Page 63 of Huntress

“Ugh! This has gone on long enough. I’ll heal him if that’s what it takes. Get off him, Captain, you stubborn ass. You’re grossing me out,” Marley grumbled.

“Behave yourself. Let her heal you,” Elsie ordered the demon.

She tried to get up, but he grabbed her hips, holding her in place. He scowled up at Marley. “Don’t fucking touch me. Help her.”

Marley and the guys exchanged surprised looks. It was the first time the demon had spoken to any of them, and they were uncomfortable hearing the rawness in his voice. The demon could suffer. He was suffering right in front of them.

Mutt growled at their hesitation and lifted Elsie’s shirt, exposing the hole in her belly. Elsie watched his face as he stared at her wound, his fingers digging into her hip. He glanced up, and she saw something like fear in his eyes.

“Captain, what is wrong with you?! You need healing a lot more than this damned beast does! I swear to the gods you need a psych eval,” Marley scolded.

Avoiding her gaze, the demon lifted her up and carefully deposited her on the ground, proving he’d had the strength to fight her off the whole time. She glared at him as he stood. He stooped over to pick up the sword that had stabbed him, then walked a good distance away, giving the healer space while staying close enough to keep an eye on her.

Marley descended in seconds. “You’re not going to let him keep that, are you? I can’t believe you wanted me to heal a fucking demon,” she muttered while carefully peeling Elsie’s shirt off, trying not to cause any more pain. She sucked in a breath when she finally got a good look at her.

“He shouldn’t keep a sword that’s already tasted his blood. It’ll always be thirsty for more,” Elsie murmured, unsure of where she’d heard that before. Marley gave her a strange look, but didn’t give voice to whatever she was thinking.

“Sorry, Boss, this is gonna suck,” the healer said.

“Do what you have to.”

The healer usually controlled her face as she inspected injuries, but she winced when she had to poke her fingers into Elsie’s stomach. The hole was deep and jagged, and several major organs were affected.

Elsie gritted her teeth and gripped the fabric of her pants with her good hand, trying her best to keep quiet. A few moans escaped, and Mutt paced closer before stalking away, leaving only a barely contained frustration echoing between them.

Marley finished her inspection and made a rude noise. “Damn it! Do you have any idea how long it’s going to take me to heal this?! What happened?”

“A rat put his fist in there,” Elsie explained, and Marley snapped orders. Trenton took off toward the truck they’d left on the other side of the torn-down barrier for medical supplies. She’d need to clean the wounds before closing them.

After disinfecting, Marley fixed the worst of the holes in her stomach and shoulder, with most of her time spent on repairing organs and regrowing muscle. While she worked on Elsie, Perrie flitted around patching up everyone else.

Morgan sat dazed nearby. The worst of his injuries had already been tended to, but it would take a while for the rest to heal up on its own. Not one member of squad one had made it out of the fight unscathed. They stank of blood, both their own and their enemy's. Trisse had taken his shirt off to wring it out, a river of red splattering the ground beneath.

They were squad one. The best. And they’d almost been forced off the mortal plane by a bunch of gods damned rodents.

Marley wouldn’t listen to a single word of protest when Elsie ordered her to help the rest of their squad instead. She persisted, and eventually Marley threw her hands up in disgust.

“Try convincing me one more time, and I’ll get Perrie to put a binding spell on you,” the healer warned.

Elsie changed the subject. “I have bad news, guys. The fight isn’t over, and I don’t know how much time we have before they show up. I thought they’d have arrived by now, actually.”

“They who?” Trisse asked.

“The pipers,” Elsie explained what she’d learned about them.

“Franklin and Jeshua were dead this whole time?” Marley was aghast, finally looking Elsie in the eye.

“Yeah. One of the pipers is a necromancer, and he possessed them. They can use the host body's memories, that's why they were able to fool us.”

“I knew there was something creepy about Franklin, but I wouldn't have guessed Jeshua. He seemed somewhat decent.” Banks was stretching, getting a feel for the limitations of his partially healed injuries.

“Does anyone else not know what a piper is?” Steve asked sheepishly.

“They’re regular rat demons with enough ambition to exceed their limitations. They gained enough power to shift from their full demon form, and now they’re lords,” Elsie explained.

“Two lords, and one’s a necromancer?” Steve looked a little green. “How are we supposed to fight them like this?”

“I’m working on it,” Marley muttered.