Lily (Dreams of Control Universe)

Lily is one of the two main characters of the book Hell To Pay. She is a Succubus.

Succubi in the Dreams of Control Universe

Lily is a "normal" Succubus, and the only one the reader encounters in Hell To Pay. (It is not known how many there are: the implication is that there are several.)

Purpose

According to Lily, Succubi are the creations of the Adversary (an angel who rebelled against God and was cast out of Heaven) for the purpose of seducing humans and stealing souls. They don't have physical bodies per se: they "project" an image which looks and feels real, which can manipulate objects, and which they can alter at will or at the instruction of their summoner, assuming that that right was part of the pact of summoning. They first appear in a form which will be as tempting as possible to the summoner. Both Succubi and Incubi are found in the Dreams of Control universe, and are implied to be very similar. (Both sorts of entity will "lust up anything with a soul," although Succubi prefer to seduce men and Incubi prefer women.)

Powers

Succubi in the Dreams of Control universe have the following known powers:

• • 1) They can read minds. They can read a person's whole life story in the blink of an eye.
  • 2) They can increase lust to any degree (including a physically painful level) in the hearts of those who are already lustful. The object of this lust can be specified.
  • 3) They are physically indestructible and do not age.
  • 4) They produce "succubus milk," a caramel-colored milk which flows from their breasts just like normal human breast-milk. It is incredibly tasty (according to Simon it is sweet and spicy at once) and it can "steal the minds" of those who taste it. They can, however, moderate its addictive power if commanded to do so.
  • 5) They can create a completely convincing multi-sensory illusion of any physical object, including gold, gems, passports, airplane tickets and clothing.
  • 6) Their sexual fluids have a broad variety of properties which are limited only by the imagination and desire of the summoner.
  • 7) Anything they swallow disappears. (They can eat and drink, but do not excrete accordingly - though if the summoner bends that way, see #5.) This is more useful than it might seem, as at one point Lily mentions that that's how she got rid of a magical entity someone had summoned to try to get out of a bargain: she couldn't physically destroy it, so she ripped it to pieces and ate it.

Limitations

Succubi in the Dreams of Control universe have the following known limitations:

• • 1) They cannot increase lust in the minds of people whose hearts are pure, or in children.
  • 2) They cannot affect animals.
  • 3) If they speak one of the names of God (including just "God") they are instantly "struck down" (destroyed) by that Entity.
  • 4) Their abilities are strictly proscribed when it comes to the person who summoned them, assuming the ritual was properly done. They can't read their minds or increase their lust without permission, and succubus milk is not addictive to the summoner.
  • 5) Any physical object they create vanishes if they get more than a few feet from it.
  • 6) They cannot violate the pact of summoning, the bargain they make with the person who summons them into the physical world. However, they can interpret it extremely creatively.
  • 7) Christian priests and/or holy places are a danger to them in some unspecified way. (Lily says that she won't go near a church, as this would be "too close to an order to destroy myself.")

Lily

Lily's primary form is that of a tall, well-curved human woman with pale skin, green eyes, and red hair, who appears to be in her early twenties. (Her "passport" says she is exactly 21 years old and a citizen of the Czech Republic.) She dresses in clothes which highlight her incredible beauty and perfect figure. Lily herself is "thousands" of years old, and has been summoned by magicians in both Roman Empires as well as throughout Europe and the Middle East. Hell To Pay is set in the present (ca. 2012) and she says she hasn't been summoned for around a hundred years due to the decline in the belief in and use of magic. She has a vague sense of the general state of human civilization (she knows about the Internet, for instance) but doesn't know anything in particular about a place unless she's been there.

Lily seems to enjoy her job and relishes the idea of harvesting souls, either to "eat" or to trade with other demons. However, she isn't actively vicious or cruel (unless her summoner wants her to be) and much prefers using lust to get what she wants to overt acts of evil. As the story progresses she evolves, demonstrating that Succubi aren't just "extensions of the Adversary's will."