Hunter: Cursed

Chapter Thirty-Five

I sensed Cain before I was able to see him. He wasn't alone either and so I left my eyes closed, kept my breathing as steady as I could; listening to what was going on around me. Nieve was shouting something, yet she sounded far away, maybe not where we were. Not much else was really happening, so while I didn't have to, I avoided the reality that awaited me. 

"She is an immortal now, who knows what Alfie will do if he tries to heal her." Apollo sounded tired, and hearing his voice,  I risked sneaking a peek.  We weren't on the battle field anymore that was obvious, and moving my fingers slightly, I felt the soft fabric of bedding. 

I was on bed, not dead, and Alfie was here. All these things earned big ticks as far I was concerned.

"Alright. Alfie, you're up. Cover her in spit, we'll get a funnel and get it down her throat. What ever you gotta do." Cain sounded pretty happy about all of that, but I wasn't.

Tensing my left, then my right arm, my body obeyed so with another tick joining the list of things going right, I coughed. Once, twice - opening my eyes, to slowly blink and look around a little better. Alfie's face was the first thing I saw, followed by Annipe's who were pushed aside by Apollo. He looked, normal. No bruises, no cuts or swelling. His smile was a touch too bright, and there was something about the look in his eyes that made my stomach do funny things I didn't appreciate. 

"Rise and shine Bunny!" He chirped and looking away, Cain sat on a chair beside the bed smirking.

"You knew I was awake?"

"Oh yeah. Saw your light return about an hour or so ago. Figured you had enough beauty sleep for now."

"What happened?" Sitting up, my side still hurt and I was too scared to look at it. Dropping back down, I regretted waking, yet Apollo was instantly there to help, gently moving me so I had a mountain worth of pillows at my back to lean on.

"Long version or short version?" Cain asked.

"Short."

"Killed Cronus. He fixed you up. Here we are a week later." He looked at his hands, inspecting a finger nail before glancing my way. Well, that was that then.

"I'm going to need the long version."

"Cain broke through the wall Cronus put up, and he was too busy fighting you to realise. If you hadn't gotten stabbed when you did, you would have seen him be beheaded and been okay." Apollo told me.

"Right. Next time I'll try to avoid the being pummeled part."

"Well, let's aim for their not being a next time." He grinned. "The spikes weren't solid gold. They had flakes of gold covering them instead, and some of these came off in you when your rib broke and got into your lungs. It was bad, Bunny. Real bad..."

"I'd have been able to follow dear old great grandpa to the Otherside?"

Apollo frowned at that. "Yeah. Pretty much, but I got it all out."

"You're probably hungry. I'll be back shortly with lunch." Cain got up and disappeared, taking Alfie and Annipe with him, so Apollo and I were alone. Again I could hear Nieve yelling and looking at Apollo he only shrugged.

"So is it the same deal as before? No Alfie spit, slow healing and a new scar to add to the collection?"

"Take a look." He suggested.

"I really don't think I want to."

"Trust me." 

Reluctantly I lifted the edge of my tank top up and then higher until it practically all rolled up under my arm. "There isn't anything there."