“Are you afraid of selling me too cheaply? Oh yes, we totally need to find out what I am.”
“There are certain rules, too. If you are part another species, the members of that species would have priority of claim,” he explained, sounding frustrated.
“And you wouldn’t try to withhold me from them?” I asked, dumbfounded. He was so different from what my first impression had told me. I hadn’t thought he could be this patient. “The plan in that case would actually be to keep you out of sight. Your own kind would probably recognize you once they saw you. Thus I would hide you from them. If they don’t find out that you exist, they can’t lay claim to you.”
“How do you expect that to play out? Michael thinks that I’m dead; you made sure of that. Suppose everything goes according to your plan. We reach consensus that Michael brainwashed me, and I want to be yours.” My voice made it clear how improbable this scenario was to me. “When I go back to university, he’ll know that I’m still alive. That is, if he doesn’t find out long before.”
“We have another rule he conveniently forgot to mention: If several supernatural creatures of the same standing lay claim to a human, the human can choose who she wants to belong to. Yes, in the end it’s going to be your choice. Don’t you think it’s weird that he never told you that? Was he maybe afraid that you might look elsewhere for protection?” He had made those last questions sound deliberately innocent.
I finally understood. If I chose him, nobody would care that he had abducted me first. Michael would lose his claim. I decided to play along. As soon as he thought he had successfully turned me, he would give me freer rein, and I would be able to return to Michael’s side. “And this is why he got jealous when during the business meeting with Rubin and Rebekka, Zarin offered to take me under his wings.”
He gave me a satisfied smile and nodded.
Finally someone was willing to share some information with me. I had to make the most of this opportunity: “You mentioned Filguri? What is that?”
“One of the oldest and most powerful peoples. They’re virtually extinct; only two of them are left. They’re brothers, and Hugorio is one of them. You’ve met him. His brother has left our world a long time ago. Nobody has seen him in over a century. Rumor has it that he’s spending his time in Buddhist monasteries. Another possibility is that he’s dead.”
“What makes them so special? What are they capable of?”
“Many things.” What a helpful answer! I gave him an annoyed look.
“Why are you so curious? It would take many Peris to thwart a single Filguri. Hugorio is first and foremost a businessman, so he needs the Peris and most other creatures. He honors our rules and laws in order to do business, if you want to call it that. He’s the head of a very important domain.”
I had so many questions. “Why did Michael address his father as ‘Mylord’? Is he a king?”
“Martellius is the head of our clan, but Michael is actually more powerful. The love he bears for his father is the only reason he has not taken power yet.”
“Then why do you keep taking him on?”
“That really is none of your business. The only thing you should know however is that Michael can’t touch me. He is forced to pay me respect, and has been for centuries. Of course, should he find out that I’m keeping you here against your will, and could he also prove it, that would give him some leverage to revoke some of my privileges. He can’t search my property without probable cause though. And you, little Miss, you were killed by a werewolf.” He gave me a smug look and a kiss on the cheek, before leaving me alone in my room again.
I was disgusted and wiped his stinking saliva from my skin. I wanted to wash my face, and I needed to pee. I was also hungry and thirsty. I decided to sneak out. When I reached the door and was about to open it, I heard Nikelaus speak to someone not far off. “I put one of my strongest spells on the front door and all the windows. She shouldn’t be able to leave the house. Sem, I need you to watch her closely. She will try to escape sooner or later. Then we’ll know whether it works. I’m sure you won’t have to play the babysitter for long.”
“How are things between you and her?”
“She thinks she can play me for a fool.” The two of them shared a laugh and disappeared out of earshot.
An escape was impossible for as long as I had my personal supernatural bodyguard. First of all I had to convince Nikelaus that I was not immune to his spells, so he would withdraw my babysitter. I crept downstairs and headed for the coat rack. I could feel that someone was watching me. I grabbed a blue down coat, put it on, and walked to the front door on tiptoe. I pretended that I couldn’t step over the threshold. I made a confused face and mimed trying to walk out twice more. Then I looked around in apparent panic and ran to one of the windows. I repeated my act with several of the windows, trying to look frantic, which was not all that hard, considering that my fear was very real.
“Where are you going?”
“Oh, Nikelaus! I … nowhere,” I blurted, making my voice sound hysterical.
“Save your breath, girl, for I’m not a two-bit magus like Michael. You can’t leave the house, okay?” It wasn’t hard to appear desperate. I was desperate. Nikelaus helped me take off the warm coat. “Please, I can’t bear to see you cower like that. Can I do something to make this easier on you?”
“Please let me go.”
“Anything else?”
“Clean clothes, some food and drink?”
Satisfied, he put an arm around my waist and steered me down the hallway. “Come, I’ll show you the kitchen.” He stayed by my side while I rummaged through the fridge. “If you have everything you need, I’m going to have to lock you into your room now. We are hosting a business dinner tonight, and I don’t want anyone to see you.” He gave me a wink. “You’re my little secret. The dinner will be demanding, so I’m going to draw some energy from you.”
I took a step backwards, wary and perplexed. “Will it hurt?”
That gave him pause. “Did Michael never draw energy from you?”
I shook my head. “He said he gets more than he needs without having to do that. He’s only ever taken what I give freely.”
“I’ve only seen you happy once. You were in that pizza parlor in Salzburg with your blonde friend. Me and my business partners were there as well, just a few yards away.”
“Sarah? Oh, then that must have been the night I met Michael.”
“I know. I couldn’t leave the meeting. Once we were done, I followed you to Peri’s Night, but Michael had already found you.”
If I allowed a Peri to draw energy from me, I wanted it to be Michael. “Please don’t do that!”
“Don’t worry, it’s not going to hurt, you’ll barely feel anything.” He got ready and put his hands on my upper arms.
“No, please wait!” I begged.
He hesitated and gave me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have to time to find another human right now.”
“I’m not asking you to. I will give you what you need.”
“Pardon me? What do you mean?” He had no idea what I was talking about; how could he?
“Tell me when you have enough,” I asked. I strove to focus on happy moments, as I’d done with Michael, but it was hard to keep control of what I exuded in my frightened and unhappy state. I didn’t know whether it was working at all, but then Nikelaus murmured and excited: “Mmh, amazing! What are you?” His question did not wait for an answer. He pulled me closer and kissed me passionately. His hands roamed my body, greedy and desirous. He didn’t even notice my attempts at rebuking him. He was too strong to ward him off. I felt nauseous under his touch.
“Nikelaus, please forgive me the interruption, but your guests could arrive any minute.” He didn’t react to Sem’s warning. Only when he pulled him backwards by the shoulder, Nikelaus loosened his grip and let go of me. I stumbled and fell backwards, landing on my butt once again. I stared up at him, shaking violently. He sto
od there stiff as a poker, his gaze fixed on me, his body tense and taut like a bowstring, ready to pounce. He took a step towards me. I held my breath and he stopped advancing. “Sem, take her upstairs and lock the door!”
Back in my room I threw myself on the bed and started crying. I wished I could take a shower. I wanted to scrub every inch of my skin where he’d touched me, wanted to draw blood if necessary.
The following morning, Sem brought me a fresh set of clothes. I was finally allowed to use the bathroom. I washed away the dried blood and got dressed. Planning my escape with caution and foresight was vital. I would not get more than one attempt, assuming that Nikelaus’ spells really didn’t work on me. I had to hurry. If Sem hadn’t interrupted us the day before, who knows what would have happened. I started exploring the first floor. There was a garage with four cars, accessible through a hallway door. Next to that on the wall, I spied a small metal keybox.
“Are you planning your escape?” Nikelaus was standing right behind me.
I tensed and froze. “Would you believe me if I denied it?”
“No. Melanie, I wanted to apologize for last night. I was steamrollered by your energy.”
“Do you mean to tell me that it’s my own fault?”
“No, what I’m saying is that it won’t happen again. You seem to have your own theory why you are here. I’m curious to hear it. What are the ulterior motives you think I have?”
A half-truth might not be the worst strategy right now. “I think that you faked my death in order to torment Michael. Even if I was nothing but a useful source of energy to him, it would be a major humiliation that I was murdered in his house. You’re trying to manipulate me. If your plan succeeds, I will belong to you, which would further enrage Michael. Hence I think that you’ve done all of this to annoy him. My energy is merely a positive side effect.”
“That’s a plausible theory, but my main motive is actually your salvation. Michael’s indignity is the positive side effect.”
I was insulting. He really thought I was that stupid. “Oh, sure, you were all over me last night because you wanted to save me!”
“Don’t be so dramatic, my dear; all I did was kiss you.”
“Would you have stopped if Sem hadn’t come in?”
“You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?” I stared into his face, impassive and silent.
“I have to go now; we’ll talk later.” A moment later I heard him get into a car and back out of the garage. When I took a few steps in the direction of the front door, Sem passed me. He nodded a greeting and left the house. I was alone. Now or never! Three cars were left in the garage, and it would have been dumb to try and escape by foot. I wanted to take the keys out of the wall-mounted box, but it was locked – not by magic, but by good old-fashioned mechanics. Oh, come on! That was just my luck. I would have preferred a spell. I went to fetch a knife from the kitchen and tried to pry open the small door. The knife broke, and the upper half of the blade clattered across the floor. I hadn’t even nicked the keybox. Alright then, by foot it was. I gave up on the garage, took a coat from the coat rack, and opened the front door. I thought I saw movement somewhere in the trees, grew suspicious, and remained on my side of the threshold for now. What were the odds that Nikelaus had believed my little act two days ago? If he hadn’t, he was about to find out that his spells didn’t work on me. I suspected that Sem was still secretly observing me. I had to make a decision.
I would not risk it. I closed the front door again and returned to my room upstairs. Maybe I had missed my best chance at escape. But if my hunch was correct, Nikelaus would now rely on his magic alone.
I spent the rest of the day sitting on the bed and staring at the paintings on the walls. There were several abstract artworks, and I lost track of time as I explored their structure, patterns and colors with my eyes. When night fell, I got hungry. In the kitchen I found Nikelaus and two Peri strangers, a man named Josef and a woman named Heidi. I stood in the doorway feeling shy. I wanted to turn on my heel and run.
Heidi studied me with open curiosity and asked Nikelaus: “Is this your new human? She seems a little too frightened.”
“Let’s say that she is my latest project. But she is also more than a human.”
Now Josef looked me up and down. “Care to tell us what she is?” he asked, conniving.
“As soon as I know for sure.”
The woman was fascinated. “How exciting. Have you heard the news yet? Michael’s human was mauled by a werewolf, and in his own house!” Nikelaus uttered a loud, grating laugh. I was still standing in the doorway, frozen in place. A brief glance in my direction stopped his laughter. He stood before me in a flash and wiped a tear from my cheek. “Please don’t,” he said, sounding sympathetic.
A small part of me had held on to the hope that Michael would see right through the deception, and come for me. That hope was shattered now. The woman seemed impressed, while the man patted Nikelaus on the shoulder in appreciation. “Well done, old friend. She still misses Michael, but that will change soon enough.” It sounded as if they were talking about a pet dog. So they knew exactly who I was. I wanted to return to my room, but Nikelaus wouldn’t have it. He insisted that I sat with them. I took a chair between Josef and Heidi, because I didn’t want to sit next to Nikelaus.
“You prefer the company of strangers?”
I didn’t reply. Nikelaus didn’t show any emotion at my show of obstinacy. Josef set a blue, baroque-looking bottle on the table, while Heidi got up and took four glasses from a cabinet. I knew this concoction. My father had drunken it from time to time when I was still a child. It contained alcohol, which was why I wasn’t allowed to taste it. He knew how curious I had always been, so he poured me a glass on my eighteenth birthday. It tasted heavenly of honey, but not overly sweet. I begged and pleaded, until he poured me a second glass. I would never be more intoxicated than I was that night. I told my father all my little secrets and misdemeanors, and then I spent the rest of the night bent over the toilet. Josef poured a glass each for Heidi, Nikelaus, and himself. “I’m sorry, girl, but this is not for you,” he explained, putting a hand on my shoulder and pouring me a glass of Coke instead.
“That’s okay. Incendium is delicious, but the last time I had it, I nearly puked my guts out after two glasses. Okay, so I’d had a glass of red wine before that, but this stuff is really potent.”
“And when was that?” Josef asked casually.
“On my eighteenth birthday. My father wanted me to have only one glass, but I persuaded him to pour me a second one. That was definitely a mistake.”
“Well, in that case.” Josef exchanged a quick glance with Nikelaus, who gave a slight nod, and then he poured me a glass from the blue bottle. I didn’t want to be drunk in my captor’s presence, so I declined. “No, thanks.”
“Come on, let’s have a round. Maybe it will help you lose your fear.”
I shook my head and looked at Nikelaus. His guests laughed. “Wow, she really trusts you, doesn’t she?” Heidi stated sarcastically, before turning to me. “If you refuse to drink with us, I will take it as a personal insult. One glass; we wouldn’t give you more than that anyway,” she ordered formidably.
I reluctantly raised the glass with the Incendium, toasted them, and took a sip. The others followed suit and studied me expectantly. The effect of the alcohol was quick but pleasant. For the first time in days, I actually felt relaxed.
Heidi looked a little perplexed when she raised her glass again. “Did your mother also like this drink, or just your father?” she asked, curious to hear my answer.
“I have no idea, but I’ve never seen her drink it. She barely ever drinks any alcohol.”
“Nikelaus, my old friend, I would guess that you’re sheltering a Halfling under your roof.”
“What is a Halfling?”
“That’s what we call anyone with a supernatural and a human parent.”
“And why do you suppose I might be such a
thing?”
This time it was Nikelaus who answered my question: “Because Incendium is not compatible with humans. It would give you alcohol poisoning after a sip or two, if you were really only human. Haven’t you noticed that Michael and the others might get a little boisterous when they’ve had several human drinks, but they never really get drunk?”
I had never thought about that. “My father is human!” I insisted.
“If you say so. Heidi, tell us, how is your father doing. Has he fully recovered?” Nikelaus asked. For a while, the three of them talked about stuff I couldn’t place. I emptied my glass and noticed that Nikelaus had placed his car keys on the table in front of him. I felt my fear fade away.
Heidi put an arm around me. “Amazing, what a delicious energy. You were right to save her from Michael’s grip.”
I didn’t like the way they were talking about my boyfriend. “Can you tell me what the difference between my energy and that of the other humans is?”
“I guess you’d have to be a Peri to appreciate that.” Josef’s answer didn’t help me. The alcohol was making me reckless; there was no healthy fear left in my brain. The Peris had emptied their glasses, but it was obvious that I was the most affected by the Incendium. “So my energy is stronger?! Maybe you could draw from several people at once, and save yourself the trouble of kidnapping and hiding me.”
“Your energy is purer, more nourishing, for want of a better explanation. It’s like a giant difference in quality between you and the others. Trust me, you’re worth a lot of trouble,” Heidi declared.
I filed this piece of information under ‘Don’t even think about it.’ It was time for a change of subject. You wouldn’t discuss the taste of your own blood with a vampire either. “What can you tell me about the Filguri?”
Nikelaus eyed me suspiciously. “Why are you so interested in them?”
If I wanted information, I would have to give something in return. “I wanted to tell Hugorio the truth when he asked me a question. It was like an urge. I knew I shouldn’t, but I almost did anyway.” Nikelaus and his friends waited expectantly for me to go on, but I didn’t.
Peris Night: Terakon (Secret Language) Page 18
