Venom

25: Garden of Evil

"Sisters?" I echoed hollowly. It was the way her lips curled upwards that made me take the next stiff step.

She leaned in closely to whisper the words, but her eyes were looking behind me. "I mean, we're practically family. You and I like sister and you and him, hmm, well that relationship is a bit more complex I suppose, but still close no doubt."

I opened my mouth to undoubtedly say something rude when I remembered that whatever I said, Venom would be listening in to and would undoubtedly take to heart. I shut my mouth, jaw clenched as I tried to think of an appropriate response. The world gave me the appropriate response as I caught sight of lights peaking from ahead. The city. Finally.

"We're here, Arreguela city."

I took out my water bottle and drank heavily from it, the cool temperature quickly running through my body and providing little comfort. I cleared my throat and then winced and stilled as a slight discomfort hit my chest. I started to look down at my chest but fought against the urge. There was nothing I could do about a wound that would continue to spread. I had to be very careful when I changed out of my shirt now, doing it quickly in the dark. From my chest and now dark tendrils were spreading down to my stomach, already my left breast was bruising as if I had been in a horrific accident, soon the tenderness of my flesh would grow to be more than uncomfortable. I rubbed at the pads of my fingers and turned back to the lights of the city. Robert had provided us with a little information about the city and what to expect and where to head to gain access to the teleportation site Florence had cleared for us. True to his warning the people were watching us as we went about. They weren't being at all discrete about it as well.

For a city bustling with people, it felt more like a town since we stuck out vividly. The buildings were not too large but closely packed and colorful, boxed down crowded streets, but all angles and triangles when we went down resident homes. The people were dressed in light colors, but all carried similar wrappings around their waists or foreheads, jewelry of silver and gold decorated their arms, necks, foreheads, and ankles for both men and women. The eyes of the people here were rimmed in vivid red and yellows, but their eyes were a mixture of charcoal black or ash blue and watered-down pinks. Wide noses and circular faces with pointed chins, earth-toned skins with the rare pale shades of wood oak and gray hues. We had no way to blend, even I seemed to tower over the women here, Venom and Viper must have looked like giants to them. They did seem to evade the two and give them wide breaths where ever they walked. The siblings showed no care as they strolled uncaringly, looking around with half interest and vigilance. When we found the building that marked our final usage of the teleportation portal we found a woman called Kelisa there. She trembled terribly but tried very hard to remain professional as she guided us over to the glass room.

"Are we sure she didn't recognize you?" Viper whispered, narrowing her eyes on Kelisa who looked seconds away from fainting as her red-rimmed eyes watered.

"I think it's got more to do with how you're looking at her." I pointed out, holding still as the floor began to thrum and glow with engraved patterns rising from the ground.

"But I'm just looking, there's no need for that reaction."

"We seem to terrify every creature we come into contact with that does not feel a certain amount of confidence in their defensive skill." Venom's calm tone seemed to placate her for a moment.

"Still, it's not like they know what we can do for this reaction."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," he said solemnly, from the reflection of the glass I caught his golden eyes on me. I started back expressionlessly as him. "It seems the creatures of this world are predisposed to an eversion of that which they feel will devour them."