The next day it’s the little brownie guy again awhile after I’ve been woken up with a knock and the appearance of breakfast. I could get used to the service, but the food is all really weird.

He leads me through the labyrinth of corridors and I entertain myself by guessing his name. I know there's no way I'm even close to right, but he won't answer me, so what choice do I have? He ignores all of this and stops in front of a plain door. He knocks on the door and disappears down the hall.

I stare between him and the door. Well shit. Am I supposed to follow him or wait?

My question is answered when Meara answers the door. I was supposed to run away screaming.

Instead, I meet Meara's scowl with the blandest face I can manage.

He snaps, "Cayden's busy this morning, so I'm teaching you first. Your lessons with me will happen in the afternoon normally."

I can't help the rather surprised, "Daily?"

He smirks at me, looking far too pleased. He shouldn't look pleased, should he? The only time someone looks pleased when they have to spend time with someone they hate is when that second someone is going to be tortured. Oh no. Please don't him get a water board out.

All he says though, is, "Yes."

I gulp and step into the room, still debating whether or not I should just leave. Obviously, I can take him physically, but if he attacks me magically? I'm not exactly sure what faeries can do.

The door slams behind me and there's a click as it locks. Most ominous click ever. But it means my internal debate is no longer an issue. So instead, I try very hard to ignore Meara and stare around the room. It's really sparse. No, it's bare. And gray. The floor, walls, and ceilings are the same gray as everywhere else, but there's no colorful carpet, or wall hangings, or curtains to relieve it. It's just hard gray stone. There's two stools in the center of the room and a couch off to the side. All of its gray. Shit.

Meara sits down in one of the stools and glares at me until I follow suit. I shudder a little as I cross a circle of power around the chairs. I glance down and sure enough, there's the runes carved into the ground. This must be a permanent magic room then. That explains the unrelieved gray. There is absolutely nothing to distract a person in here. This would have been so much more awesome when I was little. I once got distracted by a butterfly and set myself on fire instead of the candle I was supposed to be lighting.

I hate circles of power. I use them occasionally when dealing with large magics, but generally, I cheat. Circles are there to keep out demons and other nasties and after all, I am one of those nasties.

Not that I steal people's magic when they're using and vulnerable because all their shields are down, but I'm pretty sure I could. And I'm pretty sure because I'm part demon, my magic's pretty safe for the most part. Demons have this weird aura that protects them and I know have that to some extent. Lonnie can see those and he told me. I haven’t bothered shielding for little things since although he told me I probably still should. I probably should here. People don’t like me here and I’ve heard faeries can steal magic with certain hardcore spells.

Nonetheless, I say nothing and sit down, trying to control the shudders.

Meara glares at me. “Do you know how to ground and shield?”

Huh, no introduction, no ‘sorry for starting off on the wrong foot‘, no ‘sorry I called you a barbarian‘, or ‘don’t you owe me an apology?” Huh. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. He’s still obviously pissed so I’m gonna go with bad.

I nod. Of course I know how to ground and shield. I’d probably be dead otherwise.

"Then do it," he snaps. I just blink at him. I'm already grounded and shielded. I always am. And after yesterday, I even have my little mental shields up so Jalkyn can't fuck with me.

"Already am," I mutter.

I'm always grounded because of my demonic side. Grounding is when you fin your magical center and then the center of the Earth. It's attaching your mind to your body to your magic to the dimension your in. Bad things tend to happen to magic-users when they don't ground themselves. Insanity and accidental teleporting being the two most common. Most magic users only bother to consciously ground themselves when they're actively using, but I can't. Demons are pure magic. That means any time I get more demonic then faerie-ish, I'm more magic than matter- I'm actively using basically. And I go all demonic on accident. Thus, always grounded just in case.

Shielding is a lot simpler. Everyone shields in the Border Town schools. We have a tendency to pull pranks on each other. A lot of pranks. It's one safeguard everyone takes. Dorms and lockers generally get shielded as well although that's a little more complicated for most. I personally have a rune of protection on my locker and dorm door. I always get fined for the damage at the end of the year though. Still worth it not to end up with purple stuff.

Meara looks at me sharply. "Fine. Unshield so I can check your grounding."

Oh shit. That seems like a bad idea. Does that sound like a bad idea? I don't like it. Taking down my shields means he can poke around at my aura and touch my magic. Eeew. No. Absolutely not.

He smirks at me. "Don't trust me?"

I shake my head. Nuh-uh. Not even a little bit. If I was him, I would be looking to get even. I wouldn't use magic, but then I am confident in my ability to take on anyone. It's landed me in the hospital a couple times, but that was when I was less practiced and smaller. Yep.

His green eyes are still deeply amused as he says, "Well, that's the first sign of intelligence I've seen from you."

I bristle. Asshole. Isn't this what got him punched last time? Are faeries stupid?

I say none of this, but he glances down, drawing my gaze. Oh. My knuckles are white from clutching at the stool so hard. I want to punch him. Better yet, I want to break the stool over his pretty faerie head.

He doesn't say anything and continues smirking, but he doesn't insult my intelligence right away. Good sign? Maybe.

Instead, he says, "I'll make you a deal. I will not intentionally harm you in this room unless it is necessary for training or self-defence and you will not physically attack me again."

Seems unfair. But faeries take their deals seriously. If a faerie renegades on a deal, oath breaker can be called on him and the Wild Hunt will descend. No one wants a Wild Hunt on their heads. I wouldn't accept a verbal deal anywhere else, but you can't call oath breaker in Border Town for breaking a verbal deal. And he just said I could attack him magically. Or implied it. Which means he's confident, but does he even know I'm half-demon? I might have some tricks up my sleeve. Besides, he just said he wouldn't hurt me unnecessarily. Which is foreboding, but... "What counts as necessary?"

He gives me a long look. "What is necessary to teach you."

Uh… I thought we went over this already. I’m not a complete moron. Really.

I shake my head. He rolls his eyes and I tense as he begins to gather his magic to him. This is going to end badly. Really badly. I can feel it in my gut. And you know, I can remember what happened yesterday, when I punched him the face. Payback time? Looks like it.

Sure enough, his magic crackles around his hands for a fraction of a second and then a lightning bolt flashes towards me. 

There's no time to think; I drop to the ground and the bolt whizzes over my head. The smell of burning hair pervades my senses. He got my hair. Shit. It's a live bolt. What the fuck is he planning on doing if one actually hits me?

Another bolt flies towards me, painting the room in dramatic whites and blacks.

I roll this time and another bolt flies towards me. I wince as I'm not quite fast enough rolling away and it hits me in the arm. Oh fuck, fuck, fuck!

I scramble to my feet, narrowly avoiding another one. Shit, he doesn't need any recover time, does he? Well, I think wryly, as I dodge another bolt, this explains why he's teaching me magic- he's really fucking good. I'm not good at magic. I worry too much about controlling my demonic powers to really learn any faerie magic, which is actually the more useful one. Demons can't do much magically- teleport, long distance communication, and really basic spells and such. The advantage demons have is that circles and runes are unnecessary.

I begin to concoct a plan as I run around the room, frantically dodging bolts. At the same time, I'm wondering how he's managing this. Faeries are supposed to need runes.

I'm bad at magic when I'm concentrating on something else so I do the first thing that I think of, one of the most basic things for me, especially lately- I summon my demonic side, this time on purpose. Instantly, my shields bulk up. Something about demonic auras does that. I don't bother trying to control the emergence of my demon features, letting the wings and horns emerge. The next lightning bolt hits me, but is deflected and I finally have enough time of standing still to summon a low level demon. Magic users, take note- don't fucking do this. I get special treatment because of my bloodlines. Everyone else still has to make deals in which you will always end up getting the raw deal.

The demon is one I've summoned before. I've made friends in my time in the demonic realm. The little wyvern darts forward, straight into the lightning bolt. The bolt shatters into tiny little shards, like a glass, except this glass is glowing like burning magnesium. And then the demon- really more of a pet in the demonic realm- darts forward and hisses at Meara. Meara panics.

I blink as he starts throwing lightning bolts at the little thing. Oh yeah. Faeries are scared shitless of demons. Huh, how has he been dealing with me? Wait, does he even know?

I ponder this as I tuck my extra appendages away. My breathing begins to even out. Most faerie magic doesn't do anything to demons and demons- at least ones as weak as this little guy- can't get close to faeries. Wyverns, at least, don't have any magic at all, so it's a stalemate, at least until Meara stops panicking.

I sit, resting my cheek on my hand. Obviously, they know I'm mixed blood and Jalkyn must know I'm demonic, right? I attacked him yesterday... Oh wait, he mentioned demons are allergic to fae blood. So he knows. But does everyone else?

I shrug it off and watch the fight. Meara's slowing down. I wonder how long it'll take him to realize nothing’s happening and nothing can happen.

Finally, he stops, getting it.

He stares at the little thing. He's wide-eyed and pale, and looks a little clammy. Shit, he's really frightened of the little guy. But wyverns are actually sort of cute! Not like human kitten cute, but they have big eyes! Mind you, they're slit-pupiled like goats, but it’s still cute. And they have the weirdest little chubby cheeks ever.

Suddenly, he turns and glares at me. "You did this," he hisses.

Why yes. Yes, I did. What’s his point?

I don’t answer.

"Make it go away," he snarls.

I roll my eyes. "No more magic until we come to an agreement. I’ll do the same."

He eyes the wyvern wearily. "You’ll send him away and then no more magic?"

"Yeah." Oh wow, that could have been bad. Can I be called oath breaker upon? I don’t think so- I’m technically not a denizen of the faerie hills, so that rule shouldn’t apply, right? Better be more careful in the future just in case.

I nod.

He nods slowly and I whistle softly. "Maodv," I hum, voice more of a low purr than anything. The demonic language is really weird and involves far too many rolled r's. "Come here sweetie."

The little wyvern comes to me and perches on my outstretched arm. Meara flinches at the contact. Come on! It's not even happening to him. Pussy. I take hold of that annoyance and use it to access my demonic side. Really, technically, any strong emotion will do, but who really uses magic when happy? And depression is usually discouraged, just because if you're that sad, nothing good is going to happen.

Luckily, annoyance is all I need to send Maodv back to the demonic realm. Teleporting itself is really easy for me, it’s the control bit that I have issues with. I reach for the power of the demonic realm and center myself there as well, double-checking that my center here is very, very strong. I don't want to get pulled over. I gently create the portal I need, trying to weave it between power lines, rather than through as Cayden did. That was not a clean transportation. Ick. And the low-level demons won't come when summoned so readily if I get a reputation as a crappy ride.

I click to Maodv and he flies into the portal, wings flapping lazily. He's gone in an instant, back in the demonic realm.

I open my eyes, not realizing I had closed them. Meara is across the room still, arms crossed. He's still pale, but he seems to be recovering himself, although he hasn't gotten all the way back to pissed yet.

"What are you?"

I blink at him. Ah, he really didn't know. That means Cayden doesn't either and Jalkyn really knows how to keep his mouth shut. Impressive for what a cock-sucker he probably is.

I smile charmingly at Meara. I'm going to enjoy this. They'll send me back, right? Because I'm demonic?

"Me mum was a demon," I say in a sing song voice, complete with heavy Irish accent. He doesn't seem to get the reference. Not that he would. What faeries watches underground films made my demon struck vampires? It'd actually be weirder if he did get it.

He pales. Huh, he's back to clammy and white. The only other person I've ever seen get that white is Janie when she saw all her panties strung up on that flag pole. She was white with rage though. Those guys didn't walk for a week. Meara's a little more panicked.

He takes a deep breath and seems to recover himself, doing the same nifty blank face trick Cayden did yesterday. This time I notice a slight wash of magic. Oh! It's an illusion. That's pretty cool. Either I wasn't paying attention yesterday or Cayden's really good.

"That explains your little temper tantrum." His voice is even as well and I take a moment to listen for magic. Sure enough, there's a soft echo, barely there. The even voice is illusion as well.

I smile cheerfully. Border town, here I come! "I don't like being treated like a moron."

He doesn't say anything for a moment. I wonder if he's screaming at me and projecting silence so I can't hear him. I kind of want to learn this illusion trick now. School would be so much cooler. I'm pretty bad at personal glamour.

The silence drags on. Okay, less cool now, more annoying. Is he going to say anything to my face.

"So..." I finally venture after a moment. I never was good at waiting. Staring contests are one thing; waiting out silences is a whole other ballgame. "Can I go home now?" Subtlety isn't really my thing either.

The illusion fades and Meara smirks at me. He looks almost normal. And when he speaks, his voice is positively vicious. "This is your home now." Oh god, I wish he had stuck with the glamoured voice.

"Now, about that deal," he says with a smirk.

I can't help it. "Fuck!"

He grins maliciously at me. He's an asshole! And he was so cheerful at first too! Are all faeries this weird? Well, actually, based on the knowledge I have gained in the last day, I'm going to have to go with yes. Dammit. Why do I have to live here for seven months? Why the fuck is he okay with me being a demon?! Gr!

I sigh. "I don't physically attack you or summon demons and you don't attack me magically?" It's the best I can come up with.

He shakes his head. "If you want to learn attack magic, which you need if you plan to make it in faerie society."

Which I don't. I plan to rot in this place for seven months and then go back home. But learning attack magic would be pretty awesome.

I sigh. "You come up with something."

"You don't use any magic you aren't told to while in this room and you do not physically attack me and I will not attack you without due warning and without teaching you the proper way to defend yourself."

I think about it. "You have to give me time to learn and have to be fairly sure I can manage to defend and counterattack."

He nods and repeats back the entire thing as a promise. I nod. "Agreed."

And that's that. No magic seal like there is in Border Town. I guess there are some advantages to them being so civilized.

The rest of the morning is very, very basic. He finally tests my grounding and finds it acceptable then does the same with my shielding. He pokes a little at my shielding and his eyebrows shoot up. "Odd," he finally proclaims. "You need to be taught to shield properly."

I sigh but acquiescence. Stuff like this can only help me in the long run, right? As much as I dislike Meara and wish I could own his ass magically as well as physically, I am a practical and realistic enough person to know better. So I go through the tedious process of learning to shield like a faerie. The hodgepodge of demonic and mage-like shields I have now are way easier, but by lunch, I've got to admit my shields are better.

There are a few tense moments, but we both -shockingly- manage to control ourselves. He unlocks the door at some unknown symbol and indicates I should leave. His expression says immediately.

I step out and the door slams behind me. Tense fucking morning, man. I can only assume he's blowing off steam. I wouldn't mind the opportunity.

Instead, I'm faced with the rather daunting challenge of trying to find my way out. I wander around a few minutes, debating the pros and cons of teleporting when the brownie finds me. He simply walks into the room I'm in, says, "This way master," turns around, and walks back out. I hurry after him, catching up easily. I still don't know his name.

The brownie takes me through the halls and into a banquet hall. This one is a lot smaller than the one from yesterday and a lot more casual. There's still just one long table, but the chairs are heavily padded, not straight-backed, and the walls are hung with an incredible amount of brightly colored cloth. More covers the ceiling, giving it a tent like feel. Kinda cool.

There is food set out on the table, like a buffet and there are already a couple people sitting here and there. Jalkyn is there. He smirks at me lazily from where he's talking to a green-eyed black haired boy. The black hair puts me instantly on guard. Oh, please not another relative.

"Sinjin."

I turn and Cayden nods his head briefly. he waves me over to take a seat next to Jalkyn, across from the black-haired boy. I hesitantly perch on the chair, sinking into the plush, soft material.

"This is your cousin," Cayden says.

Ah fuck. Another relative. I sigh and offer a half-hearted smile. This guy hasn't done anything yet.

He smiles tentatively back and I brighten considerably. Hey, he's not a total jackass.

"I'm Midir," he says. His voice is soft. That makes me look at him closer. Long black hair, curlier than anyone else’s I've seen here yet, bright green eyes, a lot like Meara, so his son probably. He has a pretty face, a lot softer and more feminine than any other guy's I've seen here. He's actually really cute. If he turns out to really be soft and sweet, he's so totally my type. Well, he would be if he cut off his hair. And if we weren't related. Damn. He's my cousin and that makes it incest, doesn't it? He's even related to my blood.

"Sinjin," I introduce myself, hiding my thoughts as best I can. And I think I'm pretty good at it, but Jalkyn gives me a smirk that puts me instantly on edge. Jerk off. Is he an empath? I know some ainmhain faeries can feel what others can feeling but is Jalkyn one of them? And even if he is, he should feel my disappointment and realize what that means too. I'm not going after Midir, no way no how.

"Nice to meet you."

I only remember now that I've had to bow to everyone else on first meeting. Well, except for Cayden, so maybe it’s only in a formal situation? Ah, fuck, I don't know. I don't get shit like this.

I sigh and Jalkyn snickers and rises. "I'll leave you three alone for some family time." He sweeps off, moving with that otherworldly grace again.

I frown as I thing about his words. Isn't he technically family too? Another cousin of both me and Meara and Cayden's nephew. Neither of the two makes any reaction to his leaving though, so I let it go. I'll figure things out eventually, and if I don't, well, who cares? I'm leaving in a couple months anyways and it seems a bad idea to corner Jalkyn and interrogate him even if it would sate my curiosity. Maybe I'll be able to figure this family out on my own.

There's a long moment of awkward silence. Well, it's awkward for me at least. Midir is eating his food and Cayden is filling a plate. Oh. I should actually probably do that too. My stomach rumbles right on cue. I'm really hungry. But there's no good looking food here! I don't know what the fuck this shit is! I finally just copy what Cayden has on his plate. He seems like a straightforward eater, right?

The food isn't actually too bad although it’s all on the sweet side. Nothing spicy at all and that depresses me a little, but it’s not bad overall.

Midir finishes first and begins to make very typical, very boring small talk. His first question is about the weather.

I squint at him. "Dunno," I finally mutter. Is he really this nice? I didn't think any of the faeries would be nice to me. It's weird. But if he really is... Well, it'd be nice to have a friend here. "I haven't been outside yet," I mumble, pushing the last of my food around. It's really not to my taste.

He shrugs. "You will be. Uncle Cayden has enlisted me to help with your fencing lessons." So he is Meara's son. And God, I hope he really is nice or the weapon's training is going to go a lot like my morning, which is not something I really want a repeat of. Although a chance to blow off steam would be nice... Hm, and it’s not like either of them can really hurt me physically- I'm bigger and better than both of them. Huh, now I can't decide whether I want a friend or enemy. At this point another enemy might be a lot nicer. At least then I know what to expect from him. But a faerie friend? Who knows how that will end up?

I stay silent, not exactly sure what to do.

Cayden finally finishes and puts down his fork. "We should go," he says to me. His face is fairly blank again. I nod and follow him out of the room. He leads me through the halls this time and nearly run into him when he stops. He turns and looks at me, crossing his arm. "You should change before we begin your etiquette lessons."

I blink and stare at him.

He opens the door next to him. It’s the entrance to my suite. Oh. Huh. That's impressive. All the halls look the same to me. I step in and Cayden shuts the door behind me, giving me privacy. Cool. I could totally just stay in here until he gets pissed.

I'm getting ready to do that when I suddenly start feeling inexplicably guilty. Cayden's thorny but... he hasn't really done anything to me yet. He hasn't insulted me with anything but looks and he just generally seems like a disparaging guy actually. He looks at Meara the same way, or he has a couple times, and Midir drew a couple of the same looks as well.

I get up from where I instantly plopped down on the couch and go to my bedroom where my bags are still sitting packed. One of them is open and the contents are spilling everywhere, but that's it. I begin to move towards it and am instantly stopped when I glance at myself in the mirror. Holy shit. I look really, really bad. Why- How the fuck did no one mention this before? My hair's choppy where the lightning bolt hit. I officially need a haircut. My t-shirts torn a tiny bit and dirty, presumably from running around and rolling on the floor so much.

My hair is sticking every which way which isn't that unusual but is not actually what it looked like this morning. And my arm looks really, really gross. It's burnt. Not badly, but it is- still is. I heal pretty quickly, but my arm still looks like absolute shit. It’s all bright red and pink. Grimy, grimy, grimy. I wrinkle my nose and go to one of the unopened bags. All my stuff is strewn around my room when I finally find the right little box. My first aid kit. I nearly kiss it. My arm hurts like hell now that I've noticed it. I don’t how I hadn't before. Maybe it was how tense I am. I'm not exactly comfortable around faeries or in new places.

I sigh and begin pulling stuff out. I’m halfway through wrapping my arm up- my left forearm so it’s not too difficult-when Cayden throws open the door. The loud bang it causes reaches me in the bedroom. I roll my eyes and continue to mess with the bandage as he stomps through the little greeting room and back to my bedroom, snarling, “What the hell is taking so long?’

I tense when he enters by room, but he stops short when he sees me bandaging my arm.

I just keep wrapping the gauze. He finally sighs and sits down next to me, gently taking the guaze from me. He does the last two loops around my arm and then ties it off neatly. “What happened anyway?”

I shrug.

He sighs. “Meara said he would make a deal with you so you two wouldn’t fight.”

Heh, he tried all right.

“Did you two come to an agreement?”

And what are you gonna do if we didn’t, buddy? Teach me yourself? Somehow, I doubt you have the time to teach me all day. And if you do, what the fuck have you been doing your entire life?

I end up nodding.

He sighs. “I assume after this happened?”

I shrug and nod again. Yeah. I’m not that stupid. I know how to make deals that won't get me killed. Not that I would mind a lesson. At all.

He sighs. “Fine. Change and we’ll go. I‘ll get you a healer after the etiquette lesson”

Jerk. My arm hurts now. I wait until he leaves and then dive for the ibuprofen. I take way more than the prescribed amount. Hey, I’m in a lot of pain and I’m a big guy. Besides, fae and demon metabolisms are out-of-this-world compared to humans’.

I change slowly, hoping to take enough time or the medication to kick in. I even do my hair, if you count running a hand through it and chopping off a few strands to make the burned part unnoticeable as doing hair.

Finally, Cayden yells, “Hurry up!” I can almost hear the ‘you pansy’ in his voice. Bitch. He would be a lot nicer if he had ever gotten burned by a lightning bolt. But wait, isn’t Meara his brother? Unless blood siblings are radically different than twins and adopted siblings, he probably has been burnt. So he’s just unsympathetic. Bitch.

Oh well, the medication is kicking in, so I emerge from my bedroom. Cayden is sitting on the couch. He waves at me to join him. I perch uneasily and he starts going off about bows. I realize belatedly that this must be the etiquette lesson. Oh. I expected something more formal. But… maybe this is better.

He looks more relaxed than I’ve seen him and this is sort of nice. I wonder if I could convince Meara to teach me here? Wait, no, bad idea. I don’t want scorch marks on my couch. Well, not my couch, but I don’t want to have to look at scorch marks every day.

The lesson is really, really short. He actually seems as antsy as I am. All he does is tell me bowing is necessary in formal situations, promising to define it some other time, and then teaches me some, telling me about how I bow lower for different people. It’s all really hierarchal. I’m reminded of ancient Indian castes. Everyone here is born into their place. It’s based on their magical ability, not their bloodlines at least, but it’s all natural talent. It’s impossible to raise your level, although an accident can leave you worse off.

Ick. I’ve never been happier to be a half-breed. We have so many ways to gain respect. Even powerful halfies will get decked if they’re bitches.

He says, “Come on, we’re going to find a healer,” far sooner than I expected. But like hell I’m objecting. Healers are nice. They’re all warm and fuzzy and helpful. Well, some of them. One of the healers back home is a chain smoker and is the by far the most sarcastic son-of-a-bitch I’ve ever met. But he’s really good.

I follow Cayden through the halls and already the painkillers are beginning to wear off.

We run into Jalkyn on the way. 

I notice Cayden’s shoulders stiffen, but all he says is, “Jalkyn, good! You’ve met Sinjin. Sinjin, this is your… step brother, I suppose, Jalkyn.”

He smirks at me, but bows and I hurriedly bow back. His smirk widens. “You’ve gotten better at that. The etiquette lesson went well?” His eyes are lingering on my bandaged arm.

I resist the urge to stick my tongue out at him. It’s really immature for one thing, but also, the last time I did that to ainmhain faerie- Janie- I got a wee bit molested and who wants that to happen in front of their uncle?

I realize a little belatedly that I would totally do it if he wasn’t. Damn teenage hormones.

Jalkyn’s still smirking and he’s got that look in his eyes again that say he knows exactly what I’m thinking.

I scowl at him. “It went fine.”

He smirks. “Then what exactly do you need me for?”

“Just heal his arm.”

Jalkyn scowls at him and puts his hands on his hips. "No."

Jerk. My arm hurts.

Cayden glares back. Ooh, I sense from family tension. Was this what the whole, "have some family time without me" was about? Actually, this may be a bit more than that. Jalkyn wasn't introduced yesterday and he's technically family, so he should have been right? I mentally shrug it off.

Jalkyn just continues to glare at his uncle- or non-uncle I guess. They aren't related at all, are they? I guess that could be pretty weird.

Once again, I'm struck by how odd Jalkyn looks for an ainmhain faerie. He's in white again today and it's really not flattering on him at all. Why the hell is he wearing that? Everyone else looks fabulous in their clothes. I mean, I even have to admit Cayden looks hot and he's my uncle- maybe- and I don't even like him! He's in this rather fabulous blue tunic that matches his eyes. I swear to god, everyone looks good here. If I didn't know I look awesome in jeans and t-shirts, I would feel like a country bumpkin. As it is, Jalkyn's kind of the one in that position although he's dressed really nicely. It just doesn't look good on him.

But his eyes are pretty, I realize with a start. They're strange- I've never seen anything with eyes like his- but they're pretty.

As soon as I have that thought, his glare turns to me. Oh boy. Definitely an empath. Damn. Oh well, it's not like he can use my attraction to him against me. I'm okay with it. It's just physical attraction and that means absolutely nothing in anything but prepubescent girl's minds and crappy romantic comedies.

Jalkyn just glares at me for a moment. "Do I get anything in return for healing him?" he finally asks. Dammit, I'm right here! No need to talk to Cayden instead of me. Wait, on second thought, that's a damn good idea. I don't do so well on the deal front, although I think my one with Meara's pretty strong. But it's too much scheming and looking ahead and trying to get the better half of the deal for me. I'm more of a straight forward guy.

"No," Cayden snaps. "I'll just find Mitage."

Jalkyn laughs, that purring, deep-throated laugh I heard yesterday. "Mitage won't heal him," he purred. Oh my, suddenly his voice is really sexy and it’s not his powers this time. My shields are up.

But Cayden is tenser than ever and my eyes follow Jalkyn's gaze as it goes over to the man and dips. His smirk widens as my eyes widen. My, my, Jalkyn is definitely using his powers.

Jalkyn doesn't comment on Cayden's tent, but I have the feeling he won't forget. "Mitage won't heal him," Jalkyn purrs, and this time, even I'm thinking about what that soft purr could be used for, although I don't think it's his powers getting to me

"Didn't you hear?" Jalkyn continues, and now that I've thought about that being used when his mouth is around my cock, I just can't get the thought out of my head. Oh shit, is he really that strong that he's busting through my shields? If he is, well, mother-fucking shit. I'm glad I learned to shield against it. I glance at Cayden. I don't think he got the same lessons. His face is flushed and his tent is very much not a puptent anymore. He's up.

"Your nephew," Jalkyn purrs. "Is a half-demon."

I know I should probably tense and all and be offended he's telling my secret- that's what always happens in stupid dramatic scenes like this, right?- but it's not like I give a shit.

Cayden shoots me a glance and it’s really awkward with him as aroused as he is. Luckily, it’s not directed towards me. Then his face goes white and then red and suddenly there is so much heat in his eyes as he looks at me. Ohmygawd, Jalkyn is really powerful. There was no attraction there before- I know, I rock at telling that shit. Now there's a lot. Fuck, fuck, fuck, not a good situation. This is my uncle!

I'm temporarily distracted by that thought. Uncle? Fuck, did I just think that. Shit! Not my uncle, not my uncle, not my uncle. I repeat those three words but I guess what is thought cannot be un-thought. He does look an awful lot like me.

And he's looking at me like that.

"Quit it," I snap at Jalkyn.

He smirks. "And in return?"

"Oh fuck off. Just quit it. I don't need my arm healed. Sorry you feel disrespected or whatever the fuck brought this on."

He stares at me for a long moment, his face unreadable, and then suddenly just turns and walks away.

Cayden lets out a large whooshing breath and suddenly the sound of his ragged panting is filling the air. He must have been holding his breath that entire time. Damn impressive.

I sneak a glance at him. He's still red-faced but he looks mortified now. His tent is completely gone. Huh, mine probably wouldn't be, but then I kinda think Jalkyn is cute, at least, all on my own. Not in a traditional way or even an attractive way but he's got a thing about him that I recognize from most of the boys I've dated. I still don't know what that is quite yet, but it's definitely there, just the same as in all of them. Plus, he's got pretty eyes even if they are weird. I'm guessing Cayden doesn't actually like men, or at least is not remotely attracted to Jalkyn.

I'm thinking by this encounter that they really don't like each other.

"Are you okay?" I finally ask warily, when his breathing has evened out a bit.

He turns to me and turns red again. Ah man, Jalkyn's a bastard.

"Ainmhain faeries are kinda crazy," I say carefully, hoping to not offend him.

He takes a deep breath and then says, managing to look directly at me with only a faint hint of a blush, "Have you encountered one before?"

I shrug. "Half-breed. She was a little less..." Um, how do I say 'like a blooded faerie' without offending this blooded faerie? Man, this whole thing is just weird. I want to yell and insult people! I have a big mouth dammit and I'm damn proud of that fact!

He seems to get it because he nods. "We'll go find... Innis."

Not Mitage. "Did you already know I was half-demon?"

He doesn't bother glancing at me. "I was aware. It seemed superfluous for anyone else to find out. If you were demonic, you would not be living in Border Town unchecked. It seems Jalkyn found out though."

I shrug. "We had a fight last night. He started it," I tack on. "Oh," I add. "Meara knows too. Same reason. He started it too though."

Cayden sighs and stops his walk down the hall turning to me. I stop as well and look at him. It seems the appropriate thing to do, right?

His hands are on his hips and he looks really serious - not that he ever doesn't - but he looks extra serious now. God, he is like, literally, the least whimsical person I have ever met. Ever.

"How strong is your demon blood?"

I look at him, mind racing. I don't want to tell him. It's not like I care, I just... I really just don't feel like it. I don't want to be here, I don't want to talk about my problems with a man I don't even like. He's not near as bad as Meara or Jalkyn or everyone else I've talked to- which is surprising because he‘s a bastard- but he's still a blood.

"None of your business," I finally say.

He bristles immediately.

"Look, I need to know if you are going to live here." He's very obviously struggling for control over an already frayed temper. But that run in with Jalkyn was not my fault.

"I don't want to live here," I point out. "I am required by law. I could have come here on my own, or gotten arrested and dragged here by the police."

He's an asshole. I don't want to talk to him. Man, I’m moody today. Wasn’t I just thinking about how he was better than everyone else? Not that he has a lot of competition…

“If you’re dangerous, I need to know, zord!” he shouts.

I tense. Oh fuck no! A growl rips it way out from between my lips. Suddenly, the small measure of calm I managed to get between the magic “lesson” and now is gone. Completely and utterly gone. And I’m pissed again. Really, really pissed.

And he is too. Somewhere is the back of my mind, a tiny little voice is screaming at me to stop, to diffuse the situation somehow. The rest of me stomps it into silence.

I’m trembling, shaking hard with the effort of controlling my demonic side. I was already on edge, another fight and the emergence of my demonic side so soon is not what I need.

His blue eyes flash and I feel the build-up of power around him. That’s cheating. I snarl and my horns and claws and wings explode outwards, the sting not even registering in my mind.

His eyes widen and the magic springs forth, but his isn't lightning bolts like Meara's. His magic takes the form of water.

Amusing and harmless is all I'm thinking when a wall of it rises above me. A moment later, it descends on me and all amusement is gone. I'm knocked to my back and slammed down on the unforgiving stone floor as gallons of water push down on me, crushing my chest, invading my lungs. It's impossible to breathe and the pressure is overwhelming me.

Panic joins the anger, real panic. I'm going to be crushed to death before I can even drown. My body's automatic, frantic inhalation is only making it worse. Oh, God, can't breathe. This is bad, so bad. Can't move, can't even lift a finger. I have to go, I have to get out of here right now, or find a way to fight back, but I can't and oh god, it hurts.

My vision starts going in and out and I'm hyperventilating, desperately attempting to breathe in water and I can't breathe. I'm choking and drowning and trying to breathe. I draw all my magic to me, knowing I need to do something, anything, but I can't think of anything and I'm drawing all my magic to me and God! Cayden needs to stop! He's going to kill me. All this water needs to get away, but I'm not capable, fuck! Fuck you, Cayden! And that's my last conscious thought, that and a loud, loud sound, almost like a gunshot or an explosion and then nothing, but blackness, sweet oblivion, nothing hurt.

I'm dying, I think, and that's not okay. I can't feel anything, can't hear, can't see. My smell's gone completely and the only taste is that of water, the usually sweet taste better. I can't die like this. I haven't- haven't done ANYTHING yet. Nothing. I want to do something meaningful before I die. I'll just have to wake up, continue what I was doing.

But what was I doing? I can't remember. All I can remember is a loud noise and too much water.

I struggle to wake up, to feel something, to hear, see, anything! But it's futile and eventually I give up and just let myself drift.