The Ghosts

Chapter Six

Jesse and David helped me up, both wrapping an arm around my waist while gripping my arms around their necks. I ignored the pain from my wrist as they helped me to the car, stowing me away in the back seat just as a news van pulled up.

“Welcome to your first rodeo, Princess,” David said right before he closed the door.

The whole drive back to Sword & Arrow I went over the whole thing in my head. There were so many things I would’ve done differently. Like kill Cody before he even thought about going down that sewage entrance.

By the time we got back I was in the worst mood, ever. How I was able to fake humor about the whole thing, I had no clue. When the car stopped, I opened the door and hobbled out.

“You shouldn’t walk on that ankle, Ms. Vertigo.”

Brad walked up to me, hooking his arm around my waist and pulling my arm around his neck.

“I hate you, you know that, right?”

“Oh the feeling is mutual,” Brad said, pulling open the front door.

“How did you even get a job here?”

“Luckily for you, they wanted someone who had experience with difficult patients as Slayers aren’t very welcoming to medical assistance.”

When I spotted Cody, who was standing with a slew of other newbies, I really just wanted to strangle him.

“Jesse?”

“Yeah.” He was walking next to me the whole time.

“I want a new partner.”

“Oh you’re definitely getting one.”

“Vertigo!” Cody called. “Oh my god! Are you…”

“You should really stop talking,” I said.

We brushed passed him, a bewildered look on his face. Refraining from not punching him in that completely clueless expression was hard.

“What?” he called after me. “I knew you could handle it!”

One of the senior members of the Guild stepped up next to him. “Cody Jennings?”

“Yeah?”

“Lena would like to see you in her office.”

We turned around in the elevator and I couldn’t help the smile creeping up my face. Oh Lena was going to have fun with him.

“So who told Phillies?” I asked Jesse.

“Oh…no one. Yet. He was paged down to the medical floor. We didn’t tell him why.”

“Chicken.”

I coughed again and Brad smoothed his hand down my back.

“Don’t do that. If one of your ribs are broken it could puncture a lung…”

“Brad,” I said sweetly. “I know.”

He rolled his eyes and looked at the numbers as they counted down.

“You are the worst patient ever. You know Madeline was happy when you graduated. She threw a party.”

I laughed. “I’m sure. But then it got boring right?”

“Oh yeah. About three months after you left she was wishing you’d come back. Nice practice for her interns and apprentices. Then again the ones that had to deal with you didn’t share her opinions. Here we are.”

Before the doors even opened, I felt a pulse of heat across my skin. I looked over at Jesse, my face grim.

“You might want to prepare yourself.”