Between the Bleeding Willows (The Demon Hunters Series Book 1) (15 page)

At the clearing of Blaylock Grove, beneath the large willow, there was…nothing. The books were gone. Excitement overcame me at the possibility of Casper grabbing them, but in the back of my mind I knew it could have been anyone who took them—even the creeps from a few weeks ago or the cop from the other day. But I wanted to believe it had been Casper.

Meandering under the tree, I felt compelled to walk over the gate again. Standing on this invisible seam between two Realms, I felt better—my mood was lighter and my aches and fever seemed non-existent. The day was beautiful—blue skies with wispy clouds. I lay down in the grass and stared at the bright sky. Leaves clung tight in the wind, but some inevitably flittered to the ground, and an occasional bird flew overhead. You couldn’t see these sights and sounds in the Clan’s sub-mountain domain. Their only chance to see it came through crossing over.

Would I see them again? If I lay here forever, would I bump into them as they crossed over? If Rya won the battle, I might never see them again. Then she would unleash her demons, and the human race would be up against an opponent they had little chance of beating.

I couldn’t bear losing another person I cared about, but what could I do on this side of the gate? I could fight and be strong. I grabbed my phone and Googled the Krav Maga studio. They had a class starting in two hours.

At home, I changed into workout clothes and noticed the shivering had returned as I walked to the kitchen for a water bottle. Time for more Advil.

In half an hour I made it to the studio. I felt sweaty and unsteady, but I was there. “Hi, I’d like to try the class that starts in ten minutes.”

The incredibly physically fit twenty-something girl put a form in front of me. “Just complete the top half and head to room four. Welcome.”

I smiled but only out of politeness, as I really felt too sick to smile. The smell of the studio reminded me of the sparring rooms in the Clan…sweaty men. Guys and a few girls, both young and old, exited room two—shirts soaking wet, hair drenched, grins on their faces, and sweat accentuating their muscles. I continued to room four, where six students stretched and a teacher prepped the music. I set my bag along the wall with the others and found a spot on the floor. More students of various sizes continued to file in over the next few minutes, and many were friendly with each other.

“Hi, first time?” asked a thin, tall guy, who reminded me of Casper. The resemblance made me smile.

“Yes. Are you a regular?”

“I’ve been coming here for a while.”

“Have you learned a lot?” I asked, wondering if it was worth my money.

“Yes, but the true test will come when I’m jumped, which I hope is a situation I am never in.”

“You and me both.”

“You’ll like it. They do a good job here…as long as they don’t pair you with Ivan.” He pointed to the tallest, brutish-looking guy.

“There’s no way they would. He’s double my size.” I shook my head at the thought of being paired with him.

“Since when do you pick who attacks you in the world?” He raised his eyebrow, challenging me.

“Point taken.”

“The name is Tyler.” He put his hand out for me to shake.

“Cassidy.”

“Cassidy.” He seemed to consider my name. “Nice to meet you.”

The instructor turned the music on; Stabbing Westward blared through the speakers. “
Move
!” he shouted.

“Follow me.” Tyler began running around the room. I followed and ran the best I could, but each lap became harder as I grew weaker.

“Sit-ups and planks when the music stops,” the instructor commanded before stopping the music. Tyler dropped to the ground and did fifteen sit-ups with ease and then got into the plank position; I did my best to mimic him but failed miserably. The music started and off we ran another two laps before it stopped and we resumed the ground exercises. This round I only managed five sit-ups, no plank. My heart hammered, and my head felt swimmy.

“I need water,” I gasped out. Feeling off, I stood and collapsed to my knees.

“Crap. Are you okay?” Tyler was by my side helping me to sit.

“I will be…probably stood too fast…so embarrassing. Help me up?” Tyler stood and held his hand out to me. I took it and stood successfully this time but allowed myself a minute to ensure I was not going to topple again. Tyler held on to me until I took my first step. I grabbed my water bottle and chugged half of it. He stayed and watched despite the class moving forward with instruction. The chills were back, and I grabbed my hoodie and zipped it. Maybe attempting class was a bad idea.

I looked up at Tyler, “Thanks, I appreciate you helping me, but I’m not feelin’ so hot. Hopefully I’ll see you again.”

“Need any help getting to your car?”

I shook my head in reply.

“Okay, feel better soon, Cassidy.”

The car started, and I cranked the heat to high. God, had the temperature dropped twenty degrees? My teeth began chattering again, and I knew I needed to get home to my warm bed, fast.

At home, I immediately grabbed the ear thermometer. I knew I had a temp, and it felt worse than before. 102 F. Two Tylenol were added to my regimen since the Advil was not cutting it. Upstairs, I changed into my PJ’s and cuddled into my bed, waiting to get warm. I didn’t care that the sun was still shining. Being sick was miserable, and I just wanted to feel better.

***

Eight AM, what an awful night. Three separate times I awoke, bed soaked with sweat, re-dosing medicines, anything to squeeze a few more hours of sleep out. I plopped on the couch to watch old movies on TV for the day.

By mid-day, the Advil decided to start working. My symptoms left, and I had more energy. After a small snack, I made my way to the shower. It felt good to scrub away the sweat and stink of illness. And when I was dry, I opted for a comfy outfit instead of PJs. Downstairs, I began tidying up and stumbled across Gram’s book she had been reading before she died. She was a sucker for a romance novel. My mind drifted to Casper, my little bookworm. I set Gram’s book down and grabbed my coat and keys.

Under the willows, there was nothing but dirt, grass, and weeds. Still no sign from the Demon Realm—no sign they received the books, no sign of a battle. The dirt beneath me was packed tight and a few fallen branches lay close. I picked up one of the fallen branches and fiddled with it. Some stories claimed that witches made magic wands from willow branches. I stripped the leaves off the branch and used it to scratch at the dirt where a few small rocks were stuck in the hard earth. I tried to pry them out and managed to free one of the rocks. It rolled a few feet away, where a small circle of perfectly placed pebbles sat. This hadn’t been there before…a sign from Casper? Wishing it to be true, I got up with my magic willow wand and walked to the gate.

“Iggity-ziggity-zaggity-zin! Gate open up and let me in!” God, I made a terrible witch. But spells always seemed to rhyme. I waited…and waited…but nothing happened. In frustration, I threw the stick and stomped out of the graveyard, feeling like an idiot for trying to connect with them.

After another four days of feeling even worse, I finally went to urgent care. They did a blood test and sent me home with no real answers about my illness. Rest, fluids, Tylenol, Advil, and likely due to a virus, so not even fixable with antibiotics.

I left, annoyed, and found myself parking right back at Raven Woods—pulled here like a friggin’ magnet. I needed to let the past go and never look back…

But I couldn’t. My feet found their way to the patch of grass between the majestic willows, the perfect place to lie down and stare at the cloud-filled sky. It was peaceful here, and again, I felt better. With eyes closed, I listened to the sounds around me. Cars from the road zoomed past, a bird or two cawed nearby, the wind whispered through the tree branches… and footsteps approached.

Footsteps?

My eyes shot open, and I looked to the path. And there he was…
I must be dreaming
…leather pants, tight black long sleeved shirt—Killian looked so beautifully out of place. I sat up, entranced by the figure before me. He came closer, holding a paper bag, eyes to the ground. And then he looked up and saw me.

Frozen in place, he asked, “Cassidy. What are you doing here? I thought I asked you to stay away from the gates?”

I barely shrugged my left shoulder but evaded his question. “What are
you
doing here?”

“Lena. She’s bad. Angeline needed me to get some items from this realm.”

I wasn’t surprised; she’d been in awful shape when I left. But I was surprised to see Killian. “How have you been?” He squatted before me. “You look tired.” His hand pushed a stray piece of hair away from my face.

“You do too.” He studied my features and then smiled. It was contagious, and I felt a grin stretch across my face in return. Seeing him awoke the emotions that I had worked so hard to tamp down since I’d left the Demon Realm.

He looked down at the ground and then back at my face. “It’s really good to see…” His eyes darted quickly away from mine, his face turned stern and serious. Two demonic creatures approached us from the side. Killian shoved me out of the way. “Cassidy, run!”

But I didn’t. Instead, I ducked beneath one of the willows, keeping my attention on Killian. He was strong and fast, blade drawn and jabbing at the demons. The blade glowed blue as he attacked and dodged. The demons clawed at Killian, ripping his shirt and skin—Killian returned with a blade to the demon’s midsection. The smaller demon clawed Killian’s face, drawing streams of blood. It was hard to watch. Killian sheathed the dagger and ran toward the lagoon, easily maneuvering past the gravestones. Both demons took flight, keeping low to the ground in pursuit of Killian.

They were quickly catching up to him when he spun and released two silver throwing stars, each landing in the demon flesh. The gate opened near me and two more demons emerged. Seeing the conflict some yards away, they flew to join the melee. Killian pounced on the demon that lay on the ground, and shoved a dagger deep into its chest. The other demon, injured by the throwing star, held its bleeding arm limply at its side as it lay on the ground behind him.

The two approaching demons let out a guttural sound and swooped to pin Killian. He was outnumbered. The demon behind Killian arose quietly, his uninjured arm drawn back, ready to deliver a lethal blow to Killian.

I stepped out from under the willows, wanting to help. All my symptoms had disappeared. I felt alive and powerful, like a current of pure energy flowed through me.

Killian’s face changed from anger to worry when he saw me standing out in the open.

“Cassidy, run!” His face was fixed on mine, but I stared at their claws on his skin and the threat approaching from behind him. The power in me surged stronger, my blood pumped faster. “Cass? Cass!”

My arms raised before me, palms glowing blue. Two pulses of light shot out, hitting the left and rear demons. They screamed and writhed in pain. Smoke rose from their flesh. Another pulse sent the third demon down. They stirred and attempted to target Killian again. I wanted to yell at them to leave, but words weren’t working for me. Instead, my palms vibrated and the surge of power grew again.
Ffwoom, ffwoom
,
ffwoom, ffwoom,
four more pulses shot out of me and the demons fell to the ground and remained still. Killian ran to my side.

“What the hell was that?” He grabbed my hands and turned them over in his own. They looked like unremarkable human hands.

“I don’t know. That’s never happened before.”

“Can you do it again?”

“Now?”

He nodded.

I raised my hands and pointed the palms toward a tree. Nothing. Closing my eyes, I tried to summon the energy I’d felt, but nothing happened. “Nothing.”

“Interesting. Perhaps Angeline can provide some insight about this.” Killian unhooked a small pouch from his belt loop and sprinkled the contents onto the ground then shoved his dagger into the fine blue powder and earth beneath.

“Are they dead?”

“I hope not. When demons die, they often jump into a nearby body.” He grabbed my hand again and rubbed his bloodstained fingers along my palm. “It’s better to wound and bind them.”

Jackson and Sean appeared at the gate and ran over to us.

“Caught a couple of demons, Killian?” Sean looked past us at the four demons lying on the ground, faint smoke rising from their bodies.

“You took down four of them by yourself?” Jackson shook his head in amazement.

“Unbelievable. Have you been holdin’ out on us this whole time? I mean, I’ve seen you take down two and severely injure a third…but four?” He stalked over and kicked at the demon bodies. They all stirred and groaned.

“Thanks, Jackson, but Cassidy gets the credit.”

They both looked at me in disbelief, especially Jackson since he had sparred with me and knew what I was and wasn’t capable of.

“It’s a long story and I’ll explain later. Can you guys get them to the binding chamber and have Angeline spell them?”

“Yep.” Sean was already dragging one by its arms toward the gate.