Page 59 of Oracles Always Win

Icast my gaze over the groupI’dscooped up asIsearched for a place on the shoreline whereIcould setJakedown.Ididn’t want his wounds to become any more contaminated than they already were from the bits of wood and glass.Thelast thing he needed was dirt or sand in his cuts.

Noneof the peopleI’dtaken through the portal were standing.Ihoped that was because of the wayIbrought them here instead of their injuries, butIdoubted they were all lucky enough to have escaped unscathed.Thesounds of crying and screams of pain rose up around us.Thescene shook me to my core.Ihadn’t heard anything like it since the last supernatural war.

I’dhoped to never hear anything like it again.

Overat the inn,Vanguided an elderly man and woman out of the front door and pointed in our direction.Thenthe hellhound disappeared back inside as the couple hobbled toward us.Theman was bent at his waist with a bleeding gouge on his forehead.Bloodcoated the side of his face and his shirt.Thewoman had her arm around him, trying to help him, but she didn’t look in much better shape.

Someoneraced over to help them.

Good.BecauseIhad my hands full withJake.

Spyinga boulder,Iwalked stiffly toward it.Thetears on my skin pulled with each step, butI’dsurvived worse.Nothingwas fatal.ThenIeasedJakedown beside the boulder until he was on his feet.Heswayed and grabbed at my arms to steady himself.Ignoringmy own pain,Ibent until my face was at the same level as his.Hiseyes were glassy.

Washe having a vision?Washe concussed?Wassomething else wrong?

Whenhe’d painted his vision at the park earlier, he’d moved like a zombie until he found a place to draw out the message from theEternalMagic.Hewasn’t acting that way now, soIsuspected he was just in shock.

“Jake?You’regoing to be okay.Youhear me?I’mgoing to check you for injuries before you sit, but first tell me where you hurt the most.”

Jakeshook his head and cast his gaze around like he couldn’t figure out where he was.Thenhe saw the inn. “Howdid we get here?”

“Iopened a portal,”Isaid.Mosthumans understood terms like that from movies about magic.Jakelooked just as confused as he had a moment earlier. “Itis like a magical doorway between two places.Inthis case, between the dining room and here.”

“Othersare still inside,”Jakesaid as he lurched toward the inn. “IsawVan…”

Iwrapped my arms aroundJake’swaist.Hefelt so small and fragile against me.Myarms shook asIrealized how close he’d come to being killed.Ipressed my face to the top of his head and breathed in his scent.Itwas laden with the stench of smoke and ash, but his unique scent was still there.Hewas still warm with life.Hisheart still beat steadily.Hewas alive andIvowed to keep him that way.

“He’sjust making sure everyone is out,”Ichoked out, emotionsIdidn’t fully understand making my voice rough.Howhad this man become so precious to me so quickly?

Ishould have been helpingVan.Iknew that.Sure, it was hard to kill a hellhound, even with a bomb, but demons were even more resilient.ButIknew ifIleft to help,Jakewould rush in right behind me, andIcouldn’t let that happen.Oraclesweren’t built for fighting or war.

Myevery instinct was screaming at me to shift into my demonic form, wrap my black wings around his body, and never let him go.

Instead,IeasedJakearound to face me, thenIset my hands on his shoulders and studied him.Hisface was even paler than normal against his dark hair.Hisgaze wandered around from one thing to the next, like he couldn’t focus on anything at all.Heswayed on his feet, andIhalf expected him to collapse at any moment.

Theoretically,Jake’sinjuries should be minor cuts along the backs of his legs.Withthe wayIhad been carrying him when the bomb exploded, his torso should have been shielded by mine.Butwhat if something else had happened?Somethinghorrible.Ifthe glass hit a main vein or artery…Ididn’t smell a lot of blood, soIdidn’t think that was the case, but…Whatif?

Iblinked away the stinging in my eyes.

“Ineed to check you over.”

Jake’sforehead crinkled in confusion.Hereached for my face with a trembling hand. “You’rebleeding.”

“I’mfine.Demonsare pretty hard to kill.”Evenas we spoke, the faint ping of glass hitting the ground told me my body was healing.Mymagic was rejecting the jagged pieces of glass and pushing them out.

"Itwas so close to your eye…”Jakebrushed his hand over my cheekbone, one of the many places whereI’dbeen struck.Hishand came away coated in my blood.Tearswelled in his eyes. “Areyou sure you’ll be okay?”

“Yeah,”Isaid softly. “Eventhe scars will be gone in a week.”

“Wasanyone injured?”Jakesucked in a ragged breath. “Or… killed?”

“Idon’t know.”Itightened my grip onJake’sshoulders and brushed a kiss over his forehead.

Hebit his bottom lip and squeezed his eyes shut.Whenhe opened them again, his eyes seemed clearer.Hismouth was pinched, as if he was forcing himself to ignore his pain. “Weneed to help the others.”

“Letme help you first.”

WhenJakedidn’t argue,Itook that as permission.Thefront of his body, likeIhad suspected, was fine.Theblood on the back of his jeans, though, made my hands shake with a mix of anger and fear.Whatwas that fucking mantraJeremywanted me to say again?Itwas supposed to help with my control, butIdidn’t think it was up for the task today.Itook a deep breath and released it as instinct overrode logic.Itwas like theEternalMagicwas guiding my actions, just as she had whenI’dcreated the bonds with my team.