Page 23 of Unseen Lord

Iris: A Short Story Interlude

In the time before,during that in-between stage of childhood and adulthood, I endured the second great trauma of my life.

Being a teenager is hard enough under any circumstance. Being a teenager raised by Uncle Sly in the Black Lotus and homeschooled, as it were, with classes like "The Myths and Histories of the Nine Worlds," and "Survival 101: Werewolves, Witches and Wargs," made my teenage life particularly challenging.

I knew how to kill a man—or beast—twelve different ways by my thirteenth birthday, only three of those requiring weapons. By my sixteenth birthday I could identify the top five herbs most useful for poisoning and tell you which were best for fast results, and which were preferred for slow and painful deaths. I'd mastered over a dozen different weapons, settling on my dual wielding daggers as my personal favorites. And I was well on my way to mastering the intricacies of the Hunter's Code. I was determined to be the best Hunter of all time, and the youngest Watcher the Council had ever seen.

You can see how I didn't change much through the years.

What I hadn't mastered at that point was the subtle nuances of what would become the most treacherous foe I would face as a girl… boys.

I was the worst at flirting. I could kick their asses. Kill them even (though that was generally frowned upon). But woo them? Entice them into a relationship? Nope. Nada. Ain't happening.

You'd think having a succubus as a bestie/sister would give me an advantage. After all, the two of us were inseparable, and we were always trailed by a gaggle of boys looking to gain Callie's attention. You'd think her charm and charisma would rub off on me, right?

Yeah, it didn't. If anything, it had the opposite effect. She shone so brightly that not only did I live in her shadow, but what was, in retrospect, totally normal teenager awkwardness was so much more glaring in comparison to her otherworldliness.

I never resented her. Not at all. Instead, I threw myself into being the most badass Hunter-in-Training the Council had ever seen.

I lived and breathed everything related to being a Hunter. I would have made Buffy the Vampire Slayer look like an amateur.

And I was content with that. I didn't need the distraction of a guy anyways. I had Uncle Sly and Callie and my tutors and all the strange and magnificent beings who came to the Black Lotus and took turns teaching me their skills and telling me stories of their worlds. Who needed teenage boys when you had all that?

And this worked. I was happy.

Until I met Him, with a capital H.

That's when it all came crashing down. The unshakable, unwavering confidence I had built into my life. My discipline and dedication to my training. All of it.

It was the summer just after I turned 16. So cliche, I know. The summer the Council held a summit at the Black Lotus and invited royal convoys from several of the Nine Worlds.

He was from Nirandel, the world of dragons, and he was a Twin Spirit, meaning he carried with him a companion spirit that he could summon. A raven, black as night. He had hair the color of his bird, and eyes that matched, with skin so pale he could have passed as a vampire. He was with the convoy from Dragoncliff Academy, a training school on Nirandel for Twin Spirits. The Black Lotus was packed with beings of all kinds. There wasn't a room to spare. Even Jesus would have been sent to the barn that summer. And they would all be staying for three glorious months. But Devon was the only one I had eyes for.

Uncle Sly had costume balls and extravagant galas planned in between late night meetings that only the highest dignitaries were invited to. It was a peace conference of sorts. A chance for different sects of the magical community on different worlds to air their grievances and find common ground.

I wanted desperately to attend the meetings. At least, I did before Devon showed up and I realized he wouldn't be in them either.

The other thing I realized pretty quickly was he didn't light up whenever Callie walked into the room. He didn't follow her around like a lost puppy. He didn't drool at every word she spoke.

But he did find opportunities to talk to me. To ask me about the Black Lotus. About Uncle Sly's extensive library. About my favorite books. About myself and what it was like to live here.

It started the first night everyone arrived. Uncle Sly planned a casual dinner—well as casual as my uncle ever gets… no jeans or sweats in sight—followed by live entertainment and free flowing liquor for the adults, provided by the Nelpam Tribes. They were known for their powerful spirits—and I don't mean actual spirits, though you might think you see them after drinking their liquor, I've heard. I've never tested this myself of course.

Which is how Devon and I met.

I snuck a bottle of Firebolt from the festivities and left for my secret spot in which to hide and imbibe in the forbidden. Winding through the long stone hallways draped in ancient tapestries, I slipped through a door masquerading as a painting and onto a private balcony overlooking a secret garden that only Uncle Sly and I knew about. I hadn't even told Callie about this place, for I wanted one spot that was mine alone. Only when I arrived, bottle of liquor in hand, it was already taken. A boy was there, sitting on my bench—a bench Uncle Sly had commissioned for me as a surprise, though he himself never came to this balcony. We had a silent agreement that he always respected. The boy had a book opened on his lap and seemed engrossed in it. Candles floated in the air, illuminating the space with dancing flickers of firelight.

I jolted back in shock upon finding him, and he closed his book and looked at me, then smiled.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, indignant.

"I'm sorry, am I intruding? I needed a quiet spot away from all those people, and this seemed to call out to me through the walls." He raised his hand and his skin glowed an iridescent white. "It's one of my gifts."

"Oh. Um. No, it's okay I guess. Just… don't tell anyone about this place. It's mine." I flinched at how childish I sounded, but I couldn't help it. I didn't want a bunch of strangers traipsing all over my special spot. It would defile it.

"You're Iris," he said, without a question mark.

"Yes. How…?"