Read VA 2 - Blood Jewel for Free Online Page B

don’t you
think?”
    She was right as usual. I escorted
her to her seat before pushing it under her as she sat. I took my
seat next to her and looked at the food and drinks on the table.
Sebastian had Chansey’s dinner catered from one of New Orleans
finest restaurants, while the more popular meal at the table was
placed in opaque goblets so Chansey wasn’t forced to look at the
blood through a clear glass.
    “Chansey, I took the liberty of
having a variety of meals delivered for you during your stay. I
hope you enjoy Creole food. It was my favorite when I was human,”
Sebastian said.
    “Thank you, Sebastian. That’s very
kind of you and I am very fond of Creole food. If my nose doesn’t
fail me, I believe I smell gumbo, which is my favorite.”
    “Wonderful. Since everyone is
here, let us give thanks.”
    Chansey eyed me curiously and I
cued her to bow her head as Sebastian said, “We, the Coven of
Landra, give our humblest gratitude in recognition of the Blood
Swan, Allison, for her selfless gift of sustenance.” With the
exception of Chansey, everyone said together, “Thank you, Allison,
for your gift of The Life, which sustains our existence and gives
us strength to do the needed tasks before us.”
    Sebastian was seated following the
Sacrament of Thanksgiving and Chansey laughed as she said, “I
wasn’t expecting to hear a blessing over the blood. Do vampires say
grace before they sink their teeth into a victim?”
    Her comment earned several laughs
from around the table and Sebastian answered, “No. It’s just our
way. We are quite different from others, as you will
learn.”
    Chansey stirred her gumbo and rice
with her spoon and then took her first bite. “It’s really good,
Curry. You should try it.”
    I looked around the table at
everyone staring at us and knew they thought Chansey was kidding.
With the exception of Sebastian, they didn’t know that my tolerance
and desire for food was growing and when I saw the smug look on
Solomon’s face, I knew that I could not pass up the opportunity to
shock them.
    “I’ll try it since you think I
should,” I said and then leaned over for Chansey to spoon a sample
into my mouth. Silence invaded the room and I made a show of how
delicious the bite of gumbo was before I said, “I’ll be right
back.”
    I went into the kitchen to get one
of the newly purchased bowls and then returned to the dining room
and spooned a portion of gumbo and rice into it. “You guys should
try this. It’s really good.”
    I pretended to not notice my
family’s stares as I ate and Solomon finally said, “What the hell
is going on here? How are you doing that?”
    “What? This?” I asked as I
dramatically shoved another bite into my mouth and moaned at how
good it was.
    “You’ve had your fun, Curry,”
Sebastian laughed.
    “That was not cool,” Sol
said.
    “I thought it was pretty great
myself. It’s not often that I get to yank your chain. I wish you
could have seen your face,” I laughed.
    “Jackass,” Sol said under his
breath as he shook his head.
    “Okay, I’m going to interrupt the
two of you before this gets out of hand because I have a question,”
Chansey interrupted “What does the Coven of Landra
mean?”
    “A Landra is an experienced
vampire that takes responsibility for a fledgeling, which is a
newly turned vampire. In the beginning, we were ridiculed by others
of our kind for what we did. They mockingly called us the Coven of
Landra, but we liked the name, so we kept it since it’s what we do.
We are now known by all in the world of vampires and those who once
mocked us have needed and used our services at some
point.”
    “Will Curry be my Landra?” Chansey
asked so knowingly.
    Sebastian looked to me, searching
my eyes for a clue on how to answer her. I answered him in a tone
too low for Chansey to hear, “It’s better to pacify her with an
answer rather than start an argument, so tell her it will be me.”
My words fell upon every ear,