Blood Soldiers: The Second Army - Grishaverse Prequel

15 - Yelena

Standing up, she sent her power through the crowded town square, feeling for the little thief. He was fast. Very fast, but she could sense his pattern better now. She picked a man not far from him and flooded his body with adrenaline and stress hormones, raised his heart rate and body temperature and just generally made him angry.

When the thief came to him, the man was furious, and caught the boy's hands mid-heist. Yelena felt the boy's panic, but she knew that they could help him, no matter what happened. The man roared and shoved the boy backwards, knocking another lady into the ground too.

Shouts rang out as people tried to sort the mess out, but Yelena's angry man was a little too far gone. He punched another man who tried to help and then stumbled into a mother and her children, accidentally kicking the young girl. People shouted as they tried to restrain them, but the many only grew angrier. Yelena released her grip on him and rushed over into the fray.

The other Corporalki followed, and Yelena felt them soothing the crowd as they went, heart rates slowing. Yelena managed to shove her way through to the centre of the crowd and took in the scene before her. The little girl was fine, perhaps a little shaken, but fine. The angry man had split knuckles and a nasty bruise forming on his cheek where someone had likely hit him. The woman who'd been knocked over by the thief had been helped up, but her hands and arms had cuts and scrapes all over them. That's where she'd start.

"Ma'am? Hello, my name is Yelena. I can help you with those cuts if you'd like," she smiled warmly.

The woman stared at her confused, before looking down at her arms, "Oh... Yes, please."

Yelena noticed a small bench not far away and led the woman over. A group of armed men had arrived, likely the town's police. They began dispersing the crowd, keeping the angry man and thief detained.

Yelena sat the woman down, "What's your name?"

"Mila," she said. The woman looked to be in her late twenties, pretty, but her face was absolutely covered in cosmetics, making her look like she was wearing a painted mask instead of skin.

"Mila, that's lovely. Can you hold out your hands for me," Yelena spoke calmly, hoping the woman would see how her power was a good thing rather than something to run from.

Mila did so and Yelena took in the scrapes. Not too deep, but with lots of dirt and gravel. Yelena could fix this easily. Mila looked away as Yelena began her work.

She started at the woman's elbow, gently running her fingers over the scratched skin, first pushing any infectants out before closing the skin gently. Slowly, she moved along the woman's arm, towards her hands, and realised that she would have to let Mila watch.

Here goes nothing.

Yelena held Mila's palm up flat and held her fingers over the scratches. She drew a little blood out, to clear out any dirt or debris before pulling the skin back together. Mila gasped, but didn't pull away. Yelena finished with the last little scrape and then moved to the other hand.

Mila hesitated though, "You're a witch." The words weren't said with the same venom as usual though.

Yelena gave her a small shake of her head, "Not at all. I am Grisha. A Corporalnik who can heal the human body. Not a witch. Would you like me to do the other arm?"

Mila looked back to the perfect skin on the arm Yelena had just healed. Then, she nodded and pushed the other arm out. Yelena healed it quickly, before turning back to the square where the thief was being jostled around as they patted him down and began to take back all the things he'd stolen. The crowd jeered and shouted insults at him, some even throwing nearby rocks and gravel.