Dragon Kin 2

08

Carmen

Ocean watched me pace. Vlad did too, but Ocean's eyes reminded me of a cat's for some reason, so I was paying more attention to him. Stopping I said, "So, I'm marked to Vlad, which traditionally meant, what? That we would be married?"

"Traditionally, yes, there was also sex involved, but aren't most family traditions horrible in some way?" Ocean asked.

My head cocked to the side, and then I decided he had a point. At least with my family he did.

Ocean looked at the clock on the wall, which I hadn't noticed because it was one of those minimalist clocks, and then he stood, "I need to be going. I'll be back in a couple of hours. Vlad can answer your questions, or I will when I return."

"Where are you off to?" Vlad asked, standing as well. I decided the grace of their movements came from shear strength. A man didn't just rise off the couch like Vlad did. He moved as a military leader might. I mean, he moved and his presence captured your attention in a commanding and dominant manner.

Ocean walked to the front door, "Shopping. We have a guest who is going to want a change of clothes and some other needs. I won't be long, but it would be inconvenient for me to wait any longer. People do like their sleep."

We watched him leave, and then he popped his head back inside, "Food will be up in a couple of minutes. It's all paid for. They'll set it down outside, and knock on the door. After that, we don't have anyone else showing up tonight or in the morning, so don't answer the door. Unless you're prepared."

Then he disappeared and closed the door again.

"Unless you're prepared?" I asked, looking to Vlad and feeling suddenly ... exposed. His commanding presence now set me on edge. It felt, not dangerous precisely but alerting perhaps.

It was just him and me now... and a freshly made bedroom...

I crossed my arms, and sat down again, only now I was on the other couch, which had it's back to the back of Vlad's side. I liked the barrier. Then I remembered how he was when I first saw him. He is not what he seems. He may not be bad but that doesn't make him good.

"He meant, prepared for a fight," Vlad said, offhandedly. "No one knows we're here," he added. Turning to me, he saw I switched sides on the couch arrangement, and sat on his side, but near me.

He sniffed the air subtly, his nostrils flared. "I guess, you're a bit nervous at the moment."

"No, not really, well, not unduly," I said, honestly if perhaps a bit to harshly, "I'm hungry, and a lot has happened. I'm not afraid of you doing something, or attacking me Vlad. I even kind of like you. But it's — it's not every day you find out you're part of someone's mythology. I mean, someone else's mythology – I mean, hell, I've gone from murderer, to prisoner, to what? Wife? Concubine? Consort? What am I Vlad?"

He exhaled, and picked up his drink.

That was a totally unfair question. I knew it as soon as the words shattered against the walls. Fuck.

"Hungry," he said, and then nodded as he took another drink, agreeing with himself.

I laughed, "I'm sorry. That wasn't cool. I shouldn't have ..."

A knock at the door interrupted me.

The way he stood was as smooth as any dancer or martial artist. In effect he rose from the couch, every aspect of him ready, "Wait here. Don't let your guard down. I know I implied we're safe. I shouldn't have."

I narrowed my eyes, "You don't think that's food?"

"No, it's food. I can smell it. Cooked beef and there is pizza," he said. "Pepperoni, sausage, olives and mushrooms, but I shouldn't have implied we are safe, because we're not, not really."

"Alright," I meeped, suddenly not feeling safe like when there's a hurricane just off the coast at CAT 4. I watched him go to the door and began tensing up the closer he got .

After picking up the food, and closing the door, I heard him resetting a lock, and then another. They sounded like solid locks to me.

He walked up, and set the pizza box on the couch beside me, "Your pizza. Enjoy. There's more to drink at the bar. The cold box with the juices is in the upper cabinet." Then he went back to his side of the couch. Which made me feel a little silly really.

The first whiskey was good, so I thanked him and fixed myself a new drink, asking if he wanted another. He declined, then bit into his sandwich.

"This is good. I have six here. Ocean took you at your word. I think he likes you," he said.

"Huh," I grunted. "He's ... very ..."

"Yeah, I know." He shrugged, chewing, then shook his head.

I wrinkled my nose a little, "He's a demon? What did he say he was?"

"A cambion," Vlad supplied.

I sat down and opened my pizza box. What was inside was less pizza and more a work of art but not in the stingy way. Beautiful. I bit into a slice and had to fight back a groan. The sauce itself was worth tears.

"What does that mean?" I said around my hidden groan of bliss. "Are there many demons where you are from?"

"No, thankfully he is unique. I don't think we could handle two of them walking around. A succubus gave birth to him, which is a type of demon," he told me. "His father was human, presumably one of her victims. So he's half demon, which is called a cambion."

"A succubus?" I asked, nearly done with my first slice. Sweet mercy was I hungry. He wiped his face with a napkin. I noticed one sandwich was gone and he was halfway through the next.

Sitting back and getting comfortable, he said, "A sex demon. That's what a succubus is. They prey on people when they're asleep. Induce sexual fantasies, which produce the chemicals in your body, which they ingest."

"So, they eat you while screwing you," I surmised.

He nodded, "Yep, and from the way Ocean describes it, it's just that vulgar."

"Oh," I said, and finished my second piece of pizza. "How old are you?"

"Me? Twenty-five. Yourself, if I may ask?"

"We're the same age."

"Huh," he grunted and then got up and walked to the windows looking out at the city. He was tall. Shaped like a carrot. Not in a bad way, but wide to narrow. Maybe more like a blade. "Hope that's not all the mark was based on."