Page 56 of Medium
Levi didn’t release him. “First, I’m sorry you’re all alone, and I don’t reckon it’s easy killin’ the last few others of your kind, no matter how evil they are. But even though we’re not vampires, we’re signin’ up to be your family now. And don’t worry about havin’ to return here to feed, son.” He stepped back but kept a hand on Simon’s shoulder. “We’ve got that Discord thingy. Won’t take nothin’ to set up a network. And if folks are squeamish about you drinking from ‘em directly, we’ll sort out a supply of bags and donation setups. The magic will stay in the blood when it’s in a bag, right?”
“Yeah. Uh, yes, it will. I once had a friend....” He looked away. “Never mind. I’m sorry. I don’t—people aren’t generally nice to me.”
“Well, those days are behind you, son. Now, let’s get you fed up good so you can go after Ellis. He’s our DM, you know. You’ll be doing us a right favor. Let’s see, we’ve got....” He pointed at the dryads who were raising their hands. I considered volunteering, but holding Ellis’ connections along with my gut-clenching worry for him was making me nauseous. Ididn’t think I could handle Simon feeding from me on top of that.
“Twelve,” Levi announced with satisfaction. “We’ve got twelve people ready to give you some blood. Think it’ll be enough?”
“More than, thank you. Thank you all.” The dryads all smiled back at him.
“Okay. Why don’tcha go over to that table so you can sit down while we feed you?”
Simon hesitated. “I need to cut the heads off the vampires I killed.”
Levi waved this away. “We got the trees to do it. Used their roots to pull the bodies apart right quick. The nutrients’ll do ‘em good.” The dryads looked grim as they all nodded.
Simon seemed taken aback. “Oh, um, thanks. That’s... I appreciate it.” Did no one ever help him?
Levi moved his hand from Simon’s shoulder to his back and gestured in the direction of the nearest picnic table. “Do you eat regular food as well? We can pack some up to take with you. Shane? I’m guessing you’re going along. Who else?”
“Me,” Rory said. He gently laid Manny down on the ground. “If you’ll look after Manny. I need to be there to talk to the ghosts.” I felt a surge of emotion toward Rory—gratefulness, admiration, and maybe even affection.
We were going to get Ellis back. I wouldn’t stop until we did.
And then I’d apologize to him.
I gazed at the barely-there connection between me and Rory. He’d be well within his rights to stay here with Manny, but he was putting Ellis first. I was doing the same.
Things would be different once we got Ellis back. If he wanted both me and Rory, I’d do whatever it took to make it happen for him.
CAL’S CAMPAIGN COMPENDIUM
GHOST
Type: Ghost
Class: ????
Overview: Ghosts are Earth-based entities, so they are not technically Wonders. They are the incorporeal spirits of people—human, Wonder, or magic carrier—who have died. The existence of ghosts was confirmed several decades ago by the three documented Mediums. However, none of the Mediums wrote down any information about ghosts (such as who becomes one, what they can and can’t do, etc.), so this entry remains incomplete.
CHAPTER 14
RORY
I neededfor this day to stop. Just five minutes where I could regroup and get my head and my emotions under control.
Instead I was spending those five minutes watching Ms. Jackson—in their dragon form—carry Manny back to Clementine’s house. Seeing him get taken by the vampire, watching him be thrown to the ground with a life-threatening injury, and not being able to do anything to save him? Yeah, the nightmares would be coming for years. He was still unconscious, and Ms. Jackson didn’t know how long he’d need to recover.
But we couldn’t wait because we had to go rescue Ellis.
Ellis, who was another reason my head and my heart were hurting. He was adorable, so caring, and so unintentionally flirty. With the ghosts help, I would get him back.
So he could be with Shane.
My eyes drifted to the man in question, who walked silently next to Pia, right behind Clementine. He was rubbing his chest again. Was that his bond? Or what was left of his bond? I was pretty sure that was why he’d fallen earlier. I’d beensurprised at how fast he’d been able to run. But if the vamps had cut his bond with Ellis, like the ghosts had told me they’d done to the imp in Pflugerville, no wonder he’d collapsed.
He had to be out of his mind worrying about Ellis, but he’d been kind and supportive to me when Manny’d been injured, and I hadn’t missed how he’d jumped up to protect us when Simon had appeared. And when he’d put his hand on my bare shoulder, it’d felt like he was trying to send comfort through the contact.
So, now I was dealing an inconvenient romantic attraction—okay, it was a crush—on Shane too. Manny would have a field day with this when he woke up.
