135 Broken

Harlee POV

Cael refused to let me go as he and Zeev paced down the hall with determined strides. Honestly I wasn't sure I could walk quickly enough to keep up with them anyway, even on a good day.

"Why aren't we just, you know.." I snapped my fingers to indicate disappearing.

'Lil has this whole place very well locked down, the fact that you got through to me was nothing short of miraculous. The only reason I made it in is of course because I can slip through warding designed for the Demonic and Divine.' Sands whispered through my mind. The pain was still very real from his presence, but I was grateful to him for showing up. Even if I couldn't wait to have the possession end. I felt Sands grimace with my face. Meanwhile Cael was also answering my question.

"We could." Cael's voice rumbled softly through his chest. "But not father. Also, you are very weak. And injured." Cael laid a hand on my abdomen. I cringed but felt he heat from his palm radiate outwards, and Sands gasped in my head as his power was drawn to the area, coupling with Cael's to spur healing. I tried to stop myself from whimpering, but the sudden relief was almost painful.

"So we have to get to a place that's less protected." I sighed when I could breathe again. Cael nodded down at me.

"Cael son, we have company." Zeev's voice broke in.

"I know." Cael answered with a frown. I turned to look down the hall to find a handful of Demons in our path.

"Ah shii... Sorry Cael." I patted his chest. Zeev looked at me with amusement. I shrugged. He may look like an adult in this Form, but Cael was still my baby. "I think you're going to have to put me down baby. You can't hold your momma and defend yourself." I told him while Sands began begging in the back of my mind to have control of my body. Cael looked down at me nervously.

'Only if you don't lock me away again!' I snapped at Sands in my head. Sands sighed.

'Agreed!' He basically rolled his eyes at me. Mine may actually have moved.

"Put us down Cael." I said softly. "Sands is gonna take over now. I'll be alright." Cael nodded once and by the time he set me on my feet, Sands' power had surged through my body again. I bit back a scream and cowered in my own head. I felt the strangest tugging sensation as Sands pulled, no formed a sword out of his own Grace in the air around us. He looked at my love and my son and nodded to them.

"Well let's get this over with." Sands said with my voice. I cringed again.

Zeev POV

My instinct was to protect Harlee, which made it especially difficult to watch Sands rush headlong into danger, as if not contemplating the fact that he was wearing Harlee's delicate Human frame. Never mind the fact that her pregnancy was in a precarious state. It took everything in me to battle a demon of my own, and not yank Harlee's small form behind my own to protect her.

As a result, Sands and Cael killed the majority of the Demons, though I still managed to get in a snack or two. Sands gave me a fierce grin through Harlee's blood spattered face directly before I watched the light of both of their consciousness' fade from her eyes. Harlee's body slid to the side in what looked like a slow motion fall to me as I scrambled to reach her side in time. I let my Form fall back into human and just barely managed to catch her limp body.

"Cael. We have to move, son. They're not doing well." I scooped Harlee up. Her body felt feverish and she had begun to bleed again. Cael looked swiftly at us, his expression turning grim.

"Can you carry her in your state?" He asked. I nodded once. I hadn't been tortured as badly, except by extension through Harlee, and I was holding her pain at bay. For her, I could do anything. "Then let's move quickly." Cael started down the hall at a brisk pace. I clutched Harlee to me tightly and trotted after him. He mowed down any Demon who got in our path.

Harlee POV

Zeev's snarl pulled me from a fever dream. I saw Cael simply running through several Demons as Zeev held me as tightly to his chest as he could, swinging one taloned hand angrily. More Demons? I thought we had gotten them all! Before I could say anything out loud though, I had been dragged under again. Sands was whispering to me about blood loss and trying to stabilize me, but I was too far gone to care.

Sands had control of my body the next time I woke up. We were free of 'Lil's Dungeon' as I was calling it in my head. We were all running across a grassy field. My lower abdomen was cramping fiercely.

'Sands!' I cried out in warning.

'I know Harlee, I'm doing what I can, we've got to get free of the warding so Zeev can transport out!' Sands replied. I tried to stop myself, but felt the tears in my eyes inside and out. Sands brushed at them swiftly as we ran so he could continue to see.

The next time I floated to the surface, Ash had caught me with a cry. There was a quick conversation between my Angels and Demons, planning their next move. Sands' healing abilities would be needed immediately, but the others would also need to help because of the damage that had been done by Lil and the possession.

"Are we going to have to take some of her humanity?" Ash asked with pain in their voice, and I was gone again.

Then I woke up screaming after Sands left my body. The cramping had started again.

"The baby!" I was screeching. I felt Ash's cool hands on my forehead and abdomen. Ash was murmuring soothing things to me, but I couldn't understand it over my own screaming.

"We may not have a choice but to let her miscarry, she's loosing too much blood." I heard Zeev say in anguish.

"No!" I yelled, trying to struggle free of Ash's grasp.

"I'm sorry Harlee." I heard Sands' soft voice and then his hand on my head above Ash's and I fell into a deep pool of darkness that I just kept sinking further and furhter into.

Zeev POV

Hunger. That feeling kept clawing at me, but I refused to move. Harlee was hovering somewhere between life and death. WE were hovering somewhere between life and death. My soul fragment cried out for her and my body felt just as heavy as hers must.

"Go feed. It'll help you both." Ash smoothed my hair gently.

"I.. can't." I sighed. "I feel compelled to stay. Our soul, it... needs this. To be close, in case.." I went silent.

"We still have options." Ash said softly. We can still pull her a little further into the Demonic. And the child..

"You know she doesn't want that." I almost snapped, then shook my head and curled tighter around Harlee. "I'm sorry, I'm so tired Ash." I sighed and let my own eyes drift closed. "I think I'll sleep for a little while.." I could feel Ash's worry. Demons don't sleep.

Harlee POV

They had to drag Zeev away from my side. Each of them took turns attempting to keep me alive. I was in and out of consciousness, barely awake long enough to register who held me or that I was in the huge bed Zeev had bought in our new home. That felt like a lifetime ago. My belongings slowly filtered in around me between bouts of unconsciousness. Somebody was trying to make the house look more like a home. And each time I opened my eyes a worried face greeted me. Sometimes I even heard Cael's voice talking to me, and I would smile slightly for him. I tried to tell him I was so proud of him. He got us out of there. But I'm not sure if my mouth worked or not.

Ash's cool, gentle hands were frequently smoothing my hair or resting on my abdomen. I wanted to apologize to them for losing the baby. Maybe both. I wasn't sure anymore. Sometimes Ash and Zeev surrounded me. I could feel them trying to lend me strength, trying to make me whole again. But it wasn't just my body that had been broken. Finally Zeev was right. Finally all of the things that had gone wrong were weighing down on me. Finally it all just got to me and I broke. I couldn't come up for air.

-End of Volume One-