Wait.Meshara and I weren’t alone anymore. Ana and Eli could take care of the baby once I was gone.
Tears filled my eyes again, and I swiped at them before they could spill over. Mellie’s child would live. But I would never see Finn again.
“They were right,” I said before Anabelle could try to comfort me. “About all of it.” Yet Meshara’s hampered speed had nothing to do with the pregnancy. “Are you two alone?” I looked past them to the car, which appeared to be empty.
“Yeah. We left first thing this morning,” Anabelle said. “As soon as Damaris was sure Eli was well enough to travel. She wouldn’t let him sleep more than an hour at a time because of the concussion.”
Meshara had taken no such precaution for me.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” I said, glancing at each of them, but my gaze returned to Eli. “And I’m even more glad that you found us when you did. I need some help.” I headed back toward the SUV, and they followed. “How did you find us?”
“You and Grayson were carried off in different directions, but we knew the destination was the same for you both.” Eli jogged to catch up with me. “We took the most direct route and figured—worst-case scenario—we’d beat the others to Pandemonia and wait for them a couple of miles from the gate.” He shrugged. “Then we found you in the middle of the road.”
“Sorry for almost running you over,” Anabelle added. “We didn’t recognize you at first. We thought you would have made it to Pandemonia by now.”
“We probably would have, if not for that.” I waved one hand at the totaled vehicle. “And that.” I opened the door wider and motioned for them to peer inside just as Melanie’s stomach began visibly contracting again. “The baby’s coming. And that’s not even our biggest problem.”
Eli took one look at Meshara, then removed his hat and dropped it onto the driver’s seat. “How long has it been?”
“We’re not sure, but the contractions are three minutes apart. I think she’s getting close.”
“Anabelle, go get my backpack and as many bottles of water as you can carry.” Eli turned back to me. “That’s the quietest contraction I’ve ever seen.”
“Yeah. She’s a real champ.” Sarcasm dripped from every word, and he gave me a sympathetic smile.
“I’m so sorry about your sister.”
“I’m sorry about your brother. And your cousins. And your stolen horses. And the blunt force trauma.” I glanced at his bandaged wound. “Sosorry.”
“Who’s there?” Meshara slurred, and Eli glanced at me in surprise as Anabelle jogged back toward their car. “Nina? Who’s talking?” The demon was looking in our direction, but her eyes remained unfocused.
“It’s Eli. He and Anabelle found us just in time.” Although, truthfully, I would have considered them equally on time if they’d arrived at any point during the previous day.
Eli frowned as the trunk of the car behind us squealed open. “What’s wrong with her?”
“She’s blind. And nearly deaf. She can’t taste anything. And she can’t feel anything. Which is why we’re witnessing the quietest labor in history.”
“Wait.” He ducked to peer into the vehicle again. “I don’t understand. She can’t feelanything?”
“Only some pressure in her pelvic floor, but that’s just in the past few minutes. And she’stotallyblind,” I repeated for emphasis.
“Uh-oh.” Eli turned back to Anabelle and waved to hurry her. She jogged back and set the bag at his feet, then handed me a bottle of water while she opened another forherself. When she’d drained half the contents, Eli held his hands away from his body, and she poured the rest of the water over them slowly while he rubbed his hands together, rinsing off all of the surface dirt.
When the water was gone, she dug a clean rag from the bag, then patted his hands dry. “Do you have any sanitizer?” he asked as I dug through the supplies I’d laid out on the backseat. I squirted a generous amount onto his left palm from an aloe-scented bottle, and Eli rubbed his hands together again while Anabelle and I helped Meshara out of her pants.
“What’s happening?” the demon demanded, shouting as if we were the ones going deaf.
“Eli’s going to examine you!” I shouted back.
“What’s with all the yelling?” Ana asked as she helped Meshara lie on her back, then positioned her bare feet up on the headrests.
“She’s losing her senses,” I explained. “All of them. As near as I can tell, it’s some kind of disease that only affects demons.”
Eli placed one hand carefully on Meshara’s stomach, then began the rest of his exam, and I turned away, content to once again be relegated to the role of aunt—for however long it would last.
“I’ve never heard of a demon disease,” Anabelle said. “How do you know it only affects the Unclean?”
“Because no one else has any symptoms. Melanie was fine before she was possessed, and then a couple of days after Meshara took over her body, food started losing its taste and smell. After that, her skin began to go numb. Today she lost her sight and most of her hearing, and that part happenedreallyfast.”
