Heart of Vengeance (Alice Worth #6) - Lisa Edmonds Page 0,145

Other than the knife in his side, I saw no other injuries despite the very brutal fight he’d had with Typhon. I wondered how he’d gotten all the other scars. Maybe he could choose when to heal himself.

Lucy staggered up next to me as I knelt beside Ronan. I touched his face, expecting it to be cool because of how pale he was. I hissed and yanked my hand back. “His skin is burning.”

Tis’s voice came from behind us. “That blade is poison for our kind.”

I whirled. Tis stood about ten feet away, with Ammit at her side. “She likely brought it to threaten one of us,” she added, studying Ronan. Her face and tone were devoid of emotion. “The bounty hunter had the misfortune of falling victim to its power.”

“His name is Ronan.” I got to my feet. “Why are you here?”

“We approve of the outcome of this battle.” Her tone was beneficent, as if we’d been awaiting their judgment, and I was in no mood for it. Daisy growled.

“Oh, do you now?” I snapped. “How kind of you.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Tread carefully, mage.”

“You dumped us on this plain to fight for our lives and the lives of thousands more,” Lucy said. Her sword trembled. Given how much blood she’d lost, I had no idea how she was even on her feet, much less brandishing a heavy blade. “We barely survived, and Ronan might die.”

“All this is true,” Tis said.

As maddening as her lack of emotion was, we might have a bigger problem. I turned to Ammit. “Do you still plan to feast on hearts?”

She smiled that eerie crocodilian smile. “Not at this time. Mariela’s death and Typhon’s return to the Darkness have robbed me of that opportunity.”

At least we wouldn’t have to fight her too. “Thanks,” I said.

She blinked at me with two sets of eyelids. “You seek justice above all else, mage Alice. And you, warrior Lucy, have begun to do the same, after a fashion. See your motives remain true, for the good of your souls.” The scent of iron and incense wrapped around us. “I would take great pleasure in devouring your hearts, should they find their way to my plate.”

With that threat hanging in the air, she vanished with a surge of magic.

A woman stepped from a shimmery tear in the air about fifteen feet to our right. She was very tall and blonde, with glacier blue eyes. Another fallen angel, I guessed. She wore gray fighting leathers and two swords on her back.

“I have asked our sister Eir to heal your wounds, in recognition of your honor and bravery,” Tis said.

“You’re a healer?” Lucy asked as Eir approached. “You look like a soldier.”

“One does not preclude the other.” Her voice was melodious. “Battlefields require medics as well as healers.”

“I’m not going into debt to anyone for healing,” I stated. “I have healing spells, and there are hospitals and healers topside.”

“This gift of healing is freely given,” Eir said. I sensed magic when she spoke, as if those words were a bond between us. “At the request of my sisters, and in appreciation for your skill and courage in battle.”

Lucy and I exchanged a glance. “You’re a mess,” she told me with characteristic bluntness. “Blood magic healing spells are good at what they do, but they suck dragon balls. I vote we accept the offer before you fall down.”

I sighed and handed Esme over to Lucy. “All right.”

Eir’s hands glided over my body, her silver-blue magic warm and comforting. My cuts, bruises, and other injuries healed painlessly.

When she found the knot in my stomach, however, she flinched and stepped back. “You can’t do anything about that, can you?” I asked.

She looked sad. “I cannot.”

I’d expected as much. I couldn’t be that lucky.

Since most of Lucy’s injuries had already been healed by the healing spell, Eir took only a minute to tend to what was left. Lucy was still pale from blood loss, but when Eir finished, her hands no longer trembled.

I gestured at Ronan. “Now your brother needs your help.”

Eir rejoined Tis. “I am forbidden to help him.”

“What the hell did he do?” I burst out. “Why doesn’t he deserve the least bit of compassion?”

“Whether or not he deserves compassion is immaterial,” Tis snapped. “We have orders.”

“What, from Michael?” I demanded. “Or from whoever put a bounty on Ronan’s head?”

“Both.” For the first time, I saw what might have been real sadness in her ancient eyes. “We all answer to someone, Alice, even the