Page 7 of The Hidden Falling
A couple of years ago, several families of bora came down the cliffs from The Deadlands. The bora and the creatures of the Eridian massacred each other over the span of thirteen days. It disturbed the animals we hunt, and food was scarce for a while. We also worried they would manage to get through the protective barrier around Eridian. While the lilk trees’ invisible barrier stops strong magic from being used inside its circle and creatures from passing through, if a lot of creatures try to pass through at once, the barrier can weaken enough for them to slip inside.
I breathe out heavily, remembering the last time some of the creatures got through. We lost some good people that day. And that’s why I now have someone checking the cliffs and The Deadlands regularly. If we see any creatures getting too close, we try to divert them or regrettably, put them down if we cannot change their course.
Since starting the patrols, we haven’t had any incidents like that again.
“What’s your name?” I ask the omega, shaking off my memories as we walk. The only reason I’m bringing him to Eridian is because Edward trusts him enough to escort Sarah to us, and he needs rest before he travels again.
“Ellian,” he says, tipping his head down in a show of respect.
“Well, Ellian, we will take you to our home and give it a few days for things to settle. We will get you back to where you need to be, after some rest,” I smile, reassuring him.
He gives me a gentle smile back before averting his eyes. “I have no doubt.”
Taylor makes a grunting sound, and I look at him out of the corner of my eye. Lifting an eyebrow in question, he shakes his head and continues forward. I guess he’s not happy with us bringing Ellian back with us. But Edward always chooses those who do not live close to The Deadlands or the home where they pick people up to bring to us. Ellian will need rest before he will be able to port to another location from The Deadlands and spend days traveling again to his distant home.
Making our way through the forest silently, I sneak glances at a still unconscious Sarah in Josh’s arms. She doesn’t even twitch as we walk, and Josh doesn’t seem bothered by the added weight, walking as if he’s not holding another person. She must not weigh much at all. We will remedy that in time.
Finally reaching the lilk trees, we cross the sightless barrier into Eridian. I sag in relief, pressing my palm to the tree as I pass. We all made it back, safe and alive. We head straight for the healer’s cabin, Josh plowing forward in his haste to get Sarah there, his brows scrunched in worry. The oak wood cabin is to the left of the gathering, central to the other cabins around it. We reach it soon enough, and Anna opens the door for Josh to pass through as he nears the door.
“I’ll take Ellian to one of the spare cabins,” Taylor says. He motions for the omega to follow him as Ellian looks around our home with wide eyes. I don’t blame him, others did the same thing when they first came here.
Seb winks at me, sauntering off toward the gathering, whistling as he goes. He’s probably going to find any leftovers. He eats like a bottomless pit.
“Hope all goes well with Sarah, Rhea. Come find me later?” Colten calls out. I turn to catch him wiggling his eyebrows at me, which earns him a slap on the back of the head from Hudson.
“Come on, pup, leave them to it.” Hudson grabs his arm, moving him along. “Leave the flirting to Sebastian.”
“Stop calling me pup,” Colten growls, trying and failing to get his arm free.
“Stop acting like one then,” Hudson chastises.
“I didn’t do anything!” They continue to bicker as they walk off, and I turn, heading inside the cabin.
I walk down the narrow hallway and to the first room on the right. Herbs and medicines assault my senses as I walk into the room and see Sarah laid out on the bed. The white sheets are a stark contrast to her dark hair fanned around her head on the pillow.
Anna flutters about, grabbing supplies while she barks out orders. “Take off her cloak and any other clothes. I need to see her injuries after I get some fluids in her. Grab some warm water and towels as well.”
I go to do her bidding as I watch Josh out of the corner of my eye. He removes the pin on her cloak that keeps it together before slowly moving the material to either side. He sucks in a sharp breath, his nostrils flaring as he takes in her small camisole top that is covered in blood.
I knew I smelled blood in The Deadlands, and I’m sure he smelled while he was carrying her, but seeing it is much different.
He looks up at me, his gray eyes filled with pain, and I know without words what he needs me to do. I go over to him, giving his hand a squeeze as he clears his throat and moves away from the bed. I take over, slowly cutting and peeling away her bloodied clothes as he goes to grab water and towels.
Anna comes to stop next to Sarah, gathering her red curls in a bun atop her head to keep it out of her face. Looking down at her, she shakes her head, sadness in her eyes as she glances at the bloody clothes I put to the side.
Josh comes over with towels and water in a bowl, setting them down on the table next to the bed. Anna takes out a clean sponge from the cabinet above the table and dips it into the water. Wringing some of the water out, she brings the sponge to Sarah’s slightly parted lips. Squeezing gently, she pushes the sponge slightly into her mouth, so the water trickles down her throat.
I grab a sheet while Anna works and cover Sarah’s body from the waist down. My eyes land on the deep slash across her abdomen, blood oozing from the jagged stitches that had been put there carelessly. By Ellian or Sarah herself, I don’t know.
Josh stands back, still as a statue to give Anna room to work while I help her clean up Sarah, assessing the injuries on her body as we uncover them. Most are deep and infected, which takes a lot for a shifter. She must have been unable to shift to heal herself to prevent infection, and I dread to think what they did to stop that from happening.
I refuse to acknowledge the thought right now.
Sarah groans softly as we roll her to the side so Anna can see her back. I shush her gently as Anna stills, flicking her blue eyes up to mine briefly, before prodding at Sarah’s back. I peek over to see what she’s doing and cringe at the sight.
Letters have been carved into Sarah’s skin, making crude lines along the whole of her back. They’re weeping and raw, the skin around them puffy and red from infection. My heart pangs at the pain she has gone through, the pain she is still in. My whole body itches at the thought.
Anna grabs a bowl of salve. It’s made with plants that we collect from the Eridian Forest, making sure we always pick the ones aged to get the most from its healing properties. She grabs a yellow fettle leaf, thick and wide, and lathers the brown colored salve onto it with a spoon. She places the leaf, salve side down, onto one of the wounds on Sarah’s back, then continues the process until her back is covered completely. We wrap a bandage like cloth around her to keep the leaves in place, securing it with knots as gently as we can.
