Page 63 of Medium
Ellis rubbed his chest with his free hand. “Shane... what—where’s our bond? Where are my connections to the Wonders? I can’t feel my District! I can’t feel you!” His breath started coming faster, and he was stiff with tension.
Shit. I wrapped him in my arms. “I’ve still got all your connections. The vampires grabbed you. Remember what the ghosts told Rory about the vampires cutting Thomas Baird’s connections when they took him?”
He sucked in a breath, then he slapped his free hand to his neck. He shoved his water bottle at me, putting his other hand on his throat as well. A sob tore from him. “They took me? They fed from me?”
“Yeah, but we got you back, baby. It’s okay. You’re okay.”
He shuddered. “How long did they have me?”
“Only a few hours. Rory’s ghost friends kept track of you, and we followed. Simon over there, he’s the friendly vampire who helped Cal and Greg a few weeks ago. He killed the ones who took you, and four more of the ones this afternoon as well.”
“I don’t remember any of it.” His voice was high and thready. I hoped he wasn’t going into shock.
Shit, what was I supposed to say?It’s probably for the bestwas the truth, but that wouldn’t make Ellis feel any better.
Simon turned around in his seat again. “I’d guess you were out cold the entire time they had you, Ellis. All they would’vehad to do was look you in the eyes, and you would’ve gone unconscious. The loss of your memory right before it happened is just a side effect. If you like, I can see if I can help you get it back.”
Ellis thought this over. “Thanks. I’ll think about it.” He leaned into me and put his head on my shoulder. “I miss our bond so much, Shane. Even though it was kind of broken, it was ours.”
“I know, baby.” I kissed his head. This close, I could smell the blood that had dried on his neck. “Me too.”
“Where are we going? Can we go home? I want to go home.”
I hugged him tighter. “We have to go back to the dryads’ compound. Pia and Manny are there, and we all need to sleep. We’ll go home tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay.”
We got back to the dryad’s compound around midnight. I’d texted Clementine when we’d started on our way back, so I’d expected her or Levi to be waiting up for us. Instead everyone was awake.
Seven dryads milled about on the front porch of the main house. When Rory parked the SUV, they came over and helped us unload. Somebody took the unused shotgun and the axes off to be cleaned. Two people grabbed the cooler and Sonic bags to take to the kitchen. Multiple people checked with Simon to see if he needed to feed. He asked them to come back in the morning, and they said they would.
Pia ran outside and first hugged Ms. Jackson then Rory. She looked through the rear passenger door at me and Ellis and gave me a big smile. “Clementine said Ellis will be okay, sotomorrow before we leave, we can make new connections with him, right?”
I smiled back. “Right.” I didn’t comment on her assumption she wouldn’t be staying here. She belonged with Rory, Ellis, and me.
Plenty of time to figure out all the logistics later.
Ellis, who’d fallen asleep after eating some chicken and tater tots, didn’t stir during all the commotion.
Rory nudged Pia out of the way. “Need help getting Ellis out?”
“Please.” I imagined Rory and me in the future, working together to take care of Ellis and make him happy. It could work.
He pulled the lever to tilt the seat in front of me forward, then he took hold of Ellis’ shoulders and pulled him through the door. Levi was there to help hold Ellis’ feet until I got out of the car, but I quickly took him back. I wasn’t ready to let him out of my sight, much less out of touching range.
Rory and I got him up the steps and into the house. Manny waited in the living room, paler than usual but with his grin undimmed. He didn’t glow with magic quite as brightly as he’d done right after Ms. Jackson had healed him earlier. Maybe it would just fade completely with time. After giving Rory a quick side hug, Manny patted him on the back. “We’re putting you three in the room next to mine. It has the biggest bed.” Then he turned to Pia. “I heard there’re tater tots in the kitchen. Wanna go get some?”
Pia cheered and grabbed his hand.
I stared after them, then I looked at Rory. “Um....”
He jerked his head in the direction of the bedrooms. “It’s up to you, but I’m good with it if you are. Let’s get him settled and then we can talk about it.”
Internally I shrugged. Might as well start out as we meant to go on.
Levi brought Ellis’ overnight bag in from the SUV. God, it seemed like a lifetime ago when we’d packed up this morning. He led Rory and me into the bedroom we’d been assigned and set the bag down on a chair near the door. He pulled the comforter and top sheet off the king-sized bed so we could lay Ellis down. “Y’all let me know what you need. I’ll be in the living room for a while.”
We thanked him, and Rory set to untying Ellis’ shoes. I pulled his shirt over his head. Rory put Ellis’ shoes, socks tucked inside, on the floor of the closet. He helped me pull Ellis’ shorts off, leaving him in just his boxers.
