Broken Halo (17 page)

      
Her
words had touched him that day, but when she could leave him so easily out of
guilt, or whatever petty emotion it was that drove her away from him, he didn't
believe her. She may very well have feelings for him, or care for him on some
level, but she still followed her conscience instead of him. She still had torn
loyalties, but that wasn't loyalty to him on any level. She was a traitor to
both sides. Heaven rejected her for that betrayal, but he took her in and gave
her a home and a purpose, brought her pleasure and value under his
jurisdiction. Then she threw it all away. It was over in her eyes.

      
But
she was blinded. It was far from over and it would never be over until he
decided it was. He had a mind for it to keep enduring as long as the stars
still burned in the night sky. Sometimes as he lay in bed at night watching her
sleep, he thought he just might continue this thing they had even after the
stars turned cold and the sun and moon both failed to give off light. Forever
sounded good to him. How dare she disagree?

      
Jude
always said Nimbus was too soft on Sonya. He was right. It was time to teach
the brat to mind. It was time to throw down the gauntlet and show her his
world. None of this hiding her wings to pretend she wasn't an angel. The wings
were coming off and if he ever permitted her the luxury of wings again it would
only be as a demon.

      
A
week passed and he began to despair. He kept to himself, only seeking company
long enough to inquire after the results of the search. Finally after two
weeks, Jude came to him with the bittersweet words he had been dying for: “They
found her.”

***

      
Sonya
was scared to death when they arrived at the manor. She wasn't supposed to get
caught. She couldn't bear to see Nimbus sad, or angry. She wanted her freedom.
Odd that freedom had seemed so much like slavery these past two weeks. She felt
so lost and alone without him, helpless and scared without him there caring for
her and telling her what to do. He protected her and gave her guidance and
direction. Without him she was no one.

      
What
had he done to her? Had she really been so brainwashed that she was no longer
capable of functioning without her master? No, he wasn't her master. She
mustn't think like that ever again or she would wind up in hell with the rest
of them. She was a good, wholesome creature who made a mistake. She was
independent and devoted to the Most High.

      
Ah,
but there was a difference between guilt and shame. Guilt she had been plagued
with constantly these past two weeks, but she felt no shame. She wasn't sorry
for what she did with Nimbus and this was why she felt guilty, because she felt
no shame like she knew she should have, like she would have if she were truly
good and innocent as she had once been. Alas, he had taken those things from
her and for whatever reason she didn't care.

      
Jude
greeted her at the carriage. “Well, well, if it isn't the runaway slave. Your
master is waiting for you in the stable.”

      
The
walk to the stable seemed like a life sentence, yet a fleeting blur at the same
time. Why did she have to come face to face with him again? It would kill her,
if not literally. Once they reached the stable, she saw him stoking a fire that
burned in a pit dug out of the ground with a hot poker.

      
“Take
her robe off,” Nimbus said.

      
Jude
stripped her and pushed her to her knees. If Sonya had been afraid before, her
anxiety only multiplied now. She could have sworn that was a branding iron
nearby. She knew he would be angry and hurt and likely punish her for it if he
caught her again, but she hadn't anticipated being tortured for leaving.

      
“Why
did you leave, Sonya?” Nimbus asked.

      
Uh,
oh, he called her by name. That meant this was serious. She swallowed. “Because
I shouldn't be here.”

      
“Do
you have something against England?” he quipped, “Why shouldn't you be here?”

      
She
grimaced. This was even worse than she imagined. He jerked her up and forced
her to make eye contact with him.

      
“Look
me in the eye and tell me why you betrayed me,” he growled. His eyes were
furious, the green becoming the golden amber shade of polished citrine as they
fought to keep from becoming their demonic orange color.

      
Her
eyes welled. He was hurting inside. In spite of his blazing fury, she knew him
well enough to see past it to the dying man beneath. She had cut him very
deeply and she would never forgive herself for it. “Because I shouldn't be...”

      
The
words wouldn't come. They would kill him to hear them, just as they were eating
her alive to even think of saying them to him.

      
“Say
it!” He slapped her, eyes flashing to orange.

      
The
tears broke free. “I shouldn't be with you.”

      
Her
heart broke over those words and she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes to
ascertain his reaction to them. There was an awful, heavy silence loud enough
to deafen and thick enough to kill all who were swept up in its wake.

      
“You
have been with me for a year and it only just occurred to you? Time is supposed
to deaden the conscience, not awaken it.” He jerked her chin up, “Who told you
that you shouldn't be with me?”

      
Mentioning
Cassiel's name probably wasn't a good idea at this point, but lying would only
condemn her further, so honesty was her only option. “Cassiel.”

      
“Ah,
your old and dear friend,” Jude said sardonically from several feet behind her.

      
Nimbus
scowled. “I might have known he put you up to this. Regardless, it was still
your decision to leave. You betrayed me, Sonya.”

      
“I
didn't mean to hurt you and I'm truly sorry, but Cassiel said you broke into an
orphanage and acted as a bodyguard so that sanguinary vampires could feed on
the blood of children. He said you almost killed an angel.”

      
“I
did kill an angel.”

      
“Cassiel
said you injured Celeste, but were stopped before you could kill her.”

      
“True
enough, but I killed an angel once in a manner of speaking. Tzuriel. A succubus
had her heart set on him. He wounded her when she assaulted him in her demonic
form. I did the only thing a true friend would have done. I avenged her dignity
by torturing him and making him a demon.”

      
“That
was you?” Sonya whispered. She felt sick to her stomach and numb with shock.
She must have been wrong about Nimbus – dead wrong. He wasn't the angel she
manipulated herself into thinking he was. He was a fiend.

      
Nimbus
nodded. “You know the rest of Tzuriel's story. He was the first demon to
approach God and beg forgiveness. He changed his name to Blade and became the
first crusnik and the leader of all the black angels who followed him. I hate
him almost as much as I detest Cassiel.”

      
“But
how? Killing angels is forbidden, much less biting one against their will.”

      
“That
doesn't render it impossible. You can hate me if you so choose, but it is time
you know me for who I really am and stop fooling yourself about what you are.”

      
“I
was made to be an angel,” she mumbled numbly.

      
“And
now you are human.” He smiled at her trepidation, “I can smell the humanity in
you. Cassiel was commissioned to turn you human, was he? I'll wager that
absolutely broke your soft, little heart.”

      
Her
spirit took a nosedive. She was in the depths of despair and he was gloating
over her ruin, rejoicing in her downfall. What a fool she was to have ever put
her faith in him. “I can't believe how evil you are.”

      
His
eyes became cold and he wore a hard, soulless smile. “And you fell for me. You
sold your soul to be with me. What does that make you, sweet girl?”

      
“A
fool.”

      
“On
your knees.” He shoved her down as he gave the order, “Cut her hair. She is a
disgraceful slave and everyone shall know it.”

      
Jude
cut her hair quite short – well above her shoulders, but it was still long
enough to sway slightly when she moved.

      
Nimbus
unfastened his breeches. “Do you know in the wild some animals piss to mark
their territory?”

      
She
might have snickered at the seemingly random lesson on nature, but with the way
he pulled his appendage out she knew where he was going with this. “So I
understand.”

      
“And
did you also know that if a person pisses on something they deem it worthless?
Why should one soil something if they truly cared about it?” His green eyes
were spiteful and they cut her like knives along with his ruthless words. He
angled her chin so she met his icy stare, “Are you not my property, Sonya? Do
you not need to be reminded of that? Were you not disloyal to me? Don't
unfaithful slaves prove themselves to be worthless?”

      
She
liked to think of these questions as rhetorical, but knew he demanded an
answer. “Yes.”

      
“Sit
very still. I'm going to remind you of what you have so easily forgotten.”

      
Sonya
flinched, stifling a gasp as Nimbus began to pee on her. His urine looked
almost clear and for some odd reason she was pleased that it meant he wasn't
dehydrated. Her master took care of himself. After this thought came the
reality of the situation. He was peeing on her. The urine felt hot and while
this act mortified her, the liquid warmed her naked flesh against the chilly
morning air. He peed on her breasts and legs before spraying onto her face,
which made her squirm.

      
Jude
sounded amused from behind her and she wanted to hit him.

      
Nimbus'
countenance turned sadistic and vindictive. “Open your mouth, slave.”

      
She
cringed. Oh, surely not. “I have learned my lesson.”

      
He
smiled darkly at this. “I'm not sure you have. Open your mouth.”

      
She
feebly parted her lips, gasping when Jude yanked her head back by her hair and
Nimbus forced her mouth open wider so he could get his shaft in.

      
“Swallow
everything I give you,” he commanded.

      
Sonya
squealed in alarm at their aggression and again when she felt the sizzling
liquid pouring down her throat. He was peeing in her mouth. She couldn't think
of it like that or she would go insane. She must pretend it was water. It was
certainly diluted enough to imagine this, although she tasted a hint of salt in
the fluid. That and his penis in her mouth brought her back to the reality of
the situation.

      
Nimbus
rubbed his hairy legs against her full breasts and she moaned. How could he
turn something so disgusting into something so erotic and intimate? When the
last of it trickled down her throat, he pulled out and demanded she lick him
clean. He was starting to get hard once he tucked his cock away. Despite her
humiliation, she wanted to relieve the ache in his organ, but he hid the thing
before she could.

      
He
approached the fire slowly. “I've been trying to figure out why you left.”

      
“I
was living a lie.”

      
“Do
not interrupt!” He hissed, “You were living a lie when you wanted to follow me
out of heaven and Cassiel held you back. This past year you have discovered who
and what you really are. You weren't fleeing a lie, Sonya; you were running
from the truth.”

      
She
winced when she saw him pick up the glaring red branding iron. The fiendish
looking dragon on the end glowed with heat and rage. Surely...surely he
wouldn't.

      
“The
reason you left is because you felt no sense of commitment toward me. You don't
respect me as your master and you would never dream of becoming the wife of a
demon. With no collar around your neck, or ring around your finger to remind
you of who you belong to it would be very easy for a wayward little girl such
as yourself to forget where she belongs. You need a permanent mark to remind
you, something that will never let you forget who the master of your body and
soul is.”

      
Sonya
recoiled in horror when Nimbus stalked toward her with the ominous instrument.
“I'm very sorry I hurt you, but please don't be cruel. If you want me to marry
you -”