Broken Halo (5 page)

Chapter Three

Broken Wings

      
Nimbus
was strolling through a London alley when he sensed a presence he hadn't felt
in a while. “I know you are there, Cassiel. Why are you following me?”

      
He
heard the sound of metal scraping against the sheath it was being extracted
from and turned to see the archangel several feet behind him with a sword
drawn.

      
“You
can't send me before my time,” Nimbus taunted.

      
“True,
but no one ever said anything about hurting you,” Cassiel returned.

      
“Now
why would you want to do a thing like that?” He knew damned well why, but
kindling Cassiel's anger proved entertaining.

      
“You
corrupted Sonya,” he practically shouted.

      
Nimbus
grinned. “I haven't corrupted her...yet.”

      
Cassiel
advanced and Nimbus drew his own sword. Metal clanged against metal as they
dueled, though both knew the battle would not end in death since they were
forbidden to kill the other. Regardless, there was a stark need for blood, even
if it could only be attained through wounding their opponent.

      
“I
wonder that you blame me for Sonya's downfall when the decision was hers,”
Nimbus said, dodging the advancing blade that nearly scraped his head.

      
“You
tricked her!”

      
“Jude
tricked her. I had nothing to do with it.”

      
Cassiel
rammed his sword against his. “You lie! You were the one who encouraged him to
do so, because you knew she would recognize your presence, but not his since
she had never encountered him in his vampire form.”

      
Nimbus
shoved his blade into Cassiel's sword, both pushing against the colliding
metal. “The ability of soul devourers to hide behind their victim's soul and
blind the naive is a remarkable fortune.”

      
“If
you defile her I will kill you. Angels and demons are not allowed to mate.”

      
“Lucky
for me she is a fallen angel now.”

      
Cassiel
shoved him and they were clanging swords again. “I know Sonya. Her betrayal was
a mistake. She will regret her actions.”

      
“Oh,
she will indeed regret them, but not in the way you think. Are you hoping she
crawls on her hands and knees and begs forgiveness? Do you think there is still
enough goodness in her to repent of her sins and be made a crusnik? Will you
train her to slay vampires, Cassiel?” Nimbus taunted with glee.

      
“She
may be a fallen angel now, but she is not a demon like you. Even in her
weakened state she will never join you.”

      
He
smiled at this. “But without any divine influence how will she stand? Do you
think I am unaware that you were the one to stop her from leaving that day?
Demornae saw you hold Sonya back. You didn't save her, Cassiel. All you did was
temporarily mask what was really in her heart. Her love for me will destroy
her...and you I suspect, but in a very different way.”

      
Cassiel
knocked the sword out of Nimbus' hand and swiped his own weapon across his
face. The blade made contact with the bone above his eyebrow and he felt the
gush of blood there. Nimbus clenched his jaw at the sharp, cutting pain and
grabbed the place.

      
Cassiel
said nothing as he disappeared quietly, a calm, avenged expression written on
his face. If the angel had been permitted to and if he knew the sort of things
Nimbus intended to do to Sonya, Cassiel would have slain him on the spot.

***

      
When
Sonya opened her eyes, she tried to cry for help, but the cloth in her mouth
smothered her scream. Her body was ensnared in chains, the end of which was
welded into a bracket in the wall prohibiting her escape. The air felt cool
against her naked flesh. Her naked flesh? Stars in the heavens, she was in the
buff.

      
Jude's
voice startled her. “Glad to see you are awake.”

      
He
was clothed and seated in a chair. The light coming from the window proclaimed
it was morning.

      
Sonya
wondered where her clothes were and whether or not he had deflowered her while
she was unconscious. She hoped not. The mere thought made her shudder in
revulsion.

      
It
was unnerving to see the villain in Jude Hemingway's body. His short, sandy hair
and the familiar features of his face were only the shell of the man who once
dwelt in it. The crystal-blue eyes were Jude's, but the sadistic nature housed
in them right now, gave away the true nature of its diabolical occupant.

      
“I
took the liberty of removing your clothes while you were unconscious,” he told
her nonchalantly, “I hope you don't mind. Oh, wait. I don't give a damn if you
do or not. That's what it was.”

      
She
glared at him. He had to let her out at some point and when he did she would
snap his neck.

      
He
stood, face as hard and determined as the face of an executioner. “Aren't you
going to ask me how I'm fairing this morning after our little brawl last night?
You did kick me in the groin, remember? I am quite well, thank you. But you
wouldn't believe the words of a liar and I can hardly blame you. Perhaps it
would be better if I showed you my healthy cock.”

      
Sonya
shrieked into the fabric of the gag, trying to move away from him as he
approached her while undoing his breeches. She flailed in vain while he
straddled her and held her chin still so she was forced to take his stiff
appendage in her face.

      
“Do
you feel how well it is? How unaffected by the attack you made on it?” He
rubbed his cock all over her face and swiped it across her nostrils as though
it was an expensive cigar.

      
The
familiar scent of hard, aroused male overwhelmed her. He was erect and
incredibly horny right now if his scent was anything to go by. The links in the
chains made terrible creaking noises when she struggled beneath him.

      
“My
testicles are unharmed as well.” He crammed his scrotum against her septum,
practically smothering her from the pressure of his hairy sac cutting off her
air supply. She squealed wildly for fear of suffocating. He stood and tucked
his prick away in his breeches again. “You are probably wondering how you will
get out of here, or who will come to rescue you. Don't. There is no one coming
to save you. If there was they would have been here by now. You are a renegade,
Sonya. And now you are susceptible to my will. It is just as well. Had anyone
come to rescue you, it would have proven to be a barrier between us and I do
hate barriers.”

      
Her
spirit fell as the truth of his words sank in. No one was coming to rescue her.
She was trapped. But why should she be saved when she had turned her back on
the light? Her motives were pure, yet they led her to sin, to fall.

      
“Do
you know what else is a barrier between us?” He asked in a dark, silky tone.

      
She
tensed when he knelt by her crotch. He forced her legs apart and stared down at
her pubic hair in a moment of long, awkward silence.

      
“Your
hymen.”

      
Her
eyes widened in mortification and she tried to close her legs, but he held them
apart with startling ease.

      
“It
wants to shut my cock out, to keep me out of your body. It wants to hold onto
purity and honor. It is a barrier, Sonya. I detest barriers. What shall we do
to remedy it?” His evil grin scared her. She didn't want to lose her virginity
to a vampire. “I am open to suggestions. Let me hear what your opinion on the
matter is.” He removed the gag from her mouth so she could talk.

      
“Please
let me go.” Sonya was not accustomed to pleading with demons, or anyone else
for that matter, but in this dire moment she didn't see that she had much of a
choice.

      
“And
how will that effectively take care of the hymen dilemma, Sonya? You are only
thinking of yourself. You aren't thinking logically, or about what I want. That
will change. Now try again.”

      
Her
eyes stung. “I know you hate angels now. You could beat me if you are so
inclined, but please don't shame me. It isn't right.”

      
“My
delusional woman, do you really think I care about what is right? If I did I
would still be in heaven. And so would you if you truly gave a damn about
honor,” he added with a wicked smile, eyes delighting in her ruin.

      
Her
eyes welled with tears. “Please don't mock me. You tricked me. I -”

      
Jude
stuffed the gag into her mouth. “You are wasting my time and yours. I have no
intention of letting you go. Since you obviously are too stupid to answer my
question regarding your hymen, I shall just have to contrive a solution on my
own.”

      
He
parted her labia, felt around for her entry and rammed two of his fingers up
into her vagina. Sonya screamed into the cloth as sharp, biting pain tore
through her chamber. It felt as though delicate flesh had been torn and
replaced with brutal fire. She lost her hymen to a devil. The knowledge plunged
her heart into despair and she wept silently.

      
His
face bore the evidence of his satisfaction. He raised his fingers which were
soaked with the blood of her deflowering. “There now, the barrier has been
removed. Now nothing shall keep my penis out of your virgin body. Doesn't it
please you to know that there are no longer any divisions between us; to know
that we will soon be one in flesh and spirit? Think of all the wild, illicit
sex we shall have, Sonya. Doesn't it thrill you to know that we will share a
passion worthy of damnation? I'm utterly tickled that you decided to join us.”

      
She
was scared senseless by his words. She could taste vomit slightly, but
swallowed to keep it down.

      
He
stood with a smug look she wanted to knock clean off his intriguing, despicable
face. “I'm sure you hate the male gender right now, so I will leave you with a
female friend of mine. You remember Demornae, don't you?”

      
She
turned her head to see Demornae entering from the other room. She was five
feet, four inches tall like Sonya, but the rest of her appearance was altered
since she now occupied a human body. Her curly, brown locks fell gently over
her shoulders and framed the attractive maturity of her face. The body's
previous owner had likely been around forty when she died.

      
Aside
from these mortal attributes, her blood-red eyes betrayed the vampire she was.
Sonya had heard that a vampire's eyes only changed to unnatural colors during
feeding, or moments of rage and sexual arousal. She was afraid to know which of
these culprits was responsible.

      
Her
full lips were the rich color of purple plums now. The same shade as the silky
purple of the empire-waist gown she wore. It was a flattering color for her
complexion.

      
“It
is very nice to see you again, Sonya.” Her voice was the same sultry rasp it
had always been, giving her an air of familiarity that was like being greeted
by an old friend. It was disconcerting to hear that warm, cordial voice from
the past, while her eyes shimmered like wine and her lips were stained as with
the blood of grapes. Sonya knew Demornae was a sanguinary vampire now, but it
was still disheartening seeing how a formerly angelic being had claimed the
empty shell of a corpse and become undead because of it; doomed to feed off the
blood of humans for the rest of her days.

      
“I
expect her to still be alive when I return,” Jude said, “I trust you had the
good sense to feed before you came here.”

      
“Fear
not. She will still be breathing when you return,” Demornae assured him.

      
He
smiled. “I knew I could count on you. Now, Sonya, be good for Demornae while
I'm gone. It would be a pity to have to discipline you on your first night with
me. I'm off to buy you a present, my pet.”

      
The
information baffled her. A present? She wasn't his pet; she was his prisoner
and apparently his sex slave. What was wrong with him? Why her?

      
He
left and Demornae looked down at her. “Are you thirsty?”

      
Sonya
nodded reluctantly half expecting to be kicked, or receive some other act of
cruelty, but to her relief, the vampire simply provided her with a glass of
water and removed her gag. The cool liquid proved refreshing as it washed over
her parched tongue and surged down her esophagus. She was so thirsty she felt
its cold, steady descent into her stomach. “Thank you.”