Page 1 of Rescuing Air

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Lailah

“Say that again,” Jay demanded.

“Lilith sent demons to get your mother to try and keep you from bonding with me. She sent her to wherever they had their base set up in a remote location. This camp is a military base for them to train all the new demons that are using human hosts, those who’ve taken the serum. Lilith said it was in a part of the world that there weren’t many people around because the demons that the Dark Lord rules over are too vicious and kill people,” I shared, trying to remember everything that crazy-ass bitch had said.

Jay’s face turned to stone as he escorted me into the house, where the others, still covered in blood and dirt, were sprawled out on the couch. My mother was in a tizzy, rushing to the kitchen, mumbling the need to grab supplies. Cami was on the phone, with whom I have no idea, but my guess was an Elementi of some sort. We needed to get them to a hospital was what we needed to do, with Micah and his broken leg. Not to mention having someone check on Hudson and his wound that had an extremely angry red welt over it from where Micah said he cauterized it.

Hell, even Jay was battered, with blood all over his face from the cuts and possible scalp wound. None of us were in any shape to deal with what was coming our way, and this battle was reaching the tipping point. What do you do when the people who were supposed to end this war were too beaten up to do the job?

“Alright, guys, the local team is sending over a doctor and a healer. We’re lucky they have one in this state,” Cami said, hanging up the phone. “What the fuck happened?”

All the guys looked at me, then over at my dad, who was pale and hadn’t moved a muscle from the armchair he was sitting in. The TV played in the background. No parent ever wanted to see their kid looking like they were on the losing end of the fight, especially when you didn’t know it could be a possibility. I’d told my parents who and what I was, but even if mentally they knew, it didn’t really mean they accepted what also came with that knowledge. I made them stay in my home while Lilith was on the loose because of the shield. But now that Lilith was back in Hell, I felt better about them going back out into the world. We would leave when we could to deal with Jay’s mom, drawing the attention away from them.

Heading over to my dad, I squatted down beside his chair and grasped his hand. “Dad...”

“What happened to you?” Dad demanded. “You told us it was going to be a fight. I just didn’t think... oh, my baby girl.” He reached out and cupped my face, his eyes filled with sadness.

I gave him a watery smile as my eyes started to tear up, covering his hand with my own. “I know it looks bad, but we did it. We accomplished what we needed to do for you and everyone else around here to be safe. There is still more to be done, but it’s a victory, nonetheless.”

“Like I give a damn about that when my little girl is looking like she survived hell. All of you look like you got put through a meat grinder,” Dad grumbled, looking at the guys. “How do they expect you to keep fighting when you can hardly keep your eyes open?”

Mom came back into the living room with a first aid kit, dishcloths, and a bowl of soapy water. “You didn’t have anything else for me to use, but I figured it would be just as easy to buy new ones.”

“It’s fine, Mom. Use whatever you like.” I sighed, pushing up to find a spot on the end of the couch to sit.

My head still pounded and after using so much power, I was drained, feeling like an empty husk. All I wanted was to take a nap and wake up when this was all over, but that wasn’t an option. Cracking open an eye, I watched Jay as he paced the living room, ignoring everything around him as he processed what I’d told him. Honestly, I was amazed he was still here and not calling his father for a chopper or something to use in a search for his mother.

Brayden tapped me with his toe, grabbing my attention. “What’s up with him?” he whispered.

My answer was to shake my head and flick my gaze over to my mom trying to help clean up Hudson and Micah, who were both trying to tell her they could do it.

“Really, it’s fine,” Hudson assured my mom as he took the wet dishrag from her. “Micah’s the one who can’t really move around, but I can manage this on my own.”

Micah glared at his friend but wiped it from his face as my mom started to cut off his pant leg. “Whoa!”

“We need to get a look at how bad the damage really is. Having two boys, I’ve seen my fair share of broken bones.” Mom tutted as she continued her work.

When I looked back at Brayden, he nodded, understanding that it wasn’t good news and my parents could only handle so much.

“Quit your bitching, flame boy, the doctor will be here in twenty minutes, then you’ll be begging for Bonnie to be the one looking after you,” Cami pointed out with a grin.

Once Mom was done with Micah, she moved on to me, knowing I wouldn’t argue with her. I knew she needed to do what she could to prove she wasn’t a terrible mother by letting me put myself in danger to keep them safe. My mom had a big heart and hated when any of us would hurt ourselves when we were kids. Out of all of us, I might be in the best shape, probably with a concussion, but that was minor and could be dealt with easily enough. Mom wiped my face as silent tears trailed down her cheeks, but she didn’t make a sound or say anything other than to get me to move so she could get a better angle on something.

“Were you in a car accident?” she finally whispered. I tensed, unsure of how honest to be with my parents about what happened. “We saw it on the news and the vehicle looked just like yours. Your dad told me not to worry, that it couldn’t have been you guys, but now I think it really was—”

“Yeah, Mom, it was us,” I told her truthfully. “The people we were after purposely hit us so they could bring us to their base of operations. Thankfully, they didn’t want us dead, but they knew we were too dangerous to face head-on, so they had to resort to dirty tricks.” Not completely true, but it was the best I could come up with for now.

She nodded and kept on cleaning my arm that was covered in minor cuts from the glass and who knows what else. “It’s not over yet, is it?”

“No, it’s not, but I have a feeling we’re getting close to all this being over,” I answered, pulling her into a hug. “I know it’s crazy to say, but this is what I was born to do, Mom. I have to do my best even if it puts me in situations where I might get hurt. Think of it like I’m in the military, special forces. I can’t really tell you what I’m doing or where I’m going but know that it's to save a whole lot of people.”

There was a knock at the door, startling all of us, but Jay was already on the move to find out who it could be. We all heard the door open and then Jay returned with three men I’d never met but who carried bags full of medical supplies. They must be the doctor and the healer. Why we needed both didn’t make any sense to me, but I just didn’t have the energy to argue.

“Hello, I’m Doctor Tager, this is my assistant Nurse Kaden, and this is Professor Zale. We heard you guys got a little banged up in the last encounter you had,” Doctor Tager greeted, setting his bag down. “Thoughts on who I should start with?”

We all pointed to Micah.