by Ash Krafton
He flipped on the turn signal and merged into traffic without even looking, a habit that made me cringe. It was as if the turn signal was enough to make everyone give him the room he wanted. Bossy driver.
"Nah." He wasn't being cold, exactly, but I could tell he was still irritated with the whole Toby thing. That didn't stop him from being curious.
"Come on. I know you don't believe she exists. See for yourself."
"I guess I could stop in just a moment." His voice was neutral but I detected a quick blip of oh, goody. I rolled my eyes. No wonder he only dated human women. We must all seem like bubbleheads to him.
He flicked on his flashers and pulled up in front of the hotel. Rodrian waved off the advances of the doorman who had hurried toward the curb, holding his cap to his head with a gloved hand. Rodrian opened my door himself and sheltered me with his arm. Together we hurried inside, grateful to escape the bite of wind.
The lobby swarmed with guests arriving and departing. After a moment I spied Eirene and her assistant sitting apart from the busier part of the lobby. I refused to refer to Dorcas as a servant, even though Eirene treated her like one.
Eirene seemed to watch everyone at once, her black eyes darting from one to another like a cat. Dorcas sat nearby, stern-faced and uninterested, as if waiting for a command to reanimate her.
Dorcas spotted us before Eirene did. A luggage trolley slid between us and by the time it had passed, they were on their feet and heading our way.
The Sophia wore a sly smile, a cat-like smirk to match her wary glance, and made no effort to hide her interest in Rodrian.
His hair was loose tonight, his bangs flopping down around his eyes like a cologne model in a Cosmo ad. I didn't understand how he refrained from flaunting his appeal. I supposed that although he was excruciatingly handsome, Rodrian just considered it his face and never thought twice about it. Except when he could play it to his advantage, that is.
Tonight, he seemed aware she was checking him out. He fell back a step, brushing his hand against my waist and hovering behind my shoulder.
"Sophie..." Eirene's voice was a purr of smooth charm. "So glad to see you again."
Although she looked only at me, the expected introduction loomed. I sure as hell didn't want to introduce them. She'd already openly appraised him and I suddenly felt protective of Rodrian. I nearly stepped in front of him to block him from view.
It would have been rude. Thankfully my manners prevailed. It was abundantly clear to me that a woman like Eirene took manners and protocol very seriously and I couldn't afford to offend her.
"Hello, Eirene. Dorcas," I added. I nodded to the ubiquitous woman. She didn't acknowledge me but Eirene's eyes did a sideways slide, a hint of almost-disapproval. Oh well, err on the side of kindness, I always said.
I half-turned to Rodrian but, between that moment and the next, he began to broadcast, releasing an emotional current so powerful I almost buckled beneath it. It wasn't power, per se, the calling card DV used to announce themselves; it was just emotion. Raw, unrestrained emotion.
Startled, I looked up at him, wondering what could have happened. His bedroom eyes and charming smile revealed nothing of the pain and worry in which he drowned me. Shiloh. Vague fear for Shiloh's safety. Shiloh's delicate condition.
A slight touch of his hand, a small pressure on my lower back, told me not to react. It was followed by a compulsion that forced a calm expression onto my face, a smile for Eirene. All the while, Rodrian streamed anxiety so intense that I caught images. Shiloh, weak. Shiloh collapsing. Shiloh in a hospital bed, bruised eyes, thin breaths. Shiloh screaming in pain. He clamped down harder with his compulsion, forcing me to drink in his pain while appearing to be perfectly fine.
Do not react, his compulsion said. It took every ounce of strength I had to obey, even with the force of his compulsion.
Behind my serene mask, I swallowed hard and focused on his hand. "Eirene, this is Rodrian Thurzo. Rodrian, this is Sophia Eirene, who has been gracious enough to offer me her tutelage."
Her eyes flashed briefly, a spark of Sophia blue, as she offered up her delicate hand, palm down. He hesitated a moment before grasping her fingers and bowing over her hand, all the while pouring out anxiety and commanding me to be still. I closed my eyes, nauseous from the strain and hoped his compulsion would prevent me from being sick on Eirene's shoes.
"A pleasure," she murmured. If she felt his emotion, she certainly didn't show it. Of course she had control and grace under pressure. I resented her for it. "Our newest Sophia is fortunate to have such handsome acquaintances. It makes the work more enjoyable, does it not?"
"Not as fortunate as are the DV," he replied smoothly. "Who knew salvation could be wrapped in such exquisite packaging?"
Laughter, the sound of crystal chimes, tinkled as she basked in his charm. "Mr. Thurzo is too kind."
"And running late." He sighed as he allowed his emotional storm to subside. "I'm saddened to part company so abruptly. Call me when you are ready to leave, Sophie. All right?"
I nodded, confused and concerned over his display. He sent a discreet wave of assurance.
"Ladies." With the slight nod he'd perfected as a restaurant host, he left.
"Is everything well with you?" Eirene tilted her head toward me once Rodrian had disappeared from view. "You seem troubled."
Slowly, my stomach untied its knots. "I—am. For a moment I thought—something was wrong."
"How so?"
Hadn't she felt him? I'd have fallen to my knees if not for his compulsion keeping me upright. "He's distraught. Family problems. Something must have set him off. I could have wept for his pain."
"Oh." Her voice was even. "Yes. His emotions were painful, were they not?"
I nodded, looking back over my shoulder toward the doors, still concerned and wondering if I should have followed him.
"Yes. It is evident, the work you have ahead of you."
I turned back toward her sharply, not believing my ears. "What?"
"You are troubled by his pain. You do not know how to shield yourself, do you?" Her mouth pressed into a thin frown. "Small wonder you seem to have such a weak constitution, battered about by every little emotion. You expend too much energy, caring for every little hurt."
I protested. "A Sophia is meant to care—"
"Yes, yes. To care. Not to drown in every emotional river that is cried. Honestly. How do you expect to be of service to the Demivampire race if you exhaust yourself over one single person? Tch." She shook her head slowly, dark eyes boring into mine. "Control. If you do not learn a semblance of control, you will only be a puppet."
I narrowed my eyes. "You mean you didn't have the least bit of compassion for him? You didn't want to help him?"
She frowned in superiority. "Of course I felt him. Of course I wanted to reach out to him. I chose not to react, to loosen what little hold you have over your Demivampire. If I had offered my gift to him, you would have lost him."
Humility flushed my cheeks, chasing the last of my chill away. Nothing like a good reprimand to warm those cold November evenings.
Eirene, apparently, was as adept at ignoring my discomfort as she was Rodrian's. She assumed her audience-receiving smile and took up my hand as if we were lifelong friends. "Come, Sophie. We will dine in my rooms. I fear we have no time to waste with you. Your lessons must begin at once. Or else—"
She looked at the empty space where Rodrian had stood only moments before. "Or else you lose them, one by one."
Eirene settled onto the couch directly across from me, skirt smoothed across her lap under still hands. "Imagine... imagine a circle on the ground around you. Lift it up."
"What do you mean?"
"We are raising a barrier."
"A wall."
"More than wall. It encloses you on all sides."
"How high does it have to go?"
Her eyes flicked away and back as she blinked twice. "That is not important. First you must raise it
."
"A circle."
"Circle, yes."
"But a circle isn't a wall."
"Not a wall. An—enclosure."
"So, a tube. What if they come over the top?"
She dropped her shoulder and exhaled through her nose, looking very much like she wanted to rap my fingers with a ruler. "You are making this harder than it needs to be."
"Fine." Honestly, I wasn't trying to be aggravating. "A circle. What's it made of?"
"Yourself, of course."
I stared blankly. She wanted me to build a meat circle?
"Your magic." Eirene leaned forward, as if by doing so she could push comprehension into my brain.
"You keep saying magic. I don't have magic."
"Your empathy."
"My empathy isn't a solid thing."
"Neither are your barriers. They are power, same as what you feel from the DV."
"How can I make a circle with that?"
She closed her eyes in utter frustration. "Just try. Think of something physical to which you can relate. Close your eyes. See the circle on the ground. Lift it up. Let your magic form a curtain, which hangs from it. That is your barrier."
Well, that did give me a bit more to go on. I closed my eyes and imagined I stood inside a hula hoop. Slowly I lifted it, trying to imagine the curtain hanging and eventually focused on the image of standing inside a shower curtain. It was close and clingy and I hated it, but if it was what she wanted... "Okay. Then what?"
"I will test it."
A sharp mental jab hit me in the side, hard enough to register physical pain. I yelped and dropped the hula hoop. The shower curtain barrier crumpled and vanished. "WTF, Eirene?"
Eirene barked her displeasure. "That was no barrier!"
I rubbed my side. "No kidding. I didn't know it was supposed to be an iron curtain."
"You are not concentrating."
"I am! I just have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing."
She pressed her lips together in a grim smile. "Then I will have to show you."
She rose and circled the table, stopping in front of me. She placed her hands on the side of my head, thumbs making an uncomfortable pressure on my temples, and closed her eyes.
I felt a tremendous twist, like a pulled muscle deep inside my head. For a moment, I saw a double image—myself from her standing perspective and her from mine—and panicked.
"Close your eyes," she said. "Focus. Go to the place where the Sophia sleeps."
I closed my eyes, sinking into the place where the Sophia coiled itself. I was inside the Sophia.
A gentle almost-color, warmly lit, the only sound being the windy pulse of blood in my ears. It was the visual equivalent of the feeling of curling in a warm bed, knowing the alarm wouldn't go off. Comfort and security.
Now, watch. Eirene's voice sounded around me. Your circle.
A hazy glow appeared where I'd imagine my feet to be, if I had a body here. Enchanted, I reached for it.
Yes. Lift it.
It rose around me with the slightest mental effort. It wasn't a curtain, exactly; it was a sheen of power, like a film of bubble solution. It swirled with color, cobalt and gold, a stretch of breezy summer sky. I reached out to caress it, and it flowed around me like water, like sand. Everywhere, the scent of apples and smoking wood and clean wind.
It was me. My personality, my wonder, my delight. It ran through the colors, making them dance. Everything my DV friends had ever said about me, my scent, it was here. I touched the barrier and recognized it. It recognized me.
Eirene made a pleased sound. Your magic. That is you. If you know what you are, you can keep others out. Look through it. Look for Dorcas.
I noticed a concentration of reddish-black haze hovering nearby. I tried not to think how it suited her less-than-sparkling personality while I reached out my hand in its direction. That?
Yes.
Do all people look like—that?
There are similarities, I would say. You will eventually learn to recognize specific Demivampires by the appearance of their power.
"But I didn't think you were DV, Dorcas." I wasn't sure she could hear inside my head. This whole experience was so strange I wasn't sure what was real.
Eirene laughed, a tinkle of brittle crystal. She isn't. She is...unique. Now. We will test your barriers again. I fear that Dorcas is not as restrained as I am. You will do your best.
I gulped, watching the barrier waver. Summoning my resolve, I focused on the strength of the barrier around me. The sheen of power responded, color pulsing thicker, brighter. The strength of the shield was controlled by my will.
Distracted by the discovery, I nearly missed the ball of red-black haze hurtling toward me. Steeling myself against the blow, I focused on my blue and gold swirl and resisted the intruder. I kept my colors and my pattern intact, untouched, and they deflected the ball.
The ball retreated, and Eirene's voice sounded. Good. Now tell me what you did.
I'm—not sure. I saw color coming at me and reacted.
Reacted how?
I didn't want the color to ruin mine. I—kept mine pure.
Yes. Her mind voice lifted with approval. Now. Again.
Another ball of dark streaked toward me, this time with enough force to jar.
Good. Again.
Time and again, different color patterns, different shapes, different levels of power came at me. Some struck with trembling force, while others melted against my barrier, seeking a way to insinuate itself through. Time and again I held my power, my curtain of protection around me.
Yes. Yes. Well-done, Sophia. Now, I will show you how to reach through your barriers without compromising them. Reach for me.
The reddish-brown blob of Dorcas' light hovered just outside my periphery. On my guard, I kept it in sight, expecting a sneak attack. I don't see you.
I am here. The Dorcas-haze stretched and multiplied. I hadn't expected her to be the same shade of ick.
Did all humans look like that? Did I look like that? Because, I had to admit—it was a pretty gross color.
Let me inside your shield.
I let the circle fall around me and felt her move closer to me. Once she was "in", I raised the veil once more.
And so we start...Taking my mental hand in hers, she reached through and the barrier yielded, stretching easily. You can touch the power of others in this way, adjusting the thickness of the barrier to control how much you allow though. It is always yours to control.
Mine? I reached out again, without her assistance, and felt my power hum along my skin, covering it like a tight glove. I couldn't believe it. I had the control?
Her throaty chuckled filled the confines of my barrier. You always had the control. You just needed to learn how to use it. Now.
She turned our attention back outside the barrier, where the reddish-black mist congealed into a ball. You defend yourself, while reaching out to the other power, as I watch.
Dorcas reared and charged as the assaults began anew.
I thought they'd never end.
It was well past two when the Audi pulled up outside. By that time, I stood against the front window, resting my head against the glass. Eirene and Dorcas had remained behind in their suite so there were no awkward goodbyes. I didn't waste a moment running out to the car.
As I pulled the door closed, he leaned over the steering wheel and watched me buckle in. "I thought you might end up having a slumber party with your new girlfriend."
Too weary to even make a proper ugh face, I winced and settled back in the seat, aiming the heater vents at me. "I'm gonna be crap for work tomorrow. I spent the last hour looking for a way to leave and couldn't think of one that wouldn't offend her."
"She seems high-strung."
"Not even close to the right word." I loosened my scarf as I warmed to the heater. "She's so experienced. And, apparently, there is some set of books that talk all about what I'm supposed to have already figured out. Canons, she
calls them."
I looked over at him to see if the name registered. He shrugged.
"Yeah, well, anyways. The Sophia Canons are conveniently guarded by some mysterious group, who tuck them away in a tiny church in Hungary when they aren't traveling."
"Hungary?" Rodrian's interest seemed to pique. "Marek spent a lot of time there."
"I figured as much. I found a bunch of travel books upstairs about Hungary. Frank once mentioned they'd been there, as well." Frank was Marek's foster son who'd spent his childhood with the Thurzos. I didn't like thinking about Frank. When he was killed by vampires, a part of me died with him.
"Marek told you about our family, didn't he? Our father's line came from that area."
Of course, he hadn't. Marek and I hadn't shared enough time together. I didn't waste time mourning our relationship, though; I was too tired.
"Get out," I said instead. "Marek never told me about your ethnic background. He made allusions to some ancient culture but all this time it was just Hungarian? What an ethno-snob."
"Not Hungarian," he said. "Older than that. Our line began long before Hungary drew borders around itself."
"Figures. Can't be ordinary. Do I get a clue?"
"Thrace. He traced our lineage back to Thrace. Beyond that, it gets murky."
"Thrace. You mean, Spartacus Thrace?"
"The same." He smiled. "I should have known, your love for ancient culture includes Thracians."
"Not exactly. Apart from reading National Geo-graphic, I don't know much."
"Nor do I. Marek's the historian, not I. The only books I like are the ones that tell me how much money I have."
Practical Rodrian.
"I suppose that will have to change, now," he said. "Somebody needs to carry our history. I always thought it would be Marek." The expressway was nearly empty, and he left the speed limit far behind. Even if he were to get pulled over, I was sure he wouldn't be above compelling his way out of a ticket.
"He's the strong one, the smart one, the one with worlds of research and knowledge in his head. I never prepared to be head of our family. Marek's supposed to be here, damn it."
