Between the Bleeding Willows (The Demon Hunters Series Book 1) by D.A. Roach

on the bed in the dark corner past the seven other beds in the unit. I approached and spoke so that Lena could not hear me. “Hey Cass, any better today?” No response, not even a flinch. “So we are heading out to Harvest outside the boundary tomorrow. I won’t be here all day, but I hope to be back by night.” The finger on her left hand moved ever so slightly. I took her hand. Her fingers were delicate and thin compared to mine. I heard footsteps and turned to see Lena leave. “It’s gonna be fine. We have a lot of troops going. I probably don’t need to go, but it’ll be good to see the team work together. This way I can make adjustments for battle based on what I see.”
    “’Sup, Sir?” Casper approached and clapped his hand on my back.
    “Casper.” I returned my attention to the helpless girl next to me. “Cassidy, the voice you hear is in charge of guarding you tomorrow. His name is Casper. He’s unbelievably fast. Don’t know how good of company he’ll be.” Casper smiled at this. “But I know you’ll be safe with him, and that’s good enough for me.” I let her hand go and stood to give Casper the tour.
    “Okay, Casper, let me show you around. This is her IV. Cassidy has a banana bag hooked up for several hours each day and Ringer’s solution the rest of the time.”
    “Banana bag?” He echoed with a hint of laughter.
    “Yes, here.” I led him to the fridge in the med unit and pulled out a yellow IV bag. “This has all the nutrients she needs in a day. It’s yellow, so we call it a banana bag.”
    “Funny. Do I have to hook that thing up?”
    “No, Lena should do it before we leave tomorrow. I just want you aware of what it is. You’ll need to change her positions in the bed from time to time, so she doesn’t get sores from lying in one spot. Nothing crazy. Just prop her with pillows on one side for an hour or so and then rotate her to the other side.”
    “What about the Ringer’s whatever…thing?”
    “Lena will have that hooked up so when the banana bag is finished, you just switch it. Come here, and I’ll show you.” I took out two empty IV bags and demonstrated switching the spike to a new bag and how to change the drip rate. Casper seemed to get it; it wasn’t rocket science.
    “What’s that? Another banana bag?” He pointed to the urine collection bag.
    “No, that’s piss. She has a catheter since she can’t get up to use the bathroom.” Casper’s face twisted with disgust. “If you’d rather, I could remove the catheter and leave you several sheets so you could deal with it the ancient way.” Casper shook his head but had no words. I had to work hard to not laugh. “Don’t touch it. You shouldn’t have to worry about messing with it.”
    “Anything else?” Casper scratched behind his right ear and squinted, looking a little worried.
    “Yeah. No one touches her but Angeline, Lena, you, and me. Anyone tries to mess with her, kill them.” Casper raised his eyebrows. We’d never had an intrusion besides the Breach, but that was years ago, and anything was possible. “That’s all. I’ll expect you here at first light.”
    Casper nodded and left.
    I checked the medical supplies that were bagged for the Harvest and made sure the IV bags for Cassidy were ready and labelled.
    I recognized Lena’s footsteps coming back in. “Listen, I didn’t mean to upset you earlier. I can see you have feelings for her. Don’t…don’t let them cloud your mind…not now when so many are relying on you to keep them safe.” My sister perched upon her stool facing me. To anyone else, her face would be unreadable, but I knew exactly what she wasn’t saying.
    “I know,” I said with gritted teeth. “I just think she needs more time. We’re supposed to protect the mortals, remember? I’m not willing to give up on her as easily as you are.”
    “Killian…” She stopped. Good choice. She was thinking about the Breach and our parents, but I didn't want to, and if