Page 74 of Medium
Manny edged past me carrying the tequila and Triple Sec I kept on top of the refrigerator. “Can’t leave these behind!”
I cleared my throat. “Sounds great. I’ll give her a call next week.” Honestly, having someone else pack up my stuff might be for the best. Simon had said Rory, Shane, and I needed to bond sooner rather than later, and we wouldn’t be able to be apart much for a while after that. I hoped Rory could work remotely. Shane’s job would be a big issue though. I watched him in the kitchen, tossing peanuts at Pia, trying to aim for her open mouth.
We should probably sit down and talk about all this like adults.
CAL’S CAMPAIGN COMPENDIUM
CHILDREN OF WONDERS AND MAGIC CARRIERS
If a magic carrier or a Wonder has children, those children will, without fail, inherit magic. What type depends on the other parent.
Wonder + Wonder: Obviously two Wonders of the same species will have children of their mutual species. Wonders of different species are not always able to cross-breed, but if they can, the children are genetically identical to one or the other parent.
Magic Carrier + Magic Carrier: When magic carriers have children with other magic carriers, their children can end up becoming any type of magic carrier. Even two magic carriers of the same type, such as a Hunter having children with another Hunter, can have children who are a different type of magic carrier.
Wonder + Magic Carrier: Children of a Wonder and a magic carrier are either born as the same type of Wonder as their parent, or as a magic carrier of any type.
Wonder + Human: The children of a Wonder and a human, if they are able to cross-breed, are always Wonders and are genetically indistinguishable from a Wonder born of two Wonder parents of the same species.
Magic Carrier + Human: Children of a magic carrier and a human will either end up as a magic carrier of any type, or as a magic carrier who displays no specific magical abilities other than those common to all magic carriers, such as being able to form connections and bond with Wonders or other magic carriers.
CHAPTER 17
RORY
“Don’t shut it yet!”Manny called as he jogged toward me holding two bottles of alcohol. Rather, he left the house at a jog, dodging around the woman from Ellis’ HOA on the front porch. But as he got closer to the car he slowed down considerably. His face was losing its color.
I rushed over and took the bottles from him. “Overdid it?”
He gave a jerky nod and grabbed my elbow as I walked back to the car. “I felt fine. Up until I didn’t.”
Grandfather snorted from where he hovered behind Manny. “His body’s still absorbing the magic. Looks different than yours and the others’. Huh.”
I ignored him, putting the bottles in the cargo area next to Ellis’ suitcase before helping Manny sit on the bumper.
“You’re still healing. Maybe after lunch you should lie down while the rest of us finish packing. Other than that, we only need to throw out the perishables in the fridge, so I’m hoping we can be on the road in a couple of hours.” I rubbed my hand through my hair. “Um, I wanted to ask, but not in front of Pia. How does your belly look? Is the scar any better?”
“It’s pretty gnarly.” He looked around. The HOA woman was finally driving away. Manny stood, turned his back to the street, and hiked up the hem of his t-shirt. He was wearing two, one tucked inside his shorts and one outside. “The waistband rubs against the scar.” He pulled up the inner t-shirt as well and tucked them both under his chin while he yanked down the waistband of his pants with both of his thumbs.
The scar was indeed gnarly. It arced from the bottom of his left ribcage down and over to his right pelvic bone, cutting through his treasure trail. The skin had knitted back together unevenly, and the resulting ridge was as red and angry as it had been yesterday right after Ms. Jackson had healed it.
“Fuck, Manny, does it hurt?” I reached out but didn’t dare touch.
Before he could answer, we heard wheels on the driveway. Manny dropped his shirts and took his hands out of his waistband as the big black Lincoln Navigator came to a stop a few feet behind us. I gently pushed him out of the way and shut the Range Rover’s hatch.
The driver stepped out of the Lincoln. He was huge, easily six foot four and muscle-bound like he lived at the gym. He was wearing a tight black t-shirt whose sleeves could barely contain his biceps. His jeans looked painted on over his thick thighs. I didn’t even look at his face until he whipped off his mirrored aviators.
Even though the man was bald and had a comically different body type than my boyfriend, this guy was obviously related to Ellis. He had to be Arch. Their faces were way too similar for them not to be brothers. But their eyes were vastly different. Even though the color was the same, Ellis' eyes were warm and friendly. Arch's were clinical and calculating
“You must be Arch. I’m Rory. Ellis is inside. He’ll be glad to see you.”
Arch gave me an up-nod. “You’re the Medium. Nice to meet you.” His voice held zero emotional inflection. Okay then. I’d let Ellis tell him we were boyfriends.
“This is Manny. Manny, Arch is Ellis’ brother.”
Manny cocked a hip and crossed his arms. He raised an eyebrow and gave Arch a slow once-over. “You’re the brother. Nice to meet you.” His tone was exactly the same as Arch’s had been, and I coughed to hide my laugh.
Arch gave Manny a once-over back. “And what is your... role here?”
