Caged by Damnation (Caged #2)(60)

Though the others were covered in soot and grime, they had purpose to their steps, as they carried the dead over to piles, sorting through the demons and humans. All happiness had been stolen from them. I had been so worried about my friends that it hadn't registered that others had fared as bad, if not worse.

Poison Ivy spoke from my left. "My God." She stared down the river of blood and loss. "This wasn't a battle, it was a massacre." The tears she shed enhanced the awe and heartbreaking sound of her voice.

We helped those we could, while searching the field for my friends. It was difficult to tell one body apart from the next, since the demons hadn't left many telltale marks on the bodies. They had pillaged and scavenged until little was left behind in the miserable heaps.

What was once the Ether or Compound had been left in ruins. I doubted anyone left inside had lived. If they had, they must have had an angel watching over them, or an army of them.

Time passed. I bandaged the wounded, helped organize groups, and walked aimlessly seeking Savannah or Izzy. The longer I went without finding them, the more desperate I became.

Vixen appeared. "Come on, I found Savannah's scent!"

She dragged me towards a far corner where there was a higher concentration of decaying demons than elsewhere. Their bodies emanated a rank odor, a disgusting assault on the nose. It seemed that demons rotted at a faster rate than others.

"How do you know it's hers?" I spoke from behind my palm, trying to block the smell of death.

"Trust me, it's her. Besides, I smell Liam too...." She trailed off, tracing a patch of dried blood and my own ran cold. "If they were killed, we would have found bodies instead of some blood and a bunch of spent demons," she reassured me. I nodded, but couldn't help wondering if some of the survivors from the battle had already gathered their bodies for the pyres.

"Willow?"

I looked up. The voice was Ash's. His clothing was charred, and he had a jagged wound across his chest, but otherwise he seemed to be his normal self.

Banishing my normal reserved rules, I gave him a tight hug, relieved that at least one friend was still alive. I sobbed freely, not caring if some thought it a weakness.

"You're alive. What about everyone else? Did they make it?"

Ash shook his head. "I don't know. We split up just before it happened. I tried to get back to them, but the fire was in my way. I was alone, but made it out of the compound with some guards and other civilians." Grief deepened his eyes. He felt guilty about not being there to protect them. We had that in common. "I stayed behind to fight the demons, looking for them, while trying to help others escape."

"Don't worry. We'll find them. Vixen located Liam and Savannah's scent. So, we can track them." It was little hope, but all I could offer.

His brows furrowed. "What about Maye, Izzy, and Griffin? Isis, Diamante, and Josephine were here too."

My heart pounded with the news of how many had been here. When Death and the Hellhounds said my friends were attacked and possibly dead, I hadn't processed the full meaning behind their words.

Vixen spoke up. "This blood isn't Liam's or Savannah's. I recognize it though and it’s definitely male. My guess is that it's Griffin's since trace magic was left behind."

Echo and the other Hellhounds showed up. "Did you guys find anything?" I asked, hoping they had some good news about Maye or Izzy.

Downcast, they shook their heads in defeat. Whisper clutched a stuffed elephant to her chest. Her eyes were rimmed with red and I knew she had discovered something more horrid than the rest of us.

"May I...?" Scrye motioned to Ash's injury.

After gaining his consent, she withdrew a chain from around her neck and emptied some powder from the pouch onto her palm. She then spread it across the inflamed flesh. Immediately, the skin merged together as if he had never been injured.

"Thanks." He seemed to give little thought to the disappearing wound, and walked over to Vixen, bending to get a better view of the blood Griffin had left behind.

"I'm sure he's fine." My words fell on deaf ears.

Shyly, Vixen offered. "We can track them easier in our other forms."

Echo pointed to Vixen and Poison Ivy, assigning them the duty of trackers. "Make sure you have a fix on the scent and stay alert. We might run into some stragglers. The rest of us will follow."





CHAPTER 14


Savannah's Journal

Wars are peculiar events. They are inevitable and yet they cause utter destruction. Lives are lost and many of them are loved by others. Why, then, do they continue?

Demons and Angels have fought since the beginning of time and humans turn to death as the solution to their disagreements. Once a war is past, both groups look back at the chaos and wonder what went wrong; why did they think such a rash decision was warranted? Couldn't a simple conversation have solved those problems? Perhaps, the war never truly ends, but they find ways to hide it? Suddenly a mask becomes a guerrilla attack and a smile the deception.

Battles will never make sense to me, especially ones involving demons. Most of the time, they were content to remain in their own world. Yet, the death of a single Archdemon results in an attack on a compound, brimming with innocents. Couldn't they have singled me out? Could this have been their game all along, to make me pay with the lives of those around me, knowing that it was my fault? Why was I doomed to witness sacrifices in my name?