CHAPTER 11

Treaties and Treatment

(New Orleans)

"Ash, I don't know if you can fix this one or not. I saw your mark on him, so I didn't stake him but…" Eliot shrugged and dumped the vampire he'd been carrying near Ash.

"Carlo?" Ash squatted down near the vampire Eliot had dropped.

Carlo's right eye spun towards Ash, and he made a gurgling sound.

Ash pulled the silver knife from his pocket and slit his wrist again. He held his wrist to Carlo's mouth and let the blood trickle in.

"You'll be here for a minute, right?" Eliot didn't feel the need to oversee the vampire rituals and there were other things to attend to.

Ash nodded but didn't take his eyes off of Carlo as he continued to murmur soothing words.

Eliot went to his car and retrieved a small pouch. It was made of leather and sewn with several voodoo symbols on it. Ms. Teo had assured him that he didn't need to do anything special, just sprinkle the powder over any of the vampires that hadn't turned to dust and ash. He made his way to the back yard again and sprinkled the corpse there and waited a moment to watch as it dissolved.

The rain slowed to a trickle but didn't seem to have had any effect one way or the other on Ms. Teo's vampire dissolving powder. He moved on to Missy and used the toe of his boot to roll her head back toward her body. When the two pieces were closer together Eliot sprinkled the powder over the head and body.

"No!" Jessica shrieked.

"Sit." Ash barked at Jessica.

Eliot growled and sprinkled a little more powder just for good measure. Once everything was dissolved, he pulled the drawstrings on the bag tight and slipped it into his pocket as he turned to the Vampires.

"As I'm sure you three have figured out, Ash and I worked out a deal." Jessica hissed at him, but he ignored her. "All the vampires, acolytes, and factotums that belong to your sanguinary are bound to the agreement. You will stay away from this family, Ms. Theodosia Theriot, Gemma Segen, and my pack. You are allowed no more than seven vampires in your sanguinary. Any other vampires will be hunted down. The Crescent City Pack will be made aware of this agreement."

"So the werewolves are in charge of us now?" Victor looked to Ash.

Eliot didn't wait for Ash to answer. "In return I will not kill you all now, and we will not hunt you later. Ash will be the new master of your sanguinary. I've made this deal with him. If something happens to him all deals are off and the wolves will hunt you all down."

"I'll be in touch." Ash helped Carlo to his feet and urged him toward Victor.

Eliot held a hand out and he and Ash shook before the vampires shuffled their way out of the yard. Eliot went back to his car and switched out the bag in his pocket for a small jar of butterbur ointment. As he walked to the front door, he could feel tiredness dragging at him like a heavy blanket. He knocked at the door and waited. He knew he needed to be more alert in case Ash went back on the deal and came back to finish what the others had started, but he could feel his eyelids droop. There was a little push of energy through the bonds, and he took it gratefully.

Marie came to the door and opened it on the chain.

Eliot smirked but just didn't have it in him to comment. He held out the little jar. "You need to put this ointment on Andre's cuts. It's going to burn but it will stop the venom."

"He said he's not scratched anywhere."

"Check him again. I can smell blood."

She gave him a pointed look.

He could guess what he looked like if the sting and burn from the open wounds was anything to go by. "I can smell his blood. Just check him out." He held the jar out to her again. She took it and closed the door.

He waited a moment but decided that he'd come back later to ask for the jar back. He knew that the butterbur was hard to come by and he didn't want to waste Ms. Teo's supplies. He'd almost made it to the street when he heard the door to the house open behind him. He turned and hurried back toward the house when he saw Liam running towards him.

"Buddy, what are you doing out here?" He crouched down and Liam flung himself around Eliot's neck. "Whoa, hey there, it's all right. Everything is going to be just fine now." He bounced and rocked a little.

The words were mostly muffled in his neck, but Eliot was able to make them out. "The vampires hurt you again. And Missy was here. I saw her."

The boy shuddered and Eliot bounced a little as he walked back to the front door. "It's okay. I'll heal up just fine. And Missy won't ever bother you again. I made sure of it." He patted Liam's back and knocked at the door even though it was standing open.

He waited a moment but didn't hear any response, so he carried Liam into the house. He closed the door behind him. "Marie?"

Marie stuck her head out of the bathroom doorway with a frown.

"Liam ran out of the house, and I just wanted to make sure you guys were really okay before I go home."

She nodded. "I can't find any cuts or scrapes on Andre."

"You mind if I look?"

She waved him over and Eliot carried Liam with him.

Andre was sitting on the counter by the sink and Eliot could see the dried tear tracks on his face. "Hi Andre. How are you doing?"

Andre nodded and then shook his head and held his arms out to his mother. She picked him up and looked at Eliot.

Eliot closed his eyes and sorted through all the smells in the small room. He took a step closer with his eyes still closed and when he felt sure of the scent of Andre's blood, he opened his eyes. He pointed at Andre's left ear. "Somewhere near his ear. Maybe behind it ear or in his hair near there."

Marie kissed Andre's cheek. "Let mama take a look okay." She set the boy on the counter again. She carefully checked around his ear and Eliot could tell by the look on her face and her scent when she found the cut.

"It's so tiny. I wouldn't normally put anything on a cut that small." She reached for the little jar of salve.

"Hopefully it's incidental and not directly from a fang or claw but it's better to be cautious when it comes to dealing with venom." Eliot smiled a little when he realized that Liam had fallen asleep with his head on his shoulder.

"Alright baby, Mr. Eliot says this stuff might burn, but we'll go really fast okay." She touched a fingertip to the salve and used her other hand to bend Andre's ear forward. Quickly she dabbed the little cut with the salve. Andre gasped and his eyes went wide. Marie scooped him up and rocked him before he could start crying again.

Eliot snagged the jar off of the counter and slipped it in his pocket. He stepped into the hall and then wait for Marie to lead the way. He followed her to her room and laid Liam on the bed next to Andre. Straightening up he looked at Marie. "I'm sorry that you guys got pulled into things tonight. I'll give you a call later and see about finishing that fence." With a tired smile he turned for the door.

He heard a gasp from behind him and turned to see what was wrong. Marie was staring at him.

"What?" He turned to look at the boys.

"Your back and arm." Marie's eyes were wide, and she had her hand over her mouth.

"It stings a bit, but I'll be okay." He tried to reassure her.

"You need to go to a hospital." She took a step toward him.

"Don't do hospitals. I'll get back to Ms. Teo's place and she'll get me patched up." He waited a moment. "I'll call you later okay. Just look after your boys and get some rest." He went down the hall feeling a little like he was on auto pilot, but he made sure to double check that he'd locked the front door behind him before he headed to his car.

He fished around in the back seat until he found a couple of spare overshirts that he'd brought with him. He draped them over the seat before he got in, in hopes of not smearing blood all over the upholstery.

He was glad that traffic was scarce in the minutes after dawn that it took for him to make it back to Ms. Teo's house. He parked up front and tossed a nod in the direction of the watch-wolf across the street, as he headed up the stairs and into the house.

Gemma was sitting on the couch snuggled in a blanket and had obviously been waiting for him. She sat forward and stretched at the sound of the door opening. She frowned when she got a look at him as he stepped into the house. As he turned to lock the door behind him, she gasped when she saw the deep cuts across his back.

"Eliot!" She hurried to him, and her hands seemed to flutter around him as she tried to find a place to touch him where he wasn't hurt.

He grabbed her fingers and kissed them before tugging her to his chest. He rested his head on top of hers for just a second until she started to squirm. He stepped back. "I'm sorry. I'm probably gettin' you dirty."

"I don't care about that. I just don't want to hurt you more than you already are." She frowned and looked at the dark stains covering most of his shirt and pants.

He looked down. "That's not mine. At least most of it isn't." He sighed. "Can ya go wake up Ms. Teo? She'll know what to do. I'm going to catch a quick shower so she can see what's what."

Gemma nodded and turned to go down the hall but paused and turned back to him. She stepped close and brushed a curl behind his ear. "I'm so glad you made it home."

She moved to kiss his cheek, but he turned his head and kissed her lips. She smiled into the kiss. "You better go take your shower."

"Yes ma'am." He kissed her forehead and waited for her to head down the hall.

~~o0o~~

A light knock sounded on the bathroom door. Eliot wrapped the towel around his waist and opened the door.

"Don' look so disappointed chil'." Ms. Teo smiled as she drug a stool into the room.

"I'm not disappointed I'm exhausted." He gave her a half smile as he took the stool from her and set it in the middle of the room.

"Alright cher, you set yerse'f down dere, an' I'll get started." She patted the seat and waited until he got situated. She started looking him over. "I'll put de ointmen' on dese deeper cuts an' den I'll go get de suture kit."

Eliot tried in vain to look over his own shoulder. "Does it really need to be stitched?"

"I'm afraid so. Look like dey laid yer back open clean to da bone."

A tap sounded on the open door and Eliot and Ms. Teo looked up to see Gemma standing in the doorway. "I just thought you might like some clothes for after." She held up the neatly stacked pile of clothing.

"Thanks."

Ms. Teo smiled. "Gemma baby, do ye remember where da suture kit be at downstairs?"

"Yes ma'am." She set the clothes next to the sink. "I'll be right back."

"Gemma?" Eliot called her back.

She turned in the door with a raised eyebrow.

"Would ya mind bringing my phone? I left it on the side table by the couch."

"Sure thing." She hurried off with a flick of dark curls.

"I'm glad you babies is workin' it out." Ms. Teo patted a spot on his arm that wasn't torn up.

"Me too." He sighed and tried to enjoy his last few pain-free seconds. He realized he hadn't been feeling the pain from his injuries since sometime around his drive back. At first, he'd thought it was because the wounds were already healing but if it was as bad as Ms. Teo said then he knew what was really going on. "Let me make a call before you start in with the salve." He looked up at Ms. Teo who nodded back at him.

Gemma came back with his phone. "I'll be right back with the suture kit."

He smiled his thanks and took the phone. He tapped at the screen and waited a moment for Parker to answer.

"Hey Sparky."

He could hear how tired she was. "So first thank you. Now, I want you to stop it. I didn't ask you to manipulate the bonds or try to stop me from feeling pain. If anything, you should be preventing anything from reaching you or the others."

Parker snorted. "So growly for so early in the morning. Maybe I don't want to talk to you when you're all growly."

"Parker, don't make me make it an order. Let go of the pack bonds right now."

"No."

"Parker!"

"Fine." She growled back.

He felt the sting of the open wounds suddenly assert itself. He gritted his teeth. "Thanks Parker. Now get some rest and don't do that again."

Parker grumbled something about 'stubborn wolfy' before she hung up.

Ms. Teo chuckled. "I hope you got a good hold on yer pack bonds or all a dat talk ain' gonna be wort' a wooden nickle." She unscrewed the lid of the jar of butterbur salve. "Alright cher, here we go." She scooped the yellowish ointment out of the jar on the tips of her fingers and started to spread it quickly across the open wounds.

Eliot gasped and clamped down on his pack bonds and the stool he was sitting on. He hadn't noticed Gemma come back into the room until he felt her hand on his cheek. He started to look at her but squinched his eyes closed.

"It's okay." She rubbed her thumb over his cheek. "You showed me your eyes before."

After a couple of deep breaths, he looked up at her. He knew his eyes were yellow and that his teeth were looking more wolfish than human.

"There you are." She gave him a small smile.

"Alright baby, dem's da worst ones. You want a break before we move on ta de others?"

"Why don't you give me the jar and I'll get everything else I can reach while you start stitching." With a sigh turned groan he reached for the jar.

Gemma picked up the jar before he could. "Here, let me. If you're wiggling around, she won't be able to put the stitches in."

She scooped a dollop up with one finger and smeared it over a cut on his forearm.

He hissed and stiffened a little.

She bent forward and blew on the spot she'd just smeared with ointment. "It probably doesn't help but when I was a kid, I thought it made all the difference."

"Your mama used to do that?" Eliot asked while she spread salve over another cut.

"No." She smiled. "My mother would pass out at the smallest drop of blood. My dad was the one that took care of all the scrapes and cuts."

"Cher can ye sit up a bit more." Ms. Teo wiped her brow with the back of her arm.

Eliot took on a military straight posture with his shoulders back.

"Gemma, chil' can you bring a couple o' de steaks from de frigerator. I think dat dey'd go down a treat jus' now." Ms. Teo didn't look up from the stitch she was working on.

"I'm fine, Ms. Teo, really." Eliot commented without changing his posture.

Gemma looked a little confused but left the room to follow Ms. Teo's directions.

"If she can't know dat wolves eat meat den she ain' de one fer you chil'."

Eliot was beginning to worry when Gemma hadn't come back right away but the bite of Ms. Teo's needle kept him from going to look for her. He knew he didn't want to hide what he was but maybe he should have gone slower somehow. Maybe all of this at once was just a little too much.

Gemma came in with a plate full of raw meat that had all been cut into small cubes. "Sorry I took so long. I just thought it would be easier to eat if the meat was cubed. Is there anything else you want to go with it?"

Eliot took the plate from her and slid it onto the counter with one hand and drew her closer with the other. After he set the plate down, he slid both hands up to cup her face. Tilting her forward just a little he placed a light kiss on her forehead. "Thank you."

She gave his wrists a squeeze as he let her go. "You should thank Ms. Teo. She's the one that knew you'd want it."

He smiled at the pink color of her cheeks.

~~o0o~~

When Ms. Teo had finished stitching the worst wounds, she and Gemma smeared butterbur over all of the cuts one more time and then helped Eliot into a soft t-shirt.

"Alright baby, we'll leave you to de rest. An' dere'll be a hot cupa tea waitin' on ye direc'ly." Ms. Teo patted Eliot's cheek as she left the bathroom.

Gemma gave his hand a squeeze and followed Ms. Teo out.

Eliot groaned as he pulled on the sweatpants and stared at himself in the mirror for a moment. He was so tired he realized he was falling asleep even as he looked at himself and decided that there wasn't anything left for him to do at this point. He couldn't dry his hair or do anything to clean up the bathroom without pulling his stitches so with a sigh he headed into the hallway.

He saw Gemma standing in the living room and he headed toward her.

"The tea should be ready any minute." She stood by the couch folding the blanket she'd been using earlier. "Did you want to head to bed? I could bring the tea to your room."

He knew that he was too tired and torn up to want to do anything more than sleep, but he wanted to have Gemma close to him. "Actually, I think I'll sit up for a bit."

"Okay, I'll be back in a minute." She spread the blanket over his lap as he sat on the couch.

He listened to the sounds of her fixing things in the kitchen, and he started to drift off. In the attempt to stay awake he pulled the box of dog cookies Hardison had sent a little closer and took one out to nibble on. He startled when he heard the clink of a cup on the side table next to him. He looked and wondered what had happened when he saw the frown on Gemma's face. "What's wrong?"

"You mostly." She came around the end of the couch with her own cup of tea and sat next to him, curling her legs underneath her.

"I'm sorry I…" He couldn't think of exactly what he'd done.

"No. I didn't mean that. I just meant that I walked up behind you and even with the shirt on I could tell that something was wrong."

"Oh." He picked up his cup. As the steam curled up he sighed. "You made my tea with broth." He smiled.

"Ms. Teo said you like it that way." She started to lean her head on his shoulder but straightened up.

"What?" He asked when he saw her aborted movement.

"I just don't want to lean on you while you're hurt."

Eliot smiled a little and pulled her closer. "Let me tell you something else about wolves. We are very tactile. We need physical touch more than most people. You aren't leaning on anything that hurts and I can't tell you how good it feels to have you close." He sighed and rested his head against hers for a moment.

Gemma sighed and rested against him.

Eliot gulped his tea before setting the mug back on the side table. He grabbed another cookie to snack on. "That's my favorite flavor of tea, with or without the broth." He resettled with an arm around Gemma's shoulders.

"Really? I've never met anyone else who really likes it." She smiled as she sipped her tea.

Eliot nodded sleepily. "Ms. Teo keeps it for me."

"Actually, the box in the kitchen is mine. I finished off the last box not too long after you guys left."

Eliot's only response was a sleepy hum as he drifted to sleep.