It was very unbecoming for a young warlock to be afraid of the dark.

The circle of candles Alice had carefully lit had gone out, plunging the cold ritual chamber into pitch darkness, and Alice was not alone. She felt it in her nerves, she didn’t need her eyes to know the truth of it.

Normally, demons liked to arrive with a bit of fanfare. Even the tiny imp she’d conjured up in her first summoning three years ago showed up with a gout of flame and a whiff of brimstone.

Tonight’s quarry made no such entrance. Instead, Alice simply felt it. A heavy, almost musky energy had settled in the air around her, a striking contrast from the thrumming, electrical sensation of ritual magic. This new energy was cloying, and it pressed against Alice’s magical senses as if smothering her. She could practically smell it.

She shifted in unconscious discomfort, noticing a tightness down below. Her breath caught when she recognized what it was: her cock had become fully stiff.

Alice was careful to banish any quaver from her voice as she spoke. She’d practiced this enough times to enunciate every word clearly, darkness or no. “I have brought you here to bind you to my will, demon. Submit or be rent asunder.”

She heard the demon laugh at her, and this did not surprise Alice in the slightest. Demons hardly ever went that easily, after all. What she was less ready for was just how musical that laugh would be. The melodious sound flowed over her like honey, and seemed impossibly to promise delightful things all on its own.

“Laugh all you want, demon; I have you in my circle and intend to make you mine.”

More laughter. More delicious, silky laughter. And then a voice, every bit as beautiful, low and husky and feminine and dripping with eroticism, “And how exactly do you intend to do that, little witchling? I have captured the souls of mortals like yourself for six hundred years, and I intend to do so freely for six hundred more. Though I admit, it’s been some time since a mere fledgling has dared to try their hand against mine.”

“I’m no ordinary student,” Alice said.

“Oh? Do tell.”

Alice couldn’t see the harm in boasting, just a little. She wanted to collect her confidence for what came next. “Nobody else in my cohort has done the research to even summon a demon of your ranking. I, on the other hand, have done that and so much more.”

The demon paused, as if sizing Alice up, before replying, “You have, haven’t you! This is custom work, I can tell. Well done~”

It was Alice’s turn to pause. The demon was right, of course, she’d made numerous modifications to the ritual, bending it to suit her needs as a caster. She was proud of her work! But the demon was too chipper about it, and letting it… praise her felt wrong somehow, dangerous.

“Just who are you trying to impress?” giggled the demon.

“I-” That was a good question. Alice balked at the thought of explaining how she was merely one of two generational talents in her year. It would be saying too much, to let the demon know how badly she needed to prove her superiority to her one and only rival, Astra.

Alice swore she could feel the demon watching her in the darkness, and it was making her feel very small. So instead of answering, Alice made a small gesture with her hand, relighting the extinguished candles of her ritual circle.

It was a mistake.

The demon at the center of her circle was stretched out languidly, as if she was right at home on the stone floor of the ritual chamber, and she was gorgeous. Alice could admit that much to herself, but she made a point not to stare: she wasn’t some pervert, and she refused to let the demon have the upper hand. Despite herself, she felt her cock twitch, as if magnetized towards the demoness.

The demon’s tits hung, soft and milky, at a size Alice thought would make a pornographer blush. She felt her own cheeks flush with envy at the size of them. Even her own ample bosom simply didn’t compare to that of a succubus. Every inch of the demon before her was simply the image of perfection, and Alice’s body burned with need.

Alice shook her head. None of that mattered; she’d chosen to conjure a succubus, of all things, for several good reasons, and she wasn’t about to get cold feet just because the sex demon was prettier than she’d anticipated.

“Cat got your tongue?” asked the demoness, interrupting Alice’s thoughts.

“N-no!”

“Witchling” said the succubus, keenly eyeing Alice up and down, “Are you a virgin?”

“And what if I am?” snapped Alice. She was, of course, she kept herself much too busy with her studies to worry about sex.

“Eager to spend your first time with a girl who was made to ruin innocent things like you then, hmm?~” The demoness batted her eyelashes coquettishly.

“On the contrary, I have no interest in your little honeypot act. The prestige of binding you will do nicely, though.”

The demon laughed again, and the sound made Alice feel warmer and tinglier than she would have liked. “But you have no intention of binding me, do you? Not directly.”

Uh oh.

She’d underestimated the demon. Alice hadn’t built the ritual circle for binding. Ultimately, she knew she didn’t have a chance against a demon of this caliber; she was out of her weight class. What she hadn’t counted on was for the succubus to catch onto that fact and call her bluff directly.

“So what could your plan possibly be?” asked the demoness, face scrunched in mock-contemplation.

“I-”

“Maybe,” the succubus interrupted her, “you’re hoping to make a wager against me?”

Alice’s heart skipped a beat, and a shiver ran down her spine as the demon leaned forward suggestively, biting her lip.

It… worried her, for the demon to have guessed her exact plan. She’d been ready to steer the conversation subtly in that direction, trapping the succubus in a bargain Alice was more prepared for than she’d let on. Now she wasn’t sure what to do.

“Three days and three nights, those are my terms,” the succubus purred. “Last that long without climax while I ride along in your head, whispering temptations in your ear, and you will have my service for as long as you live.”

Alice paused. The succubus was still willing to make the bet, despite Alice’s preparation. This was a bad idea.

“Or,” the succubus continued, “will you gather the ritual components all over again and try again in a month, hoping to snare a sister of mine who is a little less… perceptive?” The succubus leaned forward with a smirk that said she had all the cards and knew it. “I wonder if you have that kind of time?”

Alice didn’t.

She had precious few weeks before her time at Ducat’s College of Witches and Warlocks came to an end, and she needed an absolute showstopper to present before she graduated. This was her one chance. And she knew she should give it up. The ball wasn’t in her court anymore, the succubus had her on her back foot and seemed far too comfortable for this to be a good idea.

But she’d come so far.

And the bet seemed good–if they’d arrived at it on Alice’s terms, she would have been quite pleased.

“And… if I lose?” Alice half-whispered.

The demon gave her a wide grin now, sharp teeth framed alluringly by plump, red lips, “Then your soul is forfeit, of course, darling! But you already knew that. And of course, asking for help or revealing the terms of our little game to any friends of yours are both out of the question.”

The last condition would hardly be an issue, Alice wasn’t exactly popular: she hadn’t been planning on sharing this with anybody in the first place.

She could do it.

She could do it, and it would be worth it when she saw the dumbstruck look on Astra’s face.

“It’s a deal.”

The words were not an ancient chant, nor were they in any magical tongue, but they thrummed with power all the same, and the pact was formed.

Alice was doing… a lot less well than she’d hoped to be, on the third day. As it turned out, having a mind-reading sex demon ride around in her head, latching onto every tiny little dirty thought and teasing her mercilessly about it was having more of an effect on her than she might have liked. Last night, the demoness had almost gotten her touching herself.

She shuddered now, at the thought of what might have happened.

It was a lot harder than Alice had anticipated, going to sleep without rubbing one out first. Her nightly ritual of joylessly finishing herself off and passing out had been replaced by two restless nights of tossing and turning while a voice like honey whispered depraved fantasies into her ear.

It really didn’t help that something about her predicament–she wasn’t sure if it was some magical effect from her passenger or just built up arousal–had Alice’s body utterly on edge.

Tiny, passing touches had become a serious issue for her, and she’d had to suppress a moan the first day when someone’s hand brushed hers in a hallway, a fact that the succubus had not been quick to let her forget. Alice hadn’t slept well, and her exhausted days had been consumed by furtively avoiding any kind of touch or contact. Every single time her eyes strayed or her fingers wandered, even a little, had been magnified into something alluring and dangerous by her guest.

Had she simply not noticed before how often her eyes would linger a little too long on another girl’s chest, or were two days of chastity all it took to drive her mad with lust?

You’re never going to make it, morsel, sang the succubus, sweet and musical.

It snapped Alice back to reality, and she was dismayed to realize that the hallway she’d slipped out to in order to avoid ogling her gorgeous Exotic Reagents professor was now flooding with other students. The small but noticeable tent in her robes was a problem, and Alice needed desperately not to be seen like this. Looking around frantically, Alice spotted the entrance to the locker room. Perfect; no one ever used that sweaty old place.

She slipped away into the cramped but mercifully sterile-smelling hiding place.

Warlocks weren’t known for their athleticism. Most of them, Alice included, considered physical exertion a waste of their precious time and effort. Why bother huffing, grunting, and hurting so much when the very elements would bend to your will?

So the locker room, and the little studio filled with weights and gym equipment attached to it, mostly sat unused. Alice thanked her lucky stars that she had avoided the rush, and she knew being late for a class or two would be well worth the prestige of having bound such a powerful demon before graduation.

Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever even heard of someone getting so nervous about just being around other people. And now you’re all alone, where nobody would mind if you touched yourself a little, maybe made some cute noises for me?

“I’m not going to do that” Alice growled, out loud, a little louder than she meant to.

All she had to do was hole up in here for a few minutes, slip off to her next class, then figure out a way to distract herself without doing something truly foolish until one in the morning, and victory would be hers. She could practically taste it, and she so looked forward showing off her new catch and rubbing it in Astra’s face.

Sweetie, if all you wanted to do was have fun with me and another girl, you only had to ask~

Alice felt herself flushing redder than she ought to have.

It wasn’t like that.

Astra had just made her life hell for the last three years, and it would be nice to finally settle things once and for all, and prove that Alice was the better mage. That’s what Alice was telling herself just before the creaking of the weighted locker room discomfort shook her out of it.

Alice nearly jumped. Then, when she saw the bright red hair she knew could only belong to Astra, she did jump. She had to fight every instinct in her body not to yelp. Instead, she tucked herself off into a corner, separated from Astra by rows of empty lockers, and desperately hoped the taller girl would leave without noticing her.

But Astra didn’t leave. And as the voice in her ear taunted, Oh my, are you scared of her? the steps grew closer. Alice gulped and prepared herself for the worst. Why couldn’t she just choose a better fucking time?

Astra came into view and, upon seeing Alice practically cowering in the corner, crowed triumphantly “I fucking knew it! You’ve been avoiding me! Admit it, there’s no other reason a twerp like you would be in here.”

Alice’s gut twisted, and she felt herself shrink back a little further.

She couldn’t help but imagine the succubus smirking as that silky voice whispered, So this is Astra. You should answer her, Alice, why have you been avoiding her? Afraid you’ll do something you’ll regret?~

Alice’s voice came out smaller and squeakier than she wanted it to when she replied, “Y-you must be imagining things. I’ve just been busy.” She hoped she sounded convincing, desperately wishing Astra would just go away.

“Uh huh. And that’s why you’re hiding in a locker room right now instead of going to your next class all the way on the other side of the building, yeah?”

“I was. I was um, just, grabbing a few things first. That I left in here.”

“You. Left some of your personal belongings in the gym locker room.” Astra looked thoughtful for a moment, and then her lips curled into a terrible grin, “Okay! Show me the locker and the things you left in it, and I’ll leave you alone, loser.”

Fuck.

Alice squirmed, desperately trying to think of a way out while the succubus in her head made a series of rather distracting, pleased noises at her predicament.

“That’s what I thought. You could have picked a better spot though, if you’re so fucking scared of little old me. You know, some of us actually use the gym? Not that you’d know, with those stupid little noodle arms.”

It was only now that Alice actually realized what Astra was actually wearing. Instead of the flowing garb and numerous reagent pouches Alice was used to seeing her rival in, the redhead was drenched in sweat, wearing a tanktop that showed off the shapely muscles on her shoulders and arms. Below, she was clad in some tiny gym shorts which showed off her equally muscular legs and did almost nothing to conceal the fact that the taller girl’s bulge was much larger than Alice’s.

Alice felt herself gulp.

“Oh my stars, you’re staring. What’s the matter, never seen muscles before?”

“I-I’m not fucking staring, Astra. Actually, you’re right, I should probably get going, I’ve got class.” It was a paper-thin excuse, and Alice knew it, but she couldn’t see another way except hoping that Astra would just let her go. So she picked her bag up and booked it for the door.

To her surprise, Astra let her pass, grinning cockily as she did. Alice’s hands shook nervously. When had they started doing that?

You look adorable with your tail tucked between your legs, lover. I’m sure Astra is impressed.

“Shut. UP!” Alice didn’t realize she’d spoken out loud, and then it was too late.

“What was that?”

“N-Nothing! I was just-”

There was a loud, hollow thud as Alice’s head knocked painfully against the locker next to her. Astra pressed up against her, face inches away from Alice’s.

Alice turned her head, averting her gaze, but felt Astra’s burning directly into her nonetheless.

“Just where do you get off talking to me like that?”

Alice wanted to rebuke her. Wanted to say how Astra’s talent was wasted on someone so careless and without ambition. Wanted to say how much better she was, and that she was hours away from proving it.

But Astra was too close.

And Alice’s throbbing cock was distracting her.

As if reading her mind, Astra continued, “You know, it’s honestly pathetic how close I am to having better grades than you. I spend at least ninety minutes lifting every day to have muscles like these.”

“And it’s a waste!” Alice snapped.

Astra laughed. “The other girls seem to like the results quite a bit. Maybe you should get a closer look.”

Alice could smell Astra, gym clothes soaked with sweat that was beginning to settle into the fabric. Alice hated sweating, hated the way it clung to her, hated how it smelled. But Astra’s was different. Something about it was heady and pleasant and… intoxicating, somehow. Alice cursed herself for thinking so.

But that wasn’t making her cock any softer.

“I guess you wouldn’t know about all that, though. What do you do with all that extra time, anyways, jack off?”

“Wh-what? No! I’m just- I don’t care about that kind of thing!”

Astra looked her up and down, sneering, and said, “Really? Could have fooled me.” And then Alice felt something hard push right up against her cock: Astra’s knee.

The succubus didn’t say anything, but Alice could feel the demon’s attention on her, and her smug satisfaction when Alice let out a moan.

“Oh my gosh, I knew it! You’re getting turned on by this! Gosh it all makes sense now. The way you act so competitive all the time, the way you won’t ever look me in the eyes.” Astra’s eyes glinted. “You have a crush on me, don’t you?”

“Wh-what?” Alice felt her jaw drop. “No! Don’t be ridiculous!”

She’s right, it does all make sense now. How terribly convenient for us to run into your crush~

“Not that I’d ever date a loser like you, but seeing you like this is awfully cute. Maybe if you’re good and admit you have a crush on me… we can make you feel really good.” By way of explanation, Astra pushed her leg harder against Alice’s fully attentive cock, and Alice moaned again.

Alice shook her head as hard as she could, and felt tears forming in her eyes. This was not the time! “J-just let me go!”

“After you’ve been avoiding me more than usual for two days straight and I’ve got you all alone with me, squirming and moaning? Not a chance!”

“Now is not the time, Astra! P-please just let me go, you can harass me any other day but this one,” Alice squeaked.

“Why isn’t it the time, Alice? Because I’ve got you cornered? Because we’re alone? Because you’re apparently extra sensitive and so so much more fun to bully than usual?”

You should tell her, Alice! Be honest with your friends. Your soul will be forfeit, of course, but you wouldn’t want to lie to your crush, would you?~

“N-noooo,” was all Alice could think to say, “You’ve got the wrong idea! N-now back off before I yell for help!”

“Oh? You’re gonna call for help?” Astra jeered, looking Alice right in the eyes, “Between you and me, I’m the one here who actually has a reason to be here. I just got done working out, and I came in here and found this gross shut-in nerd panting and moaning in the corner when she thought she had some privacy! Are you really gonna risk that kind of scandal?”

Alice gulped, and Astra ground her thigh up harder into her lap.

Doesn’t that feel good, darling? You should buck a little. Where’s the harm?

Alice felt like a deer in the headlights. The feeling of being so hopelessly physically overpowered, the nauseating thought of being exposed the way Astra said, the extreme stakes of her predicament with the succubus, and the twisted fact that on some level Alice was enjoying the attention Astra was giving her between her legs all mixed together into a cocktail of sensations that the smaller girl simply wasn’t sure how to process.

Not knowing what to do, Alice squirmed. And it just so happened that, with Astra’s leg positioned the way it was, that felt good.

There’s a good girl, doesn’t that feel nice? purred the succubus.

At practically the same time, Astra said, voice dripping with contempt, “Oh my gosh, did you just do what I think you did? You’re even more pathetic than I imagined. Just how low can you sink?”

Alice’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Even if she got out of this somehow, she would never live this down. Even if it was a big misunderstanding, Astra wouldn’t see it that way.

She gave Alice a look that felt uncomfortably like an animal eyeing its next meal, and continued, “Maybe we should find out.”

Before Alice could voice any coherent protest, Astra lunged forward and bit her where her neck met her shoulders, hard enough to really hurt. The surprise, as much as the pain, caused Alice to yelp. For a wonderful instant, Alice thought maybe the scream would draw someone’s attention and get her out of danger, but Astra’s hand was on her mouth before she could make a single sound.

All that came out was a muffled moan that sounded far lewder than Alice would have liked.

“Oh, I’m going to have fun with you. You spend the last three years puffing your fat fucking chest out, gloating every time you score higher than me on an exam or impress one of our professors, even though we both know you try way harder than me. You fan your feathers out and egg me on and act like you’re so much better, and it turns out the whole time you’ve been a pent up, thigh-humping loser with a huge, pathetic fucking crush on me?”

Alice shook her head in protest. That was so unfair! A total misrepresentation of her. Of her whole deal!

She felt her ears burning, and desperately wished she didn’t have an extra audience member in the succubus, for her dignity as much as anything else. She was so caught up trying to convince Astra–and herself for that matter–that she was wrong, Alice didn’t even notice when Astra briefly removed the hand pinning her wrist to the locker and made a small gesture.

Suddenly, both of her wrists were pinned to the lockers again, leaving Alice’s mouth free. As soon as Alice realized, she screamed. This was her chance, it had to be. Astra didn’t know it, but this was much bigger than a rivalry or a crush or the way Alice’s stomach was churning with twisted up arousal.

Except no sound at all came out of Alice’s throat.

The succubus was quiet, apparently content to let Astra do her worst, but Alice swore she could feel the demon looking on smugly while her chances looked worse and worse.

“Cool trick, right?” said Astra, like she’d pulled a coin out from behind Alice’s ear rather than taking away Alice’s only means of salvation. “The countercharm’s simple, if you’re a good little toy for me, maybe I’ll teach you later~” She laughed, a throaty purr that tickled Alice’s ears.

Alice’s heart plummeted. Why did Astra have to pick today of all days to up the ante? Why now? It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair and it was going to cost her everything if she didn’t think of a way out.

“It’s hilarious, actually,” Astra said, driving her thigh further between Alice’s legs, “you’re probably the only girl in our year that doesn’t already know the spell. Too busy burying your nose in dusty old tomes to get up to any freaky magic sex. Honestly, what would you do without me?”

No way out but through, Alice thought. Maybe if she caught Astra off guard, she could slip away. She struggled, writhed, squirmed, and twisted as hard as she could, but it was no use. Every time it felt like she was making some progress, Astra just leaned forward and put a little bit more of her weight on Alice’s wrists and smiled wider.

The victorious grin on Astra’s face was starting to turn Alice on, and worse, it felt like Astra could tell.

Had Astra always had such pretty dimples? Had her eyes always been such gorgeously deep wells of possessive hunger?

The arousal was getting to her. Her head buzzed. Her cock throbbed with need. Part of her wanted to give in completely, knew it would feel so good. That part was getting more insistent.

Eventually, when Astra seemed pleased enough with Alice’s total powerlessness, she leaned forward to bite Alice again. A whiff of Astra’s musk hit Alice’s nose just as Astra’s lips brushed her neck, and then her teeth found their mark. Astra bit her more gently this time, but it hurt all the same.

Alice’s back arched and her mouth opened wide as a moan escaped her lips but made no sound. Her cock strained against its confines, rubbing needily against Astra’s leg.

Good girl. Buck. cooed the succubus.

Alice knew it was a bad idea. Alice knew it was one of the worst ideas she could possibly ever entertain. But she felt so trapped, so defeated, so humiliated, and so fucking horny after everything, the part of her protesting just didn’t seem that important.

She bucked.

And she was rewarded by a very pleased sound from her rival, face still buried in the crook of Alice’s neck, and the overwhelmingly pleasurable sensation of the taller girl beginning to rhythmically grind her leg forward now. The biting switched to kissing, at some point. Astra’s lips were shockingly soft, wet, tender even, as they made their way up and down Alice’s delicate neck.

Alice ground her hips forward faster and harder, in time with Astra’s movements, rational thought utterly drowned by the overwhelming and pleasurable sensation of Astra kissing, sucking, licking, and marking every inch of her neck as Alice humped Astra’s thigh, leaky cock climbing closer and closer to the last climax Alice would ever have as a free woman.

Yessss, hissed the succubus, let go of all that resistance. It’ll feel so good to cum, don’t worry about what comes next.

Alice tried to moan, but could make no sound, so she humped harder instead.

Cum for me, said the succubus.

At the same moment, Astra seemed to notice Alice’s escalating arousal. She dug her nails into her wrists, hard.

As if claiming her.

A very small part of Alice screamed for her not to, for her to hold on to her pride, for her to see the danger and save herself somehow, but it was far too late.

Alice came, eyes rolling back up into her head as the scent of sweat and musk mixed with the overwhelming sensations on her neck and in between her legs. Her traitorous hips bucked forward desperately, wringing wave after wave of pleasure from Alice.

It was the best orgasm of her life. She would have screamed from the pleasure, if only she were able.

Finally, Alice collapsed limply against Astra, totally spent.

As her consciousness faded, she noticed dazedly that Astra had beautiful eyes. Her lips curled up into a contented smile, basking in the afterglow even as the utter, irreversible gravity of the situation began to set in.

Astra felt like she was glowing when Alice started shamelessly humping her thigh. The conquest tasted better, to her, than any of the actual sex she’d had. When the mousey girl’s eyes rolled up into her head and her mouth opened wide in a moan that made no sound, Astra knew she would have to do this again, without the silencing charm.

She felt a sense of smug satisfaction with herself when Alice slumped forward into her arms, but when Astra realized the little twerp had actually lost consciousness and wasn’t simply spent from pleasure, her eyes widened with alarm. Had she gone too far?

And then the smell hit her, burning and acrid. Brimstone. Stars, how had she been so stupid? The signs were right there, and she had been too busy enjoying the feeling of finally, really having the upper hand with Alice.

And, sure enough, there came the demon’s voice, silky and smooth and somehow snakelike in its cadence, Very well done, little witch.

“Begone, demon, this is no place for you.” Astra adopted a formal tone, the kind she only ever reserved for speaking to demons and their ilk, “Leave freely or wait for the twelve of the most powerful living mages to collapse on you at once and smite you where you stand, those are your choices.”

The demon laughed, a musical sound that nonetheless dripped with venom, Very well. But your precious morsel Alice will come with me, then, and her life will be forfeit alongside her soul.

“Her life was forfeit the moment she dealt with you.”

It’s not too late for her. Her heart still beats.

That gave Astra pause.

She loves you, Astra~ In her own way. I felt it, while I was with her.

Astra knew it was true. Of course it was, what other explanation could there be for how hard Alice was always trying to impress her?

But she scoffed. “And why should I care? She made a shitty deal and lost. Alice is gone.”

Not yet. But she will be if you banish me.

“And just why would I risk the lives of everyone here for a stuck up bitch who won’t even look me in the eye?”

Melodious laughter echoed in Astra’s head, now. It was soft and feminine, and just hearing it reminded Astra of sex. Is that really all you think of her? It seemed like you were having quite a bit of fun with her just a minute ago, from where I’m sitting.

Astra’s face burned with shame. She’d had a moment of weakness, and Alice was paying the price. “I… got carried away.”

You gave her the best orgasm of her life. Stud like you lives for moments like that, I bet~

Astra narrowed her eyes. She was being buttered up.

She wanted more, you know. At the very end, Alice would have given anything just have more of that.

“I don’t see how that’s my problem.”

You want more too. I can taste it on you.

I know a kindred spirit when I see one~

Astra was ashamed by how much those words turned her on. She could still feel her cock straining indecently in her tight gym shorts.

You can both have what you want, Astra. I can make her yours. She’ll beg me to. She’ll beg you, too.

As if on queue, the unconscious Alice curled needily against Astra’s leg. She was so pretty like this. And Astra had desperately been looking forward to pushing the boundaries even further. Seeing her stuck-up rival reduced to nothing but a mewling slut had done something to her. Astra wondered if she’d ever have the chance to feel it again.

We can make a pact. I’m sure you’ll find the terms… Amenable.

Astra should have said no.

She should have, but a pact with a succubus wasn’t without its merits, and she was already too busy fantasizing about putting Alice’s mouth to good use later to worry about making good choices.

“Fine. Let’s talk.”