Youuuuu cannn tttallllk tooooo mmmmeeee asssss wellll.
I startled. Shit. That was going to take some getting used to.
Gooooooo onnnnn. Telllll himmmm.
Tell him? About the mind link?
Yesssss.
“Found some. I’ve laid them out on the bed. Holy shit, what did they do to you?” Henry stopped in the doorway and stared.
A laugh rumbled through my mind, dark and ominous.
Tellllll thhhhhemmm bothhhhh.
It wasn’t a taunt. It was an order. So this was how information was passed so discretely among the upper levels.
“So, um, yeah. I had to, ah, bond, and then afterward, Arrakus and I could talk to each other in my head.”
“Arrakus?” Henry asked.
“I think he means the Old One,” Rusty asked, looking apprehensive.
“Can he hear us, too?”
“Yeah, he seems to hear and see what I do. I only hear what he wants to say to me, though, and he told me to tell you about it.”
“No, no, no! This can’t be happening!” Henry cried, fisting his hair. “I did not just come to the notice of one of the most powerful beings in the world, maybe the known universe. I want to be a normal Made member. Work in middle management for one of our companies, have a nice Made wife who loves me and me, her, and make little Legacies to help share the burden of our existence.”
Arrakus chuckled again.
“What?” he cried, taking note of the change of expression on my face. “What is it now?”
“He’s laughing at you,” I said. “I think he thinks you’re funny.”
“I gotta go,” Henry said. “I’m freaking out.” He turned and ran off, slamming my front door behind him.
“Let’s go get you dressed and in bed,” Rusty said. “I’ll bring you some food from the diner.”
“I can’t. I have a tutoring session with Shannon,” I protested.
“I’ll text him and tell him you’re not feeling well.”
“Okay.” The bed did sound good.
He helped me sit on my bed and get on some underwear. I couldn’t bear to lift my arms for the t-shirt, so he tossed it onto my desk chair. I managed to get under the covers again by myself. Rusty disappeared back into the bathroom, emerging with a cup of water and two white caplets. “Paracetamol. I’d give you ibuprofen, but it’ll make the bruising worse. Once they’re green, you can have some.”
I nodded, grateful for his kindness. I took the two pills and sipped at the water.
“Drink it all. It’ll help get it into your bloodstream faster,” Rusty said.
I was thirsty anyway. I’d been holding myself back so as not to appear greedy. Now I chugged the rest down.
“Okay, you nap now, and I’ll wake you up when I get back with your dinner. I’m going to text Shannon and then track down Henry, then go have my own dinner first. You’ll be okay, won’t you?”
Sleep was already tugging at me. “Yeah,” I yawned. Thankfully, I was right, I slept without nightmares, probably because I was living one.
12
