Page 9 of Descent of Angels

“What the...” This morning, the wound had been deep, revealing muscle and bone at its deepest point, but now the flesh had filled out and the wound was shallow, though still large. He looked as though he’d sustained the injury days, if not weeks, ago.

Ade looked over at me. “Angels heal quickly, but he’s burning up, and I think the infection is worse.”

I nodded, running my eyes over the dark streaks near the edges of his skin. If it were a normal infection, the streaks would be red, but these were black. I opened my mouth to ask why that would be when Remiel’s body suddenly stiffened. He let out another moan and then gasped as his body started convulsing.

“Shit,” I cursed. I leaned forward, trying to grab his shoulder to shift him onto his side. I was worried about the wound tearing open again, but if he was sick, he could choke to death. “Eleth, grab the butter knife out of the basket.” I dodged as Remiel’s arm jerked up, and then I grabbed the silver utensil from Eleth.

“What are you doing?” Ade was trying to hold Remiel down, but he wasn’t having much luck. Remiel was a big guy. I simply shook my head and leaned over, sliding the metal lengthwise across Remiel’s lips, pinning his tongue to the bottom of his mouth. His teeth clamped down on it, and I pulled back. Another jerk of his arm caught me across the face, sending me flying back against the side of the stall.

Eleth darted forward, grabbing Remiel’s arms, and Ade leaned on his chest, trying to pin him down. Jophiel sat across his thighs. Eleth reached out to me, and I took his hand as he pulled me back up onto my knees. My ears were ringing, but I moved around to Remiel’s head and clamped my hands around his jaw.

“Get him on his side!” I yelled. Ade looked up at me then nodded, and between them, the three of them managed to turn the twisting, jerking monster of a man onto his side. He carried on convulsing for maybe a minute longer, and I hung on to his head, trying to keep his neck still. After what seemed like forever, the convulsions slowed and finally stopped.

We pulled back slowly, breathing hard as Remiel’s body softened and went limp. His breathing began to slow, and I checked his pulse before leaning back against the side of the stall and taking a few deep breaths.

“What the hell were you thinking?”

My eyes flew open to see Ade standing over me with a thunderous expression. He reached down and dragged me to my feet. My head throbbed, and I winced. “What are you talking about?”

“You got too close, and he hurt you. You should have left him to us.”

I frowned. “I was trying to stop him from either biting through his tongue or choking on it.”

Ade shook his head. “With his strength, it could have been much worse. Next time, leave it to one of us.”

“There wasn’t time,” I snapped. My lack of sleep was catching up to me, and I was exhausted. There was still so much to do on the farm, and I was worried about Remiel. He raised his eyebrows at me, and panic fluttered in my belly. “I’m sorry, I just… I was worried. I’m sorry I snapped.”

Ade frowned, and Jophiel stepped forward, running his fingertips lightly over my cheekbone. I winced at how tender the skin was, but then I felt a bloom of warmth under his touch, and suddenly the ache in my head began to ease.

“What the...” I asked for the second time.

“Angels can’t heal each other, but some of us can heal humans,” Jophiel explained. His fingers traced the side of my face, and I had the strangest urge to just close my eyes and enjoy his touch. Ade squeezed my hand gently. I’d forgotten he’d been holding it.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” he said gently. “I was out of line. I was just worried about you.”

I nodded, unable to keep a small smile off my face. Someone was worried about me. Ade was worried about me. A quiet moan from Remiel snapped me out of my reverie, and I looked down at him.

“What’s with the black spiderwebs?” I asked Ade, pointing at the edges of the main wound.

He sighed. “I was afraid this would happen. The poison from the hellions got into his blood and infected him. There’s nothing much we can do except keep him comfortable and hope his body is strong enough to fight it off.”

“Ade, we’ve been fighting for weeks and had barely anything to eat for several days,” Eleth said quietly.

I stared at him. “Are you kidding me? Has it been that bad? Why on earth didn’t you tell me?”

Eleth shrugged. “We’re trying to protect humanity, not terrify them. If we can’t defend you, who will? We weren’t about to tell you it wasn’t going well.”

Fear surged inside me, but I pushed it aside. “Right, sit down and eat something. I’m going to go back up to the house and get some broth started for Remiel. We need to get his strength up and keep it up. Keep giving him water.” I knelt down beside him and straightened the blankets. Tugging on his shoulder, I managed to roll him onto his back with Jophiel’s help. I checked the wounds, but thankfully, they had only opened a tiny bit at the edges. I leaned down and caught sight of something dark deep inside the wound. “What is that?” I murmured, more to myself than anyone else, but Jophiel moved over and looked closer.

“It looks like there’s something caught deep inside him. Maybe that’s what’s causing the infection?” He looked up at me, and I nodded slowly.

“Could be, but that’s way too deep to get without...” I broke off, my mind spinning. I looked up at Ade. “No hospitals?”

His jaw clenched, and I saw the pain on his face, but he shook his head. I nodded and got to my feet.

“Sit, eat, and rest. Keep giving him sips of water, and if he seizes again, put him on his side. I’ll be back soon.”

It was, in fact, a couple of hours before I got back to the barn. The churning of my stomach was no longer due to the presence of sexy angels, but due to what I was about to attempt to do. I glanced down at the basket in my arms, running over what I’d brought with me and hoping it would be enough. It had taken a while to get everything together, and I was very aware my chores were falling further behind. Thankfully, my father had fallen asleep on the sofa after his fifth beer, and his naps usually last two to three hours. I swallowed and pushed open the door.

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