Dangerous Illusions

Chapter 19

Sallion's lower lip trembled as she bit back her fear. Her expression was one of pure guilt and anxiety. She knew that, no matter what punishment she was given, she deserved it, if not more. She had broken the one rule that could not be forgiven, committed the ultimate crime. She had revealed herself to a human. Of course it had been for a good cause; the human would have died had she not revealed herself, but the intention never mattered in these situations. Revealing one's self to a mortal was absolutely unforgivable.

She watched as the Order of the Counsel, the three most powerful angels, discussed under hushed tones what punishment to bestow upon the poor angel. Would she lose her wings? Would she be put on what she called "battlefield duty"? Would she...? She gasped as the thought struck faster than she could toss it aside. She could be cast from heaven. She saw Gabriel's eyes flicker toward her at the sound of her gasp and she quickly lowered her gaze submissively as they continued. She prayed Gabriel would defend her against the possibility of being cast out of Heaven. He'd been almost like a big brother to her ever since the day she'd come to heaven, almost two years ago. When she'd woken up at night during the first several months, he'd been there to soothe her and coax her back to sleep, he'd taught her how to control the fear that plagued her nightmares, taught her how to be a guardian angel, how to use the unique abilities she'd been given to help humans on earth. Surely he wouldn't let them banish her to Hell for one mistake. Right?

After what felt like an eternity, the three counsel members turned toward her. Gabriel stood. He was ready to deliver the punishment.

"Sallion, after much thought and deliberation, we've decided to..." his hard gaze softened for the next words, knowing it would be a painful blow to the young angel, " cast you out of Heaven. Your crimes are too great for the counsel to ignore."

Sallion's knees buckled and her wings tried to hold her up, but they failed. The clouds beneath her opened, sending the young angel plummeting toward the earth at a speed too fast for the human eye to see. She screamed, flailed, and willed her wings to work, but she knew it was useless. A fallen angel's wings were useless the very moment the decision to damn them to hell was made. Beneath her, as the ground rushed up to meet her, she saw a portal open. She knew immediately where it lead and fear filled her like ice cold water. The wind whipped and pulled at her beautiful crimson tresses, matting the fine hairs and tangling them together. It stung her eyes, making them water, and tore at her beautiful white dress. Her body disappeared through the portal before crashing into the hot, unforgiving ground that marked her entrance into the underworld. The portal shut like a rubber band that had been stretched and then suddenly released. Sallion had no time to observe her surroundings before she landed and her head smacked against the ground with a solid crack!, rendering the young, beautiful angel unconscious almost immediately.

Her body lay limp on the ground, wings splayed at an awkward angle behind her, her dress torn in various places and smudged with dirt, her beautiful red curls tangled and laying every direction, some on the ground, some covering her innocently beautiful face from anyone who may have been watching the scene unfold before them.

Two demons had witnessed Sallion's descent from grace and immediately ran off to notify Exor, the demon king, telling him of the pale girl with hair like liquid fire and large white wings. When asked what her face looked like, neither demon could supply an answer, explaining that they hadn't taken the time to observe the girl further.

Regardless, Exor was intrigued by what description the other two males had provided. An angel? It couldn't be. In all his time down in hell, Exor had only witnessed one other fallen angel besides himself. It was extremely rare for an angel to be cast out of heaven. This was something that called for his full attention.

"Lead me to the girl." Exor commanded, pleased when the two demon's immediately obeyed.

It took the three demons several hours to make their way back to where the girl had landed and, surprisingly, she was still unconscious, in the same position as she'd landed in. Exor was immediately fascinated by the girl. She was indeed, an angel and easily the most beautiful person he'd ever laid his eyes on. He stepped closer to her and crouched down next to her, sweeping her silky red hair out of her face. There was something so utterly innocent in her features, even while unconscious, it gave Exor the overwhelming desire to break her.

He could envision it, the girl kneeling before him, ready for whatever "games" he wished to play that day, the way she'd cry as he worked to strip her of her inhibition and morals, the way she would transform from a self-righteous fallen angel to... well, whatever he wanted. A shiver of excitement ran down his spine as the images flickered through his mind.

"Go tell Varys to gather all the nobility and important people in the kingdom. Oh, and my advisors. There is much to do. Have the castle servants start on dinner and prepare the castle for a guest. They'll know what to do. Hurry! I expect all preparations to be completed before we arrive." Exor ordered.

The two demons rushed off to do their King's bidding. Exor turned to look at the girl once more, an arrogant smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. With a loud, high-pitched whistle, a large cloud of black smoke appeared next to Exor, revealing a massive white stallion as the smoke dissipated. The horse was fully equipped with saddle and reigns, making it easy for Exor to pick up Sallion and climb onto the Stallion's back, cradling Sallion in his left arm while he gripped the reigns in his right hand.

"Good boy, Caz." Exor praised as the stallion launched into a gallop in the general direction of the castle.

After about thirty minutes, Exor slowed Caz to a slow rhythmic trot. He wanted the angel to be fully conscious when they got to the castle. So many of his plans depended on how he would introduce her to his people and the darker side of his desire had won the argument between earning her love and making her his Queen or breaking her will and making her his plaything. There was no room for tenderness. Or error, for that matter.

For two hours, his mind played scenario after scenario that he could do with this girl. The parties where he could show her off, the benefits he could gain by showing everyone just how merciless he truly could be. For all his time down here, Exor had never been able to earn the same reputation here that he held on Earth. This could change everything for him and he knew it. That knowledge made him all the more excited.

Eventually, Exor stopped Caz, giving the stallion time to drink from the lake. They would rest there until Sallion woke up. If they kept going, the possibility of the angel waking before they got to the castle would become very slim. Exor gently placed Sallion against a large oak tree before going to the river to gather some water. Maybe she'd wake up if he splashed it on her?

When he returned, he was surprised to find the angel already awake, and apparently making fast work of creating a friendship with Caz, which was impressive. Caz never let anyone besides Exor and the stable hand near him, but it seemed even the stallion was unable to resist the girl's charms. Exor stood back and watched for a while, noting every feature about Sallion as he did. He hadn't noticed before just how long her hair was, or the curve of her hips, or the way that she radiated an amount of grace that even most angels found hard to achieve. The way her hands gently ran down Caz's back and the way she smiled when the stallion nudged her with his nose, a sign of affection even Exor rarely was gifted with.

He stepped out into full view and cleared his throat, watching with a hint of amusement as the angel flinched from the sudden noise and spun around to face him, her green eyes wide, reminding him of a doe in headlights.

"You're awake." Exor stated simply as Sallion slowly took in the sight of him, from head to toe, before her gaze lingered on his face. He knew what she was seeing, though he couldn't begin to guess what she may be thinking.

Sallion watched as he drew closer to her. There was something... beautiful about him, something that reminded her of heaven, but she couldn't place it. In physical appearance, he was the epitome of what she'd always envisioned a demon to look like; black eyes that looked like they could devour an entire soul, tall, muscular, extremely handsome, a chiseled jaw line, and of course black wings. Sallion, however had never seen one before.

She flinched as he reached out to sweep a lock of her hair behind her shoulder. Something about him was extremely intimidating. Her heart raced within her chest as he picked her up by her hips, a startled gasp escaping her lips, and settled her in Caz's saddle, before climbing on behind her and grabbing the reigns. Caz took off in a sprint. As he ran, Exor pulled Sallion against his chest, his grip tight and unforgiving, causing Sallion to whimper softly.

"I can't wait for you to see what I've got in store for you, little angel." Exor growled in her ear, chuckling as he felt her shiver against him.

Finally, they arrived at the castle and Exor slid off the stallion, quickly pulling Sallion off after him.

"L-let go of me..." Sallion hissed, squirming in Exor's arms.

"Do you really want me to let go, little angel?"

"Yes!"

Exor laughed, a dark and menacing sound, and released her. Before she could move away from him, he grabbed her wrist as a servant appeared silently next to him.

"My Lord, do you need assistance?" The girl asked, keeping her gaze lowered as she addressed Exor.

"Yes. Fetch me one of the spare dog collars and a leash." Exor replied, keeping hold of Sallion's wrist, despite her efforts to pry his fingers open.