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

by Roach, D. A.

  ***

  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.”

  “Killian, I don’t know. You’ll have to be careful or you’ll spread the infection.” Lena looked terrified.

  “I will be careful.” Tears fell from her eyes; Lena was not scared of pain—she was scared of dying. I wasn’t sure if this would solve the problem, but leaving a huge bubble of pus to ooze out seemed like a bad idea. “Angeline, a scalpel, please, and a towel.”

  An hour later, we had Lena rewrapped and medicated. I hated pushing her out of her comfort zone. She rarely got sick, but when she did, she was the worst patient. Her stubbornness raised its ugly head.

  I couldn’t lose her, though, she was all I had left of my core family. Our parents had died years ago when two demons breached our compound in a suicide mission aimed at our Elders. Everything changed after that day. Including the end of allowing marriage between Clan members and a shift in power that resulted in me being voted to lead the Clan.

  Angeline and I wheeled Lena to her room where she’d be most comfortable and got her situated in bed. We put a snack and drink on the table nearby so she wouldn’t have to get up.

  “Night, Lena. One of us will be here to help you in the morning.”

  She muttered something that was probably some oath that she didn’t need help, but the fresh pain meds were kicking in, dulling her speech. I kissed her head and left with Angeline.

  “Angeline, thanks for your help with Lena.”

  “You’re welcome.” She walked with me toward my room. “I’m worried about her.”

  “Me too. We’ll have to keep doing what we are doing and hope for the best.”

  Laughter from the dining hall echoed out into the halls, which was odd, because the sound didn’t match the current somber mood of the Clan. We peered in as we walked by; Casper and Cassidy were currently the only ones in there, eating and laughing together. They seemed friendly and at ease around each other. She looked happy, and so did Casper. Had he not heard about Ren and Siggy’s deaths? Cassidy giggled again. Seeing them sitting there so close to each other…

  My tattoo flared with pain. I looked down and saw the edges of it glowing green.

  “Ouch! What the…?” Cassidy said, looking at her tattoo. It also appeared to have a green hue.

  Angeline looked at my tattoo, then to Cassidy and Casper, and back to me. “This is new. Are you having feelings about those two being together?”

  Wanting to avoid Cassidy, I continued down the hall till we were safely out of earshot. “I don’t know what I’m feeling, but even if I did, why is my tat green?”

  She shrugged and shook her head slowly. “That’s a first for me. She does have your blood flowing through her tattoo, correct?”

  I nodded.

  “And you are bonded to each other.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t recall feeling my donor’s emotions.”

  “Well, that’s because you weren’t in love with your donor. I mean, you loved your uncle but I’m sure it didn’t feel as this does.”

  “Angeline.” I did not want to share my emotions for Cassidy with Angeline.

  “Killian, it’s obvious how you feel about her. It makes sense that seeing her with Casper would bother you. Just try to remember it’s also okay for her to befriend him.”

  We arrived at my quarters, the room dimly lit by the daylight lamp on the dresser. “Goodnight, Angeline. Thank you for your help,” I said, my tone making it clear I did not want to continue this discussion.

  She nodded respectfully. “Goodnight, Killian.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Cassidy

  The Clan had a mourning feast in honor of the fallen Siggy and Ren. They told stories of each and celebrated their lives and accomplishments, quite different from the somber funerals we had back home. After the feast, I changed into more comfortable clothes and settled in with a book. Lena, who had rolled herself in her wheelchair all the way to my room, had dropped off another cup of healing potion. I was stunned, again, by the power of the Clan’s medicine—I felt both stronger and relaxed within a few minutes of taking it.

  A knock at my door pulled me out of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I set my book down and opened the door to find Casper grinning. He looked me up and down, assessing me.

  “That will do. Come on.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me down the hall, whisking me away to some unknown destination. Although I had no pressing plans today, it was unnerving to be thrust into action without any warning.

  “Hey! Frankie and Benjy were about to dissect Arthur’s brain. Where are we going anyway?”

  “You’ll see. I thought you’d be done with that book by now. I gave it to you yesterday.” He smiled back at me and winked. Casper was the voice I’d heard in the darkness when I was trapped in my own body. He’d helped me escape my flesh tomb by reading about faraway lands, unique characters like my favorite, Marvin, the depressed and paranoid robot, and their wild adventures through the Milky Way Galaxy. When I awoke from my comatose state, Casper and I naturally had become friends. His time spent looking after me had set the tone of our relationship.

  He led me to a section of the colony that I had never seen before. The air smelled bad, like sweaty men who needed a shower, making my nose wrinkle.

  “Um, I’m gonna guess you all don’t grow flowers in this section. Are you taking me to the laundry room?”

  “Ha! Funny, Cassidy. You smell something funky, huh?”

  There were no sounds to clue me in to our destination. As we continued, I saw we were coming to a dead-end, and it was so much darker here compared to the other passageways. “Why is it so dark in this hall?”

  “Oh, there are just less daylight lamps down here. We only have so many, and they are needed more in other corridors. Did you know the lamps are spelled to echo the Earth’s sun, so as the sun rises near the gate you crossed, our lights come to life here in the Clan?”

  “That’s pretty cool.”

  “It is.” Casper finally stopped in front of a large doorway. “Here we are.” He stepped to the side, allowing me to enter. The room behind him had a matted floor, and a large, middle-aged man was tidying up some long sticks.

  “Jackson, thanks for meeting us here.” Casper walked over and shook the large warrior’s hand. I had seen him at the med unit when I
first came to the Clan.

  Jackson turned and looked surprised to see me. “Why is Cassidy here? I thought you wanted to spar?”

  “She’s bored. Look at her. Besides, Killian wants to cross her over soon, and she needs to be strong for that. Does she look strong to you?”

  I tried to smack him, but Casper was too fast. He winked at me in return.

  “I don’t think he meant fighting strong,” Jackson corrected Casper.

  “What will it hurt if we show her a few moves?”

  Two girl trainees appeared at the door.

  “Tarrin. Eva. You two here to spar?” Jackson asked.

  “Yes, sorry, Sir, we didn’t know the room was being used at this time,” the tall, thin teenage girl said.

  “It’s okay. We’ll be done in an hour if you wanna come back then.”

  “Thank you, Sir.” The girls left and Jackson turned toward me.

  “You up for this, Cassidy?” Jackson seemed reluctant to let me participate, but left it up to me.

  “Like Casper said, I’m bored. Let’s do this.”

  Casper grabbed some tape to wrap my knuckles while Jackson grabbed some three foot sticks. He had us stretch out and then demonstrated some blocks and attacks with the stick on Casper. Casper was half of Jackson’s size and probably half his age, but he moved before any strike could get him. He was unnaturally fast.

  “God, you are infuriating to spar with,” Jackson huffed, making my friend laugh. “Cassidy, you’re up.” I grabbed my stick and approached Jackson. “Block anything coming at you. Keep your hands up, always. And never take your eyes off me.” I nodded in reply. It was intimidating going up against someone who was clearly a senior warrior, but I knew he would take it easy on me. Firmly holding my stick, I swung at Jackson. He dodged and blocked each of my strikes with ease.

  “You have to keep your eyes on your target at all times, and you need to hit a hundred times harder. You might only get one shot so better make it count.”

  I came at him with a flurry of hits—successfully making contact a few times. Jackson offered praise and criticism for them and hit back. My best effort to dodge Jackson’s attacks were not enough and only managed to evade three of about thirty hits.