Page 14 of Love Heals
Chapter Six
After their talk, Aldrich and Jared headed back inside to help Remy set the table for dinner. Just as they had gotten the plates out of the cabinet, though, a crackling sound made them turn around. Puck had appeared in the middle of the room.
"Sorry," he said, even though he didn't sound the least bit sorry. "I didn't mean to interrupt anything."
"We were just about to eat," Remy pointed out. “Is this important? Should I get everyone else?"
"If you could." Puck pulled up a chair for himself at the dining room table and gestured for Aldrich and Jared to sit.
"You have news?" Jared asked.
"Something like that," Puck said vaguely, turning one of the rings on his fingers. "Let's wait for the others to arrive, shall we?" He looked up, a pleasant expression on his face that made Jared relax just a little bit. "How's the baby?" the witch asked.
"Nix is doing fine," Jared replied. At the thought of his nephew, he couldn't help but smile himself. He'd always had a soft spot for children, and Nix was especially cute, even if he was part vampire. "He's got both of his fangs in now."
"Excellent," Puck said. "I wonder if he will grow any more? Although I suppose it's unlikely. Still, it’s fun to ponder what other vampire qualities he might display as he grows older."
"I think we're all curious," Aldrich chimed in. "I bet his daddy twenty bucks that the little one will be stronger than him before his fifth birthday."
"I hope you're not too attached to that money," Talon said as he walked into the room, followed by Collin, who was holding the infant in question.
"That's okay, I can easily make that back. Besides, I'm not going to lose." Aldrich gave his former partner a grin, then sauntered over to Collin to bop the infant's nose. Nix reacted by opening his mouth wide and showing his teeth. Collin laughed.
"I think you've annoyed him," he said as if it was completely normal for his four-month old to be threatening a vampire with razor-sharp teeth. Jared supposed it might be normal in the world of the paranormal, though. The world which had become theirs now, for better or worse. His little brother would never be able to go back, none of them could.
Even if Jared were a completely regular human and he didn't have an oddly shaped birthmark on his ankle, he could never forget all the things he'd seen. Briefly, he wondered if this was what life had been like for his adoptive father. Vampires hadn’t ruled his life, but he’d known about them. And no one had believed him.
Jared decided to buy some fresh flowers for his Dad's grave this weekend. The man had more than deserved them.
While he was lost in his thoughts, Talon and Collin had sat at the table, and the rest of the family had started filling into the room. All except for Crimson, who Elena told him was with Silas.
Once they were all seated, Puck began to speak. "I know you may not want to hear this, but please, listen for a moment." He held a hand up as if any of them had made an attempt to interrupt him. No one was foolish enough to believe Puck could be stopped, though. If that witch wanted to make a grand speech, he would.
Jared never really knew what to make of Puck. Collin seemed to trust the guy, but honestly, that only made Jared more wary. If Collin was going to throw his luck in with witches and vampires, someone needed to keep a cool head and watch out for him and the rest of the family.
"I got a visit from a certain vampire earlier this morning," Puck started. "A vampire who has helped Luke on his mission to free Crimson. Now I'm well aware that some of you have your reservations about the man, but I believe that we are in a precarious situation that might necessitate forming alliances with peoples we might ordinarily try to avoid. Vlad could be a powerful ally if he decided to fight on our side. He wants to meet with you all, and I say we should hear him out."Puck looked at each of them in turn, almost as if challenging them to disagree with him.
"You think we should meet with Vlad?" Collin asked, as if to clarify.
"I'm against it," Jared spoke up before Puck could answer and wrap his younger brother around his finger. "I've met this vampire once, and I don't want to meet him again." There'd been something in the air that night. It was hard to explain, so Jared didn't try, but he knew there was somethingoffabout Vlad. Something unnatural. And not just because he was a vampire.
"He was kind of... creepy," Luke agreed. He wrapped his arms around himself in a gesture that seemed involuntary. "He's not a regular vampire."
"It isbecausehe's not a regular vampire that he would make a good ally," Puck argued.
"What does he have that I don't?" Aldrich asked. His tone was one of mock-offense, but his expression betrayed his interest.
"I don't know how old you are," Puck said, "but I assure you, he's older."
Aldrich tsked at that. "Age isn't everything."
"Maybe not," Puck said. "But you know your kind grows stronger with age. And thanks to a certain someone's bomb, this family has made a lot of enemies." Puck's eyes slid toward Luke, and immediately, Jared's hackles rose. Hadn't Luke been through enough?
"They were our enemies before the bomb," Jared said. "The marks on our bodies make us their targets."
"Maybe so, but they're really out for blood now," Puck said. "And you don't want to fight a vampire who's out for blood."
"He's right," Talon said. "We need to defend ourselves. The decree from the High Council isn't going to stop all of them."
