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

Lying there on the chaise with a gorgeous hybrid on top of me, kissing me passionately was bliss. But all it was was fire, passion, lust, and desire. There was no tenderness, gentleness, or carefulness in the kiss. We were both succumbing to our wants, and it was nothing more than that. Was that how it was supposed to feel?

One hand suddenly touched the skin beneath my tank top. I knew what Devlin was headed for, and panic flashed over the rest of my feelings, canceling out all former emotion.

He noticed this and pulled away slowly . . . reluctantly. It was hard for him. I almost reached out to him, to pull him back to me, but I couldn't. There was no true love between us as anything more than 'friends with benefits.'

I did think of him as my friend, though. He was probably my best friend, now. I didn't have anyone else anymore, and he was so nice to me.

"I want to learn how to fight," I blurted, standing up and smoothing down my clothes, trying not to make things awkward.

"Harrison taught you how to fight before the Banquet," Devin said, breathing heavily. That seemed strange to me. Immortals didn't even need air.

"I'm growing stronger, aren't I? I probably learn faster than I did before, and he only taught me the simplest of basics, like the best way to get someone behind the ear," I explained.

"Would this have anything to do with, erm, what he did?" he asked carefully. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was implying.

My family. My loving, hysterical, obsessive-compulsive mother. My strong, hearty, sarcastic dad. My sweet, innocent, baby brother and sister. They were gone. According to Devlin, Harrison had killed them. And why? I would find out.

"Absolutely."

He nodded and held his arms out. I stepped closer to him and he swooped me up in his arms and fled to the training room. I had no idea where it was, but something felt different when he carried me now. I mean, I was still extremely uncomfortable about being carried, but it somehow didn't feel as awkward any more.

I was on my feet again and looking around the 50ft by 50ft space. Soft, cushioned matting covered the entirety of the floor. That was it.

"If I'm not a vampire yet, than how come my body is already changing?" I asked.

Devlin sighed, and he seemed to actually have to think about it . . . for a mere approximate six seconds.

"It's actually extremely rare - almost unheard of - for a potential vampire to start gaining abilities before the transformation. The only thing you've noticed so far is impeccably fast healing capabilities, correct?" he asked.

I smiled, glad that we weren't still lingering over the spontaneous outburst of passion we'd both just exerted.

I nodded my head. "I think it must have something to do with your upcoming strength as an immortal," he said.

I felt my face scrunch up in confusion and my cheeks were sucked into my mouth as I bit at them. Then, I almost laughed at the familiarity and the reminder of the first time I'd met Harrison. Biting the inside of my cheeks had been a habit of mine forever. I hadn't done it since Sari and I went looking for the local murderer who turned out to be Harrison.

The reason for this was because I was definitely unsure about all of this power I was supposed to have. From what I implied when speaking with Harrison about it, I was supposed to be some big turning point in Immortal History or something?

"I think you'll enjoy combat," he remarked.

"Oh, do you?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow upward.

He smirked and crouched down into battle stance. I backed away onto my side of the 'field' and attempted to mimic his body position. It wasn't very successful.

"Create your own stance. It has to be something you feel comfortable with and like you're ready to strike from any angle, not to mention that you have to feel very defensive," Devlin ordered, turning back into my mentor.

I spread my feet shoulder length apart, and bent my knees far enough so that my bottom was about two feet from the ground. I held my fight hand flat out, facing upward, and my left hand curled into a fist at an angle away from my body.

I felt powerful.

"Good, now think about the best way to tear down the defenses of my own stance. Find my weaknesses," he commanded. I obliged, giving him the once over, and spotting his legs immediately.

His stance was only a very slight crouch and he held his hands like claws above his head.

Step by step, we inched closer to each other. "Good," he admired. "We keep on like this until we're each comfortable with the distance between us. It's common combat etiquette."

"Are you sure I'll be paying attention to or remembering 'common combat etiquette' when I'm preparing to engage in an actual fight?" I asked, only moving my lips.

"You'd better, or else you'll be claimed loser and if any rules apply, you'll be immediately killed," Devlin explained, taking a reasonable step forward.

We were about 7 1/2 feet apart, and it felt like the perfect distance. "What kind of rules will there be if it's a serious life-or-death battle?" I questioned again.

"We're immortal - we've got time. Rules always apply, and if two species just lash out into combat, it's considered illegal by the ICOI except in cases of wild immortals. The council has no way of monitoring what they do," Devlin said.

I nodded and I was ready.

"Ladies first. It's your strike," he offered.

My cheeks were sucked in again and the action of laughing didn't so much as cross my mind. I was too focused on not thinking about where I was going to attack. He is a mind-reader after all.

"Can you turn off the mind-reading?" I asked.

"Other immortals than me will have more useful powers when in combat. They won't turn theirs off. I'm doing this to help you," he explained.

Then, I sank as low as I could to the ground and launched myself toward his lower-half. I was . . . more sprightly than I had been before. Not necessarily faster or stronger, but more energetic to push myself.

My aim was true and I was sailing straight at his legs, but then he jumped and, as a counter-attack, he flipped over my back and held a knee against it, pinning me to the ground.

"Four hours every day until the party - we train," I grunted, attempting to throw him off me.

"Whatever you say, Princess," he mocked, laughing. I took advantage of his distraction to slither away and stand back up, before aiming a kick at his patronizing chuckle.

Oops.