45. First Kill.

*************

Annie put her hands over her mouth.

"That was horrible." she said, "Did it hurt a lot?"

"She has a natural allergy to silver, which was how the Gods decided that that was what her and her children’s weakness would be." said Death, "That is why it affects her more than it does any of her children. There are bad sides to being the first of anything."

"I have learned to work through the pain." said Eva, "But that time I was caught off guard and it turned out there was more on that bolt than just plain silver."

"He had spelled it, hadn’t he?" said Maria.

Eva nodded.

"Once the bolt had done the damage the spell took over. Luckily it wasn’t in long enough to do too much damage. Still that was one of the few times I was really scarred."

"I never thought you could be scared." said Annie.

Eva laughed.

"We all have things that frighten us." she said. "Now do you want to hear the rest of the story or what?"

"Yes Please." said Annie.

"Fine. Now where was I?"

**************

"Will she be all right?" asked Theodore.

Eva was sleeping, but her breathing was still tinged with the sounds of bubbling and it had been a struggle on everyone’s part to stop the bleeding.

Finally it seemed Eva’s natural healing abilities were beginning to work.

"She Just needs to rest." said Death, "There was a lot of damage. She has survived worse, she will survive this."

She turned to Theodore.

"Now what exactly is going on here?" she asked in a voice that broached no arguments.

Theodore told her everything he knew. How he had taken the jewel and how he had run into the shop owner and hidden out in the store. How Eva had shown up and then the fighting.

Death listened quietly.

"Those Gods are always trying to outdo or get the better of each other." Death said with a sigh, "They are always jealous of each other and succumb to their emotions more than humans do."

"So you think there is some greater being behind this as well?" said Theodore.

Death nodded.

"How are we to figure out who is behind this?" asked Theodore, "It’s not like we can just ask everyone until one of them tells us they did it."

"Your only partly right." said Death, "I know someone who can point us in a direction to start."

"Who."

"Alera."

"That gossip?" said Theodore. "I swear she does nothing else but stick her nose into everyone else's business."

"But, you must admit that everything she knows has a slight grain of truth in it." said Death. "She and I talk every week. It is a pleasant outing."

*******************

Annie stifled her giggle.

"What’s so funny?" asked Eva.

"Sorry." said Annie. "I just found the picture of your sister and Alera sitting around drinking and chatting to be a little funny."

She turned to Death.

"No offence but you don’t strike me as the gossipy sort."

Maria snorted.

"That’s because you haven’t known her long enough."

Death never looked up from her book.

"If you have all had your little fun at my expense, I believe Eva has a story to finish before it gets dark."

"Sorry." said Annie, "Please continue."

******************

"You stay here and keep an eye on Eva." said Death, "If anything happens, come get me."

"I understand." said Theodore, "Don’t be gone too long."

Death left.

Theodore walked over to the prone figure on the bed. Her eyes were closed and her breathing sounded a little better than it had before.

He clambered up to sit on top of the bed near Eva’s face.

"I am sorry for getting you into this." he told the sleeping figure, "I didn’t mean anything by it. I just have this little impulse problem. And, you must admit, it really was a very pretty jewel."

He sighed.

"I don’t always think ahead when I see something I really like, But believe me I didn’t want you or anyone else hurt or killed."

He shuddered, remembering the lifeless face of Paxton.

"I really wish I hadn’t pushed those boxes down. I wish I could have found another way."

"There was no other way." whispered Eva.

Theodore jumped at the sound.

"You’re awake." he said, "How long have you been awake?"

Eva smiled.

"Long enough."

She reached out and weakly patted him on his head.

"Don’t feel too bad about what happened to Paxton." she told him, "We must accept the consequences of our actions. Paxton played for high stakes and lost. If you hadn’t done what you did I would have been killed. I owe you for that."

She smiled a wicked smile.

"But remember, you owe me as well. Oren is still angry at you and I am the only thing standing in your way."

Theodore shuddered.

"Still, I wish I hadn’t killed him." he said. "I feel weird right now. Like, like, like....."

"Something has changed." said Eva.

"Yes."

"Everything changes after your first kill." she said, "You see the world differently."

"Who was your first kill?"

Eva eyes seemed to loose focus as she recalled the time.

"It was when I first got my powers so that I could defend my village from a warlord. My village was willing to surrender, but I wasn’t. So I asked for help and received it."

"The first person I killed was this young soldier, who looked no more than 16. He was a sentry on duty and was by himself. I smelled his fear and even the fact that he had soiled himself upon seeing me."

Theodore thought he heard sadness in her voice.

"I struck quickly to make sure he could not cry out. The stench from the wounds I had inflicted nearly made me vomit.

I sat there looking into his lifeless eyes for a while. I changed that day, and from then on nothing was the same."

"Did you save your village?"

"Yes, but I could no longer stay there. The others said they could not live with someone who could kill like I did. I nearly destroyed an entire army, but I only really remember that boy."

Theodore walked over to Eva and curled up on the pillow near her head.

"I understand that. I don’t think I will ever be able to get Paxton’s face out of my mind."

He yawned.

Eva laughed.

"We both need some rest." she said, "Go to sleep, and hopefully my sister will have some information for us when she returns."

"Good night." said Theodore.

"Good night." said Eva.

In a house that is everywhere and yet nowhere, a woman sleeps with a ferret curled on a pillow near her.

They both sleep quietly, but their dreams are plagued by memories.