Page 11 of Love Heals
"Only speaking the truth." Aldrich gave a half-shrug.
"Be nice," Remy interjected, though it seemed only half of his attention was on the conversation.
"I'm always nice," Aldrich said. "I don't think it's nice to let Jared think there aren't a few screws loose with Nicolai's personal pet."
Jared wanted to argue with Aldrich, but found that he couldn't. Hadn't he made the same observation? There was definitely something wrong with Silas, he just didn't quite understand what. Not yet. So anything that Aldrich could tell him, he wanted to know. "Explain.”
Aldrich glanced at Remy, who was busy grinding pepper, then back at Jared. He hooked his thumb in the direction of the door. "Let's move this outside."
* * *
It was surprisingly warm outside, considering that the day was drawing to an end. A few stray leaves had blown into the yard and danced on the breeze in front of their faces as they stepped out. Jared looked around, even though there wasn't much to see. These days, he always expected something to jump out at him from somewhere. On second thought, maybe Remy wasn't the only one who was growing a little restless. Inhaling the evening air, Jared reminded himself that there was no vampire lurking behind the large oak tree. This house—and the yard—were still safe.
For how long, though?
He didn't have an answer to that, so he chose to focus on things hecouldget answers to. Turning to Aldrich he asked, "What's wrong with Silas?"
"What isn’t?” Aldrich shot back. “Seriously, though, his sire did a number on him. Nicolai was a fucking sadist. My sire was no saint either, but at least he wasn't that. Zenon was more the absent-parent sort of sire, which I greatly prefer, by the way. Sure, he expected us to do his bidding, but he didn't ask much more than that." Aldrich paused, his gaze traveling to the oak tree, much like Jared's had before. "Nicolai preferred his relationships a little more... personal than that. I don't know everything that went on behind closed doors, but you hear stories, you know? Vampires like to gossip as much as everyone else."
"What kind of stories?" Jared wasn't sure that he wanted to know, or rather, that he was prepared to hear it. His mind was already hard at work, though, coming up with all sorts of dark ideas for what might have happened. Ideas that made his blood run cold.
"What do you think?" Aldrich asked. "You've seen the way Silas looks."
"You mean Nicolai wanted him for his looks?"
"His looks and his body." Aldrich shook his head, as if he was just as disgusted with Nicolai as Jared was. "And his sex life wasn't exactly vanilla, if you get my meaning." He shot Jared a sideways glance, trying to gauge his reaction maybe, but Jared didn't knowhowto react. "Don't get me wrong," Aldrich added, "I don't care how anybody gets their rocks off. Hell knows I've done some pretty kinky shit myself. All consensual, though, you know? But Nicolai was Silas's sire, so even if he'd wanted to say no... which, actually he wouldn’t have. That’s where that whole brain-washing thing comes in."
"You have to explain."
Aldrich thought for a moment. "It's not easy to explain the connection between a vampire and his sire. If you don't nurture that connection, it's hardly there, but if you're a sick fuck like Nicolai? You can make your so-called child feel pretty much anything for you, you just have to invest the time."
If Jared had been disgusted by Nicolai before, it was nothing compared to the loathing he felt for the man now. His hands clenched into fists by his sides. He wanted to punch someone, or at least something. Like that oak tree. He’d only hurt himself, though.
Aldrich looked up into the sunset, shielding his eyes, an unusually pensive look on his face.
"Doesn't it hurt?" Jared asked.
Aldrich's gaze returned to him. "What?"
"The sun."
"Maybe if it was the midday sun, but it’s almost down." Aldrich gave him a shrug. "I’m not a freshling. Vampires are like wine. We only get better with age."
"How old are you?"
"That's a rude question," Aldrich said, even though his smile never faltered. "Do I look old to you?"
"I don't think vampires age, physically."
"You're right, we don't. But that's not what you wanted to talk about, is it?"
No, he'd just gotten distracted. Because he'dneededa distraction. It was too difficult to keep thinking of all the things Nicolai might have done to Silas, to the fierce, independent man he'd once known. The man he'd once failed. If Jared had gotten him off the streets, he might never have run into Nicolai in the first place. He might have stopped selling his body too.
Wishful thinking,Jared told himself. Dreaming of how he might have changed things in the past wasn't doing him any good.
"His connection with his sire should have broken with Nicolai's death," he made himself say to get back on topic.
"It's not always that easy," Aldrich said. "A loose connection can be broken that way, but you gotta understand that we're dead to begin with. Making us even more dead doesn't cause huge shockwaves or anything." He picked at his sleeve as if brushing off a piece of lint.
"Are you saying that he can't be saved?"
Aldrich paused, then said, "I'm saying that he's gotta be the one to save himself. All anyone else could do for him has already been done, but if he doesn't want to be his own vampire..." Aldrich shrugged once more. "Can't help people who don't wanna help themselves, if you get what I'm saying."
Jared did understand that. It was one of the things that had been drilled into his head over and over again in his line of work. Many of the people he met day by day refused his help. It had never really stopped him, though. No matter what anyone said, he always kept offering. It was who he was.
That wasn't going to change now.
