Broken Halo (7 page)

      
She
gaped at him.

      
Jude
grinned at this. “What? You thought I had nothing better to do with my time
than torment a fallen angel; that with an entire world of human souls to feed
off of, I chose a fat, little cherub like you to prey on? No, fool, you are
quite desirable, but Nimbus was the one who devised the plan of your downfall.
I was merely an instrument. Oh, I'm not complaining. Being an instrument has
its perks, which I shall soon enjoy once he has filled your virgin pussy for
the first time. And here you thought my self control was simply me being a
gentleman toward you; that I was displaying chivalry for the damsel in
distress. You flatter me, slave. If not for my friendship with Nimbus and the
fact that I believe you would snitch if I compromised you before he did, I
would already be buried balls-deep in your cunt.”

      
She
squeezed her vagina as if to keep the chattering varmint out of it.

      
His
smile was pure evil. “Sweet dreams, Sonya.”

***

      
The
next morning, Sonya was washed, but not fed. It was difficult to dwell on her
unholy betrayal, or to despise Nimbus for setting a trap for her when her
stomach felt so hollow and needy. She wished Jude would give her something to
eat. Did he intend to starve her, or was he merely waiting for her to beg for
sustenance?

      
The
day passed and she was left confined in the cage in complete isolation. No
amount of pounding, clawing and crying out freed her from it.

      
Jude
returned in the evening with Nimbus. Sonya's eyes practically bugged out of her
head when he came inside the large house. Her heart was crushed and exhilarated
when she saw him. He looked rugged and beautiful as he always had. She had
never seen him in his other form and wasn't entirely sure she wanted to. In
this very human form he was five feet, eleven inches of solid, muscled
structure, concealed only by the conventional ensemble of the era. Odd that he
wore the latest human fashion. Probably to blend in with society for one reason
or another; this was a disturbing thought.

      
His
flaxen-blond hair looked so soft and inviting. She imagined her fingers running
through it with his head on her lap and then inwardly cursed herself for the
naughty thought. Surely she hadn't become so wayward in such a short time? Was
Nimbus slipping subtle thoughts of depravity into her mind? Had she really been
weakened enough to become susceptible to his cunning mind tricks?

      
His
slanted, olive-green eyes darkened with perversion when he caught sight of her
trapped nude in the cage. The look was one of raunchy pleasure and a strong
sense of cruel vengeance that threatened to eclipse the tender affection she
knew he had for her. His lewd, sadistic smile married the soulless predator
trapped in the depths of his alluring eyes – a truly ominous, hypnotic union.

      
There
was a thin scab on the brow-bone over his right eye and the skin just below the
corner of his eye as though he had been slashed there recently. It would
probably scar.

      
Sonya
swallowed in apprehension of his strength and her own unbidden weakness, her
mouth going dry in the damnably telling moment of truth. She moved her long,
black hair in front of her to cover her heaving chest and sat on her knees with
her back to the wall to partially hide her rump from his invasive gawking. Her
hands covered her mound and she summoned every ounce of courage and loathing
simmering inside of her. She wanted to wring the monster's neck for executing
such a heartless scheme on her. Vengeance was one thing, but tricking someone
into selling their soul to the devil?

      
“Hello,
Sonya,” there was far too much excitement in his voice for comfort.

      
“Hello,
you incorrigible ass.” She had never sworn before, but deemed it appropriate
this once in light of all he had done to her and figured Nimbus could take it
since he was likely used to a good deal of profanity by now.

      
Jude
looked pissed off by her audacity at insulting his friend, but Nimbus only
chuckled at this. “I see you saved the duty of breaking her for me as well. How
generous.”

      
“She
is a spitfire. You would do well to break her neck. The sight of her disgusts
me,” Jude said with obvious contempt. “I can't even look at her without seeing
the beings we once were. What are your wings doing exposed, wench? I told you
to keep them tucked away.”

      
She
stared at him defiantly.

      
Nimbus
stood and backed away from the cage, eyes locked with hers. His irises flashed
to black and then briefly merged into a neon yellow before melting into a
blazing orange fire that opened her eyes to the creature he truly was rather
than the sweet memory in her past. His mouth opened and a glaring orange light
sailed across the space between them and landed inside the cage with her in a
bundle of fire that burned hotter and only increased in size once it touched
her flesh and wings. She screamed in agony and rolled, trying to put it out,
but the flames would not be beaten.

      
The
men spoke to each other, but their voices were a haze in the background as
though she was steadily growing deaf. All at once a wave of cold water splashed
onto her, dowsing the vicious fires of brutality on her body.

      
“Are
you all right?” Nimbus asked.

      
Did
he even care, or was he simply being a smart ass?

      
“I
asked you a question, Sonya. Unless you want to feel an even hotter fire scorch
your attractive figure, then I suggest you answer me.”

      
“I'm...I'm
fine.”

      
“Put
your wings away, now,” he ordered in a tone that brooked no disobedience.

      
Sonya
obeyed, though the effort proved painful in lieu of the singed plumes. How
wrong she was to have supposed he cared for her. Demons weren't capable of
loving, not true love anyway. She lost him the day he left – the day he turned
forever. How wise Cassiel was to hold her back when she had been tempted to
follow in her state of blinded stupidity. She wished now she had taken that
wisdom to heart and not pined after humanity and her secret, shameful lust for
flesh.

      
“I
want you to join us for supper.” Nimbus unlocked the cage and swung the heavy
door open, “Get out.”

      
She
crawled out and stood on wobbly legs, but he shoved her back down.

      
“I
didn't say you could stand.” He fisted his hand in her hair, so the knuckles
ground into her scalp and gave it a tug as he took a step forward, “Follow me
on all fours, pet.”

      
Her
face burned with the embarrassment of crawling nude on all fours like an animal
over to the table with him leading her by the hair as though it were a leash to
control her by.

      
He
scooted a chair back and patted the cushion of the chair. “Up here, girl.”

      
Irritation
coiled in her stomach, but she climbed up onto it and sat on her knees,
awaiting further instruction. He released her hair and stood beside her chair
towering over her like an overbearing ruler looking down upon his unruly
subject.

      
“Lie
down on the table on your back,” he instructed. When she complied, he seated
himself in a chair facing the naked, outstretched offering she was, “Be still
while we eat.”

      
Her
stomach growled when she smelled the tantalizing aroma of food. This was the
second day she had gone without sustenance and it was making her weak and
desperate. She flinched with a startled yelp when she felt slippery, piping-hot
chicken flop onto her belly. “What are you doing?”

      
Jude
jabbed her leg with a fork. He drew no blood, but the poke evoked an irritating
pain where it made violent contact with her skin. “Furniture doesn't talk, you
stupid table. Bitches.”

      
Two
naked young women who were chained to one another by the manacles around an
ankle of each of them approached with their heads bowed and their hands clasped
behind their backs. One was petite and fair-skinned with hazel eyes. The other
was olive-skinned and curvaceous with slanted, brown eyes. She looked Asian.
Their heads were shaved and there was a word carved into each of their
foreheads. The one said
Hope
and the
other said
Less.

      
Sonya
was outraged. If she had harbored an intense dislike for Jude before, she
absolutely hated him now for what he had done to those poor girls.

      
“Go
prepare a nice hot bath for my friend and his property. Be sure to time the
boiling water accordingly as you add each pot into the tub, so it stays nice
and hot once it is finally full. Use your brains to figure out how. If my
friend complains of cold or lukewarm water, one of you will be flogged
senseless and the other will be fucked in the ass without lubricant,” Jude
said. His eyes were cruel and demeaning as he looked at them.

      
“Yes,
master,” they said in a united monotone. “Thank you for allowing us to serve
you.”

      
“It
is a privilege to do so, isn't it?” He sneered.

      
“Yes,
master, the highest honor.”

      
Sonya
burned with anger at the way he treated them. They looked so young and
innocent. So broken and tormented. She wanted to kill Jude and send him to hell
where he belonged.

      
She
sucked in a breath of air when she felt a cold slab of butter being wiped onto
her nipple by Nimbus' butter knife. He split his biscuit with an unmoved
nonchalance as though eating his supper off of a nude woman was as commonplace
as breathing. He swiped the knife in the butter; eyes flickering with bawdiness
when the dull knife scraped her nipple, making her flinch and the nub tighten
into a prominent peak from the sudden aggressive stimulation there.

      
“Acquired
new slaves, have you, Jude?” Nimbus held her eyes as he licked the top of his
biscuit as though it was the tit his knife just meddled with.

      
Her
breast tingled with electric need over the dirty parallel, mouth salivating for
the bread in his hands.

      
“As
though you didn't know. They were a mild-mannered pair, so breaking them was
quite easy. I have only had them two days and already I'm turning the prudes
into my own little prostitutes. They are good slaves, but still shy when
copulating. I won't be able to share them until I break them of that,” Jude
said.

      
Sonya
fought to be still when he set his biscuit atop her pubic curls. She wanted to
seriously hurt him for messing those sweet ladies up so badly. He only had them
two days and they obeyed his command as though it was sacred. They were bald,
their skin engraved upon and branded. They each had the mark of a dragon on
their left shoulder blade – the side closest to their heart. She shuddered,
certain that the location of the scar was no accident. The dragons were a
glaring red, their features disturbingly satanic.

      
Nimbus
turned his attention to the warm chicken on her belly. Either it was cooling,
or it had burned the skin on her tummy enough for her to tolerate the
uncomfortable temperature. He took his knife and fork, cut the chicken a piece
at a time slowly and then forked it into his mouth.

      
Sonya
stiffened, eyes widening in panic. She felt the utensils graze her flesh
lightly, not cutting her, but they could. What if his ruthless nature suddenly
surfaced and he wanted to see her bleed? Or what if he simply sliced her by
accident?

      
“I
may be dishonest, but I will never hurt you unless you give me a reason to,” he
told her while he ate. “I expect you to trust me even when you know I have the
power to harm you very badly. Don't give me a reason to bring your worst fears
to life and we won't have a problem. Understood?”

      
“Yes,
master. I mean Nimbus.” What the hell was she doing? God was her master, not
this devil. She hadn't meant to address him with such unmerited deference, but
hearing those slaves call Jude by the formal title must have been lingering in
her subconscious to the point that she slipped and called Nimbus by it.

      
His
grin was pure evil and there was a dark edge to his gaze that sent a chill of
vulnerability up her spine. “Master will do just fine.”

      
Her
spirit fell in worry that he would treat her as disgracefully as Jude treated
those slave girls of his. What would he do to her - besides the unspoken
obvious?