Fate

Title: Fate
Author: MakaiKitty
Rating: R/NC-17
Category: Original Fantasy
Warings: slash, m/m, sex
Distribution: My website, My LJ and any LJs I posted at, AFF.net, FicWad, and DeviantArt. If you\'d like to use it just let me know.
Status: Complete

Author\'s Note: I\"d like to say a special thanks to Doll\'sEyes and moonstar. Although I love all of your reviews and really appreciate them, I really love that Doll\'sEyes and moonstar keep encouraging me with continued reviews and remarks. Thanks guys.

Fate

Well, finding him turned out to be easier than I expected. I left Alexis asleep at home and went out searching. Didn\'t take long. All I had to do was to recall that feeling, that sensation, that freaked Lexi out so badly on that evening a few months back. It wasn\'t hard because I haven\'t been able to forget it. Especially since I occasionally feel it when we walk near the lake. I think Alexis was right, it is his hunting ground. Thankfully, that works in my favor tonight.

Standing here, looking up at what I\'m hoping is his house, I\'m kinda surprised. It\'s not what I\'d expected. I was thinking something along the lines of a decrepit old mansion, maybe painted black, with dead trees in front and a few bats flying out of the attic. A little lightning would be good too. Instead I\'m standing here on a mild fall evening, not a cloud in sight, staring up at a stately looking two story home that\'s in good repair, is painted a respectable beige color with dark green trims, complete with a picked fence, a manicured lawn and some neatly trimmed oaks. What a let down. The only thing even remotely unusual about the place, the only thing that might give a hint as to the occupant\'s nature, is the fact that there is a sign reading antiques on a post just off the wraparound porch. Antiques? Yeah, I would think that a vampire would know a thing or two about old stuff. But none of that is important right now. I\'m not here to decide what is or isn\'t normal for a vampire. I\'m here to make a vampire talk. I need answers and he\'s the only one likely to have them.

As I reach my hand up towards the door it suddenly swings open. Standing there, looking smug, is the very man I\'ve come to see. Bastard probably knew I was out here all along. He better not play with me tonight. I am so not in the mood. He looks pretty much the same as I remember him, long black hair, dark eyes, pale skin. Attractive in a harsh sort of way. And, surprise surprise, he\'s dressed all in black. Form fitting black slacks, silky black shirt open at the collar, shiny black shoes on his feet. Probably has on black silk boxers, too. I knew at least some of the vampire stereotypes had to be true.

\"Well, what a pleasant surprise. I knew I\'d be seeing you again someday.\" The familiar way he was greeting me, the cocky smirk playing across his lips, were already pissing me off. And in record time, too. I\'d known it probably wouldn\'t be easy getting answers out of the vampire, but the arrogance shinning in his eyes told me that he knew why I was there and that he planned on making the night very hard on me. Just what I need. \"And to what do I owe this little visit my boy?\"

My fists clench at this and have to force myself to take a deep, calming breath. I can\'t let him get to me. Not when it\'s this important.

\"I\'m not your boy. Not yours. Not a boy. Got it?\"

He only laughs and says \"Oh, my mistake. So, to what do I owe this visit Shayne?\" He emphasizes my name, but I don\'t take the bait. I don\'t really care how he knows it. I\'m not going to play his games. Or that\'s the plan anyway.

\"I need information, Vampire. And I bet you can give it to me.\"

He arches one elegant eyebrow and just stares at me.

\"What?!\" I finally shout. There\'s something unnerving about his dark eyes, and I really don\'t like the way that he looks at me. Like an excited kid with a new toy. Well, I don\'t want to play. I won\'t play.

\"What?\" he echoes, \"Honestly, is that any way to ask a friend for help? I\'m telling you, kids these days have absolutely no manners. Why, when I was young ...\"

I have to cut him off. I\'m in no mood for a trip down memory lane. But, as much as I hate to admit it, he\'s right. Hostility won\'t get me anywhere. I had let my anger and frustration, most of which had nothing to do with him, get the better of me. What\'s that old saying, you\'ll attract more bees with honey. Well, he isn\'t a bee, but I should probably still tone it down a little. I try another one of those cleansing breaths and try again.

\"Okay. You\'re right. I\'m sorry.\"

\"There, that\'s better!\" he says as he steps away from the door and motions me in. \"Come inside and we\'ll talk this over.\" He must see me hesitating, because he begins to laugh a moment later. \"Don\'t worry, I won\'t bite.\"

\"Yeah, I\'ll bet.\" I mumble, but I go inside anyway. I\'m not about to back out now. Although that hungry look in his eyes does make me a little nervous.

The inside of his house goes even further towards destroying my ideas about a proper vampire\'s dwelling. Everything\'s done in an ultra-mod style, full of sleek, sharp angles colored in shades of blacks and chrome. Not a red velvet settee, a moth-eaten curtain or a decaying old portrait in sight.

\"Some vampire you turned out to be.\"

\"What was that?\" he asks me. His tone is friendly, his expression one of honest interest but he can\'t fool me. I know he heard exactly what I said. I guess it was too much to hope for that I could just get the info and go? Damn.

When I don\'t give him an answer he just laughs and continues to lead me through the house. I\'m suddenly beginning to remember why I\'d hated him at first sight. There was just something about the guy. I wonder if a stake through the heart would do anything to fix his attitude? Now it\'s my turn to laugh, but he just ignores me and disappears through an open doorway in front of us.

As I walk into the room behind him I\'m completely unprepared for what I see.

Now, I\'m definitely no blushing virgin. Far from it in fact. Before meeting Alexis I used to go out nearly every night, and it was rare that I went home alone. Despite this fact I can only identify about half of the items that are littered about the room. The whips, shackles, vibes and clamps are pretty easy, but I have absolutely no idea what some of the rest of the things are. I\'m pretty sure I don\'t want to know. However, even though I may not know what they are, it\'s relatively easy to figure out who they\'re for.

I can see that there\'s a third person in the room and that it is a really handsome guy. He\'s young with wavy blond hair, pale blue eyes, and is lean, long limbed and probably tall. I say probably because I can\'t tell for sure with his current position. He\'s kneeling, bent over the low black lacquered coffee table in the center of the room. There\'s a thick, black leather collar around his neck, a ball gag filling his mouth, and his arms are bound behind him at elbow and wrist. All of this looks pretty uncomfortable in my opinion, but what do I know? The boy\'s hard as a rock and although the he\'s whimpering around his gag, they don\'t exactly sound like unhappy whimpers. Although, when I look at the huge thing stuck up his ass I have to wonder at what sort of freak this kid must be to be enjoying himself.

\"Good God, that thing has gotta be as big as my whole damn fist!\"

I know that I\'m supposed to be here to get answers, but this warrants some sort of comment. I mean ... wow! How am I not supposed to be distracted when I\'ve walked in on a fucking freak show?!

He just laughs as he sits himself down on the black (of course) leather couch near the blond and pulls the boy to him by his collar. Instead of pulling away, like I probably would have done, he actually leans into the vampire\'s touch and nuzzles his face against his thigh. Victor rewards him for his actions by running his hand lazily through the boy\'s wavy golden hair, continuing to stroke him like a pet cat even after he turns his attention once again towards me.

\"Lovely, isn\'t he?\" He asks me. Then he adds, with a purr in his voice and a knowing glance down at the bound boy, \"Talented too.\"

\"Yeah, that\'s nice. Good for you.\"

\"You\'re welcome to sit closer you know?\" I had taken a seat in one of the high backed chairs across the room from the two other men. I really didn\'t want to be any closer to them than I had to be. I\'m already ready to bolt and I haven\'t even gotten a single answer. This isn\'t going well.

\"No thanks.\"

\"I\'ve become very fond of Blaine as of late,\" I\'m assuming he\'s referring to the pet at his feet, \"but I\'m willing to share. With you.\"

\"Hey, Freak Show, I\'ve had enough! I\'m tired of the way you\'re looking at me, I\'m tired of you showing off your little bitch there, and I\'m just plain tired of you. Drop the act, stop the games, and give me what I\'ve come for. The sooner you give me some answers the sooner I\'ll leave and you can get back to whatever it is that the two of you were doing before I got here. Got it?\" So much for me controlling my temper.

\"So firey. Just like I suspected on that first night. We\'d make a fine pair, you and I.\"

\"Fuck you.\"

\"If you\'d like.\"

I can feel my claws starting to tear into the arms of the chair I\'m sitting in, and I\'m sure that my eyes are probably turning red by now too. He has no idea how lucky he is that I need him, or I\'d have torn his throat out by now. I want to so badly that I can practically taste his blood in my mouth. If this were for anyone other than Lexi ...

\"I assure you, unless you\'ve taught him some new tricks, that Blaine and I could take care of you far better than Alexis can. Tell me, does he still cry every time you ...\"

I don\'t give him a chance to finish that statement. I had been trying very hard to forget what he\'d done to Lexi, to forget the fear in those ruby eyes that night in the forest, to forget that this was the bastard that had put all of those wounds on his delicate little body, that it was his fault the tub had been full of blood after I was done washing him. I\'d known from the moment I went out tonight that if I didn\'t try to block all of that from my mind that I\'d kill the prick before I could get anything out of him, but if he insists on bringing it up then there\'s nothing I can do about it.

Before I even think about it I\'m up out of the chair and am launching myself at him. It\'s not a huge room and I land right in front of him, pinning him with one hand around his throat and one knee pressing him back into the sofa. I can feel my claws pressing into his flesh, and I\'m pleased to see a dark line of blood begin to trickle down from between my fingers.

\"I could rip your throat out right now, you fucking bastard. And you\'d deserve it too.\"

I know that I\'m growling like and animal, but I don\'t care. It\'s not an empty threat and I want him to know it. I look into his dark eyes and I see that he does understand. He knows that he\'d better choose his next words very carefully, because his life depends on it. Maybe now he\'ll finally stop with all the games.

I can feel him flexing against me, testing my strength, trying to figure out what his options are if things get any more physical. He can try to move all he wants, because if the next thing out of his mouth isn\'t what I want to hear then he\'s not going to get a chance to do anything else.

\"Alright, I give up.\"

I\'m momentarily speechless. He gives up? Just like that? No threats, no arguments, no biting words or taunts of any kind? No fighting back? Just I give up? Can it really be that easy?

\"Don\'t look so suspicious. I\'m serious, I give up. You\'re much stronger than I\'d expected you to be and I strongly suspect that if we were to truly fight then the both of us would likely end up dead. I don\'t know about you, but I for one don\'t feel like dying today.\" I\'m stunned. Am I really that strong? \"Now let me up.\"

I stare at him for a minuet longer, but eventually decide to do as he asks. It\'s not like we\'ll get anywhere just staring at each other all night, so it\'s either fight or talk. Either option involves me letting him up so it\'s not like I have any choice in the matter. I can always kill him later, right?

He watches me go back across the room to the chair I was occupying previously and waits until I\'m sitting back down before he does anything. He\'s moving slowly, and I think it\'s because he wants me to see he\'s not up to anything. Maybe he really doesn\'t want to fight. I hope so at least.

After picking Blaine up off of the floor and settling the still bound man beside him on the couch he turns towards me and finally starts giving me what I came here for. \"So, should I assume this little visit has something to do with our dear little Alexis?\"

I just nod. I\'m don\'t trust my voice just yet because I can still feel my anger bubbling just below the surface. Hearing him say Lexi\'s name makes that anger spike, but I don\'t say anything. If I open my mouth right now I might end up saying something stupid like He\'s MINE, not OURS, so you don\'t even get to say his name, you bastard!, which would just be childish and would probably lead to another fight. Either way, it wouldn\'t get us anywhere. See, I can act like an adult sometimes. Big surprise there.

Not bothered by my silence, he presses on.

\"I\'ll assume you two are getting on well? That you\'re happy together? I\'m glad.\"

\"Like Hell! You didn\'t care if he was happy or not when he was with you, so don\'t pretend like you care now either.\" There is something in his voice, something that\'s almost sincere, that almost makes me want to believe him. Almost. I\'m not that stupid though, and I\'m not going to be fooled. I know it\'s just more of his games and I\'m done playing.

He doesn\'t answer me, maybe because he knows that I wouldn\'t believe any answer he could give, and instead he just sits calmly and waits. I take another deep breath and try to get my temper under control for what feels like the millionth time tonight before I begin again.

\"Listen, you and I both know that I don\'t want to be here.\" My eyes travel over to the blond at his side, who\'s gone back to cuddling against the vampire, seeming to be completely oblivious to my presence. \"Hell, you were probably having a lot more fun before I came along too. If I had any other options then I would never have come here in the first place. But I don\'t have anyone else I can go to, so here I am. Lets just stop the games. Please.\"

He nods and motions for me to go on, and for that I\'m grateful. I look down at my watch and see that it\'s already been over an hour since I left home and I don\'t want to leave Alexis alone any longer than I have to. Time to get to the point.

\"There\'s something wrong with Lexi and he won\'t tell me what it is. He\'s normally so bubbly and energetic, but lately he\'s practically lifeless. He tells me he\'s fine but I know that he\'s not. It\'s not like I can take him to a doctor, so you\'re the only one left. You\'re the only other person that I know of who might know anything about daemons.\"

\"Ah, I see. Now it\'s all beginning to make sense. And here I had hoped this was a social visit.\" He must see something in the look on my face, because he stops laughing as soon as he looks at me. I\'m really not in the mood for jokes and I want him to know it. \"Honestly, you\'re no fun at all.\"

I decide to start ignoring his teasing and joking all together and to only respond to him when he starts giving me what I want. I just hope it works.

After a few moments of silence he starts up again and I figure my new approach must be working.

\"So, you say that he\'s lost all of his energy? That is rather odd because carnelians tend to be rather hardy. It\'s one of the reasons why they\'re so sought after.\" he pauses to give me an appraising look before adding, \"My, you must be quite the animal to have worn one out in only six months! I had him for the entire three years and didn\'t manage that.\"

\"It\'s not my fault, I didn\'t do anything! Unlike some people,\" I pause, looking at him for emphasis and making sure that he knows exactly who I\'m talking about, \"I don\'t take advantage of someone just because they won\'t say no.\"

He looks like he\'s about to say something in response, he even has his mouth open to speak, but then nothing comes out. His eyes seem to grow wider as I watch him and he\'s suddenly looking at me like I\'ve grown a second head.

After what seems like forever he finally finds his voice and asks me, in a tone of utter disbelief, \"Blessed Mother of Night. Let me get this straight. You\'re telling me that you haven\'t laid a finger on him in six months!?\"

\"Well, I wouldn\'t say I haven\'t laid a finger on him, but we haven\'t ...\"

\"You haven\'t taken him? Even once?\"

He takes my silence as a yes and continues to stare at me in amazement. It\'s starting to get on my nerves. I mean, Lexi is tempting and I know it was hard to keep my hands off of him, but it shouldn\'t be this shocking!

\"Hey! We\'re not here to talk about my sex life. I want to know what to do about Lexi\'s health. Just tell me what I want to know and I\'ll leave.\"

\"No, apparently we are here to talk about you sex life.\"

\"What the hell is that supposed to mean?\"

\"You don\'t know anything about what Alexis is, do you? About the ring and how it\'s transforming you?\"

\"No, not really.\" I try to think about all of the conversations I\'d had with Alexis about the daemon realms, my change, and his abilities. I realize that we\'d never really talked about the specifics of his connection to the ring, and that suddenly seems weird to me. Why didn\'t I ever ask? \"Lexi never seemed to want to talk about it, and I didn\'t see any reason to push the issue. I figured that if I needed to know something important that he would tell me.\" At least I hoped that he would. Had I somehow made a mistake by not asking more questions? \"Anyway, what\'s that got to do with his health?\"

\"Have you ever heard that saying what you don\'t know can\'t hurt you?\" I nod and wait for him to go on. I want to leap back across the room, grab him by his collar, and yell at him to hurry the hell up. I doubt that would get me anywhere though, so I stay where I am and wait. \"Well, in this instance I believe that what you don\'t know could kill him.\"

Kill him? I had been trying hard to avoid thinking things like that all along. I wanted to believe that Alexis just had the daemon equivalent of the flu or something. I hadn\'t wanted to believe that it could be any more serious than that. But then again, would I be here now if I hadn\'t believed, somewhere in the back of my mind, that things were getting really serious. Wasn\'t that why I had come here in the first place?

\"Come now, don\'t look so down. It\'s not too late.\" I look up at him, suddenly forgetting that only a short while ago I wanted to tear his throat out with my fangs and bathe in his blood. If he knows how to save Lexi then I don\'t care about anything else. \"Luckily for you I happen to know exactly how to remedy the situation.\"

\"Tell me!\" I didn\'t mean to shout, it just came out that way. I\'m desperate for anything he can tell me and I hope he doesn\'t plan to use that against me. Not wanting to anger him, I remember to add, \"Please.\"

Victor doesn\'t seem to mind my little outburst and begins as if I hadn\'t said a thing. I can\'t tell you how grateful I am for that.

\"First, let me begin by telling you what I know about carnelians.\" He looks to me for objections, but I don\'t have any. If he wants to play professor then let him. This is probably stuff I should have known a long time ago anyway. Seeing that I\'m not going to say anything he starts in on his lesson. \"Even though they\'re usually kept as pleasure slaves, truth is that their real power lies in creating new daemons and enhancing the powers of existing ones. That ring you\'re wearing is how it\'s all accomplished, too.\"

I look down at the intricately carved ruby ring I\'m wearing on my right hand. I\'d gotten so used to it in the past few months that I\'d nearly forgotten that I had it. It had become like a part of me, just there.

\"I\'m not sure where the rings come from. I doubt that the carnelian is born with it, and I suspect that it just appears some time during their youth, but I\'m not really sure. I\'ve never met anyone who knows the answer, and I\'m not even sure that any carnelians know the full secrets of the rings. It probably doesn\'t matter. The point is, the ring is very important.

The way it works is that the ring is worn for a period of three years, three days, and three hours. During that time the ring serves as a conduit between the carnelian and the convert.\" he pauses to look at me for a moment. Guess he\'s telling me I\'m supposed to be the convert? Whatever. \"The ring, in essence, draws it\'s power from the carnelian and then gives that power over to the convert, thus turning him into a daemon.\"

\"Oh, so that\'s how it happened?\" I feel kind of stupid saying that, but the truth is I\'d never really wondered how I had been changed. I figured it was magick. I didn\'t know magick needed an explanation.

Victor just laughs and says \"You really are a very strange young man, aren\'t you?\"

What can I say to that? He\'s right.

\"Now, as I said earlier, carnelians are often kept as pleasure slaves and most likely that originally had something to do with the fact that their magicks are somewhat sexually based. Many of their more complicated spells and rituals often involve sexual activity or energies of some type. The act of creating a daemon is one of those rituals. The sexual contact between the carnelian and the convert helps to disperse the power flow from the ring, allowing the magicks to flow from the carnelian to the ring, into the convert, and then back into the carnelian via the physical contact. The power constantly circulates back and forth for the full three years until, in the end, the convert has the power of a full fledged daemon. After that he needs neither the carnelian nor the ring.\"

Even though I\'d expected his explanation to be complicated and confusing, truth is that it actually made sense to me. So far anyway. Although, now that I think about it ...

\"If Alexis uses this ring to change people into daemons, then what were you doing with it? Lexi told me once that vampires aren\'t the same as daemons, so what good would the ring do you?\"

\"What a clever observation, Shayne.\" When he looks away and doesn\'t say anything else I start to wonder if he\'ll continue. It doesn\'t really have anything to do with why I\'m here, but I\'d sort of like to know anyway. I don\'t have anything to worry about though because after a moment his dark eyes seem to refocus and he starts to talk once again. \"Yes, you\'re right, vampires and daemons are different. As far as I can tell, we\'re somewhere in between humans and daemons. Although I can\'t say for certain. Not that it really matters. The point is, you\'re right to assume that I didn\'t need Alexis for the usual purposes. I was already a vampire when I first came across him, and as a result I didn\'t need him to make me a daemon or to give me immortality like most would wish of him. No, I wanted something else from him. You see, there is one other desirable ability that Alexis has. He can increase the powers of one who is already a daemon. That\'s what I wanted of him, I wanted him to give me the strength that I need to accomplish my goals. Unfortunately I didn\'t go about requesting that gift in the proper ways, and as I result I didn\'t get what I wanted. When you met us that night it was nearing the third hour of the third month in our third year.\"

\"And what happens at the end of the third hour?\"

\"Well, at the end of the third hour the current master looses control of his carnelian. If the ring is not given to someone else by that time then it will disappear. I\'m told it\'s simply there one minuet and gone the next. It will later reappear in the possession of someone else, and that person then becomes the carnelian\'s new master and must be obeyed.\"

His words hit me like a ton of bricks. The ring disappears and the carnelian must obey whoever the ring belongs to next? Just like that?

\"Are you telling me that after three years Lexi is going to disappear along with his ring? That we won\'t have any choice in the matter?!\"

\"No, I\'m saying that this is how the ring usually works. I\'m not saying that it is how it will work for you. I believe you may, in fact, have exactly the opposite problem as to the one I had.\"

\"What?\" I\'m up out of my seat, pacing the floors impatiently, desperate for a ray of hope. First Lexi\'s sick and won\'t tell me why, and now I find out that in two and a half years he\'s going to just disappear, rather he wants to or not? All because of some stupid ring?!

\"If you don\'t stop pacing and sit down then I\'m not going to tell you the rest of what I know.\"

I growl at him, but it\'s an empty threat and I sit down anyway. Sitting or standing, I don\'t really care. I just want him to keep talking.

\"Good, now where was I?\" He pauses to collect his thoughts and it\'s all I can do to stay in my seat and wait. I want to run over to him and shake him, to demand that he tell me everything he knows now. I\'m grateful when he finally starts speaking again. \"As I was saying, the carnelians are deeply connected to their rings. During the time of conversion they are also very connected to the convert as well. Most likely the reason for Alexis\' recent illness is the lack of physical and sexual contact between the two of you. The ring is taking energy from him and giving it to you in order to change you into the daemon that you have become, but you\'re not allowing any of that energy to flow back into him. It\'s feeding off of him and he\'s not getting anything in return.\"

\"Wait, let me get this straight. You\'re telling me that ...\"

He cuts me off before I can finish, \"Yes, I\'m telling you that while you\'re trying to be so noble as to keep your hands to yourself, you\'re slowly starving him of his energies.\" He\'s laughing by the time he finishes saying this, but I don\'t think this is a laughing matter. This is serious, damn it. It\'s Lexi\'s life we\'re talking about! I open my mouth to say as much, but he cuts me off again, \"Before you get angry with me, please understand that I\'m not laughing for the reasons you suspect. It\'s just that you\'re probably the first person to ever consider Alexis\' feelings in such matters, and even if you\'re not then I\'m certain you\'re the first one to last so long with such a tempting treat right in front of you, yours for the taking. You must have a will of steel. And as it turns out, if you\'d only done what you\'d wanted to all along, then you wouldn\'t be in this situation in the first place. It\'s not that it\'s funny, per say, it\'s just so ... so ...\"

I hold up a hand to silence him. Yeah, I know exactly what he means. Here I was, trying to do the right thing, trying my best not to hurt Lexi, and I\'d done it anyway by denying myself what I most wanted. I just can\'t win!

\"So you\'re basically telling me to go home and play doctor?\"

Victor begins to really laugh after I say that. I didn\'t think it was that funny.

\"You know, I\'m quite enjoying your company. You have such an odd sense of humor.\"

\"Wow, thanks. Just what I wanted to hear from you.\" Just my luck, someone finally thinks I\'m funny and it turns out to be the vampire that I hate.

\"Come now, don\'t be like that. Cheer up! All is not lost.\"

\"Oh really? And how do you figure that vampire?\"

\"Alright, I get the picture. I\'ll stop laughing. I promise.\"

I just sit and wait. If he has something more he can tell me maybe I shouldn\'t rip his head off just yet. Although the night is still young.

\"As I told my story earlier didn\'t you wonder why Alexis wouldn\'t give me the power I ask of him, even though it would have obviously been much easier on him if he had? The answer is simple. It was because of the Tru-Bond.\"

\"What in the hell is a Tru-Bond?\"

\"First off, let me say that Tru-Bond is only the current term for it. It has had many names over the centuries, and still has different names in some of the other realms, but here it is simply called the Tru-Bond.\"

\"Yeah, that\'s nice. But it didn\'t answer my question. What is a Tru-Bond?\"

\"Have you ever heard of soul mates? Yes, of course you have. Have you ever seen a pair of bonded birds, where they can\'t be separated because one or both of them will die without their mate?\" I nod, but I\'m not sure he even expects an answer. I don\'t know what birds have to do with any of this, or how this conversation has gotten so odd, but I do know what he means. I think. \"Well, you could say they have something like a Tru-Bond. You see, the only way that a carnelian can give strength to another daemon is with a Tru-Bond. And the only way a Tru-Bond can be created is through true love.\"

\"So Alexis couldn\'t give you the power you wanted because he doesn\'t love you?\"

\"Exactly.\" He paused for a moment, looking me over, before asking, \"Now, tell me something. Do you love him?\"

The question catches me so off guard that I almost blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. Which happens to be, Yes, I love him. I\'m stunned to hear myself think it, but I also know it\'s the truth. I don\'t think I would be here, be this desperate, if I didn\'t love him. Wow.

Something in the look on my face must give him the answer he wants, because he just starts talking again as if I had given him a verbal response.

\"Assuming that his feelings match yours, and I strongly suspect that they do, then I think I know why Alexis hasn\'t told you any of this himself. The Tru-Bond is a very serious matter. Although it does have the benefit of increasing the power level of his partner, it would also irrevocably bond him to Alexis. Forever. The bond is unlike anything you can imagine because humans don\'t know anything like it. And when I say forever, I mean it. You would never be able to be without each other again if you were to Tru-Bond. Bearing in mind that words like never and forever carry a lot more weight when one is immortal, then I think that you can begin to understand the depth of what I say. Most likely he doesn\'t want to force you into such a permanent situation, and thus he decided not to explain any of this to you.\"

Well, I had thought that I had a good grasp on things. Until now. Is he really serious?

\"Tru-Bond?\"

He nods.

\"If Alexis Tru-Bonds with someone, then he\'s with them forever?\"

He nods again.

\"Like forever as in forever?\"

Again, he simply nods.

\"Never to part? Ever? As in, there won\'t be anyone else ever again? That\'s it. Nobody?\"

\"That is generally how it works, yes.\"

\"Wow.\" I don\'t know what else to say. What can I say? I\'m one of those people who always laughs when someone says they\'re getting married. I think to myself, It won\'t last, because I just know that it can\'t. No one wants to stay with the same person for a lifetime. Twenty or thirty years is too much for most people, and that\'s just a human life-span. Forever for an immortal is a hell of a lot longer than thirty years! I know that makes me a cynic, but it\'s how I\'ve always been.

\"A cynic is just an optimist with a broken heart.\"

\"What ... \" I start to ask him what the hell he\'s talking about, but then it occurs to me what just happened. \"Hey, you have been reading my mind you prick!\"

He doesn\'t deny my accusation, he only laughs and says \"Only some of them.\"

\"Oh, well in that case I guess it\'s okay!\" I\'m yelling, but truth is I can\'t seem to muster much anger right now. I have other, more important, things to think about right now. Like what the hell I\'m going to do about Lexi.

\"Well, that\'s obvious.\"

\"Would you stop doing that!\" I may not have much energy to spare for anger right now, but if he keeps invading my mind I may have to change that. It\'s creepy.

\"I\'ll stop listening as soon as you start.\"

\"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?\"

\"It means,\" he says, standing up and walking towards the door we\'d entered through, \"that you\'re going to get out of my chair, go home, find Alexis, and get rid of that ring. That\'s what it means.\"

I have no choice but to follow his retreating back, not if I want him to explain himself.

\"I thought you said that this ring is tied to Alexis. I was listening you know?\" When I catch up to him he\'s already holding the door open for me, but I came for answers and I\'m going to get them! \"You said that after three years the ring disappears regardless of what Alexis, or anyone else, wants.\"

\"Yes, well, I did say something along those lines. It is the truth, after all.\"

\"So?\"

\"So, what?\"

\"So, if the ring is connected to Alexis then how am I supposed to get rid of it? It\'s only been six months not three years. We should still have two and a half years left, right?\"

\"You\'ll have a whole lot more than two and a half years once you get rid of that ring.\"

Now he really has me confused. Here I thought I had done such a good job getting him to tell me the truth, and in plain English at that, but now that we\'re almost done the crazy vampire goes and gets me totally lost. This has not been my day!

\"You see, the ring is connected to Alexis. However, and listen closely because this is the important part ... the ring disappears forever after he Tru-Bonds.\"

\"After he Tru-Bonds?\"

\"Yes, but if you don\'t believe me then go find out for yourself.\" With that he pushes me out the door and slams it shut. I\'m left with a close-up view of his front door and the sound of his voice shouting, \"Let us know how it goes!\"

TBC ...