Page 62 of Medium
My hands shook as I carded my fingers through his hair, which had been in beautiful coils this morning but was now a dirty, disheveled mess. We were in the third row of seats, and his head was in my lap. His glasses were missing, and his normally pristine clothes were covered in dirt and blood. He had a few scratches on his arms and legs, probably from being carried through the forest, but his neck was a mess of half-healed bites.
Apparently, unlike in the movies, vampires didn’t make two neat puncture wounds and suck the blood out through those.No, the wounds on Ellis looked like they’d used their fangs to bite through his skin, leaving ragged cuts about an inch and a half long. There were four cuts, so the two vampires had each fed twice.
Simon had told us that the person’s magic was what sustained vampires, and drinking blood was how they accessed it. Which explained why Ellis’ magic was almost completely gone. He’d need a lot of time to build it back up.
All I wanted right then was to take Ellis, Manny, and Pia back home to Houston where Rory, me, and Ms. Jackson could keep them safe, feed them, and let them heal. I shook my head when I realized I’d automatically included Rory in our odd little family unit. My jealousy over Ellis’ attraction to him seemed petty now.
Rory had reported that Pia’s mom’s ghost had gone to check on her, and Manny was awake. Rory’s relief had come through our connection loud and clear, which had startled me so much I’d automatically focused on it. Unlike when I’d looked at it earlier, Rory and my connection was solid now. Strong. Not as strong as a bond, but it wouldn’t wither away if we were apart from each other.
That was a good thing, especially if Rory and Ellis ended up bonding. I wanted to bond with Ellis as well, and Rory and I would need open communication and a firm friendship to make a relationship like that work.
Rory was still driving. He must be exhausted, but he’d turned down Simon’s offer to replace him at the wheel.
I hadn’t had time to wrap my head around the fact that my granny was one of the ghosts he’d been talking to. Knowing her, she’d stuck around on Earth to make sure I’d be okay. Trying to tell her I’d be fine and she’d earned her rest would be pointless.
Simon, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, was quizzing Ms. Jackson on their food preferences. They’d already turned their nose up at hamburgers, because of course those were meat-based. “Um, how about Sonic? They have mozzarella sticks, and you can get tater tots with cheese on top.”
Rory perked up. “Get them one of those soft serve ice cream things with the chocolate pieces mixed in.”
I asked for some chicken tenders for me and Ellis, who would hopefully wake up soon. Rory added a strawberry milkshake, and I teared up at his thoughtfulness. Fuck, I was a mess.
In the end Simon ordered enough food that we’d have some left over for Pia and Manny, plus any of the dryads who were still awake when we got back. We put the milkshakes in the cooler for later, except Simon held Ms. Jackson’s out to them right away. “See? It’s got the Oreos you liked earlier, plus soft serve ice cream. It’s like, um, frozen milk.” He placed the cup, lid and straw removed, in the cupholder between the second-row seats.
Ms. Jackson, who had decided to make the journey home in their panther form, sniffed the cup, then tentatively stuck their tongue into it. Their eyes widened and they made a sort of gruntingMmmmsound. Then they opened their mouth and dug their tongue down into the milkshake.
“Slowly!” I called out. “The cold can cause a nasty headache if you eat it too fast.”
They licked their whiskers and gave me a disappointed look, complete with milk mustache. I grinned for the first time in what felt like hours.
“One day soon you’ll have to learn table manners. That’ll be the worst.”
They snorted and went back to their ice cream treat.
Ellis’ hand landed on mine where it rested on his chest. I gasped as his eyes opened. “Hey. How, uh, how are you feeling?” I tried for an upbeat tone, but I wasn’t terribly successful.
He blinked, then squinted. “Shane? What happened? Where are we?” He struggled to sit up.
“Okay, here, take it easy. You’ve been through a lot today. We’re in Rory’s car.”
I helped him sit upright in the middle seat. He rubbed his eyes, and I pulled a water bottle out of the cooler for him and uncapped it. “Here.”
“Thanks.” He took a swig. “Uh, Ms. Jackson?” They nodded at him. “Right, and, Rory, is that you driving? I can’t see much in the dark, especially without my glasses. Does somebody have them?”
“Glad you’re awake, Ellis,” Rory replied.
“And this is Simon.” I pointed over the back of the seat.
Simon twisted around and waved at Ellis. “Good to see you’re feeling better.”
“Uh, thanks?” Ellis turned to me and frowned. “What happened? Do you know where my glasses are?” He patted the seat around him.
Fuck. “Um, remember the picnic with the dryads?”
He took another sip of water. Ms. Jackson handed me one of the bags of food, and I pulled out a container of chicken tenders.
Ellis didn’t take the one I held out to him. “I remember we leftthe cemetery. Did I hit my head or something?” Without his glasses, he seemed young and vulnerable.
I met Rory’s gaze in the rear-view mirror. “Uh, something like that. Look, you’re probably starving. Why don’t you eat and then we’ll tell you what happened?”
