Chapter 35

Jerome

       I didn't know how long I was going to be able to handle being apart from Nolan, but I had to at least try to deal with the exhaustion, and now the pain it was giving me. If our enemies got Dirk back, I didn't know what we would do.

       Dirk was leading the rebellion and with him at the Tribunal, the rest of his team was too afraid to even attack us. We had to keep him there so he couldn't do anything else.

       Martha didn't take long to get to the HQ to see how I was doing. I really hoped she wouldn't agree with the trade off.

       I had at least one person by my side while I was in the infirmary just in case something bad happened. If it wasn't Mae, then it was Ryder. 

       Right now, Gene, Martha, Ryder, and Mae were in the infirmary with me only so they could discuss what should be done. And I was starting to be in a lot of pain. At first, it was just my side but now, the pain was spreading over all of my body, and quite quickly.

       It hadn't even been three hours since Nolan went missing, and at this rate, something bad was going to happen.

       "There are Protectors in every state looking for Nolan right now," Martha said. "We're all going to do whatever we can to get him back with Jerome."

       "Whatever it takes?" Ryder asked. "Because we know what they're going to ask for."

       Martha sighed. "I know and if it comes to that, we're going to have to do it."

       "No, you can't," I said. "There has to..." I stopped when a sharp pain was felt on my back. It faded a bit, but it could still be felt. "There has to be something else we can do."

       "Jerome, we have to act quickly," Mae said. "Something disastrous can happen at any minute."

       "And if you're in this much pain, imagine how Nolan must be feeling right now," Ryder said. "He's not as tough as you."

       "He is mentally, and I know he's going to say the same thing," I said. "Don't give them Dirk."

       Nobody replied, mainly because a red piece of paper suddenly appeared out of thin air and dropped into Gene's hands. "What's this?" he asked.

       "A sorcerer's way of video chatting whomever they want," Mae said. "You just sign your name on it, and it will turn into a video chat between you and the sender."

       We all knew who it was.

       Gene sighed as he grabbed a pen sitting on the infirmary's desk and signed his name at the bottom of the paper. It disappeared before a large screen appeared, and it started making me feel even worse.

       Only because Cheryl was there, and her face made me want to barf, so I could add nausea on top of the pain and exhaustion.

       "Oh, good, the head of the Protector Circle is here too," Cheryl said. "I bet you all know what I'm going to say, so let's just keep this short. Dirk for Nolan. Your choice."

       "Not happening," I said, and now saying those two words took too much energy. I felt like I was going to pass out at any moment.

       Cheryl's lips curled into a mocking pout. "Aw, look at wittle Jerome, trying to be a hero. Maybe this will change your mind." She stepped a bit too the left, revealing a cell behind her with Nolan inside. And he looked worse than I felt.

       "I swear, if you lay a finger on him..." Ryder began, but Cheryl cut him off.

       "Oh, relax, I'm not going to do anything," she said. "Being far apart from his boyfriend is doing more damage than I can even do. Like I said, Dirk for Nolan. That's the deal, and I'm not negotiating any other offers."

       "Don't..." Nolan said, before crying out in pain and holding his side, and I immediately felt it too. When it faded as much as it would, he finished his sentence. "Don't do it."

       "Wow, both trying to be heroes," Cheryl said. "I bet you two won't be saying that in an hour or so."

       "Cheryl, you're playing a dangerous game," Mae said. "I get that you're a vampire and don't know much about the prophecy, but..."

       "Oh, I know all I need," Cheryl interrupted.

       "No, you don't," Mae said. "Keeping Nolan and Jerome apart isn't just going to hurt them. Disastrous things can happen."

       Cheryl snorted. "Like what?"

       "We don't know because it hasn't happened before," Mae said. "But you're going to hurt a lot more people than just Nolan and Jerome."

       "Likely story," Cheryl said. "You'd just say anything to help your brother out. Sorry, but nothing you say will change the deal. Dirk. For. Nolan. What's your answer?"

       "We'll do it," Martha said. "We'll make the trade."

       Was she kidding me? Right now, it was only affecting me and Nolan and both of us didn't want the trade to happen.

       Cheryl smiled. "Good. Meet us in the alleyway behind the abandoned warehouse in an hour. And don't try any tricks."

       "We won't," Martha said.

       "And to make sure of that, only five people on your side can be present in the trade off," Cheryl said. "Not including Dirk, of course."

       "That goes for you too," Mae said. "Because knowing you, you'd end up bringing your whole team. Five people, or else you're not getting Dirk back."

        "I'm pretty sure you need Nolan back more than we need Dirk," Cheryl said. "I can bring as much people as I want."

       "Then the trade off isn't happening," Martha said. "You said the only deal you'll take is Dirk for Nolan. Well, the only deal we'll take is bringing the same amount of people. You are not bringing any more than we are, otherwise the trade off isn't happening."

       "Fine," Cheryl said. "Five only. I'll see you in an hour."

       The video chat ended, and that was when I said, "We both said no to the trade off."

       "Jerome, trust me, I appreciate how you both were willing to go through the pain just to keep Dirk locked up," Martha said. "But remember what your sister said? A lot more people will get hurt, not just you and Nolan. Our job as Protectors is to protect not only the supernaturals, but full-blood humans too. They're innocent people, and we can't allow them to get hurt."

       I sighed. She was right, but I still didn't want the trade off to happen.

       Something was going to go wrong there. Something always did because Dirk's team couldn't be trusted.

       "Who will go to the trade off?" Ryder asked.

       "Jerome, for sure," Martha said. "The sooner Jerome and Nolan are together again, the better. As for the other four, that will be up to Gene to decide."

       "Definitely my three strongest Protectors, and Mae, if she's willing," Gene said.

       Mae nodded. "Of course. But I know not to trust Cheryl. They're going to plan something and while we won't be able to bring more people, we have to plan something just in case they bring more."

       "Which they probably will," Ryder said. "They've done it once, and they'll do it again."

       "I have... I have something to help," I said, taking a deep breath so I can continue. Though I didn't have much energy to, so I said two words hoping that Mae would understand. "Portal potion."

      "What?" Ryder asked.

      "Jerome made a potion not too long ago," Mae said. "It's like an instant portal, and anyone can use it. You just have to place three drops on the ground."

       "Okay, what about it?" Ryder asked.

       "We can have back up stay here but be ready, and give them the potion so they can come as soon as they can if something goes wrong," Mae said.

       "Perfect idea," Martha said. "Alright, let's get ready for the trade off."

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ONE MORE CHAPTER FOR THE SPAM UPDATE

(stop giving excuse for not caring enough about nolan getting kidnapped to comment)

(lol jk i love you all)