping that was enough. About Hank – I’m assuming he’s in a bad way?”
”Sort of, yes. I had trouble waking him last night. He didn’t want to see a doctor so I’ve tried to get him to eat and drink and other than that, I’ve just let him sleep.”
”That’s ok, but I can bring him a strengthening tonic later. Most of all he needs to rest and, just like you’re already doing, feed him and so on. He should get better after a day or two. I mean, he has to be in pretty good shape, right?”
”Yes. When can you bring the tonic?”
”Later today. I’ll come by myself, or send Monroe.”
”Ok, good. Can I leave Hank alone or should I stay with him?”
”It would be best if you stay at least for today. He should be fine on his own tomorrow, if he’s getting better.”
”Ok. Thanks. Bye.”
”She says I should stay and keep an eye on you. Don’t worry, I won’t bother you, I’ll just look in to see if you need anything.”
”Ok, thanks. I guess this was a bit – much. But it was really something. It’s almost as if -”
Hank sounded wistful, as if he was already missing the experience, despite everything.
”What?”
Hank looked embarrassed, but in the end, he chose to reply.
”If I ever get involved with another woman again, it might not really live up to -”
”Oh.”
Nick felt his cheeks heat up. So it was that good? Oh, well, he could do without that experience anyway.
”Oh, and Rosalie or Monroe will be here later today with a tonic for you. That should help restore your strength.”
”Good. I need to get back to work.”
”I guess we need to tell Wu.”
”About the whole thing?”
”No, I thought I’d tell him I caught it and tried to talk to it.”
”Ok. And I guess Captain Renard will need to know.”
”Yes. Again, about me catching it. The rest – I mean, if he really had had an encounter, it’s not as if he put it into any report, so there’s no need for you to do it either.”
”Good. Seeing as you’re here, could you go and get me a sandwich?”
”Ok. I should get something too. It sounds like you’re feeling a bit better?”
”Yeah. But going to the bathroom is almost too much.”
Nick made a face.
”Then I guess I shall have to help you get there.”
”If you would. But just leave me there and I’ll let you know when to come get me.”
”Ok. No problem.”
When Monroe dropped the tonic off, he told them Rosalie had said that the creature would most likely show up again somewhere else, a few years later. If they didn’t find out about any more incidents, it had most likely gone off to give birth somewhere.
Nick thought that since the creature wasn’t evil, he didn’t feel he had a right to interfere. It might seem odd to them to have a Wesen visit people at night to have sex with them, but not even the gay guy had been entirely negative, so it was hard to view this as sexual assault. Apparently, it was just one of these weird things he’d encountered since becoming a Grimm. Another one for the books – if he’d still had most of them. He’d have to make some notes about it, all the same. Start a new book.
After having the tonic, Hank went to sleep and slept until morning, then woke up feeling a bit less fatigued. Nick hadn’t got enough sleep, but decide to go to work anyway and finish his report. He promised Hank not to mention his – experience – but would hint at Wu and Renard, that the case could be considered closed.
Wu seemed to be slightly disappointed. Clearly, he hadn’t received a visit yet, and the way things looked now, he wouldn’t. Nick overheard several of the uniforms expressing the same regret. What was wrong with people? He liked sex as much as the next guy, but this was some Wesen who neither asked for permission or checked if her partner had strength enough to keep up.
The few remaining singed books he had upstairs, turned out to hold a little information about succubi and also incubi, a similar male creature. Nick read that some of those had actually targeted men, just like the succubi. At least it was lucky one of those hadn’t showed up. He was sure Hank would feel the same way. All in all, they could probably consider themselves lucky.
FIN
© Tonica