Real Vampires Know Hips Happen by Gerry Bartlett Page A

me.
    “What do I have to do?” Jerry had his head propped up against the throw pillow as he sipped the drink. He smiled. “Fine Scots whiskey. Damned if this isn’t a treat. Don’t know when I drank last. Guess I just thought I should stick to blood after I was turned.”
    “We all did. But my family is in the distillery business. I was determined to see if we could still at least check the product.” Bart smiled as he filled Jerry’s glass again. “To my surprise, as long as we aim for high quality and moderation, this won’t hurt us. Of course you are not back to normal so I’ll watch you carefully in case your reaction isn’t right.”
    “Bart! Maybe you shouldn’t have started this now.” Cait looked alarmed.
    “Relax, Caitie. I feel fine. Better than fine.” Jerry had a lopsided grin. “I’m relaxed for the first time since Mara attacked me, truth be told. Now what?” He held out his empty glass once more.
    “I think you’ve had enough.” Bart took the glass and set it aside. “Now you’re going to watch me, Jerry. Follow my directions. I will tell you to do some simple things, look at my watch, count, stuff like that. It will help you relax and open your mind. Hopefully you’ll remember the past years. Ready?”
    Jerry wiggled his toes in dark socks then nodded. “Go ahead. I want to remember. This empty feeling is making me crazed. This woman.” He stared at me. “Gloriana. She seems to be someone I know.” He held up a hand when I started to protest. “I know. I know. You are someone I know.” He looked back at Bart. “Anyway I kissed her. Just now. Held her. Drank her blood. Sweet. Tasted, hmm, really good. And, for a minute, I thought…But I couldn’t hold on to it.” He rubbed his forehead. “Hurts when I try.”
    “Okay. That’s progress.” Bart pulled out an old-fashionedgold pocket watch. “Stare at this as it swings back and forth, back and forth. Don’t take your eyes off of it. Watch how slowly it swings. Back and forth. Back and forth. Your eyes are getting heavy. You’re getting sleepy. Start counting for me, Jeremiah. Back from twenty. Are you ready?”
    Jerry nodded, his eyes starting to close until he blinked them open.
    “Here we go. Twenty, nineteen, eighteen…” Bart continued until Jerry’s voice trailed off at twelve.
    “All right. Now you are totally relaxed. Take me back to the last thing you remember before you were stabbed. Describe the scene.”
    “I was riding Thunder. He was restless. Had a hard time keeping him under control. I finally let him have a good run.” Jerry kept talking about his horse. A fence that was down and some sheep missing. At one point he got excited. A MacDonald had crossed his path and they’d exchanged words. He was sure the man had taken the sheep but he didn’t have proof. He rode back to the castle, where he and Da planned a raid to get the sheep back.
    “Do you remember going to London, Jeremiah?” Bart glanced at me. “Remember meeting a woman with blond hair?”
    “London? What business would I have there?” Jerry frowned. “My brother Thomas and I are headed up to Edinburgh to see a play after we take care of the MacDonalds. Plenty of women and sport there. London is too far away.”
    Cait made a sound and I noticed she was crying.
    “What is it?” I hadn’t heard anything that upset me so far except that I wasn’t in Jerry’s mind.
    “Thomas. He’s our brother who was killed on that raid to the MacDonalds’ holding. After that Jerry hied off to London. He never admitted it, but he took Tommy’s death hard, blamed himself for it. We never did prove that those sheep came from our lands.”
    “Can you go forward, Jeremiah? Do you remember living in America?” Bart reached over and squeezed Cait’s hand.
    “America? Who?” Jerry’s hands began to shake and he pressed them to his temples. “The pain! Make it stop!”
    “Never mind. I’m going to count to three. When I clap my hands, you will