Eternal (10 page)

I stood and realized we were down to two tables. With the pot I'd just taken, I would make the final table unless I did something stupid.

Lomen came toward me. “Very good, Manda!”

“
Thanks. You're still in?”

He nodded and gestured to the other table, where there were six stacks of chips. A couple more players down and we'd be at the final table.

I headed out to the casino, needing a bathroom break. Len gave me a little cheer as I joined her.

“
Thanks. Come with me for a pit stop?”

“
Sure,” she said.

Caeran followed us and waited while we went into the ladies room. I finished before Len and was washing my hands when a stall door behind me opened.

In the mirror I saw a dark, hooded sweatshirt. I turned and was trying to yell, but all I got out was a squeak before the freeze grabbed me.

She stepped right up to me. Tall—they were all tall—and her eyes were black. She smiled in a smug way, ran a fingertip underneath my chin, then took hold of my arm.

“
Come along.”

She turned me toward the handicapped stall at the back of the restroom. My body obeyed her even though I wanted to kick and scream. She had her hand on the handle when Len burst out of another stall.

I caught a whiff an instant before my eyes started streaming. The alben let me go and I dropped to the floor. I heard footsteps and stuff, but I wasn't really paying attention ‘cause the right side of my face was on fire.

“
Shit, I'm sorry,” Len said, putting her hand on my shoulder. “Don't touch it. Let me help you stand up.”

I got to my feet and she smeared liquid soap on my face, which made it hurt even more. I cussed and cried and she wouldn't let me rub it off.

“
Touching it makes it worse. The soap will help, just leave it on there. Trust me, I've read all about this.”

I cussed again. “Is she gone?”

“
Yeah. Caeran and the others went after her.”

Happy birthday.

They didn't catch her. Needless to say, I was in no shape to finish the tournament. Lomen had stayed behind, and once I could walk he escorted me and Len home. Caeran and the boys were still out hunting.

After an hour that felt like a year and several applications of dish soap, my face stopped hurting enough for me to open my eyes and leave the kitchen sink. Still hurt, but it was bearable.

Len looked at me with worried eyes. “Sorry.”

“
You're dangerous with that stuff,” I said, gingerly pressing a towel to my face.

“
It got her off you.”

She led me out to the living room where Lomen was sitting in Caeran's chair. On the coffee table were my presents and a chocolate cake.

“
Cake. Oh, I love you!”

Len grinned. “Love Lomen, it was his idea. Want some ice cream?”

Yes. I wanted all the ice cream in the world. I wanted to bathe in it.

I sat down and cut myself a huge hunk of chocolate. As I was stuffing it in my face, my gaze drifted to the prezzie bag.

“
My coin!” I said around a mouthful of chocolate.

“
I picked it up for you,” Lomen said, digging the coin out of his pocket. “Here.”

I swallowed and clutched it in my fist. “Thanks. Didn't want to lose this. It was bringing me luck.”

Guess I should have taken it with me to the restroom.

Len got out another pepper spray from the stash in the laundry room, and made me show her mine.

“
Much good it does me,” I said. “She does her mind-control thing before I can get it out.”

“
Well, keep it anyway.”

Lomen sat up. “Has she used the mind-control on you, Len?”

“
No.”

He looked pleased. “Perhaps she does not have the strength to control more than one human.”

Great. Why did I always get to be first choice?

Len stuck
Back to the Future
in the DVD player and we all sat watching it and eating cake and ice cream. I resisted the temptation to rub the ice cream on my face, but I did have seconds.

We watched the sequel and then decided to turn in. Len wouldn't let me help with the dishes.

“
It's your birthday,” she said, putting soap on a dishcloth. “Sorry it wasn't more fun. You were doing so well in the tournament. I feel bad that you had to miss the end.”

“
Not like you planned it.”

I tried to look like I didn't care. Apparently I failed, because Len dried her hands and then hugged me.

“
And I'm
really
sorry you got attacked. That sucks. This wouldn't be happening to you if you weren't my friend.”

“
Not true. I might still have given blood that day.”

She leaned back and gave me a skeptical look. OK, she was right, I wouldn't have.

“
Well, I'm selfish,” she said, “so I'm glad you're my friend. It'll get better, I promise.”

“
Right.”

I turned to head for my room but Lomen was standing in the doorway watching us. “Did Caeran explain to you that you are under our clan's protection?” he asked.

“
Uh…not in so many words. You have a clan?”

“
We have been remiss. May I tell you about us? I will answer any questions as well.”

“
Um. Sure, I guess.”

He led me back to the living room and sat in Caeran's chair again. I perched on the end of the couch, feeling nervous. Usually the cousins ignored me.

“
We are members of Clan Greystone,” Lomen said. “It is like an extended family. We are cousins in the sense that we are blood relations, but not necessarily as close as what you call first cousins. There is also the complication that some of us are much older than others. Faranin was a friend of my father's father. Do you see?”

“
Yeah.”

“
We live by a creed, a code of honor. The alben do not follow it, so we have been in conflict with them for many centuries.”

“
Could they follow it if they wanted to?” I asked.

“
Yes, but few do. There was once a clan made up of folk who were afflicted with the alben's curse and still followed the creed. They are gone now.”

“
Why?”

He grimaced. “Many were killed in a fight with the alben around the time of Herodotus. After that they were too few to attract new members, and they gradually chose to return to spirit.”

“
New members? Are there new vam—uh, new alben all the time?”

“
A child of two alben is alben. And some who fight them are exposed to the disease, as Savhoran was.”

My heart gave a little squeeze. I'd been thinking about Savhoran a lot, and now I dared to ask a question that had been on my mind.

“
If an alben bites a human, do they get the disease?” I stared at my hands, because I could feel myself blushing.

“
Alben do not usually bite. That is a myth, along with the fangs. And no, humans are not affected by the disease.”

So much for my chance at immortality.

“
So Savhoran has no one to team up with,” I said.

“
He is still a member of our clan, unless he chooses to withdraw. You are also a member in a sense. When Caeran told you about us, it became his obligation to protect you, and as his clan-kin we share it.”

“
Huh? Why should you have to protect me?”

“
It is part of the creed. We are…stewards of all lesser beings in the world, and when a human becomes aware of us, it is our responsibility to protect her from the consequences of that knowledge.”

I decided to ignore the “lesser beings” bit. “What sort of consequences?”

He smiled a little. “Being considered irrational by other humans, for example.”

“
Oh. Nut-case factor.”

He raised an eyebrow as if he hadn't heard that term before. “Also, you have come to the attention of an alben who is now hunting you. We are obligated to protect you from her.”

I nodded. Couldn't pretend I wasn't glad.

“
Hard to catch, isn't she?”

His face got serious again. “She is powerful, and she poses other dangers to us. Do not worry, we will stop her.”

I could think of one other danger off the bat: she could infect them. I wondered what else.

“
Do the alben have a clan?”

Lomen shook his head. “They tend to operate alone, or in mated pairs. Too many hunting in the same area attract notice.”

Yeah. I wondered how many serial killers were actually alben.

“
Do you have other questions?”

“
Yeah. If you guys are immortal and all, how come you're not running the planet?”

Lomen blinked and looked a little dismayed. Len came in from the kitchen and answered me.

“
They breed really rarely, Man. Not like us.” She sat next to me on the couch.

“
Must be
really
rarely.”

“
Yes,” Lomen said quietly. “To most of us, conceiving a child is something we dream of but never achieve.”

“
Wow,” I said. “We sure don't have that problem. Can you have kids with humans?”

“
Yes, but the children are mortal,” Lomen said.

“
Oh. Not good enough, eh?”

“
That isn't it,” Len said. “It's hard for them to watch their own children age and die. Caeran had kids with a human a couple of centuries ago. He kept track of them for a few generations, but they didn't know him, so it wasn't really like a family. He's still sad about it.”

I looked at her with new understanding. She was lucky Caeran thought she was worth the emotional risk. I wondered if they were thinking about kids.

“
The other problem,” Len said, “is that
ælven
females have a hard time with childbirth. They can die.”

“
So can we.”

“
It's a bigger risk for them.”

I looked at Lomen, who was watching us with a sad expression. “Guess it's not completely magical, then,” I said.

He gave a small smile. “Everything has its cost.”

I swallowed. My thoughts kept drifting back to Savhoran. I wished I could be with him the way Len was with Caeran. Selfish, I knew. Poor Savhoran had enough problems without worrying about a meepy mortal girlfriend.

I stood up. “Guess I'll call it a night. Thanks, Lomen.”

“
You are welcome. Happy Birthday.”

Len helped me collect up my presents and take them back to my bedroom. I thought about how Lomen had enjoyed the cake and ice cream. Maybe it was just Caeran who was a health nut.

Len came in with me and set the carving and the pouch on her desk. “There's something else you should know about the
ælven
,” she said.

“
What?”

She glanced over her shoulder, then closed her eyes for a moment. When she looked at me again her voice was a whisper. “They can hear your thoughts.”

“
Wha—”

“
Shh!”

“
What?!” I hissed.

She beckoned me over to the bed and we sat on it. “They have to be paying attention, and usually they have to be nearby, but they can tell what you're thinking. So watch the fantasies, OK?”

I tried to remember the last time I'd been fantasizing about Savhoran. Who was in the house?

“
Shit!” I whispered.

“
I can show you how to shield your thoughts.”

I gave her a look, but decided it was best to be open-minded. “OK.”

“
You use white light. Ever done a guided meditation?”

“
Uh, no.”

She told me about it. Sounded woo-woo but what the hell. It couldn't hurt. We said good night, and I did the white light shield, then I took out Savhoran's letter.

There was no hint in it that he wanted to see me again. No promise of anything for the future. I went to bed and cried myself to sleep.

After that, I was nervous about being around the cousins. Kept wondering if they were listening in on my thoughts. Not that I was all that entertaining, but it gave me the creeps to think they could hear every little stupid idea that went through my brain. It didn't help that they never let me leave the house alone, and there was always at least one of them with us at home. I practiced the white-light thing every day, whenever I thought of it.

The only time I didn't have at least one of the
ælven
nearby was when I was at work, and even then they hung around outside the library. I didn't complain because I knew they were protecting me.

Every now and then I noticed one of them watching me—not just watching over me, but looking at me as if they were thinking something. Caeran did it most of all.

I wrote Savhoran another letter. I was careful not to plead or show any expectations, but I wanted to let him know I still cared. If we stopped corresponding it wouldn't be my doing.

I kind of regretted thinking that, because he didn't answer. After a couple of weeks I got really antsy, then I got depressed. I told myself it was for the best, but that wasn't any comfort.

One night we were all having supper when Caeran made an announcement. “I would like to celebrate Midsummer.”