Flesh Wounds

Part Ten

"Make them mad by tearing off a bud?"

"And have them use those lovely thorns to rip us apart? I said they weren't blooming, not that they weren't awake. Besides, even if they were, they'd definitely wake up after having a limb torn off, don't you think?"

"Well, surely there's something you can do?"

"Actually…I think there is…" The girl went to one knee, lifting a bud gently up in her hands. Closing her eyes, she concentrated, and the bud slowly opened, revealing dark purple petals with black insides.

"Pretty," the detective mused, glancing around. "Can we get this done with now?"

"So impatient," Athena laughed, glancing up at her.

"Uh, Athena..."

The girl followed the detective's gaze to the wall of Roses, and arched a brow. The entire wall had burst into bloom the echoes of Athena's laugh seeming to tingle against their petals. "My," was all the girl said. "Maybe they're happy to see me?"

"Either that, or we're about to die," Sara replied.

"Point."

A particularly large flower lifted up to them, and Athena bent close. Sara glanced around patiently as the Princess and Rose spoke silently. "What the hell?" Athena suddenly exclaimed.

"What?"

"The answer was, a usual, right in front of me," the girl sighed. "Go find Gabe and Xander, and wait for me."

"What are you doing?"

"Paying my price."

The detective's eyes narrowed. "What is it?"

"Sara, just go! I'll catch up with you as soon as I can." She clasped the Wielder's shoulder. "I'll be fine."

Biting her bottom lip, Sara jogged off, and Athena turned back to the thorny wall. "One price to pay," she murmured, taking off her Witchblade. "One life to give."

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"Sara?" Gabriel called as he saw the tall detective jog toward them. "Where's Athena?"

"'Paying her price,' she said."

Xander and Gabriel exchanged startled glances, then broke into a run.

"What's wrong?" Sara asked as they ran.

"They're going to kill her," Gabriel replied, speeding up.

"What?" Xander and Sara both exclaimed. "Giles didn't tell me that, dammit!" the teen cursed.

"Okay, can I explain later? Right now, the Princess is probably getting her life sucked out of her. Come on!"

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Athena, her eyes closed, sank to her knees as the thorny tendrils around her wrists sank into her flesh. Her blood dribbled around the wounds the blooms were inflicting, falling to the earth below and nourishing the ground. She did not hear the approaching footsteps, did not feel the earth beneath her knees. The last drops of her blood fell from her wrists; she slumped, unaware, into Gabriel's arms as the thorns retreated.

Bowman smoothed back her hair with a shaking hand as Xander kneeled by the two. "She should be fine after a few hours sleep," he announced. "Take her back to your place, it'll be quieter."

"What are you going to do?" Gabriel asked, scooping the girl up in his arms.

"Destroy these things."

"You can't. We'll never get out of here alive."

"They killed her!" Xander seethed, pulling out his blade.

Gabriel caught his arm, laying Athena gently on the ground. "Do you think I'm happy about that? Do you think I don't want to kill these things? I do, believe me, I do. But if I want us to stay alive, they need to stay life. I'm not about to let her die so you can have some petty vengeance." By now, the two men's faces were about an inch away, and Xander finally nodded, albeit angrily.

"Fine. At least...oh, god, her father's going to kill her when she wakes up!"

"Father?"

"Oh, yeah…ask her when she wakes up." The teen sighed, rubbing his eyes as he sheathed his sword. "I don't know about you, but I am suddenly tired. I hate it when she does this."

"She's going to have a whole bunch of people lined up to yell at her, isn't she?" Gabriel asked as they walked toward the wall.

"You have no idea."

"Hang on, where's her bracelet?"

"Probably in her pocket." Xander dug the jewelry out and placed it back on her wrist.

"Uh, guys? Any ideas on how we're supposed to get out of here?" Sara interrupted.

"The doors should be open," Gabriel mused. "Exiting is always permitted."

As he had guessed, the stone wall was parted, and they quickly left, scrambling up the ladder to the streets above. "Take her home, make sure she gets plenty of sleep and food," Xander instructed, giving the girl back to Bowman. "The magically-caused deaths are always the hardest. That and poison, but anyway." Pressing a kiss to Athena's forehead, he then clapped Gabriel's shoulder. "Take care of her."

"Of course," Gabriel replied, cradling her close.

"Sara, come on," Xander said. "I'll take you home."

"Will she be okay?"

"Yeah, fine. She just needs rest." Still, he cast a worried glance over his shoulder as Gabriel hailed a taxi.

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Athena stirred, and Gabriel knelt by the bed, smoothing a stray hair back from her face. "Are you awake?" He asked quietly, then noticed the Witchblade glowing on her wrist. "What are you telling her?"

Blue eyes opened unseeingly as Athena began to thrash on the bed. Gabriel desperately tried to hold down her arms, but she threw him off, and he flew against his bedroom wall. "Ow," he groaned, stiffly standing. Athena had gone completely rigid, her spine arched as her face contorted. "Athena!" He called to her, then saw the Witchblade glowing a fiery crimson. "Let her go!" He shouted at it. When nothing happened, he reached over to take her face in his hands. "Athena, come on, get out of this. Come on, sweetheart, wake up!"

His hand brushed against her bracelet; it snaked out tendrils of silver, wrapping around his wrist. "What the…?" He managed to get out before the Witchblade sucked him into Athena's mind.

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He found her in the middle of a featureless plain, her knees tucked under her chin, her arms wrapped tightly around her legs. He merely crouched by her, following her wide-eyed gaze to where two figures were fighting. "Your brother?" He asked, and she slowly nodded.

"I relive this constantly," she whispered. "The way he looked…what he did…oh, god…"

Gabriel felt his entire body constrict as he saw the lifeless bundle fall to the ground. Blinking back his tears as her pain, he gathered her close, holding her head to his chest. "Sweetheart, we've got to get out of here."

She shook her head against him. "Every time I die, I wonder if it's really worth it all to go back."

"It is," he said with a ferocity that surprised her. Softening his tone, he cupped her cheek in his hand. "It is, Athena. Stop torturing yourself with all of this." Gently prying her hands away from her legs, he helped her up. "And as much as I love you, I don't feel right here."

The next thing he knew, he was back in his body, and Athena was sitting up, hands over her eyes. "You love me?"

"You haven't figured that out by now?" He sat on the edge of the mattress. "I could have killed you, I was so worried when I figured you were going to the Roses."

"Oh, god, Perapa…he is going to kill me."

"Perapa?"

"My foster father, kind of."

"Yeah, Xander told me to ask you about him."

"Rupert Giles 'adopted' me about three years ago because I made him. He's the first real father I've ever had."

"Which means he wants to meet me?" Gabriel grinned. "Considering I'm the new man in your life."

"Of course."

He took her hands away from her eyes, pressed his lips to her palms. "Are you okay?"

"Could you…could you just hold me?" She whispered. "I…I don't want to be strong for awhile."

Silently laying down, he spooned his body to hers, curling around her, and she snuggled into the protection.

And after she fell back asleep, he kissed away her quiet tears.