Rebirth - The Beautiful Fallen (14 page)

             
“Yeah?” I heard him answer.

             
“I’m sorry.  I just can’t get to sleep that easily.” I admitted.

             
I heard him grunt a little, then get up.  To my surprise, he came over and laid down beside me.  “I didn’t really think you would.  It’s hard to sleep after something like that.” he said.

             
I couldn’t help but smile slightly.  “No kidding.” I agreed.

             
“So, I guess you’re not still mad at me then.” He said as I curled up against him.

             
“What do you mean?” I asked, actually forgetting for moment about the dream before.

             
“About me not telling you about my dad.” Chris clarified.

             
He just had to remind me, didn't he?  But at the same time, I was thinking a little bit clearer on it all.  “I guess I can get why you wouldn’t tell me before.  But seriously, you know a lot about what happened back then, don’t you?” I said.

             
“I know a good deal of it.” Chris admitted.  “It’s something that’s been passed around between us Children of the Fallen for a while because it ended up being such an interesting story.  Not to mention that there were rumors flying around about your existence for the last fifteen years or so.”

             
“So I really was just a rumor?” I asked.  I suddenly found it hard to believe, considering that it meant that no one else aside from them and Mama knew I existed.

             
“For the most part.  Saffron did an incredible job with hiding you when you were born.  And I think part of it might have been his fear of my father and how he might react to you.” Chris explained.

             
“But he was there right after I was born.  I saw it in my dreams.” I said.

             
“You saw it?” Chris repeated, looking a little bit surprised now.

             
I nodded.  “I’ve had strange dreams my entire life.  And I ended up having that one right before I came looking for you.  I was standing in the room over Faith Kent’s body, and looking at Saffron holding a newborn baby.  And Jade was there too.  He knew that I was Saffron’s baby.” I explained.

             
For a long moment, Chris was quiet.  But he seemed to be taking my words in.  “I see.  So maybe that’s part of your abilities.  Even if your blood hasn’t really awoken yet, you could still have limited abilities from the time you’re born because you’re one of us.  Yours is probably very similar to Zane's in seeing the past and possibly some of the future through dreams.” he finally said.

             
“I guess that would make some sense.” I agreed.  Sounded like Jade was telling the truth about that.

             
“So what else is there that you’ve dreamed of?  Is it always about him or Saffron?” Chris asked me.  He seemed more then interested in hearing about this now.  In a way, it made me feel kind of good.  He actually wanted to know more about me.

             
I shook my head.  “No.  For a long time, I’ve been dreaming about a little boy.” I admitted.

             
“A little boy?” Chris repeated.

             
“Yeah.  I’ve been dreaming about him ever since I can remember.  And it’s always the same.  I’m standing in this doorway of this strange looking stone house with a dirty floor, and inside, there’s blood everywhere and three bodies.  And sitting there in the middle of all of it, there’s this little boy.  He’s drenched in blood, and he’s crying.  It feels like it’s his family that’s been killed there.” I explained.

             
As I spoke though, it seemed like Chris was tensing up.  That surprised me a little bit.  Did he really not know that I was dreaming about him if he was indeed that child?  I reasoned now that maybe it was possible, considering that he thought Saffron had erased my memories.  “Is there… anymore to it?” he finally asked.  His voice was quiet, and actually a little bit hesitant.

             
“Well, for a long time there wasn’t.” I admitted.  “But the last time I had it, there was a little bit more.  I saw this dark person appear beside the boy, and they seemed like they were comforting him.  I couldn’t really hear what they were saying, but it seemed like they were promising him something, if he kept his end of the promise.”

             
“Make yourself strong and become their leader, and I’ll make sure they all know your name.” Chris interrupted, finishing the words and closing his eyes.

             
I felt my eyes widen at those words.  They were the same.  The first part of that was exactly what I’d heard.  So Chris had to have been that little boy after all.  “Did you telepathically read that thought or something?” I asked, just to be safe.

             
Chris shook his head.  “No.  They were the words that Jade told me back then.”

             
The uncomfortable silence fell between us again.  I heard the scratching sounds near the door, but found myself actually ignoring them somewhat.  Instead, my focus was on the truth that I’d just realized.  “You mean… you really are that boy?  Is that why you told me that I'd seen you before when we first met?” I finally made myself say.

             
"Well, I said that more than because I thought that Saffron may have shown me to you somehow, considering he's always known about me.  I didn't realize until later that he'd erased your memories.  But yeah, that was me back then." Chris admitted.

             
I nodded slightly.  "So, that whole thing was real?" I said softly.

             
Chris took a deep breath, apparently allowing the painful memories return.  “Yeah, that's what really happened back then.” he said.  “Back when I was born, my mother’s family raised me for a while.  They had an idea of what I was, but they didn’t look at me any differently.  In fact, they tried to keep me protected.  But humans can only do so much against angels too.  And the ones like us have never been looked at too well.  It was probably even worse back then.  Anyways, one night, three angels stormed our home and ended up killing the ones who were there.  My aunt tried to take me and hide me, but they cut her down before she had the chance.  The only reason I survived then was because my power awakened prematurely, and I killed them with it.  That was when Jade ended up stepping in to stop me and reseal it until it was supposed to awaken originally.  That's why my eyes are different colors now too.  The drastic change and the sealing of my premature power left its mark in my eyes.  But Jade ended up taking me in and taking care of me until the time came for me to really wake up.  It was how I ended up surviving until then.”

             
I listened to his words with a lot of surprise.  Somehow, I had no doubt that Jade was somewhat protective of his son, even now.  And even though Chris apparently didn’t get along with him anymore for whatever reason, he’d felt it to be his duty to step in once again.  “So, out of curiosity, when did that happen?  No offense, but that place looked pretty old.” I said.

             
Chris thought about it for a moment.  “It’s been a really long time now.  I’m not that sure anymore.  Maybe two or three hundred years ago.” he admitted.

             
“Seriously?  You’re three hundred years old?” I said in flat out disbelief.

             
“Like I said, we stop aging once we change.   Technically, I’m more than three hundred.  But who's counting anymore?” Chris replied.

             
I had to shake my head then.  He had to be kidding me.  “You know, you are definitely nothing I’ve taken you for so far.” I said.

             
“Yeah, I kind of figured that much.  I’m sure you’d never guess most of our ages in the end.  Most couldn’t.  And eventually, they won’t be able to guess yours either.” Chris replied.

             
“So really,” I went on, “why come after me if I was just a rumor?  I’m going to guess that Jade told you that I at least did exist.”

             
Chris nodded.  “He did.  But it was my choice to go looking for you.  It’s actually taken me the better half of the last three years to find you too.  I just got lucky when it came down to it.”

             
“Three years huh?” I said.  “It sounds like you did get lucky.  But I still don’t get why you would even bother.  Unless it’s because I’m one of those that’s supposed to be under you or something.”

             
“No, it has nothing to do with that.  Actually, it was more of a personal choice.  I know a lot about my father and about Saffron.  And it intrigued me from the moment I first heard that Saffron may have had a daughter.  So I had to go and find her for myself.  Then I realized that those bastards were deciding on moving against us again, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.  And here we are.” Chris explained.

             
I yawned a little.  “You know, that still really doesn’t make that much sense though.  Any of you could’ve come looking for me.  So, why did you?” I whispered.

             
Chris just shook his head, smiling slightly.  “I guess you’ve got a point there, but I wouldn’t expect you to understand yet either.  Let’s just get some rest.  We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.” he said softly.

             
But I wasn’t quite ready for that yet.  Instead, I looked back at him again.  “There is something else I needed to ask you Chris.” I said softly.

             
“What’s that?” Chris replied, opening his eyes to look at me again.

             
“How will I know when I change?  Is it because I’ll get those wings?” I asked him.

             
Chris quietly brushed some of my hair back out of my face.  “That will be the biggest thing once you completely change.  It’ll be painful too, but you’ll make it through it.  And trust me, it’ll be well worth it in the end.” he told me.

             
“How soon do you think it will start?” I asked.  I had to know the answer to that one.  I didn’t like thinking that I was going to stay helpless for much longer against all of these nasty things that were out there.  Chris couldn’t always protect me.

             
“Well, I guess it all depends.  There are things that can kick start it sooner, but other than that, a lot of us have it happen in our late teens or early twenties. It’s typically around the age you are now.” Chris told me.

             
“So there are things I could do to make it happen sooner huh?” I said.

             
“Sounds like you’re giving it a lot of thought.  Are you that worried about what might happen before then?” Chris asked me.

             
I shook my head.  “Can you really blame me?  I’ve almost been killed at least twice now.  It’s not like you’ll always be there to save me.” I reasoned.

             
Chris smiled.  “Your faith in me is amazing Ariana.” he joked.

             
“So seriously, just what kinds of things are you talking about that might jump start it?  You do know, right?” I said.  I was definitely wanting to push this now.  It couldn’t have been that bad or degrading.

             
“You really want to know?” Chris asked.

             
“Yes, of course I do.” I replied.

             
Chris huffed.  “Fine then.  If you insist.  Sometimes it’s awakened from our fathers because it needs to be done earlier.  But the easiest way aside from that is to lose your virginity.  Typically, it’ll happen within days of it.” he said.

             
I just stared at him for a moment.  “You didn’t just say what I think you said, did you?” I managed.

             
“I did.  But it’s not what most end up doing in the end.  It’s just a little thing with our kind that can happen if we haven’t changed yet.  I guess the best way to put it, you could say, is that it comes from what’s read as lust inside of us.  Every living thing carries it, but when you’re the kid of fallen angels, it has just a little more effect on you.  Personally, that’s not how it happened with myself or a lot of the others, but I have known Fallen Children in the past that have done it and gotten the result.  It’s basically the quickest way to unlock the powers sleeping inside on your own.” Chris explained.

             
Okay, so now he definitely had me blushing.  But what he said could make sense.  Lust was supposed to be a powerful thing according to religious teachings.  And given the darker side that we had come from, I could’ve imagined how it may affect us in the end.  I couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated though.  As much as I wanted to kick start this change, I couldn’t just make myself sleep with someone like that.  “I guess I’ll just wait thank you very much.” I muttered.

             
“Don’t worry so much about it.” Chris said, pulling me close against him again.  “I won’t let anything happen to you.”