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.And for not getting involved when you didn’t have to.”“Hey, I know what it’s like to want to prove yourself.I tried that when I found my dad a couple of years ago.”“I didn’t know you were looking for him.” For that matter, I didn’t know much at all about the circumstances around his parents’ divorce.Mom and Aunt Sherry had always been tight-lipped about it, so I had assumed it was one of those painful situations best left alone.Aunt Sherry didn’t come around much, anyway.Like Belinda, she was a gifted herbalist, so she spent most of her time with her gardens and greenhouses in Arkansas.She might have lived closer, but Belinda’s claim as the community herbalist was absolute, and Aunt Sherry is non-confrontational to an extreme.“Yeah, well, take my word for it,” Jason said.“Don’t bother trying to prove yourself to anyone.”He was probably right, but I wasn’t quite ready to hear it.“Anyway, I wanted to tell you to be careful.There’s almost never one vamp in town.I’m going to hang around for a few days, try to track the line to its source.”“How do you do that?” I asked.Jason smiled.“Good old fashioned detective work.Know anyone who could help me? I can’t afford to pay except in adventure.”I’d had plenty of adventure in the last forty-eight hours, but I couldn’t bear the idea of not finishing what I started.Besides, Jason was cool.He was easy to want to be around.“I don’t need any money,” I said.“Mom and Dad turn lead into gold for a living.”“Yeah, they send me money sometimes.I’m not sure they understand how much things cost, though.”Truthfully, neither did I.“Do you need more?”“Nah.” Jason shuffled his feet a bit.“Look, why don’t we find a place to talk? I have a lot of questions for you, and I’d rather ask them someplace I can have some of your mom’s homemade candies and wine.”“No one will be in the library at this hour.”“Great, I’ll catch you there in a few minutes.” He started to head down the stairs, suddenly stopped, and turned back to me.“Wait, are you old enough for wine?”I blinked.Technically, I had only been legal to drink alcohol for a couple of weeks, but my parents served us their homemade wines as early as twelve.I guess it’s just one more way that the magical families in the area consider themselves above the law.“Um, yeah, I’d love a glass of wine.”“Back in a flash,” Jason said.I wandered into the library, while he headed down the stairs.There were only smoldering coals in the fireplace, so I added a few logs and kicked it up a bit.The flames were dancing by the time Jason returned with the wine and chocolates.“I don’t know where your mom learned to cook,” Jason said, “but she could teach mine a thing or two.I grew up on fast food and microwaves.” He poured a glass of wine and handed it to me.I swirled it a bit, and took a sip, but it didn’t taste right.It was sweeter than usual, and had a hint of something I couldn’t identify–peppermint? “Did you put something in this?”“Just something to help you relax.Most people don’t like to relive vampire attacks.This makes it easier.”“You slipped me a sedative?” I put the glass down on an end table.I couldn’t believe it, not from Jason.He’d seemed to think I was okay, or had that all been an act? “That’s not cool.”“Not a sedative, exactly,” Jason said, not looking at me.“It’ll help you remember without making you relive it.It actually helps prevent post traumatic stress.”I shook my head and scowled at him.Just what I needed, another relative thinking I needed protection from myself.“Thanks, but I don’t need it.”“You need it,” Jason insisted.“I’ve been in this business longer than you.It’s got nothing to do with you, and it doesn’t mean you’re weak.You’re human, and anyone who went through that would be in danger of having post traumatic stress.” Jason held up his glass.“Which is why I take the potion every time I fight a vamp.”“Oh [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]