Spellbound Ch. 05

That earlier scent of magic, sharp and frosty, sparked her nerves. She'd no idea what he was, but she knew she did not fancy finding out.

"Leave me," Gelya commanded, filling her words with enchantment, "return to your room." She wilted with exhaustion as she said it.

To her horror, the man did not obey. Instead, he grinned. Gelya's body went rigid with fear, remembering how it felt for her commands to be ignored.

"Well now," he murmured, "this is quite the pleasant surprise." Though his words should've seemed an icy threat, the way in which he'd said it made her genuinely believe that it was indeed a pleasant surprise. There was warmth in his voice, and an apparent lack of hostility.

When next he spoke, it was in her native language: "You are like me," he said, "I've never seen one of your kind before." Gelya had never heard a man speak in her mother tongue. Could that mean...?

"Like you?" Her accent was unrefined in comparison. "What are you?" He chuckled, and stepped further into the room.

"I? I am the giver of dark delights. Beguiler of women and defiler of men." His smile was one of amusement, and his steps were slow and graceful. "I am every woman's excuse for unexpected children. I am the reason for hardheaded and flighty maidens, and for wives who tire of their husbands." He reached the wall opposite her bed and leaned against it, extending his hands from his sides as if presenting to an audience. "I am, I assume, something like you."

When he came within a few feet of Gelya, his remaining scents colored the air like sunlight glimmering through morning mist. Soaps and oils, unfamiliar cloth, wine and sweet spices. None of them natural, but all of them wonderful.

Gelya straightened, sloughing off the blankets, and flicked her hair from her face. The man's eyes remained fixed on hers, unlike most who would've been scanning over her body. A dozen questions raced through her mind, but the one she whispered was: "Why now?"

"What?"

"Nothing," she murmured, shaking her head. "Why do you act and dress like a human?" His smile faded, and he crossed his arms loosely. The waves of his hair tumbled backwards with the motion.

"Like a human?" he repeated back. "Why should I not? Are we not people as they? Why would you not dress and act like a human?" Gelya smirked. What a silly question! "Do you consider yourself superior?"

"Of course," she replied matter-of-factly. He raised his eyebrows and exhaled, looking to the window. "Do you not?"

"Perhaps we're not as alike as I had thought," he said, more to himself than to Gelya. His gaze remained on the window, and rain began tapping at the roof as he spoke. "I'd wanted to help you sleep, but apparently there is nothing I can offer you in that regard. However I should like to speak with you at length, come morning. If it please you." His demeanor became cordial, settling into a well-practiced formality. "My name is Vardan."

She considered how to respond for a long moment while the rain fell harder. The last thing she needed was some new curiosity to puzzle over and waste time on, when further distance and anonymity were her primary goals. But, she was curious. She'd never been so interested in learning more about another creature. It would have been prudent for her to consider possible risks of revealing information about herself, but she was not a prudent person.

"Melina." She responded. It was her true name.

"Melina." He said it slowly, savoring its taste. It had been years since she'd heard her name spoken by another, and she felt her heart jump. That beguiling smile returned to Vardan's lips. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance," he said cheerily, and extended a flattened hand toward her. Melina looked at it.

"Ah. Well. Plenty of time for that later, I suppose." He withdrew his hand, and Melina got the feeling she'd been expected to do something just then. Vardan inclined his head toward her in a slight bow, hair glistening in the low light, before making a dignified exit.

Melina was entirely too exhausted to think through the implications of what had just occurred, but as she attempted to reconstruct her bedsheets, she feared her mind would want to anyway. She was surprised when she slept until dawn instead.

***

By early morning, the rain had faded into a patchy fog which quieted the town. Birds sang whenever they had the chance in periodic patches of sunlight. Melina awoke in a tangle of fabric which supported the strange position she'd contorted herself into. Though mildly annoyed at the feeling of fabric against skin, she was no longer sore or exhausted.

She rose and stretched, then plaited her hair to one side while listening to the humans behind the walls as they awoke. Their activity was more interesting when it was not preventing her from sleeping. It was significantly more subdued, and she caught bits of quiet conversation here and there.

For a brief moment, she wasn't certain what she wanted to do that day. But then she remembered her late-night visitor and sighed. Melina had never had such a rare opportunity to enjoy new knowledge and genuinely rewarding conversation, but it still seemed more of a chore than a treat. Her current goals had included putting more distance behind her, enjoying the springtime forest, and forgetting the past week.

Once she'd left her room at the end of the hall, it wasn't difficult to find Vardan. His energy and scent radiated from the very next door; she'd been sharing a wall with him all night. Small wonder he'd heard her tossing about, especially if his senses were as sharp as her own.

Melina opened the heavy door to a room twice as large as her own, with a wide bed and a desk in the opposite corner. Vardan looked around from behind a high-backed chair at the desk, eyebrows raised in surprise. She shut the door behind her and cast her eyes about.

"Good morning," she said with a small nod.

"Have you ever heard of knocking?" asked Vardan, a smirk on his face.

"No," answered Melina. He paused, searching her face for something.

"Oh," he said eventually.

She looked over his belongings with a curious eye, noting how neatly packed and colorful it all was. A double-breasted coat with a wide collar hung on wall, with swirling gold embroidery running along its edges. She ran her fingers over the fabric as she strolled by, a smile on her lips.

Vardan set down the quill and paper he'd been writing on, and rose to face her. He wore only a thin dressing shirt and tight breeches, which clung to his form and hinted at the perfection beneath. His legs were long and lean, like the densely-packed muscle of a deer. His smile seemed bemused as he watched her exploring his belongings.

"Melina, was it?" She nodded. "What exactly are you, Melina?"

"I thought you already knew."

"Yes, but what are you? You look as if you've never seen the interior of an inn before. And, if I may be so bold, your manners are severely lacking."

Melina chuckled as she sat herself on the unmade bed, instinctively reclining into an alluring pose.

"What need have we of such human traits?" Before he could reply, she continued. "Tell me, beguiler of women, how do you take your prey? Are all these theatrics necessary for hunting women, as compared to men?"

Vardan's smile disappeared, and was replaced with an ugly scowl. Anger flashed sharply in his eyes.

"Prey?" he said with a trembling voice. "Let me make one thing very clear to you..." he started, as he advanced on her while pointing at her face. Melina reacted instantly to the threat. She lunged at his center of mass while grabbing his raised hand, tackling him onto his side with his arms immobilized. He went down easily, as if he hadn't expected her to preempt his attack. The air left his lungs as he hit the floor with a solid thud!

"Do not think to challenge me in a fight, incubus! I will tear you limb from limb before you can lay a scratch on me." His loose brown curls lay thick over his eyes, wide with shock. He gasped in a breath and struggled. Though she could feel his inhuman strength, it was clear he'd no idea how to apply it.

Melina let him up cautiously, standing over him. Vardan rolled onto hands and knees and coughed, rubbing his cheek where it had hit the wood. She felt a pang of remorse for having misread his intent. This man was no fighter... but why did her heart still race? Why did her instincts yet scream at her to fight?

"What in the demon's name was that for?" He pushed himself to his feet, barely a few inches taller than her. "I wasn't challenging you to a fight! By the gods, you're out of control! You may as well be a feral goblin for all the civility you lack." He gesticulated feverishly as his rant gained momentum. "Calling people 'prey' to be 'hunted'? Leaping straight to violence? Reducing my entire existence to a means to an end?" He ran his fingers through his hair. "I am going to assume that the only reason you've taken on such a dismal view of others is because you've never had the opportunity to interact with them. I cannot believe that you would be so dismissive if you'd had any kind of meaningful relationships." He paced with his hands on his hips. Melina was momentarily stunned into silence by his passion. The cadence of his speech made his words poignant, and commanded her to listen. She sank back onto the bed.

"Why bother speaking to me at all, then? If I'm nothing more than some savage beast, I'll be on my way and you can go about your life."

"I'm beginning to wonder that myself! Curiosity alone does not seem sufficient to endure your company." Melina recoiled at that, her scorn plain on her face. She said nothing.

"Apologies," he said, his posture softening. "You... you remind me of someone." He exhaled, shoulders drooping. Melina chose not to ask the obvious question, knowing he would elaborate if he desired. He did not. Instead, he picked up the chair from the desk and seated himself opposite her. His scent reached for her with an inviting hand.

"You represent a substantial gratification for me, Melina. You see, I pride myself on being educated in a variety of disciplines. But one noticeable gap in my knowledge has always been of myself and my kind. It is often impossible to distinguish fact from myth when it comes to magical creatures, though it seems some of the less savory myths have truth in them." Melina cocked an eyebrow at that, but he didn't appear to notice. "I've spent considerable time and effort attempting to track a succubus. Though I was, admittedly, terrible at it. I never was able to pin one down."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" she purred instinctively.

"No, you misunderstand me. I seek understanding, that I may comprehend my own existence." That hadn't been the reasoning she'd expected.

"And why do you need that?" she asked.

"Do you feel no such need? To understand your purpose, and the reason for your powers?" There was strain in his eyes; a mask concealing deeper pain. He'd spent long hours agonizing over answers to such grandiose questions. To what end?

"I can't say that I do - I exist for myself. What is there to comprehend?" Vardan studied her for a moment.

"I envy you, in some ways. But, as I was saying, I searched forests and villages for another of our kind for quite a while before admitting defeat. And then, you come along when least expected," he said. Melina was reminded of the question she'd asked the previous night: why now? "It would benefit us both to exchange knowledge. Of our powers, our limitations, and our abilities. I would very much like to learn more about you, Melina."

His frequent usage of her name was likely a technique meant to make naive young maidens feel special, but knowing this did not lessen its effect on her. He was interested in knowing more about her, and not as a pretext to eventually fuck her. It was new territory, and not the sort which she had ownership of.

Still, perhaps she could benefit from the knowledge he so prided himself on. Thanks to Baccus, she could no longer rely on all of her natural abilities to keep herself safe. She would need to learn and adapt to new magical and social conditions to ensure she never encountered him again.

"What did you have in mind?" Melina asked.

"Perhaps we could travel together for a time. I never stay in one place for long, though I do have semi-permanent homes in various cities. If you would agree to answer my questions and test theories as needed, I would provide anything you needed for the journey, and leave an open offer to stay in one of my residences." Melina had no frame of reference to judge the value of his offer, but surmised that it was not a trivial thing. "Please consider it," he continued. "It could grant me peace of mind, the likes of which I've sought my entire life." He interlaced his fingers and leaned forward in his chair, his eyes conveying urgency.

"Give me until this evening to decide," she said after a pause.

"Very well. But if you refuse, I should at least like to know how to find another of your kind." Melina laughed.

"It can't be terribly difficult. Honestly. I've been tracked and found by dozens of human hunters. Or, rather, I've found them once they were close enough."

"And yet I've never met a hunter who succeeded in his quest."

"Of course you haven't," said Melina, "we never allow them to remember it. I remove all memory of myself from their minds to ensure the continued safety of my territory." Vardan stared.

"You what?" he exclaimed.

"Well, I can't exactly allow them to recall finding me. Any small detail could result in my discovery."

"You're able to alter a person's memory?" he asked incredulously. "To what extent? How do you achieve it?"

"With the right words in our language. There is a great deal of subtlety to it. And I've never tested the limits of my abilities, but I suspect it could go beyond just wiping immediate events. Are you not able to do the same?"

"No. But gods, would it be useful." He rubbed his cheek in deep thought. Melina bit her lip.

"Are you able to command and addle the mind?"

"Yes, though I rarely use it," said Vardan.

"Rarely? Do you willingly avoid enchantment?"

"I only use it when absolutely necessary, which it usually isn't. It seems... too easy," he said, punctuating his explanation with delicate gestures. "There's no finesse to it. No challenge. The art of seduction is far more interesting without the use of a crutch. Besides, full consent is quite important to me. Tempting a lover into wanting what I have to offer is what I find to be most satisfying." A devious smile touched his lips, and excitement danced in his eyes. Melina raised an eyebrow. She resolved to ask him what he had meant by "consent" at a later time. He continued.

"It's one of life's greatest pleasures, if you haven't experienced it. But, if you're interested, I do have a dinner planned with a lovely young woman this evening." He met her gaze, and prideful passion warmed his features. "Would you like to watch?" Melina straightened, and felt her cheeks flush with anticipation.

"I would like that very much," she said, returning his smile.

***

Comments and messages are welcome. Any feedback you can provide would be lovely. What did you enjoy? What do you hope to see more of?

Chapter 6 will be posted in 1 week.