Lorelei

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— Lorelei, *Personal Demons*, chapter 3

A succubus and the girlfriend of Alex and Rachel. She first appeared in *Good Intentions*.

## Biography

Lorelei was born in Babylon as *Beletsunu*, at around 1000 BCE. She murdered her husband Milkilu and his household due to his cruelty towards herself and others, after which she was recruited by Baal and transformed into a succubus.⁠ She spent at least a century being conditioned to pleasure.⁠ After that period, she largely avoided to spend time in Hell, preferring to remain on the mortal plane, and built up fame as a succubus.⁠⁠ She also became Sammael’s lover, and he promised that he would free her from Baal.⁠

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> “I have had ages of practice at concealing virtually all my feelings,” Lorelei said, opening her eyes. “I hid a great deal for millenia.”
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*Good Intentions*, chapter 14

Around 400 CE she was traded from Baal to Belial as a way to make peace between the two demon princes.⁠⁠ Lorelei continued her relation with Sammael while serving under Belial. She began to question her role and purpose in 1098 CE, when she claimed the soul of Malik during the Siege of Antioch.⁠

There are several other cases of known activity. She was at the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. She was involved with the Medici family in Italy during the Renaissance.⁠ Later she was in Paris during the French revolution where she worked with Lester.⁠ She was also active in Germany during World War II, and has been in Russia and Japan at some unknown periods.⁠⁠

Around 20–30 years ago she selected Nicolas as her prey, and befriended his daughter Stelia.⁠ Her latest known activities involved the USA, with Damon Bell and Dalton McGinley as prey. She was active in Washington DC two years ago.⁠

### Meeting Alex

She was in Seattle with her latest prey Raymond Cordingly when she—together with Rachel—was captured by Garrison in a summoning and binding ritual at the Sacred Heart Cemetery.⁠ The rituals broke Lorelei’s servitude to Belial, with the intent of transfering it to Garrison. Alex’s intervention in the Sacred Heart Cemetery Fire rescued her, but also put the ritual’s focus on him. As a result Alex became her new master. The ritual made it impossible for her to hurt or lie to Alex, though at least the latter effect diminished with time. It made Lorelei feel Alex’s pleasure as her own. The events also caused Alex to become her prey as a succubus, and her supernatural powers were severely diminished for a time.⁠⁠

When Lydia discovered the state Lorelei was in she crafted a plan to reclaim her for Baal. Lorelei was abducted by the combined forces of Harrow, the Brotherhood of Apollo, and Anastacia’s Court and brought to Blackthorne Manor where Baal waited, having been summoned by Lydia. This caused the Battle of Blackthorne Manor, where Baal was killed by Alex and Lydia captured. Lorelei refused to claim Baal’s iron crown, and instead threw Baal’s realm into war and chaos.⁠

### Starting a mundane life

The exposure to Alex made Lorelei experience love and compassion for the first time.⁠ He also inadvertedly turned some of the natural magic of a succubus against her, by doing cunnilingus on her because he wanted to and of his own free will.⁠ She also had to interact with Rachel, who first was belligerent towards her but later developed admiration and love.⁠

In order to support a mundane life she bought Suite 1705 for Alex, Rachel, and herself, and started working as a fundraiser for the conservatory.⁠⁠

While attempting to free Alex from the Special Task Force she was taken captive, due to Hauser being assisted by Donald.⁠ In order to quickly gain the power and means to escape, she seduced Doug Bridger during the Battle of Magnuson Park.⁠ This caused Bridger to develop a minor obsession with Lorelei.

### Conflict with Sammael

After the Battle of the Casino, with the Crew having to face Sammael and the Light with both Alex and Rachel missing, Lorelei sought the assistance of Lilith. She returned to Hell where she claimed Baal’s crown and domain. This act broke most of the links from Garrison’s ritual between Lorelei and Alex, and weakened the remaining ones. The mystical bond of him being her prey remained.⁠⁠ During the following Battle of Perdition she drained the Crown of its power and destroyed it, but managed to kill Azazel. After returning to Seattle and the Battle of Suite 1705 she killed Sammael using its remnant shards.⁠⁠

In March she accompanied Alex, Zafirah, and the rest of the Crew to Vancouver, where she crashed the Family party. She participated in the following Battle of the Silver Delta. Zafirah and Lorelei began to develop a friendship during these events.

### Reputation

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> “Did you know that Lorelei’s a big deal among the demons? She’s not a duke of Hell, but as succubae go, her name’s pretty much the first anyone would think of. She’s an icon.”
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— Rachel, *Good Intentions*, chapter 15

Lorelei is highly famed as a succubus, both amongst demons and in Heaven.⁠⁠⁠ She is also admired by Lawrence, a senior angel.⁠ Her name used to be less well-known in other parts of the Shadows, though it is likely that her appearance and the events at the Family party will change that.⁠⁠

She has made an impact on the Seattle social scene and is generally well-liked and appreciated by the people at the Conservatory.⁠⁠

### Personal

Compared to other demons, Lorelei was indifferent about imparting cruelty for its own sake, or to spread deceit, treachery, and strife in general to those around her. Her focus was and is on accomplishing her specific goals as efficiently as possible.⁠⁠ However, she still has a vengeful and violent instinct.⁠ Meeting Alex and Rachel changed the way she acted. Lorelei however notes that she had been wanting to change for a long time.⁠

She has a very low opinion of Heaven and most angels, and views its rules as arbitrary and promoting inaction.⁠⁠ The recent guardian angel switchboard to Alex’s phone has not helped. She views it as inane at best and a danger to him at worst.⁠⁠

Lorelei’s main mundane interests are music, dance, and consensual porn.⁠⁠

She views money as an enabler and not to be hoarded. As such, she provides finanical support to at least Drew, Molly, and Onyx in various ways.⁠⁠

Like all succubae, she can change her appearance to great extent. This describes her usual and habitual appearance. Lorelei appears as a tall and majestically beautiful woman of about thirty.⁠⁠ Her hair is long and black, and her eyes are have been described both as icy blue and as dark.⁠⁠

Apart from Lorelei and Beletsenu, she has used many other aliases and names. Known ones are Cindy,⁠ Dominika Lakatos, Elina,⁠ Laura,⁠ Lori,⁠ Agent Smith,⁠ and Sofia.⁠ Lilith calls her the “proverbial whore of Babylon”.⁠ She holds a US citizenship, though it is considered “sketchy”.⁠

## Relations

Lorelei lives in an open polyamorous relationship with Alex and Rachel. Alex is also her prey as a succubus, and was earlier her master until she claimed the iron crown.⁠

She has regular trysts with Molly, and might develop some regularity with Ted or Bridger.⁠⁠

She had a long-term relationship with Sammael before being freed by Alex, combining something like love with gaslighting.⁠ Other known temporary sexual relations are Taylor, Shannon Abrams, Onyx, Adam,⁠ and Claire.⁠

She views the members of the Crew as close friends and values them highly. In Hell she has a valuable contact in Lilith, if one that should be approached with extreme caution.⁠ She was able to keep cordial relations with other demons on the mortal plane to an unusual level.⁠⁠

The angel Lawrence admires her, but their earlier interaction—if any—is unknown.⁠ She has also met Vincent at some unknown point, who made what she called “oafish” advances on her.⁠

Among her known prior prey are Malik,⁠⁠ Jurgen,⁠ Nicolas,⁠ Damon Bell,⁠⁠ Dalton McGinley,⁠ and Raymond Cordingly.⁠ It also includes an unnamed producer of pornographic movies.⁠

## Abilities

A successful and powerful demon, Lorelei possesses all of the abilities of a succubus, and has many skills from her long life.

### Mundane

Lorelei is extremely capable of reading body language and social nuances, and is adept at shaping her behaviour to different situations to accomplish her goals. She knows forgery and how to best accomplish different forms of fraud.⁠ She is a skilled dancer, musician, and physical therapist, and has a very high degree of social and cultural literacy. She is a very fast and skilled writer.⁠

She is naturally charismatic, and can easily claim the center of attention in about any situation or company.⁠ She can also choose to be very unobtrusive, drawing little attention to herself.⁠

Apart from English, she has demonstrated knowledge in German⁠ and probably knows at least French,⁠ Russian, and Japanese.⁠ She likely knows several more languages. She can easily switch between dialects and accents at will.⁠⁠ Her native language is probably Akkadian, and likely of the middle or late Babylonian dialect.

### Supernatural

Lorelei is as strong as the strongest human alive, extremely fast, and supernaturally durable, especially since she still has her own physical body.⁠ Even hits from bullets at point-blank range will have little effect on her.⁠⁠ The fact that her body is still her own is the probable cause why she can walk on holy ground and interact with objects infused with faith, though it is painful to her.⁠⁠

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> “I may plant suggestions and reassurance, but the fun is in the temptation. Blunt mind control is for brutes and amateurs.” She grinned wickedly. “They have to give in willingly in the end if either of us are to enjoy it.”
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— Lorelei, *Natural Consequences*, chapter 16

She has great powers of mind control and illusion, and can sense feelings of lust, sex, and desire of those around her. She is however more careful with her use of mind control and supernatural suggestions than most other demons, prefering temptation over direct mind control or influences.⁠ Her empathic sense has also recently demonstrated the ability to sense loneliness.⁠

She can shape her physical body to great extent, though depending on the change it might require quite a bit of magical power.⁠ She easily and habitually changes the shape of her tongue and her nails.⁠ Her tail is highly mobile, extensible, and strong, and she can shape it for many different purposes.⁠⁠

As with many demons, she can expel fire from her mouth as an offensive attack. She uses this to great effect against vampires, who catch fire very easily.⁠⁠ It is however a very draining attack.⁠ Her wings are functional, but only capable of limited flight.⁠

Lorelei has some knowledge of magic and Practitioners due to her long experience, but beyond her innate capabilities as a succubus she is not a magic-worker.⁠ Her understanding of her magical abilities seems mostly based on instinct and long experience, with little theoretical background.⁠⁠

## Possessions

Lorelei is a multi-millionare, enough to buy a luxury condo in downtown Seattle in cash, though not enough to do it twice.⁠ The expenses following Battle of Suite 1705 stretched her cash reserves, though she is rebuilding them.⁠⁠ She earns some form of interest and gets some cash flow from investments or ownership, but it is unclear what these are.⁠

She is quite attached to her car, a white Lexus convertible.⁠⁠ It has been used to hold false identifications, weapons, cash, and jewelry for emergencies or escape.

She probably has one or more shards of the destroyed iron crown in her possession.⁠

## Theories

Lorelei’s fame in both Heaven and in Hell is never explained, nor why Lawrence, a senior angel, admires her.⁠ Here are a few possible explanations:

* Her emphasis on subtlety and a sparing use of mind control allowed the hell-bound soul to preserve as much free will as possible. Free will is very important for Heaven, so it is possible that is true for Hell as well.⁠ This could also fit with Belial’s preference for quality over quantity in souls.⁠
* The passage of the soul through the succubus is important. Lorelei’s focus on her prey rather than general discord meant she gained more souls of that specific quality.
* Lorelei was the first succubus.
* Lorelei managed to keep some semblance of independence, even as a demon.
* Lorelei could have been extremely capable in finding and claiming “worthy” souls.
* Lawrence could simply admire her for having broken free from Hell.

Lorelei says her money comes from “legitimate business… more or less”.⁠ Wade speculates on those sources and that she has some form of cash flow.⁠ One possible source for continuous income would be investments in the porn industry, strip clubs, or other forms of sex work. That would fit both Lorelei’s description and her own interests. She has also demonstrated deep insight and knowledge about people involved in the porn industry.⁠

Lorelei’s motives for working at the conservatory aren’t fully explored. She has no financial need for working there, and has in fact stated that she donated her way into it.⁠ She largely views it as a hobby.⁠ One reason might be to help Alex in grounding his life. Another is that it provides a safe and controlled way for Lorelei to seek out and experience positive attention and admiration. A third is that she prefers a life of comfort and modest luxury, and being at the conservatory fits with that.⁠

Lorelei’s has recently demonstrated the ability to read loneliness through her empathic sense.⁠ Previously, it had seemed to be limited to feelings related to lust and desire. It is unknown if this is due to Lorelei’s emphatic sense is expanding in capability or if she always had the ability but never developed the specific sensitivity.

Lorelei has a fursona and owns a fursuit, currently in storage in Chicago.⁠ Possible hints on the character of the fursona includes the black stripes Lorelei developed when she claimed the iron crown⁠—implying a feline—and her half-orc D&D character Far Dog⁠—implying a dog.

## Trivia

Lorelei shares her name with the riverside rock Lorelei in Germany. The rock is associated with several 19th century and later stories of women luring men to their death by supernatural means.

She smacks down at least one hopeful suitor per book, and so far her tally includes Carson,⁠ Emir,⁠ Don,⁠ Adam⁠ and Roman.⁠

## References

1. ↑  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 14
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 “Proper Focus”
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4  *Good Intentions*, chapter 5
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1  *Good Intentions*, chapter 15
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1  *Personal Demons*, chapter 11
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7  *Personal Demons*, chapter 16
7. ↑  *Personal Demons*, chapter 2
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5  *Good Intentions*, chapter 4
9. ↑ *Skin*
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5  *Good Intentions*, chapter 12
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 “Amends”
12. ↑  *Good Intentions*, chapter 1
13. ↑  *Good Intentions*, chapter 2
14. ↑  *Good Intentions*, chapter 14
15. ↑  *Good Intentions*, chapter 17
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1  *Good Intentions*, chapter 6
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 “Live Like This”
18. ↑ “Rough Day”
19. ↑  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 13
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 16
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2  *Personal Demons*, chapter 25
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1  *Personal Demons*, chapter 21
23. ↑  *Personal Demons*, chapter 24
24. ↑  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 7
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4  *Good Intentions*, chapter 19
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 15
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1  *Past Due*, chapter 18
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3  *Personal Demons*, chapter 5
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 6
30. ↑  *Personal Demons*, chapter 19
31. ↑  *Personal Demons*, chapter 17
32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 “Trust”
33. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 5
34. ↑ “Strangers”
35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 “Lifestyle Changes”
36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3  *Personal Demons*, chapter 1
37. ↑ 37.0 37.1  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 4
38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2  *Good Intentions*, chapter 9
39. ↑ 39.0 39.1  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 2
40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 40.2 *Halloween for Life*
41. ↑ “Clear Communication”
42. ↑  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 1
43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2  *Good Intentions*, chapter 7
44. ↑ 44.0 44.1  *Past Due*, chapter 12
45. ↑ 45.0 45.1  *Past Due*, chapter 1
46. ↑ 46.0 46.1  *Personal Demons*, chapter 4
47. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 14
48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 48.2 48.3  *Good Intentions*, chapter 8
49. ↑ 49.0 49.1  *Past Due*, chapter 8
50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 50.2 “A Most Noble Quest”
51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 51.2  *Good Intentions*, chapter 13
52. ↑ “The Spirit of Giving”
53. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 15
54. ↑ “Outsourced”
55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 “Tempted and Tested”
56. ↑  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 17
57. ↑ 57.0 57.1  *Past Due*, chapter 11
58. ↑  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 10
59. ↑ “Accomplished”