“I’m not fully human, Tracey. Actually, I’m not human at all, I only look the part. I could tell you what legends say and what myths suggest. But when compared to the truth, they do not compare.” He looks at me staring back at him.
“I’m a burdened Sephlem.” He pauses for a long moment. “What makes me burdened is that I’m…tainted…by demon’s blood.”
“Sephlem?” Demon’s blood !?
“That’s the name of my people, like many other allegorical creatures. We have stayed under the radar, while others have failed. Keeping who we are a secret has been hard for us, but we do what we have to do. We can be dangerous when necessary, and we have abilities that go beyond natural human abilities. There’s a full race of us, but only the families are mentally connected.” He looks at me to see if I’m following him.
I nod.
“Now,” he continues, “what makes the sum of us that are mixed with demon a risk is that sometimes the danger that is within us, we cannot control. This is what scares the hell out of Scott, and made me think twice about pursuing you.
“Growing up, we all heard stories about how the burdened Sephlem would find their mates and would later murder them out of anger, jealousy, hurt, or just letting the inner-beast consume them.” I maintain my calm as I listen to him. “Then there are some Sephlems, and a few other creatures, who want the burdened Sephlems, and our mates, dead. They believe we are a danger to ourselves, our mates, and the world.”
“How are they a danger to themselves? Well, you?”
“Well—” He grabs my hand, using the comforter, and brings it to his chest. “Now, place your other hand to your chest.” I do. “They feel the same?” I nod with a confused expression. “That is because my heart was replaced by yours. Your heart beats for me and for you. And what happens when you don’t have a heart?”
“You die.”
“Precisely. Although, this hasn’t happened for a while. But about a year ago, there were two burdened Sephlem cases. Many started to panic again, and some burdened Sephlems, hybrid Sephlems, and full-blooded Sephlems turned up missing—and others, dead.” I pull my hand from his chest.
“And that’s the danger of being with you?”
“Yes, that’s the danger in choosing a life with me. But Scott and I, our part of our family, were raised differently. They taught us, young, how to control it and, knowing that it was a part of us, how to not let it control us. They taught us how to not be consumed.” He takes a long pause. I assume he’s gathering his thoughts.
“Earlier in school, Scott got upset—maybe angry. His eyes swirled dark-blue and dark-green and that scared the shit out of me.”
“I knew you got upset about something. He wouldn’t tell me what. He let you see his eyes change colors?” He shakes his head in disbelief. “He has never done that, and has been in control of it forever. He learned how to control his at an earlier age than I.”
“Why do your eyes change color?” I haven’t forgotten about the whole ‘he could kill me’ part, but I want to give him a break from it.
“They can change because of our moods and our feelings. I’m usually good at controlling mine as well. But with you, I was trying to focus on controlling too many other things that something had to slip.” He huffs a chuckle. “And it was the most noticeable thing on me.”
“That’s why you didn’t deny it when I said something about it?”
“Why deny it? You knew what you saw. I was already making you feel bad enough, with the pain from me denying you. I didn’t want to add to it.”
“Thank you.”
“Tracey,” he pulls me closer, “knowing some of what you know, will you stay?”
“Why does Scott make you seem like such a bad guy?” I ask, before answering his question.
His head falls forward as if he is ashamed of the answer to the question. “That is something that I am ashamed of.” I wait, not
“I’m a burdened Sephlem.” He pauses for a long moment. “What makes me burdened is that I’m…tainted…by demon’s blood.”
“Sephlem?” Demon’s blood !?
“That’s the name of my people, like many other allegorical creatures. We have stayed under the radar, while others have failed. Keeping who we are a secret has been hard for us, but we do what we have to do. We can be dangerous when necessary, and we have abilities that go beyond natural human abilities. There’s a full race of us, but only the families are mentally connected.” He looks at me to see if I’m following him.
I nod.
“Now,” he continues, “what makes the sum of us that are mixed with demon a risk is that sometimes the danger that is within us, we cannot control. This is what scares the hell out of Scott, and made me think twice about pursuing you.
“Growing up, we all heard stories about how the burdened Sephlem would find their mates and would later murder them out of anger, jealousy, hurt, or just letting the inner-beast consume them.” I maintain my calm as I listen to him. “Then there are some Sephlems, and a few other creatures, who want the burdened Sephlems, and our mates, dead. They believe we are a danger to ourselves, our mates, and the world.”
“How are they a danger to themselves? Well, you?”
“Well—” He grabs my hand, using the comforter, and brings it to his chest. “Now, place your other hand to your chest.” I do. “They feel the same?” I nod with a confused expression. “That is because my heart was replaced by yours. Your heart beats for me and for you. And what happens when you don’t have a heart?”
“You die.”
“Precisely. Although, this hasn’t happened for a while. But about a year ago, there were two burdened Sephlem cases. Many started to panic again, and some burdened Sephlems, hybrid Sephlems, and full-blooded Sephlems turned up missing—and others, dead.” I pull my hand from his chest.
“And that’s the danger of being with you?”
“Yes, that’s the danger in choosing a life with me. But Scott and I, our part of our family, were raised differently. They taught us, young, how to control it and, knowing that it was a part of us, how to not let it control us. They taught us how to not be consumed.” He takes a long pause. I assume he’s gathering his thoughts.
“Earlier in school, Scott got upset—maybe angry. His eyes swirled dark-blue and dark-green and that scared the shit out of me.”
“I knew you got upset about something. He wouldn’t tell me what. He let you see his eyes change colors?” He shakes his head in disbelief. “He has never done that, and has been in control of it forever. He learned how to control his at an earlier age than I.”
“Why do your eyes change color?” I haven’t forgotten about the whole ‘he could kill me’ part, but I want to give him a break from it.
“They can change because of our moods and our feelings. I’m usually good at controlling mine as well. But with you, I was trying to focus on controlling too many other things that something had to slip.” He huffs a chuckle. “And it was the most noticeable thing on me.”
“That’s why you didn’t deny it when I said something about it?”
“Why deny it? You knew what you saw. I was already making you feel bad enough, with the pain from me denying you. I didn’t want to add to it.”
“Thank you.”
“Tracey,” he pulls me closer, “knowing some of what you know, will you stay?”
“Why does Scott make you seem like such a bad guy?” I ask, before answering his question.
His head falls forward as if he is ashamed of the answer to the question. “That is something that I am ashamed of.” I wait, not
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