A raindrop fell onto Lori’s cheek and she paused to look up. The darkening sky was threatening to pour down. She smiled for the first time in weeks. Lori loved days like this and they almost made her feel complete. Almost.

She had been going to her local county fair her entire life. Though when she was younger she didn't get to enjoy it as much because her mom had signed her up for every horse show. It was to ensure that her wall was completely plastered in blue ribbons.

Lori hated it, so when her dad finally stepped in and put an end to it she was finally able to enjoy the fair the way it was meant to be enjoyed. Running around with friends, eating junk food, and riding rides until you felt sick. That is what made her happy.

This year was a little different. She and her boyfriend Todd had broken up and she had spent most of her summer locked in her room pouting and watching chick flicks. Which of course, only made the whole situation worse.

So when her best friend Harriet had shown up to an intervention and drag her to the fair she had almost said no, but it was impossible to say no to Harriet. They had been friends for as long as she could remember and for as long as she could remember she always done whatever Harriet wanted.

"Ew, it smells like shit here. Why did I let you talk me into this?" Lori jokingly asked as they neared the entrance.

"No. That’s just you," Harriet replied and nudged her playfully.

They wound their way around the various food trucks. The air was filled with the delicious scents of popcorn, street tacos, pizza, and funnel cakes. Lori wanted one of everything.

She stopped as they passed the fuzzy bunnies and leaned in to kiss a fluffy white one gently on the nose. ‘I bet bunnies have great love lives,' she thought to herself. ‘Unless of course some Bunny with big giant stripper titties comes into the picture and messes everything up.’

It wasn't just Todd. Before him there was Ally and she didn't work out either. In fact, no one ever worked out. Todd had been the longest lasting relationship she had  and that was almost a year. That was why it was such a kick in the teeth when it failed along with the rest of them.

"Come on, let's go,' Harriet whined and motioned for them to move. "I want to go do something other than stare sadly at the bunnies."

Harriet dragged her on ride after ride as they made their way towards the back of the fairgrounds.

It suddenly grew darker and way too chilly for what had started out as such a hot August day.’It must be the storm,’ Lori thought. Thunder crashed miles away in the distance and she shivered and wished she had a sweater.

They walked past a few more vendors and couple rides that looked a little shady. Even Harriet shook her head no.

Towards the back end of the fair, they came across a tent with a sign out front that read, “Madame V: Fortunes Told Here”

An eerie looking woman stood outside the tent shrouded in darkness. She wore a turban and her long black hair spilled out from underneath.

"How typical and cliché of her,” Lori said softly, but thought to herself, “There’s something slightly sinister about her.’

The woman pointed a finger at her and stepped out of the shadows some. "You look like you could use a change of destiny, darling."

She sounded a bit like Natasha from The Rocky and Bullwinkle show.

Lori shook her head and was about to say no when Harriet spoke up, "She does!"

“No, I don’t.” She shook her head and glared at Harriet. “I don’t want to go in there,” she hissed.

"Oh come on this’ll be fun," Harriet laughed, handed Madame V the money and pulled her forward.

“Yes, such good fun,” the lady said, pulled the tent flap back and beckoned them inside. "Come in my darlings. Your future awaits."

~~~~

The room was dark and sparsely lit, but Lori could see a collapsible wardrobe covered in jewelry and scarves. A few really old ratty looking chests were on the floor towards the back wall and one was open to show it was a display case covered with little glass jars full of random things. There were herbs hanging all around and the floor was littered with overstuffed pillows.

An overly large birdcage was spinning slowly off towards the side, but it was dark enough that she couldn’t tell if there was a bird inside or not. She assumed they were all to add to the facade.  

It was smokey and smelled of incense, she inhaled deeply enjoying the odd scents she couldn’t quite make out.

‘What is it?’ she wondered, closed her eyes and took another deep breath, ‘Patchouli maybe.’

Harriet, on the other hand, was not a fan. She sneezed and coughed. "Oh wow I bet this is exactly what a hippie’s house smelled like in the 60’s,” she stated loudly and waved her hand in front of her face.

Lori gave her a stop it look then tried to take in more of the room. It was a lot larger than it appeared on the outside. Almost spacious and in the center sat a small table with the largest crystal ball, Lori had ever seen. Actually, she had never seen a crystal ball before. The only crystal ball she could remember ever seeing was in The Wizard of Oz.  

“Weird. I wonder why crystal balls aren't more mainstream?' she asked herself.

The Fortuneteller, seated herself in front of the crystal ball and then motioned to a couple of plush looking purple pillows that sat across from her, "Come, have a seat."

Harriet sat down first, but Lori continued to look around the room. Something was glowing softly in a dimly lit corner and Lori took a step towards it. She felt the oddest sensation move slowly through her body. It was the gentle warmth like she had taken a shot of alcohol. Only this made her shiver and goosebumps covered her skin.

She took another step closer and felt a soft ache began to build between her legs. Her breath caught and she reached for the soft glow, feeling the ache become a throb that needed to be satisfied. Someone moaned and her other hand touched her stomach and started to slide down...

“Lori?” Harriet called to her.  

Lori stopped moving and looked around the room. The fortune teller had a knowing look, but Harriet looked concern.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” she mumbled and turned back towards the dimly lit corner. It was no longer glowing and after a couple seconds, she took her seat next to Harriet. There was still a slight pull in her tummy, but she ignored it and gave Harriet her best smile.

She had never been to a fortune teller before so she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do.

‘Should I have my palm read, tarot cards or does the great Madame V only practice in crystal balls?’

As if reading her mind Madame V looked at her with dark eyes and said, "I think the crystal ball is what you need."

Lori felt a cold shiver run down her spine but then she reminded herself that this was only a game, only a roadside oddity that people did on a whim. That thought calmed her instantly, and she felt herself begin to relax and her tension subside.

Madame V leaned in and looked deeply into her crystal ball and cast her long fingernails over it, scratching gently against the glass. She kept looking in like she could see something.

It bothered Lori because try as she might it just looked like a plain glass crystal ball to her.

The fortune teller looked up and pointed a long thin finger at Harriet. “You first, I see.”

"What is it? What do you see?" asked Harriet. There was an excited tone in her voice that said she was clearly buying into this complete bullshittery.

“I see several things in your future. You are struggling with choices.”

“Yes!” Harriet said nodding.

Lori rolled her eyes. “Aren’t we all?”

Harriet gave her the side eye clearly telling her to shut up.

“LSU is not for you.” Madame V’s accent was a little thick and the words rolled together.

“What? What’s not for me?”

“LSU. Louisiana State University. You are thinking of accepting their offer. Don’t. I see bad things. Stay close to home. That is a better option.”

“Oh my God! How did you know?” Harriet sounded shocked.

Madame V smiled broadly and waved her hands dramatically over the ball. “It never lies.”

Lori had a snarky reply for this strange woman, but when she looked at her the thought vanished. The fortune teller looked differently to her. She looked younger, her hair under her turban was darker with thicker richer curls. Her skin appeared to be growing flawless and her lips looked fuller, redder.

‘Kissable,’ she thought to herself. ‘She wasn’t this sexy when we came in. Was she?’ Lori shook her head. ‘Get a hold of yourself. It’s the light, the warmth, and the incense burning. It’s fogging up your mind,’ she scolded herself.

Madame V smiled at her, then slowly licked her lips. That one action caused the ache between Lori’s legs to reawaken. She closed her eyes to clear her head.

“You will meet someone you’ve already met while at this school.”

“Who?”

“He is average height with very average features.” Madame V leaned in closer, then looked at Harriet. “Todd? Do you know a Todd? He is who will make you happy.”

“Todd!” the girls said together.

“My Todd?” Lori asked feeling jealous and suddenly angry.

“No,” Madame V said with a smug smile on her face. “He’s not yours. He was your boyfriend, but he was never yours. No one has ever been yours.”

“That’s crazy, I would never be Todd. Lori, come on you know that,” Harriet said quickly touching Lori’s hand.

Lori ignored her friend and her eyes locked with Madame. “What’s that supposed to mean, the ‘No one has ever been yours.’ bullshit?” Lori said in a mock accent still angry.

Madame only laughed and her laughter seemed to slide along Lori’s body, touching her dark places, her secret places.

“It means you cannot keep a relationship. You’ve never been able to keep a relationship. Am I right?”

Lori ignored the throb between her legs and glared back.

“I am surprised your mother never told you of the curse that is upon you.”

“What curse?” Harriet asked in concern.

“It’s bullshit nonsense,” Lori snapped.

“Bullshit is it?” Madame V asked then laughed again. The wind outside had picked up and it was whipping the tent flaps echoing with the thundering. “Get up on your knees little girl and look into my ball. See what it says and tell me it’s bullshit.”

“How am I sup-”

Madame cut her off, “Look and see.”

“Hey, this doesn’t feel very fun anymore, I think we should go.” Harriet tugged on Lori’s shirt, but Lori knocked her hand away and got on her knees.

“Come closer. Look and see.” Madame’s voice was low and sexy and she beckoned Lori forward.

Lori looked down into the crystal ball and all she saw at first was their distorted reflections dancing in the flickering light. Then a soft grey mist began swirling through the ball and she was able to see figures forming.  

She could barely make it out. There was a man on top of a woman and they were having sex, and as the man lifted his head she saw the woman was her. That blew away replaced by her on top of a woman, then the next, and the next. All images of her and men or women in various positions and Lori was having sex in each of those.

Through all the imagery the only sound she could hear was Madame V speaking quickly and low almost as if she were chanting to her.

"The answer to your question that has been burning into your heart, into your soul is this. You will meet many people, feel many things but in order to find the right one, you will have to sleep with them all. It won't be broken until you complete its task. A task passed down from generation to generation. By your eighteenth birthday, you will have consumed eighteen souls or suffer the beast of the succubus forever."

It was hard for Lori to breath, the mist in the ball was now swirling around her, but it was no longer a dull grey. She was beginning to see swirls of red and the smell of copper burned her nostrils, Her body felt heavy, too heavy to move. She wanted out.

Lori’s hand managed to close over Madame V’s wrist and the crimson began to fade leaving a new picture. Lori was naked and on top of Madame V. Their legs wrapped around each other, cunny’s pressed together and she could feel herself ready to cum.

Her grip tightened and she heard someone moaning. ‘Is that me or Madame?’ she thought her mind panicking.

The picture shifted and she was between Madame’s legs. She was lying on top of her with her cunny pressed against Madame V's as she rocked into her. Lori could feel her heartbeat pounding in her chest. She was about to cum. Madame's long nails pressed into her ass, encouraging her to move faster. Her head fell back and she moaned out her pleasure. Lori kissed her way down Madame V's body and her lips closed over the fortune teller's clit. she sucked it gently and slipped two fingers inside her. Madame’s legs spread wider and Lori’s fingers worked their way in and out. Lori lifted her head and began to kiss her way over to the other woman's thigh where she suddenly bit down on the throbbing pulse of the femoral artery. Lori needed to take her life as she came.

Madame screamed and pushed Lori away from the ball breaking all contact. They both fell back startled and frightened by what they had just shared.

“Oh my God, Lori. Are you okay?” Harriet asked. She was on her feet and looked from one to the other.

“Get out!” Madame V panted.

“What the hell just happened?” Harriet asked her voice starting to rise.

Lori continued to stare to at Madame V. She no longer looked as beautiful as she had a few minutes ago. “What was that?” she asked.

Madame V stumbled to her feet and backed away. “Get out, get out, get out!”

Harriet bent down and helped Lori to her feet, who took a step towards Madame. “What did you do? None of that was true.”

“Don’t you come any closer!” Madame screamed. All signs of her accent were gone now. Her turban was on the ground and she looked even older than she did a minute ago.

“No, you explain to me what that was!” Lori managed to yell back.

Madame took a step back and pulled a phone from her skirts. “Go ask your mother, satan’s imp! Go now or I will call the police.”  

Lori took another step towards her, but Harriet grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the open flap. “Let’s go.”

They stepped out into the rain. The fair was empty except for the workers packing things away. The wind howled and lightning flashed. The thunder that followed cracked and sounded like it was right behind them. More lightning flashed and the wind seemed to be picking up even more.

“Lori! Come on,” Harriet screamed over the noise and continued to tug Lori with her.

“Hey, you girls can’t be back here you gotta go. We evacuated the grounds thirty minutes ago!” a big burly man yelled as he lumbered towards them.

This seemed to snap Lori out of it and the two girls ran for the exit and to Harriet’s car. Neither one spoke on the way home and gave light goodbyes. All Lori was focused on was getting to her mother and asking her about this. That thought was crazy to her, but what choice did she have? If by some strange twist of fate it was true she would be a succubus forever. If not then she could make a joke and never bring it up again.