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

thighs. “Cassidy, if you’re making your legs do that, do it again please,” Lena asked.
    I squeezed my leg muscles again slightly.
    “I think she is trying to wake up. Cassidy, you’re beginning to come to. Don’t rush it; let it happen naturally.” Her voice turned away from me and addressed Killian. “We should let her rest. She’s beginning to emerge, and we are stressing her. Come on, we don’t want her upset; it can cause problems for people who are waking up from something like this. Besides, don’t you have some training to do?” Lena let go of my leg and covered me again. “Killian…go! You need to be strong to face what we are up against. I got this.” I felt Killian stand, though his hand still touched my arm.
    “Just give me a minute alone with her.”
    Lena’s footsteps retreated. I wanted my eyes to open so badly, to see Killian’s expression—to match it to his voice. But my eyelids were so damn heavy.
    “What were you doin’ out there, kid? That girl said you tried to save her. Pretty brave, but you could have been killed.” He sighed. “Listen, Cass, I’m so sorry that I crossed you over. I didn’t know what else to do. I just wanted to get us out of that situation. To somewhere safer. I thought since you crossed over the first time without any lasting effects that you would be fine.” Killian let out a long breath. “God, I thought it killed you. I’m so sorry.”
    Although I could not see him, I felt his absence when he left. His regret and remorse came through in his voice. I wanted to yell after him that I was fine. But was I? I couldn’t open my eyes, talk, or move my body more than a twitch or a hand squeeze. Maybe I wasn’t going to be okay. Was I doomed to a life of being paralyzed and semi-comatose? I felt one tear drip down my face, but I could not move my arms to wipe it away.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Eight
     
     
    Killian
     
    The meeting room was filled with my finest warriors and Clan members. They were loyal and trusted, but most importantly, they were my family. “I called this meeting to assess where we are at and let you know what is ahead. Jackson, give the report on patrols and training.”
    Jackson stood and reported in his deep voice, “We have twelve trainees about a month away from being combat ready. They still would need to be mixed with senior officers, of course. Since we lost Lorcan, we have stepped up patrols to a twenty-four hour duty split between five gates and the binding chamber with six teams of three soldiers. Once a squad has covered a shift at the binding room and all the gates, they will be relieved for a ten hour rest period. When they end that rest period, they will resume rotation, relieving the next team.”
    “What’s your protocol for an attack?”
    Jackson looked me in the eye and I could see that he hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He didn’t feel ready for an attack. “There are around one hundred and twenty Clan members, about forty of those are Harvesters, untrained for combat. About twenty are too young to fight. The remaining sixty are well trained, including the women. Eighteen of those sixty soldiers will be patrolling the gates. We have good numbers. Those on patrol are to alert Angeline of trouble so she can crossover reinforcements. The patrol at the binding chamber have been instructed to stay and guard the chamber during an attack at all times. If all those demons got lose, it would be Hell on Earth.”
    “Agreed. Thank you, Jackson. Angeline, how are your spells holding and do you have any suggestions for what lies ahead?”
    Angeline was powerful and dedicated to her position—the perfect asset to my team.
    "I am reinforcing the gates and binding chamber daily, but the binding is not as strong as Lorcan's. Furthermore, regular reinforcement at that level keeps me from focusing on spells and potions for combat and healing. Our current supply will last us forty to fifty days or less if we have any