A life of hardship, thievery, and demon hunting had finely tuned Jake’s nerves for such situations. As Amari stumbled robotically toward him, the half elf sidestepped and opened the doorway he’d created. The redhead stumbled on through, and Jake followed her. He pocketed the syringe as he passed and tossed a last jibe at Lamont as the portal dissipated.

“No one’s going to be having fun with her, you bastard!”

“Well don’t say that Jake, she looks like all kinds of fun.”

The half elf wheeled around. He had transported himself and Amari to his shared quarters in the Bandit Brotherhood. They stood in a room made all of wood, sanded oak and yew floorboards, walls, and ceilings. An array of overstuffed closets and dressers stood between rows of bunk beds.

“Seriously Jake, where did you find a redhead like this? I love redheads.” The tall bandit leered at Amari’s topless form, and his compatriot chuckled, also enjoying the sight. The girl stood almost lifelessly, oblivious to the situation.

“Back off, Leon.” Jake snapped. He swept off his cloak and draped it around Amari’s shoulders. “Amari, cover yourself.” The girl complied, still in some kind of trance. “Go and get Damon,” Jake told the other bandits, “she needs help.”

“The boss is off hunting vamps,” the tall human replied, eyes still pasted to the sliver of pale skin visible through the folds of the cloak. “No one here to protect her but you, little Jake.” He reached out to pull the cloak away from Amari. “Besides, it’s not like she minds…”

“She was poisoned,” Jake growled. He shoved the larger man away and drew his quill menacingly. The feather transformed into the iron hilt of a sword from which a blade of still fire grew. “Don’t make me use this.”

“You’re lucky you’re one of Damon’s favorites,” Leon spat, but he raised his hands and backed away. “Otherwise we’d leave your corpse in a ditch somewhere and have our way with her. Come on,” he said to his friend, “let’s go into town and find a redhead of our own. Seems little Jake doesn’t know how to share.” They chuckled as they exited the building. Jake followed them with his blade, until it turned towards Amari and she tried to throw herself on the tip.

“No, Amari!” Jake exclaimed. He let the sword become a quill again and stuffed it in his pocket. “Never mind anything your brother said to you. Oh by the Thayne, what am I to do?”

She paused in her tracks, blank eyes staring at him, as though she were awaiting more orders. She was completely unresponsive to the world around her, and it seemed that she was now obeying Jakes orders.

“Umm… Amari, lay down here.” He pulled back the covers of his bed. “Maybe you can sleep it off.” He watched as she let go of his jacket and climbed into the bed, laying down with an arm resting over her head, the other over her bare stomach, again her eyes drifted to him. Jake covered her with the blankets and sat on the edge of the bed. “Close your eyes now,” he said, trying to make his voice low and soothing, “go to sleep, Amari.” She closed her eyes, and before long it appeared as though she had fallen asleep.

Jake sat at her side through the night, every so often pulling the syringe from his pocket to examine it, hoping that when she awakened, Amari would be right again. There was a murmur from her, as she rolled over, she reached out and gripped the loose cloth of his shirt sleeve.