Rebirth - The Beautiful Fallen (21 page)

             
But Norma wasn’t about to back down.  She stood her ground, although she was now hardly standing.  She was definitely badly wounded from what Chris had done.  One of her legs was now missing, and her side was bleeding.  Her blood actually looked dark brown as it pooled down around her.  She wasn’t ready to give in though.  “You will not drive me out.  This is my home.  I live here, and I will die here.  If you take my life, then I will take something far more precious to you, you heretic half breed.” She hissed.

             
I felt instant fear as she looked back at me.  My shield was still up, but somehow, I had the distinct feeling that it was about to do me no good.  All at once, Norma let out an ear piercing roar and something dark shot out of her mouth. 

             
And all I felt was instant searing pain as it hit my right arm.

             
I fell to my knees, not even able to really hold my arm up then for the sheer pain of it all.  It felt worse than any burn I'd ever had.  Looking down at it, I could actually see some smoke coming off of my skin through my melted cardigan sleeve there.  Whatever this was, it had burned right through my sleeve and deep into the flesh of my arm.  I was almost sure that it went down to my bone.  But as I sat there screaming and crying, I slowly became aware of another loud screeching sound near me.  Making myself look up, I saw through my tears that Chris was now standing over Norma’s body.  In that swift movement, he’d apparently killed her, ramming his sword straight through her skull.  I couldn’t even focus on it though.  Instead, I looked down at my arm and I doubled over again, feeling almost sick.  The pain was starting to make my stomach turn, and I hoped that I didn't pass out right then and there.

             
I was so lost in this that I didn’t even hear him run over to me.  “Hey, come on.  Stay with me.” He said, wrapping up my arm quickly with the white jacket he'd been wearing over his tank top.  Then he picked me up in one swift motion.  I felt myself lean against him, closing my eyes as the pain overtook me.  And the last thing I remembered as I held onto him tightly with my good arm was looking at the dead spider woman that was disappearing into the night air into a bright burst of flames.

Eight

             
“Well, you have to admit that she’s a lucky girl Chris.  Spider’s venom is very painful, and extremely toxic.  If you’d taken any longer, her arm may have been permanently damaged.” Zane commented as he fixed another gauze and began cleaning out the wound on my arm again.

             
It was an hour later, and I’d been in that bed for a good portion of it.  By then, I was finally beginning to come back to my senses.  Zane himself had apparently been waiting for us outside when we’d finally gotten back to the house.  I wasn’t sure of how, but it seemed like he'd known that something bad had happened to me.  I reasoned that it may have been from Saffron, although I certainly wasn't in any kind of shape yet to confirm that.  After all, Saffron himself had apparently found a way to alert Chris that I was in trouble with Norma, and help him find me.  But when Chris brought me back home and Zane had seen my arm, they’d immediately put me to bed and worked on helping it however they could.  The first half hour was a blur from the pain to me.  All I really remembered from it was screaming here and there.  But thankfully, Zane had finally finished making me some medicine that had finally taken that horrible pain away.  As soon as he'd rubbed it into the open wound, it was like it began numbing it.  I couldn't help but breathe a real sigh of relief.  I finally felt like I was able to get my sanity back.

             
My wound itself was pretty bad from what I was finally beginning to see.  Once Chris’s jacket and my cardigan sleeve had been peeled away, considering they'd both apparently melted from the venom, we had been able to get a good look at it.  The venom itself had put a nasty, gaping hole in my arm.  Some of it even looked like it was still sizzling a little as Zane worked on wiping it out.  But it seemed like the medicine he'd put on it had stopped it from going any deeper, as well was numbing it completely.  I was so thankful for that, considering what I was looking at.  After all, it had gone almost all the way to the bone.

             
Beside me, Chris helped hand him more gauze to cover the wound before my arm was bandaged.  “You know she doesn’t have as high of a pain tolerance as we do, so you need to take it easy doing this.” He reminded him.

             
“I’m being as gentle as I can.  But I have to get this out before it reaches the bone.  Besides, the medicine has numbed it completely, so she can't feel a thing.  You were both very lucky about this as it is.  This was probably the best place it could've hit her without causing any lasting damage.”   Zane replied.

             
I didn’t say anything.  Instead, I looked towards the window at the bright moon shining outside.  Everything was so normal out there again.  But I couldn’t help but think about our encounter with Norma, and all of the things she'd said.  She may have been a monster inside, but at the same time, it felt like she’d been desperate.  She was blaming us for driving out her food.  If that hadn’t been happening, then I didn’t think she would’ve attacked me like she had.  The ones after us very well may have been in Baton Rouge by now, and maybe they had scared some other things here into leaving.  Maybe the ones like her were indeed starving from that, and had turned to drastic measures instead of abandoning the homes they’d made…

             
Chris let out a long breath, but didn't say anything more to Zane.  Glancing back over at him, I saw him now looking away.

             
“Well, at least it didn’t end up going to the bone.  But this is going to take a few extra days to really start healing.” Zane continued as he finished wrapping my arm up.  He smiled down at me as he stood back up and gathered the medical supplies he'd sat on the table by the bed.  “You make sure you take it easy on this arm until then.  I'm going to make some more medicine for the pain and leave it in the bathroom for you, okay?  You'll probably need more through tomorrow, considering how deep it is.”

             
“Okay.  Thanks Zane.” I replied, nodding slightly.  I still felt a little bit out of it. 

             
Near me, Chris shook his head.  “This still shouldn’t have happened.” He said, sounding mad at himself.

             
“Come now Christoff, it’s not that bad.  You need to relax now as well.  She came out of it okay, and there won’t be any lasting damage.  For now though, why don't you go ahead and stay with her for the night?  She may need more help during it.” Zane told him.

             
"Yeah.  I was planning on doing that anyways.  But this still shouldn't have happened." Chris replied.

             
“Very well.  Try to get some rest now.  I need to get some rest myself too, considering it’s gotten quite late and I have to leave early for an event in the morning.  Try to make yourselves at least relax.  And feel free to give me a call as well if you need anything Ariana.” Zane continued, looking back at me.

             
“Okay.” I agreed as I yawned.  I watched him walk back out and close the door.  I couldn’t help but feel a little more down though.  Chris was right about me attracting trouble anymore.  I’d brought Norma right to me, and couldn’t even defend myself against her.  I should’ve just stayed home or asked Zane to go with me after all…

             
Chris finally looked back over at me.  “You know Ariana, you don’t need to keep worrying over what happened with Norma.  Things are what they are, and nothing’s going to change them now.  And it’s not like I told you about her either.” He said.

             
“I know.  But I should’ve been more careful.  You said before that things can come after us.  But I let her take me away and try to hurt me.” I said weakly.

             
“Trust me, it’s not that hard for a spider to hypnotize just about anyone.  Even one of us.  And with as young as you are, you wouldn’t have the first clue on how to guard against it.  Besides, if things had been different then what they are now, I doubt that Norma would’ve ever even considered attacking you.  She’s lived here for at least thirty years now, and she’d never caused any trouble before.  I felt a little bit bad about having to go after her just because she was starving.  But there wasn’t a choice either.  Especially now.” Chris said, looking back at the window.  It was funny, but it seemed like he didn’t want me to see his face then.  Was he really that upset over what had happened to me and what he’d had to do with Norma?

             
Still, I didn’t feel like I could bring myself to ask him.  Instead, I kept the subject on Norma herself.  “So you knew her before?” I asked him.

             
“Kind of.  It was really a matter of mutual respect.  Creatures like her aren’t that unusual in the mortal world, although some are worse than others.  Norma herself was a spider, and they tend to be a lot smarter than some of the others, like a Mantis or even a Centipede.  Spiders typically just integrate themselves into society, and they leave humans alone as a matter of respect and principal.  Their usual prey tends to be smaller creatures that cross over from the other side and lurk in the shadows.  I’d say names for those, but they probably wouldn’t make much sense to you, considering how new you are to all of this.  The best I could offer as an example is that they’re like imps, small fairies and things of that nature.” Chris explained.

             
Now I was beginning to get the picture.  Obviously, Chris had at least met Norma before around there.  But she wasn’t a threat then.  “So why did she start attacking humans?  Is it because I came here, like she'd said?” I asked him.

             
“Don’t really know.” Chris admitted.  “It’s possible, although it isn’t really anyone’s fault when it comes right down to it.  Bringing you here probably brought out the spies for the ones that are hunting us, and they probably did scare off the smaller and weaker things that the spiders typically hunt.  But that would've eventually happened anyways, considering that Zane was already here, and Will was coming around here more often.  Norma herself was just being stubborn and refused to leave.  She was more than likely insane with hunger by then.”

             
  I again put my head down, feeling a bit guilty.  Norma shouldn’t have had to die like that.  The whole thing hadn’t been her fault in the end.  She was just trying to keep herself alive…

             
To my surprise though, Chris suddenly leaned down and laid his head against mine.  “I’m sorry.  This was my fault.  I should've just made myself get up and keep my promise.” He apologized.

             
I felt myself blush a little, but I didn’t attempt to push him away either.  “I don’t understand though.  Why are you apologizing to me when I was the one that got myself into this mess?” I asked him.

             
“Because it was my fault.  I’m the one who pushed you away today.  And I’m the one who let you go out there alone, when I knew that she was out there somewhere.” Chris admitted, closing his eyes.

             
I had to shake my head as he pulled back slightly and opened his beautiful eyes to look into mine again.  “You know, I don’t think I understand any of this anymore.  I haven’t been able to understand you from the day I met you.  You do all of these things for me, you risk your life for me, and yet you still treat me like you don’t really want to be around me a lot of the time.  Just why are you doing all of this anyway?  Are you trying to mess with me?  Or is it only because of Saffron?” I asked him.  Honestly, they were hard questions for me to voice, but I also had to know now.  If anything, I had to know why he kept stringing me along.  And if I even could make myself get over him.

             
Chris just looked at me for a moment, then let out a long breath as he looked down and shook his head.  “I guess I’m not doing so well with this, am I?” he muttered.  It was funny, but he actually sounded mad at himself again.

             
“What do you mean?” I asked him.

             
For a moment, Chris was quiet.  I wondered just what he was thinking.  Maybe he was even trying to think of a good response to what I'd asked.  But then, to my surprise, he leaned forward again and gently pressed his lips to mine.  I felt myself blink a few times, then closed my eyes and leaned into it.  I had always read in romance novels that the first kiss is magical, and I'll concede that it's very true.  Even though I was surprised, I found that it was easy for me to just go with it and enjoy it.

             
After what seemed like a happy eternity, he pulled back again.  "I'm sorry.  I'll be the first to admit that I'm not that good with others.  I've never been, and a lot of that was his fault.  I wasn't really raised to be with others for the first half of my life, and when I started meeting others like me, it took me a long time to understand just how it was to be around them and be normal.  I guess even to understand that I didn't always have to fight along for my survival.  Meeting Zane and eventually Will showed me that.  But something's always been missing, even then.  It was always something that I couldn't put my finger on.  But from the day I found you, it's felt like I may have found that something.  And as I've gotten to know you and be with you, it's only grown for me." he explained softly.

             
I nodded, although I couldn't say that I was that sure that I was following him.  But I at least got some of what he'd been saying.  Apparently, Chris just wasn't that used to being around others and interacting with them.  And he'd always felt like something was missing.  That was, until he'd met me.  "So, you really do care about me?" I heard myself ask.

             
Chris gently pulled me in close, kissing me again.  I felt myself instantly melt into it.  I didn't think I would've ever imagined this moment happening.  In a way, I was actually thanking Norma now.  She'd given this just the push that it had needed.  "You know, I didn't start looking for you three years ago just because of Saffron." Chris whispered as he pulled away again.  He smiled slightly as he sat there with his face close to mine.  "I have a bad habit of not doing anything unless it really interests me.  And although I'd been hearing rumors about you being around for years by then, that's all they ever seemed to be.  Even Zane couldn't confirm with any conviction that they were true, although he'd foreseen you being among us through his dream visions long ago.  But I can admit now that I was certain of it deep inside.  And the moment that Jade confirmed to me that it was true, I knew I was going to find you.  So I began traveling across the country, and searching myself."

             
"So you seriously looked for me for three years?" I asked, gently holding him close with my good arm.  I couldn't quite move the other one, considering it was still very numb.

             
"Yes.  I really had no idea of where that woman had taken you, but I kept trying.  And eventually, I found a forwarding address that she'd left behind by accident in the last place you lived.  So I decided to check on it and see if I had any luck.  And as it turned out, I did." Chris said.  He moved over beside me and I curled up to him against his shoulder. 

             
"So how long had you been there before I saw you?" I had to ask. 

             
"Maybe a week.  I actually took some time to wait on looking for you, considering I kind of didn't want you to see me at first.  I wasn't that sure of what was going on with all of it at that moment, so I was being careful.  But as soon as I saw you walking out of that house that afternoon I finally decided to look, I knew that it was you.  I could feel the power sleeping inside of you, and I could tell it was definitely from a child of a Fallen One.  But, there was something else too.  Something I felt as soon as I saw you.  And it made me decide to just say to hell with everything and get you myself." Chris admitted.