Chapter 36
Elsie woke up in the infirmary. Everything hurt, and she could barely summon the strength to raise a hand to wipe the gunk from her eyes.
There was an IV in her arm, and the slow beat of a heart rate monitor faded with all the other fuzzy background noise.
She heard hushed voices outside, but they’d put her in a private room, and she was alone.
Bracing herself for the worst, she pulled the white blanket covering her torso down, then wiggled around, pulling the dressing gown out from under her hips to raise it and expose her belly. They’d bandaged her from hip bone to breast, and a distinctly herbal smell rose from the area.
Marley loved incorporating medicinal plants into her healing, claiming it would not only speed up the process but also boost the immune system. Elsie had seen the healer’s work enough times that she didn’t dare question her wisdom.
She wasn’t surprised to find that none of her squad members were present. She didn’t expect them to dote on her after choosing to change squads. Besides, they had their own injuries to tend to. But the absence of one person in particular caused concern.
“Saint?” she called out, expecting him to be lingering nearby. Elsie waited a minute, her chest constricting as a frown formed on her face. He’d shut down his side of their bond. Even if he were sleeping, he’d have stayed by her side. The demon hated being separated from her. “Saint?”
The door swung open, and Marley came inside, a pleased expression on her face. The healer was exhausted, but she’d escaped the battle without any lasting injuries.
“You’re awake,” Marley said with a discomforting amount of relief.
“Was it that bad?” she asked, gently patting the bandages. “I’ve had worse.”
“No, you haven’t. You had a hole in your body so wide I could see the ground through it.
That demon injected you with enough venom to kill anyone else in our squad.
You’re one tough bitch, Commander,” Marley praised.
“The IV is pumping you full of antivenin to counteract it. Inspired by one of Riven’s concoctions. ”
Elsie’s brow furrowed as she listened. She’d known it was bad, but she definitely hadn’t realized how seriously she’d been hurt.
“You’ve been in a coma for three days,” Marley said, and Elsie winced. “And you’ve still got at least a week before you’re fully healed. You got lucky. If it weren’t for that mutt of yours, you wouldn’t have survived. Fate came close to calling a few times, I really thought you were going to die.”
“Saint helped me?” Elsie asked, then shook her head at her own thick question. Of course he did. Saint wouldn’t sit back and do nothing when she was hurt. She didn’t remember anything after pushing Callum out of the way, except the cold. She remembered the chill of death seeping into her bones.
“He used his magic to stop the bleeding long enough for me to get there. I didn’t know he could yell like that. He’s always been creepily silent,” Marley joked.
“He spoke to you?” Elsie questioned, though she shouldn’t have been surprised after he’d practically cussed Marley out.
“Only enough to scream my name, then to beg me to help you. Like I wouldn’t have without his prompting.” The healer rolled her eyes.
“Where is he now? He’s got to be worried out of his mind, will you bring him here?”
Marley gave her a calculating appraisal, as though surprised Elsie even had to ask. “He’s in his stall.”
Elsie’s brow furrowed with confusion, and she had to take a second to make sure she’d heard right. The world suddenly felt absurdly unstable. When the healer fell silent without elaborating, she scowled. “What the fuck do you mean he’s in his stall?”
“He tried to kill Callum, and he did kill another member of Squad Eight who tried to defend him,” Marley said quietly. “We did what we had to do.”
“What is it you thought you had to do, Mar?” Elsie demanded.
“We subdued him, then handed him over to Clairemont. A mad dog without its master deserves to be put down. The only reason he’s alive is because of his role in taking that centipede out, and because we didn’t want to piss you off.
We decided to put him in his kennel until we were certain which way your prognosis leaned. ”
“Marley, you handed him over to fucking Clairemont?! You saw his scars, you know what that rat bastard did to him!”
“Did you not hear me say that your precious pet killed a man?” Marley snapped.
“You haven’t asked about anyone other than that mutt of yours.
Do you remember that Steve is dead? Do you care that Banks didn’t make it?
Be grateful it’s me in here and not someone else.
You wouldn’t want that information getting around. ”
Blood rushed to her head, kick-starting a pounding headache. Elsie stared at her, dumbfounded, pinning the healer in place. “Both of them?” Her voice came out in a high squeak.
Marley’s face softened. “Yeah. And they weren’t the only ones.”
“Trenton will have to inform their families,” Elsie said.
“Were you telling the truth about Cornick sending the centipede?” Marley asked.
“You don’t believe me? Why don’t you bring Morgan in here and find out?” Elsie snorted. “Yes, Marley, I was telling the truth. I may not be the perfect hunter everyone expects me to be, but I’m not a liar. I’ve been completely upfront and honest about everything.”
“When the others heard about the witches, they changed their minds. No one is leaving your squad. The centipede hit before any of us put in our transfer requests, since our leaders were so conveniently elsewhere at the time. Mutt is rightfully scheduled to be put down for his transgressions, and once he’s gone, our lives can go back to normal.
” The healer had the fucking audacity to offer a hesitant smile.
“You and anyone else involved can go straight to hell, Marley. I am no longer your squad leader. I refuse to work alongside people who’d treat a man who’s been a member of their team for two fucking years like an animal.
The fact that you think I’d stand idly by and let someone else kill him? ! Saint’s life belongs to me!”
Marley’s eyes bulged as Elsie flicked the blankets back, easing her feet to the floor. “You’re kicking me out of your squad, after what I did to save your life? After all the shit I’ve put up with since you let that disgusting monster join us? Are you kidding me?!”
“That’s not what I said, was it? You and the others can remain together as long as you want, but I quit. I am the final daughter of death, and I will not kill demons for the hunters any longer.”
“Oh, shut up,” Marley snorted, flicking the IV bag near Elsie’s head. The stress eased from her face. “I should have known better than to take you seriously. You can’t make important decisions while you’re loopy on so many medications. Lay your ass back down.”
Elsie ignored her. She yanked the IV out of her arm, then stripped the ugly blue dressing gown off and grabbed the pants and top someone had left for her on a chair.
After easing the clothes on, she hobbled to the door, intentionally bumping her shoulder into Marley’s.
“Move. I have to go make sure that monster hasn’t harmed my demon. ”
“I’m the healer in charge of your case, and I say you stay right where you are. You’re not ready to get out of bed, let alone go traipsing around the compound. Do you really care more about that mutt than your own people?” Marley demanded.
Elsie paused and looked back, catching the healer’s eyes for the briefest moment before shaking her head.
“Which people? The six remaining of the eight who turned their backs on me? I was fooling myself when I started to think of you as my family. At some point you stopped growing and tried to drag me down with you, but instead I left you behind. We aren’t the same, my mother taught me better, and you have never truly been my people. ”
“Elsie!”
She didn’t wait to hear what else Marley had to say. Using the wall to prop herself up, Elsie slowly made her way down the hall and out of the infirmary. The healer stayed on her heels, putting herself between Elsie and her intended path and making the newly appointed commander come to a halt.
“Get out of my way,” Elsie warned.
“No. You’re my patient, and I’ve already called for assistance. You need to get back to bed. I told you, you won’t be fully healed for some time and–”
Elsie looked up at her with an impatient rage shining in her pale lavender eyes. “Do I look injured enough that you think I can’t make you move?” she asked. Pushing off the wall, she stood straight, her stance a little wide to make up for her slightly off-center balance.
“It might take more than me to do it, but one way or another, we’ll get you back in that bed.” Marley’s expression hardened to hide the slip of apprehension that colored her face.
“The easiest way to earn my compliance is to bring Saint to me yourself. My demon stays with me, and I’ll personally remove the hands of anyone who thinks otherwise.”
“I already told you, nobody has time to babysit your murderous fucking demon!” Marley whisper-yelled, losing her patience.
“Elsie, Morgan lost an eye! Grady is in rough shape and almost didn’t make it.
We might have managed to save Trisse’s arm, but it’s not a sure thing. Don’t you care about them?!”
“Your squad members are safe in your capable hands, where they’re getting the best treatment the clan can provide.
Meanwhile, Saint was instrumental in defeating that demon, and even though he was injured for his trouble, you sent him to be tortured,” Elsie barely contained the anger in her voice.
“What kind of healer chooses not to help someone heal?”
“A healer who doesn’t work for demons.”