Page 76 of Demon Touched

“Shut up and hear me out,” I say, trying to distract him. When I glance down, I can see him staring in bewilderment at my wings.

“What are you?” he gasps, which isn’t shutting up, but at least it’s to the point.

“Nephilim,” I answer. “My grandfather is ephilium. I didn’t know until recently. Some stuff happened, and my powers showed up. I’ve been in Aradis for a while. That’s where I got the wings.”

He looks like he has a thousand questions, which is fair. “That’s…wait, you’re a soldier now?” he asks, taking in my armor.

I grimace. “Not really. They’re making me jump through some hoops before they’ll accept me as a citizen. Being here today was hopefully a one-off.”

“So you’re going to live in Aradis now?” he asks, his tone skeptical. Honestly, if the circumstances were different, it would be funny that that’s the part that seems most unbelievable to him. I won’t tell him there’s a demon lord who has a very similar attitude.

I don’t answer at all, because we’re back with Filippa. As we come in to land, I spot a skinny figure a few yards away.

Oxel. I’d recognize that weedy little rat of a man anywhere.

I drop Hodges to his feet and charge toward the scavenger who once left me for dead on these very plains. He sees me coming and gives a yelp as he starts to run. I call lightning into my palms and release it, sending it crackling across the ground around his feet, though I carefully avoid hitting him. Oxel screams anyway.

“Stay off these plains or I’ll fry you to ashes, roach!” I shout after him.

The whole thing takes about thirty seconds. I’m quick to return to Hodges, who’s staring down at Filippa with a curious expression on his face.

“Who is she?” he asks, his voice quiet and soft in a way I’ve rarely heard from him.

“My cousin Filippa,” I say, bending down to gently lift her into my arms. “I can’t take her back to Aradis. They won’t heal her. It’s a long story. But it’s why I need to find a medicine person for her here. I’m taking her to your place—you go fetch someone and meet me there.” I give him orders, rather than options. In another situation, I might feel guilty about it, but nothing’s more important than helping Filippa right now. Besides, our friendship has always been like this: me bossing Hodges around and him accepting my command with only minor grumbling.

This time he hesitates, looking like he might object, then his eyes trace Filippa’s face.

“All right,” he says. “But be careful not to let my mom see. She always liked you, but…” He shakes his head, as if he can’t imagine what Mrs. Laikar would have to say about taking in an injured winger. Then he takes off running toward the city.

Wingers fly over the city all the time, so I’m not worried about attracting too much notice as I carry Filippa up and over Pax. From above, it looks neater than I ever realized—densely packed but with a certain order to the north and south sides, with the winding river cutting through it.

I’m cautious when I get near Hodges’s neighborhood though, dropping down fast into the little back alley behind his house before anyone can spot me. When Hodges came of age, his mother let him move into the apartment at the back of his home that has its own entrance. It’s why our arrangement worked so well. It was private enough that I could stop off at his before and after scavenging to get changed and pick up my stuff without attracting notice. Over the years, I would sometimes duck in to say hello to Hodges’s mother, leading to an awkward stretch of weeks early on when she thought I might be courting her son. I soon set her straight.

I navigate the stairs carefully, briefly laying Filippa down to find the hidden key and unlock the door, then gently ease Filippa in. She’s still breathing, but she didn’t stir much during our flight, and it’s been nearly half an hour since I found her on the plains.

Inside, Hodges’s bedroom leads off a small living space with a table and two chairs. I lay Filippa down on the table, the ends of her wings hanging limply over the sides of the wood.

“Hold on, Filippa. Help is coming soon.”

Because I can’t just stand there waiting for something to happen, I take off my own helmet and get to work removing her armor. I unstrap her sword belt and the sheath holding her still-clean sword, then unbuckle her bracers and shin guards. When I get to her breast plate, I move very slowly and carefully, trying not to jostle the wound as I lift it off her torso. Without it, she looks a lot smaller, lying there in just her plain pants and white undershirt, the fabric soaked with silver.

At last, her eyelids flutter, and my gaze snaps to her face.

“Filippa?”

She groans, and a sliver of relief slips into me. That has to be better than silence.

Hodges arrives a few minutes later, red and out of breath.

“I brought Martha from the market,” he says. “She’s outside.”

I nod, relieved. The medicine woman who treated my allergies back when I lived in Strata is very good.

“Did you tell her?” I ask. “Does she know what she’s walking into?”

He chews his lip. “I didn’t know how much you wanted me to say. I told her it was a job that needed a bit of discretion, and she should brace herself for weirdness.”

Even though I’m exhausted and stressed and terrified, my lips twitch at his phrasing.