Between the Bleeding Willows (The Demon Hunters Series Book 1) (9 page)

Angeline walked to Lena’s side. “Of course. Oh, and Killian, very wise of you finding a way to get Lena back to me.”

I nodded. “Thanks. I’ll stop by the med unit shortly.” I turned to face the rest of my people who’d come with me through the tunnels. “I want to thank you all for your hard work and bravery. All of your work, all of our sacrifice has ensured the safety of the Clan and our Divine Mission to fight demons. I’d like us to have a moment of silence to remember Siggy and Ren, our brothers, sons,
family
that lost their lives today.”

The group bowed their heads. Some placed their hands on their hearts, and others quietly wept. Jackson knelt by the cart with Ren and Siggy, his head lowered to his son’s as his shoulders shook. I waited for him to look up before continuing. “Tomorrow morning, we will lay them to rest as the heroes they are. For now, those needing medical care, head to the med unit. If you’re uninjured, work with the Harvesters to move and properly store the fruit. Then shower, eat, and hug your loved ones. Dismissed.”

I slipped between them, escaping toward my room. We’d returned with only three carts of fruit. I hoped it was enough to carry us through till our own trees were producing again and more were planted. Returning to the tunnels was not an option. Not again. No one else needed to be hurt or be killed.

Anxious for a shower, I rounded the corner and yanked off what remained of my filthy shirt. As the fabric passed over my eyes, I froze. Surely I was hallucinating from exhaustion. “Cassidy, how are you here?”

She looked radiant—eyes bright, and her cheeks and lips held the slightest shade of pink. She leaned against the doorframe and smiled at me.

My heartbeat quickened, my face felt warm, and pulses of energy radiated in my tattoo. In two steps, I had my arms around her waist, pulling her in for a kiss.
What are you thinking?
I asked myself, but I still brought her to me.

Her breath hitched as our lips met, but she allowed it. She didn’t stop me. Her lips softened, moving in sync with mine. For this brief moment, the hardships of the day were soothed and the worries that plagued me fell away. She was the warm sun taking her place in my stormy, cloud-filled sky.

Our rhythm slowed, and I pulled back to look into her hazel eyes. “It is so good to see you alive and awake.”

“It’s good to
be
alive and awake.” The left side of her mouth curved in a smile. “I came to just before Lena crossed over…” Her face darkened as her eyes lowered. “I saw Angeline helping her. She told me about the tunnels…” Swallowing, she murmured, “I heard a few…I’m sorry, Killian. I’m so sorry.”

I nodded in reply.

She shifted uncomfortably before looking back at me. “Anyway, listen, I don’t want to keep you. Um, you must be exhausted.” She looked down again and shifted toward the hall. “I just thought I’d stop by to welcome you home.” She turned and walked away, one hand on the wall.

I stood there like an idiot watching her retreating figure—wishing she would return, wishing my feet would move and chase after her. But I wasn’t good with intimate interactions, never had been, so I avoided them. And I knew the rules about relationships, about marriage. I very well knew why they existed.

But with Cassidy it was different. Whether it was the tattoo bonding us or the effect she had on me, I wanted more with her.

I couldn’t want that. If there were ever a time when she was hurt or in peril, and I would have to choose—save her or save my people…My people had to come first; I couldn’t risk even a moment’s hesitation to question that.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I pounded a fist against the stone wall and retreated to my room.

***

After getting cleaned up and eating one of the nut bars the Harvesters always made for us, I headed to the medical unit. “Lena, where do you need me?”

My sister looked up from the rustic-looking wheelchair she sat in that kept her injured leg elevated. “Um, grab me the clean cloths and some soapy water in a basin and join me over by Anchor.”

Angeline bandaged one of the Harvesters; his injuries were minor. She smiled at me as I approached her. “Killian.”

“Angeline. Thanks for helping Lena.”

She looked in Lena’s direction with concern on her face. I followed her stare but saw nothing worth the look Angeline cast at my sister. Had they disagreed on something? I was curious, but now was not the time or place to find out what that look meant. People needed help. I left Angeline and gathered the items Lena requested, joining her at a treatment bed.

“What’s up, Buttercup?” Anchor reclined on the bed smiling down at me.

“Anchor. Let’s see the damage.” He held his arms out. Small spines from the creature stuck in his hands and arms; the skin puckered at each puncture, and he had other minor bruises, cuts, and bumps. “Well, it looks like you’ve been training to be a human pincushion. How’s that workin’ for you?”

He chuckled. “Tons of fun, boss. Wanna try?” With a huge smile, he moved like he was about to hug me.

With a warning smirk, I stepped away and turned to my sister. “So, Lena, those are permanently stuck in him, right?”

She gave us both a look that killed our banter. “We need to remove the spines that are stuck in his arms and hands. Looks like he already took some out on his own—”

“You think I’m letting some Krevarian stubble keep me down?” Anchor puffed his chest proudly, then deflated from Lena’s sharp glare.

“And then you need to wash him clean,” she continued, as if he hadn’t spoken. “Elderleet paste and proper bandages will help draw out the toxins causing the swelling.” She wheeled her chair so she faced Anchor. “Anchor, take the bandages off in the morning and wash these areas again with soap and water. Then leave it open to the air.” He nodded in acknowledgement. Lena looked back at me. “And have him drink a healing potion, then he’ll be good to go.” She moved a lamp closer so she could see the spines. “These came from one of those cave creatures?”

“Yeah, their skin was covered in them,” I said. “Probably helped them scale the walls.” I looked at Anchor, who gave a scar-twisted scowl.

“It was their eyes, though,” he muttered. “They had demon eyes, all black, only bigger. Too big for their ugly faces. They didn’t look right.”

The Elders had kept a sketch of a Krevarian with the tunnel map. There were brief notes on the unique body parts along the bottom of the sketch. “It helps them see in the dark. The bigger that pupil, the more light comes into their eyes. And they can see in both light and dark. But yeah, not the prettiest creature out there.” I took the pliers Lena handed me and yanked out one of the quills.

“Ouch!”

“Sorry.” I didn’t have Lena’s gentle touch, but she knew better than to try and remove something like this while on pain meds. After pulling out about fifteen of them, all I could see on this arm, I set the pliers down on the tray next to the thin bony spikes that were about one to two inches long, covered in blood. “All right, wash this hand.” Anchor placed his hand in the soapy basin, and I watched the bubbles change from white to pink. Using the towel, Lena scrubbed all around to remove any toxins and to help the swelling go down. Meanwhile, I got to work on the other hand.

“Lena, how’s your leg?” Anchor asked. I was glad he asked; she probably wouldn’t have given me a truthful answer.

“Healing.”

Healing?
I glared at her, but continued working on Anchor. Later I would demand a look at it.

“So what happened to Siggy?” she asked, changing the subject. “He was such a sweet guy.”

My heart sank at his name. I hated losing any of the Clan, and I had promised we would protect the Harvesters. My sister looked at me, waiting for an answer. “Jace was there. He took his soul.”

Lena sucked air through her teeth, blinking her eyes as tears threatened. There were three things that would damn a soul to eternal damnation. The first was being an evil mortal such as a murderer or thief; the second was becoming a demon and taking a soul; and the third was having your soul consumed by a demon. The last of these was the most devastating because innocent people, like Siggy, were targeted and damned. Demons consumed souls to acquire their victims’ gifts and abilities. The effects were not lasting and usually wore off within the course of a year—but the victim’s soul was forever cast to damnation.

I continued, “Rya was there. There was another crossover point.” Anchor turned toward me with a surprised expression. “She stayed in the trees while Jace attacked alone.” I sighed and continued, “Now that he consumed a soul, there’s no chance of saving him. Cassidy is going to be heartbroken.”

“You’ll have to break it to her.” Lena looked at me with sympathy in her eyes. “Have you seen her?”

“Yes, I ran into her outside my room.” My mind wandered back to the seeing her, to the kiss we shared. I let out a long breath. “She seems to be doing okay?”

“She’s pretty weak, but everything else seems to check out. You’ll probably have to wait a few more days to cross her over. She needs time to be physically and mentally ready for it.”

Cassidy was safer far away from here. The passage to the Harvest reinforced how dangerous this realm was, and she wasn’t prepared to survive here. In the Human Realm, she could blend in, relocate, or with the help of our Junctures—retired Clan members that helped in the Human Realm—start over with a new identity. Demons couldn’t track mortals directly, so they had to rely on loyal humans to be their spies and do their dirty work in the Human Realm. She had to be safer there.

“Here, wash this arm,” I said as I finished plucking quills.

Lena scrubbed at Anchor’s left arm, and I watched him cringe with pain. The soap we used to clean wounds had special herbs in it to kill poisons, but it stung like hell as it neutralized them.

“Man up, you big baby.”

Anchor looked at me with gritted teeth, face turning red in anger. I stepped back defensively; he looked like he might lunge at me. Then a loud laugh bellowed out of him. “Gotcha, didn’t I? You were scared.”

“Utterly terrified.” I walked over to the storage cabinet near the exit doors. “Hey Lena, you got any of that stuff that tastes like rotten Vinkas? I’d like to add some to Anchor’s potion.”

My sister finally cracked a smile. “Try the lower cabinet shelf…it’s in a brown bottle. But don’t put too much in, or he might have to start wearing a bra.”

Anchor’s jaw dropped open. “Hey now, you know I was jokin’, right?”

I had to go with Lena’s lead. “Wait. You mean he might grow man-boobs if I put too much in?”

Lena couldn’t hold the façade any longer and began laughing.

“Damnit, Killian.” Anchor tossed the towel Lena had dried his arm with at me. “Just give me the damn healing potion, hold the boobie juice.” We all laughed as I retrieved the large bottle from the wall and poured his dose into a cup.

“Bottoms up, buddy.” I patted Anchor on his back as he took his medicine.

Lena went on to take care of three others with minor injuries while I handled one on my own. Angeline cleaned the basins and towels so they could be ready for future patients and stored the medicines.

After walking the last patient out, I dismissed Sean and the other helpers, then turned to Lena. “Okay, your turn.”

Both girls looked at me, pretending they did not know what I meant. I glared harder at Angeline; I’d seen the look she’d given my sister earlier. Her face remained impassive. What was it about women that they always seemed to join forces like that? Fine, I’d use my pissed off voice. “Lena. Up on the table now.” She still stared at me, unwilling to move. Stubborn. “Do you really want me to say it?” She didn’t budge. “Dammit. That’s an order. Get up there now!”

She slowly lifted herself up and onto the table, scowling at me like a little kid mad at their parents. She folded her arms across her chest. I loved my sister, spunk and all, but now was not the time for it. She wore a skirt made from linen that wrapped and tied on the side, making it easy to access her leg. As she moved it aside, I saw the fairly fresh bandages were barely holding the red and yellow fluids from the weeping wound. “It’s infected.”

“I know,” she said without looking at me.

Of
course
she knew it was infected. Infuriating. The bandage stuck to the wound, and I unwrapped it carefully to not cause further damage. Her fist squeezed the bed she laid on, and sounds of discomfort came from her lips. “Sorry.” It looked and smelled terrible. “What have you done so far?”

Angeline stepped up. “We cleaned it and packed it with herbs to speed the scabbing process.”

Lena looked child-like sitting on the table, wounded and vulnerable. “I also drank three of the blue healing elixirs. Now we are just giving it time.” She looked at Angeline with an unsure gaze. “New skin will form…we just need to be patient.”

The skin surrounding the wound was red and hot to the touch. “Angeline, give me the body paint. We need to mark this wound to see if the infection changes.” Angeline came back with the small black jar and a brush. I dipped it in and drew around the outside of the infected skin. “If the redness goes past the perimeter, it means the infection is getting worse,” I explained as I handed the jar back to Angeline. “I think we need to get rid of that yellow pus bubble and wash you up before we re-bandage.”