Fangs And Fame (36 page)

Trey

THE 7-UP BOTTLE GREEN
of Aurora’s eyes was the first thing I saw when I looked up.

“
Welcome back,” she breathed, her eyes conveying all the relief she was feeling. I was conscious, so that meant it had worked.

“
You did it,” I started to say, but I was cut off when Chase eagerly cut in, hovering over me.

“
How many fingers am I holding up?” he asked.

“
He didn’t hit his head, idiot,” Jonas chimed in from somewhere nearby.

“
Twelve,” I answered, grinning when he narrowed his eyes at me.

“
His smart ass is fine,” Chase declared, offering me a hand up.

I took it, and Chase pulled me into a sitting position. I caught Aurora throwing an inquisitive glance Mark
’s way. Her mental guard was up in full force now, and I had to ask.

“
What is it? Whatever you did … it worked.”

Mark crouched down, looking at me curiously. I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting.
“Your heart….” he said slowly.

“
What about it?” I asked, glancing down instinctively. That was when I noticed the hole in my shirt. “Whoa,” I said, touching the singed edges with my fingers. “Did you do this?” I asked, looking to Aurora. She hesitated and then nodded. “Nice,” I said, admiring the perfect circle missing from the material.

“
Is something wrong with his heart now?” Jonas asked. Maybe he’d have better luck getting an answer than I was.

“
Your heart,” Aurora began. “It’s … different.”

“
Different?” I got to my feet now, ignoring Mark’s warning to take it slow. “Different good, or different bad?” I held my hand against my chest, feeling for whatever they were talking about.

“
Maybe neither,” Mark added. “How do you feel?”

“
I’m fine, but O’Shea isn’t.” Whatever they were worried about with me could wait. O’Shea needed help now.

Aurora nodded and looked to Mark and the guys, saying,
“Head on back. We’ll be right there.” The three of them took the hint, and the minute Aurora and I were alone she threw her arms around me.

“
It’s okay,” I said in her ear. “I’m really okay.” She held my face in her hands, gazing at me intently. “How about you?” I asked her. “Are you okay?”

She nodded.
“I’m fine.”

“
Do you need a shot of blood from the stash before we do this?”

“
No. I drank all of yours. Remember?” She grinned in spite of herself. “You were right about your blood giving me the charge I needed.”

“
I usually am.” I leaned down and kissed her hard, hoping she’d get a taste somewhere in my emotions of just how much I believed in her. “You can do this,” I said, holding her hands in mine.

She nodded again.
“I can,” she repeated with way more confidence than I expected.

I smiled at her.
“That’s my girl.”

Chase and Jonas were standing in the doorway to the bedroom area, but slid aside to let Aurora and I pass.

“What’s going on?” Kacie asked when she saw us. Having refused to leave O’Shea, she had no clue what had just gone down on the other end of the bus. “Did you find a way to get the blood he needs? Are we going to stop somewhere?”

“
Not exactly,” I said, trying to decide how best to explain.

Aurora jumped in, taking Kacie by the hand and leading her away from O
’Shea’s bedside to the small sofa at the bottom of the bed. “I can’t imagine how you must be feeling,” Aurora said, crouching down to be closer to her. “First there’s the whole vampire bombshell, and now O’Shea....” Aurora paused, searching Kacie’s face for understanding. “You probably feel like I’ve betrayed you, keeping a secret like this. You can be mad at me about all of that later, but right now I need you to trust me.”

Kacie couldn
’t tear her eyes away from O’Shea as she spoke. “I … I don’t understand. What’s happening?”

“
Kace,” Aurora said intently. Kacie finally met Aurora’s eyes, which, I know from personal experience, are hard to look away from. “Do you trust me?”

Kacie managed a nod.
“Yes. Of course. You’re still my best friend.”

Aurora did a good job of concealing her surprise at Kacie
’s declaration. She nodded and went to the bed then, sitting down next to O’Shea.

I lowered myself next to Kacie and offered her my hand for comfort. She took it without hesitation, squeezing gently.
“It’s going to be okay,” I told her.

She looked at me, noticing my singed shirt for the first time, and gasped.
“Trey, are you hurt?”

“
Quite the opposite,” I assured her. “You’ll see.”

Aurora opened the blinds, allowing the moonlight to flood the small room. We were far enough out of the city now that the smog was gone. The sky was clear and the moon shone low in anticipation of ducking behind the horizon as the sun took a turn. It would be morning soon. I had to admit I was anxious to see exactly what Aurora would do, what she had just done to me. Five pairs of eyes watched eagerly as she laid a hand over O
’Shea’s heart, her focus on the moon outside. After a moment, she closed her eyes in concentration, and I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she looked just then. She was in her element, despite the fact that she was breaking new ground. Everything was still for a long moment, and then I saw light appear on Aurora’s hands. Not just light … they were
sparks
; tiny green and blue arcs of light, popping and sliding along her hands. I half expected to smell ozone, just like the scent in the air during a lightning storm, but the smell never came. I realized then that Kacie’s grip on my hand was so tight her knuckles had turned white.

Aurora moved to place both hands on O
’Shea’s chest then, and Kacie turned, burying her face in my shoulder, unable to watch. Poor girl probably thought she was completely losing it. I put my arm around her shoulders, and she found the courage to look up again. The sparks began moving in unison, trailing down Aurora’s fingertips until they separated from her and pooled on O’Shea’s chest. They danced around for a second before turning red and vanishing inside of him, leaving no visible sign of their path through his skin. It was calm again ... eerily so, and then O’Shea’s chest lit up like E.T.’s, glowing red from the inside.

I clenched my jaw in an effort to keep from gaping. One glance at Chase, and his response, which included raising his eyebrows and nodding at me, confirmed that this had been exactly the scene just moments ago when I
’d been the one doing the E.T. impression. I glanced forward again just in time to see the glow trail outward from O’Shea’s center and spread along what had to have been every vein and artery in his body. It happened so fast. It was over before I could even comprehend what had just happened. There was a flash from inside of him, then the light disappeared. O’Shea lay there, seemingly unchanged. Then his color quickly started coming back, and he did the thing we’d all been waiting for.

He woke up.

O’Shea gasped and shot straight up in bed like he’d been hit by lightning.

“
It’s okay,” Aurora assured him, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Just breathe.”

O
’Shea’s chest heaved, but he nodded, trying to do as Aurora told him. Kacie rushed to him, and Aurora moved out of her way so she could sit down.

“
You’re really okay,” Kacie exclaimed as she studied O’Shea through her tears.

O
’Shea looked around the room, his expression a combination of confusion and relief. “What’s going on?” he asked. “The last thing I remember is the fang twins wanting to make a meal of Kacie and I.”

“
They nearly succeeded,” I told him.

O
’Shea glanced at me, his eyes narrowing when he saw the singed hole in my shirt. “What happened to you?” he asked.

“
I was the lab rat,” I said with a smile. He narrowed his eyes, and I waved a dismissive hand. “Long story.”

“
How do you feel?” Mark asked him.

O
’Shea took a second to assess himself, saying, “I ... I think I’m okay.” Then his eyes grew wide and he added, “Why? How did we get away from the fang twins?”

“
Jonas and I busted you out,” Chase said. “With Tytus’s help.”

“
You what?” O’Shea asked, stunned by Chase’s explanation.

“
You were in pretty bad shape,” I added. “You had us all worried for a while.”

Kacie squeezed O
’Shea’s hand and said, “Aurora healed you. She ... well ... “ Kacie looked up at Aurora before she continued. “I don’t really know how you did what you did.”

Aurora smiled.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said, looking at O’Shea. “As long as you’re okay.”

“
How long was I out?” O’Shea asked. “I feel like I’ve been in bed for a week. I’ve got to get up.” O’Shea eyed the plastic tubing that ran into a needle in his arm and said, “Can we lose this?”

Mark came forward and removed the IV needle for him.
“Take it slow,” he warned. “This quick healing stuff is still in beta testing.”

I got to my feet and stepped forward, offering a hand to pull him up and support him if he needed it. Once on his feet, O
’Shea stretched like he’d just had a long nap. Then he looked around the room, chuckled, and said, “I’m all right, guys. Quit worrying. You all look like you could use some sleep, though. Rough night?”

Chase let out a belly laugh and slapped O
’Shea on the back. “You have no idea. Good to have you back,” he said, grinning.

“
Now ... where are we?” O’Shea asked. “Do we have a show to play tonight, or what?”

Trey

“FIRST THINGS FIRST,” I said, putting a hand on O’Shea’s shoulder. “You’re going to let the doc check you over. We’re not even discussing playing a show until he gives you a clean bill of health. Understood?” O’Shea nodded. “All right then.” I smiled and gestured for him to sit right back down on the bed.

“
Let’s give them some room,” Aurora suggested.

Jonas held his closed fist out to O
’Shea and said, “You have no idea how glad we are to have you back, man.”

O
’Shea bumped his fist. “Thanks ... for, you know, rescuing us and everything.”

“
Don’t mention it,” Jonas added.

We left Kacie, O
’Shea and Mark in the bedroom and headed to the center of the bus. I leaned against the countertop and ran my hands through my hair, relieved beyond words. Aurora came to me and wrapped her arms around my waist, leaning her ear to my chest and closing her eyes. I held onto her, planting a soft kiss on the top of her head.

“
Do you really think he’s okay?” I asked her.

“
Mmm,” she hummed. “We’ll know more after Mark’s done.”

Chase purposefully sauntered over to the refrigerator and pulled the door open. I raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a hard time.
“What?” he said defensively. “It’s for O’Shea. Somebody on this bus has to keep the humans fed.” I shook my head, smiling at him as he dug through the fridge’s contents.

“
I went a little crazy at the convenience store,” Jonas added. “You should be able to find something in there.”

Aurora let out a small contented sigh, and I looked down at her, cocking my head to the side to see the soft smile on her face.

“I think I like it,” she said slowly.

“
Like what?”

“
Your new heartbeat.”

“
I’m still not sure what you’re talking about,” I told her. “Does it really sound that different?”

“
Shh....” Aurora said. Then I felt a small surge of power coming off of her as she projected the sound she was hearing in my chest into my thoughts, amplifying it so I could hear exactly what she did. My heartbeat was definitely louder, fuller than it should have been, but the tinny quality that all vampire hearts have was still there, layering the end of each beat. It was bizarre. “It’s the perfect blend of your old human heartbeat and your new vampire one,” she added.

“
How is that even possible?”

“
No idea.” I could hear the smile in her words. “Now be quiet. I’m listening.”

I grinned and held onto her, enjoying a few serene minutes while everyone I knew was safe and sound. The sky outside the window in front of me was lighting up, layering with hopeful shades of pink, orange and yellow, announcing the sun
’s impending arrival.

O
’Shea, Kacie and Mark joined us in the main part of the bus before too long. I straightened at seeing them, and Aurora turned around, smiling as they approached.

“
I’m good,” O’Shea said. He held up his hands, speaking before anyone could ask. Then he went straight to Aurora, putting his arms around her in a big hug. Aurora squeezed him back for a long moment before O’Shea whispered, “Thank you.” Aurora, at a complete loss for words, simply nodded and held him for a few seconds before releasing him. O’Shea looked at the guys and I in turn, smiling his most convincing smile. “You can quit looking at me like I’m going to drop dead,” he added. “The doc says I’m healthy.”

And he really did seem to be. Even his heart sounded like it always did. Whatever had caused mine to change obviously hadn
’t affected him. It must have just been a vampire side effect of some kind, but one I was certain Mark would be interested in exploring further in the near future.

We all sat down on the leather sofas that lined the sides of the bus and Chase handed O
’Shea the plate of random food items he’d collected from the fridge. Kacie was out like a light a few minutes after her head hit the armrest of the sofa. O’Shea put a blanket over her to keep her comfortable. “I imagine she didn’t get much sleep last night,” he said.

“
She hardly left your side,” I stated. 

Aurora
’s phone buzzed and she pulled it from her pocket, reading a message. “It’s Antonio,” she said. “He wants an update.”

“
I’ll go with you,” Mark offered. The two of them headed to the back of the bus again to make the phone call.

My phone rang and I saw Neon
’s face staring back at me from the screen. I turned to O’Shea, needing to fill him in quickly.

“
Neon thinks you have the stomach flu.,” I said. “You’ve been violently sick since before the show. You were puking all over the place. That’s why we cancelled.” O’Shea nodded and I answered the call. “Hey,” I said.

“
How’s he doing?” Neon asked, his voice full of concern.

“
He’s doing a little better now, actually,” I said, which was the only truthful thing I told him. “The doctor gave him something for the nausea, and it seems to be working so far. I think he’s past the worst of it now. Do you want to talk to him?”

“
He’s awake?” Neon asked.

“
I’ll put you on speaker,” I said, pressing the button.

“
I’m alive,” O’Shea said, doing a fairly believable job of sounding run down.

“
Trey says you’ve quit spilling your guts all over the place,” Neon said. “That’s good news.”

“
Yeah,” O’Shea agreed. “Nothing like the stomach flu.”

“
Just be glad he wasn’t on your bus,” I teased. “It doesn’t necessarily pay to be the only guy with a real bed.”

“
Karma,” Neon teased. “I think everyone understood about the show,” he added. “The fans seem fine with rescheduling. Everything I’ve seen and heard is just that everyone wants you to get feeling better.”

“
I’m working on it,” O’Shea assured him. “I think it must have just been a twenty-four hour bug. I’ll probably be fine tonight.”

“
We’ll worry about tonight when we reach the next town. I’ll talk to the doctor before we make any decisions about the show. I’m going to let you go now so you can rest. It’s early. You should probably be sleeping.”

“
Sounds good,” O’Shea agreed. “Thanks for checking up on me.” He hung up the phone and passed it back to me. “I imagine it’s safe to assume there was some major vampire juju involved in that cover-up.”

“
Aurora’s scary good at that stuff,” I said, smiling. He looked at me, and I saw all the questions in his eyes before he could even ask.

“
What really happened?” he said after a moment of silence. “I didn’t want to ask for details earlier.” He glanced at Kacie to be certain she was asleep. “You’re all sort of tip-toeing around it, especially Kacie, but you can tell me. I can handle it.”

Chase, Jonas and I shared knowing glances while O
’Shea stared at us expectantly. I went first, explaining to O’Shea, but also to the other guys, exactly what I had said and done on stage in lieu of the show we were supposed to put on last night. I pulled my phone out and played the video I had taken while I was on stage of the crowd chanting O’Shea’s name. He couldn’t help but smile as he watched.

“
You’re good,” he said, nodding. “I have to hand it to you.” Then he looked at Chase and Jonas and said, “And you two.... Did you really bust us out?”

“
We found you unconscious and chained to a pipe with holes in your throat,” Chase said.

“
Tytus hulked out on the fang twins,” Jonas added. “He threw the biggest one across the room. They were in a pretty big hurry to get out of there after that.”

O
’Shea didn’t flinch at the explanation. “And Kacie?” he asked. “She tells me that she’s okay, but I don’t know what happened after I....” His voice trailed off, and he turned to look at her as she slept soundly next to him. “The thought of those vamps touching her....”

“
She told me what you did,” I said, stepping in. “When you told the vamps to drink from you and leave her alone, they listened. You bought her enough time for the guys to find you.”

“
She was freaked out,” Jonas added. “I think that was mostly because she’d been abducted by vampires, and because she was worried about you.”

“
They had basically sucked you dry,” Chase said solemnly. “Doc fang said another minute of that vampire draining you, and we’d have lost you.”

O
’Shea winced, but only I knew it was because he was painting a picture in his head of Kacie handcuffed to a chair across the room from him, worrying that he was dead as he hung motionless from the pipes. It was a vivid image of the scene that took place in that storage room in the basement of the venue, and it made me want to tear someone into pieces. I shook my head, forcing the disturbing images from my mind.

“
We called the doc when we found you,” Jonas explained. “He’d been helping Aurora alter memories. Between Neon, Crosstalk, and the crew, there was quite a long list. He came as soon as we called and swiped some medical stuff from the ambulance in the parking garage before meeting us at Trey’s bus.” In recalling the events, Jonas’s mind filled up with flashes of memory that I couldn’t help but gleam as he spoke. I saw Chase slinging O’Shea over his shoulder to carry him, despite Tytus’s offer to do it. Chase couldn’t stand to let anyone else carry O’Shea just then, not in the fragile state O’Shea was clearly in. Tytus had carried Kacie instead, who it appeared had only agreed because she couldn’t bring herself to argue with the giant vampire. I swallowed the ball of emotion that was trying to lodge itself in my throat and blinked the scene out of my mind so I could follow the rest of the conversation.

“
Then what?” O’Shea asked. “Aurora healed me?”

I shook my head.
“At first we tried to find a way to get you some blood for a transfusion. You’d just lost so much.... But word was already spreading about how I had foiled Stanislav onstage. None of our vampire contacts were willing to get involved by helping us. We were running out of options, and Aurora was wishing she could do something to help you. Then your heart stopped.”

O
’Shea’s head snapped up in surprise, and his heartbeat jumped accordingly. That was when I realized just how little he actually knew about what had happened to him. Chase, on the other hand, was remembering it all vividly. The drummer’s train of thought just then made me smile and shake my head.

I guess that means you didn
’t get the verbal beating I gave you when your heart started up again
, he thought as he watched O’Shea.

I couldn
’t help myself and lightly slugged Chase’s shoulder to remind him that I was privy to his internal sarcastic dialogue, and that I appreciated his comedic timing. Chase made a grunting noise and shook his head.

“
Your mom’s insistence that we all take first aid training every summer finally paid off.”  I said to O’Shea. “Let’s just say between the CPR and the shocks it took to bring you back, you took quite a beating. I’m pretty sure I even broke your sternum.”

O
’Shea unconsciously lifted a hand to his chest, rubbing the spot.

“
I’m sure Aurora’s kick-ass skills took care that, too,” Chase assured him.

“
How did she do it?” O’Shea asked, glancing briefly in the direction that Aurora and Mark had gone. “I mean, that’s not normal, is it? Even for you guys?”

I shook my head.
“Nothing about her is what you would call
normal
. We took a big risk asking her to attempt it in the first place, but we weren’t convinced you wouldn’t die on us again if we waited.”

Jonas raised his hand like a school kid, and then said -somewhat sheepishly,
“I may, or may not have recorded Aurora healing you on my phone.”