Page 47 of Medium
Cal made a face. “Well, shit.”
Greg rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I’m not really sure what to do from here. We have no idea where the vampires are or who they’ll go after next.”
Rory sucked in a breath, snapped his fingers, and pointed at Cal. “That’s what I wanted to tell you! You need to call a vision about the next victim.”
We all went still. Cal said, “I do?”
Rory frowned. “Yes?”
“A ghost told you that?”
He shook his head. “I don’t really know why, but you need to call a vision.”
I asked, “Uh, do Mediums have psychic powers?”
Rory threw me a horrified look. “I hope not! The ghosts are plenty.”
Cal walked toward him, looking concerned. “Rory, when did you first realize you needed to tell me that?”
Rory’s forehead creased. “I don’t know. Um, I remember thinking I needed to tell you something when we were driving to the cemetery, but I couldn’t remember what it was.” He crossed his arms. “That’s weird though, right? Why would that even occur to me?”
I wanted to go put my arm around him, but Shane was too far away and I’d have to get him to come with me.
Cal and Greg exchanged a long look, then Cal said, “Rory, at any point recently have you found yourself sort of... standing around with no memory of why?”
Rory’s face went gray, and his eyes looked huge as they stared at Cal. “Um, when I went home to pack a bag. I was in the parking garage, about to leave.” His voice went higher. “Why?”
Fuck it, Shane would have to come with me. I walked over to Rory. Fortunately Shane started walking too, so we didn’t have to play tug-of-war. I put one arm around Rory’s shoulders and my other hand on his bicep. He was stiff with tension, so I felt like a jerk when I couldn’t help noticing the woodsy scent of his body wash and the defined muscles under my hands. Shane must have been blocking the bond, because I couldn’t tell what he was feeling. And I was a jerk again for being relieved about it.
Cal was kind enough to delay his explanation until I was in position. Maybe he wasn’t such a hardass after all.
“Rory,” Cal said gently. “Shane or Ellis may have told you. One of the vampires—the only one we’ve actually spoken to—appears to be trying to stop the vampires who’ve been attacking the Wonders.”
“Okay?”
“We’ve only interacted with him once, um, that any of us remember.” Rory sucked in a harsh breath, and Cal nodded. “He said something to me indicating he and I had met before, but I have no memory of it.” He paused, and said carefully, “What I do remember is going for coffee one morning about a week earlier. I was walking from my car to the door of the bakery, and for some reason I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. I snapped out of it when someone opened the door, and I felt the need to immediately go wash my hands, but I didn’t know why. We think the vampires can manipulate memories.”
Rory looked down at his hands. Then he tore out of my arms and rushed over to the shrubs lining the front of Thomas Baird’s house, where he began vomiting up his lunch.
I started to follow, but Shane caught my arm. “Here.” He handed me a water bottle that Greg had passed to him.
Ms. Jackson rushed over to Rory, and he patted their head in between heaves. When it seemed like he’d thrown up everything he could, he leaned against the corner of the house with his head on his arm. I cracked open the water bottle and passed it to him. “This should help.” Shane’s hand reached over my shoulder with a bunch of napkins.
Rory took them. “Thank you.” His breath was coming in pants, and his face was a mess of tears and snot. I wanted to hug him again, but instead I just stood nearby as he wet thenapkins and wiped his face. Then Shane passed over a doggie poop bag, of all things. I opened the bag and held it out so Rory could dispose of the used napkins, and I handed the bag back to Shane. Rory swished some of the water around in his mouth and spat it out.
After swallowing a few more sips of the water, he closed his eyes, pressed the bottle to his forehead and said, “I remember noticing I felt like I had a bug bite on my wrist.”
He held out his free hand, fingers fisted and palm up. I took it in mine, and a chill went through my entire body. He had what appeared to be the healing remains of a small cut about an inch long, right on top of the vein that ran down to his hand.
“Fuck,” Shane whispered from behind my shoulder.
I looked around for Cal and Greg, who’d been hanging back, probably trying to give Rory some privacy while he threw up. I jerked my head for them to get their asses over here.
Manny had taken Pia back to the SUV, thank goodness.
I showed Cal and Greg the cut on Rory’s wrist. “He thought he had a bug bite.”
Rory, his eyes still closed, nodded.
