Page 7 of Demon Hunger
By now, Sage and Jenna had turned to face her, but they were no match for the former director. I had to help them.
Drawing on the dregs of my power, I prepared another attack. As the energy gathered, LeBeau advanced on my friends. My vision blurred as I panted through my efforts. For a moment, I thought I would fall to my knees, but I managed to stay upright. When I knew I’d siphoned every bit of my telekinetic power to the surface, I released it, hoping to take LeBeau down once and for all. But as the attack hit her, it barely made her lurch back.
Sage stepped in front of Jenna to keep her safe. LeBeau raised her sword to meet his, face twisted in hatred.
My knees wobbled weakly and gave. I collapsed on top of Zach, my head swimming. Before I passed out, I had enough presence of mind to look around for Drevan.
“Help them,” I said in a hoarse voice.
But he and Jophiel were gone. I hadn’t seen them leave, but I imagined them battling high above us, beating their beautiful wings as they rocketed through the clouds, trying to stab each other.
Then I passed out.
3
Mymouthfeltasdry as cotton and my body weighed a ton. As I opened my eyes, the room swam. It took me a moment to discern the objects in front of me. My brain was as sluggish as a turtle.
Megan approached when she noticed I was awake. She was a healer like my sister Dani and had tended to me the night we redeemed Solar Hudson, the Sloth Subject. Jophiel had shot me, and Khargon had rushed me here. Megan was in her late thirties and had blond hair cut short. Her gray eyes assessed me and, without a word, she got busy checking my vitals.
She had no need for instruments to do it. She only touched my forehead, placed a finger on my wrist to take my pulse, and stared deeply into my eyes. I knew from experience that she would have an exact reading of my temperature, my heartbeats per minute, my blood pressure, and who knew what else. Dani was the same: a walking vitals machine.
“Spit in this cup, please.” She thrust a plastic cup in front of my face.
I frowned, but knew better than to object. She was stern and didn’t put up with any nonsense. It was hard to build up enough saliva in my dry mouth, but I managed. A trickle ran down the side of the cup as I handed it back.
She left for a few minutes, disappearing through the main door without a word. I glanced at the five empty beds around me. Somehow, I had the feeling I’d been here more than any other student at the league.
Megan returned with the cup. She handed it back, and when I looked inside, I found that my saliva had turned a murky orange color. I frowned at the healer, wondering if I was supposed to know something.
“That means you’ve been traveling through demon portals way too much. I knew something was strange about your condition,” she announced, a tone of disapproval in her voice.
Condition? I blinked, trying to process. Both Drevan and Grant had explained that demon portals could have a negative effect on humans, and last semester, I’d traveled so many times that I’d lost count. There was the time Phenog took me to rescue Drevan, the time Jophiel stabbed Drevan, the time after Sage flew off the balcony, then Drevan…
Drevan. Drevan. Drevan.
Some instances had been inevitable, while others had been only for the sake of convenience, which could have been avoided, but it wasn’t as if I’d had any choice in the matter.
Megan raised an eyebrow and shook her head. I fumbled for an excuse, some way to explain why a demon hunter student was traveling through demon portals.
“Well, I—”
She cut me off with a wave of her hand. “No need to come up with a lie. I know.”
“You do?”
She nodded. “And I’m grateful for your efforts, Ms. Sunder.”
That surprised me.
“I don’t want the world to end. Yet, you need to be more careful. I will let the director know, so he can pass the message along to… Well, you know.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
“Do you have any questions?”
“I thought I passed out because I used too much of my telekinetic power, but that was not it?”
“It was a combination of things.”
