Cronin's Key II by N.R. Walker

held out his arm where a bandage held a cotton swab in place. “It took no time at all. And my physical was fine—”
    Cronin growled again. “I don’t think it prudent to be telling me of him touching you right now.”
    Alec kissed him with smiling lips. “It’s not like he gave me a prostate exam.” Cronin’s growl got louder, and Alec laughed. “You ready to go?”
    Cronin turned to Kole. “Again, I apologize. Thank you for being so understanding.”
    “No problem,” he replied. “Be sure to let me know whatever you find out. If I can be of any help, just let me know.”
    “Thanks, Dad. I’ll see you again soon,” Alec said. Then he slid his arm around Cronin’s waist. “Take me home and cook me breakfast.”
    Cronin smiled. “Your wish, my command.”
    * * * *
    Cronin had become quite adept at cooking omelets with ham and peppers. The texture was repulsive, the smell offensive, but Alec would moan with every mouthful, and that alone was worth it.
    As Alec finished his meal, Cronin told Eiji and Jodis about the visit with the doctor. “I’ve not experienced anything like it,” he said. “It was a jealousy and anger like I’ve not felt before.”
    Jodis darted out of the room only to come back in with one of the books we’d taken from Prague. She had it opened to a particular page. “I found this. Fifth century Romania there was a vampire who was unable to feed. Her face was badly disfigured in her human death, and her change to vampire somehow resulted in no fangs. The one who changed her took pity upon her and would gather the blood in a bowl for her to drink from. It worked for some time, then he decided it would be easier to keep a human and bleed them as needed.”
    “The vampire repeatedly fed from the same source,” Cronin concluded.
    Jodis nodded. “Yes.”
    “The ill effects?”
    “None,” Jodis said. “She lived for another hundred years.”
    Cronin was disappointed. He wanted answers. It would somehow be easier to learn this poor woman vampire had gone mad.
    “You want to know what I think?” Eiji asked. “I think you’re reading too much into it. Your behavior today toward that doctor was understandable, Cronin. Alec’s your mate. Believe me, if someone tried to take anything from my Jodis, I would want to kill them too.”
    “It was the taking of his blood that bothered me,” Cronin added.
    “Even more reason to be possessive,” Eiji said simply. “Vampires are territorial over a human they’re feeding from, let alone one they’re fated to.”
    Cronin didn’t particularly care for Eiji’s phrasing, but he understood the sentiment. “So this is normal?”
    “There is no normal in this scenario,” Eiji said with a smile. “Just what’s understandable or not surprising, at the very least. Cronin, Alec’s blood is different. It’s special. We know that. There’s been no other blood like it that we know of or, if there was, that human wasn’t a key to the vampire world. The fact that he is both is unsurpassed, or maybe his special blood is the very reason he is the key. Cronin, we have no way of knowing. But I think Jodis is right. As long as you stop drinking it, you’ll be fine.”
    “I do not wish to stop drinking it,” Cronin admitted quietly. He looked at his two dearest friends and lowered his voice so there was no way Alec could hear. “I fed off two humans today and I still want more.”
    Just then, Alec walked into the living room carrying a whiteboard. “Time to get to work,” he announced. “Much to do, much to do.” He set the whiteboard up on the table and wrote down some points of what he knew so far: disappearances in China and Mongolia and coven relocations.
    Then he wrote down Jorge’s cryptic words of silver river, blue moon, red hand, blood and stone, and when he turned around, he saw the three vampires were watching him. He clapped his hands together. “Come on, look alive you lot. We have work to do.”
    Jodis smiled and collected