Caged

Chapter 11

     My eyes flutter open and I'm immediately shook to the core with panic, I stumble out of the unfamiliar bed, tripping over my own legs. I can't breathe, I can't breathe! The words aren't coming out of my mouth. 

     "Hey, it's okay, you're okay. Look at me, Athena, look at me." Abigor's warm hands find their way to my cheeks and guide me to look at him. 

     "Breathe, slowly and deeply. You're having a panic attack." He brushes away the stray hairs stuck to the sweat on my forehead. I regain a steady heartbeat and continue breathing deeply until my words find their way out of my mouth. 

     "Where am I?" 

     "The master bedroom, we're still in the cottage, don't worry." I thought this room belonged to Abi. I tried to stand up, but my legs feel extremely sore. Abigor helped me back in bed and handed me a glass of water.

     "You'll be a little sore for a while since it was the first time your body went through such a major change." Slowly sipping on the water I kept his gaze and his pity toward me was clearly visible.

     "I'm so sorry I couldn't have gotten to you sooner, you wouldn't have been in so much pain if I could've been there before. You're not supposed to go through that change this late in life, it usually happens in stages not all at once and starts when you're six." He sat in silence on the edge of the bed, picking at the calluses on the palms of his hands.

     "There's no need to be sorry, the past is the past, all I ask is for you to help me from here on out. There's not really anybody else for me to go to. As much as it pains me to say this, I've come to like your company quite a lot." So I guess this is my life now, I have to learn how to control the other side of me and I need to become stronger. I won't hate my past anymore because if it weren't for my past I wouldn't be the person I am today. I've fought hard to get to where I am, I might as well keep going.  

     "Of course Athena." 

     "If you don't mind me asking, I have a few questions I'd like answers to." We both scoot up and lean our backs against the bed frame, he cracks his knuckles and I take a sip of water. 

     "Ask away, anytime you're ready." 

     "Who exactly is Leonardo, I know you said he was the angel of death or whatever, but that answer doesn't satisfy me." 

     "Okay, so Leonardo is a fallen angel, he fell alongside Lucifer. Angels that fell with Lucifer are known as Greater Demons. He resides in the space between the human world and hell, this space is called the void. He's a rogue angel. The thing with fallen angels is that they kind of have a freedom no other demon can have, they can stay on earth for as long as they would like without their bodies being permanently damaged. Since I'm not fully an fallen angel anymore I have no choice but to go back to hell from time to time so I can heal. Lucifer made it this way so that none of us can run away. I know you're related to Leonardo, but I don't know how. I know for a fact that the only reason you'll be able to stay on earth for however long you want is that you have hunter blood in you too." 

     "That's an awful lot to take in." 

     "Do you want me to give you a moment to yourself?" He began sliding off the bed, ready to walk away if needed. But I grabbed his forearm, please don't go.

     "Of course, I'm not going anywhere." 

     "Can we take a walk?" 

     "That does sound nice, I'll go get you some warmer clothes to wear." He took long strides over to the wardrobe pulling a hoodie off the hanger. He helps me pull the hoodie over my head and it looks more like a short dress on me.

     "You wore Max's hoodie, now you're gonna wear mine." This smells heavenly, it smelt fresh, clean and masculine. A simultaneously cool and spicy scent.

     "Ready to leave?" I just nodded my head, I was too occupied taking in this amazing scent to open my mouth. I held onto him for support, my legs are still a little weak. Once we got outside and began walking on a path taking us deeper into the forest I spoke up again. 

     "So, how did these clothes get on my body after last night?" 

     "I dressed you." You what.

     "The others couldn't have done it, it would've put them in danger because when you don't know how to control the change you can be unpredictable." I stayed silent, my cheeks heated up. so he saw me...nope, I'm not even going to go there. A flock of crows perched above us, they were all silent which made the setting eerier than I would like. But that's when I saw it, there was a crow pinned to the ground beneath a net. I strayed from the dirt path and fought my way through the tall grass kneeling before the poor creature before me. I quickly pull apart the net, setting the crow free. 

     "I've been in your situation too buddy." To my surprise, the crow just cocked it's head side to side as if it was listening to my words. It hopped toward me, screeched and perched on my shoulder. It fluffed up its feathers and got comfortable when I walked over to Abigor.
     "Looks like you made a friend, you know what they say about crows, once you help them they become attached to you. Kind of reminds me of you." 

     "Hey, not funny." The crow on my shoulder screeched at Abigor, can he understand us?

     "Crows are said to sense evil, so it's natural that they do that." We decided to turn around and go home, the sun was setting and I think Abigor is a little more tired than I initially thought. He almost got us lost. I took in the scenery it was breathtaking, the trees were displaying reds, browns, oranges, and yellows, the ground is littered with beautiful leaves of all shapes and sizes.  A slight breeze that carried the earthy scent of the dense forest swept by, it's the first time I've been able to enjoy nature and not fight it. We were mere seconds away from exiting the edge of the forest and the crow didn't seem like he was leaving anytime soon. I've decided to name him, or maybe it's female. But I'm guessing it's a boy. 

     "Alright Theo, that's your name from now on. It's time to go home, yeah?" Theo looked at me and cocked his head to the side, his yellow irises stood out like a sore thumb. But they are gorgeous.  

     "Naming animals now are we?" Abigor chuckled under his breath. A chill rippled across my skin, it's music to my ears when he does that.

     "Of course, he deserves one." Theo screeched as I smiled at him, cocking his head to the side once more before taking flight. 

     "Alright, how about we get you home, Snow White." Home? I like the sound of that.