Using Se with Spanish Verbs To Express the English Passive Voice

Using 'Se' with Spanish Verbs To Express the English Passive Voice If youre new to learning Spanish, you might easily be confused by some of the signs you see in a Spanish-speaking area: SE VENDEN ORO Y PLATASE SIRVE DESAYUNOSE ALQUILA Translate the words the best you can, or type them into a portable translating device, and you very well could end up with translations such as these: Gold and silver sell themselves. Breakfast serves itself. It rents itself. Se Used for Type of Passive Voice Obviously, those literal translations dont make much sense. But once you become familiar with the language, you realize that such usages of se and verbs are quite common and are used to indicate objects being acted upon without stating who or what is doing the action. That explanation might be a mouthful, but we do the same thing in English, only in a different way. For example, take a sentence such as The car was sold. Who did the selling? Out of context, we dont know. Or consider a sentence such as The key was lost. Who lost the key? Well, we probably know, but not from that sentence! In English, we call such verb usages the passive voice. It is the opposite of the active voice, which would be used in sentences such as John sold the car or I lost the shoe. In those sentences we are told who is performing the action. But in the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is acted upon by someone (or something) rather than being the one performing the action. Spanish does have a true passive voice corresponding to the English one: El coche fue vendido (The car was sold) and el zapato fue perdido (the shoe was lost) are two examples, but it isnt used nearly as much as in English. Much more common is use of the third-person reflexive verb form, which uses the pronoun se. (Dont confuse se with sà ©, which means I know or sometimes you be as a command.) Rather than saying that something is done to something, Spanish speakers have the object doing it to itself. Se Passive Shouldn't Be Translated Literally Thus, se venden oro y plata, although translated literally would mean gold and silver sell themselves, can be understood to mean gold and silver are sold or even gold and silver for sale, neither of which specify who is doing the selling. Se sirve desayuno means breakfast is served. And se alquila, which might be seen as a sign on a building or object, means simply for rent. Keep in mind that the grammatical function of such reflexive verb forms is to avoid stating who or what is performing the action, or simply to recognize that the performer of the action isnt important. And there are ways of doing that in English other than using the passive voice. As an example, look at the following sentence in Spanish: Se dice que never. Literally, such a sentence would mean it says itself that it will snow, which doesnt make sense. Using a passive construction, we might translate this sentence as it is said that it will snow, which is perfectly understandable. But a more natural way of translating this sentence, at least in informal usage, would be they say it will snow. They here doesnt refer to specific people. Other sentences can be translated similarly. Se venden zapatos en el mercado, they sell shoes in the market (or, shoes are sold in the market).  ¿Se comen mariscos en Uruguay? Do they eat seafood in Uruguay? Or, is seafood eaten in Uruguay? Sometimes in English we also use one or an impersonal you where a Spanish speaker might use a se construction. For example, se puede encontrar zapatos en el marcado. A translation in passive form would be shoes can be found in the market. But we could also say one can find shoes in the market or even you can find shoes in the market. Or, se tiene que beber mucha agua en el desierto could be translated as one has to drink a lot of water in the desert or you have to drink a lot of water in the desert. The you in such cases doesnt mean the person being spoken to, but rather it refers to people in general. It is important to keep such meanings of English sentences in mind when translating to Spanish. You might be misunderstood if you were to use the Spanish pronoun usted to translate you in the above sentences. (It is possible to use usted or tà º to mean a kind of impersonal you as in the English sentence, but such usage is less common in Spanish than English.) Key Takeaways Reflexive verbs using se are often used to form a type of passive voice, which avoids saying directly who or what is performing the verbs action.This usage should not be translated literally to English, as that would result in phrases such as it sells itself or it lost itself.Spanish has a true passive voice that uses the form ser past participle, but it is used much less often than the English equivalent.

Psuchology- Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Psuchology- - Essay Example The circumstances force both of them to interchange places and Jean steals identity of John. The Englishman John is a simple and lonely person who is academic in nature. He soon finds himself struck up in the complex and different life of another family. He faces a variety of perplexing roles - as owner of a chateau, director of a failing business, head of a fractious family, and master of nothing. The Scapegoat is a masterpiece exploration of doubling and identity, and of the dark side of the self. John meets his exact double jean in a railway station, at first, both are surprised but later they agree to sit and drink together. While talking John gets over drunk and once he wakes up in a hotel room, he finds that his clothes have been swapped with Jean, his identity has been stolen by him and the double has vanished. Soon the driver of Jean comes to hotel to pick him up. John is unable to convince the driver that he is not Jean. The driver thinks he is drunk and takes him along to J ean de Gue’s chateau. Now John decides to live the life of Jean, as he always wanted a change in his boring life. The family of Jean assumes him as Jean. They expect him to continue running the family glass-making business and arranging shooting parties – things that John has absolutely no experience in.   Before long, it starts to become obvious that Jean is using John as a scapegoat. Jean’s family and business are both in a mess and he wants someone else to have to deal with them. John goes completely unprepared into Jean’s life. Jean has a chateau, a glassworks, a wife, a mistress, a lover, a brother, a mother, a daughter and a sister who has not spoken to him for fifteen years. When John arrives at the house of Jean, he finds it very difficult to run the affairs but eventually understands every character around him and their relationship to Jean. From the neglected pregnant wife and the hostile elder sister to the resentful younger brother and the r eligious ten-year-old daughter, every character is well explained and memorable. The story takes place over one very intense week in which John tries to correct the mismanagement in life, business and family done by Jean. It is only the dog of Jean who knows that John is not Jean and barks at him. John deals the life better than Jean. On the business side, John renews the glass contract and saves business. In family, he tries to re-connect and build relation with wife, children mother and sister. He saves life of the child trying to jump out of window, saves the pregnant wife and the baby and stops drug addiction of mother. After reading about death of a family member in the newspaper, Jean gives a telephone call to John and returns. Jean is surprised to see the way John managed his problems. Jean tells him that he remained in London in John’s flat and sold his flat while clearing his debts. Jean now suspects that John might want to keep his wealth and family but John say he only loved all this and leaves quietly out of the life of Jean. Function of each character in group The story revolves around two characters John and Jean. Jean makes a scapegoat of John. In the words of common street people, Jean can be called a doppelganger. Jean is Frenchman who is incapable of handling his life. He is charming, idle, and destructive French aristocrat. His character has many functions like; master of a chateau, director of a failing business, head of a large and embittered family, and keeper of too many secrets. He has a glass factory and

Sysco BI Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sysco BI - Case Study Example At Sysco, the main problem that might arise after the implementation of business intelligence is that the information that is provided is too small of what is actually required by the firm in order to function. Moreover at many times, the user may not at all be requiring the past data as the market is volatile and is subjected to frequent changes. The obstacle can be that Sysco will require more number of users for implementation and there are huge license fees for the set up of the software. Moreover the other difficulty that it will face is that a number of the companies already have small scale intelligence application and Sysco had decentralized IT structure which if the companies try to uninstall would be very time consuming and costly. It will therefore muddle the already existing commercial setting. Why did Sysco decide initially to address only two questions with its new BI software rather than use it as a more general analysis tool? Why did Business Objects recommend this approach? What are the tradeoffs? Answer: Initially only two questions were taken into consideration as both the questions were quite predictive and forward looking. It is also to be noted that one question deals with the products that is to be delivered to the customer and the other question deals with the customers. The answer provided to the question covers all the important aspects like competitors, customer satisfaction, customer services, customer profile that is the key to success for any firm. Moreover it is felt that initially during the implementation phase the company should focus only on the software, users and the training on answering the questions. The answer to the question was good enough to serve the customer in the better way and also it proved how good ‘Business Object’ can be at delivering the best product to Sysco. The various capabilities of Business Intelligence are Dashboards, Extraction, Data mining, Ad hoc querying and reporting,

Love Should Grow Up Like a Wild Iris Field in the Fields. By Susan Essay

Love Should Grow Up Like a Wild Iris Field in the Fields. By Susan Griffin - Essay Example Love has lost its magic, but not its worth. It takes on the commonness of normal life: â€Å"goes on from day to day†¦ gets taken to the cleaners every fall, sings old songs over and over again.† The poet ends the poem by restating her first stanza, only giving it a different ending: â€Å"Love†¦ comes from the midst of everything else,† meaning that the modern world might have killed the magical element of love, but it does not mean love is not as important, as present and as valuable in the lives of people whose pace of life does not give them the opportunity to â€Å"stop and smell the roses.† The most important symbols the poet uses are nature, the hungry child and the kitchen. Everything in nature has its life cycle, its beginning and end. Nature lives in the present, it has no thoughts of the future to come nor worries what it will bring, happiness or sorrow. The poet states that love should exist in the same manner, oblivious to the â€Å"gravey ard of leaves† around it and should embrace its own potential to give life meaning and happiness. The hungry child could be perceived as the result of a deep emotional connection between two people, that is, it could epitomize love itself.

The Cold War An Introduction History Essay

The Cold War An Introduction History Essay The Cold war is a period of sustained political and military duress and unrest between the Western Superpowers, viz. The USA Of America , and its NATO allies , and the  communist world, led by the erstwhile  Soviet Union, its  satellite states and allies 1947 1991. It occurred post the 2nd world war, and was a mixture of religious crusade in favour of one ideology or the other, and of the most ruthless power politics, striking out for advantage or expansion not only in Europe but all over the world.  [1]   The war was cold only in that the USA and USSR never fought each other in a direct military confrontation, but both superpowers threatened each o with  nuclear annihilation  and participated frequently in proxy wars by supporting allied nations in numerous hot wars in places like  Korean,  Vietnam), and  Angola. The Cold War defined both countries foreign policies through the second half of the twentieth century, as Americans and Soviets competed for allies to maintain and widen their respective spheres of influence around the world. Each side viewed the Cold War as a battle between civilizations; in the worldwide clash between American capitalism and Soviet Communism, only one could prevail. For more than forty years, the Soviet-American conflict hung heavy over global affairs, shaping the world with massive  military buildups, a never-ending  nuclear arms race, intensive  espionage, and fierce  technological competition  as each side tried to gain the upper hand in preparation for the thermonuclear hot war  all humans feared would someday come.  [2]   The causes of the Cold War. We can divide the causes of the Cold War into two types of causes viz. The underlying causes and the immediate causes. The Underlying Causes are :- (i) Ideological Causes: The USA and the Soviet Union represent two opposing systems of government. In the USA, the government is elected by free elections i.e. the people can form political parties to voice their political opinions. They also possess the right of assembly, of speech and of the press. In the Soviet Union, the government is formed by the Communist Party. The people do not have the right to form their own political parties. They do not enjoy the right of assembly, of speech and of the press. Since these two systems of government are diametrically opposed to one another, there can be little compromise between the USA and the Soviet Union. (ii) Economic Causes: The USA wanted to encourage free trade throughout the world and the USSR wanted to shield off its own sphere from international commerce. Russia feared that trade with the West would involve the risk of Russia being opened to western influences which would have eroded the strength of the totalitarian regime. These differences led to much ill feeling between the USA and the USSR. Immediate Causes of Cold war: Incipient conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States began at the peace-time conferences. Their conflict was intensified after President Truman declared the Truman Doctrine and launched the Marshall Plan in 1947. (i) Extension of Russian influence in Europe: Even before the end of the Second World War, the Soviet Union had gradually extended its influence in Europe. By 1944, it controlled a large part of Eastern Europe. By 1945, at the Yalta Conference, the Soviet Union obtained the Curzon Line as its new boundary line with Poland and also gained control of the eastern part of Germany. As the war was drawing to a close in May 1945, the Soviet Union quickly consolidated its control of eastern Europe. (ii) The reactions of the United States: Despite the increasing Russian influence in eastern and central Europe, many politicians in the United States were optimistic about the chances of co-operation with the Soviet Union after the war and did not advocate strong resistance against Russian expansion. But from May 1945 onwards, the situation was changed. The U.S. government favoured a policy of strong resistance against Russia. This was because President Roosevelt -who was optimistic, believed that though eastern Europe had fallen under the influence of Russia, Russia would keep its promise made at Yalta by setting up freely elected parliamentary governments in the area and so did not advocate strong resistance against Russian expansion- died on April 12, 1945. He was succeeded by Harry S. Truman who was a complete contrast to Roosevelt. He did not believe the communists. He thought that the communists would not set up democratic governments in Eastern Europe. He also believed that after the Soviet Union had established its control in Eastern Europe, it would continue to extend its influence into Western Europe. Thus President Truman favoured a policy of strong resistance against Russian expansion. The  second reason  was that just before the Potsdam Conference was to take place, the United States had successfully exploded its atomic bomb. President Truman thought that since the United States alone possessed the atomic bomb, it could adopt a stiff attitude towards Russian expansion in Europe. The  third reason  was that President Truman was disgusted at the non-co-operative attitude of the Russians at the Potsdam Conference where Russia was determined to exact heavy reparations from Germany. Russia also accused the British of upholding a reactionary monarchy in Greece and supporting an Italian Fascist regime in Trieste. Stalin also blocked Trumans proposal on the internationalization of all principal waterways. (iii) Poor relations between the United States and the Soviet Union: The deteriorating relations between the Soviet Union  and the United States were reflected in two minor incidents in the year. Land-Lease was abruptly terminated by the United States and the Russian request for American economic aid for the purposes of post-war reconstruction was ignored by the government of the United States.  (During the Second World War, the U.S. supplied much war material to the Allied nations through a Lend and Lease programme. As the Lend and Lease programme was suddenly stopped, the war-ravaged Soviet Union could not obtain American material support to help its post-war economic reconstruction.) The poor relations between the East and West were also reflected in a speech by Churchill. In March 1946, Churchill made a speech at Fulton, Missouri in which he said, From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent . Behind that line lie all the capitals of the central and eastern Europe all are subject in one form or another to not only to Soviet influence but also to a very high and increasing control from Moscow.  [3]   (iii) End of World War II and events leading up to the Cold War Once the World War II ended, it was obvious that the alliance between USA, Britain, and USSR would end, as there were tension between the west and the east. The USSR joined the allied forces only after Hitler betrayed them. Also, the huge difference in their political and economic ideologies would not let them stay allied for a long time. The events that led to the Cold war are 1) Yalta Conference (February 1945) Held during the war, on the surface, the Yalta conference seemed successful.  Ã‚   At Yalta, the negotiations went very much in Stalins favour, but this was because Roosevelt wanted Russian help in the Pacific, and was prepared to agree to almost anything as long as Stalin agreed to go to war with Japan.   Although the Conference appeared successful, however, behind the scenes, tension was growing, particularly about reparations, and about Poland.  Ã‚     Ã‚   After the conference, Churchill wrote to Roosevelt that The Soviet Union has become a danger to the free world.   And on their return home both he and Roosevelt were criticized for giving away too much to the Soviets: The Potsdam Conference (July 1945) Serious differences arose over the future of Germany and Eastern Europe , and also Truman Revealed to the USSR that it had a powerful new weapon ( the atomic bomb) which kick started the Nuclear Weapons Race that characterized the Cold War. The Truman Doctrine (March 1947) It was the unofficial policy of the US to stop the spread of communism in Europe and other places which conflicted with the USSRs desire to convert other countries to communism. This also led to the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan (June 1947) This was about US aid to European countries, with which they ended up forming the NATO alliance. Conclusion Summing up, we can say that the main causes of Cold War are the events that run up to it , such as the Truman Doctrine , The Marshall plan , the Potsdam conference and the Yalta Conference , and the conflicts of the USSRs and USAs political and economic ideologies.

Clash with the Hurricane- Personal Narrative Essay examples -- Papers

Clash with the Hurricane- Personal Narrative The sky darkened from the blue light sky, it turned suddenly to a dark black gloomy sky hovering with a mist cloud. I walked back into the car, seemingly it was going to pour down. Heavily, the wind blew. I turned to shut the windows, but, as I looked closer out of the window, huge clouds started fusing together which then created a huge immense hurricane. I could not believe my eyes, a hurricane was coming our way. I could not believe it, even though this was so dangerous and could have many damaging effects to the environment and to the people, but from a distance it was such a magnificent phenomenon. Heavily rain poured, hitting the ground like bullets from a gun. Luckily for me, I was in my car. ====================================================================== I tried to start the car but it wouldn’t work. I turned my head again towards the window, the death trap was seemingly getting even more closer. After many efforts of trying to start the car, the car would still now move. ============================================================================ ‘What a time for the car not to work I thought to myself’. I got out of the car and looked ahead. The treacherous whirlwind was closer than ever, people now started to notice and started fearing. At this point I was thinking only one thing, ‘Those damn weather reporters never told us that a hurricane was coming our way!’ ======================================... ... ‘The trees wavered like a stand full of supporters at a football match’ here he uses a metaphor/similes . Here he compares the trees to supporters at a football match. He does this probably sarcastically. â€Å"Heavily, rained poured, hitting the ground like bullets from a gun†. Here again he uses metaphor/similes. He describes the rain falling to bullets from a gun he does this so he can show how fast a painful the rain is falling on to the people and to the environment. He also again uses the word ‘heavily’ first. He does this so he can get his message through quickly and also so he can show the importance of the weather. Clash with the Hurricane- Personal Narrative Essay examples -- Papers Clash with the Hurricane- Personal Narrative The sky darkened from the blue light sky, it turned suddenly to a dark black gloomy sky hovering with a mist cloud. I walked back into the car, seemingly it was going to pour down. Heavily, the wind blew. I turned to shut the windows, but, as I looked closer out of the window, huge clouds started fusing together which then created a huge immense hurricane. I could not believe my eyes, a hurricane was coming our way. I could not believe it, even though this was so dangerous and could have many damaging effects to the environment and to the people, but from a distance it was such a magnificent phenomenon. Heavily rain poured, hitting the ground like bullets from a gun. Luckily for me, I was in my car. ====================================================================== I tried to start the car but it wouldn’t work. I turned my head again towards the window, the death trap was seemingly getting even more closer. After many efforts of trying to start the car, the car would still now move. ============================================================================ ‘What a time for the car not to work I thought to myself’. I got out of the car and looked ahead. The treacherous whirlwind was closer than ever, people now started to notice and started fearing. At this point I was thinking only one thing, ‘Those damn weather reporters never told us that a hurricane was coming our way!’ ======================================... ... ‘The trees wavered like a stand full of supporters at a football match’ here he uses a metaphor/similes . Here he compares the trees to supporters at a football match. He does this probably sarcastically. â€Å"Heavily, rained poured, hitting the ground like bullets from a gun†. Here again he uses metaphor/similes. He describes the rain falling to bullets from a gun he does this so he can show how fast a painful the rain is falling on to the people and to the environment. He also again uses the word ‘heavily’ first. He does this so he can get his message through quickly and also so he can show the importance of the weather.

Succubus on Top CHAPTER 1

Demons are scary. No matter what religion or walk of life you come from, this remains pretty constant. Oh sure, they have their absurd moments – especially in the circles I run with – but all in all, people have good reason to fear and avoid hell's diabolical servants. They're cruel and merciless, delight in pain and suffering, and torture souls in their free time. They lie. They steal. They cheat on their taxes. Yet, in spite of all that, I couldn't help but think I was about to witness the most terrifying demonic act yet. An awards ceremony. For me. Horatio, vice demon of such-and-such division of Infernal Affairs, stood before me, trying to impart an air of solemnity to the moment and failing miserably. I suspected his sky blue polyester suit and matching paisley bow tie were largely to blame. The sideburns didn't help either. He probably hadn't left the inner circles of hell in about six centuries, back around the last time sky blue polyester was in style. With a too-long clearing of his throat, he glanced back and forth between those gathered, verifying we were all paying attention. My supervisor Jerome stood nearby, looking utterly bored, occasionally glancing at his watch. Beside him, Horatio's impish assistant Kasper grinned from ear to ear. A briefcase sat on the floor near him, and he clutched an assortment of papers. The eager, suck-up, lapdog look on his face indicated a burning desire for promotion. As for me†¦well, I was fighting a hard battle to look excited too – and failing. Which was unacceptable, of course. I'm a succubus. My entire existence relies on making people – men in particular – believe and see what they want to in me. I can switch from simpering virgin to sultry dominatrix in a heartbeat. All it takes is a bit of shape-shifting and a dash of playacting. I'd picked up the former ability when I traded away my human soul; I'd acquired the latter over time. After all, you can't spend centuries telling every guy, â€Å"Yeah baby, you were the best I've ever had† and not learn a little something about schmoozing. Myths may paint us as ethereal, demonic creatures of pleasure, but honestly, being a succubus just comes down to a convincing poker face and a good sales pitch. So, really, this awards thing shouldn't have been a problem for me. But Horatio wasn't making it easy to keep a straight face. â€Å"Verily, it gives me great honor to be here today,† he intoned in a nasal, baritone voice. Verily? â€Å"Hard work is what makes us great, and we gather here now to recognize one who has. shown dedication and given her all to the Greater Evil. Such individuals are what make us strong, what will allow us to win in this immense battle when all tallies are counted at the end of time. Such individuals are worthy of our esteem, and we strive to reward their commitment, letting all know just how important it is to push hard against the odds and fight for our objectives in these difficult times. â€Å" He then added: â€Å"Whereas those who do not work hard are cast into the fiery pits of despair, to burn for all eternity and be ripped asunder by the hounds of hell.† I opened my mouth, on the verge of noting how that would be more cost effective than severance pay, but Jerome caught my eye and shook his head. Meanwhile, Horatio had nudged Kasper, and the imp hastily handed over a gold embossed certificate. â€Å"It is therefore with great pleasure that I present unto you this Award of Achievement for Excellently Exceeding and Surpassing Requisite Succubus Quotas in this Most Recent Quarter. Congratulations.† Horatio shook my hand and handed me the certificate, which had been signed by about fifty different people. This Certifies that: LETHA (alias Georgina Kincaid), Succubus in the Archdiocese of Seattle, Washington, United States of America, North America, Earth, has hereby Excellently Exceeded and Surpassed Requisite Succubus Quotas in this Most Recent Quarter, demonstrating outstanding performance in seduction, damnation, and corruption of human souls. Everyone looked at me when I finished reading, so I supposed they expected some kind of speech or something. Mostly I was wondering if I'd get in trouble for trimming this down to fit an eight-by-ten frame. â€Å"Urn, thanks. This is†¦cool.† That seemed to satisfy Horatio. He nodded smartly, then shot a glance to Jerome. â€Å"You must be so proud.† â€Å"Exceptionally,† murmured the archdemon, stifling a yawn. Horatio turned back to me. â€Å"Keep up the good work. You might find yourself in line for promotion to the corporate level.† As if giving my soul away wasn't already bad enough. I forced a smile. â€Å"Well. There's still so much to do here.† â€Å"Excellent attitude. Most excellent. You've done well with her.† He gave Jerome a chummy pat on the back, something my boss did not look happy about at all. He didn't really like friendly pats. Or being touched, period. â€Å"Well, if there's nothing more, I should probably – oh, I nearly forgot.† Horatio turned to Kasper. The imp handed over something else to his master. â€Å"These are for you. As a token of our appreciation.† He gave me a gift card for Applebee's, as well as some Blockbuster free-rental coupons. Jerome and I both stared for a moment, dumbstruck. â€Å"Wow,† I finally said. The runner-up for this award probably got a gift card for Sizzler. Never doubt that second place really is the first loser. Horatio and Kasper vanished. Jerome and I stood in silence for a few moments. â€Å"You like riblets, Jerome?† â€Å"Droll, very droll,Georgie.† He strolled around my living room, pretending to study my books and artwork. â€Å"Nice job with the quota thing. Of course, it's easy to excel when you're starting at zero, huh?† I shrugged and tossed the certificate on my kitchen counter. â€Å"Does it really matter? Still gets you the laurels. I figured you'd like that.† â€Å"Of course I do. In fact, I've been rather pleasantly surprised at just how well you've kept your promise.† â€Å"I always keep my promises.† â€Å"Not all of your promises.† My silence made him smile. â€Å"So what now? Going out to celebrate?† â€Å"You know where I'm going. I'm going to Peter's. Aren't you?† He avoided the question; demons excelled at that. â€Å"I thought perhaps other plans had arisen. Plans with a certain mortal. You do seem to be doing that an awful lot lately. â€Å" â€Å"It's none of your business what I do.† â€Å"All of your business is my business.† Again, I didn't answer. The demon stepped closer, dark eyes boring into me. For inexplicable reasons, he chose to look like John Cusack while walking the human world. That might seem like it would reduce his power to intimidate, but I swear, it only made things worse. â€Å"How long are you going to keep up this farce, Georgie?† His words were a challenge, trying to draw me out. â€Å"You can't honestly think you have a future with him. Or that you two can stay chaste forever. For Christ's sake, even if you can keep your hands off him, no human male's going to stay celibate for long. Especially one with a large fan base.† â€Å"Did you miss the part where I said it's my business?† Heat rose to my cheeks. Despite knowing better, I'd recently gotten myself involved with a human. I wasn't even entirely sure how it had happened since I've always gone out of my way to avoid that kind of thing. I guess you could say he sort of snuck up on me. One moment he was simply a warm and comforting presence at my side; the next I realized how intensely he loved me. That love had blindsided me. I hadn't been able to resist it and had decided to see where it might take me. As a result, Jerome never failed to remind me of the potential disaster I courted daily in this romance. His opinion wasn't entirely unfounded. A small part of this was because I didn't have a good track record with serious relationships. The larger part was that doing much more than hand-holding with a human would inevitably lead to me sucking away some of his life. But hey, all couples have their stumbling blocks, right? The demon smoothed down the jacket of his perfectly tailored black suit. â€Å"Just friendly advice. It makes no difference. I don't mind if you keep playing house with him – denying him a future, a family, a healthy sex life. Whatever. So long as you keep up the good work, it's all the same to me.† â€Å"Are you done with the pep talk? I'm late.† â€Å"One more thing. I thought you might like to know I just made some arrangements for a pleasant surprise. One you'll like.† â€Å"What kind of surprise?† Jerome didn't really do surprises. Not good ones, at least. â€Å"Wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, now would it?† Typical. I scoffed and turned away. â€Å"I don't have time for your games. Either tell me what's going on or leave.† â€Å"I think I'll leave. But, before I do, just remember something. † He put his hand on my shoulder and turned me around to face him again. I flinched at his touch and his proximity. The demon and I were not as buddy-buddy as we had once been. â€Å"You only have one man who's a constant in your life, only one man you will always answer to. A hundred years from now, he will be dust in the earth, and I will be the one you keep coming back to.† It sounded romantic or sexual, but it wasn't. Not in the least. My tie to Jerome ran deeper than that. A binding and loyalty that literally went straight to my soul. A connection I was bound to for all eternity, at least until the powers of hell decided to assign me to a different archdemon. â€Å"Your pimp routine is getting old.† He stepped back, undisturbed by my rancor. His eyes danced. â€Å"If I'm a pimp, Georgina, what's that make you?† There was an ostentatious poof of smoke, and Jerome disappeared before I could reply. Fucking demons. I stood alone in my apartment, turning over his words in my mind. Finally, remembering the time, I headed for the bedroom to change clothes. As I did, I passed Horatio's certificate. Its gold seal winked up at me. I flipped it over, face down, suddenly feeling queasy. I might be good at what I did, but that didn't mean I was proud of it. I ended up only being about fifteen minutes late for my friend Peter's shindig. He answered his door before I could even knock. Taking in his billowing white hat and KISS THE COOK apron, I said, â€Å"I'm sorry. No one told me Iron Chef was being filmed here tonight.† â€Å"You're late,† he chided, waving a wooden spoon in the air. â€Å"So what, you win an award and think you can forget all about propriety now?† I ignored his disapproval and swept inside. It was the only thing you could do with an obsessive-compulsive vampire. In the living room, I found our other friends Cody and Hugh sorting large piles of cash. â€Å"Did you guys rob a bank?† â€Å"Nope,† said Hugh. â€Å"Since Peter's trying to provide us with a civilized meal tonight, we decided a civilized pastime was required.† â€Å"Money laundering?† â€Å"Poker.† From the kitchen, I could hear Peter muttering to himself about a souffle. It sort of diminished my image of a bunch of shady characters huddled around a backroom card table. â€Å"I think bridge would be more appropriate.† Hugh looked doubtful. â€Å"That's an old-person's game, sweetie.† I had to smile at that. â€Å"Old† was kind of a relative term when most of us could boast centuries. I had long suspected that among my circle of lesser immortals – those who were not true angels or demons – I had more years than any of them, never mind the optimistic claim of being twenty-eight on my driver's license. â€Å"Since when do we even play games?† I wondered aloud. Our last attempt had involved a game of Monopoly with Jerome. Competing with a demon in a struggle for property and ultimate control is kind of futile. â€Å"Since when don't we play games? Games of life, games of death. Games of love, of hope, of chance, of despair, and of all the myriad wonders in between.† I rolled my eyes at the newcomer. â€Å"Hello, Carter.† I'd known the angel was lurking in the kitchen, just as Peter had felt me coming down the hall. â€Å"Where's your better half tonight? I just saw him. I thought he was coming too.† Carter strolled in and gave me one of his mocking smiles, gray eyes alight with secrets and mirth. He wore his usual transient ware, ripped jeans and a faded T-shirt. When it came to age, the rest of us couldn't even compare to him. We had all once been mortal; we measured our lives in centuries or millennia. Angels and demons†¦well, they measured their lives in eternity. â€Å"‘Am I my brother's keeper?'† Classic Carter answer. I looked to Hugh, who was, in a manner of speaking, our boss's keeper. Or at least a sort of administrative assistant. â€Å"He had to take off for a meeting,† said the imp, stacking twenties. â€Å"Some kind of team-building thing in L.A.† I tried to imagine Jerome participating in a ropes course. â€Å"What kind of team building do demons do exactly?† No one had an answer for that. Which was probably just as well. While the money sorting continued, Peter made me a vodka gimlet. I eyed the bottle of Absolut on his counter. â€Å"What the hell is that?† â€Å"I ran out of Grey Goose. They're practically the same anyway.† â€Å"I swear, if you weren't already an abomination before the Lord, I'd accuse you of heresy. â€Å" When all the money was sorted, including my contribution, we sat around the vampires' kitchen table. Like everyone else in the known world right now, we started playing Texas Hold,em. I could play okay but fared far better with mortals than immortals. My charisma and glamour had less effect on this group, which meant I had to think harder about odds and strategy. Peter scurried around during the game, attempting to play and watch his meal at the same time. It wasn't easy, since he insisted on wearing sunglasses while playing, which then had to be removed while he checked the food. When I commented on how this would be my second fancy dinner in two nights, he nearly had a fit. â€Å"Whatever. Nothing you had last night will even compare to this duck I've made. Nothing.† â€Å"I don't know about that. I went to the Metropolitan Grill.† Hugh whistled. â€Å"Whoa. I wondered where you got the glow from. When a guy takes you to the Met, you can't really help but put out, huh?† â€Å"The glow's from a different guy,† I said uncomfortably, not really wanting to be reminded of a tryst I'd had this morning, even if it had been pretty hot. â€Å"I went to the Met with Seth.† The memory of last night's dinner brought a smile to my face, and I suddenly found myself rambling. â€Å"You should have seen him. He actually didn't wear a T-shirt for once, though I'm not sure it made a difference. The shirt he did have on was all wrinkled, and he couldn't really tie the tie. Plus, when I first got there, he had his laptop out on the table. He'd shoved everything else aside – napkins, wineglasses. It was a mess. The waiters were horrified.† Four sets of eyes stared at me. â€Å"What?† I demanded. â€Å"What's wrong?† â€Å"You are,† said Hugh. â€Å"You're a glutton for punishment.† Cody smiled. â€Å"Not to mention totally love struck. Listen to yourself.† â€Å"She's not in love with him,† said Peter. â€Å"She's in love with his books.† â€Å"No I'm – † The words died on my lips, mainly because I wasn't sure what I wanted to argue. I didn't want them to think I only loved the books, but I wasn't entirely sure I loved Seth yet either. Our relationship had blossomed with remarkable speed, but sometimes, I worried what I actually loved was the idea of him loving me. â€Å"I can't believe you guys are still doing the sexless-dating thing,† continued Hugh. My temper flared. I'd already taken this from Jerome; I didn't need to hear it here too. â€Å"Look, I don't want to talk about this if you guys are just going to nag me, okay? I'm tired of everyone telling me how crazy it is.† Peter shrugged. â€Å"I don't know. It's not that crazy. You always hear about these married couples who never have sex anymore. They survive. This would be almost the same thing.† â€Å"Not with our girl.† Hugh shook his head. â€Å"Look at her. Who wouldn't want to have sex with her?† They all looked again, making me squirm. â€Å"Hey,† I protested, feeling the need to clear up a point. â€Å"That's not the problem. He wants to, okay? He's just not going to. There's a difference.† â€Å"Sorry,† said Hugh. â€Å"I'm just not buying it. He can't be with you in the clothes you wear and not crack. Even if he could, no guy could handle his woman seeing as much action as you do.† It was a well-worn point in my mind, the same Jerome had made, the one that worried me more than our ability to keep our hands off each other. One of my greatest nightmares involved having a conversation akin to: Sorry, Seth. I can't go out tonight. I have to go work this married guy I met, so I can get him to sleep with me, thus leading him further and further down the road to damnation while I suck away part of his life. Maybe when I'm done, you and I can catch a late movie. â€Å"I don't want to talk about this,† I repeated. â€Å"We're doing just fine. End of story.† Silence fell, save for the sound of cards and money hitting the table. Glancing around, I saw Carter watching me levelly. Only he had stayed out of the Seth bashing. This didn't surprise me. The angel usually just listened until he could interject some sarcastic or esoteric quip. This used to infuriate me, but recent events had changed my attitude toward him. I still didn't fully understand him or know if I could trust him, but I had come to respect him. Troubled by the scrutiny, I glanced back down and discovered I finally had a respectable hand after several rounds of shit. Three of a kind. Not the greatest but passable. I raised high, wanting to get the others out before more cards came into play and made my hand less passable. My strategy worked on the vampires. The next card fell. Seven of spades. Hugh scowled and folded when I raised again. I waited for Carter to drop out as well, but instead, he reraised further. I hesitated only a moment before calling. As the last card was about to play, I puzzled over what the angel might have and whether I could beat it. A pair? Two pair? Ah. The last card came out. Another spade. There was now a strong possibility he had a flush. That would beat me. Still hoping I could bluff him out, I raised even more. He reraised me again, more than doubling my initial bet. That was a lot of money to add, especially considering what I'd already put in. Centuries of investments kept me pretty comfortable, but that didn't mean I had to be stupid. What did he have? It had to be the flush. Balking, I folded. With a pleased grin, he swept in the massive pot. When he tossed his hand over to the discard pile, the cards' edges caught, making them flip over. Two of diamonds. Eight of clubs. â€Å"You†¦you bluffed!† I cried. â€Å"You had nothing!† Carter wordlessly lit a cigarette. I looked to the others for confirmation. â€Å"He can't do that.† â€Å"Hell, I've been doing it for half this game,† said Hugh, borrowing Carter's lighter. â€Å"Not that it's done me any good.† â€Å"Yeah†¦but†¦he's, you know. An angel. They can't lie.† â€Å"He didn't lie. He bluffed.† Cody considered, twisting a piece of his blond hair around one finger. â€Å"Yeah, but bluffing is still dishonest.† â€Å"It's implied lying,† said Peter. Hugh stared at him. â€Å"‘Implied lying?' What the fuck does that mean?† I watched Carter stack his money and made a face at him. You'd think an angel who hung around with employees of evil would be a good influence, but at times, he seemed worse than we were. â€Å"Enjoy your thirty pieces of silver, Judas.† He gave me a mock hat tip while the others argued on. Suddenly, like a row of dominoes, conversation steadily dropped. Carter felt it first, of course, but he merely arched an eyebrow, as indifferent as ever. Then came the vampires with their heightened reflexes and sensitivity. They exchanged glances and looked toward the door. Finally, seconds later, Hugh and I sensed it as well. â€Å"What is that?† Cody frowned, staring across the room. â€Å"It's sort of like Georgina but not.† Hugh followed the young vampire's gaze, face mildly speculative. â€Å"Incubus.† I had already known that, of course. The signatures we all carried differed by creature. Vampires felt different from imps, just as imps felt different from succubi. If one knew an immortal well enough, one could also pick up on an individual's unique attributes. I was the only succubus who inspired sensations of silk and tuberose perfume. In a room full of vampires, I would have been able to quickly determine if Cody or Peter were present. Likewise, I immediately knew there was an incubus approaching Peter's door, and I knew exactly which incubus it was. I would have known his signature anywhere, even after all this time. The fleeting feel of velvet on the skin. A whispered scent of rum, almond, and cinnamon. Not even realizing I'd gotten up, I flung the door open, staring with delight at the same fox-faced features and mischievous eyes I'd last seen over a century ago. â€Å"Hello, ma Fleur ,† he said.