The Human Side (The Demon Side Series) by Heaven Liegh Eldeen Page B

Regional Hospital. When you two are ready to be honest, you can find me there.”
    “Amy!” Gabriel ran after the van as she pulled away.
    “C’mon. We need to find John.” As I walked toward my car, something hit me in the back, followed by a series of pelts.
    “You couldn’t give her one night?” Gabriel yelled while throwing a handful of pebbles at me.
    “What is your problem?” I asked as I pulled my jacket over my face to block the rocks.
    “This wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t so selfish!” he exclaimed as he hurled another handful my way.
    “Selfish? Everything I’ve done has been to prevent this!”
    “You did nothing but throw her into the fire, so screw you and your self-righteous bull.” Gabriel bent over, reaching for another handful of gravel. Peeking over my collar, I saw an opportunity to end his attack. I intended to tackle him, but the soil beneath my feet gave way and I took us both to the ground.
    Delivering quick, short punches to each other, we rolled back and forth over the terrain. Gabriel punched me in my chest, knocking the wind out of me. Taking advantage, he rolled over me. As I gasped for air, something moist splattered on my chin. Looking at my brother as he pummeled the side of my ribs, I noticed the droplet had come from him. He had been crying.
    “This has nothing to do with me, does it?” With a right hook, I knocked him off of me and rolled on top of him, shoving my forearm against his throat with enough pressure to stop his impending fist. He knew this move all too well. Had he been an enemy, I might have easily crushed his trachea. But I didn’t want to injure my brother. I wanted to find out why he had snapped.
    “Talk to me. Tell me why you’re so upset, Gabriel.”
    His body relaxed as he tried to hide his tears. Just as he had knocked the wind out of me, it seemed I knocked the fight out of him. Releasing my arm, I sat next to him in the dirt.
    “I want to go home. I wasn’t meant for this.” He sobbed as he sat up.
    “For what? We’re just getting to the part you live for—a fight.”
    “I’m always ready for a fight, but I’m not for all of this.”
    “All of what, Gabriel?”
    “What I’m feeling. I’m scared, Rahovart. I’m scared for you, for Etta, for John, but mostly I’m scared for Amy. She’s so close to it all. What if she gets hurt? Or worse? It may have been her with Etta tonight had she answered the phone.”
    “Ah. I understand now. You love her.”
    “It’s more than that. Love is just a heavy word people throw around. What I feel is beyond a word. It’s like she’s in my veins. I feel her coursing through me.”
    “Going home won’t fix that, Brother. It makes it much worse. Trust me on that.”
    “I can’t protect her like this!” Gabriel motioned to his body with disgust. “What can this do against a Demon? Nothing. Why would you choose this over what we were?”
    “It is not the vessel in which our souls travel, but what our souls carry with them that gives us strength. We can and will accomplish our mission. Neither Etta, John, or Amy will fall in battle. That I promise you.”
    In silence, we sat and stared off in the distance for a few moments. I knew all too well of his fears for Amy. It has been something I’ve lived with every day for over a year. Tonight’s event had increased that fear a hundred fold.
    “We should get going to the hospital,” Gabriel said as he stood, dusting off the dirt from his jeans.
    “No. First we find John and find out how this happened.”
    “But don’t you want to see how Etta’s doing?”
    “There’s nothing we can do for her right now.”
    “Maybe John is on his way to the hospital now.”
    “I doubt it. For him to call us and not be here to protect her tells me something isn’t right with all of this.”
    “I’ll try calling him.” Gabriel pulled out his cell phone and dialed his number as we got into my car.
    “No answer, but I checked my call log. He