Page 72 of Night of the Vampire
That fact didn't appear to sway her in the least. I watched Wiggles greet an old, gray cat. It stared at me with its owlish eyes for a moment before it hissed and went to curl its body around Judy's legs.
I had the urge to hiss back, but managed to control myself. Leaning against the counter closest to the door, I crossed my arms and ankles and waited. Lizzy wouldn't tell me what she'd dragged me over here for, but if there was any chance at all it would help Kenya, I would do whatever I needed to do.
Lizzy pulled out a chair and sat at the small kitchen table, waiting until her aunt did the same before she started talking. "Aunt Jude, we need your help."
Immediately, Judy shook her head. "We can't get involved Lizzy, I already told Killian this earlier."
"And I relayed that information," I told her. "But she seems to think otherwise."
Judy pegged me with her blue eyes. "I find it hard to believe you didn't put her up to this."
"No, Aunt Jude, he didn't." When she had her aunt's attention again, she continued, "This was my idea. Killian told me what you said to him at the club earlier."
"Then why did you bring him here?" Her tone was casual, but I could sense the anger beneath it, and it was all I could do not to step between them to protect my mate.
Threatening Judy in her home would not bode well for me and my vampires. And I doubted she would hurt her own niece. The high priestess was many things, but she sincerely cared about her family.
"I made Killian bring me here because I wanted to ask you, myself, if there was any one of you who could help Kenya."
Judy immediately shook her head.
"Aunt Jude...please." Lizzy paused. "I take it from Killian's earlier comment you know what's happened between us."
"I do," her aunt told her. "But that doesn't mean I have to accept it."
I gave a derisive laugh. "It doesn't matter if you accept it or not. Lizzy is mine. And nothing can change that now."
"There is one thing," she told me.
Yes. She was right. There was one thing. "I don't know if killing me in front of your niece will help you win her affections."
"Oh, my God. Stop it!" Lizzy slammed her hands on the table, rattling the rooster shaped salt and pepper shakers in the middle. Interestingly enough, they didn't stop rattling for quite a time. Not until Lizzy had taken some deep breaths and calmed herself down.
Judy made no comment, but I did notice her eyes flick down to the shakers and then back at her niece. She frowned in thought.
"Aunt Jude, you can't kill Killian until I can make a decision about how I feel about him and this whole"—she waved her hands in the air—"fated thing." She dropped her arms back down to the table, then immediately raised one again and pointed a finger at Judy. "But right now I can say that he's right, I would not forgive you if you harmed him."
Her aunt leaned back in her chair, tapping the fingers of one hand on the table as she took her measure for long moments. "I'll try to control myself. But only if you agree to visit your family more often."
The casual request fooled no one. Judy was making Lizzy a deal: She wouldn't kill me, and in return, Lizzy had to agree to join her in her coven.
"Can we please discuss our family issues another time?" Lizzy asked her.
"Actually, I think this is the perfect time," Judy told her. "You want our help? Fine. But in return, I want you to come back into this family the way you always should have been here."
"Why are you doing this?" Lizzy asked her. "You think forcing me into something I don't want is the way to go here?"
"It seems to have worked for him."
I'd been silent long enough. "I have as much control over what happened between myself and Lizzy as you do, and you know it. Don't try to guilt trip her over something neither one of us had any choice about."
"And how, exactly, did you find out my Lizzy was your 'mate'?" Shifting in her chair, she laced her fingers together on the table top. "That requires you tasting her blood, am I right?"
"You are," I told her. But that's all I would give her. I was treading on very dangerous ground here. I should have kept my damn mouth shut. If she found out what I had done...
"It was completely by accident," Lizzy told her. "And that's all you need to know."
Judy's mouth tightened and she looked away.
