Perian nodded. He definitely wanted the Warriors and Mage Warriors to have every advantage against demons.
There was another clatter in the distance, and Perian was impressed with how far away Molun had made that sound. Hopefully, if the other team was anywhere near them, they wouldn’t think that they were sneaking back to camp at this very minute.
Molun rejoined them with a grin, looking slightly out of breath, and it was only when Nisal’s hand lowered that Perian realized they’d heard him coming and were ready to let loose had it not proved to be Molun. They really were good at this.
They continued on for a few minutes, and then Nisal slipped off again, disappearing almost noiselessly into the woods. Perian was doing his best, but being stealthy was definitely not his best skill.
Molun said, “I don’t think we’re too far now. It might be worth—”
It happened so fast that Perian couldn’t actually understand what was going on. There was the sound of rustling, and what burst through the trees washuge,a blur of fur, fangs, and claws. And theypounced, apparently, like they were the hunter who’d found its prey. Perian saw Molun go down in a blur of thrashing limbs, heard snapping and screaming, and his heart caught in this throat.
Chapter Sixteen
No!” Perian screamed.
The demon turned towards him, which wasn’t at all what Perian had been going for, except it sort of was, because it didn’t tear into Molun, who was on the ground and not moving.
Perian had no weapons, which now seemed like a huge oversight. What had he been thinking? Brannal had given him a knife, but he’d chosen never to have it with him. Because he was stupid.
The demon paced a couple steps closer, fur dark and bristling. Perian didn’t want to think about how huge those paws were as they pressed into the ground, claws gouging furrows in the earth. Except if he thought about that, maybe he couldstopthinking about how the demon was growling, mouth pulled back in a snarl full of sharp teeth, menacing yellow eyes locked on him.
Perian’s heart was thundering in his ears, his breath coming in pants, and he didn’t have a plan at all.
With a rush of howling wind, Nisal was suddenly there. They had their sword out—Perian had never seen them with their sword out—and they were diving in, windscreaming around them. There was more yelling and shrieks as they drove the demon back.
Without realizing he’d moved, Perian found that he was on his knees in front of Molun, and the world just… stopped.
Molun wasn’t moving, and there was so much blood. It was everywhere; Perian had never seen so much blood, and he’d never seen a wound like the one on Molun’s leg, which was gushing bright red blood and looking like raw meat. The leg wasn’t straight, and it was clear it had been broken.
Nisal was there a moment later, kneeling beside Perian, and when they looked at Molun’s leg, their face blanched. They ripped off their leather vest and then yanked off their padded tunic and bundled it against the wound. It began to soak through almost instantly. Perian pulled off his coat, got it tangled with his bag, flailed, and finally managed to get them both off.
His bag!
“I think it hit an artery,” Nisal whispered, their face dreadfully pale. “Hold on, let me get my shirt.”
They stripped off their shirt and added it to the pile, taking over holding pressure on the wound.
“No,” Perian said, shaking his head vehemently. “No, no, no.”
Hands trembling, covered in blood, he ripped open his bag and rooted desperately through it. He yanked out the tonic, ripped out the stopper, and managed to tilt Molun’s head back. His face was too pale and too still, not at all like Molun should be.
“This is the best tonic ever; the doctor said so. This tonic makes everyone well,” Perian said, his voice shaking, but he tried to firm it up. “Molun, you’re going to be absolutely fine.” The bottle shook in Perian’s hand, and a little bit of the tonic spilled. He tried harder to steady his hands and his voice. “This tonic is the best, and you’re going to be fine. You’re definitely,definitelygoing to be fine.”
He got a second tonic into the man, because the doctor hadn’t specifically said he couldn’t do that, and Perian was sure Molun needed all the help he could get. Even if this was the best tonic ever, two was better than one, right?
He put his hands back on the makeshift bandage, everything feeling too wet already. Nisal felt for Molun’s pulse. Perian should have thought of that, but he was kind ofpanicking.
“It’s weak but there,” they said, but they looked really worried.
Molun wasn’t meant to be so still.
“Let me. My shirt.”
Nisal took over the pressure so that Perian could pull off his vest and shirt, and they added them to the pile, both of them pressing down. He tried not to think about what would happen if that soaked through, too.
“Of course there’s a lot of blood,” he said, swallowing thickly, continuing to maintain pressure. He thought about how bandages formed barriers, stopping bleeding and protecting wounds. “There’s a lot of blood because this is a big wound, and you’re a big man. So you have lots of blood in you. But we’re covering the wound up now, so you’re going to stop bleeding, and you’re going to be fine as soon as we get you back to the doctor.”
Somehow.
