Rebirth - The Beautiful Fallen (33 page)

             
“It doesn’t matter that much to me.  Besides, if he’s anything like Jade, I guess he’ll just show up whenever he feels like it.  Apparently, he always did when I was a kid.  I can even remember some nights where I was going to sleep and he decided to appear from out of my closet.  I’m not sure why I didn’t put two and two together then.” I admitted.

             
Chris shrugged slightly.  “Usually we don’t when we’re kids.  And they don’t always tell us either, unless they absolutely have to.  Jade didn’t tell me until my family was killed about exactly what he was.  And even then, I didn’t understand it until I became a lot older.” He explained.

             
“Yes.  You did know Jade before that terrible tragedy, didn’t you?  I’d almost forgotten about that.” Zane said.

             
“Yeah.  I didn't really know him that well, although he did come around enough for me to know that he was my father.  The rest of my family never interfered with him either when he was there.  He kind of made it so that he ruled the house when he showed up.” Chris said.

             
“So they knew he was there?” I asked.  That was a little bit surprising to me.  But also, I was coming to realize that I didn’t know that much about Chris’s past.  Only the little bits I’d gotten to see, and that he’d taken the time to speak about.

             
Chris quietly sat back, apparently thinking back on it.  “I don’t remember a whole lot about back then, but yeah, I do remember that they would see him.  I think they knew exactly what he was.  But then again, so had my mother apparently.  But she was never too concerned about it for whatever reason.  I guess she was just one of those stupid women who actually believed that maybe a fallen angel could love her.” He said.

             
His words definitely caught me off guard somewhat.  I couldn’t help but think back to Faith Kent as he said them.  Stupid enough to think that a Fallen could love her.  Yeah, I would’ve imagined that it could’ve fit her.  After all, I knew what I’d seen in my visions before.  Faith Kent had been blindly devoted to Saffron back then.  I believe that she may have truly even loved him.  And even though it was so stupid to me, maybe, in the end, it wasn’t to her.  It was just something natural that came in her heart.

             
Will seemed to agree with my unspoken sentiments.  “You know Chris, it’s not really that they’re stupid.  It’s simply what was in their hearts.  Besides, you’ve heard of different kinds mixing throughout the centuries.  There’s really nothing wrong with it if it’s all in the name of love.  At least, that’s most of our opinions.” He said.

             
“And love created the ones like us, who are born to die.  That’s everything that’s wrong with it.” Chris countered.

             
“Now, now.  Let’s not start this.  It's been a nice afternoon, and it’s going to be a nice evening.  Got it?” Zane said, shooting them both a more serious look.

             
A nice afternoon and a nice evening.  In a way, I kind of hoped that he’d be right about that one.  We needed something good to take our minds off of our worries.  And trust me, by then, we had a lot of them.  Getting out would definitely do us some good.

             
That was my thought that evening as we walked down the long sidewalk towards the public arts building.  After everything that had been happening, I wanted this to end up being a fun night.  I think we all needed it to be.  After all, too much had been happening in the last few months.  A bit of fun would definitely help ease any tensions we had.  We didn’t have to just call it after this either.  We could always go do something else together afterwards.

             
However, even while walking there, I sensed that little undertone of uncertainty still lingering. And looking at the long evening shadows being cast from the surrounding buildings, I couldn’t help but suddenly think that somehow it felt bit ominous.

             
“So, remind me again why we agreed to this?” Will said as we walked.

             
“You agreed because you said you wanted to spend time with us.  And besides, you can’t do much else while that arm’s still healing.” Zane told him.

             
“Point taken I guess.” Will said, sounding a little put out now.

             
“Are you sure you’re okay doing this?” I asked, looking back over at him.  I felt a little bit bad now.  If he was in pain, I shouldn’t have gotten him to come.

             
“I’m all right.  It’s just a bit sore, that’s all.  I’ll be fine.” Will reassured me.

             
“I think you’re just trying to milk this a little more.  I know it’s just about healed now.” Chris commented quietly.

             
“I am not.  In case you’re forgetting, I am not as strong as our almighty prince.  I don’t get the luxury of healing within a day or so from such deep wounds.” Will protested.

             
I felt myself smile at that.  It seemed like they’d been doing this a lot lately.  If there was such a thing as friends between our kind, I believed that we had to be it.  That was what made me so unsure that one of them may have been working for the other side.  I just couldn’t ever imagine all of this possibly just being an act.

             
“Whatever.  If you say so.  But I still say you’re fine.” Chris told him.

             
Coming to the arts center, I couldn’t help but think as I looked at the old manor house that it was casting some rather menacing vibes.  I even felt that as we walked down the long sidewalk to the entrance.  But walking inside, I found that it was very beautiful.  A huge chandelier hung in the foyer, and I could see large, solid wood double doors leading into the different rooms that were being used for the exhibits.  The floors were of beautiful dark hardwood, as well as the stairs leading to the second floor in the room near us.  There weren’t a lot of people there, but that was just fine with me.  I’d never liked big crowds anyways.  They simply made me uncomfortable, especially when they all were looking at me.  And that tended to happen a lot now since my change.  Saffron claimed that a pretty face was a good tool in life.  However, I felt, like Mama always said, that it was more of an invitation to trouble.

             
Near me, Chris himself looked around.  “May as well see what we can see while we’re here.  Why don’t we meet up back down here in half an hour?” he suggested.

             
“Sounds fine to me.  Just remember what we talked about.” Zane told him.

             
“Yeah, yeah.” Chris replied, not bothering to look at him.

             
And with that, Zane and Will walked away.  I watched them leave, feeling a little bit nervous all at once.  Why, I wasn’t really sure.  Something about splitting up felt a little dangerous all of a sudden, even though I wasn’t that sure of why.  Without thinking, I reached up and held my pendant.  That’s right, I reminded myself.  Everything will be fine.  I still have my link to Saffron to call for help, and of course Chris is here.  Everything will be fine.  Nothing will happen to me.

             
“Come on.  Let’s see what they have.” Chris said, taking my hand so that we could walk around.

             
I nodded as I followed.  Really, this place was beautiful, and filled with some beautiful pieces of art as well.  Coming into the next room, we found exhibits of beautifully painted pottery.  I couldn’t help but think that everything from this time period was incredible.  No wonder a lot of the world history professors referred to the Meiji period as the rebirth of Japan.

             
But as I stood there, I couldn’t help but think of what Zane had said too.  “Hey Chris, what were you and Zane talking about back there?” I asked.

             
“It’s nothing too important.  He just likes to remind me of some things at times that he thinks I should remember.” Chris replied.

             
I felt myself smile at those words.  “You know, it feels like Zane takes care of a lot of things with us.” I commented.

             
"Yeah, he does.  But it’s just in his nature.  He’s always been the type who wants to take care of others.  It’s strange really, considering who his father is.  Astaroth has never cared about anything, even all of the children he’s created throughout the centuries.” Chris said.

             
This was interesting.  So Zane did had half siblings.  I’d wondered for a while now whether or not that was true.  I certainly had never seen them in the visions I got from him.  But then again, I reasoned that perhaps he hadn’t met them either.  And he did say that Astaroth had killed them all off.  “Did Zane have a lot of brothers and sisters?” I asked Chris.

             
Chris shook his head.  “There’s been maybe twenty or so born to his father through the last five hundred years.  But like I said before, Astaroth has a bad habit of not really caring much for his kids.  He expects them to be strong, and made it his duty to test them when he thought the time was right.  If they weren’t strong enough to beat him, or at least hold their own, he killed them.  Although there's also been at least three that I've heard of that took their own lives before he got to them.  Guess they were just too scared to face him and what might have been their fates.” He explained.

             
"We can do that?" I asked.  I guess I was a little more than surprised to hear that Shadow Wings could commit suicide.  But then again, I'd assumed that we were at least somewhat immortal.  It must not have been an easy thing to do.

             
"Yeah, it can be done.  But if they do it, it has to be something really drastic, and it has to either destroy your heart or your head.  If not, then it's not going to work.  The healing process starts too early for anything else to work." Chris replied.

             
I shivered slightly in spite of myself.  What a horrible thought.  But at the same time, I found that I could kind of understand too.  Those Shadow Wings like Zane came out of horrible circumstances, and may have had horrible fates awaiting them.  If we were considered damned anyways, then suicide wasn't so out of the question after all.

             
Chris quietly walked over and hugged me from behind as I thought of this.  "You don't need to keep thinking about all of that though.  You're still alive, just like the rest of us.  We all just keep living, and we all hope that we end up finding a reason for this existence.  In fact, I believe that every living creature does.  And that keeps them going." he said.

             
For a few long seconds, we just stood there like that.  I couldn’t help but feel a little caught off guard again.  Chris had become so much more affectionate since opening up to me the night before.  It was a welcome change to me, but not one that I wouldn’t have welcomed more.  I think I knew in my heart that he was trying hard to prove to me just how he felt about me.  The night before had meant so much more than a one night stand.  But at the same time, I understood how hard this was for him too.  Chris had a hard time expressing himself.  And I was sure that being raised for a good deal of his life by a Fallen didn’t help that either.

             
Finally, I managed to find my voice.  “Chris, do you really think something bad is going to happen to us?” I heard myself ask.  I was glad it was just the two of us now.  At least I could talk openly to him.

             
“I don’t know.  But whether it does or not, I’m still going to keep my promise to you.” Chris replied.

             
“You wouldn’t turn on me, right?” I asked. 

             
“No.  I told you before that I love you, and I’ll never leave your side for as long as I live.  Even if we end up having to be apart for a while, I’ll always come back to you.” Chris promised.

             
I was about to say something to that one, when all at once, an odd feeling came over me.  It was like the whole atmosphere around us suddenly became heavy and electrified.  Chris slowly released me from his embrace, cautiously looking around.  I looked back up at him, staying close.  “What’s going on?” I asked, feeling a bit of fear rising in me.

             
“Don’t know.  But something’s not right.  Come on.  Stay close to me.  We've got to find Zane and Will.” Chris replied, taking my hand and keeping me close behind him as we went back out of the room.

             
To our surprise, we found the main foyer completely empty and actually looking much darker now.  There was a death like silence all around us.  The lights appeared dimmer, and long shadows seemed to move over the walls.  I stayed very close to Chris, feeling even more frightened now.  “What is this?  Where did all of the other people go?” I asked him.

             
Chris held up his hand, allowing his energy to form his sword.  It was his weapon of choice from what I’d seen in the past.  But like I said before, he was a master at using it.  Looking back up at him, I could see in his eyes just how mad he was.  “Looks like there’s been a spy after all.  We’ve been lured into a trap.” He said.