Rise of the Fae (22 page)

“I don’t think you’re supposed to be eating that,” said a female.

Selene looked up as she put the lid on one of the Tupperware containers. “Why not? It’s food. It’s meant to be eaten.”

“Not by us.”

Selene stared at the blond with large, defiant sapphire eyes. “Oh,” she nodded. “You mean, by slaves. I’m not a slave.” She shoved the Tupperware into the fridge and closed it.

“Oh no? Those marks on your neck say otherwise.” The girl pointed.

Selene fought the urge to touch her neck. “Trust me. There’s not a Vampire on Earth who could enslave me.”

The blond reached over and took one of Selene’s eggrolls. “Oh really? And why’s that?”

Selene shrugged. “Because I don’t want them to.”

The female snorted. “If that was true, I’d not have been sold a dozen times.”

“A dozen?” Intriguing. Selene studied the female as she chewed. “So what makes you so special? I mean, I suppose you are pretty enough.”

“It’s the challenge, I think,” said the girl. “They all think they can break me and make me submit to their will.”

“But humans can choose their own mentors now, right? Why do you keep going with them?”

The girl picked out another eggroll and crunched it. “Because I want to talk to the other slaves. To get them to see the truth.”

“What truth?”

“That we don’t have to live like this.” She gestured around. “We can fight.”

Selene bit into a chicken tender. “And who’s going to help them fight? Where will you go?”

The girl looked around and then leaned across the counter and lowered her voice. “There’s an enclave. The one I came from. It’s large, huge even. They’ll take us all in. They want to defeat the Vampires. Take back the world. They’re working on a cure.”

“A cure for what?”

“For vamps, of course. They’ve been working on it for years. And they have weapons. Some even rumored they have a couple nukes hidden away.”

Humans. Thought they owned everything. The last thing the world needed now was human rebels with nuclear weapons. “And what makes you think that’s a good thing.”

The girl shook her head. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Well, from what I see, this world is in the crapper and the only thing holding it together are the Vampires. Without them, things would go back to the way they were after the Awakening. Chaos, wars, death.”

The girl’s eyes narrowed on Selene like a laser beam. “Better to have those things and be free than to die in comfort as a slave.”

Selene shook her head. “And how many slaves agreed with you? In all those households you went to, how many said they’d return to the enclave?”

The girl frowned.

“Didn’t think many would,” Selene said. “No offense, but people don’t want freedom, they want comfort. Everyone does. Given the choice between being a comfortable slave with safety and food and hot water, and going back to living in the mountains barely surviving, people are going to choose comfort every time.”

“Dude, not me,” said the girl. “Never me.”

The girl was young. Maybe mid-twenties. She still held the fiery passion of youth. Unfortunately, Selene was older. Much older.

“What’s your name?” asked Selene.

“Evan.”

“What did the Vampires do to you that was so horrible?”

The girl closed her mouth and stepped away from the counter. The expression on her face hardened.

“So what are you going to do now?” asked Selene. “Keep going house to house?”

“If I have to.”

“I wouldn’t count on it.” Selene popped an eggroll in her mouth.

“What does that mean?”

“It means you were confined to your room and you’re not supposed to be out here,” said a male from behind Selene.

Both turned to find William and Neeman entering the kitchen. Selene flipped open a soda and took a huge swig as Neeman approached her.

Evan looked to William and groaned. “So you’re just going to keep me locked up?”

“For now, yes. Until Lord Danika decides what to do with you.” He pointed toward the rear door.

“Dude, you can’t keep me shut up forever. I’ll get out.”

“I’m sure you will, but for now, please, let’s just go to your room.” William opened the back door and waved her outside.

Evan looked between Selene and Neeman.

“At least you get to be a slave to a cute one,” Evan said.

Selene clenched her jaw. “Like I said, I’m no one’s slave.”

Evan snorted again. “Sure, sis. You keep telling yourself that.”

William pulled on Evan’s arm but she yanked it away. “Don’t touch me, Vampire. You’re cute too, but not that cute.”

William sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m a vampyr, not a Vampire.”

“Okay, so you got bitten, not born, who cares? You still drink blood, don’t you?”

William sighed and shook his head. “Come on.”

Evan waved and headed out the door.

Selene popped another eggroll in her mouth.

“What were you two talking about?” asked Neeman.

“Girl stuff.” A piece of eggroll spit from her mouth and landed on the counter.

“I don’t want you talking to Evan.”

She gave him a hard look, picked up a piece of chicken, and pointed it at him. “You know, you telling me not to talk to people is getting old.”

“I don’t care if you talk to any other female in this house, just don’t talk to that one.”

“Why? Afraid she might turn me to the dark side?”

“No.” He shook his head. “I’m afraid you’ll make her obsession with freeing the humans worse.”

Selene’s jaw dropped. She chewed quickly and then swallowed. “Me? What did I do?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “You really need to ask?”

She advanced on him. “I’ll have you know, that though I don’t agree with humans being slaves, I do understand it. I’m not an idiot. I can see what would happen if suddenly the humans were allowed to run amuck again, let alone rule this world. You guys may have screwed it up with the V2000 virus, but at least you’re holding what little there is left together. The system isn’t perfect, but at least it isn’t total chaos.”

“
I like chaos,”
said her demon.

Neeman stared at her for a minute. “I don’t know if I should be flattered or offended.”

“I really don’t care which you are.” She walked to the counter and stuffed more food in her mouth.

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?”

She took a long drink of soda before sucking in a breath and burping. “Nope.”

He growled and grabbed her soda. “Come on.” He picked up her plate and threw it in the trash with the drink. “Stop eating that crap. It’ll kill you.”

“Are you serious?” She trailed behind him, trying to keep up. “Where are we going?”

“Out back.”

“Is there a barbecue out there, because I’m hungry.”

“No. You’re going to teach us how to fight demons.”

“Says who?”

“Lord Danika. Just like at the compound. You want to stay, you have to help out.”

She shrugged. “Okay, then I’ll just go.”

Neeman blocked her path and planted his feet on the ground. “No.”

“But I don’t want to help out. So I have to leave.” She moved around him.

“Why are you being so stubborn? Why can’t you just do things without a fight for once?”

Selene stopped in her tracks. She glanced around at the finery of the house and the High Elder’s voice floated into her head. She couldn’t leave. She had to stay close to Danika and Mason.

“Fine,” she said finally. “Teach who?”

“Everyone.”

* * * *

Out back, trackers and house security gathered on the large lawn, assembled for her viewing pleasure. The sight of them in one large collective made her shake her head.

“What?” Neeman asked.

“How do you expect me to teach this many people to fight demons? It took me years to learn how to deal with them all. I can’t make them demon destroyers in one night. This would take months of training.”

Neeman eyed the group and then stepped closer and lowered his voice. “We don’t have months. We have no idea when they could strike next.”

“Well I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be much help,” she whispered, crossing her arms over her chest. “Why can’t Mason do this?”

“Because.” Neeman’s gaze darted away.

“Because why?”

He licked his lips. “Because they are scared of Mason.”

“And they aren’t scared of me?” She snorted. They had no idea…

Neeman pulled on his hair by the roots and rubbed his face. “Okay look. Don’t teach them to fight, teach them the weaknesses.”

She groaned. That alone would take days and that was only if they were fast studies. She didn’t want to do this. Why did she have to babysit the preschoolers? But if it meant she got a couple of hours without Neeman asking her what was wrong, she’d do it.

“Fine.” She pointed at him. “But don’t blame me if they all get killed.”

She walked to the middle of the group and looked around. She could do this.

“Hey. I’m Selene and I will be your instructor today in Demonology 101. First of all, you should know you aren’t as strong as a demon. You aren’t as fast as a demon. You aren’t even—”

“That’s not helping,” Neeman said.

She looked at him and scowled.

“Fine. The one thing you are most likely better at than a demon, is being smart. Demons tend to go on impulse. What they want, they go for, usually with no thought for the possible repercussions. So for instance, let’s say Neeman here is a quaser demon.” She grabbed Neeman by the arm and led him to the middle of the group.

She walked around him and smirked. “Quaser’s have long, tentacled arms with suction cups on them that are sticky as hell.” She flopped his arms up and down. “But they aren’t too bright.” She flicked him in the back of the head.

Neeman glared at her while several people snickered. Selene smiled and continued. She rounded Neeman till she stood behind him.

“The way to bring down a quaser is right here.” She dug her finger into the base of his spine. “You stab a quaser here, and he’ll go down for the count.”

“How many different kinds of demons are there?” someone yelled.

“Hundreds.”

There were murmurs and groans from the peanut gallery.

“You’re not helping,” Neeman replied.

“Well, then maybe I should just go.”

“Do you want everyone to die?”

She shrugged. “What do I care? I don’t know them.”

“You know me.”

Her stomach clenched at the look on his face.

“Look,” he said. “You’re obviously angry at me about something. And we can deal with that later, but right now you need to cut it out. This isn’t you. I know you don’t want everyone here to die. Put up this bitchy front all you want with me. But deep down, you care. My men told me how you saved them down there. You could have run but you didn’t. So stop making this so hard.”

She pulled from his grip and sighed. “Fine. But I’m only doing this so my conscience is clear.”

A smile flickered on his lips. “Whatever you say.”

* * * *

Neeman watched Selene spend the next two hours telling the group everything she could about different demons and their weaknesses. She explained which ones to fight and which ones to plain run from. A dozen trackers and security members came into the middle to spar with her. As much as she would never admit it, she was a born teacher.

She was patient in a way Neeman wasn’t. She took time to show them specific techniques or how to improve their defensive tactics. If they did something that wouldn’t work, she told them what would.

She’d taught them to recognize fifteen of the most common demons and the characteristics of over two dozen more. In the end, though he still wasn’t sure they would win in a fight, they were more prepared than not.

It was interesting to Neeman to see her. She’d put all attitude aside and was just herself. The
her
he was pretty sure few people had ever seen.

Mason came out to join them as they were finishing up.

“She’s good,” he said. “Not like me. I don’t have the aptitude for teaching. No patience.”

“She’s a natural,” Neeman replied. “She’d make an amazing tracker.”

Mason glanced at him sideways. “Maybe you should tell her that.”

Neeman shrugged. “Maybe I should.”

The group broke up and several people thanked Selene. She waved them off, but the smile on her face was genuine.

He walked up to meet her.

“So did I pass, master?” she asked.

“You were great.”

“They’re still going to die.”

He stared at her hard. “Not if you continued to teach them.”

“What? Me?” She snorted. “No thanks.”

“I’m serious. You’d make an amazing tracker and a teacher. You should think about it.”

She stared at him for a minute and her eye twitched. She rubbed at it. “Yeah, well… I don’t think I’m the right person for the job.”

“I think you’re the perfect person. And besides, what else do you have to do?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Shopping, my nails, napping—”

“Be serious. You need something to do, and we need you.”

She licked her lips. “You need me huh?”

He swallowed and glanced around. There wasn’t anyone in earshot and yet he didn’t think this was the place for a conversation of that magnitude.

“Never mind.” She turned to go.

“Stop. Yes. We need you. All of us as a collective.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

Neeman growled in frustration. Why couldn’t things just be easy with her? What she wanted him to say was as obvious as what had set her off. The mention of Danika and their relationship had sent a frostiness over Selene to rival that of a Chicago winter.

There was only one way to do this.

He grabbed her hand. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” She trailed behind him.

“You’ll see when we get there.” He pulled her toward the car out front.

Neeman drove downtown in silence. They’d made love, and it had been amazing. He’d given her something that no man had before. And she’d given him something no woman ever had before. The blood in his veins made him once again feel alive. It connected him to her in a way he’d never connected to another.