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“What’s your name?” Iris took her hands and held them, rubbing them gently in her own small ones.
“I’m…I’m…Lindsey. That’s it. Lindsey…Cartridge.” Lindsey began to look alarmed.
“Very good. What day is it?”
“Today’s…I don’t remember. It’s…um…oh—Tuesday. I don’t know why I forgot. Today was the day that I was supposed to return to work, but I told them I’d be in tomorrow because I’m still tired.” She grimaced as she rubbed her neck. “I hurt like hell. What the heck happened to me?”
“You had a seizure, Lindsey. Do you have blood sugar issues?” Iris felt her forehead, then gripped her wrist, checking her pulse. “You’re clammy, and your pulse is racing.”
Lindsey shook her head. “No, nothing like that. I’ve never had a seizure in my life.” As Trillian helped her to her feet, Smoky brought a chair over and Lindsey weakly sat down. She leaned on the table, trying to shake off the attack.
“Do you remember what we were talking about before you lost consciousness?” I had a sneaking suspicion and wanted to see if it proved out. This was too much of a coincidence.
“You need to eat something. That took a lot of energy out of you. And drink the tea.” Camille brought her another cup of tea, setting it in front of her along with another cookie.
Lindsey closed her eyes, breathing in the steam that rose off the cup. Iris moved behind her and, using a stepstool, began to lightly massage her shoulders. Lindsey leaned back into the back rub, sighing.
“I can’t remember what we were talking about. Last I remember, I was telling you about the psychic fair.” She pursed her lips, squinting, then again shook her head. “That’s it.”
“We were asking you about a dream you mentioned—one that woke you up in a cold sweat?” I didn’t want to trigger another seizure, so decided to walk softly on the subject.
Lindsey cocked her head, looking confused. “I don’t remember saying anything about a dream. I haven’t been sleeping well lately but I’m pretty sure it’s the baby causing it—she wakes up every few hours for a feeding, and I’m up off and on all night.”
I debated whether to push further, but behind Lindsey, Iris gestured no so I left it at that. “Okay, we must have been mistaken. You’ve probably been overtiring yourself. I don’t like you driving home by yourself. Let Shade drive you home and he can come back here through the Ionyc Seas. He’s a good driver and will get you there safely.”
Her mouth twisted and she looked like she was going to cry. “I know I came because I’m worried about my group. I can’t remember everything we talked about—that scares me.”
“That’s common in seizures. Short-term memory loss. I’d say go home, rest, and go to your doctor tomorrow and tell her you had a convulsion. We’ll look around and see if we can find out anything that might be affecting your group. And Lindsey…” Iris paused.
“Yes?”
“It’s not a good idea for you to do magic right now. You just need more time off to rest after giving birth.” The look on Iris’s face told me plainly that she was lying. Whatever might be going on, it plainly wasn’t in Lindsey’s best interest to be playing around with the astral realm, or with anything that might drain her energy any further.
Lindsey nodded, looking lost and bewildered. Shade helped her up and escorted her out. As the door closed behind them, Camille and I stared at each other.
“Am I going to be the one to say it, or are you?” She slumped back in her chair and looked over at Vanzir.
He shifted, darting glances between the two of us. “No way, I didn’t do anything. And from what she described, no dream-chaser demon would act like that. Just too much doesn’t track.”
I snorted. “We aren’t saying you’re at fault, so chill. But it’s obvious something’s gotten into her dreams and also seems to have some control over her in the waking state. You can’t call that convulsion a coincidence, not when she was about to spill the contents of her dream. We’re just wondering if you’ve got any experience with other creatures roaming the Dream-Time.”
Vanzir grumbled but seemed appeased. “I can do some research. Off the top of my head, though, it could be…oh, a number of freaks. Nothing I’m willing to bet on at this moment.”
I glanced at the clock. Fuck. It was time to leave for the VA meeting. “I’ve got to go. Camille, Nerissa, I need you guys with me.” I wanted one of the guys with me but, considering Smoky’s temper, decided to play the better part of wisdom. “Morio, want to join us? Considering the crap we faced last night, the rest of you better stay home.”
Iris returned to washing up. The guys began to grumble about being left home and I finally relented. “All right—one more of you can come along. Roz, you. Smoky—we need you here in case there’s any more trouble. Trillian, too.” That would leave the two biggest egos at home.
As we gathered our things and headed for the car, I realized I had a splitting headache. Stress. You’d think, being a vampire, I’d be immune to maladies such as that, but stress affected everyone, even the undead, though it hit us in other ways than the living. We wouldn’t die from a heart attack if the stress got bad enough, but we could get a mite testy.
As the others shivered in the mist and rising fog that rolled across the lawn, I pulled Nerissa to one side. “I know you’re cold, but I have to tell you something quick, before we get in the car. I don’t want to tell the others—it might stir up an argument.”
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Nerissa lifted my chin, leaning down to kiss my nose.
“I met Roman on the Dream-Time. Um…he has a request. And it’s just that—a request, not a demand.” I hurried to say, not wanting her to think it was an order.
She squinted and pursed her lips. “I think I know what this is going to be. The same thing he suggested a few weeks ago, right?” Roman had been teasing us when both he and Nerissa were at the bar with me a couple of weeks back, flirting with both of us.
I kicked a rock across the drive. “Yeah, it’s what you think. He suggested a threesome. He won’t join in unless we ask.”
