He lets out a loud guffaw, which startles me as much as it does Lincoln, who starts howling and turning in a circle. He is clearly confused, as I am relaxed and at ease sharing a joke with this creature who wants nothing more than to kill me. Or does he? It’s hard to tell anymore.
“Not particularly, no. Can I stay here for a while? This room is pleasant.” He stands up to browse my impressive collection of books.
“You want to stay and visit with me? I thought that next time I was ‘in for it’?” I ask.
“Well, the room more than you, but seeing as you are in it, I suppose you may stay. Yes, I have had a change of heart. You are stronger than I gave you credit for and I see a bigger picture now.” He pokes through my books while I just gape at him.
“A change of heart?” I ask, adding, “What bigger picture?”
He nods absently as if he is not really listening to me. He picks up a book and starts flicking through it.
“Can I get you a cup of tea to go with that?” I ask sarcastically, not in the least surprised that he ignored my question.
“Oh, if it’s no bother,” he says offhandedly and nods decisively and returns to his seat with my book. My very precious, first edition Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland book that is worth a small fortune and more.
“Be careful with that,” I snap at him as he opens it to read it. I haven’t even read it, choosing to preserve it as much as possible.
“Yes, your favorite, isn’t it? They didn’t have storybooks such as these back in my day. In fact, they didn’t have storybooks.”
“How did you know it was my favorite?” I ask, keeping my eyes firmly on my prized possession.
“How do I learn anything, my dear? By picking it up out of your head. You said something about tea?” he reminds me with an imperious look that I have seen before, oh yes, he is definitely closely related to Tiamat.
I stand up and humor him, although I have no idea why, pouring one for myself in the process. I hand it to him, but it bounces off the force field he still has up and in a flash of Vampire speed, I catch the delicate China cup before it crashes to the floor, the tea still inside.
“Impressive,” he says. “Do you do children’s parties as well? You can just put it on the table.”
“Why don’t you drop the barrier, hmm?” I ask him, putting the cup and saucer down with more force than I intended.
“Oh no,” he says with a chuckle. “I have seen what you can do with that sword.” He leans forward and grabs the tea quickly, pulling it through the barrier with ease. “Your Wolf friend has me intrigued,” he says, indicating Lincoln with his cup before taking a savoring sip.
“Leave him out of it,” I say.
“Oh, I mean him no harm, not unless I have to, of course. What I mean is, I am surprised he hasn’t Shifted back to human form to guard you from me.”
“He can sense that I am not afraid of you,” I say. “He is the one that trusts me the most and my capability to defend myself should the need arise.”
“You should be afraid, but yes, he does think you are capable. You do have a special bond with him. I can see it. It is like a silver ribbon,” he turns back to his tea and the book on his lap.
I look at Lincoln, who looks back at me. He can see it? As in, see it with his eyes? Huh, neat.
“So, you are really just going to sit there and read my book and drink my tea?” I ask him.
He looks up at me. “Indeed. I haven’t tasted tea quite like this in a while.”
“That brings me back to what I said the other day. You are clearly corporeal, you can handle objects and sit on things, taste tea, etc. How are you not able to just be alive?”
“Because I am dead. I told you it doesn’t work that way.” He frowns unpleasantly.
“Why not?” I ask in genuine confusion.
“All of this that you see takes an immense quantity of energy. There aren’t enough dead creatures on the planet to pull this off full time.”
Oh. I gulp at that revelation.
“So, to what do I owe the honor of your bodily presence then?”
“I told you, I’m bored,” he dismisses me and goes back to reading. I cross my arms and stare at him long and hard over the sofa where I am standing. He looks normal enough, now that he is in his natural guise. Black hair, blue eyes, a black suit that looks quite fetching on him. He has the poise and grace that only royalty brings and enough Power to blow us all to Hell and back, so, why doesn’t he? What is this bigger picture he spoke of?