Chapter 20

Jerome

       Part of me didn't want to meet with Dirk. I knew him quite well, and I knew this meeting couldn't be as easy. He was sure to have something up his sleeve, but I had to go anyway to see what he wanted.

       I still felt unsure, especially when he told me the meeting place.

       A forest.

       I just had to hope for the best that things went well and didn't turn into a fight.

       Dirk got there before me and when he saw me, he smirked. "Well, I didn't think you'd show up."

       "Yes, and I don't plan on staying long, so let's just get this over with," I said. "What do you want to talk about?"

       "The Protector Circle," Dirk said. "I want your help to take them down."

       I raised an eyebrow. Dirk actually wanted me to turn to his side? Did he bump his head or something? There was no way I was going to turn against the people whose mission was the protect us supernaturals.

       I still didn't know why Dirk was so against them.

       "No way," I said. "Why would I want to take down the people keeping us safe?"

       "Keeping us safe?" Dirk repeated. "They're controlling us. If we mess up just once, they banish us to the Tribunal and stay locked up for years. Who even gave them the power to do that to us?"

       "There's a simple solution," I said. "Don't mess up. They put you on trial if you do something you're not supposed to, so if it's an accident, chances are you'll be free. And the reason they do that is to keep both supernaturals and humans safe."

       "Again, they're not keeping us safe," Dirk said. "If anything, they're favouring humans over supernaturals."

       "That's because most humans don't know supernaturals exist," I said. "They're not a threat to us, yet they're getting killed by people like you anyway. So, you can forget about me helping you out."

       "Really?" Dirk asked. "Fine, continue being a puppet for the Protector Circle."

       "I am not a puppet," I said. "I have been helping them out on my own free will. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm leaving this meeting because there's no way I would ever be on the same side as you."

       I turned around to walk away, but I didn't make it far before a sudden force knocked me to the ground. I tried standing up, but then Dirk used his magic to hold me up against the tree. I didn't even bother struggling to get free. Nobody ever could get out of these binds.

       "I didn't want to do this," Dirk said. "I was hoping you would be smart enough to join my side, but it turns out, you're not. I wonder what will happen if I get one of my vampires to enchant you to our side."

       "You said to come alone," I said.

       "Exactly," Dirk said. "I told you to come alone. I never said I have to. This time, I was smart enough to bring a male vampire to help me."

       A sudden swish filled the air right as an arrow lodged itself into Dirk's shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain as he stopped the bind holding me up. I fell to the ground and someone was soon by my side helping me stand.

       Nolan.

       "What are you doing here?" I asked. "I said I had to come alone."

       "You really think I was going to let that happen?" Nolan asked. "We can't trust Dirk. Knowing him, he probably brought more than just a vampire."

       Dirk stood up, taking the arrow out of his shoulder and quickly used magic to heal the wound. "Your boyfriend's right, Jerome," Dirk said. "I did. You should have been as smart."

       As if on cue, all the people on Dirk's side came rushing over, encircling me and Nolan so we had no escape. I counted how many people he had a sighed. Eight, against the two of us.

       "Well, it looks like you're outnumbered," Dirk said, and while he was talking, I quickly put a spell on me and Nolan so the vampires wouldn't be able to enchant us temporarily. "Give up now, before I hurt one of you. And you, surprisingly, won't be my first choice."

       Never underestimate a sorcerer.

       I used my energy to create a large blast, sending all of them flying on their backs. Nolan and I tried leaving, but Dirk was fast to get to his feet and send a ball of magic towards us.

       However, it wasn't able to hit us because Alan suddenly showed up and swung his spear like a baseball bat to hit the magic ball and send it in Dirk's direction, causing him to dive out of the way.

       "Maybe I should try out for the baseball team," Alan said. "Oh, Dirk, but the way, how does ten against eight sound?"

       I really shouldn't have assumed Nolan would show up alone because he was smarter than that. He brought not only his siblings, but three of his cousins, Atticus, and Mae.

       Now I was liking the odds.

       "Don't just sit there," Dirk said to his team. "Get them."

       That was how a fight broke out.

       Dirk's team had weapons, including Dirk. I didn't know how I didn't notice the sword sitting in a sheath.

       He, however, didn't use it because he was more interested in fighting with me. All with magic.

       I really wished I was able to decipher all those spells and remember them so I could have taken Dirk down then and there. I wasn't going to give up, though. I was fighting him with all I got.

       I wasn't able to see what was going on with everyone else fighting. I was too busy focused on trying to take down Dirk, but we were, admittedly, of equal strength. That was why I wanted that spell book in the first place.

       Normally, I was able to dodge all of Dirk's magic but at one point, he was able to hit me with it, causing me to go flying and hit a tree. He then holds me up in yet another bind. "Jerome, Jerome, Jerome," he said. "You should know that you'll never be able to beat me."

       "We'll see about that," I said, which caused him to make the bind around me even tighter.

       From the corner of my eye, I saw Nolan aiming his bow and arrow towards Dirk, but Dirk noticed it too. He used one hand to keep the bind around me and the other to hit Nolan with magic.

       Dirk used his force against me to knock me against the tree before releasing the bind. I fell to the ground, finding it hard to focus on anything.

       When my vision finally cleared, I saw something I wish I had never seen in my life.

       Dirk plunged his sword right into Nolan's side.

       I used my magic and pushed Dirk away from Nolan before hurrying over to him. I caught him right as he was about to fall to the ground.

       I gently lowered him to the ground and knelt down beside him. Blood was already seeping out of his side, and his face was twisted in pain.

       To make things worse, Dirk and his team cowardly left. We didn't even get the chance to beat them because he quickly made a portal and he and his team ran through it. He knew I was going to go even harder with my magic than I ever had.

       Orchid was the first one to notice Nolan and she ran over. "Nolan, you'll be okay," she said. "Jerome, we have to get him back to the HQ."

       "I-I can heal him," I said.

       "I know, but he'll need to rest afterwards," Orchid said. "Come on."

       I nodded and created a portal. I let everyone go through it first before I carefully picked up Nolan and carried him through so the two of us ended up in the infirmary of the HQ. I carefully laid him down on the bed before turning to close the door, but he grabbed my wrist.

       "I'm just going to close the door so I have better concentration," I said.

       "I-I just want to tell you something," he said, his voice sounding very weak. "Just..." He winced and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "In case I d-don't make it."

       "Nolan, don't say that," I said. "I'm not going to let anything happen."

       "Just in case," he repeated, opening his eyes to look at me.

       "Okay, what is it?" I asked.

       He took another deep breath before saying, "I really, really like you."

       I smiled softly. "I really like you too."

       Nolan released my wrist and let me go to close the door. I got back to Nolan and prepared to heal him. My hands hovered over his wound and I let all my magic flow through me and out of my hands, surrounding his wound.

       But nothing happened.

       It normally took a while to heal a wound this large, but it always showed a bit of improvement in even a few seconds. Ten seconds had passed and the wound wasn't getting any smaller.

       If Dirk did something to the wound so I couldn't heal it...

       I tried again and again, but nothing was happening. With each passing second, I was losing my chances of keeping Nolan alive. I even tried feeding into my anger and hurt to make my magic even more powerful, but it wasn't working.

       Because my magic wasn't healing Nolan at all, he had completely lost consciousness from the loss of blood. I had to check his pulse, and I was thankful that it was still there. It was weak, but it was there.

       The door opened and I looked over to see Mae walk in. "How's it going?"

       "My magic isn't working on him," I said. "I keep trying, but it's not working."

       "Are your feelings getting in the way?" Mae asked. "That has happened sometimes."

       "It shouldn't get in the way," I said. "In fact, it should power my magic even more, so I have no idea why it's not working. I'm going to take him back to our apartment. Maybe there's something in the spell book that can help, and if there isn't, I'm sure I can think of a potion that will."

       "Are you sure it'll be safe to use the spell book without any practice?" Mae asked. "They're powerful spells."

       "What choice do I have?" I asked.

       I created yet another portal, then carefully picked Nolan up and took him through the portal and to my apartment. I laid him down on the couch and opened up the spell book which was sitting on the coffee table. I flipped through the pages, trying to remember if I read a spell to do with healing, but my mind was in one big haze.

       I found one, but it was one that Nolan and I hadn't deciphered yet. I slammed the book shut in frustration. I couldn't give up on him. Not yet.

       I tried using my magic to heal him yet again, but it still wasn't working. I kept trying and trying and trying. There was no improvement whatsoever.

       I could feel tears stinging my eyes, and I quickly wiped them away. Nolan was the first person I ever felt so strongly for, and I could feel myself losing him minute by minute. He was only seventeen, and he had a lot more to live for.

       No. I couldn't think about that. I just had to think about healing him.

       Maybe Mae was right. Maybe my feelings were getting in the way. I was focused too much on Nolan and not on the wound itself.

       I took a deep breath, hovering my hands over his wound and closing my eyes. This time, I tried my best to concentrate solely on the wound. As hard as it was, I had to push all my feelings for Nolan away.

       I could feel my magic flowing through me, and I opened my eyes to look at the wound. It hard to be the only thing on my mind.

       Very slowly, it was starting to heal, but not as fast as it normally did. I pushed my magic even harder, not caring how much energy I was using up. I kept pushing and pushing until the wound was finally fully healed.

       I almost collapsed on the floor, and I was trying my best to catch my breath. I was still worried about Nolan. Just because I healed his wound, it didn't mean he was in the clear. Not yet.

       Nolan was still unconscious, and I was waiting in agony for even the slightest bit of movement from him. I took his hand in mine, holding it tightly. "Please wake up," I begged softly. "I can't lose you."

       A few more minutes passed, and he still didn't move at all. I released his hand and my tears away. I was about to stand up, but Nolan stirred a bit before opening his eyes, then sitting up. 

       I couldn't help but immediately pull him into a hug. "Thank goodness you're okay," I said. I pulled away just so I could look at him. "You do not know how scared I was. My magic wasn't working for some reason and I was so close to losing you and I do not know what I would do if I l--"

       "Jerome," Nolan interrupted. "Just shut up and kiss me."

       I smiled. "I thought you'd never say that," I said before cupping Nolan's face in my hands and pressing my lips on his.

_________________

Woo that was a fun chapter to write. cx I had this part planned for soooooo long, even before the book was just a fun thing I was thinking of. I wasn't even gonna post this book but then I did and I'm LIVING FOR IT.

BUT YAY, Jerlan is canon in here now. :D They went canon before Maeder did. :O