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“I wouldn’t worry about that. I’m sure you were fine,” Nick said.
Jackson smirked. “I have no doubt she found me very attractive when she saw me like this.”
“Seriously, you can’t think like that. Everyone gets sick. And besides, you can’t remember it, so maybe you weren’t this bad earlier.”
“Maybe.”
“Have you eaten anything?” Nick asked.
Jackson shrugged. “Honestly, I think the first time I left the bed was when you knocked.”
Nick frowned. “Okay. Wait here.”
Nick left the room and went downstairs to search the kitchen for food. He was sure Cara wouldn’t mind.
A few minutes later, he returned with a mountain of a sandwich and two glasses of water.
“They’re both for you,” he added, setting everything on the bedside table. “You need to stay hydrated.”
Jackson squinted at him. “Did we have college today?”
Nick hadn’t thought about college or classes or assignments in days, and it took him a second to remember that it was the weekend. “No, not today. It’s Saturday.”
“Good to know,” Jackson said, and he sipped some of the water. “I can’t focus. It must be a head cold. I feel like I’m drunk or high or something, but not in a good way. There’s a cloud in my head and I can’t think straight.”
Nick hesitated, and then he walked over to the side of the bed. “Can I check if you’re running a fever?”
“Do whatever you want.”
Nick put the back of his hand against Jackson’s forehead, but he wasn’t actually checking for a temperature. He had a hunch. A shot in the dark, really, but it was worth trying. If the vampire mind control was some kind of twisted magic, maybe this would work.
He kept his hand there for a minute while Jackson stared into the distance and kept drinking water, even though it looked like every sip took physical effort to manage.
Then he felt it. Nick almost gasped. It was the same way he sensed magic, but this felt different. Whatever it was, it wasn’t witch magic. They couldn’t have been more different. Magic was sunlight, and this was smoke.
Nick slowly, carefully, reached out with the void. Black lines swirled over his hand, and he glanced down at Jackson to make sure that he was still staring at nothing.
The void stirred in his chest, but it didn’t jump to the surface like it did with magic. Nick coaxed it out. He used his anger, his grief, his fear. Everything that he knew the void wanted. The void kicked into life, finally rising up to sniff at the vampire energy like a dog investigating an unfamiliar scent.
It took a few seconds, but the void slowly pulled the vampire essence from Jackson. It streamed into Nick’s hand in a river of energy. It felt hazy, indistinct, but it was still energy, and he pulled it all into his skin. The void lines pulsed and energy flowed through Nick’s body, sending a slow wave of warmth through him.
It didn’t feel as good as witch magic, but it wasn’t bad.
Jackson grunted. “Hey, I feel... better, I think.”
Nick stepped back. “Must be the water. You were probably dehydrated.”
“I guess,” Jackson frowned. “Weird.”
“Yeah. Anyway, I should go. I’m meeting my dad. Are you good by yourself?”
“I’ll be fine,” Jackson said. “I’ll probably take a nap. I’m still pretty tired.” His eyes landed on the sandwich. “After I eat this. It just hit me like a truck, but I’m starving.”
“Good,” Nick said, trying to hide his smile. “See you later.”
“Bye, Nick. Thanks for coming over.”
***
