Hellv7 - Chapter 4

“Wait, start over. I still don’t get this at all.” James had been intently listening to Deceit explain the culture in which her world was centered around- or cultures, rather.

“Alright, one more time,” Deceit agreed- much to the surprise of listening ears. She had already explained it twice, but the third time was usually the charm. Etna gave Deceit a sympathetic look and a twelve pack of teas. Deceit rolled her eyes in response, ignoring Merci’s giggling from a far off corner of the library.

“What are the teas for?” James hated his curiosity beyond belief, but it was being pretty useful for once. Except for the stupid questions like that.

“My throat, but anyways, pay attention this time.” She cleared her throat and began her lecture- leaving out the formalities this time.

“All those creatures you heard myths about when you were little- Pixies, Elves, Vampires, Werewolves, Dragons; they all exist here and today…”

James spaced out; he just couldn’t grasp the whole vampires-and-werewolves-being-real thing. It just didn’t make sense; if they had been around this entire time, why had he never seen one?

He looked across the table toward Deceit. James had never really given her looks any real thought- which was unusual for him. What really caught him was her hair- a brilliant deep shade of blue. He hadn’t noticed it earlier- it was almost black- but now that it was drying, its true color was shining.

Deceit looked at him right then, and James swore she could see right through him, if she just made eye contact. She hadn’t yet, so James couldn’t test his theory.

‘What was she?’ He would have asked, but almost instantly he was distracted by sparkles. Sparkles? James had no memory of a recent visit to a kindergarten classroom- so why were there sparkles? Then something touched his eye.

“Goddamnit!” Deceit couldn’t suppress a smirk.

“Covella, if you’re going to poke someone’s eye- at least let them see you first.” Someone- something- was scolding the sparkling patch of air that was hovering just out of arms reach. Then the over-sized rock to Deceit's left began to move. ‘Why is there a rock in a library? More importantly, WHY AND HOW IS IT MOVING?!’

“But Miss Athena, I’m not Covella!” That patch of air was shimmering now. ‘I must be imagining this; it’s all got to be a dream...’

“I’m sorry, Fea, but it’s Covella that normally does that sort of thing.” The rock- Athena? - informed… Fea? James was lost now. Wasn’t Athena a Greek Goddess or something like that?

“Fea, introduce yourself to our visitor. Athena, you too,” Deceit instructed.

“Yes ma’am,” Fea appeared. She was light blue- like Etna. She turned to James. “Miss Deceit says that I must introduce myself,” Fea started, fluttering in and out of James’s vision. “I’m Fea,” She paused, momentarily distracted by how bright James’s hair was. “I’m a pixie!” She informed him after a look from Deceit. Athena? rolled her eyes- ‘they were eyes, right?’- at Fea’s easy distraction. Fea circled James’s head several times before falling into his ponytail and getting her fragile wings tangled. She struggled for several minutes, but James did not seem to notice.

“I’m Athena, the gargoyle in charge of this library.” She did not look up, instead continuing to shelve an ever-wavering stack of books. Fea had managed to get her arms tangled up as well. “Oh, and there’s no relation to that Greek Demi-Goddess, Athene.” She added after a thought.

“Greek gods…” There was giggling across the library.

“Shuddup, Merc,” Deceit snapped in the general direction of the giggles. “Anyways-”

“Miss Deceit! Help!” Fea began to struggle frantically, successfully getting herself tangled more.

“Fea…” Deceit sighed, carefully yet gently beginning to untangle the unhappy Pixie from James’s hair.

“But ‘Ciet!” A girl- Merc? - just seemed to materialize almost instantly beside Deceit. ‘Where did she come from?!’ “Humans are funny.”

“So?” Deceit retorted, setting a purpling Pixie on the desk. Merc? was the polar opposite of Deceit in looks and personality. She had pale, ghostly skin paired with bright red hair and a bouncy persona. In contrast to Deceit's deep blue hair and tanned complexion, it was a startling difference.

“So can’t I have my kicks?”

“No.”

“Goddamnit. You always ruin my fun.” Merc mock pouted, almost forgetting James’s presence.

“Get used to it. Now, are you going to continue to interrupt- or do you want to explain Vampires to James?”

“Ohfuck,” Merci paled, - if that was even possible. “Where’d you pick the lost puppy up?” Deceit ignored her.

“Mercy, it’s only polite to introduce yourself,” Athena chimed in, receiving a glare in return. Deceit whacked Merci in the back of the head with a large book.

“Ouch! Fine…” She grumbled, rubbing the back of her head. “I’m Deceit's sister, Mercy.” Her voice had gone from warm to icy. Deceit hit her with another book, this time producing a satisfying thunk and a decent sized dust cloud.

“What was that for?!”

"Be nice,” Deceit said simply. Merci looked almost murderous.

“Fine,” She snapped. “I’ll explain Vampires to your new chew toy.” Deceit rolled her eyes.

“Come on, Fea, let’s go find Covella.” Fea and Athena disappeared behind rows of bookshelves.

“Alright, Deceit's Chew-Toy-Pet-thing. You need to pay attention because I’m not going to explain this again.” James nodded in response. ‘Deceit's chew-toy-pet-thing?’

“So. Vampires are not, in fact, undead bloodsucking anti-sunlight but still very good-looking fiends allergic to garlic. There’s three types of Vampires, all of which are very much alive. Heart beats, steady breathing, organ activity, the whole nine yards.

“You’ve got Europeans- which are your textbook images of Vampires except they’re not allergic to garlic- and they’re all alive. They run colder body temperatures usually and they’re really fast. Like 250 miles per hour jogging- fast. Romanians are the European subgroup, with a higher blood-lust and a tendency to attempt to feed off of other Vampires- which isn’t a good thing.

“Then there are the Alps. There used to be a technical term for them, but it was lost to everyone but them a few centuries ago. So now we call them after the mountain range of their origin, not that you’ll find many there now. Alps are big on learning stuff in theory but never in practice. They have a tendency to prefer animal blood, as per a genetic mutation or two. Baby rabbits are usually a delicacy. They’re also a dying breed, as most females are infertile.

“Last but not least there’s the Natives. Tan skinned, fully sunlight compatible omnivores. They don’t really care for blood. Unfortunately it’s a life sustaining requirement, usually translating to the bare minimum deluded in alcohol or lots of food. Like Europeans, Natives burn excessive amounts of calories. Natives can fit right in with humans- until push comes to shove. A three year old Native is seven times stronger than an overly fit male Human in their prime. It’s a genetic oops that makes babysitting a blast. Egyptians are Natives minus all the cool strength abilities to a point.

“The number one rule is that you can’t marry or spawn outside of your classification of Vampire. The penalty is the death of your offspring, your spouse and yourself. Harsh, yes, but it keeps the populations under control.” Merci paused, taking a deep breath.

“There are always those exceptions,” Deceit continued. “Like me and Merc. Somehow it’s alright for us to still be kicking around, as crosses between natives and Europeans- and two different cultures.” Deceit inhaled a tea, cringing ever so slightly. “Ew, I didn’t even know they made pear tea. Ick.”

"Wait. Explain how you two existing breaks the rules.” James was confused- again

.

“Virtue, aka Mama, was a Romanian, and one of the officials on the European Council.” Merci informed him, snagging one of the teas from Deceit's desk.

“Wisdom, aka Ayah, was a Native ‘nd the Native Rep for the High Council.” Deceit dug into a nearby bag- James swore it was watching him- and pulled out a coke. ‘Could inanimate objects watch people…?’[/p]

“Ayah?”

“Father,” Merci translated. “Deceit is most fluent in his native language and sometimes forgets to translate titles or nicknames. I’m the same way with Romanian, only Mama isn’t too far off from its translation.”

“Oh.” James was amazed and startled at the same time as all of the new information sunk in. “What about Humans? Isn’t there a law for them?” He was almost afraid of the answer.

“Oh yea,” Merci crumpled the now empty can of tea without effort and picked up Deceit's half-finished one. “There’s several, actually,” She paused momentarily. “Let’s see… you’re not allowed to fuck them… have any relations with them… or even let you know that we exist.” Merci had obviously simplified it, but even that made James shudder.

“Punishment is death, of course.” Deceit supplied, looking bored.

“Of course…” James echoed. ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ There was silence for several minutes.

“Well then, now that we’ve ended on such a bright note, I’m going to bed.” Merci yawned for the effect. “’Night ‘Ciet.”

“’Night Merc,” Deceit responded as Merci vanished into thin air.

“Alright Human,” Newt strolled into the room. “I’m Newt and Etna tells me that you’re to have a room in the North Wing until we figure out what to do with you. Come on.” He promptly dragged James into a standing position and led him from the room.

Deceit sighed. Things were going to have to change, or they would start attracting attention. Unwanted attention.