Wildfire

Chapter 17

17. Mortify

When the bus finally arrived it was virtually empty, save for the bus driver. I grabbed a seat near the back, curling up on the soft upholstery and winding my arm under my legs. The sensation of being drunk had all but disappeared by now, and exhaustion hit me like a tidal wave.

I watched through heavy lids as Diego made his way to the back of the bus, sliding into the two seater behind me. The seats weren't built for people like him; he had to angle his legs sideways to fit and hunch over a little, completely dwarfing the furniture.

The uncomfortable look on his face was comical. A giggle rose in my throat but it didn't quite make it out, swallowed up by a yawn.

As soon as the bus jolted forward, a wave of nausea rose in my stomach. I clamped a hand over my mouth, horror crashing through me. Oh no, oh no, oh no...

"Paige?" Diego leaned forward, a concerned look on his face.

I shook my head, willing my stomach to behave. Oh god, this was a nightmare. I never got sick! Yeah, I wasn't much of a drinker, but it wasn't like I'd drank crates of the Kri stuff. I was a lightweight, so it didn't take much to get me drunk or in a drunk-like state. There was nothing worse than throwing up on public transport — except, maybe, throwing up in front of a very attractive guy on public transport.

Mortification stained my cheeks red and I sunk down in my seat, clutching my stomach. With each jolt of the rickety bus, a fresh wave of nausea crashed through me and I could taste the bile rising in my throat.

Oh god.

"You're nauseous," Diego realized.

I nodded once, my hand clamped firmly over my mouth.

"Stop doing that." He batted my hand away. "Deep breaths. You'll be back at the dorms in a few minutes — can you hold on 'til then?"

"I think so," I murmured, inhaling slowly. "I didn't even drink that much."

"It's not the Kri," he replied. "That drink doesn't have any side-effects. It's probably the ergot."

Georgina's warnings about St. Anthony's Fire whispered through my mind and a frisson of alarm shot through me. "The ergot?"

"Yeah, it's pretty hard on the stomach the first few times you take it, from what I've heard," Diego explained. "Your system isn't used to it. Where did you get it, anyway?"

"I got it from one of —" I broke off, inhaling sharply as a fresh wave of nausea rushed rolled through me. "— Darren's friends. Actually, what happened to him after you brought me in?"

"Sam threw him out." Diego frowned. "Once I brought you inside, he wasn't too fussed about leaving."

"Huh." I rested my head back against the window, confusion colouring my thoughts. "I thought he would have stayed to make sure I got... Lexie. He was really concerned about her." Not that that seemed to matter to her, I added silently.

A strange look crossed Diego's face — speculative, almost. It gave me a bad feeling (on top of all the other bad feelings currently churning around in my stomach).

"What?" I prompted.

"Something he said bothered me a little," Diego admitted. "He said that 'Rayve' owes him a favour."

"I noticed that. Do you know this Rayve guy?"

"Yeah," he said. "But Rayve is more of a nickname. His full name is Rayvano Arrigoni — and he's a lupi seeker."