Minor Demons by Randall J. Morris Page B

quit.”
    Baal raised a hand and Nightmare vanished in smoke.
    Shadow collapsed on the floor. He felt himself being lifted up and carried out of the death pit. He looked up and saw his uncle. He pointed at several of his minions.
    “Weapons.”
    They bowed and went to retrieve all of Shadow’s weapons strewn all over the death pit. It took three of them to pull his sword free from the side wall.
    “Let the medic know we’re on our way. My nephew needs his hand looked at and he deserves some rest before the temptation trial.”

CHAPTER 13
    W hen Shadow woke, he was in a part of hell that he had seen many times before when he was younger. The office of his uncle’s medic. The medic was the only healer Cain kept in his ranks. Officially, the medic was a minor demon of poisons. A vast knowledge of poisons was where the medic’s knowledge began but he had learned enough about how to injure that Cain had assigned him the title of medic hoping that he would learn to reverse the effects of injuries over time.
    Shadow had visited the medic more times than he could count when he was a younger demon. Every time he injured himself in training, the medic would help him heal. As he looked at his left hand, he saw that the crude bandage he had applied in the death pit had been removed and his hand had been expertly wrapped. Whatever the medic had applied, it was working. His hand already felt much better.
    He saw his cloak and all of his weapons laid out on the table next to him. He picked up his cloak and was putting it on when the medic entered the room.
    “Nope. Put the cloak back down master Shadow. You’re not done here. Your uncle wants you to stay here and rest until the temptation trial.”
    “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll sit back down and you can tell me the rankings. Did I pass Nightmare? Am I ranked first now?”
    “Cain will discuss that with you. It’s not my place.”
    “Come on...”
    “Not gonna do it, Shadow. If I told you, Cain would have me healing myself after he kicked my ass.”
    “Ok then, I have a question. Would healing be easier if you learned what the angels know about it?”
    “God, you really want me to get in trouble today. What did I ever do to you?”
    “Medic, it’s just us. We’ve discussed lots of things when I got injured when I was little. You can’t give me your opinion now that I rank first after two of the trials?”
    “I never said you ranked first.”
    Shadow grinned.
    “Damn. Well it was worth a shot.”
    “To answer your question, yes. My job would be much easier if I knew all that the angels know on the subject. In fact...”
    The medic looked like he was weighing whether or not to continue with what he was going to say.
    “Never mind.”
    “No. What?”
    “I do know a little about the healing methods of the angels.”
    “How?”
    “That’s really none of your business.”
    Shadow thought for a moment and realized the likely source of the medic’s angelic healing knowledge. He had known his father and uncle for a long time.
    “My father taught you. Didn’t he?”
    The medic looked shocked.
    “How do you know that? He didn’t exactly teach me, but...”
    The medic crossed the room and pulled a black key from his cloak. He opened a dark chest tucked away in the corner of the room. As soon as it was open, the chest exuded light. The medic reached in and pulled out a glowing, white book. He handed it to Shadow.
    “ Healing in the Trenches of War by Gabriel. Abaddon gave it to me a long time ago. No one knows that I have it and I keep it locked in that chest except when I’m reading it. I know that your uncle suspects that I have something that I consult to aid in healing but he’s never asked about it. I wouldn’t be too surprised if he knows about it though. Cain and Abaddon are brothers, after all.”
    “So you use the angel’s methods to heal demons?”
    “Not exactly. I have adopted their techniques and made them... well... I’ve made them appropriate