Addictive Blood

“Yeah, he did,” Michael said evasively, already not liking the direction the conversation appeared to be heading.

“He also said you were drinking from a demon,” Kane said bluntly and set his glass down. “When did you start doing that?”

Michael didn’t miss a beat with the lie, “When the thing decided to bite me first.”

Kane’s lips parted to say something but what could he say to that? Picking his glass back up, he took another drink while he thought about that one.

Seeing Kane’s sudden frown Michael laid it on a little thicker by adding some of the truth. “I caught the thing watching Aurora when I went to visit her earlier and followed its scent into an alley. I figured it would be an easy kill so I didn’t exactly have my guard up. The next thing I knew, it had latched its teeth in to my shoulder. It pissed me off so bad that I decided to bite back… I don’t think it was expecting that.”

“Probably not,” Kane murmured trying to hear Michael’s thoughts but the only feedback he was getting was a sense of guilt and craving which was kind of confusing so he quit trying.

Michael smirked as if the whole thing was funny. “It just so happened that its blood healed my wound almost instantly so I drank until it was dead. Problem solved.”

Kane cocked an eyebrow and saluted Michael with his glass before tipping it back and draining the rest of the red beverage. It sounded like a reasonable explanation but it still didn’t answer the question of why he’d been such a hard ass with Dean. He started to ask Michael what the demon’s blood had tasted like but decided to hold off for now. Besides… if he wanted to know bad enough, he could just bite one himself and find out.

For some misguided reason Misery’s rotting face flashed in Kane’s mind and he had to turn his back to Michael to keep his brother from seeing the disgusted expression that was twisting at his lips. He headed toward the refrigerator to find something that would wash the imaginary flavor out of his mouth.

Michael slid onto one of the barstools when he felt cold chills crawl across his body and he inwardly cursed when a thin film of perspiration formed on his forehead.

Talking about demon blood had only given him the urge to hunt and he desperately needed a distraction. He ran his hand through his long bangs hoping he hadn't just given Kane the idea of drinking demon blood. He could handle the power surges from it just fine but there was no telling how Kane would handle it and the last thing they needed was another breach between LA and the demon realm.

Michael shook himself out of his thoughts and turned his head to see Kane’s butt sticking out of the refrigerator.

“What the hell are you doing?” Michael demanded.

Kane reappeared with a pile of lunch meat, mayonnaise, mustard, black olives, lettuce, and a ripe tomato. “You have food… we’re eating.”

“I thought you just ate at Kriss’ place,” Michael growled still craving something much better than a sandwich. He wiped his sleeve across his forehead and focused on calming himself.

“Yeah, now I’m hungry again… and from the looks of things you’ve dropped a few pounds yourself,” Kane retorted seeing a little bit of Michael’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality switch.

Hoping the very old and potent wine would at least take the edge off, Michael poured them both more while Kane busied himself with making food.

“So, anything else on your mind?” he asked not liking the heavy silence.

Kane frowned as he arranged his stash on the bar, “Actually yeah, there is. Dean’s been hurt and I don’t think it’s healing all that well. It didn’t look too bad when he first showed it to me but as the night wore on I began to feel the sickness inside of him.”

“Samuel did manage to stab Dean with his Demon Blade,” Michael offered knowing they were both there to witness the hurting that blade had put on Ren. “Is that the wound you’re talking about?”

Kane nodded, “I’ve been thinking. If a Fallen Blade can kill Samuel… or any demon for that matter, then it stands to reason that a Demon Blade can kill a Fallen… right?”

“Right,” Michael nodded having found his distraction.

Kane started slicing the tomato with obscene speed, “We both know the mess that same Demon Blade made out of Ren, but Ren isn’t a Fallen and Dean is still alive. We cured Ren with the Fallen Blade which I’m assuming Dean and Kriss have since they are Fallen. But, if that’s what it takes to heal Dean then they would have used it by now and they obviously haven’t… so, a Fallen Blade must not be an option when it comes to healing a Fallen.”

Michael’s emotions stretched between anger over Samuel’s attempt on Aurora, and worry for Dean’s survival. “Samuel’s intent was to kill Aurora with the Demon Blade so yes… it’s safe to assume a Demon Blade can kill a Fallen.”

“You and Dean seem to have lot in common these days,” Kane informed Michael, glaring down at the masterpiece of a sandwich he was making.

“And what would that be?” Michael asked.

“You are both pretending that you’re fine when you are not,” Kane said bluntly.

“Okay Doctor Feel Good, but I’m not the one dying so you might want to focus on Dean and let me take care of myself.” Michael pointed out and gripped his glass a little tighter.

“True,” Kane said with a sigh. He knew he’d pushed Michael enough for the moment and he was probably right about Dean needing the most attention.

“How are Kriss and Tabatha?” Michael asked to change the topic.

“Kriss is getting better,” Kane smirked holding the knife up. “He doesn’t flirt with Tabatha anymore which is a good thing for his continued health. As for Tabatha…” Kane sighed dramatically and wiggled his eyebrows.

“Don’t want to know,” Michael held up his hands in defeat.

“You would if you had more sex,” Kane said coming to the quick conclusion that if Michael turned all of his attention to Aurora then whatever this demon thing was would probably be history.

Michael smirked and toasted Kane with his drink, “In an elevator… earlier today.”

Kane slammed the knife down on the counter and stared at his younger brother. “Okay, first it’s the subway, then the roof of Love Bites, and now you’ve had sex in an elevator? Who are you and what have you done with my Michael?”

“Michael has been converted into a sex fiend,” Michael answered with a straight face and stole the sandwich Kane just finished making.

“No,” Kane grumbled, “you’re an exhibitionist and a sandwich thief.”

“So, make another sandwich,” Michael offered then looked down at the one in his hand. “This is really good.”

Kane inwardly cheered that Michael was taking in something besides demon blood. He briefly played around with the idea of moving himself and Tabatha back into the house but quickly discarded the notion. If they did move back in, it might cramp Michael and Aurora’s weird sex fetishes.

Scrappy sat on the floor between them looking back and forth. When he felt they’d ignored him long enough he barked. They had food and he wanted some of it.

Kane looked down at Scrappy, “You want some of this roast beef don’t you?”

Scrappy twirled around in a circle on his hind feet while giving Kane a pitiful look.

“Here you go,” Kane said and dropped four thick slices on the floor which Scrappy began devouring right away.

Michael had just finished his sandwich when he heard Aurora’s light laughter coming from the library. He closed his eyes in enjoyment. The sound of her laughter was exactly what this cold and empty house had needed.

“What to go check on them?” Kane asked not having to be a mind reader to know what Michael was thinking. He smirked when Michael got up without answering and headed toward the door.

The two men walked back into the library and paused just inside the doorway when they saw an illumination surrounding the two Fallen where they set facing each other on the floor. There was a book hovering in the air between them and both were touching it but their eyes were closed. They couldn't see Skye’s face at this angle but Aurora was smiling with small changes in her expression as if she were watching a movie.

Kane leaned back against the wall while Michael stood there entranced by what he was witnessing. The glowing light slowly imploded back toward their fingertips and the book descended to the floor.

Aurora’s lips parted in awe as she opened her eyes to focus on Skye. “But he left her there at the window,” she said feeling happy and confused at the same time. “Won’t they miss each other?” she grabbed the book up and hugged it as if she felt sorry for the people inside.

“You can already read?” Michael asked not quite believing his eyes.

“We kind of cheated,” Skye answered with a grin. “But to make sure she truly gets the hang of it, we started off with some of the fairy tales. Like all little girls… Disney seems to be her favorite.”