“Ssh.Go back to sleep, Theodore.I have you.”
It pleased Peter more than a good performance report to feel Theo relax in his arms.On the staircase, Theo let his head fall back against Peter’s chest.
Everything about the night had gone wonderfully, right up until they hit the middle step.The second Peter put his foot on it, the stained glass window in the wall of the staircase burst inward with force, and crows rushed inside and at them.Angry caws from dozens of crow throats cut through the quiet night, the birds’ black beaks and sharp claws poised for attack.
Peter spun and crouched, shielding Theo with his body.Gritting his teeth, he focused on the birds, but they weren’t his specialty.A lot of vampires had a degree of mind control over animals, but not everyone could easily control the same species.
Peter, who’d effectively used wolves in battle, failed at deterring the crows from digging their beaks into him and Theo.
Peter’s own injuries were of minimal concern to him.Even as Theo started screaming and struggling, Peter crushed the young man against his chest and pulled the blanket up over Theo’s head.
“Stop, what—”
Theo struggled, but Peter was a good deal stronger.
“Hold on, I have you.”
Peter grabbed Theo tightly, taking the stairs two at a time and with speed.The birds’ claws tore through Peter’s shirt and raked over his skin.Their beaks worked like pickaxes to inflict damage.One bird got Peter’s left eye—not quite digging out the eyeball, but nearly so, and Peter screeched with pain as he felt the soft tissue pierced through, felt the viscous liquid run down over his cheek.
“Peter?!”Theo’s fingers dug into his chest.
“Damn you, coward!”Peter shouted into the night, and from the night, from behind the broken glass, came chilling laughter.
Peter broke into a vampirically fast run, the birds struggling to keep pace but not yet giving up.They cannot.The coward has their minds in his filthy grasp.
The door to his bedroom was open, and Peter put Theo on the floor rather than the bed, then spun, shoved it closed, and locked it before any crows could get to them.
Theo was all adrenaline as he struggled to his feet, the blanket falling to the floor around him.His face was pale.
“Oh shit, fuck!Peter, your face!”He started toward Peter but stopped short of touching him.“You—your eye is… You’re bleeding so much… Shit…” Theo’s face contorted with a blend of terror, fear, and hurt.
Peter waved it off.“Will grow back.Don’t worry about it.Just really itchy.”
“Don’t worry about it!Your eyeball is half out of its socket!We need to get you to a doctor!”
Theo reached for Peter’s hand even as the birds’ scratching claws raked over the bedroom door with a truly horrific noise.Their calls didn’t much help.Hitchcock could not have imagined a darker way to end the evening.
“No need.Theo, I’m a vampire.I heal.”Peter closed his hand around Theo’s.“Bernard is outside.He can’t get in.The house is warded, so I have to go outside to get rid of him.I want you to—”
“You’renotgoing outside!”Theo threw his arms around Peter and held him with a surprising amount of strength considering he was only human.“I won’t let him get you.I won’t let him hurt you.”
Peter tried to dislodge Theo’s hold, but it was no good.He huffed out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.
“Theo, it’ll be fine, but I need you to let me go and—”
“I’m not fucking letting you go, you idiot!You only have one eye left.What if he takes the other or…”
Theo sobbed, tears and snot leaking out of him with force and in copious amounts.Since Peter was currently crying eyeball juice himself, he didn’t really mind, but while he was okay with tears, snot was yucky, and humans could produce a lot of it.
In that very moment, Peter vowed to never give Theo cause to snot all over him and to punish any and all that got the snot gates to open.Still, since Peter wanted this particular human more than he wanted a snot-free life, he hugged Theo back and even wiped at Theo’s cheek with his fingers.It only spread the snot and tears, and Peter sighed.
I will have to stock up on tissues.The bother.
“Theodore, hush now.Hush.All will be well.Weller if you decide to be a good savee and let me go so I can spread the eye-for-an-eye gospel.”
“No!”Theo said with all the force of a reticent child.
Peter sighed once more.He’s barely two decades out of diapers.This is to be expected.
