After my walk with Thomas, I took a long, well deserved nap in my room. Knocking woke me up. The bed was so comfortable that I didn't want to leave it.

"Come in," I called out, then snuggled deeper, pulling the covers to my chin. Irene's head poked in first, then she stepped in and closed the door behind her.

"You slept?"

"Mhm, what time is it?"

"Dinner time," she replied, coming to sit on the bed.

"Thanks for the cake by the way."

"Don't mention it," she waved me off.

"I don't think I can sit at the same table with that guy yet, otherwise he'll end up with a knife sticking out of his forehead."

Irene grinned, "actually, we're having dinner with everyone else. That's their tradition."

"What do you mean 'everyone else'?"

Irene grinned, pulling the cover off of me, "come on sleepy head."

I groaned, but got up, used the toilet and checked myself in the mirror. I washed my face and ran my hand through my hair. Good enough.

"So who's everyone else?" I asked while strapping on my weapons.

"Arthur has collective dinner with his seconds and the men and women working under him every once in a while. Today happened to be one of those days."

"Of course," I grumbled, "who'll be there?"

"A lot of people including everyone who was at lunch and everyone who chased you today."

I sighed, "that's a lot of people."

"Mhm, I met Corbin and Vanessa earlier, they seem to like you."

I felt a smile breaking through. I couldn't help it. Corbin was adorable. And I wanted to meet Vanessa again.

"Yeah, they're good kids."

"Vanessa is older than both of us, she's not a kid," Irene said with a frown.

"It's not always about age, foxy."

She stuck her tongue at me and I pointed at her, "see, the behaviour of a ten year old."

"Har har."

We went outside. The night had fallen, the sky above us a beautiful dark canva glittering with white stars. I exhaled, my breath fogged in the cool night air. Irene and I walked side by side on a trail.

"You know the way?"

"Yep, Charles gave me a tour earlier."

"Charles, huh?" I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

She gagged, "oh god, no! Arthur asked him to, since I'm going to be working here in the future."

"Ah, you decided."

"Yep. Also, I'm going to start training the juniors tomorrow."

The trail was well lit by the lampposts on either side of it, so I could see the excited light in Irene's eyes. "You like it?"

"Yeah, I like working with others. Teaching them stuff and seeing how they grow, knowing that I contributed to it, that I made a difference in someone's life, no matter how small."

I looked up at the sky. How great it must be to have an ambition, to have something you feel so passionate about. Ever since I could remember, my life centered around making sure I hide myself, and having the tools to defend myself in case I was discovered. I hugged myself against the chill, and the longing for another life. I didn't have that luxury.

After uncle Robert's death, I'd acquired another goal. To find out who ordered the hit on uncle Robert and I. I wanted to find out who caused uncle Robert's death and to kill them. I would kill them and I would enjoy every moment of it.

The need to avenge uncle Robert was an all consuming urge that blinded me to anything else. Even I knew that this was no way to live, but I didn't know how else to do it.

"You're lucky," I told Irene.

"I know," Irene replied. The silence of the night was broken by distant sounds of chatter and laughter. A few minutes later, the trail opened to a wide clearing with a large crowd of immortals, either walking towards the large open building or standing in groups chatting.

There were even a few children running around. It was my first time seeing this many immortal children. Immortal births were so rare that children were prized and protected. They very rarely ventured outside closed communities or came into contact with humans.

Heads turned and people lowered their voices as we passed by. My ears picked up the word 'human' more than a few times.

Corbin and Vanessa were waiting by the door. Corbin waved at us enthusiastically, his grin wide and welcoming.

"Elle, you're here!"

"Hi, Corbin." I smiled. Vanessa hit him upside the head.

"What do you mean 'you're here?' you've been waiting outside for her the entire time."

The flush under the brown of Corbin skin coupled with his sheepish smile made me want to ruffle his curly head.

From the outside, the building looked tall enough to be three stories high. But it was only one floor, with a very high ceiling. The hallway was wide enough for ten people to walk through side by side comfortably. The walls were old stone and brick, unpainted, and the stone floor was uneven in some places. It was an old building. Not as old as some of the immortals here, but old in human terms.

We passed by a few closed, massive wooden doors until we reached the entrance at the end of the hallway. It was a huge arch, beyond which the room lined with four, long tables full of food and drinks. The place was illuminated with gigantic chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

I had the sudden thought that I shouldn't sit anywhere directly below any of them, just in case one of them fell.

The place was alive with conversation and movement. But as we stepped through the door, silence fell over the hall. I felt like an animal in the zoo. People stared openly, some with unhidden hostility. But no one stopped us when we made our way to the end of the table at the far right of the room.

I sat between Irene and Corbin.

"So, I heard Irene is going to start training you?"

Corbin nodded, "yeah, tomorrow. I thought you'd be with her?"

"With her, training you, you mean?"

"Yeah!"

"Um...", I winced, "I don't think a hum- I mean, I don't think I have much to teach you."

'I don't think a human has much to teach you', I couldn't even say that, the guilt from lying to him would eat me alive. His big brown eyes widened even more.

"But, you're so good!" he said with so much wonder, "you fight so well, and you're fast! And besides, you'll be staying on the island anyway, right? It's not like you'll be super busy, right? Won't you be bored?"

Seeing the pained expression on my face, Irene and Vanessa chuckled beside me. How could I say no to him? Besides, he was kind of right. I'd at least have something to do.

"We'll see," I sighed, "I'll talk to Arthur. Don't get your hopes up though!" I added when I saw his face splitting grin. I gave in to the urge and ruffled his hair, "eat, you need to grow up."

He sat up, "I'm nineteen!"

"Exactly."

The food must be exquisite, but I had no idea what I ate or how it tasted. I could handle a few stares and whispers, but this was too much. No one sat across the table from us, but I felt the weight of every pair of eyes watching my every movement.

Arthur sat on another table, surrounded by his adoring entourage. People looked at him with a deep kind of reverence.

The image I had in my mind of him being an arrogant, self serving asshole was being altered the more time I spent here. Even now, the smooth way he lifted a little boy who could barely walk, put him in his lap and fed him spoke of how often he handled children.

Well, no one is two dimensional.

I put down my fork and sat back. I couldn't swallow the food anymore. It did not feel good to be an outsider, and even though I'd been one almost all my life, this was getting to me. Too many stares, too many words.

"Who's cleaning all this?" I asked.

Corbin frowned, "we're all separated into groups who take care of the cleaning in rotations."

"Kay, then," I stood up, "I'll go in first. Good night, guys."

"You sure?" Irene asked, "I can come with you."

"No, I'm fine." I ruffled Corbin's head again, smiled at Irene and Vanessa, "see you."

I walked out of there, passing by some people who were coming in late. At the doors, one woman bumped into me and whispered, "get back to where you belong."

I kept walking. The urge to laugh was a sharp contrast with the piercing ache of loneliness inside.

I'd always been alone and never had a problem with it. Moving from place to place with nowhere to call home. But seeing all these people, all these families, made me realize how empty my life was. The only meaningful relationship I had was with Kenji. And even that was limited to the professional aspect of my life.

I was too different to live with humans, and too human for these people. Maybe if my true nature was no longer sealed behind the human cover ...yeah, right. If that happened, Arthur would definitely know what I was, and these very people would be the first to demand my death.

There was no solution for me. This was the best I could do in life. I would just have to be patient until the demon is captured and I can go back to my life again.

At least I'd have more information about Martin Malone, maybe I'd be able to figure out some answers.

***

I reached the house just in time for me not to freeze. Going out with a t-shirt was not my brightest idea. Thankfully, I met no one else on the way. Thomas was sitting in the living room reading a book, Wes sitting at his feet. He stood up when I entered.

"You didn't have dinner with everyone else?" I asked.

"No," he hesitated, "I'm not very comfortable with large crowds."

"Yeah, it was a large crowd tonight. If you didn't have dinner yet, I can go back and get you something?"

He smiled, the tension that knotted his shoulders easing away, "thank you, Miss Elle. I already had dinner."

"Okay then," I petted Wes' head. The big dog followed me to my room.

"Is it okay if Wes sleeps in my room?" I called out to Thomas.

"Yes, but he has a habit of waking up at four in the morning," the butler called back.

"That's not a problem. Good night, Thomas!" I closed the door of my room after Wes walked in. He went straight to the bed, jumped on and curled around himself. After a quick shower, I changed into running shorts and a t-shirt, turned out the lights, put my weapons where I could reach them and joined Wes.

Sleep wouldn't come, though. Wes was sleeping soundly, his head heavy on my stomach over the covers. The nap I took earlier would keep me awake.

I thought about Corbin's words. I would definitely be bored out of my mind if I couldn't get out of the island. Who knew when they'd catch the killer. He was proving to be very evasive. But if they didn't get him in a few days, I would find a way to convince Arthur to use me as bait. Who knew, maybe it would work, maybe I'd even get to fry the bastard. After what he'd done to those women, he deserved a slow and painful death.

The rhythm of Wes' breathing and the warmth of the room made me drowsy. Sleep took me under, but it was restless.

Uncle Robert was there again, lying motionless on the ground. The moon's silver beams illuminating his body. Only this time, his chest was a gaping hole where his heart should be. The forest was unnaturally calm around us, a deadly chill in the air. I felt something in my hands, warm and alive, and looked to find them glistening blood red. I was holding a beating heart. Uncle Robert's beating heart.

I woke up with a scream caught in my throat. I gasped for breath, kicking the covers furiously. A wet tongue on my cheeks. A whine.

I sat up, my chest heaving and vision blurry. Wes. He was sitting on the bed, looking at me, whining.

"I'm fine." The words were rough and croaky. I cleared my throat, and petted the kind dog, "I'm fine, just a bad dream, big guy."

My body was drenched in sweat. Without turning on the light, I felt my way to the bathroom. When I went to take my clothes off, my knees went weak, my mind blank. I ran back to the room and turned on the light. Wes was pawing at the spot where I had slept.

"Oh God..." I whispered, horrified at what I had done.

There on the bed, the bedsheets, the pillow and the covers all had scorch marks where my body was in contact with them. It wasn't much, light brown on some spots, dark brown in others. At least they were better than the clothes I was wearing. They were little more than rags over my body, holes and black burn marks all over them.

"Wes, come here."

The dog padded over the covers to me. I couldn't breathe easily until I checked him for injuries. He was okay.

This was bad. Very, very bad. I'd never lost control over my magic in my sleep. I'd never actually lost control over my magic, period. It always stayed inside where it was safe.

My heart hammered in my chest. This was why I was supposed to stay away from others. If my control slipped, the house and everyone in it would burn down. Irene, Wes, Thomas, Arthur...who else lived here...

I took another quick shower and washed my tear streaked face. The bandage on my cheek had been reduced to ashes. After I showered, I lit up the fireplace and disposed of my scraps of clothes there.

I bundled up in a sweater and cargo pants. When I put on my boots, my hands were still shaking. I had to take a few minutes to calm myself down. I made the bed, making sure the burn marks weren't visible.

Wes followed me out, not the least bit freaked out by the fact that I almost fried him to a crisp. It was still dark outside, my walk with Wes was short, he marked a few trees, fetched me some branches, then we headed back to the house.

It also helped clear my head. I needed to have a chat with Arthur. As if my thoughts conjured him up, when I went back into the house, I saw him through the glass walls in the backyard.

Shirtless, barefooted, wearing black gi pants. He was performing a series of slow, flowing movements. It reminded me of tai chi.

After a brief search of the kitchen, I found Wes' food, poured some into his bowl and left him to have breakfast.

The backporch's wooden floor creaked under my feet. I took a seat on the steps, leaned my head against the railing and watched Arthur move.

He didn't pause or give any hint that he saw me, but I knew he was aware of my presence. He moved with hypnotizing grace. The defined lines of his body looked even sharper under the soft silvery lights of the night sky.

He was built like a warrior, big, strong and balanced, his skin scarred from countless battles. How did someone who had witnessed the rise and fall of entire civilisations think? How did they see the world? Curiosity about a man who controlled monsters was not something someone in my position should be feeling.

As the world lightened to the faint colors of predawn, the horizon became clear where the water beyond the cliff touched the sky.

Arthur's movements slowly came to a halt. He walked quietly to sit next to me. He wasn't even winded, his breathing regular. If I fought him, all he had to do was run circles around me until I tired and then deliver the final blow. Though, if we really did fight, he wouldn't even have to move a finger to paralyze me.

We sat in easy silence. The sky's colors warmed up as the sun crept closer to the horizon.

"I shouldn't stay here," I said, my voice raspy. I cleared my throat.

He was quiet for so long that I thought he didn't hear me.

"I thought we were past that," he replied.

"You don't understand," I turned towards him, "I shouldn't stay here. I can't."

He turned his head my way, his eyes slowly taking in every inch of my face as if we had all the time in the world. "Why?"

I looked away, swallowing the knot in my throat. My secret hope that I could somehow have anything close to friends or family crushed to the ground. "I just can't. I'm going to leave Portland, that way the demon won't be able to come after me. He needs to stay near his anchor, right?"

"Mhm. You still didn't answer my question."

God, he was so aggravating. I scowled at him, "I'm offering to get out of your hair."

"What about Martin Malone?"

I gritted my teeth. Tempting, but not at the risk of harming an innocent. "I don't need it."

"I remember you saying you signed a contract yesterday?" he asked, the familiar, annoying smile stretching his lips.

"Why are you being difficult?"

"Answer my question. Why do you have to leave?"

Fine, he can have his damn answer. "Because if I stay, I'm going to hurt someone."

He cocked his head. Anyone who heard me would think I was threatening to hurt someone. I wasn't. Somehow, he understood exactly what I meant.

"Corbin spoke to me yesterday." he said, "You promised him you would talk to me about training them."

I put my head in my hands, "well, obviously I can't train anyone if I'm not here."

"Do you think you can keep hiding for long?"

"Do you think I like it!" I dropped my hands to my lap and glared his way, "do you think I like living like a lone gypsy, not belonging anywhere! Not with humans and not with immortals! I'm hiding because that's the only way to stay alive and I'm sick of it!"

I sucked in a sharp breath, stood up and walked away, closer to the cliff. My breath was coming out in ragged gasps. This was embarrassing. The last person I wanted to lose control in front of was him. Terrific, just terrific.

It took me a while to get myself under control. As if realizing just how close to the edge I was, Arthur kept his distance until I was composed again. He came up next to me, standing so tall and unmovable. I envied him the life he'd made for himself here, living in a home, surrounded by his own people.

"There's an empty small cabin in the woods, isolated enough that no one will venture close by. You can stay there for now."

"Just let me leave," I sighed, my shoulders dropping in defeat. "Why won't you let me leave?"

He stared at me for a long moment. The brown of his eyes turned into honey as the sun finally rose, making his skin look like it had been dipped in molten gold.

"It left a scar," his hand reached up to my cheek, I moved my head away. His gaze met mine for a long moment, then his hand moved slowly, carefully. I watched his finger until it brushed my cheek, a hint of a touch before he dropped it, "it'll go away given enough time."

"I don't mind scars," I said.

"I see that," he gave a nod, "take the cabin, Elle."

Then he was gone. I looked at the water hitting the rocks down below. Beautiful. Beautiful and deadly.

***

"But why are you moving?" Irene asked.

"I just need to be on my own."

She fell quiet beside me, I glanced at her to find her frowning at me. "I mean, the house is open for everyone, that's true. But ..." she trailed off.

"It has nothing to do with others," kind of, "it's me."

She pursed her lips to the side, not convinced. We were heading to the training hall. She had her first training session with the juniors this morning. I decided to sit in and see if I could actually help them with anything. Not like there was much else to do.

Irene and I had breakfast with Amanda. Apparently, Kat was still in the city trying to pinpoint the demon's anchor, and the searching teams found nothing. The good news was that no one was kidnapped. So far. According to Amanda, there was a theory that when a serial killer designated his next victim, he would be focused on getting that victim, and would find it difficult to change his mind.

Of course, a high level demon was not your typical serial killer. But the theory did explain why he hadn't picked another victim, so far.

"Believe me," I told Irene, "it's not completely by choice."

She let out a loud sigh, "okay, okay. More of your secrets. You know, someday you'll want to tell me everything and when that day comes, I will not listen."

I laughed at her sulky expression. She really didn't want to stay at the house on her own.

"Don't worry," I nudged her with my elbow, "I'll only be in the cabin when I need to sleep."

The trail we followed led us straight to the hall where we had dinner the night before. Apparently, the building had a couple of training halls where Arthur's people could train indoors.

As Amanda explained over breakfast, Arthur's people were basically divided into three categories. His seconds, the senior soldiers and the junior soldiers.

Junior soldiers were the newest and the youngest. Immortals who had just sworn allegiance to Arthur, usually young adults.

"Hey, have you noticed how there aren't any fae around here," I told Irene now.

"Well, that's expected I guess. The fae's loyalty is first to their king and queen. Arthur wouldn't be able to trust someone who's first loyalty isn't his."

"Makes sense."

Other races didn't have any permanent rulers. Witches were organized into covens all over the world, and the highest authority among the witch covens was the High Council of Witchcraft, whose members were voted in every century.

The shapeshifters were another matter. There were many species, some lived in packs, some lived as lone creatures. They made their laws in the international shapeshifter assembly. The assembly was composed of fifteen people, three from each continent, also voted in every century.

Vampires were obviously ruled by the Five. As every one of the Five was stationed in a continent, they were responsible for the vampires in their respective territories.

The fae, however, had a monarchy. The race was rather reclusive, their magical powers outstanding. The royal line were direct descendants of the very first Fae.

We met no one on our way, the woods quiet and calm, but close to the hall was bustling with activity.

A group of little kids, no older than ten, stood around a grown man. The children were listening to the vampire with rapt expressions.

"They're adorable," Irene said, a smile in her voice. Children weren't the only ones around, though. A few groups of adults were gathered here and there. Most of them now watched the human walking among them with reactions that varied from interest to straight out dislike.

I'd always known there was a rift between immortals and humans, but never did I think it was this deep.

We went through one of the massive doors in the hallway. It was a training hall alright, but an enormous one. I gaped at the ceiling. It was so high. The hall itself was about half the size of a football field. The stone and brick walls, along with the raw dirt ground under my boots, gave off a medieval feeling. The windows were all high up, but the room had good lighting from the countless electric lamps on the ceiling and the wall lanterns.

Grunts and shouts of cheering caught my attention. On one side of the floor, a crowd gathered around two people sparring. The sound of swords clashing as the two fighters met each other blow for blow brought back precious memories.

My hand itched. I hadn't held a sword since that bloody day. Uncle Robert's own sword and the one he'd given me when I turned seven were both buried next to him. Maybe someday, I'd go get them. Maybe.

"You're born to wield a sword Ellie, don't ever give it up."

Uncle Robert's proud words echoed in my mind. He'd said them to me after the first time I beat him in a sword fight. His smile broad and brown eyes twinkling with unmistakable pride. I was twelve.

I truly missed it, so much so that looking at the two swordsmen now made my heart ache. But even the thought of holding a sword again tied my stomach in knots. There had been so much blood that day. The feeling of cutting through live flesh with my sword was still fresh in my memory. Life after life, I'd ended so many.

"Elle?"

I snapped out of my thoughts. Irene was a few steps ahead of me looking between me and the sword fighters with concerned eyes. I smiled and joined her, closing the chest of memories.

Corbin waved at us, he was standing with a group of around forty to fifty people. Most of them looked as young as he was, except for the vampires, most of which weren't past their second century. I recognized most of the faces from yesterday's little training in the woods when I was trying to escape. Arthur, that arrogant ass, had assigned his junior soldiers to guard me. I shouldn't have been flattered, after all.

"Good Morning, Miss Irene, good morning Elle," Corbin nodded his head, his usual smile brightening his face.

"Good morning, Corbin," I couldn't help but smile around him. Well aware of the looks I received, I leaned against the wall and left Irene to start her lesson.

Some of the junior soldiers gave me the stink eye. I had a feeling it had nothing to do with me being human and everything to do with the hell I'd unnecessarily made them go through yesterday. I touched the bandaid on my cheek to make sure it was still in place. I didn't want any unnecessary questions or remarks about how fast my wound healed.

I smiled and kept watching. Elle was truly good with disciples. She sat them all down, handling fifty grown immortals like little school children.

She talked to them about the Order. Earlier she'd said that Arthur wanted her to tell them what to expect, since some of them were going to be sent to the Order for some time.

"It's his way to make sure they get in contact with humans, at least from afar," Amanda had explained over breakfast, "some of the junior soldiers have never lived outside an immortal community, never made any real contact with humans. Working for the Order and handling cases would solve that issue to a certain extent."

"Hey, human!"

Everything in the hall came to a halt. Quiet. Since I was ostensibly the only human around, I looked at the man who called. He was standing with the crowd of older immortals, senior soldiers maybe. Holding a sword, feet slightly apart, dressed in black fighting leather that hugged his lean muscles, and light brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, his smile was the epitome of smugness. His blue eyes looked me up and down. A vampire. Older than two centuries, three at most.

"Yes?" I called back, not moving from where I leaned lazily against the wall, but highly aware of the weight of every single one of my knives.

The vampire approached with a lazy stroll, waving his sword like a sling. Cocky. I really hoped that sword was steel and not silver, because with the way he was handling it like a little boy's toy, sooner or later he was bound to hurt either himself or someone else.

"They say you're a good fighter, how about a match?"

I looked upward, exasperated. Did I have to prove myself to every single idiot around here? I wondered if Arthur knew about this. Even if he did, he probably wouldn't care. Hell, maybe he put them to it. My instincts told me he wouldn't. But then again, how much did I truly know him? Not at all.

"No thanks," I smiled tightly.

He laughed, and some of the senior soldiers he left behind watching from the distance shared his humor. Irene crossed her arms and looked at me. I shook my head. I would handle this on my own, I didn't want anyone fighting my battles. If this idiot wanted a fight, maybe I would give him one. He was strong, so I didn't know if I could take him down or not, but I would damn well hit him where it hurt before I went down.

The vampire looked Irene up and down and licked his lips. Uh-huh, keep giving me reasons to crack your nuts, asshole. I was beside Irene before she could take a step forward. She had a quick temper, and I didn't want her involved in this. Being labeled as the human's friend couldn't be good for her future here.

"I'll handle it," I whispered to her as the vampire stopped a small distance away.

"You don't have to. That asshole, Jesse, put him to it."

I followed her gaze. Jesse was sitting on the ground with his arm slung over an upraised knee. Like he had no care in the world.

"If Jesse wanted a fight, all he had to do was wait. I'm sure he would've irritated me enough eventually."

"He can't," Irene whispered back, "Arthur warned him yesterday over lunch."

I stiffened, the grin that appeared on my face tight and no doubt deranged, "warned him of what, exactly?" I asked Irene slowly.

Irene gave me a weirded out look, "um, he just told him not to provoke you."

"uh-huh."

So all that talk about not beating Jesse up was for show. He really believed so little of me. I didn't know why the thought irritated me. It shouldn't, but it did. "What were his exact words, Irene?"

"His exact words?" she furrowed her brows, "'don't start any unnecessary fights'. Yeah, that's what Arthur said. Why?"

"I've been so stressed out these days. This should be good," I grinned, "I guess I'll play."