Page 25 of Wonder
Tucker and Jackson turned to see the newcomers, and Jackson threw their arms wide. “Cal! And Greg!” They rushed over, notquite running, and circled their arms around Cal’s waist, tucking their head against his chest.
Cal’s eyes bugged out of his head. “Ms. Jackson?” He gingerly wrapped his arms around them.
They pushed back from him and grinned. “I go by Jackson now.” They reached for Greg and hugged him as well. “It’s so good to see you!”
“Uh, when did you start using this form?” Cal ran his hand over his head, not taking his eyes off Jackson.
They shrugged. “Yesterday.” They pointed. “Tucker’s been teaching me hand-eye coordination!”
Tucker introduced himself, then Simon guided Cal and Greg over to the fire pit, where Nicky was sitting in one of the chairs. He looked like he had some energy, and his magical core was a little more vivid.
“Nicky.” Simon’s voice was reassuring. “These are some friends of mine, Cal and Greg. Cal’s a Seer, and Greg is the District Monitor for Central Texas.”
“Hi.” Nicky ducked his head shyly. Shit, until yesterday the only new people he’d been able to meet were other captives.
“Crap.” Cal knelt down in front of Nicky. “They really fucked with your magic core, didn’t they?” I let out a little exhale when he didn’t comment on the scars.
Simon moved closer, hovering protectively. I felt a flash of emotion—mine this time—I didn’t want to identify. “They had to keep him drained of blood as much as possible so he’d be weak. Nicky’s not susceptible to vampire mind control.”
“No shit?” He stared at Nicky. “Can I ask what kind of....” Cal slowly stood up, raising one hand to cover his mouth. “No way.”
Greg echoed him, no doubt getting the information through their bond. “No way.”
Cal dropped his hand. “Nicky, does this mean you’ve been held by those assholes since... since before the portal was closed?” Not waiting for an answer, Cal whirled to face Simon. “Is that why you went after them in the first place?”
“Yes and yes.”
“Oh, my god. Shit. I’m....” He sat in the other chair and turned his body to face Nicky. “It’s really impressive that you survived. Most people wouldn’t have.”
Nicky ducked his head again. “They usually left the TV on. I tried to pretend I was a character in one of the shows.”
I couldn’t imagine.
Cal turned to me. “Simon said you were taking a nap. Any visions?”
I shook my head. “Couldn’t sleep.”
He made a face. “Too bad. You’d get a lot more nuance out of a vision than I will. But I’m here to try.” He slid more firmly into the chair and leaned his head against the seat back.
“Um, here? You don’t want to lay down or anything?” I couldn’t imagine getting a vision with six people staring at me.
“Nah. We’re in the shade. This works.” He relaxed, putting his hands on his thighs and closing his eyes. “Okay, I’m trying to see where the escaped vampires will be later today, right?”
“Yes.” Simon stood beside me, close enough I could feel the warmth from his body even though it had to be over ninety degrees out here. My dick was interested, but I eased away from him, not wanting to give our magics more opportunity to mingle.
Everyone went silent, and in seconds, Cal’s hands clenched into fists and his eyes moved back and forth behind his closed lids. I’d never actually witnessed another Seer having a vision before. There weren’t that many of us around, and it wasn’t like I needed lessons in how to have them.
I kept time on my watch, and just after the two-minute mark, Cal opened his eyes. “Fuck.” He pressed his fingertips to his forehead.
“What do you need?” Greg was at his side, rubbing his shoulder.
Cal clasped Greg’s hand in his. I’d never had anyone to hold onto after a scary vision, I thought wistfully. Not that I needed anyone like that; it just would’ve been nice.
Beside me, Simon was leaning forward, almost balanced on his toes. His jaw was clenched, and I knew he wanted to shout at Cal to tell us what he saw.
I touched his forearm with two fingers. “Give him a minute. It can be disorienting.”
He put his weight back on his heels and gave me a nod.
