Chapter 15

15

I soared high, so I could see as far as the forest allowed me. But there was only green everywhere I looked.

I had to fly around a little, until finally, I spotted a town in the distance, along the Red River's bank to the south. I flew low and directly to it. When I was close, I dove into the trees.

I landed outside of town, in a wooded area, and I put on my jacket to hide the holes in my shirt.

Since I had no money on me, I found an ATM at a gas station, shocked it with my magic, and withdrew a nice sum.

I felt bad about stealing, and I made a mental note to atone for my sins after this whole ordeal was done.

If it ever was done.

With cash in my pocket, I went into the local pharmacy and bought a little of everything—ibuprofen, gauze, tape, Neosporin, and even needle and thread. I also bought a bottle of water, and those reusable totes so I could carry it all.

The lady behind the counter watched me, not hiding her suspicion. She tried talking to me, asking me where I was from, when I got into town, where I was staying, why I was here, and more.

“I’m just passing through,” was all I said.

I did see her cell phone tucked into the pocket of her apron and thought about asking to borrow it. I could call Thea. They would come, take Levi, lock him in a cell, and treat him like a criminal, at least until I was able to bring him back.

And he was hurt. I knew they could heal him with magic, but for some reason, I didn’t want to share this. I didn’t want to share him. Not yet.

Beside the pharmacy was a bakery. I couldn’t resist stopping there and grabbing a couple of croissants, donuts, and muffins. I was starving and Levi would be too, once he healed. I even ordered a to-go cup with coffee, though I knew it would be cold by the time I got back to Levi.

I stepped out of the bakery and almost ran into a man. Men actually.

“Hey there, doll,” one of them said, smiling. He reeked of alcohol. He had a golden tooth right beside a missing one.

I glanced at the handful of men in front of me. They ranged from twenty to forty-something, and they all looked like they had spent the night out, drinking.

I stepped back, allowing them to walk in.

The golden-toothed man gestured for me. “Ladies first.”

Knowing I could kick their asses if they tried anything—or at least I could spill boiling coffee on their heads—I walked past them. They kept their gazes on me the entire time.

“Need help, doll?” another one asked. This one had cropped black hair and a nasty scar on his right temple.

“No, thanks.” I kept going, my steps faster and faster.

The men stood in front of the bakery, holding the door open, watching me as I put distance between us.

I turned a corner and let out a long breath, relieved those creeps were far behind now. I glanced side to side as I made my way back to the wooded area. The sun was higher now, but I flew low and held my coffee.

Thankfully, it didn’t spill.

I landed beside Levi and noticed he hadn’t moved an inch.

I knelt beside him and placed the bag down with all the supplies. I started working. I grabbed five tablets of Ibuprofen, placed them in his mouth and spilled a little of the water down his throat. He coughed, growled in his delirious stated, but swallowed.

Then, I used the water to clean the blood around the wound, which actually proved to not be as bad as I first thought. Once the dried blood was gone, all that was left were three long gashes across the side of his waist, which weren’t too deep and had already stopped bleeding.

I frowned, wondering if I should do anything at all, but I had come so far and his healing still seemed too slow for my taste. Since he was out of it, I prepared the thread and needle and sewed the gashes closed with a handful of knots each. It definitely wasn’t as neat or tight as stitches, but hopefully, they would help when his magic decided to act.

Then, I applied a great deal of Neosporin over the gashes and covered them with a thin layer of gauze and tape.

All the while, Levi groaned, hissed, and jerked a little, but he didn’t wake up.

When I was done, I sat back and let my shoulders sag.

Was there any possibility of infection? Again, I tried remembering he was a damn powerful demon and his healing should do what it had to do.

But how he got like this in the first place was beyond me.

I inhaled deeply, shook off the tension in my shoulders, and reached for the coffee. It was cold.

I held the cup with both hands, closed my eyes, and focused on my magic, finding it deep inside me, hiding and unwilling to cooperate. I teased it, coaxed it toward me, to let me reach for it. I didn’t need much for this, just a sliver. The magic opened up a tiny slit and I grabbed it tight. I concentrated the light magic on my palms and heated up the cup—and my coffee. Afterward, I dropped the magic and it recoiled fast and deep inside me, almost painfully.

Ungrateful bitch.

I forgot about it and looked at my coffee—steam rose from the black liquid. Great. Trying not to think of Levi too much, I grabbed a croissant and had breakfast.

But it was impossible not to think about him.

As I ate, he whimpered and jerked, looking way too vulnerable for a demon his size.

Hopefully, soon, he wouldn’t be a demon anymore. Well, not like this, at least. Soon, he would regain his memories, his feelings, and the ability to shift into his human form.

And together, we could plan on going after Ylena and saving Elysium.

I finished my croissant and my coffee, and even though I had been starving before, now I felt full and unsatisfied.

How long would it be before Levi was feeling better? What if other animals came back and my magic failed me?

Shaking my head, I stood. No, I couldn't do nothing. Whenever I tried that, my mind got away from me and I ended up in a worse place.

I needed to do something.

The dying fire behind Levi caught my attention. It was still cold—damn, I should have bought a thicker jacket when I went into town, but I was worried about a certain demon—and only angels knew how long we would stay here.

I walked the perimeter of our “camp,” careful to take a wide berth past the mountain lions’ bodies, and gathered firewood. I took my time since there was no rush—Levi was sleeping, I had nothing to do, and walking was exercise.

Thirty minutes later, I placed the firewood on the fire, hoping it would be enough to ignite it. But it wasn’t. Like I did with my cup, I focused on my shitty magic and sent a small spark of light to the fire. It crackled and sizzled, almost as if it wanted to sting me, but at least it worked. The fire restarted and as it spread to the wood, it grew bigger and hotter.

I leaned into it, glad for the warmth. I had been trying to forget it was so cold.

For the next thirty minutes, I sat beside Levi and the fire and tried working on my magic. I reached for it, tried to hold it, to command it, to mold it, but it was stubborn as hell. Several times, I grunted in frustration and thought about giving up.

But I wasn’t a quitter, and I needed my magic.

Levi grunted and I stared at him. He opened his eyes for two seconds, then closed them again, and groaned. He reached for his middle and touched over the now closed wound.

“What did you do?” His voice was rough, parched, and still he sounded angry.

“What did you do?” I gestured toward the mountain lions. “Decided to join a brawl?”

With a jerk, Levi sat up and stared at the mountain lions. “Nothing else came?”

“No,” I said. He relaxed but groaned as he lay down again, his eyes closed. “You didn’t go far. When you saw the animals were getting too close to me, you intervened.” I paused. “And when you saw I was cold, you warmed me.”

He didn’t say anything, he didn’t open his eyes, he barely moved. That was answer enough and it sent a jolt of hope through my chest. He cared, which meant the feeling was there. I had to find it and make him acknowledge it. Then perhaps he would remember.

I scooted closer to him. “Levi.”

He groaned again—what was it with him and groaning and grunting?—and he turned around, giving me his back.

I gaped at his back, my mouth open. The prick!

“Levi!” I called, this time louder and harsher. “You can’t ignore me, not while there’s only the two of us here. You might not want to talk about?—”

He spun around so fast and leaned over me, his lips peeled and his fangs showing. “You’re getting on my nerves.”

I stood my ground. “Good! Then maybe you’ll pay attention to me.”

“Pay attention to you?” he barked, his voice deep. “All I do is think about you! I can’t get you out of my head, no matter what I do!”

My heart squeezed. He had said something similar to me not long ago. I reached up and laid my hand on his hard chest. “It’s because we’re connected, you and I.”

He snarled. “We have nothin?—”

His head jerked to the side and his eyes scanned the line of trees. I was about to yell at him when I heard it too.

The snap of a twig and the ruffle of leaves.

Slowly, Levi stood and unfurled his huge wings behind him. He snarled at the trees.

A moment later, five figures walked past the trees and into our direct line of sight.

I gasped.

The men I had almost run into when exiting the bakery.

“What?” I muttered.

Gold-Tooth smiled at me, though it was a nervous one. “Surprised to see us, doll? We recognized you. You’re the angel everyone is after.”

The scarred one frowned at Levi. “Though, we thought you were alone.”

Levi snarled at them. “Two lion shifters, and three half-demons. This should be easy.”

In a flash, he pushed from the ground, flap his wings once, and landed on top of Gold-Tooth. The others jumped on Levi, except for the scarred one, who dodged Levi’s wingspan and came directly for me.

I called my sword. It appeared in my hand and I swung it wide. He jumped back, snarling. His arms shifted into lion claws and his teeth elongated into fangs. He came at me again with his claws and teeth, but I parried his attack.

A darkfire bolt zipped past my head.

One of the half-demons who had snuck around Levi threw it, and I almost didn’t dodge it in time. In doing so, I lost my balance and stumbled back.

The lion shifter lunged at me.

But he stopped midair, his eyes wide.

His body fell at my feet and behind him I could see Levi, the shifter’s heart in his blood-soaked hand.

I did a quick glance around and saw all of them were dead—and not just killed but butchered, with blood and body parts everywhere.

Puffing and grunting, Levi dropped the heart and came at me.

With murderous eyes, he grabbed my neck, drove me to the ground, pushing the air out of my lungs and snapped his fangs an inch from my face.

“Levi,” I croaked. “It’s me.”

He snarled and pressed my throat tighter.

I croaked, but managed to touch him, to place my hand against his chest.

It was like a bucket of freezing water.

Levi sprung back several feet, his eyes wide as he stared at me, then took in the scene around us. Only now, he recognized me. Only now, he saw what he had done.

With a flap of his wings, Levi jumped up and away, zooming across the sky. And I was left alone amid this bloody mess.