Andraeon’s sudden arrival made the hairs on the back of Shasta’s neck stand on end and sent a jolt of electricity through him, making him wince as his involuntary start pulled at his shoulder. He felt a rush of power that seemed to go straight to the bottom of his spine and saw the Kingsblack jerk away from Andraeon, but before he could see anything else, Jones suddenly collapsed. Shasta caught him awkwardly, grunting as the sudden dead weight in his arms brought them both down to the ground. Jones arched upwards, blood already running from his nose and the corner of his mouth; his eyes were still open but the blue-grey was dimmed and blank. Wrapping both arms around Jones, Shasta struggled to hold him still as he seizured, hearing his own heart hammering in his ears.
“Drae,” he screamed, “stop it! Stop it, you’re killing him!”
Andraeon looked back at them and for a moment there was nothing but a blank coldness in his features. Then his eyes widened and he stumbled towards them as the Kingsblack turned tail and fled. Shasta was reluctant to let him even touch Jones but he said nothing as Andraeon cupped Jones’s face in both hands and closed his eyes, concentrating.
Jones shuddered along the entire length of his body and slumped back against Shasta, his eyes sliding closed. Shasta watched his chest, willing it to rise, and breathed a shaky sigh of relief when it did. His breathing hitched a few times then evened out, though he remained limp and unresponsive when Andraeon called his name. Even shaking him produced no response and Andraeon gave Shasta a helpless look, his eyes dark with pain.
“We need to get out of here,” Shasta said, licking dry lips.
“I can do it,” Andraeon said, starting to push himself to his feet.
“No,” Shasta snapped, his tone sharper than he’d intended it to be, enough to make Andraeon flinch as though he’d been slapped. “I just think it’s better if you let me,” Shasta continued, forcing himself to speak gently.
“Okay.” Andraeon gently touched Jones’s cheek with two fingers and sat back on his heels, pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes. “To Kaede’s?”
“Yeah. Help me get him through.” Shasta carefully moved aside so Andraeon could take his spot cradling Jones’s head, and got up to open a gate. The relief that swept through him when it opened easily was enough to make his knees sag. He took a deep breath and went to take Jones’s legs, helping Andraeon to carry him through the gate and into Kaede’s living room.
In the flurry of activity that followed, Shasta found himself pushed aside and told to go sit down until he could be looked at. Feeling numb, he did as he was told, sitting down on the couch and absently cradling his injured arm against his chest as he watched Kaede and Shiki work on Jones. Eventually Kaede shook her head and sent Shiki to take him upstairs. Andraeon trailed them like a lost puppy.
“How are you, Shasta?” Kaede asked, taking his chin to turn his face away from the stairs and towards her. “You look pretty beat up.”
He mustered a smile and told her the story, stumbling over his words a little as exhaustion settled deep into his bones. Kaede stopped him when he started repeating himself, forgetting what he’d said only a few sentences before. She stroked his hair back from his forehead and he leaned into the touch, closing his eyes for a moment. It was a struggle to open them again and Kaede just told him to go to bed and they would talk further in the morning. He kissed her cheek and made his way up the stairs, moving as slowly as an old man and holding onto the banister for balance.
Shiki met him at the top and slid an arm around his waist, supporting him as they walked down to his bedroom. Shasta leaned on him gratefully, brushing a kiss over his cheek as he sank down on the bed.
“Just let me look at this and I’ll let you sleep,” Shiki said, already gently removing the bandages from Shasta’s shoulder.
“What about Jones?”
“I cleaned him up, got him into bed. Drae’s keeping an eye on him for now.” Shiki gave him half a smile, though his eyes were worried. “You’ll tell me what happened in the morning, right?”
“Yeah.” Shasta glanced at his shoulder as Shiki removed the last of the bandages. The bite mark was still red and raw, the area around it swollen, but it looked as though the injury was at least a few weeks old. Looking at it and watching Shiki gently trace what would soon be only nasty scars, Shasta realized how close he’d come to losing that shoulder completely. Leaning forward, he looped his good arm around Shiki’s neck and hugged him hard, causing Shiki to make a surprised noise before he returned the hug.
“Go to sleep, Shas.” Shiki stroked his hair back in the same manner his mother had, making Shasta smile, and replaced the bandages.
“Come to bed soon, okay?”
“Don’t want to be alone?”
“Not really.” Shasta caught his hand and kissed his knuckles. “I’ll sleep better.”
“I won’t be long.” Shiki got to his feet and headed for the door, glancing back over his shoulder. “Yell if you need anything.”
“I will.” Shasta got to his feet long enough to strip out of his dirty clothes and use the bathroom, then settled into bed, pulling the blankets up over him. He thought he might be found in his dreams, but he fell into a deep dreamless sleep as soon as he’d closed his eyes, and didn’t wake until morning.
It was still early when he opened his eyes again, though the sunlight coming in through a crack in the curtains was already strong. The house was still and silent, and Shiki slept beside him, face buried in his pillow. Shasta ran a hand over his bare shoulder, enjoying the warmth of his skin, then quietly got out of bed. Shiki stirred at the movement but only enough to roll over onto his back, flinging an arm out and breathing a deep sigh before settling back into sleep. Leaving him there, Shasta pulled on a pair of jeans and wandered out into the hallway, walking silently down to the room Andraeon shared with Jones.
He knocked on the door and waited a few moments before gently easing the door open. Andraeon was curled up asleep in the armchair by the bed, his head tipped almost onto his shoulder in a position that Shasta thought had to be uncomfortable. He had his hand in Jones’s, but Jones’s fingers were slack and though he breathed steadily, there was something about him that said he was still unconscious, not just asleep.
Shasta watched them for a few moments then quietly crossed the room and shook Andraeon awake. Andraeon came up flailing and Shasta had to duck away to avoid being smacked in the face. He bit back a laugh and waited until Andraeon was fully awake and had sat up, rubbing at his sore neck.
“Morning. You looked uncomfortable.” Shasta looked over at Jones, studying the pallor of his skin and the deep purple shadows under his eyes. “No change, I guess.”
“No.” Andraeon looked away. “I didn’t mean... to just make it worse.”
“You just didn’t think.” Shasta reached out and gave Andraeon’s shoulder a light squeeze. “It’ll be okay.” The words sounded flat and useless to his own ears but Andraeon offered him a slight smile in return.
“Thanks Shasta.” He ran both hands back through his hair then rubbed at his eyes, looking very young and very tired.
“Why don’t you go grab a shower before everyone wakes up?” Shasta said. “I’ll keep an eye on Jones, promise.”
Suspicion flashed in Andraeon’s eyes and Shasta felt a moment of irrational anger at him. He fought it down and kept his face neutral until Andraeon nodded and shoved himself up, limping out of the bedroom in the direction of the shower. Shasta took his seat and looked over at Jones, trying to find any change in his pale face. There was nothing and after a while he looked away again, unable to shake the sensation of being at a deathbed.
“You’re a pain in the ass, Jonesy,” he said, just to break the silence. “And I still want to know what your real name is. Nobody names their kid Jones Jones. I bet it’s something really embarrassing, like Humperdinck. Humperdinck Jones.” He reached over and traced the line of Jones’s cheekbone with one finger, feeling vaguely guilty about it and glancing quickly towards the door to make sure Andraeon wasn’t coming back.
When he looked back again, Elle was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching him with an amused smile. He quickly snatched his hand away, feeling his cheeks go red, but he gave her a haughty look, as though silently asking what she was going to do about it.
“You know Drae’s going to kick your ass if he sees you doing that,” she said.
“I wasn’t doing anything, get off my ass.”
“Hey, I’d probably do the same thing. There’s something about scruffy men, even when they’re making you want to strangle them. Even when they’re Jones.”
“What do you want?”
“Hey, why the hostilities? I just came here to chat. Not my fault I caught you feeling up someone else’s boyfriend.”
“I was not—” Shasta took a deep breath and gave her a tight smile. “How can I help you, Elle?”
“I came to tell you to stop spinning your wheels. Time’s running out.” She tapped her wrist, though she wore no watch.
“Time for what?”
“Time in general. Why are you just letting Aloria run around like this?”
“We’ve been trying—”
“Yeah, I’ve seen your trying. How many times have I pulled one of you out of the fire? Too many, probably. Now you can’t even think for yourselves.” She got up and started pacing.
Shasta eyed her, one eyebrow slightly raised. “Why don’t you take care of Aloria? You had her, didn’t you? While we were at Edgemount.”
“Getting yourselves blown up.”
“Hey, Jones is the one who got himself blown up, him and... Lea...” Shasta trailed off, glancing guiltily at the doorway. He’d almost forgotten about Andy and now he wondered how they would break it to him. And how Emily would take the sight of her father lying so still and pale. Rallying, he added, “And you didn’t answer my question.”
“I can’t.” The words were grudging. “I can distract her and throw things—like you—in her path, but I can’t actually kill her.”
“She can’t be more powerful than you.”
“Oh please.”
“Then why not?”
She pointed a finger at him. “Drop the subject or I’ll drop you. You have to take care of her, that’s all. She’s your aunt.”
“That wasn’t my decision.”
“Just do it.” She came over to him and he flinched back, half-expecting her to hit him. Instead she leaned over and draped something on a chain around his neck. He reached up and pulled it into his field of vision, frowning when he saw it was a dog tag stamped with Jones’s name; one of the ones he’d been wearing in the hospital and which he had put in his room then forgotten about.
“Why are you giving me this? It’s not mine and I don’t think anyone’s going to believe I’m really Jones again.”
“Just wear it.” She tucked it inside his shirt and gave it a pat, then handed him the identical one on another chain. “Give that one to Andraeon. I doubt he really wants to see me right now.”
“I don’t really want to see you right now.”
“I will choose to ignore that given your current stress levels. Get going, Shasta. It’s time the hunter became the hunted.”
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