Demon Moon

me Belial retained his angelic form, but she didn’t elaborate on his appearance.”
    She nodded absently and turned the page to the second drawing. Her mouth fell open. “Ohmygod.”
    It was unmistakably Savi, though he’d drawn her in a Japanese manga style: impossibly long legs and oversized chibi eyes, her spiked hair defying the laws of gravity. He’d pictured her wearing a tiny skirt, leaning against the kitchen counter in a naïvely seductive pose.
    Her laugh was astonished…horrified. “Is this how you see me? Like a schoolgirl?”
    “No,” he grinned unapologetically. “It’s how I’d like to see you.”
    How could that be better? But it was. “How would you draw yourself?”
    “In the same manner?” At her nod, he took back the pad. “You’ve quite a large collection in your flat; I glanced through several volumes last month.”
    “After you put Nani to sleep?”
    “Before. She apologized for your choice of entertainment.”
    “She would.”
    He frowned, studying the page. “I’m most familiar with the animated style, and I don’t practice—so it may not be correctly rendered.”
    “No, it’s not,” she said, though her mouth dried when he showed her the slender swordsman wearing a long duster, his chin tilted down and his forehead against the flat blade of his weapon, as if he were praying. “The clothes are right, but all of the beautiful heroes have long, flowing hair. And secretive, meaningful expressions. You’ve got a big smile.” Like a villain.
    “To expose my fangs. And brooding is so very tedious, don’t you agree?”
    “It’s supposed to be sexy.” God, smiling was sexy, too. She was sick, lusting after a drawing. Lusting after the model. “Or soulful.” Colin wasn’t that, at least. She glanced up at him. “Do you really like being a vampire?”
    “Of course. I love nothing more.”
    Her chest tightened as she looked back down at the drawing. She’d have loved it, as well. She’d wished for it—but she should’ve known better than to wish. It never accomplished anything, except to bring disappointment when it didn’t come true. Better to just live as hard as possible, and be grateful for what she had. But Colin…
    “Wouldn’t you rather be a Guardian?”
    “Trade freedom and blood for endless service?” Colin stared at her in disbelief.
    She shook her head. “No, I can see why you like the freedom. I would, too. What I mean is: Why doesn’t it bother you that vampires are the third-class citizens of the—” Netherworld? Underworld? Caelum couldn’t be considered either nether or under . “—Otherworld?”
    “They’re not. You’re mistaken, Savi,” he said. His mouth set in a firm line, and his eyes hardened.
    “No, I don’t think so. Have you ever heard the description of a vampire in the Scrolls? Hugh told me once. The descendents of nosferatu, vampires are no threat except to humankind. If their bloodlust does not endanger human life, Guardians may allow them to live . And that’s pretty much it, aside from an instruction of how to transform a human who has been drained by a vampire or nosferatu.”
    “Was that your brilliant translation from the Latin?”
    She sucked in a sharp breath. “Yes. But I’m just saying that even though vampires were human once, neither Guardians nor demons have to honor a vampire’s free will or their right to live. It doesn’t matter if they’re slain or not—even if the vampires aren’t endangering humans, there’s no consequence for killing one. And they’re kept ignorant, even though the first vampires were made by Guardians. Like you were made by Guardians.”
    “I can hardly be lumped among the ignorant. You, however, apparently can. You know all of fifteen vampires—are any considered unequal to Guardians except in strength?”
    “No, because Hugh and Lilith brought them into SI with the purpose of teaching them. Training them. But as far as I can tell, they were the first not to see vampires as a nuisance, and to see that vampires could be useful now that there are so few Guardians.” Was he really so blind? “Maybe you don’t notice it because you’re some kind of supervampire, and your brother-in-law and friends were Guardians and a halfling demon. It provides a nice ivory tower for you to languish in.”
    His face darkened. “ I live in an ivory tower? You’ve no bloody fucking idea of what I—” He broke off and half-rose in his chair, and Savi stumbled back from the