by Julie Hall
“Thanks.” I looked around. “Which one is my ride?”
“That honor would go to me, little one.” Another, less formal, term of endearment Gabriel liked to use for me. He extended his wing almost as if he were extending his arm to escort me. I turned to Hugo before grasping the downy feathers.
“Go be with your friends,” he said. “When the dust has settled we’ll have our talk.”
I nodded and then reached forward without hesitation. It was time to compartmentalize. The mystery of Hugo had held for months now. A few more hours wasn’t going to make a difference.
22
Face the Music
The pristine whiteness of the healing center’s rooms and hallways was maddening.
For once, my presence here wasn’t as a patient. There was a time I might have said that sounded refreshing, but considering the circumstances, it was pretty miserable.
I was acutely aware of what it had been like for my loved ones when I’d been in here. It was nerve-racking, and scary, and I didn’t like one thing about it.
What I used to consider tranquil was simply irritating now. The calmness of the healing specialists was annoying. The soft music floating around the air was grating. The forced serenity of the building seemed just that, forced, and rather than capitulate to its effects, my agitated mind screamed to punch through its façade.
Oh yes, I had issues.
I paced the waiting area, still clothed fully in blood-and-ash-covered body armor. I barely registered the occasional gasp at my appearance, but a twisted part of me enjoyed messing with the tranquility of this place. A few brave souls approached me from time to time to ask if I needed any care and offered to help me get cleaned up, but I refused them without so much as breaking my march back and forth across the small space.
The only reason I was still in the waiting room was because I didn’t know where to go first. All the people I cared about in this realm were strewn throughout various parts of the building, and I couldn’t go to them all at once—so I’d opted not to go to any of them. I stayed were I was and uselessly paced out my concern for them all.
The last update I’d received, Kaitlin was still in surgery. Logan remained unconscious but solidly on the mend. Kevin’s arm and wounds were being checked out by a specialist. Alrik was most likely still here somewhere, recovering from his injuries, but I hadn’t taken the time to figure out where.
My heart was already pulled in too many different directions. The other hunters who’d fought with us were also being treated, but I didn’t know them well enough to feel comfortable popping in on them.
Even though everyone would assuredly heal, I struggled with something akin to survivor’s guilt for escaping relatively unscathed.
I wished Hugo were here with me.
He would know the right thing to say or do. My only peace of mind came from knowing Romona was safe and with my family on Earth.
The updates had stopped coming a while ago. Maybe the healers who had been keeping me informed assumed I’d taken some kind of action by now.
After what may have been hours of pacing, I finally succumbed to fatigue and plopped down in a chair. I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes and rubbed hard enough for white blotches to mar the black behind my lids.
Rather than continue to wish Hugo were here, I took a deep breath and tried to figure out what he would say if he was.
My hands dropped to the armrests of the chairs. My vision took a moment to clear, and my mind did the same. Hugo would say guilt was never the answer—that it was a trick of the enemy.
Feeling that way because I was unharmed when the rest of my friends suffered in one capacity or another was not only unproductive, but also a giant waste of time. There was a difference between guilt and conviction.
Conviction prompts positive change. Guilt paralyzes us from taking steps in faith.
So, with a heavy heart, and with strength I knew I didn’t possess on my own, I swallowed the guilt eating me up inside and pushed it from my mind.
As the ugly emotion subsided, conviction moved forward to take its place. It was what gave me the strength to shove myself to my feet.
Thank You, Father, I sent up in a silent prayer.
I left the waiting area in a hurry and roughly grabbed the first person in a white coat who passed me. She made a sound of surprise as she stumbled.
Whoops.
“Sheesh, I’m so sorry.” I smoothed out the sleeve I’d grabbed. “That was rude. I’m a little jumpy today.” I offered her a crooked smile and hoped all was forgiven.
She took a few moments to assess me before speaking. “That’s okay. This place can make people a little nervous. I can’t say I’ve ever been accosted on my way to do lab work before, but I suppose it keeps the job interesting.” She offered me a tentative smile.
“Yeah, I . . . guess, I . . .” I floundered with my words. “Ah . . .”
This time she laid a comforting hand on my arm. “It’s all right, truly. What can I help you with? You seem,” she gave me a quick once-over, “a bit frantic. We’re all here to help.”
“I came in with a group of hunters a few hours ago. I was wondering if you knew where I could find out some information on their status. It’s been a while since I’ve heard anything, and I’m not sure who to ask.”
“Of course,” she said with a friendly smile. She surprised me by turning and going straight to the wall. The shiny whiteness of the corridor reminded me of my room in the Redwoods before Romona helped me redecorate. She pushed a few undetected spots, and a touchscreen appeared. Her fingers flew across the screen, and images and words flashed by so quickly I didn’t have time to make sense of them.
“Here we go.”
The screen showed a two-dimensional layout of what I assumed was the healing center. It reminded me of the maps you see in a mall. There was even a red blinking circle saying “You are here.”
“So, who is it you’re looking for?”
I gave her the names of my friends, and with a few more movements there were five blinking circles on the map. Each circle held a name. Logan, Kevin, and Alrik’s names were in the green circles, and Kaitlin’s was in the yellow.
Turning to the woman for an explanation, I was surprised to realize she only looked about college age. Truthfully, I hadn’t noticed much beyond her white coat at first. Her jet-black hair hung in a straight curtain down her back almost to her waist. We were about the same height and had similar petite builds.
“These colors indicate their level of trauma and recovery. These three,” she gestured to the green circles, “are all through with their treatment and just resting and recovering. They’ll be good as new in no time. This one here, Kaitlin,” she said and pointed to the yellow circle, “is just recently out of surgery, but she looks to be doing fine. She’ll most likely be here for at least another day. They are all cleared for visitors, though.”
She turned her heart-shaped face toward me. “Would you like me to take you to one of them?”
“Yes, I’d appreciate that. Could we go see . . .” I paused. Who did I want to see first? Okay, so that was a no-brainer . . . but should I go straight to Logan’s bedside? I just didn’t know. Indecision weighed me down. The healer patiently waited for me to choose.
“Kaitlin. Could you take me to see her? I should check on her first.”
Coward, my mind whispered.
I told it to shut it.
“Knock, knock.”
Kaitlin’s room was yellow. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised. It was a color I’d come to associate with her anyway, but all the patient rooms I’ve been in had whitewashed walls. I wondered how she’d swung the upgraded digs.
Perhaps she’d flipped her perfect blonde hair and batted her ridiculously long eyelashes at the right gentleman. Kaitlin was hard to say no to when she put on the charm.
For once, the thought brought a small smile to my face rather than a bolt of green-eyed jealousy. It was refreshing.
Look at me being all mature and stuff.
Kaitlin’s signature smile only slipped a little as she struggled to sit up.
“Oh no, you don’t.” I rushed to her bedside. “I’ve been where you are before. Just take it easy.”
I propped a few pillows behind her back so she could be more comfortable. She smiled gratefully. “Thanks. I’m still pretty sore actually.”
I blew out a short breath of air. “Yeah, no kidding. That’ll happen when you spend time as a demon chew toy.”
She grimaced. I mirrored her expression.
“Sorry, that was insensitive.”
She released a burst of laughter. “But true. I’m just glad I blacked out for most of it. What I do remember . . .” She shivered, rather than going on.
I’d been fed on by a demon before, so she didn’t have to go into detail about what it was like. It was the worst experience of my life.
Dying included.
Nothing could compare to having pure evil forced into your system while simultaneously having your soul ripped apart—and that was just the mental anguish. Physically, your flesh was also being torn to shreds.
The remnants of Kaitlin’s attack were visible through the bandages along the left side of her body. They were clean and free from any blood, but her neck, chest, and shoulder were wrapped like a mummy. The healers had most likely repaired as much of the muscle damage as possible, but she’d need time for parts of the tissue and skin that had been violently ripped away to regrow.
I released my own shaky breath and nodded. “Yeah, I know.”
“How is your family? What happened? No one has told me anything yet. Did we kick butt or what? And Audrey . . .” her nose scrunched, “I hate to tell you this, but you’re kind of nasty-looking right now. A shower, fresh clothes, and a little foundation wouldn’t hurt.”
Lifting a hand to my head, I winced at the crunchiness of my hair. Most likely dried demon blood. “That’s gross.”
Kaitlin nodded. “Truth.”
I waved it off. “I’ve been too worried about all of you to pay much attention to my appearance. I’ll get cleaned up once I’ve checked in on everyone.”
“You sure? You could take a shower here.” She pointed toward the closed door to her left. I seriously considered the offer but decided against it. I’d rather shower at home in the Redwoods when I was all done visiting.
“Nah, I’m good. I think I’ll take the armor off, though. No need for it now.”
I turned my back to Kaitlin and peeled the crusty fabric off my body. Dried flakes of black demon blood drifted to the floor. Kaitlin gasped behind me.
“Sorry, I know I’m making a mess. Maybe I should have just left it on.” I turned with the offending fabric in my hands, trying to find a place to put it.
“Oh for goodness’ sakes, just throw it away. Then get over here and let me look at your back. You’re all bruised.”
My thoughts had been so outwardly projected I hadn’t even considered my own battle wounds. I found a waste bin in the corner and placed the soiled material in it before returning to Kaitlin.
She indicated with her finger that I should turn around. When I did, she gingerly picked up the length of my braid and placed it over my shoulder as she softly prodded my sensitive back and shoulders.
“You have three long bruises running from your shoulder down,” she lifted the bottom of my shirt, “to your waist. Looks like you’ve been whipped.”
“Claws.”
“Yep, that looks about right. You should get it checked out.”
I shrugged and turned to face her, settling on the bed to her right.
“Bruises will heal.”
She huffed. “All right, spill then.” She reached out and took my hand. Her eyes filled with renewed concern. “Is your family okay?”
I’d never been so glad to give a good report. “Yes, it looks like they’re going to be fine.”
I took a few minutes to fill her in on how everything had gone down, from my brother’s see-through armor to the light explosion that vaporized the demons to the angels’ appearance and finally to Satan’s disappearing act. She was uncharacteristically quiet as I relayed the story.
“Wow. That’s just . . . wow.” A frown marred her pretty face. “I am so annoyed I missed it all. Boo. I had to go and get myself bit and miss all the—”
“So this is where the party is!” Kevin’s friendly voice came from the doorway.
I almost said, “I was going to come visit you next,” but the truth was I hadn’t decided.
Kevin walked into the room with a bandaged arm in a sling. He was clean, and only a few of the cuts from the battle still remained visible. The others had already faded. All things considered, he didn’t look much worse for the wear. Which hadn’t been the case a few hours ago, though. I frowned at the remembrance.
“I was really worried about you guys,” I said in a small voice.
“Nah.” Kevin flopped his lanky body into a chair on the other side of Kaitlin’s bed. “It wasn’t all that bad. I’ve been in worse situations.”
I shot him a droll look. “Really? You’ve fought against a few cohorts of demons with only a small handful of hunters before?” Kevin opened his mouth to reply, but I pushed on. “Without any protective barrier, not to mention unstoppable creepy evil mist-fog everywhere?”
Kevin’s smile was huge. “It was kind of epic, wasn’t it?”
I rolled my eyes. “Such a boy.”
“I should hope so!” He choked a laugh. “Besides, it’s all part of the job.”
Hoping for backup, I glanced at Kaitlin. With a smile of her own, she just shrugged her uninjured shoulder.
“Well, I just spent the last few hours pacing the halls of this place like a skittish animal. So, I don’t think it was all awesomesauce like you two do.”
“Now you know what it’s like for the rest of us when you land yourself in here. A little taste of your own medicine was about due,” Kaitlin said cheerily.
“Now, Kaitlin,” Kevin chastised his friend, “is that any way to speak to your own personal hero? When I found Audrey, she was guarding you and Logan like a pit-bull protecting the last bone on Earth.”
“Oh yeah?” Kaitlin asked with interest. “Hey, thanks. Last thing I remember is getting chomped on by a demon.”
How she was talking about her attack so casually, I didn’t know. It had been violent and brutal, and the repercussions went beyond the physical. But she was her usual spritely self. She was most likely going to walk out of here without any scars.
Absently, I rubbed the spot where my own fading scar still remained. It was practically invisible now, but I could still feel phantom pain every now and then which reminded me I hadn’t completely worked through the mental aspects of the attack.
“Yeah, well, I can’t take all, or even much, of the credit for saving you.”
Her eyebrows pinched.
“You don’t know, do you?” I checked with Kevin, but he appeared just as lost as she was. Did I have a story for them! “Oh boy, you’re going to really love this. I didn’t actually get you away from the demons, Kaitlin, I just kind of protected you and Logan after you were brought to me.”
“Oh.” She paused. “Well then, who did?”
I chewed on my lower lip. “Morgan.”
“What?” Kevin straightened quickly and almost fell out of his chair.
Kaitlin’s eyebrows shot so high it was a wonder they didn’t reach her hairline. “Yeah, what he said.”
I settled back in the chair, preparing myself for an onslaught of questions I wasn’t sure I could answer.
“After Logan was knocked unconscious, I managed to drag him to the side of the house. I figured I had a better chance of keeping him safe if the demons could only attack from one side. I had just made it to the house when you were overtaken, and then your screams followed.”
I brought a finger to my lips and started to chew on a nail. I quickly pulled it away
when I realized what I was doing. Disgusting nervous habit I wished I’d broken already, all the more disgusting at the moment since I had dirt and demon blood under my fingernails.
“I was going to come for you, I swear. But before I had a chance, the demon was flung away. You had passed out, and Morgan had you in his arms and was running toward me. He left you with me and then disappeared back into the fighting. I didn’t see him again until after the battle was won.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense,” she said.
“You’re telling me. At first I thought I was going to have to fight him to get you back. To say, I was shocked when he practically pleaded with me to take care of you would be an understatement.”
“Morgan, pleading?”
“Yep.” I popped the “p,” mimicking her.
She stared straight ahead, her mind working to make sense of it all. I wasn’t sure she would be able to. I knew I couldn’t.
“I didn’t know you were well acquainted with Morgan,” I said.
“I’m not,” Kaitlin answered quickly. “I wasn’t even in the same part of the realm when he was training with Logan. I met him a few times on visits, and he’s obviously, I mean, you know he’s like, um, well you know.” I thought her face darkened a shade. Oh, what I wouldn’t give for her to have emotion-revealing hair like mine right now.
I forced my lips to stay neutral. “I know what?”
“Never mind.”
“No, really, what exactly is he? Do you mean British?”
She shot me an irritated look. “He’s not exactly the ugliest guy I’ve ever seen.”
“Oh, now I see what you’re trying to say. You think he’s a hot piece of man candy.” How I delivered that line with a straight face is a mystery even to myself.
“Audrey,” Kaitlin all but shrieked. “That is not what I said.” Yep, there was definite redness staining her cheeks. It shouldn’t have given me as much pleasure as it did. “He’s like completely messed up, and evil. Yeah, he’s totally evil now. Evil is not hot.”
Kevin’s eyes ping-ponged between the two of us.