Soon enough, the week is gone and I’m saying bye to Myda for the last time. Janie politely left the room. Myda’s sniffing and I’m pretty sure she’d be crying if she had tear ducts. Man, she’s gonna make me cry. Already, my eyes are stinging a bit and my vision is a little blurry.

She hugs me tight, and I return the hug with equal force. “I’m gonna miss you,” I mutter softly. I may be gay, but I don’t do emotions better than any other guy.

Her arms tighten around me for a moment before gentling again. “It’ssss only for a few monthssss.”

I don’t correct her. She knows how long it’ll be.

“It’ll go by in a flash and then you can come back. Maybe you’ll like it.”

“Yeah,” I mutter, pasting a smile on my face. I’ll like alright. Like it like I like getting skinned alive.

She presses a warm kiss to my cheek. “I’ll misssss you too. You’re welcome here any time, no warning needed.”

I smile shakily. I hope she knows she just invited me to come here when I jump ship and run from the fae hills and need a place to stay for a couple months until I’m eighteen. Heh, what am I saying? She knows exactly what she just promised.

“Love you,” she murmers.

She kisses my cheek again and then let go. “Sssssoon,” she promises, swiping at her eyes. She has no tears to shed, but she forgets that sometimes.

I swoop down to kiss her plump cheek and turn quickly to grab my bags. “Love you too,” I say softly before leaving the room. I do have to swipe at my eyes.

Janie smiles tremulously up at me. “Call every day.”

“Can’t,” I remind her.

“Use a mirror. Or a blade. We can do that blood and blade trick remember?”

Oh yeah. Because we’re both half demon, half fae, our bloodlines call to each other. We can open up a vein with a knife and with a little magic, use it to communicate, like a magic mirror. God, we haven’t done that since we were freshmen in high school. Cell phones are so much easier. And less bloody.

“Try not to puke on the knife.”

I stick out my tongue at her and she catches it in her mouth, muffling my objections with her mouth as she kisses me thoroughly.

I glare at her murderously when she pulls away.

“Rapist bitch.”

“You love me anyway.”

She’s right. We have an insane, dysfunctional relationship, but it works. Especially when I remember to shield against her ainmhain powers.

She hugs me tightly and hug her back. I’m actually sort of going to miss her molesting me on a somewhat regular basis. It makes life interesting.

She sighs and glances at her watch. “Ten seconds. Nine.”

I wait with her as she counts down the seconds.

“Eight.”

I stay still, rooted to the spot. This is gonna suck.

“Seven.”

Really, really, really suck. How can I live with bloods? Something bad is going to happen.

“Six.”

Something really bad. I can feel it.

“Five.”
 
Maybe I should just flee now, maybe hang out in the demonic world for a couple months until Cayden gives up.

“Four.”

I grab Janie’s hand, wishing for strength. For once, I don’t shield.

“Three.”

Lust, but barely. Janie’s as subdued as I am.

“Two.”

Janie squeezes my hand.

“One.”

There’s no flash of light, no crack of thunder, but it certainly feels like it. The fabric of Border Town is being rended. I wonder if this is how Border Town was created. And suddenly, Cayden is there, more blooded faeries behind him and the fabric is whole again, no sign of the tear between worlds.

Janie whispers, “Bye,” and lets go of my hand and she’s suddenly gone. There’s no tearing of the fabric for her. Faeries are just bad at teleporting I guess. I’m not near as good as Janie at getting to the demonic realm and back, but I can without it feeling like that. I just sometimes end up taking demons with me back here.

Cayden has seven bloods with him this time. Two are the same bodyguards as last time and two more have been added.

There’s another tall fae man that looks very similar to Cayden- and me, I guess. He has the same black hair and a very similar face. But his eyes are green, not like Cayden’s bright blue.

Another brother maybe? Or a cousin or something.

The seventh man doesn’t look particularly fae. He’s crazy tall, for one thing, surrounded by the shorter fae, maybe even taller than me, although I doubt it. His hair is long, dark red, and his eyes are metallic silver, both of which could be potentially fae attributes. But it’s not until I notice the ears that I realize that he’s not fae. They’re too long although they end in fleshy points. Another bastard half-breed maybe?

But then he moves and his skin shimmers under the light. It has the same metallic gleam as his eyes. A lot duller, but the shine is definitely there. Oh my. He’s a dragon. Wow. I kinda thought they were extinct- I had just heard stories about them. But as far as I know, there are no other breeds with metallic skin when in a humanoid form. Well, Myda has scales, but she also has a snake tail instead of legs and that’s kind of a dead giveaway.

Wow. Well, maybe I’m wrong. I’m probably forgetting a species somewhere or something. Or maybe it’s some weird half-breed genetic. Whatever.

Cayden gives a half-bow to me. Er, what? That seems oddly polite. He certainly wasn’t that polite last time.

Wait, am I supposed to bow back? But, that’s weird. Instead, I just stand there and stare.

The green-eyed non-bodyguard blood’s eyes crinkle a tiny bit at the corners. Dude, he’s totally laughing at me.

Cayden shoots me a glare and the rest look stoic. Wow, deja-vu.

“Sinjin,” Cayden says. My name sounds odd on his tongue. And not in a good sexy way like the first time Lonnie said my name.

“This is Meara, your other uncle.”

The green-eyed fairy bows shallowly. This time I do an awkward sort of head nod type thing that makes Meara’s lips twitch and Cayden’s eyes go skyward in annoyance.

I’m an awkward person on at giving respect. My idea of doing that is, “Oh my God, you’re fucking awesome, bro.” But, these two aren’t awesome. Cayden’s an ass, Meara’s laughing at me, and I think the rest are actually animatronics. It would explain a lot.

“And this,” Cayden says, waving a hand at the metallic redhead, “is Iain. He is the family guardian.”

He doesn’t bow although it seems like he should if he’s a family guardian, right? That’s like, not head of the house, right? Am I supposed to bow back? Well, fuck it.

“Hi.”

There is a long moment of awkward silence- well, awkward for me- that Meara finally breaks by laughing, a deep full-throated laugh that would totally turn my head in a bar, but that I don’t think was meant to be that kind of laugh.

“You are really a barbarian, aren’t you?”

That explains it. He’s an ass who thinks I’m an idiot. No wonder he thinks everything is so funny. This is going to be a long seven months.

I say nothing to Meara’s statement although I want to punch him in the face. Deep breaths Sinjin, deep breaths. Pretend this is Lonnie teasing me about my eating habits. Wait, I punch him in the face all the time. He punches me back and that’s it. Um… Willis isn’t a better choice, Janie doesn’t call me a barbarian, Mario… would get punched in the face too…

I stay silent.

Meara’s smile slowly grows stronger and he steps closer to me so he’s within touching distance. Or punching distance.

When he speaks, his voice is artificially loud and slow. “I-” he points to himself. “Am Meara. Meeaaraa,” he repeats.

Cayden is a little late in saying, “He can speak English perfectly fine.”

My fist is already connecting with the jaw of “Meeaaraa.” 

I glare down at the fae. He’s flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He looks a little stunned. Whoops. Probably should not have done that. But… Heh. Meara looks a lot stunned. I don’t think he’s ever been hit in the face by someone stronger than him before. If I had Lonnie’s strength, would he look even more stunned?

I think about it for a moment. Nah. He’d be unconscious.

Meara jumps to his feet and glares at me. I’m not so funny now, am I, Meara?

He looks really pissed and as he lunges towards me, so I do the thing anyone with a strong sense of self-preservation would do; I hit him again. This time, when he goes down he doesn’t get back up. Man, I’m not even in a blood rage right now. He’s just an asshole and I have odd reflexes.

“Great Goddess,” Cayden mutters.

Goddess? Heh, that’s kinda cool.

I glance down at Meara again. Bile rises to the back of my throat when I notice a line of blood tracing a trail down from his mouth. Ew, gross, gross, gross. I hurriedly look away, glancing at the bloods instead. Cayden looks frustrated but not angry, the four bodyguards look a little- okay, a lot- shocked. The metallic man looks straight up pissed.

As the three bodyguards get over their shock two begin to look angry and oddly triumphant. They have a similar look to them. Cousins, maybe? I don’t have much experiee at picking out families, you don’t get to see a lot of them in Border Town.

One of the others Merely looks confused, like he’s not exactly sure what he should be doing. An idiot then. Why the hell would they have someone like that as a bodyguard? Well, maybe he’s not really a bodyguard. He’s a little skinny. He doesn’t exactly have badass stamped on his forehead like the maybe-cousins do. Not that they really do, either, it’s just that for faeries they do. The redhead sorta does, regardless of what species he is.

The last bodyguard-type-person has the oddest reaction. He smirks down at Meara, looking like the cat that got the cram, goldfish, and parrot. He looks really, really pleased. Does he not like Maera then? It certainly looks that way.

“Was that necessary?” Cayden snaps.

I whip my head to glare at him. “Yes.” Well, okay, not really, but I certainly feel like it was an honest way to start out. Chances are Meara isn’t the last blood I’m gonna deck. I’m just glad the goodbyes have me subued enough that my demonic sie isn’t a probem.

And I’m feeling just a wee bit guilty. I sort of expected something like this to happen, just not so quickly. Was it really necessary for him to call me a barbarian on first meeting? Not nice, man. And hey, maybe this will deter others from trying the same thing.

When Cayden continues to glare at me, I scratch the back of my head and sigh, looking down at Meara. I wince pretty instantly. Ouch. There’s still blood trailing from his mouth, making a little pool on the ground, and a rather nasty bruise is forming.

I look away hurriedly, back up to Cayden. “Er, sorry?” I mutter half-heartedly.

He looks at me for a moment, face unreadable, before sighing. “Mitage, attend to Meara.” He doesn’t even bother looking away from my face. Arrogant ass.

The confused faerie man suddenly looks a lot less confused and hurries forward, dropping to his knees next to Meara. A moment later, a familiar green gold glow emanates from his hands. Oh, he’s a healer. That would explain the less then bad-ass physique. But what about the other non-bodyguard looking bodyguard?

Is he another healer? It seems unlikely and if he is Cayden is really well-prepared. My blood runs cold suddenly as a thought occurs to me. He brought a healer. That’s odd all on its own. So he was expecting me to get seriously hurt, right? Oh shit, am I going to get abused here? That would seriously suck.

Well, they absolutely cannot abuse me. And I mean that literally. If any of them hit me- unprovoked, mind you, because there are times when even I know I deserve to get punched in the face- I am beating the living shit out of the asshole, you hear me you faerie fucks?

And what if… what if the healer was in case I hurt someone? That’s really not… Oh hell, that’s actually a little more likely, although all of them certainly looked shocked when I hit him. I am half demon and they do have a rather nasty reputation. It’s a really well-deserved reputation too if my little temper tantrums are anything to go on.

I think about it for a moment as all the attention is on Meara and the healer, Mitage. I actually like the latter idea better. I don’t want to get hurt enough to need a healer. Better that they’re scared of me, I guess. Maybe it’ll make the next seven months easier. Famous last words, as Janie would say.

Meara stands up slowly, a death grip on Mitage’s arm. He sways for a moment and then steadies. He glares at me. His hand is half way to rubbing at his jaw before he pauses and puts it back down. Everyone’s eyes are on that hand though. Huh. Is it taboo to show pain or something? I think I may have read showing weakness is frowned upon. Or was that demons? Oh well.

Heh, if anyone else gets hit by me, they’re going have as much trouble as Meara. I hit harder than most faeries. Or so I’m told. I don’t really have a reference point- I’ve never punched myself- but I’ve punched Lonnie and he’s told me that. He has a bigger mouth than me, so he’s kind of an authority on matters like this- he’s been punched a lot.

“That’s quite a right hook you have.”

I manage to say nothing. That’s a small victory. Baby steps to not offending anyone too badly. Last time someone said something like that, I told him I was left-handed and went on an Inigo Montoya rant. He got the reference and we went drinking. Somehow I don’t Meara would get the reference.

He takes a step towards me and it’s a real struggle to not drop into a defensive position as he moves closer. I’ve gotten in a lot of fights- you don’t let the guy you just hit get close. But he’s my uncle. He wouldn’t hit me right? Isn’t that what normal families are like? But then, I don’t think nephews normally hit their uncles. Probably? Ah hell, this family thing is hard.

He steps up and, oh my God he is in my fucking face and if he doesn’t back off immediately, I’m hitting him again on principle.

He glares at me, intense green eyes murderous. “If you were a full blood, I would be within my rights to challenge you to the death, however,” he pauses for a moment, and I stay silent and still, nearly trembling with the effort to not strike him. “You are not worth my time.” He gives me a disdainful look and walks away, standing next to Cayden again.

I sigh in relief and much of the tenseness drains out of me. Well, better than a fight. I really don’t want to have another ‘OMG-I-killed-him/her/it‘ moment quite yet. It‘s only been a couple months since my last one.

Cayden looked vaguely annoyed- I don’t know what at- when he asked. “Are you two ready to go?”

My throat closes up. This is it. I have to move into the unknown. Okay, that was a melodramatic way to word it. Okay, no more drama. It’s only seven months. It can’t be that bad.

“Come here.”

I sigh and haul my bags into the circle of power around my maybe-uncle, forcing myself to relax as faerie magic crawls up my spine. I can’t suppress a slight shiver and the amused bodyguard-type-person smirks at me. He’s still amused by the entire situation, but then Meara’s bruise is still spreading although there is no sign of blood anywhere.

“Relax,” Cayden orders. “This spell will transport us to the hills. You’ll feel a moment of vertigo. I suggest you shut your eyes.”

I don’t. I never do. There’s a moment as the world drops away that felt like were falling through space and then everything is moving around us, a dizzying shifting of colors. But instead of a feelings of standing still while the world moves, I get jerked around, and we hit the ground with a jolt. I stumble. As I straiten, I catch a couple disparaging glances directed towards me. Calm down, calm down, calm down. I do not need another fist fight right now.

But when the amused fae looks at me and his smirk widens.

Well fuck you, you faerie fuck. Your little leader sucks at teleporting.

I’m actually feeling a little nauseous as Cayden breaks the circle. I shiver a little and the nausea intensifies. Faerie magic apparently does not agree with my system. Fuck my life.

Meara departs almost instantly, still looking angry. Mitage, the pissed red head, and one of the cousins following. The amused fae is starting to look less amused and the other cousin still looks annoyed.

Cayden looks me over, obviously disappointed. “You should have shut your eyes.”

“You should have learned to transport better,” I spit, before remembering I’m trying to be conciliatory after the Meara incident.

Cayden snorts. “You can do better?”

Well yeah, but only to the demonic realm so maybe not…

Cayden takes my silence as an answer and crosses his arms over his chest. “Both of you, get out.” I get the feeling he isn’t talking to me.

The amused one just looks pissed now, but leaves immediately. The cousin pauses and hisses something at Cayden. I’m too far away to hear. Man, that’s one disadvantage I have; my hearing is worse than a lot of humans’. Some mutant genetics, I guess.

Cayden shakes his head once sharply. “Get out,” he repeats.

The guy glares at me, but leaves, casting me suspicious glances every couple of feet. I have to constantly remind myself not to flip him off. I’m a nice guy! Well, er, some of the time. Oh, who am I kidding? I totally don’t blame him for not trusting me. I punched Meara out for treating me like an idiot.

Cayden waits until the hall is empty and for a couple moment after. I just assume he can hear something I can’t. Then I hear a soft click, like a door closing.

Cayden looks me over, blue eyes sharp. “What do you know about faerie culture?”

I shrug. “Nada,” I mutter.

“What?”

“Nothing,” I correct. Man, no slang for me, I guess.

He crosses his arms. “Fine. You’re going to be tutored here rather than a school then for at least a couple months, at least until you learn the basics and can deal with faeries without being an embarrassment.”

And you know, getting maimed and killed. That’s important to me at least.

“Do you have any faerie magics?”

Uh, probably? I think. Maybe. Oh, fuck, I don’t know! I haven’t attempted to do anything faerish since I was little. I try to remember back to when I cared more about pretty magic than control of my demonic side. Oh, hell, I remember I managed some things a couple times, but I don’t remember what.

“Yeah,” I murmur.

“What specifically can you do?”

I shrug.

“You are infuriating,” Cayden snaps. “A shrug is not an answer. And muttering all the time makes you seem like a rebellious child.”

Ouch. Too bad I am a rebellious child. Er, relatively.

I resist the urge to smirk as I shrug again, but instead of looking pissed, Cayden’s face begins to smooth to blankness.

He doesn’t look all that angry as he says, “Do you know what you can do?” In fact, he doesn’t look particularly like he’s feeling anything. Ooh, blank cop face. I guess faeries have them too. I can’t decide if Cayden’s is good or not. He looks a tiny bit annoyed, but then I haven’t seen him look anything else. Maybe that’s part of his blank look.

I don’t answer. I don’t know. I have no idea.

“Fine then. I’ll tell your tutor to treat you as if you were a smile child.”

Asshole. I keep my mouth shut, insults and curses being held back barely. If I say one word, I know its going to be inflammatory. God, I’ve never had to control myself this way before. It’s a new experience. Usually I just spit out the first thing that comes to mind, fuck the consequences.

Cayden snorts and makes a complicated gesture in the air. A moment later, a brownie appears. I blink down at the small brown fae as Cayden says, “She’ll take you to your room. Get settled in. Someone will be by to tell you when dinner is. Everything else will be explained then.”

He departs, boots clicking on the smooth stone underneath.

I keep my eyes on the brownie. I haven’t met any blooded brownies, but the one half-breed I met was affable enough.

“What’s your name?” I ask him. God, I can’t believe Cayden thought it was a she. Female brownies look different than males. They have tits for one thing. And the males’ flat faces just a hint of a nose, more than the females have.

He doesn’t answer, just turns and walks down the hall, moving in a strange lurching way that I quickly realized is caused by bow legs. Huh, are all brownies like that? My bags rise in the air and float after us. That’s brownie magic, I remember that much. The half-breed I met could do that too.

He leads me through a twisting maze of corridors and rooms, up and down staircases. I nearly bump my head on a doorway because I’m not paying much attention. It’s a really weird place. Every where’s lit, but there’s no discernable light source. It just seems to emanate from everywhere. And all the surfaces look like they might be stone, but I’ve never seen stone so perfectly even in color and there’s a translucent quality to it. Plus, everything’s super fancy. I feel like I'm in one of those homes on magazine covers and crappy shows on tv.

Finally, he stops and bows, indicating an open door. I step through cautiously and my bags float ahead before settling on the floor with a soft thump of air.

“This is your room, master.” His voice is soft and whispery, surprisingly low for his small size.

I wince. “Don’t call me that,” I mutter. It’s too weird.

“Someone will be by later to unpack if you wish time to look around, master.”

“That’s fine,” I mutter, sighing.

Man, this sucks.

He departs and I kick the wooden door shut before looking around. It’s really, really grand. Nothing like my trashed dorm or Myda’s small, homey house back home. The weird stone ground is bare, but the walls are covered in draping silk curtains and tapestries, all dark blues and purples. It’s pretty I guess, but all the furniture is really dark cherry wood and it’s a little monotonous. I go through the first room to the bedroom. There are two open doors in there, one leading to the closet, one to the bathroom. Well, at least I get those to myself.

The pair of rooms quickly exhaust themselves as a source of interest. They’re basically normal rooms. I sigh and go for my bags, quickly finding a knife. I wince and look away before slowly dragging the blade along my finger, staining the edge from hilt to point. I breathe on it and whisper, “Janetta,” picturing Janie very carefully in my mind.

I risk glancing down. The blood has disappeared and the blade is fogged up. Slowly, the milky surface clears, revealing Janie’s face.

“Hey!”

I grin at her. “You’ll never guess what happened.”

“Oh my gosh, what happened?”