Bitten

Snake in the Garden

Riley felt herself slipping away. She tried to move her fingers, but all the strength had been sapped from her body. She didn't even think she could speak.

"Is she ready for it?" Bella asked. Alva made a face, scratching his head absently. He frowned at the sheen layer of sweat that had started to appear on his skin. Breaking Riley was proving to be more difficult than he had thought.

"Alva!" Hissed Bella. He looked up, startled, as if just remembering someone else was in the room.

"What? Oh, no. Almost." He answered. His green eyes sliced sideways to look at Riley's left hand. All that was left of the ring was a small, quivering band of metal barely hanging on to her finger and a chip of the zircon that glowed a weak blue. Alva's lips twitched up into a cold smile.

"It won't be long now," he muttered. Bella looked over at him, strands of her curly hair falling into her face. She didn't like this boy. Not one bit.

Suddenly, an idea struck Alva. He snapped his fingers and looked at Bella.

"Let me see the diadem. That may be the final piece to break her." He said. The woman nodded and walked over to a table. On the table was a wooden box. She opened it and pulled out a tiara. With a large, round-cut emerald as the centerpiece, wings encrusted with diamonds created the shape of the diadem. From the lower tips of the wings back in to the middle to make the bottom of the tiara was a thin band that conformed to an inverted Widow's Peak. On the band was an etching that read "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure." Two diamonds dropped down from the center of the bottom of the crown to fall on the person's forehead like a double shakra.

Bella handed the diadem to Alva. Riley let her eyes fall over the object in his hand. Wispy tendrils of black, yellow, and green were falling off the edges. There was an evil air about the jeweled crown. Alva moved towards Riley and positioned the crown over her forehead. Riley couldn't stop her body from trembling. Something about that tiara made Riley's stomach churn.

Alva gently lowered it and the moment the cool silver touched Riley's skin, she felt something inside her snap. The emerald shone a bright green as light flooded the room. Alva had to shield his eyes with his hand and Bella's lips twitched up in to a sinister smile. A yellow-green vapor rose from the diadem, forming an undefined face. The face then changed in to a snake and it's jaws opened in a hiss. It struck with a blinding speed and latched on to Riley's throat. Riley's body went cold as she felt the vapor entering her body and filling her being. The pressure dropped and a whirlwind began to fill the room. The windows all exploded outwards. Her eyes closed and she lost herself. A tiny, jingling sound wasn't heard over the wind whipping through the room as the ring on Riley's finger snapped in two. It disintegrated and the dust was picked up by the gusts.

"Yes!" Alva yelled over the wind, his smile triumphant. "We've done it!" He turned to face Bella and found her with her wand pointed at him.

"Thank you for your help," she said, her smile slimy, "But now you're no longer needed." Alva's face was blank and emotionless as he looked at her.

Bella smirked and raised her wand, "Ava—" In the middle of her spell, her wand was expelled from her hand. She turned and scowled at Alva.

"But how?" She yelled," You don't have a wand!"

Alva chuckled darkly to himself, "I'm at a level totally beyond your comprehension." He laughed out loud, holding his stomach from the laughter. "You're no match for me!" He yelled, almost in hysterics. Bella's eyes widened, then she sneered at him. Maybe she would leave this one for the Dark Lord. He would enjoy taking down someone who believed to be so much better than he.