“Don’t take it off!” Jenks shrilled as I tried to push it over my wrist, and I let go of it, frightened by his fervor. Maybe my aura wasn’t healed enough to tap a line.

Looking unruffled, Trent tugged his shirt straight, the bright imprint of my hand on his stubbled face. There was a large bruise on the other side, spreading up under his hairline, looking ugly. His right hand was bandaged, and my anger dissolved when I saw that he was missing two fingers, just like in my dream. What had happened?

“Would you have kissed me if you had known it was real?” he asked, and when I simply stared at him, my face flaming, he turned on his heel. “Ivy, Jenks,” he said, looking stiff as he reached for a cane. “It’s been a pleasure.”

My jaw dropped when his pace was awkward, and then I saw his foot, in a cast. “Trent, wait!” I called, but he kept walking, his back stiff and his neck red. Jenks and Ivy exchanged a heavy look, and I tried to get up, failing. “Trent, I’m sorry for slapping you! Come back. Please! Thank you for getting me out of there. Don’t make me crawl after you. I’m sorry! Damn it, I’m sorry!”

He stopped, his arm stiffly holding open the wide hospital door. The hall noise slipped in, both familiar and hated, and then…he let the door shut and turned back around. I exhaled, falling back against the raised bed, shaking in exhaustion.

“Hey, Rache!” Jenks buzzed close. “What’s it like being dead?”

“A lot like being a sixties housewife. What happened?” Trent said I’d been out for three days. Three days? Where was Pierce? And Bis?

My attention shot to the top of the wardrobe, and a new fear joined the rest when I found him there. The gargoyle was sleeping, an exhausted pale gray with a baby bottle in his tight grip. But what scared me was that I’d known where he was. Even though I was cut off from the ley lines, my eyes had gone right to him. Bis had saved me. Our fates were bound together, and there was nothing I could do about it. He’d chosen me, and now I was responsible for him. For life.

Ivy stood, and I wasn’t surprised when she leaned over the bed and gave me a hug, shocking me from my thoughts. The spicy scent of vampire soaked into me, better than a calming spell. I smiled up at her warmth, feeling loved. “Welcome back,” she whispered, and then she pulled away, her eyes black and tearful. “I have to go, but I’ll come back when your dinner tray is here.”

“You’re leaving?” I said, not liking how my voice wobbled. My gaze darted between her and Bis. “Why?”

“Jenks and I have something to do,” she said, giving the pixy a pointed look.

Jenks hovered between us, spilling a red dust. His hands were on his hips in his best Peter Pan pose. “Like what?” he shot at her. “We’ve done nothing but sit here for three days while you’ve moaned and pissed over Rachel, and now that she’s awake, you want to leave?”