Kit frowned. “Physicality aside, you’re notweak.”
“I’m barely holding onto my own mind right now.”
“Lawrence murdered the rest of us. You’re the only one who’s faced him and lived,” Kit pointed out.
Quin grimaced. “That’s a horrible way to look at it.”
“It’s the truth,” Kit said with a painful shrug.
“I just…I had to stop him from hurting you anymore.”
Kit managed a faint smile. “My big protective werewolf Daddy.”
Quin sighed. “You need to knock me out. He’s locked down for now, but he might break through again.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Kit. Baby boy. I don’t want you to either, but my head’s going to explode. Do me this favour, yeah? Otherwise, I’m gonna have to bash it against the wall and take care of it myself.”
The pain of getting to his feet made him want to collapse right back down, but Kit couldn’t let Quin do himself any more damage. He staggered over, avoiding the light, and put one hand around Quin’s neck. “This better be the last time. All these knockouts can’t be good for your brain.”
“Well, it’s a lucky thing that I’ll be living forever with you,” Quin said. “Now, Kit. Do it. He’s not giving up.”
Kit did as he was told, exerting enough pressure to have Quin out in a matter of seconds. Kit held Quin’s gaze even as Quin’s body fought. Right before his eyes slid shut, Kit noticed a slight shift in their colour. It made a shiver crawl up his spine, even though he knew Quin was unconscious and Lawrence couldn’t touch him.
Too drained to do much else, Kit sat down in the hallway, leaning hard against the wall. He inspected the bubbled and marred flesh of his arms. Only once before had he experienced the sun as a vampire, having checked with a finger to ensure that Lawrence wasn’t lying to him about its effects. The blinding pain had convinced him of the truth of Lawrence’s words.
It’d been nothing compared to the agony of these rays hitting his arms. Kit was lucky it hadn’t got his exposed legs or, he shuddered to think of it, his face.
He just hoped he wouldn’t have to meet the sun ever again.
As Kit sat and waited for nightfall, Matthew drifted over to him, the pale outlines of his brows creased. Kit assumed the silent boy was trying to ask about Jack until Matthew gestured at his own arms, then pointed to Kit.
“Oh,” Kit whispered. “It’s not too bad.”
Matthew looked disbelieving, and Thomas frowned down at Kit.
“If you want Jack, I’m not sure where he is,” Kit said. The trace of the boy lingered in his mind like a half-forgotten thought. The brothers conducted a silent conversation between themselves before facing Kit once more.
Thomas moved towards him, and Kit had to fight the urge to retreat in the face of the advancing ghost. The ghost boy lowered himself halfway through the floorboards, until he hovered in front of Kit, staring right into his eyes.
Despite the lack of definition to Thomas’s form, his intense gaze transfixed Kit. He had little skill in lip reading, but he could tell what Thomas mouthed when he asked silently for his younger brother.
Thomas’s desperation had Kit aching for the siblings. It made him remember how much he’d missed Nicola in those early days, and how the memories still snuck up on him even now. “Jack told me he didn’t know how to leave me,” he explained.
Thomas frowned, leaning in closer, peering into Kit’s eyes.
Kit couldn’t stand being under this level of scrutiny. “I’ll tell you if?—”
I’m here.Hearing Jack whisper in his head was a strange experience in an evening full of strange experiences.
“Oh,” Kit said. “He’s here.”
Thomas smiled encouragingly and nodded.
“Any idea yet of how to get back into your ghosty body, Jack?” Kit asked aloud, for Thomas’s benefit.
Hold on.
