Eyes Like Ice

"Ugh! I can't believe that filthy Levellua dared to break into my home!" Miss Lumberton yelled angrily, pacing back and forth in her study once again.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes and simply looked down at her desk like I always did, forcing myself to remain respectful. "He simply wanted to offer a truce, and he figured that you wouldn't be willing to talk to him."

"That doesn't make knocking me unconscious okay!" the woman shouted as she turned to glare at me with anger-filled brown eyes.

I kept my own contact-covered blue eyes focused on the desk. "You're right, ma'am. I'll tell him that the next time we run into each other."

"There's no need to tell him anything, servant girl. Just kill him and get him out of the way."

I grimaced inwardly, but continued to appear emotionless on the outside. "I can't do that, ma'am."

"And why not?" The brunette slammed her palms against the desk, leaning across it to glare at me some more.

"Because of the truce. We agreed not to harm each other."

"Forget the truce!" Miss Lumberton screamed, knocking everything off of her desk in a fit of rage. "Kill him!"

"I...I can't."

"Kill him," the woman snarled from between clenched teeth.

I squeezed my eyes shut when a painful burning sensation began on the back of my neck, whispering, "I can't."

"You can. Now do as I say!"

The pain on the back of my neck increased, and I clenched my fists tightly, tears leaking out from beneath my closed eyelids as I whispered, "I won't."

"You will! OBEY ME!"

My eyes snapped open and I let loose a loud shriek when the amount of pain on my neck grew once again, increasing even more as it shot down my spine, making my whole back feel as if it were on fire. "I won't!" I sobbed, the agonizing pain forcing me to my knees.

"You must!"

"But...the truce..." I cried out and fell to my side on the floor as another surge of anguish coursed through my slender body.

"Forget the damn truce, servant girl! Either agree to kill him, or suffer like this until the pain kills you!"

I curled up into a little ball, looking utterly helpless. "No..." I whimpered, my eyes closing once again. "No..."

"Do it."

"I..."

"Do. It."

"But..."

"Do it!"

"I...I'll...I'll kill him!" I stated, my voice loud but shaky. "I'll kill him! Now make it stop!" As soon as I said that, the pain ceased and my tears stopped. I slowly got to my knees, gasping and peering up at Miss Lumberton, my cruel, heartless master, through the thick sheet of black hair that had fallen to hide most of my tear-stained face.

"Good. I command you to hunt the Levellua down and murder him as soon as the sun goes down. Until then, go somewhere else." She turned away from me and walked over to the window. "I don't want to see you again until he's dead."

Without a word, I got to my feet and staggered out of the room, trying to wipe away my tears as I made my way to the front door.

-

I approached what I assumed was Dominick's master's mansion about ten minutes after sunset, having caught his scent around the gates at the front of the place only moments ago.

I looked presentable now, my hair brushed and my face dry. I'd been cleaning myself up in the bathroom of a small gas station near this very building while awaiting the sunset.

I knocked on one of the large front doors after climbing up the white marble stairs that led to the porch.

Almost immediately, the door opened, and a tall man, obviously a butler, peered down at me. "Yes?"

I bowed to the man and, keeping my blue eyes focused on the ground, asked, "Is this Dominick Langley's residence?"

"Yes, miss, it is. Do you wish to speak with him?"

I nodded and straightened. "Yes, sir."

He gave a single nod and said, "Follow me." He turned and headed up the stairway located right across from the door, expecting me to follow.

After a moment's hesitation, I did just as he expected, closing the door behind me, then following him.

I was led into a large, well-lit bedroom that had the same white floors and walls as the rest of the house. Dominick, sitting at the desk across from the door with his back to us, didn't even seem to notice when the door to his room opened and we walked inside.

"You have a guest, sir," the butler said suddenly, causing Dominick to turn away from the book he was reading quickly, nearly knocking the literature off of the desk.

My eyebrows rose in what was almost surprise, not because we startled the Levellua so much, but because I now knew that he could read.

"Raven," he said, getting to his feet with a shocked expression on his face. "What are you doing here?"

I said nothing, simply looking over at the butler. It took Dominick only a moment to understand what I was saying.

"Oh. Sorry." He gave the butler a smile and said, "You can go, Jeeves."

"I told you to stop calling me that," the man stated stoically before leaving the room, closing the door behind himself.

"Okay. Now, tell me what you want."

"I want you to kill me," I stated calmly, not a hint of emotion entering my expression.

Dominick just blinked at me. "What?"

"I want you to kill me," I repeated with a sigh.

"Why?"

"Because Miss Lumberton ordered me to kill you, but I refuse to violate our agreement."

Another shocked look appeared on the boy's face. "You care about our truce that damn much?"

"Yes. I dislike breaking promises and whatnot to people who aren't Miss Lumberton. Besides, I really don't like living all that much, anyway."

We were both silent until Dominick finally turned away from me, shaking his head, and said, "I can't do it. I won't."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to violate our agreement, either, and killing you would, needless to say, be a serious violation of it."

"What are we going to do, then?"

"Lie," my acquaintance replied flatly while turning to face me. "I'll tell my master to make sure your master doesn't know I'm alive, and you'll tell your master that you killed me. How is she ever going to know you're lying if no one reveals the truth?"

I pondered this plan for a moment, remembering the incredible lying abilities my species possessed as well as Miss Lumberton's tendency to forget about an order she gave me a few days after I obeyed it. I was still a little bit hesitant, though...

"Are you sure it'll work?"

"Positive," Dominick replied with a cocky smirk. "I have faith in you."

"All right. Let's do that, then. You make sure you're master doesn't say anything to Miss Lumberton, and I'll go waste some time and get a little bit bloody before I head back home so it at least looks like I've been fighting you."

"Good idea. I'll see you later, then."

I nodded and headed out the door with an emotionless, "Goodbye."

-

"Hello, Raven," Spike said softly when I silently entered the alley he was currently lurking in.

"Hello, Spike. I apologize for moving the conversation along so quickly, but would you do me a favor?" I asked while approaching the silver-eyed vampire.

"It depends on the favor. What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to...er..." I looked away, feeling silly as I finished, "Rough me up a little bit."

The vamp's eyebrows rose sharply. "Why?"

"I have to look like I've been in a fight so my master will believe me when I go home and lie to her."

"Oh." Spike stared at me for a moment, then questioned, "How badly do you need beaten?"

"Just enough to make it look like I've fought with another Levellua."

He grimaced. "Can't we halve that amount of damage? I don't think I could stand injuring someone that much."

"Well, the Levellua in question is far weaker than I am, so you really only have to hit me a few times."

"I don't like hitting females, though..."

"Pretend I'm not a girl, then."

"But..."

"Hit me before I go find another vamp and ask him to beat me."

A hint of what almost seemed like jealousy flickered through the vampire's stunning eyes, vanishing almost as soon as it had come. "Fine. I'll hit you. But you have to hit me back."

"All right."

Spike closed his eyes for a moment, forced himself to stop feeling guilty, then opened his eyes and hit me in the face. I retaliated almost instantly, punching him in the stomach just as hard as he had punched me. He then hit my face again, and I hit his in return. He aimed his third and final punch at my stomach. Barely even feeling the powerful blow, I slammed my fist into his jaw.

"There. Your face is bruised. If you want to bloody yourself up, too, you're going to have to go somewhere else and cut yourself. I'll probably bite you if you start bleeding here," he said, rubbing his jaw lightly.

"All right. Thank you, Spike. Is there anything you want in return for your services?"

I watched as the man's eyes wandered down my pale neck, then back up to my face. "No."

I simply nodded. "Goodbye, then."

"Goodnight," he said, watching me as I left the alleyway, unintentionally taunting him when I pushed my dark hair away from my neck for a moment in order to rub the sensitive flesh on the back of it.

I suppose a bit of explaining is in order now. Very, very few, if any, of you probably know about the Levellua Signum, the proper term for the mark on my back and neck.

The flesh that had been hurting me earlier is covered in a black tattoo-like mark that glows a dull red whenever my master orders me to do something and I refuse. All Levellua have one of these, and it is what prevents us from disobeying our masters. Pain is sent into our nerves from this elaborate, beautiful, yet utterly evil mark, the suffering caused by it slowly increasing the longer we try to ignore our orders. Anger from our masters can cause the pain to spike rapidly, which is what happened to me earlier and brought me to tears.

Levellua are durable beings with a high pain tolerance, so you can only imagine how much agony that mark must bring us to make us cry...

But enough about that. Back to the story.

I used my claws to give myself a few shallow cuts on my left arm, then allowed them to retract as I entered my home. I headed into the study, where Miss Lumberton was waiting for me, just as I had predicted.

"He's dead, then?" she asked the moment she saw me.

I stopped in front of her desk, lowering my eyes and cradling my injured arm gently, as if it really hurt. "Yes, ma'am. The Levellua is dead."

My master studied me, trying to see whether I was lying or not, then she nodded. "All right. You may leave."

I nodded and did just that, heading to my bedroom to finish my homework like the good girl I almost was.