Page 57 of Love Bites
"That's because you don't know enough," Puck replied smugly.
"What will I have to do for you to enlighten me?" Talon almost found himself wishing he'd ordered a juiced up Bloody Mary to go along with this talk. Instead he'd opted for a subtle red wine, which was code for type O blood, a choice he was coming to regret. Most nights, he enjoyed the understated taste of type O, but he could have used something with a little more kick for this negotiation.
"Three vials of vampire blood. I don't care if it's yours or some other vampire’s."
"You said one vial would be enough."
"That was when we were talking about dhampire blood, now the terms have changed."
"What are you going to be doing with that blood?"
"Don't worry, I'm not going to use it against you," Puck said with a smile that was far too sweet to be real. It got the point across, though. Puck didn't want to share his plans with Talon, and why would he?
"I need you to guarantee me that you won't use my blood to gain control over me."
Puck kept smiling. "And how would I do that? I suppose we could each sign a magical contract, but I'd rather not leave a paper trail of this transaction." His tone turned somber again. "I assume we're on the same page there."
"That we are," Talon agreed. The less evidence there was of this talk ever having taken place, the better.
"I'm experimenting with the creation of new spells," Puck supplied. "Vampire blood has some interesting magical qualities. Think about it. It has to be powerful to animate someone who should, by all rights, be dead. It's hard to come by, though, what with the Paranormal Peace Treaty and all." Puck sighed. "People have become so sensitive about using other races' blood for spells."
"That must be hard for you," Talon said dryly.
"It is," Puck agreed a little too emphatically. "In any case, that is why your blood interests me. Nothing nefarious about it, just scientific curiosity."
"I suppose we'll have to trust each other on this," Talon said. "Which is why you're not getting my blood until you've told me what I need to know."
Puck grimaced. "I guess that's only fair." He took a sip of his water. "You drive a hard bargain. What exactly is it that you need to know?"
"You can start by explaining what you meant earlier."
"Fair enough." Puck set his glass down again. "You're not wrong when you say that a spell was used in creating them, but no ordinary spell could have made a witch, amalewitch at that, conceive a child from a vampire. Atlus was a genius, really, no other way to say it." A hint of admiration entered Puck's voice as he spoke of 'Atlus.' Talon could only assume that this was the name of the witch in the story. "Can you believe he was ostracized from the witching community after successfully casting one ofthemost complex spells in the history of all witchdom? That's the kind of small-minded people I have to deal with." Obviously, Puck saw some relation between this genius witch of old and himself.
Maybe the other vampires had been right after all, when they said that witches all suffered illusions of grandeur. This one certainly did.
"Fortunately for you, I'm not like the other witches," Puck continued. "I've dedicated my life to the study of powerful magic and I've figured out how Atlus's spell worked." He smiled. "Want to guess what the main ingredient was? It's so simple it's brilliant."
Since Talon knew absolutely nothing about how spells worked, he shook his head. "Was some sort of blood involved?" he ventured.
"Typical vampire." Puck scoffed. "Of course you'd think blood was involved. I don't understand why Atlus fell for one of your kind, but the fact is that he did. His spell wouldn't have worked if he hadn't. Sometimes I wonder if that's the real reason his fellow witches got mad at him. For most of them, the spell would have been impossible to recreate." Puck shoved his glasses up his nose with one finger and smiled. "You see, the source of that spell was the greatest magic of all—true love."
"Love?"
"True love," Puck corrected. "Love in its purest, most powerful form. People say it can move mountains. In this case, it needed to do far less than that. Can you see the brilliance of it? I haven't been able to figure out how exactly Atlus concentrated his love to pour into the spell, but it obviously worked. He changed his body and bore children. Children infused with the magic he used to be able to bear them. They are products of true love, in the most literal sense of the word. The runes that mark their bodies are nothing more than physical manifestations of the magic still running through their veins. They all formed part of the original spell's incantation. This goes to prove that the spell is still in effect, even centuries later. Truly, a love that won't die." Puck sounded endlessly fascinated with this. Talon could tell he wasn't making shit up to fool him. Whether his information was correct or not, Puck believed in it, and Talon had no reason to doubt him.
"I already knew that they have magic."
"Not just any magic," Puck said. "The most powerful magic in the world. Sadly, it lies dormant these days. It's been generations since an awakened dhampire has been recorded. Their blood might be too diluted by now. One of the reasons I'd love to study it and find out if—"
"Not happening." Talon stayed firm.
"I know, I know." Puck grinned. "Do you understand now what I meant when I said you were under his spell?"
"I doubt that he is casting any kind of magic on me."
"Love in itself is a form of magic." There was that smug smile again. "You'd do anything for him, wouldn't you? It's not rational, and yet..." Puck trailed off, studying the rings on his fingers again. "Once you're drawn to someone with the mark, there's no easy escape. People have done ridiculous things to protect Atlus's offspring."
"And yet most of his line has been eradicated."
