“Yes,” Seamus responded. “I’ve never heard of them attacking humans in the open like that.”
“Do you think they were after us?” In my experience, bad things like this did not happen by coincidence, especially not to me.
“I doubt it,” Niall said, but I noticed a slight pause before he spoke. “Lamprey demons are not known for their intelligence. They are more like leeches, and they’ll latch onto the nearest warm-blooded creature. They attacked a few humans, too, so I don’t think they were targeting you specifically. You were just the last unlucky ones left in the theater.”
The ride home was a lot less fun than the one to Boise. When the van pulled up to the main entrance, Tristan came out to meet us. He asked if we were okay and walked with us to the medical ward where a small team of healers waited. One of them ushered me into a room with an attached bathroom where I immediately stripped and showered. I couldn’t help but shudder as the water ran off me in black streams until I was clean. I dressed in a hospital gown and lay on a bed while a healer tended to the bite on my leg. She cleaned the wound and applied a special salve that drew the pain from the wound even before she had finished dressing it in a light gauze bandage. Then she gave me some of the dreaded gunna paste and told me to get some rest before she left the room.
Tristan entered the room a minute after she left, and he gave me a quick hug. “How are you feeling?”
“These guys have good drugs. Not even feeling an ounce of pain.” He did not look convinced, so I gave him a reassuring smile. “Trust me; I’ve been hurt a lot worse than this. It takes more than a bloodsucking demon to keep me down.”
His expression was serious. “It must have been very frightening.”
“Are you kidding me? Have you seen Jordan with a sword? That girl is scarier than a dozen demons worms.”
Tristan laughed softly, and some of the tension left his body. “Niall told me about the demon that exploded, and he said no one could tell him what happened. Do you want to tell me about it?”
I started by telling him what I had done to the bazerat a few days ago, followed by my fight with the lamprey demon. “I honestly don’t know how I did it,” I confessed. “It feels like my healing power – only different if that makes sense. It’s like it’s amped up on steroids, and I don’t think it likes demons.”
“Elementals are very powerful beings and natural enemies of demons. It is very likely that you are beginning to come into some of those powers. Unfortunately, we know very little about them.”
“Aine said she would visit me. I hope she comes soon because I could really use some answers.”
“Well, I doubt she will come tonight, and you need to sleep so your body can heal.” He stood and tucked the blanket around me. “I’ll come back later to check on you.”
I tried to sit up. “Can’t I go to my room? I’d sleep much better in my own bed.”
He gently pushed me back down. “The healers want to keep you all here overnight for observation. The bacteria in a lamprey demon’s mouth are very potent, and we need to watch for signs of infection.”
The healer came in then and gave me a glass of sweet smelling liquid to drink. I looked at it warily, and she said, “This is takhi juice. It will help you sleep and fight infection. Drink it all.”
I drank it obediently, and Tristan nodded in approval. “Sleep now and we will talk about it tomorrow. Is it okay if I come back to sit with you tonight while you sleep?”
I smiled sluggishly, already feeling the effects of the takhi juice. “Okay.”
My dreams were filled with zombies with large round sucking mouths full of teeth. I tossed fitfully and tried to wake up, but the sleeping potion held me in its grasp. First, I felt like I was freezing and warm thick blankets were laid over me. Then my body felt like it was on fire, and I cried out until someone pressed a cool wet cloth to my face. A few times I almost gained wakefulness and heard people talking softly nearby, but I was pulled under again before I could open my eyes.
After what seemed like forever, the flames subsided and all I could feel was the warmth of a hand encasing mine where it lay on the covers. There was comfort and safety in the touch, and I reached for it instinctively until the strong fingers entwined with mine. I sighed as the nightmares were banished, and I sank at last into a deep healing sleep.
* * *
I awoke slowly, listening to the sounds of people talking and moving around outside my room. My body felt stiff, my throat was parched, and my head pounded with a fierce headache. I moaned and lifted a hand to rub my forehead.