The Beautiful Monster

Chapter 231  Fight(4)

"You're getting cocky. You tried to jump me? And you thought that it would work?" Alaric laughed as he shook his head. He looked down at Melina. "I could snap your neck, but I bet that soul of yours is delicious."

Melina tried to struggle, but her strength was sapping. She weakly reached up toward him, managing to brush her forefinger against his forehead.

Alaric gave her a confused look before he coughed. He acted like he was wheezing, fighting for breath.

"What is this?" he gasped out, his grip on her loosening.

Melina slammed her hand against the arm holding her captive, knocking his grip completely loose so that she could jump away from him. She turned, lifting her hands to conjure up another spell, but Alaric was ready for her.

Alaric waved his hand, tossing her back into a wall.

The back of Melina's head struck the wall before she slumped to the ground, not moving.

As everyone else ran at Alaric, he slammed his fist against the ground, sending a ripple through the air that threw everyone back. He took that opportunity to dart out of the side door, escaping the fight.

Elias could only breathe through his pain for a few moments. He stared up at the ceiling, which slowly spun ahead of him. He blinked a few times before lifting his head, seeing that Alaric was gone.

He cursed beneath his breath, wondering how they lost another fight just like that. Alaric was so powerful, and it was so hard to have his head completely in the game when he was worrying about losing his friends.

"Mel? Mel!" Tyler's voice sounded somewhere nearby.

Elias pushed himself up into a sitting position, looking around until he saw Tyler hovering over Melina, who still wasn't moving.

Fear struck him in his heart, prompting him to stumble to his feet and hurry over to Tyler and Melina.

"What's wrong? Why isn't she awake?" he asked.

Tyler shook his head, reaching out to cup the back of Melina's head. He drew his hand back to see blood on his fingertips.

"She hit the wall so hard," he said. His voice shook slightly as he cupped Melina's face, gently patting her cheek. "Come on, Mel."

"Alyssa!" Elias shouted, needing her to come help. He didn't know any healing spells, but Alyssa knew a little bit.

He watched Alyssa burst through the church doors and hurry over. He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. "She hit her head. Now, she won't wake up."

Alyssa nodded and leaned down near Melina as she grabbed one of Melina's wrists.

"She's breathing. Steady pulse," she said. "Tyler, move over here."

Elias forgot that she did this for a living. Alyssa didn't even need magic to deal with this. He stood out of the way, trying not to panic as he watched Alyssa place Tyler's hands on the side of Melina's head.

"Keep her still and stable," Alyssa told him before grabbing her phone and turning on the flashlight. She opened one of Melina's eyes, checking her pupil. "Just give her a little bit."

Elias put his hands behind his head, breathing as steadily as he could. He glanced behind him to see Scott sitting in one of the pews that hadn't been thrown around. He frowned, wondering why Scott wasn't here checking in on Melina.

"Melina? Can you hear me?" Alyssa spoke, staying close to her friend. When she saw Melina's eyes flutter, she let out a sigh of relief and leaned closer. "Melina, it's Alyssa. You hit your head."

Melina grimaced as pain throbbed in her head. She reached for her head, but Alyssa gently took her hand and placed it back down.

"I need to look at your wound. Do you know what day it is?" Alyssa asked her.

Melina thought for a second before nodding.

"Thursday. We're in some town in the middle of nowhere called Crowley," she said before glancing around. "And Alaric beat us again."

Alyssa frowned slightly, but she didn't let the expression stay long.

"I'm glad you're okay. Let's sit you up," she said, motioning for Tyler to help her move Melina into a sitting position.

Elias moved to crouch near Alyssa. He reached out and placed a hand on Melina's shoulder, feeling relief flood through him when he realized that she would probably be alright.

It would take more than a bump on her head to stop Melina, especially when it came to Alaric. She was devoted to this fight more than anyone else that he knew.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked her. He felt disappointed about what happened, but he was just glad that Melina was okay. For a moment there, he thought that he lost her.

He didn't know what he would do if he lost Melina. He wasn't sure if he could continue the fight, but he knew that he would have to for her.

That would be what she would want him to do, and she would do the same thing if he was killed first.

"My head hurts," Melina murmured, looking weak and tired. "Alaric escaped?"

Elias frowned slightly and nodded.

"Yeah, he's gone," he replied. They would have to try to find him all over again, and he wasn't looking forward to their next confrontation.

He was tired of being beaten and pushed around by one guy, but that guy just happened to be a powerful demon. There wasn't much that he could do.

"Thanks to Elias and his genius plan. Good job almost getting your sister killed," Scott spoke up from the pew. He gave Elias a disgusted look before storming out of the church.

The others fell silent as they looked between the church door and Elias, waiting for the tension to finally break or settle.

Elias tightened his jaw, anger flaring through him. He couldn't believe that Scott had the nerve to talk to him like that. He wasn't going to get away with it.

They were supposed to be a team, and he was tired of letting Scott steamroll him in front of the others.

He deserved at least an ounce of respect for trying to help the world, whether Scott agreed with his methods or not.

"I'll be right back," he replied before storming after Scott, expecting anything but a pleasant chat.