"I'm willing to concede you were right, and admit you won the bet, but any 'I told you sos' will be summarily ignored."
She grinned. "Fair enough. It's worth swallowing them to get you to admit you were wrong. Proceed."
By the time I had described our time spent with the demon lord, Sarah was taking frantic notes on a tiny notepad. "This is incredible material. I can't believe you had the balls to talk back to a demon lord! So, what was this curse he put on Theo? It can't be too serious - he looked fine a few minutes ago. And obviously, if you guys spent the night together, I take it that none of his various and sundry parts were harmed."
I looked past her, out the window. It was sunny and fairly warm. An hour earlier, Theo had stepped outside the pub to greet the Dark One who had come to see him, only to end up with a nasty burn on his arms and face. It seemed that about one thing, legend was correct - vampires and sunlight didn't mix. "No, nothing was harmed in the way you mean...unless you call having your soul ripped from your being and a curse damning you to eternal vampire-hood harm. Which, it need not be said, I do."
Sarah did her googly-eyed impression of a pug. "You're kidding!"
I lifted an eyebrow at her.
"Oh dear god, you're not kidding! Theo is a vampire?"
"Could you speak a little louder, Sarah? I don't think everyone in the village heard you."
"He's a vampire?" Her voice dropped until it was a husky whisper. "He can't be a vampire - he's an angel."
"No, he's the son of a fallen angel, and evidently there is no rule that says nephilims can't also be vampires. I am told the correct terminology is Dark One. That's why the Christian person is here - Theo's hoping to get some information from him about how to go about changing back to his normal self. Or as normal as an immortal person can be."
"This is absolutely astounding," Sarah said, her eyes distant as she poked a scone with her butter knife. "I can't believe this is really happening, but you're the last person on earth who would ever try to pull my leg about something like this. A vampire! You know, Portia..." She looked up at me. "There are some drawbacks to having a boyfriend who is a Dark One."
Theo found me five minutes later, wiping my eyes and hiccupping with the aftereffects of laughter that was only slightly tinged with hysteria.
"I'm delighted to see you're so amused about the situation," he said, handing me the napkin that had fallen from my lap.
"It's better to laugh than go outright insane. Did you get all the information you needed?"
Theo turned and gestured to the man in the doorway. "Yes, thanks to Christian."
"We did not have the opportunity to be introduced earlier," Christian said, coming forward and taking my hand. He made an old-fashioned bow over it that should have seemed hokey, but was quite the opposite. "I am delighted to make your acquaintance. It is not often I meet a Beloved who is also a member of the Court of Divine Blood."
"Beloved?" I sent Theo a quick, embarrassed glance. "We've only just...that is, we're not really...we're not...oh, crap." I glared at Theo. "Would you like to tell the man that we only just met, and have not yet established if there is a relationship waiting to happen?"
The two men exchanged looks. Sarah looked uncomfortable. The silence in the room was thick with some unspoken comment.
"What?" I asked them all.
"There are a few things I need to explain to you," Theo said, taking my hand and pulling me toward the hall.
"You have my mobile number if you have any other questions," Christian said as I reluctantly followed my personal champion.
Theo tossed a thank you over his shoulder. As I closed the door, Sarah was pouncing on Christian with an explanation of who she was, and how they were related by publisher.
"I'm not sure it's the wisest thing in the world to leave them alone," I said as we went upstairs to my room. "She can be horribly fangirl about some authors."
"He'll survive. There are a few things you should know that I felt you'd prefer hearing privately."
"Uh-oh." I entered my room, sitting primly on a chair. "That doesn't sound good. Is it about you being a Dark One?"
"Yes." Theo paced to the window, spun around, and paced back to the door, one hand ruffling his hair.
"I have an awful feeling you're going to say you can't get your soul back, but I refuse to accept that. If someone can take something away, someone else must be able to put it back. I was quite serious when I said I would do whatever it takes to get your soul back, you know. I am aware such a thing won't be easy, but I am fully dedicated to doing whatever is required."
"It's not quite that easy." Theo paced past me.
"But it can be done? You can get your soul back?"
"In a manner of speaking." Theo made three more passes before he sat on the end of the bed and fixed me with a grey-eyed look. "Christian was very informative about Dark Ones. It turns out there are two types - those born of an unredeemed father, and those cursed by a demon lord."