“A cold pack?” I peeked into the box and found several more, along with a roll of gauze and some loose adhesive bandages.
Eli shrugged. “Hardly a fair trade for my brother and my nephew, but we take what we can get.”
Devi nodded. “We too observe the ‘finders, keepers’ principle—the universally acknowledged law of the badlands, and of kindergartners everywhere.”
“Thanks.” Finn tried to curl his hand around the bag cradled in his palm. When he flinched, I scooted closer and threaded my fingers through his so he could feel the warmth of my skin around the cold pack pressed between our hands. He smiled and laid his free hand over mine, stroking my knuckles with his thumb, and the heat building behind his eyes echoed deep and low in my stomach.
I hated seeing him in pain, but I relished the excuse to touch him.
Eli turned to Melanie. “When is your baby due?”
“Just over a month,” she said as Anabelle put one protective arm around her shoulders.
“Is it moving often?”
She only nodded, and I frowned, watching her. Normally, Mellie was a chatterbox, eager to tell us what she’d learned from her most recent book or to run baby names by us for opinions, but now…
The boy’s death had hit her especially hard. Or maybe Aldric’s infiltration had scared her in a way the endless dangers of the badlands hadn’t been able to. It saddened me to see her spirit dampened, but maybe that was for the best. A mother can’t protect her child from threats she doesn’t see.
“That’s good.” Eli gave her a pleasant nod, then turned to Maddock. “How—”
“Why is that good?” Melanie demanded.
The nomad turned back to her in surprise. “Because healthy babies move a lot, and the healthier the infant, the longer it can survive outside the womb while it waits for a soul.” He shrugged again. “I’ve seen a couple of them last nearly an hour.”
Melanie rubbed her stomach in a slow circular motion that was surely more comfort to her than to the baby. “That’s nothing, compared to the average human life span.”
The average human life span?Was she quoting one of her childbirth books?
“Every second counts.” Eli sank onto the floor next to his box, and Grayson watched him solemnly. “Who will be delivering the baby?” His gaze fell to me, but I shook my head. We’d already decided that when the time came, all of the exorcists should be ready to stand guard and fight in case Melanie’s screaming attracted trouble.
The best way I could help my sister was to protect her. That had been true her entire life.
“Grayson and I will give it our best shot,” Anabelle said. “We’ve read every book we could find on the subject.”
Eli looked puzzled. “Have you never delivered a child before?”
They both shook their heads. “Haveyou?” Grayson asked, her brown eyes wide.
“Of course,” he said, and suddenly the nomad had our full attention. Even Maddock looked away from the window in surprise. “I’ve delivered two on my own, and I’ve assisted with three more. Wealllearn to deliver babies and care for children, just like we learn to hunt, scavenge, gather, and fight.”
We could only stare. In the cities everyone had a specific job, and most people had been trained to do little outside of duties within the home.
“Wait,everyonein your group fights?” Grayson’s brown eyes brightened, and she turned to Reese to make sure he’d heard.
Eli shrugged. “Everyone old enough and healthy enough to hold a weapon.”
“As it should be,” Devi said, with a nod of approval. “If people in the cities weren’t dependent upon the Church for protection, this would be a different world.”
Grayson frowned. “Ineverget to fight.”
“Why not?”
“She’s still transitioning,” Reese said. “She won’t have any enhanced abilities until she becomes a full-fledged exorcist, and I can’t let her get hurt.”
Eli watched Grayson, who stared at him, fascinated. “She may get hurt, but then her scars will be a badge of honor. Or she will succumb to her injuries and we’ll remember her as a noble warrior. None of us could ask for anything more.”
“Um, yeah, we could,” Reese said through clenched teeth, but Eli didn’t seem to notice his anger. “I don’t want torememberher, I want tobewith her.” He wrapped one arm around Grayson’s waist, and she snuggled against him like always, but Eli held her gaze.
