LAILAH
ONE
“Say that again,” Jay demanded.
“Lilith sent demons to get your mother to try and keep you from bonding with me. She sent her to wherever they had their base set up in a remote location. This camp is a military base for them to train all the new demons that are using human hosts, those who’ve taken the serum.
Lilith said it was in a part of the world that there weren’t many people around because the demons that the Dark Lord rules over are too vicious and kill people,” I shared, trying to remember everything that crazy-ass bitch had said.
Jay’s face turned to stone as he escorted me into the house, where the others, still covered in blood and dirt, were sprawled out on the couch.
My mother was in a tizzy, rushing to the kitchen, mumbling the need to grab supplies.
Cami was on the phone, with whom I have no idea, but my guess was an Elementi of some sort.
We needed to get them to a hospital was what we needed to do, with Micah and his broken leg.
Not to mention having someone check on Hudson and his wound that had an extremely angry red welt over it from where Micah said he cauterized it.
Hell, even Jay was battered, with blood all over his face from the cuts and possible scalp wound.
None of us were in any shape to deal with what was coming our way, and this battle was reaching the tipping point.
What do you do when the people who were supposed to end this war were too beaten up to do the job?
“Alright, guys, the local team is sending over a doctor and a healer. We’re lucky they have one in this state,” Cami said, hanging up the phone. “What the fuck happened?”
All the guys looked at me, then over at my dad, who was pale and hadn’t moved a muscle from the armchair he was sitting in.
The TV played in the background. No parent ever wanted to see their kid looking like they were on the losing end of the fight, especially when you didn’t know it could be a possibility.
I’d told my parents who and what I was, but even if mentally they knew, it didn’t really mean they accepted what also came with that knowledge.
I made them stay in my home while Lilith was on the loose because of the shield.
But now that Lilith was back in Hell, I felt better about them going back out into the world.
We would leave when we could to deal with Jay’s mom, drawing the attention away from them.
Heading over to my dad, I squatted down beside his chair and grasped his hand. “Dad...”
“What happened to you?” Dad demanded. “You told us it was going to be a fight. I just didn’t think... oh, my baby girl.” He reached out and cupped my face, his eyes filled with sadness.
I gave him a watery smile as my eyes started to tear up, covering his hand with my own. “I know it looks bad, but we did it. We accomplished what we needed to do for you and everyone else around here to be safe. There is still more to be done, but it’s a victory, nonetheless.”
“Like I give a damn about that when my little girl is looking like she survived hell. All of you look like you got put through a meat grinder,” Dad grumbled, looking at the guys. “How do they expect you to keep fighting when you can hardly keep your eyes open?”
Mom came back into the living room with a first aid kit, dishcloths, and a bowl of soapy water. “You didn’t have anything else for me to use, but I figured it would be just as easy to buy new ones.”
“It’s fine, Mom. Use whatever you like.” I sighed, pushing up to find a spot on the end of the couch to sit.
My head still pounded and after using so much power, I was drained, feeling like an empty husk.
All I wanted was to take a nap and wake up when this was all over, but that wasn’t an option.
Cracking open an eye, I watched Jay as he paced the living room, ignoring everything around him as he processed what I’d told him.
Honestly, I was amazed he was still here and not calling his father for a chopper or something to use in a search for his mother.
Brayden tapped me with his toe, grabbing my attention. “What’s up with him?” he whispered.
My answer was to shake my head and flick my gaze over to my mom trying to help clean up Hudson and Micah, who were both trying to tell her they could do it.
“Really, it’s fine,” Hudson assured my mom as he took the wet dishrag from her. “Micah’s the one who can’t really move around, but I can manage this on my own.”
Micah glared at his friend but wiped it from his face as my mom started to cut off his pant leg. “Whoa!”
“We need to get a look at how bad the damage really is. Having two boys, I’ve seen my fair share of broken bones.” Mom tutted as she continued her work.
When I looked back at Brayden, he nodded, understanding that it wasn’t good news and my parents could only handle so much.
“Quit your bitching, flame boy, the doctor will be here in twenty minutes, then you’ll be begging for Bonnie to be the one looking after you,” Cami pointed out with a grin.
Once Mom was done with Micah, she moved on to me, knowing I wouldn’t argue with her.
I knew she needed to do what she could to prove she wasn’t a terrible mother by letting me put myself in danger to keep them safe.
My mom had a big heart and hated when any of us would hurt ourselves when we were kids.
Out of all of us, I might be in the best shape, probably with a concussion, but that was minor and could be dealt with easily enough.
Mom wiped my face as silent tears trailed down her cheeks, but she didn’t make a sound or say anything other than to get me to move so she could get a better angle on something.
“Were you in a car accident?” she finally whispered. I tensed, unsure of how honest to be with my parents about what happened. “We saw it on the news and the vehicle looked just like yours. Your dad told me not to worry, that it couldn’t have been you guys, but now I think it really was—”
“Yeah, Mom, it was us,” I told her truthfully.
“The people we were after purposely hit us so they could bring us to their base of operations. Thankfully, they didn’t want us dead, but they knew we were too dangerous to face head-on, so they had to resort to dirty tricks.
” Not completely true, but it was the best I could come up with for now.
She nodded and kept on cleaning my arm that was covered in minor cuts from the glass and who knows what else. “It’s not over yet, is it?”
“No, it’s not, but I have a feeling we’re getting close to all this being over,” I answered, pulling her into a hug.
“I know it’s crazy to say, but this is what I was born to do, Mom.
I have to do my best even if it puts me in situations where I might get hurt.
Think of it like I’m in the military, special forces.
I can’t really tell you what I’m doing or where I’m going but know that it's to save a whole lot of people.”
There was a knock at the door, startling all of us, but Jay was already on the move to find out who it could be.
We all heard the door open and then Jay returned with three men I’d never met but who carried bags full of medical supplies.
They must be the doctor and the healer. Why we needed both didn’t make any sense to me, but I just didn’t have the energy to argue.
“Hello, I’m Doctor Tager, this is my assistant Nurse Kaden, and this is Professor Zale. We heard you guys got a little banged up in the last encounter you had,” Doctor Tager greeted, setting his bag down. “Thoughts on who I should start with?”
We all pointed to Micah.
“That was easy.” Doctor Tager chuckled as he walked over, then kneeled where Micah was laid out on the couch.
“On our way down to the Chicago Elementi headquarters, we got hit by a truck and I broke my leg,” Micah explained, pointing to his bare leg. “At least, I think it’s broken. I can’t use it and the pain is some of the worst I’ve ever felt.”
Doctor Tager started to feel Micah’s leg, poking and prodding at things, muttering to himself as he worked.
“I want to take an x-ray to confirm, but I don’t think you broke your leg.
I think it’s just a dislocated patella or kneecap.
It absolutely hurts like a bitch, but on the bright side, it means you will heal much faster. ”
“So we have to go to the hospital after all?” I asked.
He turned to look at me with a gentle smile on his face. “No, thankfully the Elementi has funded us well and I have a portable machine to use for situations like this. Give me a moment to set it up and we’ll take a look.”
Doctor Tager and Nurse Kaden left the room and the front door opened again. Professor Zale headed over to Hudson, who was trying to scrub the blood off his side but was having trouble twisting the right way.
“Would you mind if I took a look at your wound?” Professor Zale asked.
Hudson looked up at him and shrugged. “I don’t know how I got sliced in the accident, but when I woke up, I’d lost a lot of blood.
We didn’t have time or the chance to seek any medical help, so Micah used his fire to seal the wound.
I’ve been keeping track of things and making sure I don’t have any internal bleeding, but I feel as though it was just a surface-level injury to the skin and muscle. ”
Professor Zale raised a brow. “Medical student?”
“Biomedical, looking to go into research but had to take some pre-med classes.”
Professor Zale nodded as he slipped on a pair of gloves and urged Hudson to sit back so he could get a clear view of the area.
He, too, felt and prodded the area, humming as if making mental notes about whatever he was seeing.
“I believe I have some remedies that will help soothe the burn, bring down the inflammation, and prevent infection. Would you mind if I applied it to you?”
“Ah, I see, you’re a naturopath, aren’t you?” I blurted out, feeling like an idiot for not figuring it out sooner.
I got a smile from the professor at my outburst. “Yes, but I’m also trained in the best remedies to heal wounds made from demons.
Seeing that many of those need to be made from natural and holy items, the two practices often coincide.
Speaking of, did any of you acquire a wound from a demon or get possessed? ”
Mom let out a gasp at the question, clutching tightly to my dad.
We’d talked about how dangerous demons were in the world to get them to agree to stay in this house, but I’d purposefully left out that side of things.
“Dad, why don’t you take Mom to lie down?
I know this has been a lot the past few days. I’m sure she didn’t sleep well.”
Dad nodded jerkily and led my mother away to the room they were using.
“Forgive me, I assumed, being here, that they were aware of the world we live in and you are a part of,” Professor Zale apologized.
“No, it’s not your fault. I should have expected this, coming back home in the state we’re in.
My parents had no idea about any of this or who I even was.
Truthfully, I didn’t even know anything about this and got fast tracked when I was discovered to be Synergy,” I shared, rubbing my head as the ache just got worse with all the stress of balancing both parts of my life.
“I didn’t grow up in this world either, but when I married my wife, who was an Elementi soldier, I was read into the hidden side of our world, if you will.
When she died of a wound from a greater demon, I knew I had to do something to keep that from happening.
Thankfully, the Elementi are always looking for people to train, so it didn’t take me long since I was already a naturopath,” Professor Zale said as he worked on attending to Hudson’s wound.
“This world you protect needs you, but it doesn’t make it easier for those of us left behind at home to wait for your return. ”
My heart broke for him and his history with demons taking the woman he loved from him.
I knew firsthand how painful that type of wound was and not to have the help I’d received was unimaginable.
Doctor Tager returned, and between him and his assistant, got it all set up rather quickly.
Soon, we were all looking at Micah’s knee on a laptop, showing us clear as day that his knee was indeed dislocated.
“This is good news. It means you won’t be down for the count too long.
I’ll get this bone back into place, do another x-ray to make sure there is no other damage, then we can get you taped up and in a brace.
It will take six weeks to fully heal, but you’ll be able to walk with crutches and start putting weight on it again in a week or so.
Seeing as you’re an Elementi Warrior, I’ve learned you lot heal faster, so it could be less time than that.
Trust your body to tell you what’s going to work best.”
A weight I didn’t know I’d been carrying fell away from me, hearing these words.
Micah wasn’t broken and he would recover with no problems at all.
All I had to do now was make sure he didn’t push himself too hard once I told him about Jay’s mom.
The three men worked quickly and efficiently, checking over the rest of us and giving Brayden a sling to let his arm rest for at least a week.
They guessed I did have a concussion but only a mild one since I didn’t throw up.
Jay also had one and needed a few stitches in his scalp for the head wound.
We were all given the okay to take showers as long as we were careful and avoided certain wounds.
It was a group effort, but we all managed to get clean and tumbled into bed where we passed out in one big puppy pile on my bed, feeling the need to be close to each other.