The Voice Of My Dark Angel Book 1 Angels of the Apocalypse

3: Don't Fall

“Analise!” It was a nightmare that woke me. I saw her chased and tackled by the Hound. My heart was pounding and I was crying when I sat up screaming her name. I had to find her.

I snuck from my room and retraced the route to the kitchen. Surely there was a doorway out of here somewhere? Beyond the kitchen was a large, open-plan living area. One wall had been nearly completely glass, but was now covered in trailing, flowering vines. It seemed like as good of a way out as any, so I tiptoed toward the curtain of plants, only to still when I saw the beautiful figure bathed in moonlight on the other side.

His hair was white this time, almost silver, and the moon lit it up beautifully. I noticed there seemed to be some shadow at the base of his neck. Maybe one of those fashionable dye-jobs where the hair is black underneath? I could barely remember such things. He stood perfectly still, not even breathing, like a statue, leaning against a marble column holding up the ruined porch roof. Jeans and a T-shirt never looked more heavenly, and they were worn by a Hell-creature of all things.

“Couldn’t sleep?” He questioned without turning to look at me. That beautiful voice sent a thrill right through me, and nearly made me bolt back the way I’d come. I cursed under my breath. Guess it was too late to try to escape now.

“Had a nightmare.” I responded softly, stepping forward to the edge of the vines.

“I’ll bet.” He replied through a sigh, rubbing the back of his head. The motion carried the nearly silver strands upward, showing the black layer underneath. “Listen, about earlier-I’m sorry..” I shrugged, and moved through the vines, realizing he couldn’t see me because I was still behind him.

“It’s like the ‘not all men’ argument. You can say whatever you want, but what are you gonna do about it?” I replied. His head snapped around.

“What?” He asked incredulously.

“Prove it to me. How are you different? Show me, don’t just tell me. Work for change. Otherwise, it’s just a worthless defense that means nothing.” I shrugged again. He ogled me for a moment or two, then burst out laughing. In an instant, he was in front of me, hand outstretched.

“I’ll see what I can do about that. And in exchange, I want you to give me a chance. To prove myself.” He purred. The sound tingled throughout my whole body, but I eyed his hand warily.

“This isn’t one of those ‘Demon Deal’ things where I’m signing away my soul or something, is it?” I demanded. He laughed again, the sound so delicious I could eat it, and grabbed one of my hands, pulling me closer.

“Your soul? No. But I do expect you to stop trying to sneak out.” He cooed next to my ear, and I yanked away from him as his eyes flashed gold again while he laughed.

I sat up in bed with a gasp. Was the whole thing just a nightmare then? Trying to steady myself, I looked around at the window to try to gauge the time. It was brightly sunny outside. It had to be nearly noon. Cursing, I threw back the sheet, noticing only belatedly the clothing laid out on the foot of the bed. Simple jeans and a tank top. There was a note underneath.

I hope this is ok for now. Let me know your style and color preferences.

The handwriting was unexpectedly tidy. I would go as far as to say it was as pretty as its penman. I dropped the note with disgust and dressed swiftly. Still no underthings, I noted. I exited the room and stood indecisively in the doorway, looking left and right. Which way was likely to lead me out?

“Good afternoon, are you hungry?” The silky voice slithered down my spine deliciously. I suppressed a shiver and leapt away, spinning to look back at my Demon captor.

“I.. I guess.” I blurted to cover up my nervousness as he smirked. He then spun and motioned for me to follow. Meekly, I trailed after him. If he always showed up where I was, how was I ever going to escape?

“I thought we’d have lunch out on the veranda today. Veranda, isn’t that grand? Such a ridiculously grand name, really, for the overgrown brick patio. But I like it. And the fresh air will do you good.” He prattled on as he led me past the kitchen and out the vine-covered entrance. It was at least thirty degrees warmer in the sun, and I gasped as the sun’s light touched me, not realizing that I had felt slightly chilled the whole time I was in my Demon captor’s presence.

My feet stopped moving and my head fell back, a soft groan escaping me while the rays soaked into my skin and warmed me to my blood and bones. The thing that ruined the moment was how silent the Demon had become. If I couldn’t hear him move, I didn’t know where he was, which was dangerous.

Eyes snapping open, I scanned for him quickly, only to discover him mere feet away, eyeing me hungrily. His eyes were the bright predatory gold. It made me shrink into myself, crossing my arms over my chest and ducking my head. I felt like food under that gaze. Or prey of a different sort. And every instinct told me to make myself smaller, less threatening. Less.. appetizing..

“This way..” He murmured softly, and I lifted my head enough to see and follow his feet around a low brick wall into the speckled shade of a willow tree. A table and two chairs sat upon, as promised, an overgrown brick patio. The bricks were carefully and deliberately hand-laid by the appearance, and the overgrown weeds looked deliberate, based on the way they contained small vines and flowers that curled over the bricks. The chairs looked delicate; white, curlicued backs, floral patterned cushions, a glass tabletop with delicate legs and lionpaw feet. It was.. cute, and I had no idea how to take it. Was he tenderizing me before using me? He pulled out every little girl’s tea-party dream chair and waved a hand at it. “Please.” He offered, and I looked from him to the chair and back again.

“What do you want from me?” Slipped from me abruptly, and he grinned wryly. As if abandoning his chivalry for the moment, he tousled his hair, which was that silvery white-blond again today with that dark undertone, and walked around to the other side of the table to take a seat.

“I guess.. I was.. I am.. Just lonely.” He answered, not looking at me as he reached for a croissant. I felt my face redden, anger churning in my gut.

“So you sicced your Hell Hound on me and then healed me and thought what? I’d be grateful?” I lashed out. He startled, half rising from his seat.

“You were attacked by a Hound? But I saw no injuries..” His beautiful, bewildered expression, the beautiful lie. I clenched my fists.

“It didn’t attack me, it just chased me down. When I landed on some shelving, I knocked myself out. It must have gotten bored with me then, especially since..” I swallowed the rest of my words. If he didn’t know about Analise, I wasn’t going to tell him. He relaxed visibly.

“Well that’s good, though it’s curious it got distracted.” He eyed me thoughtfully, eyes flashing gold, and I tried to suppress the thrill of fear I felt. Could he read my mind? How did he know the Hound got distracted? Maybe it really did belong to him after all. I snorted, eyes narrowed, trying to cover up my reaction.

“Why, you mean you didn’t call it off?” I crossed my arms and he rose from his chair.

“Woman-do you see any Hell Hounds around here? I don’t keep them as pets. There were no Hounds when I entered that store.” He snapped.

“And why should I believe you?” I retorted.

“Because Hounds have to be kept on a tight leash, or else they go rogue. Tight, as in they hardly leave their owner’s side. Again, do you see one?” He demanded, rapping his knuckles on the glass table to emphasize his words. I blinked. What he said actually made a lot of sense. At least where it concerned the wild Hell Hounds we encountered on occasion. “I keep telling you, I’m not like the others, but perhaps I misjudged you. Perhaps the mistrust is too permanently etched on your soul.” I blinked again. What the Hell did this Demon know or think he knew about me? I stepped forward cautiously as he sat back down, digging his hands into his hair, his elbows on the table.

“Maybe I should drop you off at the nearest colony and-”

“No! Don’t do that!” I stepped to the table swiftly and the Demon looked up at me slowly.

“And whyever not?” He asked, eyes flashing that golden color again.

“I trust them just as little, or maybe less than you. At least here, there’s only one of you. There..there would be more. Many more-” I blurted, then bit my lip. He studied me carefully for a few moments, his slitted pupils locked with mine until I wrenched my gaze away.

“Ah.” Was his only reply.

“If you want rid of me that badly, just let me be on my way. I prefer to travel and trade. I’ll go get my pack and-”

“Absolutely not!” He snapped. “And have some other Demon or Hell Hound round you up as soon as you’re out of my sight? How on Earth have you survived this long on your own? It’s beyond me! You’re the perfect age to be bred or slaved out or both!”

“I know! I know ok?” I interrupted. He was staring again, so I grabbed a croissant and took the seat across from him. “But about all that.. You never did say, what exactly is supposed to be the difference between you and them?” I finally met his eyes again, to see the solid gold was back, his hair bled from the silvery white to black and back again. His nails scratched at the table’s surface and I twitched, wondering if I’d gone too far. Instead, the Demon suddenly relaxed, surprising me.

“What do you know about summoning Demons?” He asked, and I looked at him incredulously.

“So you’re telling me that some Demons are supposed to be helpful?” I couldn’t hide the skepticism in my voice as I sat back in my seat. The Demon across from me rubbed his forehead as I crossed my arms. “Why? What do you get out of it?” I demanded.

“To understand that, you have to understand our origins. Or the mythos surrounding it.” He stared at the table between us for several long moments.

“To you.. We are.. Creatures of magic and myth, correct?” He looked me in the eyes and I gave a half-hearted shrug of agreement. “Ok, well think of it as more that if you were to visit the past, you would be seen as a creature of magic to your distant predecessors..”

“Are you saying you’re from the future?” I sat forward, attention instantly captured.

“No. It’s more that we’re a more advanced society. One that, logically, your people are following the path of. The things that you see as magic are just.. Science and technology to us.” He explained.

“Your kind eats people..” I deadpanned.

“You eat the flesh of animals you deem lesser. Pigs. Cattle. Fish. Birds.”

“Yes, but we don’t breed with them.” I cut in, making him wince.

“True. But we have ways of.. Using your flesh in more useful fashions and Gods this sounds bad!” He exclaimed.

“Tell me about it!” I sat back again and glared. “So, are you trying to say, what? You’re one of the helpful ones? Why do you do it then?”

“For me, and several of my kin, it’s more an act of rebellion. You see, even as dangerous as we look to you, we are just outcasts. The true power, the ones who still hold the majority of the technology and continued advances in the arts and sciences of our people, exiled us many, many of your Centuries ago. And for some of us, the reasons we were outcast were simple. We thought your race of people should be taught what we know.” He shrugged a shoulder in a graceful arch that I envied. I held up a hand.

“Wait, wait, wait.. So, like Prometheus and the flame, you were punished for trying to help humanity? But the gods, err, your people, decided we weren’t worthy?” I provided, and he looked temporarily surprised, eyes flashing gold.

“Essentially, yes. But instead of being chained to a rock with our livers eaten out, we were exiled.” He chuckled. The laughter tingled down my spine like a feather, and I shivered, straightening in my chair. “Mind you, not all of us are outcasts for such good reasons..” He hedged.

“Based on what I’ve seen, color me surprised.” I snorted. I received another wry grin from the Demon.

“Yes well, some were exiled for being less than model citizens, but myself and those who do want to help have tried to visit your world as often as possible to impart knowledge. It got us classified as Demons, Devils, Monsters, Spirits, Aliens, oh so many things..”

“Gods?” I interrupted, and he shot me a look.

“Even that. Those who exiled us used your kind’s primitive beliefs to persecute us. Worse, the portals between worlds became harder and harder to open. We had to teach our pupils how to open them from this side so that we could come through. ‘Summoning’ it became known in your tongue. Meanwhile, our own people continued to close the doors behind us, fearing the knowledge we might impart would elevate your society to the level of theirs. To the level of gods. As the years turned to Centuries, the science became ‘spells’, then ‘religion’, then ‘myth’. We had a harder and harder time coming here, but that also meant our exilers did too. And if they weren’t around to strengthen the locks on the doors…”

“They eventually rust..” I provided and he shrugged again.

“More or less,” he replied.

“And what kind were you? What did you teach? And what did you get out of it?” I held his gaze levelly.

“Me?” He looked up through the branches of the willow tree. “Astronomy. Science. I’ve always loved the stars.” It was said so wistfully, I wondered if their species had made it to space.

“And in return?” I murmured. He looked at me with a wicked grin, golden eyes with their slitted pupils shining, then sharp teeth flashing.

“Whatever I could get.” He replied.