Page 12 of Toadstools and Vampire Kisses

I glance up at Reynard as I hold the bottle at the unconscious male’s lips. “I’m going to pour this down his throat but then you’ll have to act fast with whatever you are going to do. I’ll mix and bind the poultice on his jaw as quickly as I can while he’s still partially sedated.”

“Agreed,” he replies, easing down at Jack’s side.

I take a deep breath and release it.It’s just mending a vampire. You’ve done this hundreds of times for humans. This is no different.“Okay, here we go.”

Tipping his head back, I work the mouth of the potion bottle between his lips and pour. I’m actually glad that he’s not breathing because otherwise I would be terrified of drowning him as quickly as I’m dumping this down his throat. The moment the last drops drain into Jack’s mouth, Reynard presses the heel of his hand against his cousin’s diaphragm. I can feel the focused wave of power. A sharp whine escapes Jack as some residual air escapes his body, and then suddenly he breathes deep and coughs. Golden brown eyelashes flutter and then he’s looking at me, his amber-brown eyes confused and so murderous in their intensity that I immediately take a step back.

“Easy, Jack,” Reynard murmurs. “I’m afraid I got a little over exuberant, but Fran has fixed you right up.”

Jack’s eyes dart back and forth between us as an awareness dawns in their depths. His mouth stretches in a painful grimace of a smile, and he groans. “Damn, Reynard,” he rasps, “if you wanted to visit the witch, you could have just said so.”

I stifle a laugh with the back of my hand as I move away and begin to prepare the poultice.

“Fuck, my face hurts,” he grumbles, his words slurred with pain, a swollen jaw, and the sedative that I know his body is burning through rapidly.

“Hopefully, you will keep that in mind the next time you decide to let your mouth run without your good sense,” Reynard replies coolly.

Although I’m curious as to what argument prompted all of this, I bite my tongue as I finish mixing the final ingredients and bring the poultice over to the bed with a roll of bandaging tape and cotton. I peer down at him as I scoop a cool handful of the goop up with my fingers.

“I’m guessing vampires enjoy accelerated healing,” I posit, raising a brow at him.

Jack squints up at me, his eyes still foggy from the elixir, and mumbles in agreement. It is Reynard, however, who provides me with a real answer.

“We do, but broken bones take a few days to mend,” he admitted with a wry twist of his lips directed toward his cousin’s affronted glare.

“Excellent,” I reply, slathering the handful of the poultice over Jack’s skin. The vampire makes a pitiful sound of pain and disgust in the back of his throat, but I ignore it as I apply the poultice onto one side of his face and then bind it. Straightening, I meet my patient’s glower. “With that poultice, you should be okay within a few hours. Check it for tenderness, and when there’s no longer any pain when pressure is applied you can remove the bandage and wash the poultice off, but not before then.”

“Great,” he mumbles, his words barely audible with the restrictions of the bandage, but when Reynard helps him stand, I do catch a murmur of thanks before they head toward the door.

“Get some rest!” I call after them, scooping Beast up to prevent the little monster from chasing them out. I grin when Jack raises a trembling hand in acknowledgement as they exit and close the door quietly after them.

Reynard’s eyes warming me with silent thanks leaves a giddy feeling in me as I set Beast back on the floor, strip off my robe, and hop back into bed. I shake my head as I drop down onto my pillow with a yawn. A tiny bouncing sensation alerts me to Beast’s presence as he jumps up on my bed beside me. I open an eye and watch him get settled against my belly and smile. It won’t last long before he abandons me for his own bed again once I start moving around in my sleep, but I’ll take the pup cuddles while I can get them.

It seems that with vampires in attendance, it is going to be a strange Witch’s Ball this year. Chuckling quietly to myself, I snuggle down into my blanket, rubbing my cheek on my lavender scented pillow.

ChapterNine

FRAN

“Is this seat taken?”

I look up—and up—from my pancakes, my cheeks bulging with pan-fried goodness to meet the gold eyes of my mother’s dragon stalker standing over me. We hadn’t had the opportunity to be introduced yesterday before things got into a full swing. Even then, I only saw him from a distance last night as he watched over the party, and my mother, with a proprietary expression on his face that has roused a million questions in my mind. Still, I’m a little surprised that he has made a point of hunting me out.

Whatever his relationship is to my mother, it’s clear that he takes his position here very seriously. Chewing, I gesture at the seat across from me as I hand off a piece of bacon to Beast at my feet, and he promptly sits down, a steaming mug of coffee in his hand.

He eyes me, and I return his regard as we sit in a silent stalemate.

“You are up late. Breakfast is nearly over.”

It’s not a question, so I continue eating. He’s right, though. After my early morning visit with Reynard and Jack, I tossed and turned restlessly, unable to sleep for a couple of hours, which is why I’m packing my cheeks with the remnants of brunch.

“You are Fran, Katherine’s daughter.”

Again, not a question. I raise my eyebrows, wondering what exactly he wants. Mother was pretty clear that they are not on intimate terms so I can’t imagine why he has even approached me. His slight accent is interesting though, so I simply wait for him to say whatever he has to say and be on his way.

He runs a big hand through his hair, making the red locks stand on end. He mutters what I suspect is a curse in a foreign language. Grunting, he meets my eyes deadpan.

“I’ll cut to the chase. I’m no good with this, but I care about what goes on around here. I was making my rounds early this morning and saw a pair of vampires coming out of your room.” Frustration darkens his face at my continued silence as I chew, his bright emerald eyes boring into mine. “Well, don’t you have anything to say about it?”

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