I burst into the room that was to be Nox’s and found a man wearing an old brown leather jacket and a cowboy hat standing over him. Ant had him pressed to the bed. “Good, you’re here. See if you can calm him down.”
The man looked at me and smiled as he moved out of the way. He started telling me what was going on, “He’s panicking. Whatever drugs they had him on to keep him sedated now that they have stopped flowing, he’s feeling whatever he’s feeling and he’s fighting it.”
I moved past the doctor – strange attire for a doctor, but I guess if you were a doctor to a vampire it didn’t really matter. I laid down next to Nox and ran my fingers over his face. Ant laughed and he shook his head and removed his hands from his shoulders.
“I think Alex has it. Can you monitor it from the other room?”
“Honestly, Sage has hooked me up.” He whispered, “Don’t tell Jack but I think Sage is better now.”
Ant nodded. “I’ll be over there.” He nodded to the chair but gave us as much privacy as he could allow. I didn’t blame him; Ant was in protection mode. So was Ryan, he was being vigilant with the kids. When I’d dropped Matt off at the room the kids were all sitting watching TV and the baby faced blonde was standing guard.
Now it was just me and Nox. I looked at him sleeping, there was pain on his face and I couldn’t take it away. I pressed a kiss to his cheek and moved down into the bed and lay with my pretty boy. I closed my eyes, my one hand near his face, fingers caressing his cheek, with the other I took his hand in mine and held it between us. I couldn’t get any closer without being on top of him. I buried my face in his neck and he smelled like him that faint burnt smell I always thought was from cooking.
It wasn’t long before I was in the dream staring out into the expanse of bubbles around me. There weren’t many too close, not a lot sleeping – or those that were were vampires. How the fuck did I get here. But I was surprised to be standing in front of one specific bubble. His shield was a cascade of colors. I hadn’t seen it in years. I ran my fingers over it and I felt nothing. You have to wake up Nox.
I was desperate. I couldn’t enter his dream. It was protected by something, the fog was lifting around me and I could see the varying connections to him. There had once been a big black ugly thing that grew into the cracks, but now it was gone. Well not gone – dying. Black and shrivelled and when I touched it it crumbled into dust.
I sat there just touching the shimmering shield as I walked around it. I didn’t want to remove my hand, even as I looked at all the connections. Some were strong like the ones to the kids, and his brothers. I couldn’t see mine. I hated that. Never saw my own – even when I looked at my mother, so it wasn’t an anomaly, I couldn’t see my own connections.
Come back to me pretty boy. I need you. I said into the ether. I really did need him. I could feel him calling me, but I couldn’t get in, but there was no fucking way I was leaving him until I was sure he was alright.
His body in the real world started to shake again. I felt the ripples along his shield. Nox. It’s okay baby. You have to stay with me. I felt his shaking lessen as weight shifted on the bed. It could only mean that he was convulsing again. I pushed at him, he needed to calm down. I was here. I’m not going anywhere I thought to myself. Calm, baby. I soothed and he settled, I’m here. I kept talking and soothing him from the dream plane. He fell into quiet, I could tell. Ant shifted. And I added to my internal thoughts Ant’s here too. We got this.
I broke from the dream. “Don’t leave him,” I said and Ant sat down and put his hand on Nox’s chest and when I went back into the dream I looked around and saw flames, and rain, and grass covering forever. But I felt Nox. I walked in that direction Wherever I was, Nox was here too, and that was all that mattered.
The Mind of Nox 