Do Mine Eyes Deceive Me...A Gorgeous Sadistic Vampire?

"So, this is you're natural hair color?" I asked Devlin, bravely touching the end of a newly golden lock. It actually looked much better - softer, somehow (not the hair, it made him, as a person, look softer) - than the cold blood color it had been.

"You like it more than you should," he commented, sounding overly pleased with himself.

"As my mentor, isn't it against the rules to read you're pupil's mind?" I asked exasperatedly. He was getting more intuitive about how crazy he made me as the days went by.

There were now nine days left until mine and Harrison's party and I still hadn't seen him since he'd broken my jaw. I pretended not to notice, and that I didn't care. It didn't help that I woke up every morning - my face damp with dream tears.

"No, but I think it is in the rules somewhere against having any sort of relationship between mentor and student," he smiled devilishly.

"I'm a married woman," was my usual reply. Usually, he let it go. This time, he had a little something else up his sleeve.

"Joan, you really need to drop it. We both know you're not married to Harrison. You're practically his slave. He kidnapped you, right?" Devlin had figured it all out.

I was quiet for a moment, trying my hardest not to think about how very right he was. Of course, I definitely wasn't about to think about the part where I'd gone looking for him in the first place.

"You did what?!" he gasped.

"Let's get back to the lesson. We were going over all the different kinds of immortals there are. So far, we've got down Vampires, Demons, Werewolves, Elves, Shape-shifters, Trolls, Centaurs, and Faeries. I saw the first four at the Banquet. But the last four, I don't think I noticed or recognized. What powers do they have, again?" I said, changing the subject.

"Shape-shifters can look like any of the immortals, plus humans, but without any of the powers regular immortals posses, like inhuman strength. Trolls are just these massive beasts. They're about ten feet tall, minimum, and they have tails. Their powers are the typical: strength, speed, grace. Oh, and they're one specialty is they're flarg," he laughed, as if remembering something.

"What in God's name is flarg?" I asked, half-interested, half-disgusted.

"Flarg is this nasty breath odor that comes from only a troll's mouth. They can turn it off or on, so they don't always have it. it comes from their insides, which are seriously crude, and it can knock a human out for a solid week. It has the same paralyzing effects as the behind-the-ear switch," he explained.

I nodded, afraid to say too much in case more than just word vomit came up.

"Now, I'm sure you've heard about centaurs before. They are, in fact, half-man, half-horse. But the man part of them isn't necessarily human. We're not sure what it is, but we're thinking it's a special type of immortal person, and if a centaur reproduced, with say, a vampire, the offspring would most likely be one of those immortal people," he said.

I was actually quite impressed. It seemed as if Devlin's knowledge of this world was unlimited. I certainly didn't know this much about mortal life.

"Then why haven't they tried it? A vampire and centaur reproducing, I mean," I said.

"That's a good question. I shouldn't be surprised that you caught that," he winked. "The reason you didn't see trolls, centaurs, faeries, or shape-shifters at the Banquet is because they are the lesser immortals. It was the Annual Immortal Banquet, so they were invited, but they're usually too ashamed to show their face in front of the greater immortals."

"I'm not sure I quite follow you . . ." I said hesitantly, not wanting to sound stupid.

"Okay, no worries. I've got time. After all, that's what I'm here for. It all happened a long time ago. Nobody knows what year exactly, but we're thinking it was sometime during pre-history when cavemen and dinosaurs roamed the Earth," he chuckled. "The Greaters and the Lessers were at War. The Lessers were angry because the Greaters has begun taking over the Council and gaining all the power. The Greaters were angry at the Lessers for being mad at them in the first place. It was obvious the Greaters were stronger, and it's true. To this day, the Greaters have more strength, more speed, more grace, poise, normality, beauty.
"So, the Lessers declared war, and it's obvious what happened after that. The Greaters won within a year of the first battle. But they were a kind and empathetic folk and they agreed to not let the war come between them as long as the Greaters could maintain hold of the Council. At first, the Lessers were angry, but then they realized that they could be banished from the Immortal world, or worse - all sentenced to death."

"I see. So, tell me about faeries. They sound really fascinating, actually. But, I feel bad for the Lessers. It's not their fault they're not as amazing as you guys are," I teased.

"Well, they're the most beautiful and powerful among the Lessers. They are almost as powerful as the Elves. They have the ability to fly and they're specialty is seduction. Back in the Great Prehistoric War, they stole away many of the Lessers late at night and many were never heard from again. Theoretically, they basically raped them and then killed whoever they could. But, they're a much kinder folk nowadays," I looked up to see Devlin smiling at me after he spoke.

"I think that's enough mentoring for today," he said. "It's almost nine 'o clock."

"I don't have a bed-time," I replied in a low-voice, and then shook my head in surprise. Did I just say that?

"Yes, but I'm glad you did. Joan, you're . . . so spectacularly different from any other species, breed, or being I've ever met. But you have no idea how special you actually are. Why do you shy away from me?" he said softly, reaching for my hand across the couch.

We were in *gulp* Harrison's monumental living room. We were on a double-seated sofa, with all kinda of tome, manuscripts, and files sprawled in the space between us.

"I'm only human . . . for the time being. You're only thinking that way because you've never spent much time with my kind," I told him, although hoping with every fiber of my being that wasn't true.

Was it so wrong? I'd spent two and a half weeks wanting someone who didn't want me back. Didn't I get a chance to enjoy the company of someone who did want me?

"You don't have to go back to him," he threw out, removing the papers and books from the couch to the coffee table that could seat twelve. I didn't even want to know how big the dining room table was.

"Yes. I do," I told him. I was going back to Harrison. I had to tell him and get some clarification. Maybe, once he told me he wouldn't ever feel that way about me, I would spend some more time with Devlin. But, I needed to hear it from Harrison, no matter how sure of it I already was. I hated missing him more than you could imagine. I hated feeling so vulnerable and easy (for lack of a better word) in the presence of Devlin.

Devlin nodded, understanding. What was going on? Why was he so accepting of everything. Of course, I knew he'd just heard that entire conversation in my head. There weren't any secrets from him that I could keep, but I was okay with that. Hybrid or not, it felt good to have someone else share my burden.

"Do you want to head up to your room?" he asked, standing up, and taking me with him since he was still holding onto my hand.

"You know I can't find my way there. Is there any possible way you could draw me a map?" I asked quietly, laughing only a little.

"Whatever you say," he said, and swooped me up into his arms again. I sighed and folded my arms across my chest. I truly didn't enjoy being carried, but I was completely powerless.

"Maybe if you didn't dart around at the speed of light, I would actually remember which way to go each time," I mumbled.

Then, he stopped, and I hopped onto the ground without waiting for him to set me down.

"Thank you, Devlin. You know, you've really changed from when I first met you several days ago. I'm really glad you're my mentor, and I'm sorry that I can be such a pain. I'm not trying to lead you on or anything. It's just . . ." I trailed off, and he knew what I was thinking of. The person who stood between us.

"Don't worry about it, Joan. I'm a big boy. I can take care of you, and myself for that matter. You know why I changed, don't you? I knew I'd be spending lots of time with you, and I didn't want to scare you any more. You'd had it hard enough already," he grinned easily.

"You're too sweet," I whispered, and touched his cheek with my fingertip, before beginning to turn around, afraid of what I might see on his face.

A hand on my waist stopped me. Another one came up and caught the side of my face. I gasped quietly and looked into Devlin's face.

He said nothing, but kissed my cheek and then he was gone.

'If only,' I thought wearily before turning to step into my luxurious suite. I'd never seen anything so well-furnished, comfortable, gigantic, or glorious in my entire life other than this room.

***

Long after I was dead asleep, my door opened and Devlin came to stand beside my bed. He looked down at me and noticed once more the hot tears flowing freely down my sleeping face.

Then, he made a decision. Harrison didn't understand anything, but Devlin was going to change that tonight.