Broken Halo (3 page)

      
“I
swear an oath,” his raised voice startled her, “when you give into your risqué
yearnings, I will be the one to enlighten you on your descent into ecstasy.
When your will bends it will be to mine, when you bear a child it will be my
blood running through his veins. When you draw your final breath it will be my
name on your lips.”

      
Sonya
was hypnotized by his words even as they disturbed her. “God would never allow
it.”

      
“
You
will allow it. Your curiosity will
pave the road to your ruin. I have you, Sonya. I always did and I see now that
I always will. Your downfall will be my greatest triumph.”

      
His
heartless taunting scourged her, while his words evoked images of a chain
ensnaring her heart. He was walking away with the key and she would always be
ruined because of it - damaged without him, but damned with him. “Maybe you
could...”

      
“Repent?
Why would I do that?”

      
His
smirk milked a tear from her eye that almost seemed as though it endeavored to
comfort her on its slow, soothing journey down her cheek. “Why not? Some of the
fallen angels realized the error of their ways and pleaded forgiveness. God in
his mercy made them cruxim to -”

      
“Prove
their repentance by slaying and feeding off of vampires,” Nimbus finished with
obvious annoyance, “Yes, I know. Spare me the lengthy history lesson. Why would
I want to be a half breed? Black angels are worthless to God and Satan because
they have broken faith with both sides and are gods unto themselves.”

      
“But
at least they are contrite of heart. You pandered after evil and coveted the
deity of the Almighty and you don't even feel remorseful.”

      
“And
neither will you when I'm through with you,” he promised her darkly, “I will
change you, Sonya. No matter how long it takes to acquire you, or what I have
to do to break you, I will do it.”

      
Sonya
quivered at this, her sudden bout of anger immobilizing the current of tears.
“You will try.”

      
“And
I will succeed.” His salacious eyes honed in on her voluptuous chest until the
nipples pebbled beneath the weight of his shameless gaze.

      
She
averted her eyes to fend off humiliation at being reduced to an object of lust
to him; yet strangely, it was this same awareness that had her clitoris pulsing
with need. “I don't believe you would risk damning my soul in the name of
coitus.”

      
“It
is that precise naivety of thinking that makes you vulnerable to a truly
malignant being.”

      
“Regardless,
you cannot expect for an angel and a demon to mate and escape the wrath of
God.”

      
He
heaved a sigh, only to give her a smile that was pure evil. “Then I will just
have to make you a demon too, won't I?”

      
Her
jaw dropped in horror. “Impossible.”

      
“Not
exactly. You are aware of the mating and claiming rituals between shape
shifters, whereby they are irrevocably and unconditionally bound to one another
forever, yes?” He continued when she nodded, “And you are aware that when a
human is claimed by a shifter and bitten during that ritual, they eventually
become whatever creature their mate is?”

      
Chills
of raw fear and understanding snaked up and down her spine. “But that can't be
the case with demons. They have no soul and it would be wrong.”

      
The
promise of absolution resonated in the hot, dark timbre of his gentle murmur.
“An entity doesn't have to possess a soul in order to be bound to someone
eternally and irreversibly...do they, Sonya?”

      
Her
eyes fell, heart sinking at the sense of loss flooding her mind in a thousand
different words and memories all doomed to eternal separation because of one
agonizing, fateful decision he made long ago. “I...I don't want that, Nimbus. I
don't believe you would do that to me.”

      
“Then
you are a fool!” He hissed, “I sold my soul for power and knowledge. Do not
think for a minute that I would not be willing to go to even greater lengths to
obtain you.”

      
Sonya
shivered. The vow was equal parts flattering and sheer desecration. She watched
him leave, relief warring with abandonment.

      
She
watched Jude and Hannah sleeping peacefully in each others' arms and for the
first time since she had become Hannah's guardian, she felt a tinge of envy at
what they had.

      
Jude
held no belief in God while Hannah was devoted to her faith. She married a
nonbeliever, but she wasn't being punished for it. They respected each others'
differences, but an angel and a demon would only be able to go so far before
others followed and incurred judgment for their perversions.

      
Still,
she had seen the love of the Father and his mercies. Her loyalty was a sincere
one, but so was her affection for Nimbus. She wished they weren't on opposing
sides, but she had made the only wise decision to make during that rebellion.
Of course, Cassiel was the one who gently held her back and opened her eyes to
the folly of the rash decision she almost made that day. He saved her in a
sense and she lived a glorious existence.

      
On
the other hand, whenever Nimbus showed up randomly in her life as he sometimes
did, doubt began to sow its poisonous seeds in her. Cassiel had definitely
saved her that day from a fate worse than death. Then again, she sometimes
wondered if he had simply prolonged the inevitable.

Chapter Two

Binding Kiss

      
Six
months later the sky was gray and dismal as the cool rain drizzled softly over
the English countryside. A certain young, English gentleman stood reticent and
grief-stricken before a stone epitaph. His wordless state was as cold and
silent as the grave before his saturated, crystal-blue eyes. Eyes Sonya knew
all too well.

      
It
always choked her up when human beings lost loved ones, particularly their
spouses, but scenarios such as the one Jude Hemingway had fallen prey to only
days prior, ripped her heart in two. Hannah was being welcomed into heaven by
the Father, saints and all the starry hosts – Sonya knew this full well and
could rejoice over it. But where did that leave poor Jude? A quiet man whom
Hannah had convinced to break his addiction to strong liquor, but without her
light radiating in his life, what was to stop the lord of the manor from
returning to his former vices in an attempt to drown out the pain of losing his
wife in childbirth?

      
Light
footsteps behind Sonya told her someone was approaching. The subdued swishing
of a long overcoat too faint to be heard by a human, told her the individual
was male. A dusky English accent that reeked of virility breached the damp
stillness of the morning. “I'm sorry for your loss.”

      
She
might have supposed the condolences to be extended to Jude, but she knew that
voice a little too well for comfort. The sound of it lingered in the cool,
crisp morning air and smothered her senses as possessively as the humidity in
the atmosphere filled her lungs with its cool, enveloping presence. The effects
of cold weather could be shaken off and the moist air simply exhaled once it
had served its intended purpose in her lungs, but not so with the repercussions
of hearing that unmatched voice. It got under her skin and never left. It
filled her with strange, wondrous sensations that settled in places they should
never touch, let alone dwell in.

      
Sonya
kept her back to him, still lost in her tears and unable to take her eyes off
Jude. “What are you doing here, Nimbus?”

      
“I
have come to comfort you.”

      
“I
don't need your promiscuous touches to ease the pain of that man's suffering.”

      
He
stood to the side and slightly behind her. “I merely meant to speak comforting
words to you and place my hand gently on your shoulder like this.”

      
His
palm felt heavy, or perhaps it was the power in such a large hand, or the
hellish heat of his touch that felt like a hot iron pressing down on her
shoulder. Once he knew she wasn't threatened by his touch, he lightened the
overbearing pressure and the gentle rubbing there became soothing.

      
“There
now, that wasn't so horrible, was it?” he asked mockingly.

      
“What
will happen to him?” She didn't expect an answer, merely spoke her thoughts
aloud.

      
“His
future is his own to determine. You needn't concern yourself with it. I'm sure
they will dispatch you with another soul to play protector over now that your
charge is gone.”

      
She
faced him, eyes blurred by tears while her tone was spiked with anger. “Souls
are not cattle to me, Nimbus. Each one is individual and special, made in the
image of God, each with their quirks and interests. Hannah's departure has left
a void in Jude's soul that no one can ever fill again, no matter who, or what
he tries to replace her with. He will always be incomplete without her, because
she left.”

      
A
note of understanding rang in Nimbus' tone. “Left?”

      
Sonya
caught herself. “Died. She died and left him.”

      
“And
your compassionate nature feels especially drawn to this man because you can
relate to his sorrow, his unconscionable loss.” He trailed a curled finger up
the nape of her neck, “You see yourself in him; thus your heart goes out to him
all the more. You feel compelled to save the miserable wretch from your own
tragic fate. The scenario wears a different mask, but it is the same enemy,
isn't it: eternal separation from the one who means the most to you.”

      
Sonya
shivered as the gentle caress seemed to awaken every nerve in her neck and the
poison quickly spread to the rest of her body in a ripple of tingly chills. She
pulled away and faced him again. “This isn't about you and me because there is
no us and never was.”

      
Nimbus
was careful to keep his face decidedly neutral, but his sinister aspirations
were revealed in his treacherous eyes. “Do you mean to tell me you never felt
anything for me? Look at me. That you still don't, even now?”

      
Sonya
was about to deny this when she caught the glimpse of another minion of hell
from her peripheral. This one was in his demonic form. Her scalp prickled with
dread when she realized what was happening. They were waiting for her – waiting
for her to deny her feelings – to lie. If she sinned, she would be in danger of
being cast out of the holy kingdom and turned into one of them. Her manner
became haughty. “I will not tell a lie, Nimbus, nor will I answer your
question.”

      
The
monster in the distance shrieked fiercely and fled.

      
“Leave
her.” Cassiel.

      
Nimbus
glared at the archangel before whispering into Sonya's ear. “If you ever need a
favor, I am your servant. Why should there be enmity between old friends?”

      
“I
said leave,” Cassiel repeated more firmly.

      
Nimbus'
eyes searched hers for a brief moment of near humanity before he turned and
departed. Sonya watched him leave, both astonished and confused by his offer of
service. He always claimed he wanted to be her master and mate, but now he was
submitting himself to her whims as a servant all in the name of a friendship
they lost thousands of years ago? Did he have a change of heart, or was this
simply a clever trick of his? He did have a reputation for being cunning and
conniving, but there was sincerity in his eyes and eyes couldn't lie like the
mouth could...could they?

      
“Are
you all right?” Cassiel asked.

      
She
nodded. “It is time for me to return?”

      
“Yes.
Come.”

***

      
Sonya
couldn't stop thinking about Jude Hemingway. She was currently in London with a
close guardian friend watching over the children in an orphanage, but sometimes
at night while the other angel protected the young ones, she stole away to the
manor to see how the widower was fairing. Her heart ached at how he was always
either drinking brandy or opium when he wasn't lying unconscious on the floor.
He was wasting his life, but he wouldn't if he had Hannah, or some form of
companionship.

      
On
this particular night, she entered his bed chamber to find him standing on a
stool with a noose around his neck. She didn't know whether she was visible to
human eyes at this point or not, because in this imminent danger nothing
mattered but rescuing Jude from his own folly.

      
“Jude,
no!” Sonya grabbed him as he deliberately stepped off the stool supporting his
weight. She flew into the air, catching him in her arms and hovering mid-air
with her wings. She wrapped her legs around him to hold him in place, realizing
with only subtle alarm and even keener interest that the man wasn't wearing any
clothes.

      
“Damned
brandy,” he muttered with an inebriated hiccup.

      
She
used her hands to undo the knot and gently fluttered over to the bed to lay him
down gently. “Are you all right, sir?”

      
Once
his faint breathing returned to normal, he studied her quietly for a minute.
“You have come to me.”

      
Quite obviously,
Sonya thought to herself, though she kept her
sarcasm inside.

      
The
cold touch of his palm fondling her face was foreign, but sweet. “You have
returned to me as an angel, my darling Hannah.”

      
Her
eyes widened, realizing that because she allowed him to see her that included
her enormous, white angel wings. “Sir, you...”

      
“I
what, my dear?”

      
“You
are dreaming.” Sonya cringed the instant she finished speaking. She told a lie.
She interfered with one of God's precious gifts to mankind: freewill. It was
pure stupidity that the man had been willing to throw such a priceless treasure
away, but desperation to reunite with his deceased wife and loneliness had
driven him to take such drastic measures.

      
Guardians
were sent to protect people from harm, but they were not to interfere with
mankind's freewill, nor force them into a decision that wasn't theirs.

      
Something
dark flickered in his eyes.
“You lie, Hannah. Angels don't lie.
My little wife is a she-devil.”

      
She
smacked his reaching hand away. “I am not a she-devil, or anything of the sort
and I will thank you not to use the title.”

      
He
smiled fondly at her. “My feisty bride, you saved my life, darling, and my
soul.”

      
She
pulled her hand away from his before his words finally registered. “What did
you say?”

      
The
way his index finger traced delicate, invisible lines down her tan arm was
captivating. Something was different about him, but she couldn't explain it.
There was a hint of danger in the air, darkness in his eyes and in his voice
that oozed sex appeal in the deafening silence; yet left her unsettled for some
reason.

      
“Yes,
my love. You have come back to life to be with me as an angel and now I know
there is such a thing as the afterlife and God.”

      
“Jude,
that is wonderful.”

      
“It
is.”

      
She
panicked slightly when he leaned in toward her. “What are you doing?”

      
“Kissing
my wife, is there a problem with that?” The sharpness in his final sentence was
out of character, but she found it rather titillating to be put in her place by
a man, which was rather humorous considering he was the one out of line at
present.

      
“Yes,
I mean no, when it is your wife...if I were. I have to leave the room for a
minute.” She was shocked when her eyes fell into his lap and took in the size
of his erection. It was much bigger than she recalled having seen all the times
before when he slept with Hannah. Why was the fool even erect at all? They were
discussing spiritual matters, not intercourse. Was he secretly some sort of
irreverent pervert?

      
His
arm snaked around her body faster than she could think and pulled her closer as
he scooted on his knees to be nearer her. Their kneecaps were touching. “Kiss
me, Hannah.”

      
“Oh.”
She swallowed, “I don't think I should.”

      
“You
are my bride, Hannah.”

      
“Your
bride had blonde hair. Mine is black.”

      
He
smiled. “It looks blonde to me.”

      
He
had to be drunk, or insane. “What color are my eyes?”

      
“Blue,
my dear, as they have always been.”

      
“My
eyes are dark brown, Jude. You must be drunk. I have to leave.”

      
The
hand that wasn't around her back locked her wrists together in that single
grip. His snug grasp said: “I will hurt you if I have to,” but his tender
octave said: “I care about you.” What a conflicting union of emotions and mixed
signals coming from one source.

      
“Don't
go, Hannah. I'm hopeless without you.”

      
“But
there are children who -”

      
“Yes,
so many children we shall have together, but to do so I must impregnate you
first. I would very much like to be a father.” He placed a cool palm on her
belly and rubbed in gentle, rhythmic circles, “You will help me with that,
won't you?”

      
Her
pulse quickened. Oh, this was bad, not that she was considering, but she
worried for his safety and sanity if she left him and still couldn't get past
the fact that she had lied and denied him a choice in deciding his own future.
“Jude, I'm not Hannah. I have to leave. I'm so sorry for your loss, but -”