| Chapter 39
Howie fidgeted in the car. He tried to prepare himself, but how does one prepare themselves to meet a centuries old vampire? He glanced out the window at the passing scenery, trying unsuccessfully to take his mind off it for even a moment. Jennifer glanced over, reached out and took his hand in hers, �I�ll protect you, don�t worry.� She half smiled, almost as if she was trying to convince herself more than him. He sighed, �Jen, if something goes wrong, if we get discovered, you have to promise me that you�ll get Nick and Brian out. Don�t .. don�t worry about me.� She shook her head and took her eyes off the road, �Absolutely not. It�s all of us, or none of us. I won�t leave you behind to face that demon alone.� He squeezed her hand, as her attention fell back on the road ahead of her, �I figured you�d say something like that.� She smiled, �Hey, it took me over a hundred years to find you. I�m not letting you go without a fight.� Howie chuckled, the reassurance in those words sending a smile to his lips. Jennifer turned a corner, taking a deep breath. �Alright, we�re almost there. You remember how Brian was when he was first bitten?� He nodded. �Act like that. It�s a confusing, scary time. Take your fear of getting caught and use it,� she advised. �That should be easy to do, I�m scared to death,� he replied. Jennifer glanced at him, �Just guard your thoughts. Raven isn�t the only one that can tap into your mind, hear what you�re thinking. Be aware of your surroundings, and ever conscious of what�s going through your mind.� He nodded, �I will.� She pulled up a long winding drive. Reaching the house she found a parking spot and shut the engine off. �This is it,� she said, looking at the massive house in front of them. Howie stared at it, his heart beating so hard he thought it would jump out of his chest. �Just one more thing to do,� Jennifer said, raising her wrist to her mouth. She bit into it, as Howie watched. Licking the bite marks, she grabbed her bag from the back seat. �Ready?� she asked. Howie took a deep breath, and nodded, �Let�s get this over with,� he said, opening the car door and stepping out. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kevin lay in bed, a million thoughts going through his aching head. He had finally convinced A.J. to go get cleaned up and rest a little. The guy looked like death. Kevin chuckled to himself, shaking his head. �No, I�ve seen death, he did look better than that,� he muttered to himself. �You need anything?� Tracy asked, walking over to the bed. Kevin glared at her, having forgotten she was even still in the room. �No,� he said sharply. Tracy sighed, sitting down on the corner of the bed, �I think we need to get something straight.� Kevin tried to move away from her, but the pain in his shoulder kept him in place. Tracy shook her head, clearly frustrated with his behavior. �After all that�s happened, you still believe I would hurt you?� she asked. �You�re a vampire,� he answered. She raised her eyebrows, �And?� He stared at her. �Just because I�m a vampire, that makes me a monster?� she asked, trying very hard to keep the anger from her voice. Kevin looked down at the blanket, suddenly finding it very interesting. �What of your cousin? Is he a monster now too?� she asked. He looked up at her, �Brian would never ....� �And neither would a lot of other vampires,� Tracy interrupted, �What you must understand, slayer, is that being a vampire doesn�t change who you where. Brian is still the same person he was. He�s still your cousin, he�s still your friend, and he would still do anything to keep you from harm. He loves you, you�re family.� �Why didn�t he come to me then?� he asked, the hurt in his voice cutting through the room like a well sharpened knife. �Put yourself in his shoes. This awful thing happens to you, a thing, which by the way, he never asked for, and then he finds out that his cousin ... the man he loves and looks to for advice, is a slayer. He was afraid Kevin, wouldn�t you be?� she asked. He sighed, biting his lower lip, �Yeah I would. I�d be terrified.� �Exactly,� Tracy said. Kevin stared at her for a long moment, �You�ve been helping him from the start?� She shrugged, �I was called in to help him.� �Called in? By who?� Kevin asked. She smiled, �The Watchers, who else?� Now Kevin was completely confused, �But they�re not suppose to get involved.� �Key word there is not suppose to,� she grinned, �Do you actually think that Howie was just gonna stand back and watch this one play out on it�s own?� Kevin shook his head, then regretted it, �No. I just ... I can�t believe he�s been a watcher all these years and he never told me.� �Why would he? He wasn�t sure you where even a slayer,� she reminded him. �Now, I understand your dislike of me and my children, but under the circumstances, we need to work together. We have to trust each other, or we�ll never get Brian and Nick back,� she said, standing up and smoothing down her pants, �So, what do ya say, slayer? Truce?� Kevin stared into her deep brown eyes. What he found there surprised him. Kindness, a willingness to push what they were aside to get what they wanted. �You love him?� he asked out of the blue, and Tracy found herself blushing. She nodded, �I do, with every part of my soul.� A slow smile crept across Kevin�s face. He stuck his hand out and took hers, �Truce.� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Howie�s knees were knocking as he climbed the stairs to the front door of the house. Jennifer squeezed his hand, glancing over, �It�ll be alright.� He nodded as the door swung open, and a very large man scooped Jennifer up in a hug. �Welcome home, my child,� Josiah said. Jennifer smiled, �Good to see you Jo. This is Howie.� Josiah looked over at Howie, �Ahh the watcher.� He leaned down and took Howie�s chin in his large hand, raising it slightly, seeing the marks. Jennifer held her wrist out for him to inspect, �Just as the Mistress asked.� Josiah nodded his approval, �Well done Jen. She will be pleased.� Howie stood watching the interaction between the two. He saw the love between them, the love that a sire has for his child. It was ever apparent in Josiah�s eyes and his body language. The only thing he could compare it to was how his father looked at him when he�d done something right. They say the bonds of family run deep, and seeing them, Howie knew it to be true. �Come, the Mistress wishes to see you,� Josiah said, bidding them into the house. Jennifer took Howie�s hand and led the way. Howie craned his neck this way and that, trying to see everything as he was led through the house. Jennifer smiled over at him, �There will be time for exploring later. We don�t need to keep her waiting.� The look in her eyes told him that would be a very bad thing to do, so he stepped up, leaving the sights for later. Josiah walked ahead of them, and opened the massive double doors that led into a huge library of sorts. Howie felt his heart jump into his throat as Raven came into view at the other end of the room. She had several attendants around her, catering to her every wish. As they crossed the room, he found himself stumbling over his own feet. Raven paid them no mind until Josiah stood before her, �My lady, they have arrived.� Howie looked down at his feet as the woman turned to them, �Ahh, so you have done as I asked.� Jennifer nodded, �Yes my lady.� Raven stood and glided forward to stand in front of Howie. She took his chin in her hands and raised his head, catching his eyes with hers. Howie blinked, finding himself lost in a crystal blue sea. Raven smiled at him, �You will do nicely.� Howie swallowed hard, �Tha .. Thank you, my lady,� he managed. Raven turned to Jennifer, �If I�d known he was so cute, I�d have taken him for my own.� Jennifer fought the anger and rage from herself, not saying a word, she stared at the ground. Raven studied Jennifer for a moment, before turning back to Howie, �So, watcher, how do you like this side of things?� �It�s different,� he answered, not sure what she was looking for. Raven laughed, the sound sending chills down his back, �Different, ha! Take him to his room and see to it that he is properly attired. Then send him to the kitchen.� �Yes, my lady,� Jennifer said, bowing. Howie bowed too, then Jennifer led him out of the room and towards the hall. Howie took a deep breath as they walked, trying to calm his nerves. Jennifer smiled, �She�s in a good mood.� Howie looked at her, �That was a good mood? The look she gave me .. It was like she was searching my soul. If that�s a good mood, I sure don�t wanna see a bad one.� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Frank walked into Tracy�s study. �They called, they�re in,� he reported. Tracy nodded. �Now what?� A.J. asked. She looked at him with compassion and hope in her eyes, �Now we wait,� she replied. A.J. sighed, looking down at his hands, �That was something I never could do very well. Never had the patience for it.� She smiled, �If it�s any consolation, neither do I.� He looked at her and smiled, �Thanks, at least I know it doesn�t get any better, no matter how long you�ve had to practice.� |