Teag was dying. Sorren wanted Donnelly to bind soul to body long enough for us to try to save him.
SORREN’S PRIVATE DOCTOR, Dr. Zeigler, met us at my house.
“There are enough supplies in the dining room for a hospital,” Maggie said when we arrived. “A man named Higgins brought them by not long ago.” I glanced into the dining room and saw sufficient medical supplies for a mobile surgical unit. “I’ve got hot tea ready, chicken soup and my grandmother’s homemade poultice,” she added, bustling around the kitchen despite her crutches. Mrs. Teller and Niella went to help, since they had managed to escape the battle unscathed.
“Let mama add some of her powders to that poultice,” Niella suggested. “It’ll cure that demon claw taint.” All of us had deep cuts from the Nephilim and Watchers. Those wounds would turn bad quickly if they weren’t tended, and it seemed a waste to survive the battle only to die of blood poisoning. Dr. Zeigler conferred with Mrs. Teller, debating what ingredients to add to the poultice. After a few minutes of discussion, they came to an agreement, and Mrs. Teller adjusted the mixture, working it into a green paste with an odd botanical smell.
Donnelly carried Teag into the living room, and the rest of us limped behind him. Maggie must have had an inkling of what we were going to be in for, because she had thrown plastic tarps and bed sheets over the couches, to keep the blood off the upholstery.
“He’s lost a lot of blood,” I said, as Dr. Zeigler went to work on Teag. I didn’t like how pale he looked or how shallowly he was breathing. Donnelly remained at one end of the couch, his hand never leaving Teag’s forehead.
Maggie took one look at Teag, blanched, and then regained her presence of mind, guiding me to a chair before I fell over. “Sit,” she commanded. “Before you do more damage to yourself.”
Sorren’s injuries would have killed a mortal. I could see from his face that he was in pain. He was already healing, but that meant he needed to feed. Sometimes, in an emergency, he fed from Teag, but tonight Teag was not in any shape to spare the blood. Caliel had taken only light damage, so he offered his arm to Sorren, whose pallor improved after a few swallows.
Our ‘knife-proof’ shirts had deflected some injuries, but they were never meant to stand up to the kind of fighting we had done. Taint from the claws wouldn’t hurt Sorren because his ability to heal was supernatural, but the rest of us mortals needed serious patching up. Mrs. Teller fell in naturally beside Dr. Zeigler, adding her magic to his medical skills as they cleaned and treated Teag’s wounds, some of which needed stitches and butterfly bandages in addition to magic. Higgins’s supplies included IV packs, fluids, and pints of blood. Dr. Zeigler checked for a compatible blood type and got Teag hooked up.
A bad bruise purpled Teag’s cheek, and one eye was swollen almost shut. He had a split lip, and enough cuts on his arms and shoulders that it looked like he had gone through the windshield of a car. I wondered how I would ever explain his condition to Anthony, and knew that if Dr. Zeigler and Donnelly couldn’t save him, I would never be able to face Anthony again.
We all sat in silence, watching them work, fingering charms or murmuring prayers under our breath. Blood and tears mingled on my cheeks, and Baxter laid a tentative paw on my leg, offering comfort. I swept him into my lap, tears wetting his silky fur.
Finally, Dr. Zeigler stood. “He’ll live,” he said, with a nod toward Donnelly. Donnelly looked haggard and bleary-eyed, as though the strain of sustaining Teag’s life had taxed his already hard-used reserves.
“He’s not going to be a happy camper for a few days,” Dr. Zeigler observed, peeling away what remained of Teag’s blood-soaked shirt. “But the poultice should reduce the fever, and the cuts should heal cleanly, especially with the blood Sorren was able to give him. The injuries would be bad enough if the damage wasn’t supernatural, but the dark magic makes it worse.” He rose. “He needs to rest for a few days, and that means in bed with no activity. I don’t want anything putting a strain on his system or pulling at those stitches.”
Teag’s color had already improved, and his breathing was steady. Now that he was out of