Chapter 57: Chapter 57

"Two hundred thousand, three hundred and seventy eight!" Eris exclaimed, jumping up on the couch. "And more than eight point two kay shares in all social media!"she added, setting down her frothed milk, chocolate, whipped cream and sprinkles double vanilla and hazelnut macchiato so quickly that part of it spilled.

We were back at the same cafe as before, sipping warm doses of caffeine, sitting in a corner, surrounded by art deco posters. Besides the couch we sat on, there was a large armchair next to our table, and beyond that, a few empty chairs and tables. I noticed the barista from before, walking around with a bandage on his hand and a grim look on his face. Eris barely paid notice to anything, fidgeting in the chair, eyes beaming with pride and excitement.

"Is this really gonna help?" I asked.

"You bet! I already had so many DMs to respond to..." she smiled and pulled out a manga to read from some spacious pocket in her hoodie. "Social proof matters so much, Matt!"

A few minutes passed, filled with calm jazz music. I finished a doughnut while watching people milling around and out on the grayish looking street, then turned to Eris, happily turning another page.

"You know, I don't think it's necess-"

"Shhhh!" she cut me off.

I sighed and went back to people watching. Eris's phone was positioned on the end of the backrest of the couch, leaning against the wall, just in the position to catch almost a panorama of the area we were in.

I looked to my left and sighed quietly. In the otherwise empty chair sat Ra'zizi, resting her elbow on the armrest, propping her head up. Her legs were crossed while her other hand seemed to tap out some rhythm on the other armrest. Eris hoped we could get another shot of her in action, but for the time being, the succubus remained entirely uncooperative.

We patiently waited, Eris eventually managing to finish her manga. She would turn and fidget in her seat until finally turning to me with a slightly disappointed face.

"Oh, come on, let's have her spill one of our coffees... Is she not here?" she asked.

"... Yes... she is..." I answered.

"Can you just ask her to do something? Just this once!"

"Ahem..." I paused and looked at Ra'zizi again, nodding towards my americano. "Come on, you know you want to."

For the first time, the talkative succubus didn't respond, looking leisurely with a raised eyebrow in my direction.

"Or, you can knock anything over..."

She wagged her tail and yawned. I looked back at Eris, who seemed to be still optimistic about this.

"I don't think it will work."

I supposed Ra'zizi didn't enjoy being tricked, especially in the same way twice—although perhaps it was more that Eris had come up with the idea. We finished our snacks and coffees, and returned to my place, a bit bored. Personally, I was pleased to have an uneventful afternoon for once.

"You can open your eyes now!" Eris called to me. "Ta-daa!" she said, doing a twirl when I looked at her.

By the time the sun was going down, we were back at my apartment. She had put on a stylish jacket with a high collar that she put up, a tigh fit white shirt, and black cotton pants with wide ankles. She put her usually unruly hair into a ponytail and donned glasses with a thin wire frame on—a dorky yet intellectual accent.

"What do you think? Mysterious occult researcher, Eris van Dorien!" she waited for a moment before looking down and adding, "Oh, and yeah, I'll get better shoes for that."

She still had her regular sneakers on.

"You look... Outstanding..." I said.

If she told me she was researching the occult—or was a secret agent—I'd probably believe her. Eris was humming with pleasure, turning left and right, looking at her reflection in the window pane. She brought her laptop with, and had been taking notes while we were trying out the clothes.

"What about the dress you bought?" I asked.

"Oh, I'll change into that after," she said and pulled out her phone to take a couple selfies.

"Wowwww, I look so cool in this!" she mused.

I supposed for her figure, anything other than her baggy clothes was an upgrade. She turned to me.

"Let's try out your outfit!"

A couple minutes later and I walked back into the living room. Eris squealed—I hoped it was with glee—and immediately started taking my photos. I had a black slim-fit suit, black pants held up by a black leather belt, and black evening shoes on, with a solitary white shirt for a contrast accent. She somehow managed to get a hold of an what I confirmed through an online search was an ankh medallion that she made me wear. Taking a first glance at my photos, I thought I looked like a mixture of off-brand Derren Brown and an industrial band keyboardist, but I started easing into them after seeing different angles. I also realized how much I've slimmed down, the previously plump frame now looking borderline athletic.

"Alright," she said pointing the phone at me again, "do you think you can stand next to her?"

"Next to... oh..." I realized what she meant. I walked over to where Ra'zizi stood—a few steps away from the TV set, and posed for a photo.

"Maybe wrap your arm around her side... Okay, say cheese!" she said.

I tried my best to make a photogenic face, feeling Ra'zizi's enticing skin. Her claws were dangerously prodding at my shoulder.

"Alright, done!" Eris announced with pleasure. Of course, no one besides me was visible in the photo, but she still considered it "fitting" for her purposes.

"Oh, I know!" she said and stood right next to me, holding out her phone. "Group photo!" she announced, and smiled. The moment Eris's phone shutter sounded, all the lights in the room went out.

You are reading story Hell-bent at novel35.com

"Huh? What's happened?" she said, confused.

"Uh..." I had a sneaking suspicion, hearing a mischievous giggle, that it wasn't a power outage—at least not the regular one. I went over to the light switch while Eris was checking her phone.

"Oh, man, it's all black," she complained, looking at her phone.

It turned out that the light switch was off. Turning it back on, I saw the succubus, standing where she was, dragging her feet on the ground, head down but eyes glancing back at me with a faint smile.

"Let's do one more!" Eris said.

I walked back over to her, we took our positions, and the exact same situation occured. Then the third and fourth—with that one, she used her flash, but the light went back on just as the shutter was going off, resulting in everything being blown out.

"Goooodddd," Eris groaned, gritting her teeth. "Can't you tell your succubus to quit it?!"

"If only..." I said and sighed, perhaps too seriously. Eris looked at me, puzzled for a moment, then turned and started angrily stomping towards the light switch. "Okay, I'll stand here and hold the light switch. Get over and we take the photo, with or without her in the frame."

I hastily complied and stood next to Eris. Resting her elbow on the switch, she once again held the camera out in front of us. Looking around, I couldn't see Ra'zizi anywhere.

"Say doujin!" Eris prompted.

I looked up at her phone. "Doujii-"

The lights went out again, but this time I also felt a shove. My back hit the wall, causing me to gasp. Eris yelped and I heard something swiping the floor.

"Eeeek!" she screamed. "My haaiiir! Stooop!!"

"What the hell?! Ra'zizi!" I yelled at the succubus, but got no reply.

We were both panicking. Feeling glued to the wall, I reached out in the dark, but Eris wasn't where she just stood. I flicked the light switch both ways multiple times, but the light wouldn't come on.

"Auughhh!" Eris kept on screaming.

"Ra'zizi, quit it!" I demanded, "I get it! I'll give you what you want!"

"Will you...?" Ra'zizi's voice sounded right next to my head.

"Make it stooopp!!" Eris shouted from somewhere near the floor. "Maaaattttt!!!"

"Yes! Yes!! God damn it!" I yelled back at the succubus. "Stop!"

Momentarily, the light went back on. I was no longer pinned to the wall. Looking around in confusion, I noticed Eris down on the floor, kneeling in front of me, head almost shoved into my crotch.

"Uh..." I paused for a moment, looking at her disheveled hair. "Are you alright?"

Eris was shaking, looking up at me. It seemed like she was just realizing where she was as well.

"Y-yeah... How... Did I..."

She quickly scrambled back up, looking shaken, and started trying to fix her hair. Our eyes met, and I tried to reach out to comfort her, but she gestured me away. "It's fine," she said, covering her face with her hand for a moment and taking a breath.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," she looked back at me. Her eyes looked strangely resolute, "I just... I guess I wasn't quite ready for the supernatural, haha!"

Her answers to these bizarre occurences were always atypical, and now, like always, I was impressed by how well she took all of this.

"I think Ra'zizi got upset with you," I said, trying to gauge her reaction. "I don't know why."

"Seriously?" Eris scoffed. "You seriously don't see why she'd act like this?" She smirked at me and cocked her head. "Jea-lou-sy," she spelled out and turned around to walk to the living room table.

"Oh, come on," Ra'zizi giggled, "it was just a little bit of fun!" Her fingernails gently scraped against my neck. "It would be different if I was angry..."

"Such a bitch..." Eris muttered under her breath, "won't cooperate, will get in the way when possible."

She started putting all the other clothes she had back into her bag and closed the laptop.

"But hey, we're done for now!" she announced and started heading for the door.

Ra'zizi whispered into my ear, "how sad, my favorite is leaving? She'll miss out on the surprise..."

I felt cold sweat building up on my back.

You can find story with these keywords: Hell-bent, Read Hell-bent, Hell-bent novel, Hell-bent book, Hell-bent story, Hell-bent full, Hell-bent Latest Chapter