Page 83 of Incubus
“Jim,” Nathan tried calmly, able to be quiet now that the rain was no longer falling. He could only wonder if that had something to do with his brother too. “Come on…please. Look at me, it’s okay. You’re okay.”
Blue eyes rimmed in red andnotslit blinked up at Nathan. Even with Jim’s hair plastered to his face and so wet, Nathan could tell his brother was crying.
Falling down into the mud beside Jim, Nathan grabbed his brother by his filthy jacket and tugged him close. “Hey, just take a breath, okay? Those tree-huggers deserved what they got. Don’t go crying over them.”
“But…” Jim sniffed, looking scared and small likehewas the younger brother by those two important minutes. “I didn’t mean to do that, Nate. I was just so…mad again. I hurt you.”
“This bump on the head?” Nathan dismissed, even though he knew he could very well have a concussion. “I barely felt a thing.Besides, we got some info this time. The bounty holder is athey, whatever that means. At least it's something."
"But the Muses, the thinning of the Veil, all of it, it’s...because of me,” Jim said miserably. “The Veil’s been weakening since I was born. And now it’sworse…because I came back. You shouldn’t have brought me back. It's my fault they're going to take you.”
"Don't say that," Nathan said. "We can't trust anything from a dryad. What does it matter when the Veil started to weaken? If dark sidhe are able to push through, who knows what they're planning. There's no point blaming yourself until we know some facts. Right, Sasha?" He turned to the incubus.
Sasha nodded without further prompting, wholly supportive as he stood beside them. "We can't be sure of anything. Even if this does have something to do with changelings or even you, Jim, this is bigger than us. It's bigger than one person. If the dark fae have some kind of plan in motion to bring down the Veil, everyone is in danger. We can figure it out while still searching for the holder of Nathan's bounty. We can solve this together.”
"Exactly," Nathan said gratefully. "We'll figure this out, Jim, but you have to get a hold of yourself. We need to get out of here in case the dryads told anyone we were coming." He gripped Jim's arms and tried to pull him to his feet.
Jim was solid as a rock and dug deep into the mud. He didn’t budge, simply hung onto Nathan tighter.
“Jim,” Sasha said, coming up on Jim’s other side, still standing and holding one of the shotguns limply. He placed a hand on Jim’s shoulder. “All we need is a name. Just a name and we can save Nathan. Whatever else is going on, we'll figure it out. Right now we have to go." He tugged on Jim hard enough that he lifted him out of the mud and set him on his feet as if Jim weighed nothing.
Nathan struggled to his feet as well, grateful that for once he didn’t have to put his brother back together all on his own.
As Nathan stood, he nearly slipped on another of the shotguns that was half buried in the mud beneath him. He reached down to retrieve it, though he didn’t feel right carrying a weapon right now, as if the mere act soured his stomach.
The third shotgun was lost, but that was the last thing on any of their minds as they left the clearing to reclaim their supply bag and leave the woods behind.
Chapter 32
Nathandidn'tgetamoment alone until late the next night, having had no sleep while they moved from doorway to doorway to find a safe place to rest. They settled in a small out of the way motel, renting only one room again to better watch each other's backs. It wasn't only to watch Jim, Nathan told himself, but he knew even Sasha was beginning to worry for all his open-mindedness.
When Nathan finally escaped into the bathroom for a late shower before bed, still dusty from dried mud and fighting off the sniffles and sneezing he had earned during their night in the rain, he was prepared for Walter's appearance.
"He almost Awakened back there, didn't he?" Nathan said, not looking at Walter or pausing in his undressing to get in the shower.
"It is...difficult to say."
"Walter."
"He...is borderline. His powers are growing. His temper seems worse as well. Jim hurtyouthis time, Nathan, much as he didn't mean to."
"I know."
Nathan had tried very hard to hide his injury, but when he had almost passed out due to the mild concussion his meeting with a tree had caused, Jim had grown even more introverted. Nathan felt fine now. He didn't blame his brother for what had happened. Sasha was right, this was all much bigger than just them, maybe bigger than they could figure out in time to save either of them.
"I don't want to give up on him, Walter," Nathan said, standing there bare in his boxers and the dirt and grime of the past day and a half.
"I know you don't, Nathan," Walter said. "I only hope that if the worst does happen—"
"I don't want to think about theworst, Walt."
Walter hesitated before saying anything more. "Jim is stronger than most give him credit for. Like you. Maybe each other is all you need to beat the odds against you. And Sasha, of course."
Somehow that was more comforting than anything Walter had said to him in a long time, accompanied by the very rare expression of an honest smile.
Nathan glanced in the mirror at his dirtied form. The scar over his heart wasn't any larger or darker. It was just a scar, with roots that ran deeper than he could feel, but maybe not as deep as he feared.
A gentle knock on the door interrupted Nathan's thoughts. He turned back just as Sasha propped open the door and peeked hesitantly inside.
