17. Rory
CHAPTER 17
RORY
“Don’t shut it yet!” Manny called as he jogged toward me holding two bottles of alcohol. Rather, he left the house at a jog, dodging around the woman from Ellis’ HOA on the front porch. But as he got closer to the car he slowed down considerably. His face was losing its color.
I rushed over and took the bottles from him. “Overdid it?”
He gave a jerky nod and grabbed my elbow as I walked back to the car. “I felt fine. Up until I didn’t.”
Grandfather snorted from where he hovered behind Manny. “His body’s still absorbing the magic. Looks different than yours and the others’. Huh.”
I ignored him, putting the bottles in the cargo area next to Ellis’ suitcase before helping Manny sit on the bumper.
“You’re still healing. Maybe after lunch you should lie down while the rest of us finish packing. Other than that, we only need to throw out the perishables in the fridge, so I’m hoping we can be on the road in a couple of hours.” I rubbed my hand through my hair. “Um, I wanted to ask, but not in front of Pia. How does your belly look? Is the scar any better? ”
“It’s pretty gnarly.” He looked around. The HOA woman was finally driving away. Manny stood, turned his back to the street, and hiked up the hem of his t-shirt. He was wearing two, one tucked inside his shorts and one outside. “The waistband rubs against the scar.” He pulled up the inner t-shirt as well and tucked them both under his chin while he yanked down the waistband of his pants with both of his thumbs.
The scar was indeed gnarly. It arced from the bottom of his left ribcage down and over to his right pelvic bone, cutting through his treasure trail. The skin had knitted back together unevenly, and the resulting ridge was as red and angry as it had been yesterday right after Ms. Jackson had healed it.
“Fuck, Manny, does it hurt?” I reached out but didn’t dare touch.
Before he could answer, we heard wheels on the driveway. Manny dropped his shirts and took his hands out of his waistband as the big black Lincoln Navigator came to a stop a few feet behind us. I gently pushed him out of the way and shut the Range Rover’s hatch.
The driver stepped out of the Lincoln. He was huge, easily six foot four and muscle-bound like he lived at the gym. He was wearing a tight black t-shirt whose sleeves could barely contain his biceps. His jeans looked painted on over his thick thighs. I didn’t even look at his face until he whipped off his mirrored aviators.
Even though the man was bald and had a comically different body type than my boyfriend, this guy was obviously related to Ellis. He had to be Arch. Their faces were way too similar for them not to be brothers. But their eyes were vastly different. Even though the color was the same, Ellis' eyes were warm and friendly. Arch's were clinical and calculatin g
“You must be Arch. I’m Rory. Ellis is inside. He’ll be glad to see you.”
Arch gave me an up-nod. “You’re the Medium. Nice to meet you.” His voice held zero emotional inflection. Okay then. I’d let Ellis tell him we were boyfriends.
“This is Manny. Manny, Arch is Ellis’ brother.”
Manny cocked a hip and crossed his arms. He raised an eyebrow and gave Arch a slow once-over. “You’re the brother. Nice to meet you.” His tone was exactly the same as Arch’s had been, and I coughed to hide my laugh.
Arch gave Manny a once-over back. “And what is your... role here?”
Okay, that was enough of this shit. “He’s my best friend,” I snapped.
Arch raised an arrogant eyebrow at me. “Best friend must mean something different to you than it does to me, based on what I saw you two doing when I drove up.”
“What an asshole!” Grandfather grumped. He reached out a translucent hand and swatted Arch on the back of his bald head. Except his hand didn’t go through. It connected.
Arch ducked and whirled to the side, unerringly facing Grandfather even though he couldn’t possibly see him. “Who’s there?” His gaze bounced around the street. He had a knife and a gun in his hands that he’d pulled out of nowhere.
Manny backed up into the Range Rover. “The fuck?”
“It’s okay,” I said. “Sorry about that. My grandfather’s ghost took exception to your comment. Um, usually you would only feel a cold spot, if anything.”
Arch continued to stare around suspiciously for another moment before the knife vanished and he tucked the gun away at the small of his back. I caught a glimpse of a leather holster under his pants.
“Your grandfather’s ghost packs a wallop.” He rubbed the back of his head.
Grandfather was staring at his hand. “Rory, I felt it. I felt my hand touch his head!”
“That’s... weird. I hope you’re not turning into a poltergeist.”
Grandfather scoffed. “Hardly. I still have my wits about me. I think it’s all that magic you and the other two started sparking off.”
Arch was eyeing me skeptically, so I waved Grandfather off. “Why don’t you go check on Garfield and Mercy or something? We’ll test your new abilities when we get back to Houston.”
I turned to our visitor. “Come on. I’m sure you’re anxious to see Ellis.”
“Yeah. Is he okay?” We started walking across the lawn to the front door.
I weighed my response. I’d never had a brother, but I wasn’t sure I’d want my boyfriend spilling all my secrets to one.
“He’s doing a hell of a lot better than I think I would in his shoes.” I opened the front door. “Ellis, you have a visitor!”
I was suddenly certain Ellis was tired and hungry and didn’t want to delay lunch to deal with yet another person stopping by.
“In the den!”
I waved Arch forward. He knew the way.
“Hey, squirt! ”
Ellis, who’d been watching from the couch as Shane and Pia chose their avatars for a video game, stood up. His face looked blank, but I could tell he was astonished. Absolutely shocked to see his brother.
“Arch? What are you doing here?”
“Are you kidding? My baby brother gets kidnapped by vampires, and you think I’m not gonna come check on you?”
Based on Ellis’ expression, that was actually exactly what he’d thought.
“You’re usually so busy saving people. I already got saved.”
“Yeah? You wanna tell me about it? Shit, your neck!”
That’s when I realized Ellis and Arch hadn’t hugged. Hadn’t even touched each other. Ellis was still standing in front of the couch, and Arch was just inside the door to the den. Manny and I hovered outside the room like spectators, and Pia and Shane weren’t any better. Ms. Jackson was still in their stuffed tiger form at the other end of the couch, but their plastic-like eyes looked pretty judgy to me.
“Um, yeah. It’s healing. Oh! Um, this is Shane, and this is Pia. And that’s Ms. Jackson.”
Arch barely glanced at the stuffed tiger, but he greeted Shane and Pia pleasantly enough. He was obviously curious about Pia’s presence.
Manny cleared his throat. “Arch, would you like something to drink? We’ve got lunch coming, and there should be enough for you to join us.”
I stifled a grin. Manny’s tone made it clear that Arch had better not eat more than his share.
“Um, thanks. Some water would be great. Got to stay hydrated. ”
I put my hand on Manny’s shoulder. “You need to sit down. I’ll get waters for all of us.”
“Fine.” Manny squeezed past Arch to sit in the recliner at the end of the couch next to Ms. Jackson. He crossed his arms and stared stonily at Ellis’ brother.
I made three trips to the kitchen to make sure everyone had glasses of water or iced tea. When I finally sat down in the chair at the opposite end of the couch from Manny, Ellis was telling his brother that he felt fine, just a little tired. I was glad I hadn’t said anything when Arch had asked.
Arch was manspreading in the center of the couch between Ms. Jackson and Ellis. Shane and Pia were still on the floor, their backs to the couch and with controllers in their hands. They’d thoughtfully turned the volume off on Super Mario Sunshine .
Shane exchanged glances with me, and he grimaced. Arch was not winning any friends here.
“Glad to hear you’re okay. Tell me what happened? How did you get taken?” His tone held a tinge of That-never-would’ve-happened-to-me that I didn’t appreciate. At all.
I reached out and picked up Ellis’ hand from where he’d been resting it on the arm of the couch. He smiled at me and threaded our fingers together.
Arch frowned at our hands. “What the hell is this? You’re fucking this guy?”
Ellis tightened his grip. “You know I’m gay, Arch.”
Arch waved his hand through the air. “Sure, sure. But him?” He pointed at me. “When I drove up he was on the driveway, and that one had his pants pulled down showing your boyfriend his dick.” He hiked a thumb at Manny .
Manny sat up, his eyebrows low and his eyes hard. “What did you just say?”
I squeezed Ellis’ hand. “That’s not what happened.”
He smiled. “I know.” He looked at Arch. “Did you not notice this?” He pointed at his belly, then at mine, and then over at Shane.
Arch’s mouth fell open. “The fuck? You’re involved with two guys at once?”
“It’s called polyamory. Look it up.” I left the dumbshit unspoken.
With a quiet apology to Pia, Shane paused their game. He walked over and stood between my chair and the couch, putting his hands on my and Ellis’ shoulders. “Is this a problem, Arch? Because our magic is pretty damn happy about it.”
Arch blinked at us. “Sorry. I didn’t notice your connections earlier. But, then why was this guy showing Rory his dick?”
“Arch!” Ellis pointed at Pia. “There’s a child present.”
Pia looked up from where she was flipping through Ellis’ game collection and rolled her eyes.
Arch ignored his brother and turned to Manny. “You trying to break them up or some shit? Because that’s my brother’s boyfriend, and you can’t have him.”
What the fuck was this guy’s deal? I could not keep up with the way his brain worked. Ellis started to speak, but I shook my head at him. Manny was more than capable of handling Arch.
Manny’s lip curled, and he looked Arch up and down, obviously not impressed. “It’s none of your business, but I’m going to answer your question so Ellis, Shane, and Pia have no doubts about me.” He looked at Ellis. “When I took the tequila out to the car, Rory asked me if I had a scar from yesterday, so I was showing it to him.” He sneered at Arch. “For your information, Archibald , the vampires grabbed me too, but since I was a pathetic human, they just disemboweled me and tossed me aside.” He stood up. “Which reminds me. I owe Ms. Jackson a treat. Come on, Ms. Jackson. I saw some cookies in Ellis’ pantry.”
He picked up his ice water, walked calmly to the door, and didn’t look back. Ms. Jackson morphed smoothly into their live tiger form and stepped regally off the couch.
Arch made a high-pitched shrieking noise and stumbled to his feet. He ran over to put himself between Ms. Jackson and Pia. The gun and knife were back in his hands.
“Arch! Put those away!” Ellis stood up and put his hands on his hips. “Ms. Jackson won’t hurt you.”
Pia slipped around Arch, neatly evading him when he sidestepped to block her. She skipped over to Ms. Jackson and ran her hands through Ms. Jackson’s fur.
“See, Uncle Arch? Ms. Jackson is the best.”
Arch pointed his gun at the floor, his face shocked.
Ms. Jackson sat down and manifested the Ouija board on their chest. A-C-T-I-N-G-L-I-K-E-A-J-E-R-K-W-O-N-T-R-E-P-A-I-R-Y-O-U-R-R-E-L-A-T-I-O-N-S-H-I-P-W-I-T-H-E-L-L-I-S. There was a pause, then they flashed, B-E-S-I-D-E-S-Y-O-U-H-A-V-E-A-J-O-B-T-O-D-O-A-N-D-Y-O-U-L-L-N-E-E-D-O-U-R-H-E-L-P .
They stared meaningfully at Arch for a moment, then they nudged Pia toward the door, sparkling out W-O-R-K-T-O-G-E-T-H-E-R - R-H-Y-T-H-M-N-A-T-I-O-N as they left the room .
Damn, Ms. Jackson hadn’t been that wordy since I’d known them.
Ellis rounded on me and Shane. “Manny was disemboweled ? You said he’d been injured, but what happened?”
I eyed Arch, who stared after Ms. Jackson and absently holstered his gun. I didn’t notice what he’d done with the knife. “Um, we’ll tell you later. I think you and Arch need to chat.”
“What the hell is that thing?” Arch was not interested in Manny’s injuries.
Ellis crossed his arms. “Their name is Ms. Jackson. They’re an Elven artifact, and they’re sentient. I thought you Hunters would’ve been briefed about them. They even have an entry in the Compendium Cal put online.”
A Compendium? That sounded like something I needed access to.
Arch threw up his hands. “I’ve been in the field. I haven’t had time to check my emails. I only heard you were kidnapped because Dominic called me.” The and you didn’t was heavily implied.
A sharp knock sounded. Pia shouted, “Lunch is here!” and we all heard her feet thundering to the front door.
Ellis and Arch were involved in some sort of stare-down I didn’t want any part of, so I squeezed Ellis’ shoulder, picked up my drink and his, and left the room. Shane followed me out carrying his iced tea.
Pia raced by carrying bags of food. Manny was sitting at the small breakfast table with Ms. Jackson, who was for once seated in another chair. An open package of Fig Newtons sat on the table between them, and the chair added enough height that Ms. Jackson’s head hung over it, as if they were about to scoop up the entire package as soon as Manny turned his head. When Pia dumped the food bags on the table, it was clear Ms. Jackson would be able to reach every inch of it.
Ellis’ table was a smallish rectangle. It could probably seat six in a pinch, but he only had four chairs. We now had five adults, plus Ms. Jackson and Pia.
“Ms. Jackson, you’ll have to sit on the floor.”
They gave me a sour look but hopped down agreeably enough. While they weren’t looking, Manny swiped the Fig Newtons from the table and held them out to Shane, who snagged them smoothly on his way into the kitchen.
I went into Ellis’ office and rolled his desk chair out and over to the breakfast table.
Shane retrieved a small ottoman from the living room and placed it directly across from where Ms. Jackson had positioned themselves. “Arch is tall enough to sit on that and still see over the table.”
Manny laughed and held up his hand for a high-five.
Pia wrinkled her nose. “Uncle Arch isn’t as friendly as Ellis.”
I patted her shoulder and guided her to the chair next to Ms. Jackson. “Let’s give Uncle Arch a chance. He and Ellis seem like they might have had some issues getting along, but that doesn’t make him a bad person. He did try to protect you when he thought Ms. Jackson was dangerous.”
She made a hmmm noise and started opening the bags, so I guessed she wasn’t buying what I was selling.
Shane helped me portion out food onto plates. Luckily we’d ordered a variety of Indian dishes, so there was plenty for everyone, Manny’s comments to Arch notwithstanding .
When we all had our plates filled, I stood up to go get Ellis and Arch, because, dammit, Ellis needed to eat after yesterday. But they came out on their own. They weren’t smiling exactly, but they didn’t seem as hostile as before.
I wished I knew how to tap into these so-called connections, since apparently you could check on your partner’s emotions. But Shane seemed relieved, so I’d just pretend everything was fine and move on.
I filled a plate for Ellis while Arch eyeballed the ottoman between me and Manny. “You’re tallest,” I pointed out.
Ellis, who I’d seated between me and Shane, shook his head. “Sorry. I don’t entertain much.”
Shane bumped shoulders with him. “We made do. Don’t worry about it.”
Arch sat down and scooted the ottoman up to the table, which was chest-high on him. He had to lift his elbows to fill his plate and eat. I grinned to myself.
We ate quietly for a few minutes, then Arch cleared his throat. “Um, Ms. Jackson, I apologize for freaking out earlier and pointing weapons at you. I was not aware of wha—who you were, and I promise it won’t happen again.”
The Ouija board appeared on their chest. T-H-A-N-K-Y-O-U .
“Um, I am curious, though. You mentioned a job? Is it maybe something to do with the billionaire Dominic told me to ask y’all about?” He looked from Ms. Jackson to me, Ellis, and Shane.
Yes sparkled on Ms. Jackson’s board.
Shane put his hand on Pia’s back. “But we’re not going to discuss it at the table. ”
Pia made a face. “I don’t mind, especially if you’re discussing putting him in jail.”
I looked around, but I didn’t see Lorraine anywhere. Grandfather was in the kitchen trying to slap at things on the counter with his hands. I made a mental note to find out what Garfield and Mercy had found out.
Arch had frozen, staring at Pia. “You... were, um, being held by that... guy?”
I wanted to call Grandfather in here to whack Arch on the head again.
Ellis reached across me to slap Arch’s forearm. Close enough. “Arch! We’ll talk about this later.”
Pia shivered, and Ms. Jackson morphed into a giant panda form. Arch dropped his fork, which made me super happy. Ms. Jackson reached out and hugged Pia, who leaned her head on their furry belly.
“Uh, sorry.” Arch darted a glance at Ellis. He kept his eyes on his plate for the next few minutes.
Ellis took a sip of his water then set the glass down with a thump. “I told Arch I was moving to Houston to be with you two.” He looked at Shane and me with a little smile.
I put my fork down and rubbed his back. “Can’t wait.”
“He’ll help us pack and then caravan to Houston with us.”
The rest of us nodded and continued eating, but Manny heaved a huge sigh. His eyes were closed, and his palms were pressed together in front of his face like he was praying. Then he dropped his hands and snapped his eyes open. “Pia, Ms. Jackson, and I will ride with Arch. You three haven’t had much time alone together.”
“Really?” Shane beamed. “That’d be fantastic! ”
I smiled. “Thanks, Manny. You’re right. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”
Ellis smiled and put his hands on Shane and my knees.
Arch, however, had stiffened, his eyes darting between Manny, Ms. Jackson, and Ellis. But in the end he just nodded and didn’t say anything. Sorry, dude. Partner time beat out estranged brother time. Ellis was riding in my car.
After dessert—Ms. Jackson had not been able to order any brownies, but they seemed content with more Fig Newtons and the leftover Oreos from yesterday—Arch helped us pack up the rest of what Ellis wanted to take. I took pictures of his furniture so we could decide what we wanted to keep after the house sold.
Since we had another vehicle, Pia and Ms. Jackson emptied the refrigerator and freezer into a couple of coolers Ellis had in his garage. Okay, Pia put food into the coolers. Ms. Jackson put food into their mouth. But, given that yesterday they not only turned into a dragon, but they also healed Manny, they could have whatever the hell they wanted.
I made sure Pia knew we were packing up all of Ellis’ gaming systems and games. Shane didn’t have any, and mine were at my condo.
Finally it was time to leave. I went outside and woke Manny, who’d been napping on a deck chair.
“You feel better?”
He groaned as he sat up. “Yeah, but I’m hoping I can sleep in the car on the way home. I don’t think I’m up for four hours of Mr. Personality.”
“Maybe Ms. Jackson will volunteer to sit next to him. ”
Manny scoffed. “Pia will make sure the snacks are in the back seat.”
I laughed and gave him a hand to help him stand upright.
He walked a little slowly back inside, but as soon as his eyes fell on Arch, he straightened his back and added a swagger. “Did you miss me? You ready for some rockin’ tunes in the Arch-mobile?” He waved his phone in Arch’s direction. Then he looked at Pia and smirked. “Hey, Pia? Wanna listen to some Janet Jackson songs? They’re Ms. Jackson’s favorite.”
Pia gasped. “Can we?”
Ms. Jackson, still in their giant panda form, stood upright on their hind legs, turned their head quickly to the left and back, then spread their arms and legs out in a big X. Manny cheered. “Go, Ms. Jackson! Pia, when we get to Houston, we’ll teach you that entire dance sequence. It’ll be fun!”
I shook my head, glad I was riding with Shane and Ellis.
I went out to the car to get the air conditioning going while Ellis did one last walk-through of the house. Arch got Pia and Ms. Jackson settled in his back seat, with Pia’s potted plants in the third row.
Pia still had Ellis’ iPad, and Manny had downloaded a few episodes of Supernatural , which Ms. Jackson was in the middle of watching. I would’ve recommended something lighter and more fun for Pia, but no one consulted me.
Ellis, Manny, and Shane finally left the house. They started across the lawn, and Manny pointed at me while saying something to my boyfriends. I narrowed my eyes and rolled down the window.
“...why his last polyamorous relationship went south, and you can remind him why that won’t happen again.” Then he shouted, “Right, Grandpa? ”
“I should’ve paid his mother to give him away as a child,” Grandfather grumped from the seat beside me.
I grimaced. “I do need to tell them. You don’t have to stick around for that part though.”
He didn’t reply, just vanished as Ellis took the front passenger seat and Shane sat behind Ellis.
“Let’s go home!”