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“She was badly beaten. There’s a head wound, and I’m fairly certain she has several broken ribs, but I think she’s bleeding internally, and I can’t... I don’t...”
Sariel frowned at him. She’d never seen Jophiel in such a state. He was usually quite laid back. They hadn’t worked together for hundreds of years, so maybe he’d changed—or maybe this woman had changed him somehow. Looking down, she placed her hands on the woman’s back, her healing magic feeling its way through the human’s body, checking for injury and pain. A sick bubbling sound came from the woman’s throat, and Sariel saw blood dribbling out onto the blanket below her. The giant reached down and wiped away the blood with a tenderness that surprised her.
Focusing on her magic, Sariel nodded to herself. Jophiel was right. There was internal hemorrhaging on a big scale. No wonder he couldn’t have saved her by himself. She looked up. “Jophiel, I need you. Do you have anything left?”
“I have whatever you need,” Jophiel replied, dropping down next to her, his face as white as a sheet.
“Are you sure? You look exhausted.”
His dark golden eyes turned on her. “Whatever she needs, she gets. Even if you have to carry me out of here.”
Sariel blinked at his intensity, then nodded. She reached out, and he gripped her hand, then together, they leaned over the woman. Sariel took her shoulder and rolled her onto her back. The woman immediately began coughing and choking, even though she was unconscious, and blood sprayed over Sariel’s face. Sariel didn’t flinch, instead laying her and Jophiel’s interlocked hands on the woman’s chest. “Lungs first,” she said, and he nodded.
Focusing, Sariel brought her healing energy back to her hand and then found the first source of bleeding, the one that was drowning the woman in her own blood. Slowly, she felt her way through the veins, muscles, and organs, finding the damage and willing the cells to heal and replenish. It began to mend, but slowly. “Faster, Jophiel,” she murmured, pushing more of her own strength and vitality into the woman’s body. She had never healed a human this badly damaged before, and she wasn’t sure exactly what effect her magic would have in this quantity. Jophiel didn’t reply, but she felt a desperate surge as he pushed everything he had into their combined magic stream.
A loud roar came from behind her, and Sariel looked around, breaking her focus, as a cluster of hellions burst from the trees and raced up the hill. Her five warriors immediately descended on them, but several broke through and headed toward them.
“Fucking hellions,” Adamachus said. A glance at him told her he wasn’t armed.
“Here.” With her free hand, she drew her sword and tossed it onto the grass.
He stared at it for a brief moment then looked at her.
“I can’t stop. If I stop, she dies. Can you take them alone?”
“He’s not alone,” the giant growled, rising to his feet. In three strides, he was at Adamachus’s side, unarmed save for his fists and his brute strength. The fourth angel, who until now had remained quiet, went to join them, and Sariel saw the gun in his hand. She looked over at the fifth figure, a human male tied up on the ground. A wake of nausea flowed over her as she looked at him, and she grimaced. He was a sinner to the core, unrepentant and cowardly. She disregarded him, turned back to the woman, and refocused on her magic.
She smiled as she felt the flesh start to knit together. The bubbling noise faded, and Sariel turned the woman’s head so the blood could run from her mouth to the ground. She pulled her magic from Jophiel’s, leaving him to finish the job, and moved through the woman’s body, finding the worst of the injuries and dealing with them one at a time.
Behind her, she could hear the sound of the angels fighting the hellions, and she knew she was risking her own life by not being aware of her surroundings, but her focus was everything. The woman could still die from the sheer shock and trauma her body had gone through. Her energy was draining fast, and at last she pulled her hands away.
“I’m done. I can’t spend any more, I’ll be too exhausted and so will you.”
Jophiel ignored her, his dark eyes standing out like empty sockets in a bleached skull as he forced more and more of his life force into the woman.
“Jophiel. Jophiel, stop. Stop!” She grabbed his hands and pulled them away. He struggled for a moment, but he was spent, so he collapsed against her, his eyes rolling back in his head. She laid him gently on the ground and turned back to inspect the woman. Most of the major injuries had been dealt with. She hoped it was enough. The woman took a deeper breath, and then another. Her eyelids fluttered, and then Sariel was looking into dark eyes that were filled with pain and anguish.
FOURTEEN
DYLAN
I could breathe much easier than I had been able to before. I prayed that it was Jophiel’s magic and not that peaceful moment before death. I had felt his magic, but I had also felt it fade, and I knew he was weakening. I wanted to tell him to stop, to get away before the lieutenant showed up. I wanted him to save himself, but I couldn’t summon the energy. A sudden burst of power had lessened the pain considerably, and I felt a little warmth creep back into my limbs. I took a breath and opened my eyes to find a pair of silver ones staring down at me. I blinked.
I had been expecting Jophiel, but instead, a beautiful woman with long dark hair and silver eyes was watching me carefully. She wore silver armor, and a tremor of fear ran through me.
“No... No... Who...”Please don’t let it be her, please.
The woman looked down at me in confusion. “I am called Sariel. I was helping Jophiel heal you.”
“Jophiel! Is he okay?” I tried to sit up, but she put a hand on my shoulder, and I felt iron strength firmly but gently force me back down.
“He’s fine. He’s unconscious right now. He used too much of his life force to save you. He’ll need to sleep it off, but he’ll recover in time.”
I sighed, relaxing back against the blanket I was lying on. I heard a roar from Ade, and I turned my head. He and Remiel were down by the tree line with other tall figures that wore armor similar to the woman’s. They were fighting hellions, and my stomach lurched in fear.
“I need to help,” I said, trying to get up again, but I was held down once more.
“Give it a few minutes until you try to stand. You had some pretty serious injuries, and I haven’t been able to fix all of them. When we leave, you need to get yourself to the emergency room.”
