9

I really hated being laid up and stuck in that house.

This was my thought as I sat on the glassed-in porch and gazed at the sunlight pouring through the surrounding trees. I'd been out there by myself for nearly an hour and was getting bored. I'd brought a book to read, but I couldn't get past the first page. I was too busy thinking about what had happened the night before. As if to remind me, my arm throbbed. I wished it would stop doing that. I could hardly move it for the pain that had returned.

My thoughts shifted to Chris as I looked outside. He'd gone out earlier saying that he wanted to do some training. It was something he did every day from what I'd come to learn. He wanted to make sure that he kept himself strong. Of course, he'd waited until later because he'd been concerned about me, and he wanted to make sure that I could be okay on my own. Normally he was out there first thing in the morning.

But with the night before and my arm still being bad off, he'd even considered not doing it. I couldn't see him doing that just for me though, so I'd convinced him that I'd be fine and that if anything did happen, I would go out there and get him. After all, I was safe and sound in Zane's house. Nothing would try to hurt me here.

Being this bored, thought about going to watch him. As dumb as it sounds, I really loved watching Chris train. He was incredibly strong and had an amazing ability to manipulate his energy into whatever weapon he chose. His weapon of choice seemed to be his sword. He was a master at using it and could cut down a full-grown tree in one swipe if he wanted to.

However, that wasn't the biggest reason I loved watching him. It was because I had actually fallen in love with him.

I didn't know exactly when I'd started to suspect that. Maybe it had been there all along. He may have been Jade's son, but that didn't matter to me. He didn't act like Jade at all.

I smiled as I thought of the night before. I'd finally gotten the truth from him and admitted my own. I'd even gotten my first kisses with him. I heart fluttered as I recalled them. It was so beautiful.

I slowly got up, being careful about moving my arm too much. I put the book on the nearby table and stepped off the porch. The afternoon was warm but not overbearing like some of the previous ones had been. I walked across the yard and followed the path into the nearby woods. The birds were all singing in the trees, and I felt like it was the perfect day. It was a stark contrast to the terror of the previous night.

I could see Chris out there as I came to the clearing. The ground was ripped up from where he'd been practicing, and he'd changed into a tank top to stay cooler.

Now this is more like it, I thought as I sat down on a nearby tree stump. This was much better than any book.

Chris glanced over at me but didn't say anything. Far be it for me to break his concentration. He'd already knocked down three trees near there. I sighed inwardly to myself. How in the world had I fallen so hard like this? I was in way too deep for a first love. But I also considered that perhaps it was the love I was meant for. At least it was supposed to be, according to my father.

The sound of footsteps near me brought me out of my daydreams. I looked up to see that Will was standing beside me.

"You got back early." I commented. He'd been gone for a few days for some work he'd been doing and had expected it to be maybe a week before he returned.

"It went a bit better than I anticipated." Will replied. He looked surprised when he saw me. Apparently, he didn't know about what had happened the night before or that my arm would be in a sling, "What the hell happened to you? That looks bad."

"I'm okay. It's starting to get better. I just had a run in with a Spider last night." I admitted.

Will looked shocked, "You mean Norma? How in the world did you run into her? I thought Chris was supposed to take care of her."

"I did. It just took me a bit longer to find her then I thought. But she's gone. I made sure of that." Chris spoke up, finally taking a break to walk over to us.

"You didn't do that good of a job if she managed to do this kind of damage to our girl here, did you?" Will contended.

He looked mad now, which was an odd sight to me. Will always seemed cheerful and laid back. But I also noticed something a bit odd. Again, I thought I saw flashes of red specks in his eyes. But they were gone as quickly as they appeared.

"It's not like she knew that much about the ones like Norma and there aren't that many Shadow Wings that can defend against a Spider's venom; but we've got it healing now, so just drop it." Chris ordered. He didn't seem happy about even seeing Will, let alone having to argue with him.

But Will wasn't giving it up. I could see it in his eyes and how his fists balled up at his sides.

"Give me a break Chris. How in the hell could you let that happen? You didn't just let her go out there on her own, did you? As I remember it, you were supposed to take her out yesterday."

"She's free to do as she pleases. You know that. Besides, if I hadn't been stuck with the problem of Norma in the first place, then I wouldn't have been too tired to take her, so whose fault was that?" Chris countered.

"Come on Will. It's not that big of a deal. I'm fine now." I insisted. I hated it when they decided to argue over me. It happened a lot between the three of them.

Will wasn't listening to me. He was too focused on arguing with Chris.

"Let me guess; you wanted to sleep all day because you felt tired after searching for Norma and let her go without even thinking about it. Then you ended up trying to help her but still underestimated Norma when she tried to attack her."

Chris shot him an angry glare, "Shut it."

"And I hit the nail on the head. You do this kind of shit all the time. You underestimate others and things end up happening that you regret later. You haven't learned your lesson yet?" Will continued.

"I said shut it!" Chris ordered, sounding more forceful now.

He was starting to lose his temper. His wings came out, the black feathers shining in the filtered sunlight from the trees.

Will looked as defiant as him. His own wings came out, ripping the back of his dark shirt.

"So, you dare to challenge me? You know better than to threaten me Christoff. I don't back down, especially when I'm right." he warned him.

I was starting to get scared now. I'd never seen Will look like this. He actually felt menacing in his anger.

Chris wasn't intimidated, "Fine. You want a fight, then I'll give you one, but not around her. She's been through enough and doesn't need to get hurt anymore because of your temper."

"Chris..." I started.

The two of them ignored me as they walked back out into the middle of the clearing, spacing themselves about ten feet from each other.

I sat back a little, thinking about whether I should try to call Zane. But before I could do anymore, my pendant lit up.

"Now this should prove interesting. Let's see what they can do." Saffron said, sounding amused.

He would think this is great, I thought. He'd probably love to see them kill each other.

Chris held up his hand. Black electricity built up in his palm then stretched out to form his sword. Will watched him, his expression not changing at all.

"Go ahead and give me what you've got. Don't keep holding back on me. I'm getting tired of it."

"You asked for it."

Chris took the sword and swung it in a circle over his head, black flames forming within it. He then let it go and they flew towards Will.

Will countered this, sweeping his hand down and bringing the dirt up in front of him to form a solid wall. The flames were easily repelled to the sides, scorching the trees near us. The bark was left black from the fire, and the leaves turned to ashes on the ground.

You have to be kidding me! I thought. This wasn't just practicing. They were being serious!

"You'd better start fighting back this time you coward!" Chris warned him.

"If you insist!" Will yelled back.

Suddenly something glowing black flew out of the wall and wrapped around Chris's sword. It took me a moment to realize that it was a whip. Will had formed a weapon that I hadn't seen before. As the wall of dirt fell around them, I could see him holding it tightly as Chris tried to pull his sword away, but the whip was a lot stronger than what Chris could handle.

Will looked at him triumphantly, "As I said, you underestimate your opponents. It's the one flaw in your incredible fighting abilities, and if you continue to allow it, then you will always allow her to end up hurt. Use your head and listen to your gut more. Got it?!" he told him.

The two stood there for a moment, then Chris dropped the sword, apparently conceding, "Fine. I get it. You win this one."

Will smiled, looking like himself again, "You've actually started listening to me. I've told you before that it would do you some good." he commented.

"Whatever." Chris scoffed, walking over to sit with me, "How's your arm feeling?"

"It's getting better, but it still hurts. By the way, please don't scare me like that again." I requested. I was finally feeling my heartrate coming back to normal. I really hadn't been sure of what to expect with all of that.

"What was there to be scared of? You know we wouldn't hurt each other that badly." Chris responded.

"You scorched the trees with the same fire you threw at Will. That's a little more serious than usual." I contended.

Chris shrugged, "What can I say? He pissed me off."

"You don't need to worry so much. I'm very good at defending myself. I've been doing it for centuries now." Will assured me. He looked over his shoulder and made a face, "Although I do admit that I should've thought more about losing my temper. I really liked this shirt."

"Well, whose fault was that?" Chris chided him.

"No sympathy, even though I just taught you something." Will sighed, pretending to pout.

I chuckled. Now this felt normal. Around my neck, the pendant glowed again.

"Bravo. Now that was impressive." Saffron told them.

"You just had to watch. Why am I not surprised?" Chris commented.

"Of course. I always like to see what the Fallen Children are capable of, especially you, Wilhelm Marcos." Saffron responded.

Will looked at my stone, "So, you're very interested in me as well. Can't say I'm surprised. However, I am curious as to whether you're making plans on getting yourself out soon." he told him.

"I plan to have my freedom soon enough, but for now, I'm expecting Ariana to be taken good care of; and on that note, you should heed this one's advice Christoff. What happened last night was entirely your fault. Don't think I won't hang this over your head."

"I'm aware of that, but my lesson is learned, so just leave it." Chris replied.

Saffron chuckled, "Very well. I have things to attend to. I look forward to seeing you soon."

And with that, he was gone.

Chris stood up, "No surprise there. Why don't we get back and get cleaned up? If Zane comes back and sees us like this, he's going to throw one of his fits."

I chuckled as he said that. Zane was so funny about cleanliness. He felt that you should clean yourself up promptly after doing anything considered dirty, from gardening to training. I had no doubt that if he saw Chris and Will now, he'd insist that they needed a shower before they could do anything else in his house. I'd almost say that he was obsessive over it.

Things seemed to be normal again between Will and Chris by the time we got back into the house. That was a relief. Maybe they were just being boys. Boys tended to fight when they disagreed on things, didn't they? The only problem was that being Shadow Wings probably made those fights a little more dangerous.

These were my thoughts as I sat at my vanity that evening and pulled my long red hair out of my ponytail. Boys will be boys. I was sure of that much.

I really liked being there with them now. This felt more like a family then being with Mama ever had. Was it because they were so much like me? I wasn't sure. All I really knew was that I'd come to love being around Chris, Will and Zane. I didn't want to see anything drive us apart.

But as I sat there, the strangest feeling suddenly hit me, and visions began flashing through my mind. They were incredibly vivid and strange. I saw dark shapes that were reaching for us, clawing at the air around us, and Chris arguing with Zane and pointing his sword at him in a darkened place.

Then I saw us in a strange looking room. It was enormous, and the walls and floors were made of crystal. But as I looked at it, I could see blood stains appearing everywhere.

"I will erase your insignificant existence..."

I jumped as I regained my senses. The words spoken by that deep voice echoed in my mind. For a moment, I felt like it was hard to breath. What in the world had just happened to me?

Looking in the mirror, I realized that everything looked normal say for my shocked expression. Even my pendant was normal. There was no sign of a glow or anything from it. I tried to catch my breath as I held my head. Could that have been some kind of premonition?

I slowly stood up after a few minutes, needing to look for the others. I had to see them, just to know that they were alright. After those strange visions, I had to be sure.

I headed downstairs and stopped as I saw the lights on in the kitchen. A sigh of relief escaped me as I slowly walked to the doorway. I could hear Zane talking to Will and Chris in there. It sounded like he was commenting on their fight. I felt relieved as I saw them. They were okay. Whatever that weird thing had been, they were still okay.

"I'm telling you that it's a terrible way to settle things. You probably scared her to death losing your tempers like that. There was no reason for it." Zane was saying. They hadn't noticed me standing there yet.

"Couldn't help it. He pushed me too far again." Chris countered, not sounding concerned.

"You need someone to push you more. You've gotten lazy. What in the hell has been going on with you lately? You've never been this soft about things. Has falling in love really changed you so much?" Will asked him.

"There's nothing going on with me, so cut it out. I'm exactly the same as I've always been." Chris insisted.

Zane finally noticed me. I must have still looked a bit out of it because he immediately seemed to pick up on it.

"There you are. Are you okay? You look a bit pale."

I tried to shake it off. There was no need to worry them. Nothing had happened. Maybe it was just the trauma of what had happened earlier. That fight had scared me more than I liked admitting, so I played it off.

"I'm okay. My arm was just hurting a little. I wasn't thinking and moved it too much." I lied as I came over to sit at the bar with them.

Chris gave me a softer look, "You should be careful with that. You don't want to stress it too much. It won't heal as quick."

"Thanks. I promise I will." I assured him.

"Anyway," Zane continued, "I hope these two idiots didn't scare you too much today. They have a bad habit at times of letting their tempers get the better of them when they end up fighting. It's especially true when someone's been hurt."

Will smiled at me, "Yes. We do apologize for that, especially me. I know you haven't really seen me lose my temper until now, and I'm certain you've already been through enough after the stuff with Norma."

"It's okay. I guess everyone does. But seriously, it wasn't really Chris's fault. I let my guard down too because I kept listening to her." I insisted.

Zane shook his head as he fixed himself a glass of red wine, "It's kind of sad when you think about it. Norma was never like that before. She must have been insane from hunger to do such a desperate thing." he noted.

"She should've moved on. She knew damn well that it wasn't doing her any good to stay here." Chris scoffed.

"But she said that this was her home. She was happiest here. Maybe that's why she couldn't." I reasoned.

Chris gave that a thoughtful look, "You'd really think so huh?"

I nodded, "I know what it's like to have to go from place to place. I did that a lot growing up, and it was really hard. I never felt like I belonged anywhere. It makes me think about how it must have felt for Norma too. She made her home here for a long time. I'm sure that she loved this place and never wanted to leave."

Chris seemed to agree, "Yeah, she was, and I did feel bad about doing what I had to last night, but I couldn't let her keep hunting people. She had probably all but gone insane anyway, considering that humans aren't a good diet for them. I've heard that their blood messes with their heads, although I don't know for sure."

"It's just the harsh reality of things. You know that as well as we do. There was nothing more we could've done for Norma. She'd made her own choices in all of this, and when it comes down to it, hiding has always been necessary for their survival as well as our own. I'm also certain that Ms. Mabel did everything in her power to protect you as best as she could Ariana. Not only for Saffron, but because I'm certain that she loved you as her own. Many of them do come to do so when we're children." Zane spoke up.

"Yeah, I think she did. She was just so paranoid with me growing up that I always thought she was crazy, but I guess she just wasn't allowed to tell me the truth." I lamented.

Will was quiet as we spoke, but he seemed to be thinking over everything we were saying. Again, I could've sworn that I saw some of those strange flecks of red pass through his eyes. But they vanished as quickly as they appeared. I wondered what they were. I was certain that I was seeing them, but I also knew that I'd never seen that with Chris or Zane. It made me certain that there was something very different about Will; something that no one else was willing to tell me yet.

My attention was brought back by Chris speaking again.

"She probably wasn't. That wouldn't be that unusual with our kind. But I know that she was devoted to you as well. She may have been a lot of things, but she really cared about you, and I don't think it was just because Saffron made her. From what Jade's told me, she couldn't have children of her own. She probably did look at you as her kid. All of us have had women like that in our lives. Moving from place to place is probably the smartest thing she could've done too. Even with her spells, she couldn't keep those angels away forever if she stayed in one place."

"Indeed. She protected you and she protected herself." Will agreed. It seemed like whatever he'd been caught up in thinking had passed.

I felt some comfort in their words. For the first time in my life, I felt like I could let go of that mental case stigma I'd given Mama. I was coming to understand that maybe that was never the case. Mama was like she was because she wanted to protect me. She knew that children like me could be hurt or killed early in their lives, so she did everything in her power to protect me. I couldn't have been more grateful for that. She'd allowed me to live on for as long as it was in her power, even though it meant sacrificing everything in her life to do it.

After sitting there and talking for a while longer, Chris and I walked out to the porch to watch the stars come out. The night was coming fast, and we could already hear the familiar sounds of the frogs and crickets out there. A big, bright moon was hanging in the sky, lighting up the surrounding land. It was very peaceful and beautiful.

"You know, I think I like Baton Rouge." I commented as I sat there leaned against him on the porch swing. I was feeling very comfortable. My arm didn't even hurt as much as before, and I'd been able to keep it out of the sling for most of the afternoon. Hopefully, that meant it was finally starting to heal.

"I do too. I've always liked it down here in the South. It's almost like another world at times. Things aren't as fast paced, and I like that a lot better." Chris agreed.

"I bet you've lived in a lot of places by now, huh?" I noted.

"No kidding. I've been around the world in the last hundred years, but there really aren't a lot of places like this." Chris confirmed.

I glanced at him as he spoke. He looked very relaxed now. More than I recalled seeing him before. Turning a little, I allowed myself to relax against him. My arm wasn't throbbing anymore, so I was finally feeling comfortable.

"You know, you think too much." Chris suddenly said.

"Are you sure you're not a mind reader?"

"Nope. But I can always tell when you're thinking a lot. You tense up and it gets really uncomfortable. Will you just relax?"

"I didn't think I was that tense."

Chris shrugged, "Maybe not. Maybe you're just gaining some weight from Zane's cooking." he teased.

"Not funny. Don't ever call a girl fat, even if you're joking." I protested.

Chris chuckled, "Sorry. You know I have a bad habit of saying whatever's on my mind. But seriously, what were you so worried about earlier? I don't think you could've looked like that if it was just from your arm hurting. I'm sure it's healing enough now to where the pain's practically gone. But you looked like someone had died or something when you were standing there." he pointed out.

I looked down, thinking of the strange visions I'd had earlier. What could they have meant? Could they really have been a premonition? I decided to voice my fears.

"Hey Chris, you don't think something bad is going to happen to us soon, do you?"

"Why do you ask all of sudden?" Chris responded.

May as well try to explain, "Well, I was sitting there doing my hair earlier and I had this weird thing happen to me. It was like visions or something, but I don't have the first clue as to what they could've meant. They kind of scared me, so I thought it might have been better if I came looking for you."

Chris hugged me, "I see. Maybe they were visions of something coming, but you don't have to be afraid. We're not going to leave you."

I closed my eyes, enjoying the closeness. In a way, I was thanking Norma now. If she hadn't done what she had, Chris and I probably wouldn't have gotten as close as we had. Maybe everything did happen for a reason, even a bad injury.

"By the way, there is something else I've been meaning to talk to you about." Chris added.

I opened my eyes as I sat up to face him, "What?"

Chris reached up and took my pendant in his hand, closing his fingers around it so that we couldn't see it, "I don't think it would be a good idea for you to take off this necklace now. It might be a good source of protection if something happens. It seems like it was with Norma, and after that I think we both know that Saffron is more than willing to step in where he has to. But while I'm saying this about him, I think there's something else you might want to consider too."

I didn't think I'd ever seen Chris look like this before. He actually seemed a bit conflicted about something. It made me wonder if I really wanted to hear what he had to say.

"What's that?" I dared ask.

Chris looked around for a moment, as if making sure that we wouldn't be overheard. Then he looked back at the pendant that he was still holding tightly in his hand.

"I know how new you are to all of this, and maybe I haven't exactly been doing the best I can for you either. It's stupid, but I think all three of us here have a tendency to protect others, no matter what we were born to. While I've never had brothers or sisters, Zane and Will have, so it makes a difference to them when it comes to you. I know I've been hard on you with a lot of this, and I know how it scares you when you see things like you did with me and Will today, but I also want you to understand that that's just the way things are in our world. Even your closest friend can very easily become your enemy. Even your own father." he told me.

No one could've mistaken his words. Obviously being born to Fallen Angels was dangerous. But then you were mixing a human element in with it. What could that breed at times?

"You're worried about Zane and Will?" I guessed.

"It's not just them. Like I said, I'm also worried about Saffron." Chris confessed.

"You are?"

Although I could see where he'd probably say that, considering what he'd told me about Saffron before, something about the whole context of this felt different.

Chris seemed to think over his words carefully before speaking again, "Yeah. I know what I told you before, and I know that you saw some of what happened between him and Jade, but like I said, Saffron has a very psychotic personality. I've thought about that a lot in the last day or so, and the more I do, the more worried I get. I don't think he'd actually turn on you, but I wouldn't put it past him to try and use you for whatever he wants. So, for that, there's something I want to do now."

As he looked down at his hand, the pendant looked like it lit up a little, then faded.

After another moment of silence, Chris spoke again, "There. He can't hear me."

I felt myself nod, "Okay. So, what's so bad that you wouldn't want him to hear you? You didn't seem that worried about it earlier."

"I wasn't because I know that he doesn't care when I talk about him like that. He never does. But what I'm saying now is only between you and me, and I think it's very important to say because I may not always be around." Chris replied.

"What do you mean?" I asked, suddenly feeling nervous again. I didn't like him talking like that.

Chris seemed to catch onto my fears right away, "Don't worry. I'm not planning on going anywhere. But sometimes you can't always predict things. Either way, I know that I have to be careful about this with you because you're so new, and whether we like it or not, our fathers still control a good part of our lives. You could say that they're the ones who made us, so it allows them that little bit of control, and with you meeting Will this early, I'm kind of worried about what Saffron might plan with it. He's way too interested in his presence."

"With me meeting Will?" I repeated. Again, I thought about what Saffron had told me the day before. If things didn't work out with Chris for some reason, then he wanted to place me with Will. But he'd never said exactly why that was, "So, what's so special about Will? He doesn't seem like he's that different from you or Zane, although sometimes I think I see something weird with his eyes, and I guess it is kind of weird that Saffron is so interested in him like he is."

"He does act pretty harmless, but he's far from it. I can't tell you why that is right now, but just trust me on this. When it comes down to it, Will can be more dangerous than any other Shadow Wing you'll ever meet. You could say that it comes from his bloodline. But either way, he's gotten very close to you now, and if Saffron's realized that, then he might try to use it to his advantage in some way. He might even try to use you to get to him." Chris explained.

I thought of the odd red flecks I'd seen in Will's eyes earlier. Was I seeing things, or were they really there, hiding something much darker just under the surface? The thought of this made me shiver a little. For the first time I began to doubt the kindness behind Will's smiles. There was something not quite right about him.

"It's like you said before, keep your friends close and enemies closer." I surmised.

Chris nodded, "Yeah, but don't worry too much about it either. I won't let anything happen to you while I'm here, and I won't let Saffron use you. I'll make sure that he doesn't." he promised me.

I gave him a grateful smile, "Alright. I trust you on that."

Chris leaned over and kissed me softly as he let the stone go, "You know, I mean what I'm saying with all of that. I'll never let anything happen to you, and I still feel bad about what happened last night. Will was right about that. I've always had a bad habit of letting my guard down when I get too comfortable in a fight, and it could've gotten you killed last night." he went on as he pulled back.

"I told you, I'm not blaming you. You did everything you could to protect me." I reminded him.

"I know." Chris sighed, holding my bandaged arm, "But I still don't feel like I did enough. I won't ever let this happen again. I'll die before I let you get hurt like this again."

I was about to say something to that when both of us sensed someone coming. Looking over towards the doorway, we saw Will coming in.

"It's getting late now. What are you two still doing out here?" he asked. He didn't seem the least bit concerned that he may have been interrupting something.

Chris frowned at him, "None of your business. You're being nosey again."

Will just smiled at him, taking a seat in one of the chairs near us and crossing his legs, "You're right, but you know it's my nature. Besides, I was meaning to check on how Ariana's arm is doing."

"It feels a lot better. At least I don't need the sling now." I answered.

"Good but let me take a look anyway. Spider venom is very toxic, and it may be better if we made sure that it isn't still in your skin. I can tell a lot better than Zane can." Will offered.

"Yeah, I guess so." Chris reluctantly agreed.

I wasn't that comfortable about this, especially considering what I'd just been hearing about Will, but I couldn't exactly refuse either. So, I held out my arm and let him unwrap it. He carefully removed the gauze over the wound, and we saw that it looked much better than it had that morning. It was now scabbed over, and I didn't feel too much pain from it as he touched it.

Will seemed rather pleased as he looked at it, "It seems like Zane managed to get most of the venom out. There's still a little bit in the scabbing here, but nothing I can't easily remove now." he said.

I watched as he held up a hand over the scab and the black in it slowly seeped out and burned into his palm.

"How'd you do that?" I asked in disbelief.

Will just smiled, "You can call it a trade secret for now. I'm immune to their venom anyway, so it's very easy for me to remove it and burn it away like this." he replied.

I stared at him as he said that. Again, I wondered who Will really was. Was he really a Shadow Wing like us, or was he something more? In the end, I wasn't that sure that I really wanted to know.