The Return of the Order: Act 24

Act 24: Open Wounds

The manor was in complete disarray when they returned. Sebastian, now aided by Margaret, struggled to stabilise Grell and stop the bleeding from the wound. Lord Birch busied himself carrying fresh bandages and bowls of bloodied water to and from the kitchen. Ronald and Undertaker sat watching helplessly from the hallway only moving as the portal opened, ready in case anything other than Louisa and the twins should step through.

Raven took William to the parlour and laid him on the empty sofa before moving back, allowing Lilith access. She knelt by his barely breathing form. Louisa entered behind them, having transformed back to her human form.

“Lilith, Raven, return to your human forms, after what he has been through it is probably best that he doesn’t see you like this when he first wakes.”

Lilith opened her mouth to argue, but Raven placed his hand on her arm. “Mother is right, come on.”

He pulled her to her feet, and they left the room. Margaret moved over to William and worked with Louisa to remove what was left of his tattered shirt and trousers. His entire body was covered in cuts, scraps, and bruises. Much of the damage was superficial, but Louisa's gaze was drawn to the much deeper wound in his shoulder. Something jagged and sharp had been forced through the joint. Recognising the position of the injury, Louisa trailed her eyes down to his hands, while both were still present, the right hand had been shattered. Not a single bone remained intact. William may have been abused and even tortured by demons; however, the worst damage had been done by reapers, more specifically by the reaper that William had punished.

Louisa’s anger rose as she considered how close she had been to Peter in the library and how easily she could have finished him. A hand on her arm brought her back into the room. It was Lilith.

“Mother, will he be alright?”

“Nothing physical has been done that we cannot fix; he was not with the demons long enough for them to cause irreversible injury to him. The damage done by knowing the worst was inflicted by his own may take much longer to heal.”

Lilith knelt by William’s side, helping Margaret clean the wounds and splint his hand the best they could. Behind them Raven aided his father as he bandaged Grell’s ribs, covering the wound and holding in place the stitches and herbal poultices that Sebastian and Margaret had constructed to help the healing.

Sebastian and Louisa stood, watching their children as they tended to the reapers. Sebastian wrapped his arm around his mate and drew her in close to him. She leaned back, placing her head against his chest. "Now what do we do, my love?"

Sebastian tightened his hold on her, "we protect those within this house and wait until the reaper faction shows themselves in this realm. Then we can finish this once and for all."

“It sounds so simple when you put it like that,” said Louisa smiling weakly. Sebastian kissed the top of her head and held her tightly, the blood from his hands staining the housecoat that she had once again draped over her naked human form. Sebastian moved his kisses to her neck, his mind and body catching up with her lack of dress. Louisa’s smile widened, “you are insatiable.”

“Only when it comes to you my love,” he smirked.

“I think we need to settle everyone down for the night first.” It was only then that Louisa realised that the sun had already risen and was climbing high into the morning sky. “It would seem we are too late for that, however.”

A yawn from the edge of the room where Lord Birch was slumped caught her attention.

"Sleep may still be a good idea for your master and Margaret, though. I believe reapers need sleep and sustenance as well."

“Yes, my love, you are quite right. I will see to some food momentarily; with the protection that Undertaker and Margaret now have in place, it should be safe for Margaret and Lord Birch to return to their rooms. We can place Undertaker and Ronald in one of the guest rooms, they can take turns with us keeping watch over the house and grounds.”

Louisa nodded. “And what about them,” she motioned at the two injured reapers still being tended by their children.

Sebastian’s brow furrowed, “Assuming that neither will leave the side of their patient, I believe we are left with little choice but to place them in their rooms, particularly if the twins are to get any rest too.”

The twins looked at their father. “Please, father, we will take care of them," they said in unison.

Sebastian and Louisa shared a look of resignation as a knowing chuckle could be heard from the hallway. They had expected no less from Lilith, but Raven’s sudden attachment to Grell was a more significant cause for concern. Louisa could only hope that it was passing and only brought on by the reaper’s uncharacteristic actions in the library.

Despite their reservations, they helped the twins carry the reapers up to their rooms. As they returned to deal with the mess, they were met by a still chuckling Undertaker.

“War makes for strange bedfellows, doesn’t it?”

Sebastian growled and turned to answer, only to be cut off, “We cannot choose who our souls yearn for Malphas, remember that. Now I’ll take first watch while Ronald sleeps.” With that, he moved away, leaving Sebastian and Louisa to ponder his words as they cleaned the worst of the mess and prepared breakfast for those who needed to eat.

Margaret and Lord Birch returned to their rooms to eat and gain what sleep they could while Undertaker wandered around the manor, stopping every so often and chuckling quietly to himself, clearly amused by a joke that no one else yet understood. With their tasks complete, Sebastian lifted Louisa into his arms and made for their room, determined to make the most of the short period of calm that had arrived.