Page 13 of Night of the Vampire
The kettle whistled, pulling me from my thoughts. I poured the water over the tea bag and took it to Kenya. "A little bit of Irish whiskey would work a lot better," I muttered to myself right before I opened her door. It was a lie. It didn't really matter, since alcohol didn't really affect us. But it sure felt good going down.
"Someone else can make that for me, you know," she told me when I brought it in to her.
"Well, as I'm the only one here, you're stuck with me."
I helped her to sit up and found her glasses. Strangely enough, her eyesight hadn't improved when she was turned, and that fact was a thorn constantly digging in her side. "You are the master vampire of this coven," she reminded me. "Aren't there other things that need your attention besides taking care of me?"
"Oh, probably," I admitted. "But I'm happy to do it." Her hands were shaking so badly I had to help her take a sip.
She eyed me over the top of the cup. "I heard you fighting with Jamal again."
"I wasn't fighting. He was fighting."
"You know," she paused to take another sip before indicating I could put the cup on the nightstand. "Maybe you should consider letting him go, Killian. ‘If you love it, set it free...' and all that."
With a sharp shake of my head, I cut her off as I set the cup down. "No, I won't be doing that." The burden of that decision weighed on me, but it was the only one I could make.
"Why are you so insistent?" she asked. "He doesn't want to be here with us. So, why make him stay?"
"Because he's mine," I told her. "Just as you are mine."
"And the rest of the coven? Elias. Dae. Brogan. Are they 'yours', too? You created them, and yet you've let them come and go as they please."
"It's not the same," I told her. "And Jamal has no issue with you or the others. His grudge is with me."
Her expression, though tired, became thoughtful. "What about me? You wouldn't let me go off to live my own life?"
"You've never wanted to do that."
"This is true," she said after a pause. "I don't know how you'd keep a business going without me."
I grunted in agreement.
"What about your little witch? Is she going to be yours?"
I looked away so she wouldn't see the truth in my eyes. Because the thought had crossed my mind, more than once. "Would that be so bad?" I asked her. "Am I truly so horrible?" I didn't wait for her to answer. "We could have our own personal witch."
It was the first time I'd said the words aloud.
Her weary eyes grew wide. Magnified by her glasses, they overtook her face. "You're not serious."
"Oh, but I am," I told her. "You know, honestly, I've been going on about it in my head. Back and forth, back and forth, trying to decide how to get her to help us. But she's a stubborn one. And I have a good feeling she will never agree of her own accord. Then I thought, maybe I can just bring her here and introduce you. If she knew you as a person, maybe she'd be more inclined to help you. And then the idea came to me...why not? Why not just take her and make her come here. Once I told her what I could offer her, why wouldn't she agree?" I met Kenya's bemused expression. "I could give her immortal life."
"Why wouldn't she agree? How the hell can you even ask that, Killian? What woman in her right mind would want to come live with a bunch of vampires? Would choose to become one?"
"A witch," I emphasized. "Who is in danger from the other witches. We could protect her. And in return she could help us when things like this happen." I indicated Kenya lying in her sickbed.
"We don't know that for sure," she said. "Have you ever seen a turned witch?"
"No, but surely her magic would carry over with her. It may even grow stronger. Like Jamal's stubbornness."
"And if she tells you no?"
"I won't give her a choice." The more I thought about it, the more I felt this was right.
"Killian, you can't do that."
"Why not?"
