Snippet #2!

I seem to recall that I promised you a second snippet.

I’m currently posting from Starbucks – has been a long away-from-home day – so if this isn’t readable for some reason, just let me know.

Snippet number one found here.

 

 

Alex had never been breathless. He’d lifted, stretched, run, and toned along with all his classmates, but when they’d reached their limit, he’d come nowhere near his own. Just once, he stayed on the treadmill after his sore and shaky classmates left for lunch. When dinnertime came (bringing with it the hall master, who’d interpreted Alex’s absence as rebellion), he wasn’t even out of breath.

He was out of breath now.He couldn’t stop laughing, not with the exhilarating strangeness of freedom pulsing in every limb.How could he explain run forever to someone who’d likely never had to run at all?”I do apologize,” he said, remembering his manners. “I’ve been quite some time without sleep. What was it you asked me? Am I a… a selkie?”

“You are not,” said the man succinctly. “My apologies for the assumption. I do hope you did not have a plan for those humans who were pursuing you?”

Those humans. Not we humans. Not you humans. Those humans. Alex had a sudden urge to bounce on his toes. “I, ah. Not particularly,” he said, brushing sand from his arms in an attempt to look nonchalant. “They were actually a bit of a bother.”

“Excellent,” said the man in the blue suit. “Please do excuse my rudeness. I must return to business. Have a good day.” He turned back to face the water.

A dismissal?

No, no, no, not yet!This was the first something-other-than-human Alex had ever encountered. We non-humans could not be lost so quickly. “Sir, perhaps we could – “

The man suddenly lifted his hand toward Alex; it looked like a warning.

Alex blinked. “Sir?”

“Remain,” said the man with quiet command. A foghorn blew, and suddenly the ocean vomited a bank of roiling cloud that swallowed the harbor, engulfed the beach, and erased the world. The man seemed to float dressed in pieces of sky; the area around him remained mostly clear, an eye in a silent storm.

Alex had lived on an island his whole life and he’d never seen fog behave like this. Was it magic? He held his breath, hoping to glimpse whatever happened next.

Shapes formed in the haze. A dozen seals of all sizes, grey and brown like the stone of Aberdeen, flopped their way heavily and wetly out of the water.They were eerily silent.

“Greetings, Nimue,” said the man in the blue suit.

The center-most seal suddenly turned into a naked woman.

Something gray and wrinkled hung from her chest to her thighs, and she pulled it away and dropped it to the sand; it landed with a plop. “Greetings, First One,” she said.

Mist curled around them their bodies, isolating them. Distantly, the foghorn called again like a remnant from a dream, meaningless.Invisible touches raced up and down Alex’s skin; he shivered.

“Please,” said the man. “I prefer Notte.”

“Of course you do. Very funny.” Nimue smiled; her eyes glinted like polished blue stone.”You are here of your own volition? You are placing your name with theirs, giving their actions your support?”

“Yes,” said Notte.

“As a friend? Or merely as a favor?”

“A favor.”

Nimue laughed. It was a horrible sound, harsh and barking and cruel. “Well, then, Notte, I bring the blessing from the Lord of the Sea.” She held out a necklace of white sea-shells.

Notte stood where he was, implacable.

Nimue scowled. She stalked the six steps between them and offered the necklace again.

Notte took it with his fingertips; a slight moue of disgust flitted across his face. “Mille grazie. Thank you, Nimue. Do let your lord know that his blessing was yearned for, awaited eagerly, and will be treated with the greatest of respect,” he said, and inclined his head again.

Nimue bowed, a much deeper gesture than the one he made her. With no hint of modesty, she sauntered back to her discarded thing – which looked a lot like dead animal skin – and pressed it against her chest. A moment later, it ate her whole.

It grew like sentient slime, covering her from head to toe, and her body curled down as if being stuffed into a bag too small for it. The seal’s mouth lolled open and its fin-feet flopped like wet towels. Monstrous, she splashed into the water. The other seals barked, yawping at her as they followed, graceful the moment they were no longer land-bound. As if it was on a kite string, the fog bank slowly drifted after them.

Alex could see his feet again. Sounds from the city filtered toward him: distant cars and car horns; harbor machinery, banging and clattering; the tiniest snatch of a heavy bass line from a car with over-loud speakers. No voices. Organic sounds could not carry as far. Slowly, he exhaled.

“She is a selkie,” Notte mentioned conversationally.

Incredible. Was the whole world composed of non-humans? Was Libertas the only place where there were none? “That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen, sir,” Alex said, heart pounding in his ears. “Also, sir, for the record, I can definitively state that I am not a selkie.”

The corners of Notte’s mouth twitched. “Among the mythos, I am Notte. And you?”

That was an odd greeting. “My name is Alex, sir. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“A pleasure. Pardon my candor, please. Curiosity has made me bold. Among the mythos, what are you?”

“I’m sorry, among the what?”

Notte’s eyes widened a bare fraction. “I see,” he said. “Mythos – the collection of beings who do not share their species with humanity. Generally, one greets another with ‘among the mythos, I am…’ and then one’s species, followed by one’s name. Unless, of course, one is an important personage, in which case, one only follows it with one’s name.”

Well. Alex bit his lip, then executed a little bow. “Thank you, sir, and I apologize if anything I do is, ah, awkward.” His cheeks burned. “The only manners I know are human ones. Among the mythos, I have no idea what I am, but my name is Alex.” He paused. “Sir, if you will pardon a question, how did you know I was not human?”

“There is a temporary spell on this place – one that is designed to drive humans away. You do not seem to be aware of it, hence my question.”

“Oh. So, your statement was not made because something about me was recognizably a particular species? Sir?”

Notte raised one eyebrow. “I am afraid not.”

Damn.

Damn.

Six months of wondering since it happened. Six months of fending off the increasingly insane people around him. Six months of questions, of fear, of guilt – and at last, he’d found a bona-fide non-human who didn’t know what he was any more than he did.

Alex couldn’t help it. He laughed. “That rather figures,” he said, clearing his throat. “Well, I do thank you for your time, anyway. I must say, it’s been very pleasant speaking with someone reasonable for a change.”

“You do not fit in,” said Notte.

“That’s a terrible thing to say!” Alex blurted, staring at him.

“You require help,” Notte added.

Alex frowned.

“I am offering you help,” said Notte, a little more gently.

Oh, here it comes. “And what will you want in return?” Alex said.

“A mouthful of blood,” said Notte, and the world seemed to slow down.

Waves slid onto the shore and retreated. At the far end of the esplanade, four children with a leashed dog came to the edge of the sand, but the spell was evidently still in effect. They stopped, shook their heads, and went back the way they’d come, looking dazed.For a moment, Alex wondered if he’d heard incorrectly. “Blood, sir?”

Notte nodded. “A mouthful of blood.”

“That’s… very specific.”

“I feel it is best to be specific,” said Notte. “Otherwise, unfounded fears take root and bloom. One mouthful, according to the size of my mouth, and no more. Also, I do not wish for it now. Immature platelets hold such little appeal.” He twitched a smile again, as if making a joke.

Alex couldn’t do anything but stare.

Blood? He’d been prepared for a request for sex simply because adult minds focused on it so exclusively. But blood? Was this a joke? “What, are you a vampire?” he asked, preemptively smiling.

“Among the mythos, yes,” said Notte humbly, and took a little bow.

A lump grew in Alex’s throat, cutting off his air, preventing him from swallowing. “I, ah. I thought those weren’t real.”

“That is reassuring news.”

Well.

Alex looked toward the ocean again, breathing in time with the tide, willing his anxiety out to sea. “A mouthful of blood, you say?”

Notte nodded.

“In exchange for what kind of help, exactly?”

“Information and protection,” said Notte succinctly.

Wildness filled him. It was his blood. All his life, he’d been told what to do with every inch of his body, from toenails to hair. Well, this one was his choice, and no one else’s. “Very well, sir. I agree.”

“Excellent.” Notte offered his hand.

Alex looked at it. “Is there some particular reason we need to be touching?”

“It enables us to travel very quickly,” Notte said. “Close by here are two fay kings. They have signed a contract ending war between them; they owe to me a favor. I believe I will take them upon their favor. Now. Take my hand.”

Alex licked his lips. Contact was bad; everyone always lost more sense with contact. “I don’t know.”

Notte looked patient. “If we do not travel instantly, your glow will draw every human being within sight.”

“What?” said Alex, and looked down at himself.He saw no glow. He saw ruined gray silk over smooth white skin; he saw a body that was – if the hall master told the truth – worth a frightening sum. However, he saw nothing that gave off light. “I don’t see a glow, sir,” he said cautiously.

“Curious.”

Alex raised his eyebrows. “I suppose that is as good a word as any, sir.”

Notte’s lips twitched again, an abortive smile.”Allow me to rephrase. It is not unusual to see a hybrid of some kind, and I suspect that is what you are. You are human enough not to see your own glow, but not so human that you respond to a spell specifically woven for them.The curious nature of it all is that I cannot identify you. That is more striking than you know.”

Alex licked his lips again and looked toward Aberdeen. It was a city of contrast. Enormous skyscrapers stood next to sprawling cathedrals; there were so many things he’d seen in books. He wanted to explore it. He wanted to learn it all, every inch. Education of this sort was forbidden to people from Libertas; people with ideas rarely made good slaves.”Sir,” he said slowly. “Is there a way for me to be around human beings without suffering the loss of their sensibilities?”

Notte nodded pensively. “I believe so.”

Yes. Alex closed his eyes, took a deep breath. “And this can be part of what you give in turn for a mouthful of blood?”

“But of course,” said Notte. “In fact, I find it highly doubtful that you will survive to adulthood if I do not.”

“Oh. That’s. Ah. Sobering.”

“Give me your hand, please.”

Alex did. He held his breath. Rapid travel was going to feel fabulous, he knew it, he was sure –

Nothing happened.

Notte’s expression changed. It slid from pensive and amused to puzzled, unhappy; his irises – already an unusually piercing green – seemed to brighten for a moment. “Strange.”

“Sir?”

“You have cancelled my abilities.”

Oh, no, that did not sound good. “What? I did what?”

Notte released his hand. “Remain here. I must find a new resource.” And then he disappeared.

He didn’t do it all at once. As if made of the sand he stood on, he swept away, disintegrating from top to bottom like particles of dust in a strong breeze. His shoes were the last to go.

Alex stared at the empty air. “What… wait a minute!” he demanded uselessly. “I didn’t do anything! Hey!”

There was no reply.

What in the world had just happened? How? Why?

More importantly, would Notte really come back?

He stormed back and forth on the sand, debating with himself. It was cold and about to get colder; he was hungry, and had nothing with which to fish. The world beckoned.

The world was full of crazy humans.

Notte might come back.

What if he didn’t?

Nightfall. That was a reasonable amount of time to wait for the return of a perfect stranger who happened to be a vampire. After that, he was going into Aberdeen. Maybe the dark would help to hide him.

 

The lessons he’d been given on roleplaying vampires for the sake of guests’ fantasies could not possibly have been more flawed. “He wasn’t even wearing a cape,” Alex muttered irritably, and drew circles in the sand.

 

Tagged as: learning, practice