Page 26 of Magpies & Mayhem
“Sleep,” Jordan told me. “I’ll take care of him.”
I pulled a deep breath of his scent into my lungs and closed my eyes, searching for the notes of his familiar smell underneath the stronger vampire scent. Savoring it when I found it, I held it for a moment and released it, using it to remind myself that he was still the same Jordan underneath all his changes. But when sleep pulled me under, I felt uncomfortable for a completely different reason.
The crowd around me seemed endless, stretching out in every direction. I couldn’t remember what I was searching for until I spied Jordan’s face in a gap between people. What were they all doing here? Why wouldn’t Jordan wait for me? I pushed through the milling crowd, trying to follow him, feeling like I was losing the battle against the surge of bodies as they all pressed in around me, intent on their own destination.
Several times I caught sight of his face, only to lose him again when my brother or my mom or some cousin passed between us and blocked my view. Every time they moved out of the way, Jordan was gone, and a deep unease filled me as I had to start my search all over again. My frustration spiked when someone big cut me offyet again, and I glanced up to see that it was my goofy older brother Aaron.
“Stop getting in my way!” I yelled at him, and he looked at me with confusion written plainly on his face. He turned to hand me a bundle he carried in his arms, wrapped in cloth like a swaddled baby. I took it carefully and startled when it began to cry like an infant, but when I lifted the cloth, Huck’s snout poked out at me. I looked up at my brother, but he was gone. The faceless crowd continued to push past me, and I clutched the baby dragon to my chest. I felt lost.
Itwasstilldarkwhen I woke. My back felt like I’d lost a fight in the ring, and I made a noise that sounded embarrassingly like a whimper. The rasp of paper scraping against paper cut through the darkness and relief swamped me when I opened my eyes to find Jordan propped against the cave wall in the same spot he’d been when I fell asleep. The last vestiges of my dream hadn’t quite left me, and I sucked in a deep breath, using his scent to try to dissipate the feeling of panic I felt from not being able to find him in the crowd. Why had I been so upset in the odd dream? A few more breaths and my heart rate finally began to even out into something reasonable. I was still tired, but the nap had helped relieve some of the worst of my nausea and exhaustion.
The sound of paper scraping again made my gaze shoot back to Jordan. He was reading the book I’d given him earlier, seemingly having no trouble in the dark. “How is it?” I asked, my voice sounding scratchy and thick.
“I have no idea what this is,” he said dryly.
“It’s a space raptor butt invasion. It says it right there on the tin.” I made a sound like a wounded elephant as I rolled onto my knees and opened my bag again. It was cold now, and my joints were stiff. “Where’s Huck?” I asked, looking around.
“He’s outside trying to dig something out of the ground,” Jordan answered without lifting his eyes from the page.
“Were you out there with him?” I frowned and shot a look outside but couldn’t see anything. My night vision was sadly average.
“No. I can hear him.”
I held still and strained my hearing for any sounds but couldn’t make out anything other than crickets and a gentle breeze. Vampires were so overpowered. “How long was I out?” I asked.
“Most of the night, it will be dawn soon,” he answered quietly, still focused on the book.
I smirked at him. “Have you heard anything from your team?” I asked as I pulled out a toothbrush and some other toiletries.
He lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “They checked in earlier, but there’s nothing new. They’re grateful for the work you’ve done, keeping the dragon safe and healthy.”
“Aww. That’s nice.” I hadn’t done it for anyone’s approval, but it was nice to be acknowledged sometimes. “I’ll be right back. I know you can hear a pin drop from a mile away, but do me a favor and don’t listen to me pee.”
Moonlight blanketed the desert floor, highlighting sand and rock peppered in black scorch marks that hadn’t been there when we’d arrived. Huck was digging and prying industriously at a rock wedged in the ground that was far too large for him to carry. He gave a happy trill and scampered over to greet me as I exited the cave. “Come on buddy, let’s go get me cleaned up.”
When I returned to the cave, the faintest fingers of light had begun to stretch over the horizon. I shook the dirt out of Jordan’s wrap and smoothed it out, handing it back to him so he could wind it around his shoulders and neck again. “Should you head home so you’re out of the sunlight?” I asked him. I tried to ignore the pang of panic that sparked in me at the thought of him leaving. It would just be boring out here all alone, that was all.
“I’m fine,” he said, but he did replace his helmet. “I won’t be able to stay awake though.” He already sounded tired, and my heart tugged at the sleepiness in his voice.
“You should rest,” I told him. “I really appreciate you giving me a break from Huck and letting me sleep.”
He was quiet for a moment, until he said, “I won’t be able to keep you safe though.”
I paused while I was putting away my gear to squint at him. “I don’t need protection. I’ll be okay.” At least, I didn’t need protection from anyone except Huck and his hiccups.
Jordan grumbled something I didn’t catch and stared at the entrance to the cave, watching the sunlight brighten along the horizon. After a few minutes, he laid down on the dirt and stretched out on his side. “Don’t let anyone touch my neck,” he said quietly.
My hands froze on the zipper of my bag, and I shot him a look, noting how bundled up against the world he looked. My heart squished at how vulnerable he sounded. “I’ll keep you safe,” I promised him.
Chapter 16
Turnsoutitwasnearly as boring with him asleep as it would have been if he was gone, but I still felt better that he was here for some reason. I sat on my side of the cave watching Huck as he scurried in and out, bringing in dozens of little rocks one at a time. He piled them behind a larger rock in the back of the cave, stacking them in a little pile, diligently re-piling them every time the mound grew too tall and toppled.
“Hm. I’ll give you points for quantity, but your quality sucks, buddy. Try to find some shiny ones,” I murmured to him, not sure how much sound would disturb Jordan. I learned a few minutes later that it probably wouldn’t matter if a bomb went off in here—Jordan still wouldn’t wake up. Huck was making one of his runs to the back of the cave when he decided it would be a good idea to climboverJordan’s sleeping body, so I jumped up to drag him off, concerned about Jordan getting startled again and hurting him. But Jordan didn’t even flinch.
The tussle shifted his clothing so that two inches of skin were exposed where his coat and shirt rode up.Shit. I glanced at the entrance of the cave, noting that the sun was shining in, but hadn’t quite reached his body. How much sunlight was too much? Sunlight reflected off the moon obviously didn’t hurt him, but I didn’t want to risk him getting injured on my watch. I also didn’t want to touch him when he was vulnerable like this and liable to lash out.Ugh!
I crept forward, staying low to the ground, and reached out with one hand, watching my fingers shake as they closed on the hem of his jacket. If he woke up and attacked me for trying to help him, I was going to kick his ass. Slowly—gently—I tugged his coat down so that it overlapped his pants by several inches. And then I backed away.
