"No one knew what happened. You called up a fire god for your avatar, were granted a rare fire snake then you passed out screaming in class. I heard from the student rumour mill that they sent you here." Dan's voice broke at the end, telling Farren how concerned he'd really been.

"I'm sorry I worried you. How long have I been out?" He searched his mind for any information over what could've happened, but nothing was coming up. What had caused him to black out? "Where's the snake?"

Dan pointed.

"Huh." Farren hadn't registered the weight on his stomach as anything. The snake weighed less than Farren would expect. Maybe being the offspring of a god meant it didn't *

46.

have the same mass as a regular snake. It had curled up in a small circle in the middle of Farren's stomach and looked to be asleep.

"You've been asleep for twenty-four hours. They couldn't get any of your family to come visit and check on you. I'm sorry."

"I'm not surprised about my family. Only death would bring them down to see me, and only because it would look bad for them if they didn't."

Farren's family was all about appearances. They wouldn't want the cops to investigate why they didn't go and claim one of their own.

Dan stroked Farren's forehead. Farren tried not to moan at the contact as the cool slide of Dan's touch against his face made him harder than steel girders. After several summers working construction to get tuition money, Farren knew exactly the stiffness of those metal beams.

"Do you remember what happened?"

Farren shook his head then winced. Pain shot through his temples and stabbed into his skull like tiny gnome knives. "No. After the fire spirit left, all I remember is pain. Is there something wrong with me?"

His back hurt like someone had branded him, but it was a sensation he'd come to be familiar with over the past few days. Although, now that he thought about it, the pain was on the opposite shoulder.

Faint whispers of memories floated through his head of another voice speaking to him.

Of something else trying to communicate. What if he was possessed after all? Could that happen? Had the djinn crossed planes to take over Farren's body?

Dan spoke, breaking into Farren's internal dialogue. "No one will tell me anything. I'm not family and we've barely been dating. Let me call the medic for you."

"Okay." The quicker he figured out what was wrong, the faster he could get out of here.

Medical wards had never been Farren's favourite things. If they ran a DNA test on him, he could be in real trouble. He'd find out what information they had on him then respond accordingly.

He really should break things off with Dan before they went any further. If anyone found out about Farren, they would assume Dan had known and had held back the information, making him culpable of fraternizing with a person of illegal parentage.

47.

Yes-he needed to break up with him.

His resolve lasted up to the point where Dan returned with the medic and Farren tumbled in love again with a pair of deep blue eyes. For some reason, neither of Dan's brothers did it for him. Only Dan. The connection between them arced like a live wire. Farren couldn't give Dan up, even if he risked exposure. He might be an idiot, but he was an idiot in love.

"I was beginning to worry you were going to sleep all day," the medic said. The man's narrow face reminded Farren of a bird of prey. The curved nose didn't help either. He wondered if the guy was some kind of bird shifter but abandoned that line of thinking-if he were a shifter, the medic wouldn't be able to do healing magic. "I'm Dr Evian Thistle. I was the one who examined you when you came in. Well, as much as I could."

"What do you mean?"

"Your snake there didn't like anyone messing with you. I did a cursory examination. If you hadn't woken up soon, we were going to try and find a way to trap your protective companion." The medic pointed at the snake. The serpent lifted its head and flicked its tongue at the medic.

"Is there anything seriously wrong with me or can I leave?" Farren didn't like medic halls. Laying someplace where people could poke and prod him at any moment wasn't his idea of a good time.

The physician shrugged. "Nothing we can determine. You had magical overload as far as I can tell. As you appear alert and unharmed, there's no real reason to keep you." Dr Thistle seemed rather disappointed in his statement. Farren had no doubt the medic wished to keep Farren there to run more intrusive tests, but he had no intention of being there for another round of examinations. Farren was one DNA test away from elimination.

Dan scowled. "What if this happens again? What do you mean magical overload?

"If he keeps away from conversing with gods, he should be just fine," the medic said wryly.

"I'm sure the doctor knows what he's doing." Farren smiled at Dr Thistle, hoping to recruit the man to his side.

If Dan ruined his escape, Farren would punch him. No exceptions.

48.

Dr Thistle wrote hurriedly on a prescription pad. "If you start feeling faint again, get some of these thorn wood oil drops. They will give a sugar shock to your system. If the problem persists, come back here and see me. I think maybe this is just a case of exhaustion.

A lot of kids get that this close to midterms. I think you'll be fine."

Farren snatched the paper out of the doctor's hands. "Thank you very much."

No way would he be returning to become someone's lab rat.

Farren sat up, picked up the snake and swung his legs over the side of the bed before placing the reptile beside him. The serpent lunged at him. Before Farren could do anything but yelp, he had himself a blue, scaly bracelet. The snake wrapped three times around Farren's wrist. The mass of the snake was less than it had been on the bed. Hmm, he'd have to investigate that fact later. Right now, he needed out of there.

Dan reached out a hand and pulled Farren to his feet.

"Thanks." Farren gave Dan's hand a squeeze.

They were only a few feet away from the hospital entrance when Dan dug in his heels and refused to take another step.

Farren snarled. "What?" He hadn't told the doctor, but his head pounded like it had grown a pulse of its own and was beating out a brutal, tribal rhythm.

"Don't take that attitude with me. I'm only trying to help." Dan folded his arms across his chest.

"Well, thank you for helping. Now I'm going back to my room and sleeping for a few more days. You want to come with me or not?"

He wished he could cuddle with Dan and enjoy being pampered for once in his life, but he could tell by the stubborn tilt of Dan's chin that his happy dream wouldn't be coming true.

"Firestorm was pretty upset over Xiuhcoatl trashing his classroom. He's also a bit shocked a student with supposedly low power could call down a god."

"Um...I didn't focus on Xiuhcoatl. I just asked for an avatar to come. I think it is my fire nature that attracted the snake. The fire god only came because of my mother. He said she did him a favour once. Didn't anyone tell him that?"

"How do you know?" Dan asked. "The Xiuhcoatl didn't say anything."

49.

Farren had no idea Xiuhcoatl had spoken directly into his mind. Apparently his brain was a playland for those more powerful than him.

"He talked to me mind to mind. I really thought everyone could hear what he said. It's because of my fire wizard nature." The lies kept piling up, one after another. Farren could feel Dan pulling away from him even though his lover stood right there.

"Uh-huh. Strange how none of the other fire wizards have been able to pull off the same trick." Dan's expression said he wasn't buying the story Farren was trying to sell.

"I can't be responsible for other wizards' incompetence."

Dan's laugh, short and abrupt, made Farren grin. He placed a spontaneous kiss on Dan's cheek.

"Thanks for coming for me."

He didn't want to think about waking up in the medic ward alone and unaware of what had transpired. Dan's presence had made the entire situation tolerable.

"Always." Dan took Farren's hand, entwining their fingers, and they headed towards his dorm.

They didn't speak again until they were a few steps from Farren's dorm. He leaned heavily on Dan as they walked. "Sorry, I'm really tired all of a sudden."

"I'm not surprised, with everything going on. I'll tuck you in bed and leave you alone until tomorrow."

Farren chuckled. "I wish you could come sleep with me, but I don't have the energy for anything."

"That's all right. I like to think we're together for more than just sex. You can rest for the rest of the day. Tomorrow we can have dinner together or something." Dan tightened his hold on Farren as if worried he was the only thing keeping Farren from toppling over. He might be right.

They made it up the stairs and into Farren's small dorm room with little trouble.

Maddox's bed had the smooth look of a bed never slept in. Farren briefly wondered if he should be concerned. How long before he should pretend concern for his obnoxious roommate?

50.

Farren decided to worry about Maddox another day. If Maddox didn't show up in the next few days, he'd start asking around. Surely someone had seen him recently. Farren flung himself onto his bed and groaned over how good it felt.

Strong hands quickly divested Farren of his shoes and socks. "You can remove the rest of your clothes when you're ready. If I start taking things off, I won't leave."

"True." Farren wasn't in any condition to coax Dan into a lovemaking session.

"Are you going to be all right? I feel weird leaving you all alone when you just got out of the medic ward." Dan hovered by his side, fluttering like a bird afraid to land.

"Come rest with me. I don't want to be alone." He probably should've manned up and made some sort of excuse, but he was feeling raw and out of sorts. He needed Dan's comforting presence. If that made him weak, then so be it.

Dan's radiant smile convinced him he hadn't made a mistake.

"I'd be happy to stay."

Farren watched as Dan made a quick call to his brothers then stripped down and climbed into bed beside him. It was a tight fit, but Farren didn't care. He wrapped an arm around Dan and pulled him halfway on top of him.

"Better," Farren whispered. His world settled now that he held the most important person in his arms. Tired but at peace, Farren slid into slumber.

51.

Chapter Five.

After a wonderful night in Dan's arms, Farren spent the next two days alone in his room trying to find information on djinn marks-so far, no luck. Maddox stopped by a couple of times to switch out books and change clothes, relieving Farren from trying to find him. From what Farren could detect from his rushed speech, his roommate had a hot new girl to hang out with. Farren made all the right comments at the proper times then watched Maddox leave. His roommate had only spared a quick glance at Farren's snake curled up on the table, but hadn't commented. Surprising, since rumours were undoubtedly flying around campus like a brush fire, and Maddox wasn't known for his discretion.

Restless, Farren stuffed a notebook into his satchel and headed for the library. He needed to see if he could dig up a book about djinn. The little information he could find on the internet didn't tell him anything he didn't already know. Since the incident with the fire god, Farren hadn't heard from the djinn. Maybe Xiuhcoatl had truly blocked the djinn from Farren's mind.

To his relief, Farren didn't encounter anyone he knew on the way to the library. As much as he'd missed Dan over the past few days, he needed to be alone to do his research.

No one else could find out what he was looking into. The library stacks towered over Farren, creating shadowy corridors where anything could hide. Farren shook his head to dispel his fanciful imagination. No one was lurking among the musty books on the off chance he wandered by. He really had to focus.

Farren found what he was looking for beneath a stack of dusty tomes. Only by accident did he spot the title-the magical sheen pouring off the spine helped a bit too. Farren reached for the slim volume. Marks of Djinns and Other Magical Beings couldn't have been more than two hundred pages long, but it was the first bit of luck Farren had had during his search. He bit his lip and contemplated whether checking out the book would alert the powers that be.