Tail of the Devil by Danielle DeVor Read Free Book Online Page B

of our professors prefer the dark, but you won’t need to worry about that,” Tepes said.
    Just as soon as those words left Tepes mouth, a wisp of a woman with long dark hair walked past. Her frame was small and slight, almost like a fairy. Her chin was slightly pointed, and the whole effect was somehow beautiful. She was wearing a burgundy dress with gold threads. Her chest billowed out of the top of it just slightly. When she saw Mathias, she acted as if she might know him, but then she quickly ducked her head and darted down the hall. Mathias was puzzled. “What was that?”
    Tepes laughed. “I think you mean, ‘who was that’. That, Mathias, is our queen.”
    “If she’s the queen, why’s she here?”
    “Because she teaches here. Her villa is in Italy.”
    “Why doesn’t she have a castle?” Mathias asked.
    Tepes smiled. “You haven’t seen the size of her villa.”
    Mathias stopped. “What’s wrong with her?”
    “Why do you ask that, Mathias?”
    Mathias rolled his eyes; it wasn’t worth his time to explain. “Never mind.”
    “Come Mathias. I think you’ve been through quite enough for one day. Let’s get you to your new home.” Tepes motioned for Mathias to follow, and he did.
    * * * * *
    Mathias was uncomfortable. His new “home” was so opulent that he imagined that Buckingham Palace would be ashamed. He had never seen so much gold on any surface in his life, and to be honest, it made him sick to look at it.
    He would have been happy with a room; a clean room would have been great. He didn’t even need a bed, but this was verging on ridiculous. First of all, his room was the size of the old house he’d lived in with his parents. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he had a small area that housed a refrigerator, a living area complete with a couch and a large TV, and that wasn’t the worst part. His bed was massive. It was a four poster with a canopy. The entire monstrosity was draped in burgundy velvet. To say that Mathias felt completely out of place would be one hell of an understatement.
    He did not complain, however. It wasn’t because he was afraid. No, it was better to play it safe and act like nothing was wrong. If he complained, well, the last time he complained, his aunt had hit him, and these were vampires. Who knew how many years of experience they had. Not to mention, knowledge of torture.
    He thought it was nice to be off the streets, at least for a while. He didn’t belong here. For Mathias, the idea of a street punk living amongst all this stuff just didn’t make sense. He’d let Tepes get him in decent shape, and when he knew what he needed to know to survive, he’d jam.
    There was a knock on the door.
    “Yeah?” he asked.
    “Mathias, may I come in?” Tepes asked through the door.
    “Uh... sure.” Mathias smoothed his clothes, and felt fascinated by the texture of the new cloth. Magically, his wings fit exactly outside of his shirt, and when he’d asked, Tepes had said it was magic that was developed by a vampire centuries ago.
    Tepes entered the room with a concerned look on his face.
    Mathias looked around, trying to figure out what was wrong.
    “Mathias, I am worried. Your thoughts are all over the place. I can hear them through the door.” Tepes settled himself on the couch and rested his hands on his knees.
    Mathias sat down on his bed and sighed. It was going to be hard to get away with anything here. “Why are you worried? You know I can survive.”
    Tepes sighed. “But Mathias, this is Siberia. Surviving in Siberia is different than surviving in the city.”
    Mathias didn’t understand. It was strange to have someone worry about him when there was nothing to worry about. “I still don’t understand why you give a shit.”
    The great vampire raised his wings and then resettled them around his shoulders like a cloak. “Mathias, where do you really have to go? Why don’t you just give me a chance to make your life better?”
    Mathias raised his head