Page 35 of Medium
I cocked my head at him. “Like a political campaign?” I dimly remembered Mercy mentioning a campaign last night.
“Not important right now!” Manny shouted. He gripped the edge of the table so hard his fingers were white. “Where. Is. The. Little.Girl?”
Shane took that one. “She’s in the apple tree out back. Um, like inside it, not climbing it. She needs to hang out with it until her magic heals up. She’ll come out when she’s ready.”
Manny frowned but relaxed a little. “Okay?”
I nodded. “I promised her I wouldn’t leave, which is why I asked you to bring my clothes.”
He chewed on his lower lip while he stared around the table at us. “And Ms. Jackson? Where does she—sorry, they—fit in?”
Ms. Jackson turned their head toward Manny, then they leaned over and licked the side of his face.
“Ewww!” He rubbed his cheek with his napkin.
The rest of us laughed. Ellis said, “We’re not really sure. They were... inanimate originally. It’s a long story. But they asked to come visit me and Shane. I live in Dallas, so we came here first.”
Ms. Jackson stood up before bumping Manny with their head until he stood as well. They shoved him until he started walking, herding him out to the backyard.
I stood up to follow. “Manny’s a pediatric nurse, in case you couldn’t tell by the scrubs.”
Ellishmmmed. “Interesting how Ms. Jackson seemed to know that even before they met him.”
CAL’S CAMPAIGN COMPENDIUM
CASSANDRA
Type: Cassandra
Class: Magic Carrier
Overview: Cassandras are magic carriers born into NPC families, or whose families have hidden their gifts for generations. They are usually not aware of the campaign. The name derives from the Greek myth about the prophetess Cassandra, who was cursed to have accurate visions but no one would believe her when she warned them.
So far Cassandras have only come to light every few decades or so, depending on the geographical area.
CHAPTER 9
ELLIS
I followedRory and Shane to the backyard, but as slowly as I could without getting too far from Shane. I unlocked my phone and brought up my text messages. No doubt Delphia would prefer I contacted her, but she tended to take over anything she was involved in. I wasn’t ready to just hand Pia over to her, not to mention Rory.
I was tempted to text Greg by himself, since I didn’t know Cal that well and to be honest he still kind of intimidated the hell out of me. But Cal was the only other Cassandra we’d found in recent memory. Rory would need his advice. So I texted both of them.
Can you please have Dominic call me or Shane? We have a billionaire who’s been holding Wonders captive. He doesn’t have any right now but is planning to get more.
And I need somewhere to bring a 13 year old dryad. Her mom is dead, no other connections. She was being held captive. Is TWIST the best place? There’s a grove of dryads in my District, but they don’t have any kids
Oh, and we found a Medium. Or he found us. He’s a Cassandra
By the time I finished typing, we were all gathered around the apple tree. I stopped next to Shane, who turned his back slightly toward me.
I sighed and unlocked my phone again.
And Shane and I bonded, but there’s something wrong
I silenced my phone, not wanting their responses to interrupt Pia leaving the tree. I felt the vibration of a new text, but I ignored it.
Pia stepped out, blinking in the morning sunlight. Her magic was bright. Maybe not as bright as it could be, but so much better than last night. She also looked more human, only a little bit of green showing at the ends of her brown hair.
