"You grew up with those creatures, yet you defend them! I have never understood that, how any human could align herself with the very beings who feed on her!"
"You're confusing demons and vamps again." He'd had that problem all along, and living around Casanova, the only incubus-possessed vamp, probably hadn't helped.
"Am I?" Tension radiated from his body, and his mouth tightened to its usual downturned line. "They're self-centered, morally bereft predators who feed off any humans foolish enough to give them the chance. I fail to see a great deal of difference!"
I was beginning to understand why Pritkin had never been a big fan of vamps. The way they and incubi fed might seem a little too close for comfort. Vamps took blood, while incubi fed directly on the life force itself, accessed through the emotions. But the distinction might get a little blurry for someone with his background.
"It's not that simple." I struggled to my feet, trying not to wince at the ache along my spine. I'd twisted too fast or stepped wrong, and rolling my head left, then right didn't seem to help. Pritkin noticed, but I didn't get a neck rub. Somehow, I hadn't expected one.
"Some vamps, like Tony, are monsters," I agreed, "but I strongly suspect he was that way before the change. There is no typical vampire, any more than there is a typical human."
He stepped closer, pain and anger warring on his face. "There is a typical demon! Rosier is no different from your friend downstairs, or from any of the others. Except in the amount of power he possesses, in the amount of pain he can cause."
"My father may not have been a monster, but he worked for one," I reminded him quietly. Pritkin wasn't the only one who'd had to face a few unhappy truths about his background. "I've had to come to terms with that, to accept that just because he refused to hand me over to Tony, doesn't mean he refused to do other things—"
"Your father was human," Pritkin hissed, the abrupt lash of his anger hitting me like a slap, backing me up a step.
"So are you!"
He laughed his short, humorless laugh, and I realized that I'd never heard him laugh for real. He had smiles of wry amusement occasionally, but that was as close as he came. And even they were mostly in the muscles around his eyes. I wanted to see him really laugh, just once. But, somehow, I didn't think today would be the day.
He moved suddenly, so that we were pressed together from thigh to hip to shoulder, but I refused to give ground again. "Am I? Have you never wondered why your geis reacts so much stronger to me than to anyone else, sees me as so much more of a threat?"
"It doesn't seem to feel that way lately." The goose bumps running up my arms were proof of that.
"Because he was here! He wanted to make a point, to have me demonstrate yet again that I'm no better than he is."
"Wait—Rosier can block the geis?"
"He is a demon lord. Human magic has no power over such a being."
"Could he remove it?"
Pritkin grabbed my arms, his fingers digging into my flesh until they were haloed with pale, bloodless outlines. "You will not seek out that creature!"
"I don't usually go around trying to find people who want me dead!" Enough of them found me all on their own. "But if whatever he did could be duplicated, maybe by another incubus—"
"No. No one else is that powerful." His words were suddenly calm again, but his eyes slid away from mine.
"Pritkin, if there's even a chance you could do something about the geis, I need to know." Before I went to MAGIC and did something really, really stupid.
"What do you think I've been doing?!"
"I know you've been looking for a solution in human magic, looking hard. But you hate demons so much, I wasn't sure if you'd considered…another alternative."
"There is no alternative," he said flatly. "Even Rosier could not break the geis, and he has no need to do so. His power can override it long enough for him to feed, long enough to drain you of your life and the power of your office—a fine meal indeed!"
"Is that what he wants? The power of my office?"
Pritkin didn't answer; I doubt he even heard me. He picked up a strand of my hair and gave it a sharp tug. "You see how strong this is, how resilient?