Page 14 of Wonder
I only had two doses of the serum left, so I needed to start feeding from people before I was desperate. London at least had a fair number of Wonders, though I hadn’t seen any of the newly minted magic-carrying humans yet.
I was still getting used to not having any connections. My magical core felt oddly empty. I didn’t know anyone back in the home dimension without connections, and I was ashamed to say in my former life I would’ve been suspicious of someone who walked so alone. But I had no choice. I couldn’t stay in one place long enough to form friendships.
Brief interactions, like the one I planned to have with this shifter, were all I could allow myself.
“Excuse me.”
He whirled, his hands raised, ready to transform into claws.
I lifted my own hands, but mine were in an I’m-no-threat-to-you gesture. “I’m sorry to startle you. I saw you at the pub, and it’s so rare to run into someone else like us.”
He allowed me to approach, probably trying to figure out what kind of Wonder I was. When I caught his gaze, I immediately put him in thrall. He dropped his hands to his sides. “Thank you. I’ll only take a little, I promise.”
He was taller than me, so I used his wrist. It seemed less personal than biting someone’s neck anyway.
I’d tried to imagine what it would be like, but I wasn’t prepared for how I instinctively knew how to find the most prominent blood vessel, or how easily my fangs cut into his skin. The heat of his blood wasn’t a surprise. I’d stabbed too many people over the years not to expect that. But the taste. The taste was amazing. A deep, rich flavor with sparkly fizzy notes from his shifter magic.
I didn’t know how much I’d taken when I suddenly came back to myself. Shit. I didn’t want to leave him half-drained. What if he had a laborer’s job and needed his energy? Hastily I licked the wound to promote healing. The tear in his skin would appear days old by morning.
I kept hold of his arms but stepped back to look him in the eye again. “You had a little too much to drink at the pub, but you’ll be fine in the morning after you have a good breakfast. You won’t remember running into anyone on your way home.”
The shifter nodded sleepily. I turned him around to point him in the direction he’d originally been headed, then I moved to the shadow of a doorway. After a pause of several seconds, the shifter’s body jerked like he’d been startled, and he beganwalking. He hummed a little before singing “It’s a Pity to Say Goodnight”, which the crowd had been belting out drunkenly in the pub we’d been in earlier. His gait was a little unsteady at first, but he found his stride and hurried on his way.
I licked my lips. The guilt I felt at taking the Wonder’s blood without asking warred with my pleasure at the taste. Would other Wonder species taste different? I suspected the blood of Elves, with their powerful magic, would be much more potent. And Elven royalty, like Prince Nicol, had to be even headier.
I’d never know what had made theluchd-òl folatry blood from the source the first time, but it was frighteningly easy to understand why they’d become addicted to it.
I’d have to be careful it didn’t happen to me.
CHAPTER 5
RENO
Well,we probably should’ve seen that coming. No matter how well Nicky had known Simon back in the 1940s, after what he’d been through, it was no wonder he’d seen a vampire instead of his friend.
I stood up and rushed around Simon to put myself between him and Nicky. Ms. Jackson had wrapped their arms around Nicky’s upper body, so as he pushed away from Simon he was pretty much climbing into their lap.
I knelt down and waved to get Nicky to look at me. “Hey, Nicky. I’m Reno. I’m the acting District Monitor here. You’re in Corpus Christi, Texas, and you’re safe. Your friends are safe too. Thomas is right here.” I pointed.
Thomas knew how to take a cue. “Nicky, these are the good guys. They rescued us. You know, like Han and Luke rescued Princess Leia.”
I wouldn’t have expected that statement to affect Nicky, but it did. He stopped struggling and his expression eased. He repeatedly glanced between Thomas, me, and Simon.
I scratched my jaw, trying to figure out what to say. “Simon might be a vampire, but he didn’t have anything to do with your kidnapping, and he’s been trying to find you for, uh, years.” I wasn’t sure if Nicky knew how long he’d been held captive, and right then wasn’t the time for him to find out.
Thomas stepped in again with anotherStar Warsreference. “Yeah, remember how inThe Force Awakens, at first you think Finn is exactly like all the other stormtroopers, but he turns out to be a good guy? Simon’s like Finn.”
Simon kept his face friendly. “I’m glad to see you, Nicky. I’m sorry we couldn’t kill Marcas and Roibeart today, but we got the other two. And we’ll keep you safe while you recover and get your strength back up.”
Nicky looked down at Ms. Jackson’s arms circling his chest. He tilted his head to see them. “Misha Collins?” His tone was bewildered.
Ms. Jackson shook their head. “No. I’m just using this form for now. I should probably alter it as it seems to attract attention.”
He blinked. “You can change shape? Like Odo onStar Trek: Deep Space Nine?”
Ms. Jackson hesitated. “I haven’t seen that show. I will put it on my list.” They lifted one hand from Nicky and pulled their phone out of their pocket. We all watched them type one-handed for a moment.
Nicky didn’t appear any more enlightened when he looked back at the rest of us. I told him, “This is Ms. Jackson. As they said, they can change their form.”
