Exception [discontinued]

21. Rational Thinking and Vengance

(Will)
I paced around the living room, waiting. It had been at least an hour an a half. Where was he?

Suddenly, there a loud pounding on the door. "Will!" a feminine voice shouted. "Will, let us in, now!"

I practically ran to the door, throwing it opened. On the other side was Lou Ellen supporting a dazed Nico. Lou's eyes were full of panic and worry. Nico's were glassy, unfocused; blood seeped from his left shoulder, soaking his shirt. "Tired," he kept mumbling. "Tired...."

My eyes darted between my friend and the boy. "What happened?" I demanded.

"I don't know," Lou said desperately, "I found him like this in a alley. I can't read his thoughts; they're too jumbled up. Let me in." I step aside and helped her get Nico to the couch. "He was obviously bitten, but I couldn't figure out who did it. The coherent thought I could hear was 'it was two this time.' This time. This has happened before, Will."

I shook my head in disbelief. My hand reached up to my throat to feel my pulse, which was unhealthy fast, but strangely calming. I took a deep breath and waited for it to slow before moving his shirt collar aside to see what exactly I was dealing with.

There were two different bite marks, one pair slightly overlapping the other, like the second vampire had tried to bite in the exact same place, but got in a hurry and failed.

"I don't he was lying there for very long," Lou said, "The blood is still wet."

"Tired," Nico whispered, his voice barely audible.

I shook his good shoulder gently. "Hey. You have to stay awake, okay? Don't go to sleep, Nico." He looked at me, but I knew he wasn't really seeing me. He probably couldn't even understand what was saying; he'd just responded to my voice. That was something, at least. I set my fingers in the bites and got to work.

The act of healing was terrifying and thrilling at once, and I never got used to it. In the moment, I could feel Nico's pain, the deficiency of blood in his veins, the throbbing of his shoulder, even a bit of his disorientation. With major injuries like this one, I could also see a person's most vivid memories at the moment, which, for most, was receiving said injury. Nico was no different. I saw the alley he was in, felt it when his face met the wall, heard that voice when the second vampire bit. "Too much, Silena, too much! Don't kill him!" I knew the name, and I recognized the voice, but I couldn't think about that right now; I had to save Nico.

The throbbing subsided as the bleeding stopped. I could feel Nico's blood replenishing itself, and the wound closed under my fingers, so I knew it was time to remove them. If done all I could.

Nico looked at me, a bit of focus returning to his eyes. "Tired," he said.

I nodded. "I know. You can sleep now. It's okay, I've got you." Nico said nothing more; he just laid his head on my lap. Lou Ellen, whom I'd thought had left, didn't speak until he started snoring slightly.

"Silena and Clarisse?"

"Yeah," I said numbly.

Lou was silent for a moment. "Yeah, I agree; From Clarisse, that's a bit expected. But Silena... She's just so nice. I guess it does make sense though..."

I looked up. "What do you mean?"

"Will, her boyfriend was killed by a vampire hunter. She wants revenge. Wouldn't you?"

"Well, I wouldn't take it out on an innocent..."

Lou gave me a look. "Nico isn't innocent, Will. He's killed vampires just like the rest of them. The difference between him and them is that he now has an intimate knowledge of us. He knows that we think and feel like he does."

I looked back down and played with his hair absentmindedly. "I guess you're right. But that just makes their actions more wrong. Nico understands us now; torturing him is just counterproductive."

"I know that, but rational thinking and vengeance don't go together, do they?" Lou set her hand on my should suddenly. "You have to mark him."

I shook my head. "I just can't do that, Lou. The Mark is binding. He'd never be able to live with humans again. I can't do that."

She thought for a moment. "Yes, it would bind him to you. But it would also protect him from other vampires. They wouldn't even go near him unless they were insane."

I nodded stiffly. "You have a point. I'll talk to him about it, okay?"

Lou smiled. "Okay. I'm going to go home. And don't worry, I promise I won't go after Silena or Clarisse. Not until we have more information anyway. Good day."

"Good day, Lou," I said as she left. I laid down on the couch, shifting Nico's sleeping form so I could cuddle with him. After a long time of just watching him sleep, I finally drifted off.

Word count: 848
Were you surprised? (Probably not, lol)

Shout out to itsyaghostking who figured it out after last chapter. Good job, human!