I was escorted back to the cabin with thirty immortals. A small army. The picture we painted must be funny. One small boned human girl escorted by thirty muscled shapeshifters and vampires. They were doing wonders for my ego.

Some went to the backyard, guarding the backdoor, some stayed in the front door, and a few went inside the house and stayed with me. The house had an open floor plan, a kitchen on one side and a living room on the other. A hallway near the fireplace led deeper into the house.

I went straight to the kitchen. Under the watchful gaze of six immortals, I washed my cheek wound the best I could with water. I dried it with some paper towels and held them there to stem the flow of blood. It no longer hurt so bad, but it would take time to stop bleeding, and more time to close. It might scar.

The african american male from earlier walked in with a med kit. He put it on the island. I leaned on the counter.

"I can help you take care of it," he said.

"No, thank you. I got it." When the paper towels were soaked through, I replaced them, and threw the bloody ones in the fireplace. The flames licked the blood with greedy orange tongues.

The immortals watched me with new eyes as I moved back to the kitchen and leaned on the counter again, waiting for my cheek to not bleed anymore.

"Shouldn't the blood clot?" the man asked, still standing by the island.

"Takes some time," I mumbled.

"You fight well-" he closed his mouth with a snap.

"For a human?" I said the words he didn't want to say. Smiling at how genuinely embarrassed he looked. A shapeshifter. Really young, maybe twenty. With a head of corkscrew brown curls and glossy dark skin, his wide eyes shone with an eager innocence so at odds with his heavily muscled frame.

Shapeshifters are considered adults around twenty four, when their aging process starts slowing down. So this guy was probably considered a minor. When I thought about it, most of the ones I fought were in the same age group, except for the vampires.

He nodded, "I didn't know humans could move like that, you were really fast."

"Yeah, I had... special training, you could say. You weren't so bad yourselves."

A sheepish smile, "you don't have to be nice, if you were really trying to kill us, we'd be dead by now."

"I don't need to be nice. A bit more training and you'll be fine."

His back straightened, "thank you."

"You're welcome."

My cheek stopped bleeding. I moved to the fireplace again, threw my blood to the fire and went back to the kitchen to dress my wounds.

"You're not going to run away anymore?" the boy asked.

"Nope, you can rest."

"Why did you try in the first place?" one of the women standing by a window asked. A vampire. She must have been turned when she was in her late twenties. Not even a century yet, which was why she had been watching my blood with nervous, hungry eyes. Still struggling with blood lust.

I sighed, "stubbornness, I guess. I couldn't just roll over without a fight."

I checked my wound in the mirror the boy held for me. A clean line a little longer than an inch right in the middle of my cheek. No need for stitches. I slapped a bandage on it.

"Thank you..."

"Corbin, I'm Corbin," he said.

"Thank you, Corbin."

"You're welcome."

I went to sit on the sofa, leaned my head back and closed my eyes. No use in wasting energy.

"You guys have any idea what your boss wants with me."

Silence. Then Corbin's hesitant voice, "the sire said to keep you here, that's all we know."

"You shouldn't tell her that," one guy behind me hissed.

"It's fine, it's not like she couldn't have figured it out herself."

Actually, they had already kind of told me that back in the woods. But okay.

"How does it feel to be human?" a girl asked. A young feline shapeshifter. I couldn't even answer that simple question truthfully. But I could give a response based on my experience of living with humans for almost ten years.

"They live short lives, so every day counts. For most of them, at least," I cracked my eyes open and looked at the wooden beams on the ceiling. Beautiful. "You should probably ask another human. I'm not a good representative of the average human girl."

"They're weak," the guy behind me spat out.

"Physically, they may be weaker," I said, "but they're strong in their own way. How would you deal with it if you're told you only have a few decades left to live?"

Silence.

"Anyway, I don't know much about the subject," I looked at the young vampire girl, "you can probably tell them more about being human than I could."

"It was a long time ago," she said, her brown eyes looking into a faraway past.

I exhaled sharply, "I'm bored."

"I have an idea," Corbin said then ran out of the door.

And that was how, two hours later, I was sitting on the floor with a lollipop in my mouth and six immortals around a monopoly board. Vanessa, the vampire, had a sweet tooth. She had a small candy stash in her combat pants pockets. She gave me a lollipop. Vampires did not need food, but they could digest very small amounts of it.

"Your luck is worse than mine!" I told André around the lollipop in my mouth, the guy who'd said humans were weak. He was such a sweetheart under all the scowling.

He grumbled under his breath and moved his piece to the jail for the fifth time.

"It's not funny," he said, "I can't do anything properly because I keep getting thrown in there!"

"Poor baby," Vanessa, the vampire, cooed while rolling the dice. A car engine rumbled outside.

"Shut up, blood sucker," André replied.

"Hey, no name calling, kids." I said, The entire group suddenly stiffened, then sprung up as one to their feet. Corbin was holding a stack of monopoly cash in his hand, and he quickly hid it behind his back. They were hiding the door from my view, so I leaned my elbow on the floor and leaned past Vanessa to look at the door. Sure enough, their lovely boss was there.

I took out the lollipop and pointed it at him. His eyes shifted to me.

"Hey, if you're not joining the game, get out of here. You're ruining it."

He blinked, once, twice. Damn, he might be an arrogant asshole but he had long lashes. He shook his head slightly.

"What are you doing?" he said, looking at Corbin. The poor guy lost all color under his tan. His dark eyes turned huge and he gaped, looking for words.

I stood up, "we're playing monopoly, in case you can't see."

Vanessa shot me a wide eyed look. Arthur came inside, "everyone out. Elle, stay."

What was I, a dog? "Woof," I mumbled, rolling my eyes. Everybody got out, leaving the game unfinished. He just had to come when the game was getting fun. Sheesh.

When everyone left, Arthur closed the front door and pointed to the couch. "Sit."

"What's next? Roll over?" I crossed my arms. Not sitting.

"What?" he asked, looking truly confused.

"Nothing."

He sighed, then walked to sit on the couch. I stayed out of his way and leaned on the wall next to the fireplace facing him.

He put one ankle on his knee, his arms stretched on the top of the couch, and looked at me.

"What do you want with me?" I blurted out.

"How did you hurt your cheek?"

I took a deep breath. I was this close to pounding his head with a chair. "I cut myself."

"Hmm. Tried to get away, didn't you?"

"So am I a prisoner here? why?"

His lips twitched, "relax. I haven't discovered your secret yet, if that's why you're worried."

"Why can't I leave?" I asked instead of replying to his statement, I was not going there.

"You're now a target for the demon. Until we catch him, you'll stay here."

"You can't make me stay here," I straightened up.

"Of course, I can."

"I have a case to work on, and I can't do that locked up."

"No one said anything about being locked up. And there has been a new development concerning the case."

"What new development?"

"The demon you captured has been kind enough to share some crucial information, thanks to which they managed to rescue the last victim."

"What!" I took a step toward him, "how?! Wait, you moved in without me! How could you? I'm part of the case, too."

"And this is why I left you under watch. You've only been on the case for a few days."

"It doesn't matter, I still-"

"They needed to move in silently and efficiently. It was a team effort. You're very well trained, but as a lone fighter. Not for missions like these. You'll only get in the way."

I snapped my mouth shut. He was right, of course. I was trained to defend myself, to kill when necessary, to evade opponents, I was not trained for such missions. Still, it stung. I kept my expression blank.

"You didn't go?" I asked. He had said "they".

He raised both his brows and just looked at me. Right. The esteemed lord of vampires wouldn't get involved in such pesky matters.

"What about Irene?" I asked, because she deserved to be involved in this part of the case.

"She came along, along with the team working on the case."

"The victim?"

"Barely alive, but she'll make it. At least physically."

My heart broke for the woman and her family. I remembered her two little kids and her loving parents. She would be okay, she had to. She would be surrounded by love and warmth, and she would heal.

"The demon?"

"He escaped," he spoke through clenched teeth, "teleported out."

"Why didn't he take the victim with him?"

"Too much energy is needed. He already exhausted a lot of magic in channeling his energy so that mid tier demon could kidnap you. He only had enough to teleport himself out of there."

I rubbed my forehead. Irene would give me the details of what happened, after I grilled her for leaving me behind. Not that she had a choice.

"How did you cut yourself?"

I frowned at him, then remembered my cheek. "I was careless while fighting the kids you left to babysit me."

His perceptive eyes missed nothing, "in other words, you were trying not to end anyone's life."

I pursed my lips. He leaned forward.

"I'll make you an offer. You'll be bored staying here until we catch the killer. I want you to train some people."

"No," I was not getting any more tangled up in this than I already was.

"You'll be generously compensated."

"No."

"And given access to anything related to Martin Malone."

I sucked in a breath. Why was I surprised? Of course the Order's director would tell him about our arrangement.

"I already have a deal with the director. We signed a contract."

His lips twitched up as if wondering how a contract would stop him from getting what he wanted.

"He gave me his word," I said, knowing he wouldn't argue with that. One thing old immortals valued was honoring their word.

"Very well," he sighed, "why are you against teaching them? They seemed pretty taken with you."

"I'm not against it, I'm just not qualified. They'll be wasting time with me when they could be learning from someone better. I'm sure you have a lot of old, well trained people around."

"Alright, then. Let's go," He stood up and walked to the door. He seriously needed to learn the art of smooth conversation transitions.

"Where to?" I asked.

"Where you'll be staying for the foreseeable future."

***

The inside of the log mansion was as delightful as the outside. The front door opened to a massive living room. The warm lights, the floor to ceiling windows covering most of the walls and the huge fireplace gave the space a cozy vibe. I could almost envision myself curled up on that rug by the fireplace with a book and a cup of hot chocolate, the pitter-patter of rain hitting the glass. I sighed. It would be heavenly.

Off to the right was a staircase to the second floor, and an entrance to the kitchen. The entrance was an archway, large enough that the kitchen was basically part of the rest of the floor.

To the left was a hallway through which Arthur and I went. Passing by several closed doors, he finally stopped at one and opened it.

He stayed by the door, watching as I walked inside and took in the spacious room. A king sized, four poster bed with fluffy white beddings and dark wooden posts was pushed against one wall, floor to ceiling windows made up more than half of another wall, with a glass door leading to the back porch. A fireplace! My own fireplace! I touched my hand to the mantle in wonder and looked at the door next to it.

"Bathroom and closet," Arthur explained, he was leaning on the doorframe, his arms crossed.

"Where are the bars?" I asked, opening the glass door and letting in the sound of waves licking at the shore down the cliffs. The backyard was similar to the one in the house next door.

"Funny," he said when I closed the door again.

"Thanks, I try," I passed my hand on the bed. This would be hell to leave in the morning. "Whose house is this?"

"Mine."

I looked at him with wide eyes, "what do you mean, yours? And why am I staying here if this is your house? I can stay somewhere else."

"Calm down, my living quarters are on the third floor." his lips twitched in amusement, "Don't want to share living arrangements with me?"

"I don't want to share anything with you," I clarified, then shoved the lollipop in my mouth again.

"Hmm," his eyes raked over me from the top of my head to the tips of my combat boots, "really? I think there are many, many things we could share."

From the look in his eyes and the slight grin on his face, I would be an idiot to miss his point. And I would also be an idiot to believe he truly meant it. With my oversized, blood splattered sweatshirt and my messy, boyish hairstyle, I looked like I belonged in a battlefield, not a bedroom.

But just in case he was serious, I chuckled, "right. No. Not happening."

"Why not?" He raised both his brows.

I rolled my eyes, "Arthur, I'm sure you're not lacking in female company."

"What if I am?"

"Then I'm sure there's someone out there who'll take pity on you."

"What about you?" he stepped inside the room until he was toe to toe with me. I didn't back away.

I pointed my lollipop at him. "Not. Happening."

He grinned, bent his head and snatched the lollipop into his mouth. I gaped at his back as he left the room with my candy. Asshole!

"Hey!" I called, following after him. He headed to the kitchen. I took a seat at the stool by the island, the polished marble cool under my hands. "That's my candy."

He looked over his shoulder from where he stood with the refrigerator open, "you want it back," he said around the lollipop.

I gagged, "gross, you can have it."

He smiled. Asshole. He was really weird.

He took a bag of frozen fruit out. I watched with fascination the way he moved around the kitchen. How could someone that big be so graceful? The way his defined muscles flexed and relaxed was an art in its own. No movement was wasted, every motion flowed into the next with such finesse. I suddenly wondered, if he moved like this while preparing a smoothie, how would he look while fighting? It would be worth watching, that's for sure.

He poured the thick, purplish mixture in a tall glass and slid it towards me. He took the lollipop from his mouth, pulled out a trash can cabinet and dropped the candy in it. What a waste. He saw me staring at him and pointed at the drink.

"Drink, it's good for silver wounds."

My eyes snapped up to his. If I was a human, wounds inflicted with silver weapons wouldn't be any different from other injuries. The fact that he said that meant he had already made up his mind about me not being human.

"Don't jump to conclusions," I said.

He leaned against the counter, crossed his arms, "Elle, don't insult my intelligence. I've been alive for more time than you can imagine. I know you're not human. Let's drop the pretense."

My hands fisted on the cold surface of the island, "you're just assuming."

His sigh was long and heavy, "I may not know what you are, yet, but I know you're not human. There are ways through which someone's aura could be cloaked. I'm always doing it, as I'm sure you've noticed. But I don't completely get rid of my presence as to be left with a "human" aura. It's difficult to keep on a daily basis.

"But I do know there is a way to achieve that. It's called a sealing spell. Few people know about it, and even fewer can perform it on others."

I shifted my hands to my lap to conceal their shaking.

"You're not a vampire," he cocked his head, "I would know. And you're not a shapeshifter, because shapeshifters can't completely seal away their animal sides. They would go crazy. Hmm... I would wager you're either witch or fae, which one are you? I'm very curious."

"Stop," I said, my heart beating loudly in my chest. Uncle Robert was right. Keeping my secret around these people would be impossible.

"Immortal births are very rare, so children are very precious to us. Especially female births. I cannot see why anyone would give up a baby.

"What are you, twenty four, twenty five? If I look into our records two decades ago, I can find out with a good degree of certainty who gave birth to a white female with blonde hair and green eyes."

"Stop." I stood up. The feeling of being cornered pressed down on my lungs. I did not deal well with being caged. "If you're so hell bent on finding out what I am, I'm going to leave here."

"You tried. It didn't exactly work out, did it?" he straightened.

With my palms on the island, I leaned forward and glared at him, "this time, I'm going to slaughter anyone coming after me without a second thought. And if I can't do that, then I'll die trying. Leave. My secrets. Alone."

We silently stared at each other until he nodded, "fair enough."

"Promise," I said, not yet relieved, "give me your word, you're not going to dig anymore, and you won't tell anyone else of your suspicions."

"That's asking a lot," he scratched his stubbled jaw. "How about you tell me exactly what you are, and I'll give you my word no one else will come looking into your business."

"I can't do that," I shook my head. He would either kill me or give me away to the very people I was trying to avoid.

"Elle, Elle, Elle..." he exhaled, nodding slowly, "very well, you have my word I will not dig into your matters without your knowledge, and I will not share my suspicions with anyone else. Until this case is solved."

Fair enough. When this case was solved I would run out of this city like my nonexistent tail was on fire.

I sat back down, and breathed through my panic. This man was not good for my health. After a few controlled breaths, I was calm again. I chugged down the cool smoothie, the bite of berries and sweetness of bananas was refreshing.

"So, where did you live for the first fourteen years of your life?"

I glared at him, "you just promised!"

He held up his hands, "nothing in my promise states I cannot discuss this with you."

I gritted my teeth. The deceiving, arrogant asswipe.

"Don't you have anything important to do?" I said, "Go lift some tree trunks or something."

"Right now, I'm more interested in you," he grinned.

"Well, just... don't!"

Hah! How was that for a comeback? Nice, Elle. Really nice. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"You're adorable."

"You're an asshole."

I heard the front door open on the tail of my words, and a cheerful female voice calling.

"I agree! He is an asshole!"

I looked over my shoulder, and was grateful I had nothing in my mouth because my jaw just dropped to the floor.

The woman walking through the kitchen archway was, hands down, the most beautiful woman I'd seen in a while. Thick, shiny blonde hair streaked with honey fell in lively waves around her shoulders and down to her waist, big cat shaped eyes of a bluegreen color so vibrant and full of life, a dainty upturned nose, full plump lips that lifted in a genuine smile and golden skin glowed from within The freckles on her nose gave her an innocent charm that contrasted with the way her body was shaped. So unequivocally feminine with generous curves and legs that went on for miles.

"Are you real?"

I didn't even realize the words escaped my mouth until she threw her head back and laughed. The sound husky and so utterly sultry.

"Oh. I like her already, Arthur." She stood next to Arthur. The picture they painted was almost too perfect. They were out of this world. Still, there was something missing. Like two pieces of a puzzle that just don't match.

"You're really pretty," I said with wonder in my voice. Since I already embarrassed myself, there was no use pretending she wasn't the most beautiful person I've ever seen. I couldn't take my eyes off her.

"Thank you, you're such a sweetheart."

"Don't go giving her any more compliments," a voice called coming through the front door. These people had an unreal sense of hearing, "She hears more than enough every day."

A man dressed in a perfectly tailored three piece gray suit, with olive skin, coiffed brown hair and brown eyes lined in the corners from his radiant smile.

He stopped by my side, shook my hand with a polite nod and went to stand next to the woman. There. They were perfect for each other. There was just something that let you know they were together, that they had been together for a long time and they would be for years to come.

"Amanda and Harvey, meet Elle Sanders," Arthur said.

Arthur's eyes were warm when he introduced them. I blinked. He was so arrogant and curt at times that when he showed a hint of warm emotion I was more than surprised.

Uncle Robert had always said that Immortals who live for too long were often too removed from this world. They become dull with age, no longer caring about the things that make a person's life, things like family and friends. Greed and constant thirst for power causes their demise.

I didn't know Arthur enough to judge him. But for a person who was as old as history itself, he sometimes showed a very human side. He also surrounded himself with diverse people, from all ages and races.

"Ah, Elle, the human. A pleasure to finally meet you," Harvey said. The way his eyes crinkled at the corners due to his constant smile was a weapon to distract from the speculative glint in his eyes. "I heard many things about you."

"Me too," I smiled at him.

He blinked, glancing at a confused Arthur, "you've heard about me?"

"No, I've heard many things about me, too." I smiled tightly. Amanda and Arthur burst out laughing while Harvey chuckled. Suddenly, the cabinet behind his head opened and a creature peeked out. The size of a cat with black, wrinkly skin and a deformed muzzle with drool all over it, its eyes a glowing red.

My magic lashed out. I held it tightly and listened to my senses. They picked up on an energy similar to Harvey's. Ah, an illusion manipulator. Interesting. Once I knew what it was, the creature in the cupboard faded and I was looking at a closed cabinet again.

"Useful," I told Harvey who, like the others, was watching me with interest, "you should work a little on the eyes. Red is a little cliché."

"Oh, I do love her, Arthur!" Amanda said, almost jumping up and down in her high heels.

"Of course, you do." Harvey said, disgruntled. "Well, it seems the rumors are true about you, Miss Sanders."

"Elle is fine," I took a big sip of my smoothie and frowned at his hand. So that was why he shook my hand at first, he needed physical contact for his illusion to work. "Do you need physical contact first?"

"Not always," Harvey replied, "but it makes it easier."

Both he and Amanda were very old vampires. Older than the Order's director. Maybe around nine centuries? I couldn't be sure, though, they could be older.

I chugged down the rest of my drink. It was good, and I already felt better thanks to it. I actually needed it. Not that I would tell Arthur that. Uncle Robert raised me better than that, though, so I thanked him.

"Thank you. It's good," I said after putting the glass down.

"You're very welcome," he smiled slowly, "anytime, anywhere."

Asshole. The glass floated to the sink on its own. The faucet opened, the glass was rinsed, the faucet closed and the glass floated to the open dishwasher. Arthur hadn't moved or even glanced at the glass the entire time.

So this was how powerful telekinetic immortals did the dishes.

"Irene is here," Arthur said. A moment later, Charles walked through the front door scowling with Irene trailing behind with a pleased smile on her face. Ah, I missed teasing those two.

They walked into the kitchen, Charles nodded at the three vampires and leaned on the wall, Irene put my backpack by my feet. She must've picked it up from the apartment. She put another backpack on the ground and sat on the stool next to me. I gave her the stink eye.

"Traitor," I mumbled.

She winced, rummaging through her black leather jacket's pocket and coming up with a chocolate bar. She gave it to me, "Sorry?"

I snatched the chocolate from her hands, "we'll see."

"This space is open to everyone," Arthur said, "my people come and go as they please. So you'll often have company."

"You mean guards," I said, opening the wrapper.

"No, I mean company. Elle, do you really want to live in the city on your own when that demon could appear at any moment and snatch you up."

"He could appear at any moment here."

"No, he can't. The island is warded, no one gets in or out without my knowledge."

"I can take care of him, you know," I took a bite of chocolate and sighed. There was nothing better than chocolate.

"Alone?" Amanda asked, arching a brow.

Especially if I was alone. "Maybe we could use this to our advantage, use me as bait to catch him," I suggested.

"We'll discuss that later." Arthur straightened, "Irene, take the room across from Elle. We'll meet in the war room in twenty minutes."

Irene and I looked wide eyed at each other.

"The war room is on the second floor," Amanda said, "I'll wait for you in the living room to show you the way."

"Thank you," I smiled at her. Irene and I picked up our bags and left. I showed her to her room and went inside with her. It was the same as mine, only its windows were looking over the front of the house.

"You're staying here?" I closed the door. She nodded, put her bag on the floor and sat on the bed.

"Yep. I'm really sorry, I didn't want to leave you behind but I had no choice in the matter."

"I know," I sat down next to her, "I was just messing with you."

We stayed quiet for a moment, then she blurted out, "Arthur offered me a position."

My brows rose, "a position?"

"Yep, working for him. I don't know how much I'm allowed to tell you. But anyway, I'm still thinking about it."

"Hmm...it's a big deal, right?"

"It's huge!" her eyes widened dramatically, "Working for one of the Five is a dream for most immortals."

"So you'll leave the Order?"

"Well, I haven't decided yet." She groaned, then fell back on the bed, "oh, who am I kidding? of course I'll accept. Arthur is probably the only one of the Five whose orders I'd trust to follow blindly."

"What? Why?!" I asked.

"Why do you dislike him so much?" she looked genuinely confused.

"Uh...because he's an arrogant jerk?"

"He's not that bad. Besides, being arrogant is almost normal for immortals who've been alive as long as he has," she said, "you just got on the wrong foot."

Wrong foot, my ass. But to be honest, she was kind of right. I just wasn't ready to trust anyone yet. Trusting Irene with my ability to sense magic was as far as I could go at the moment.

"Whatever. Tell me, what happened when you found the demon? I want details."

After Irene had left me eating in the backyard, she joined a team of Arthur's people including Charles, Harvey and Amanda. They were later joined by agents of the Order working on the case, including Kit and Jason.

The demon we'd captured earlier gave them a location. A dilapidated building in the heart of a poor human neighborhood. They surrounded the building, Harvey, Irene, Charles and Amanda went in first, leaving the others watching the perimeter.

"The place was crawling with lesser demons," Irene said now, "I've never seen those numbers all in one place. The crowd you and I fought this morning was a drop in the ocean."

"How is that possible?"

"Arthur has some theories, he'll share them in the meeting. Anyway, we sneaked in through the roof, we searched room by room for the victim, killed the demons as silently as possible. You should see Charles fight, he's...." she shook her head, eyes bright in wonder, "it's breathtaking. He's amazing with that sword of his.

"Anyway, it was impossible to keep the fight quiet with the large number of demons. The killer must have heard us, because by the time we reached the room with the victim chained to the floor, the killer was gone. A teleportation circle was drawn on the floor with his and the victim's blood."

"He needs a teleportation circle to do it?" I asked.

"No, Harvey said it's only because the killer's energy was low, he couldn't flat out teleport without the help of a teleportation spell. Which is why he didn't take the victim with him in the first place. His attempt at kidnapping you left him low on magic, you know."

"So you haven't even seen his face?"

"Nope. When we got to the room, all that was left of him was a trace of his magic," she shuddered, "it smelled so wrong."

"It's going to be impossible to catch him if he can teleport whenever he feels like it." I sighed and stood up, "I'm going to take a shower."

I still hadn't changed my clothes from the fight in the morning, the dry blood on my side was disgusting.

"What happened to your cheek?" Irene asked as I was leaving.

"I cut myself."