Threads

Chapter Ten- Part 2

            Alice’s eyes were huge, and Gabriel laughed. “Don’t worry.  They only do it to men - Harpies hate men. They think we’re only good for making them children, and then our usefulness is over. The only thing worse than Harpies are Succubus’ and at least they have their own men.”

            “There are no Harpy men?”

            “Nope.” Gabriel shrugged. “A man born of a Harpy woman is just a man, nothing special about him.”  He shuddered.  “Not that I call having a mouthful of shark teeth special exactly.”

            “So, have you met a Succubus before?” Alice thought they sounded sort of exciting…and scary, of course. “They control men, right?”

            “Er…I guess you would call sucking out your soul a bit a time ‘controlling’, so yes.”

Her eyes grew even wider. “They can do that?”

            “Yup.  And their men are called Incubus - they do the same. Make sure to steer clear of them.”

            “How can you tell?”

            “The tail usually gives it away.”

Alice took a minute to absorb that bit of information. “Wow, okay. So, have you heard about this Alexie Ambrose person the Harpy girl was talking about?”

            “Ah.” Gabriel grinned. “The singer. He’s all the rage with the Witches.”

            “Apparently Harpy women too.”

            “Ambrose is a Titan. Harpies are attracted to power - that would be why they like him.”

            “He’s not really acting like a Titan. He’s a pop singer, for God’s sake. How much power does a singer have?” Alice sipped her tea experimentally and scalded her tongue. She put down the cup, sucking cold air in past her teeth.

            “Apparently, he owns half the magical business community,” Gabriel said. “At least that’s what I’m hearing.”

            “Really? So where does he live? In the magical part of town?”

            Gabriel gestured vaguely southward. “A few miles that way there’s this big mountain, and he lives on the top of it in some enormous mansion. People say he throws huge parties all the time. It’s a big thing to get an invitation. All the business owners want one…and all the women of course. Talk is Ambrose has an appetite for women.”

            “I bet he does.” Alice wrinkled her nose. “I bet he thinks he’s a real Casanova.”

            “You don’t even know the half of it. This guy has an entire harem in his mansion.”

            “A harem?” Alice’s eyes widened. “You mean….”

            “An honest-to-goodness harem with at least twelve women in it.”

            “That’s so gross.”

            “It sounds like this man needs a lesson in humility.” Shakra stretched her paws out further where she lay.

            “I doubt he has any if he thinks he’s a god,” Alice grumbled. “I’ve never met him and I already don’t like him.”

            “Where did you get all this information on him?”

            Gabriel blushed. “Gossip session with Isabella next door.”