Bloodlines by Alex Kidwell Read Free Book Online Page B

“Goddamn, this is great,” he enthused, reaching for a second helping, sopping up the last drops in his bowl with the bread. “Seriously, holy shit.”
    Beside him, Redford gave a low laugh and nudged Jed in the side. Yeah, okay, Jed was well aware that he said the same thing every time Redford cooked. But come on, they’d taken a bunch of nothing, and now it was something way better than frozen chicken patties. That was like a form of magic in Jed’s book. Forget water to wine, this shit was the real miracle. Besides, he was more of a beer guy anyway, and no holy son of God had ever made a decent brew.
    “I suppose we may as well get down to business,” Anthony said, leaning back in his chair as Edwin reached over in front of him for more bread. “The first thing we’ll have to do is find the Gray Lady’s pack.”
    “Which might be easier said than done,” Randall said, offering Victor more stew with a hopeful little look, which Victor returned by happily handing his bowl over. “We’re going to need to find a place where people will be willing to talk about such things.”
    “And where would that be?” Redford piped up. “Do you know of any places like that, Jed?”
    “Oh, yeah, me and the Easter Bunny were hanging out just last weekend.” Jed snorted quietly, giving Redford an apologetic wince. “I’m kind of thinking my contacts are going to be about as worthless as tits at a bathhouse.”
    “You could go to Murry’s Bar,” Edwin offered, stealing the spoon from Jed to dish himself up yet more stew. “There’s always a bunch of naturals hanging around there.” Catching Anthony’s look, Edwin immediately tried for an innocent expression. “Not that I’ve ever been there! I just heard. You know, from other people.”
    “Naturals?” Bewildered, Jed frowned around at the rest of the group. “What the hell does that mean?”
    Randall sighed, slipping off his glasses to clean them on a corner of his shirt. “It’s a rather crude slang expression that ought not to be used. It means other than human. The supernatural community, if you will, though generally we don’t have a universal name for the differing groups of us. Those that use the term natural are arguing that we are the normal ones. It’s humans that should be considered others.”
    “Supernatural….” Jed trailed off, eyebrows raised. This was a fucking weird conversation. He was half expecting someone to come out with a herald and a trumpet and hand him the Sword of Destiny or some shit.
    “Werewolves, vampires, half bloods,” Anthony clarified, giving Edwin another suspicious look. “And who exactly did you hear this from?”
    “Oh, you know,” Edwin said, carefully not meeting Anthony’s eyes. “Just around. Hey, you should totally go!” He changed the topic swiftly, turning to look at Redford. “You’d definitely get in. They just have a couple of wolves at the door that sniff you to make sure you’re not a preter or anything.”
    “Edwin,” Randall barked sharply, eyes narrowing. But instead of continuing, he just looked to Anthony, as if awaiting his mediation.
    Jed and Redford shared twin looks of utter confusion. “Preter?” Jed asked. “Maybe slow down the crazy talk around the uninitiated. What the hell is that?” It sounded like a slur against penises.
    “It’s more slang.” Anthony smacked Edwin on the shoulder as a rebuke. “Only this time it’s pretty rude. Preternatural is what some call regular humans. You know, other than natural. It’s not something any of us should be saying, not in this household. Edwin, seriously, we have a human sitting right here at the table. Can you curb the racial insults?”
    “And it’s less than polite in mixed company, even if you choose to use it in private,” Randall muttered, shaking his head.
    Jed shifted, suddenly uncomfortable. “Hey, I’m just…. I mean, come on, I’m not different.”
    Except yes, he was. He was wildly different. He was part of a