The Ascended (The Saving Angels 3)

I gasped when I saw the angry burn mark across the whole left side of Shawn's face.

"He burned you?" I asked appalled.

"Yeah, Haniel told us their touch is like liquid fire."

"When did he say that?" I asked, mad that I had been kept out of the loop.

"A couple nights ago when we first headed out. I guess he figured we would be the ones physically fighting these things, so we needed to know."

"For good reason," Kieran said, anxiously shining her light into the dark forest beyond us.

"I'll go look for them," Jacob said, seeing Kieran's worried expression.

"Look," Sam said, pointing toward the beam of light that was moving toward us.

John and Paul exited the forest together, but it was obvious by the way Paul was hunched over holding his side that he had been hurt. We raced toward them as Paul sank to the ground in pain.

Amelia laid Paul's head onto her lap while I carefully opened his jacket. The guys shined the flashlights on him so I could see his injury. Amelia gasped and started crying earnestly when she saw his stomach laid open by four deep gashes that were each over a foot long. Kieran knelt beside her, placing an arm around her quaking shoulders.

"Should you call Haniel?" Sam asked me, her eyes swimming in tears.

"It won't do any good, Haniel can't heal Daemon wounds. That's why he couldn't help us in June," I said, trying to keep my voice low so Amelia wouldn't hear.

"Will he die?" Amelia asked, hearing me after all.

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "Shawn, run over to the helicopter and see if you can find a first aid kit. John and Jacob, try to move him over there to flatter ground," I pointed.

I followed behind them, rolling up my sleeves as they carried Paul gently to the spot I had indicated. Sam and Kieran used long bushy branches to clear away some of the snow before he was laid down. Shawn joined us with a first aid kit and a bottle of water he had found in the helicopter.

"Shine all the lights on his stomach so I can get a good look at what I'm doing," I ordered, once again stepping into my leadership role naturally. I peered down critically at his shredded belly, preparing for the worst. Shawn poured the water over the tattered flesh to wash away the blood and debris as much as possible. Paul’s arms flailed, connecting with my left cheek and sending me backwards on my butt. My vision blurred from the impact and I shook my head trying to gather my bearings.

“Krista! Oh, my God, are you okay?” Sam asked, running to my side.

"Crap that hurt!” I said, climbing back up on my knees. “Um, I think maybe you guys should hold him down while Kim, Sam and Kieran hold the lights," I said with a shaky voice.

"Are you okay, Sis?" Shawn asked.

"I'm sure yours hurts more than mine," I said, indicating the bubbled skin on his left cheek.

"Okay, let's try that again," I said, making sure Paul's arms and legs were firmly held down before I dumped the remaining water over his wound. The vise like grip of the Protectors kept him from thrashing around and I was finally able to get a good look at his wounds. I smiled in relief when I saw that although they were ugly and ragged, they were not nearly as bad as the mauling John had taken from the mother bear attack. Where John's wounds had flowed copiously until Haniel healed him, Paul's wounds leaked only trace amounts of blood. Peering closer, I could see that the skin in most places had cauterized itself closed. The fiery touch of the Daemon had actually saved Paul's life. I opened the first aid kit and pulled out the tube of antibiotic cream. Using it liberally, I squeezed it onto the sections of his injury that still oozed blood and pus. Once the tube was completely empty, I instructed the guys to hold him up off the ground so Sam and I could wrap the roll of gauze around his abdomen.

Once he was settled again on the ground, I turned toward to Amelia. "I’m no doctor, but I think he's going to be okay," I said, giving her a quick hug. "His blood loss looked minimal since the heat of the Daemon’s claws actually cauterized the injury as it slashed him open. We just better keep an eye on any infection before we can get him to a hospital."

"Oh Krista, are you sure?" Amelia asked, afraid to believe.

"I'm positive," I said, reassuring her. "Guys, let’s carry him to the bench seat in the helicopter so he's off the ground. Amelia, you should stay with him until we take care of Victor. If anyone—or—anything goes through that door, besides us, make sure you duck down and hide. If morning comes around and we're not back, use the radio in the helicopter to call for help," I instructed her before giving her another hug, replenishing her mixed emotions with peace.

John and Jacob helped get Amelia and Paul settled while the rest of us waited by the door, silently.

"Sis, you are one badass," Shawn finally said, breaking the silence.

Sam giggled next to me. "I was thinking the same thing, she's like a mini Haniel."

"Oh hush," I said, flushing slightly in embarrassment.

"She's right. The way you take control is amazing. If I didn't know better, I would have thought you were a medical student, the way you knew how to take care of Paul," Shawn boasted.

I shrugged my shoulders. Everything seemed so second nature to me now that I hadn't even considered how I had known exactly how to deal with Paul's injuries. It was like my mind had a direct pipeline into an information bank.