“He’s given up that right.” he calls, calling forth other guards. “Get him too. Can’t have him interfering, but make sure he watches, he must know how to properly rule.” His square jaw is firm set, there is no reasoning with him.
They grab at me as I try to fight them off. “No!” I manage to strike a guard in the face.
“You’ll regret that prince boy.” The hefty guard knocks me ten times harder, and I fall to the ground, a small trail of blood falling from my nose.
“Do you have as little of a conscience as that monster does?” I get up for another round. “Will you sprout abominations from your back as well, Lucy?” I attempt another swing, but am once again tossed towards the ground, a bump to the head. The number of men is increasing. Even so, I try to force my eyes open, drag myself back up to my feet, the urge to do something swelling inside me. I couldn’t give up.
“Lucious, don’t put up such a fight. It’s pointless.” I hear father’s voice calling over. “What’s done is done.”
“Like hell I will.” I shout, getting back up to punch a man closest to me, just to get hit back to the ground before my fist can make contact with his jaw. Fucking hell. I wasn’t strong enough. I needed to be stronger. What did father give those men to make them fight more resiliently?
A cloth is held over my nose, the heavy intoxicant stings my nostrils. “I was hoping not to have to do this Lucious, but you give me no choice.”
“Wha-” My vision starts to get blurry, as my knees fall from under me. “Great, now we have to carry him.” A voice mutters in disdain. I am nothing but an inconvenience. My vision goes in and out, and as I’m dragged off, hitting every single bump on the ground. I’m not sure how long I’m out but yelling and screaming from all around is picked up.
“Kill him!” “Freak!” The sounds of stone’s being thrown, the whole city must be here. “Oh god no.” My memories come back, as my vision clears. Damien. He is bound, arms and legs spread out on a wooden post, wings broken. They lay in a scattered array around his body. Gashes are torn in his flesh, and blood paints his back and torso, irreparable damage. Please don’t die.
“Please stop!” I scream out, but it’s as if I’m just a background noise, as the city's people continue their slurs, as they throw rocks, father dictating it all.
“Who is this demon that possesses what was once my son’s body?” He grabs at Damien’s broken wings. “Luke.,” he calls towards me. “Show everyone you have the making of a king and burn him!” The crowd yells in agreement, people flocking together like sheep, willing to kill the first that isn’t like them in their small-minded world. Even the people Damien’s helped join the mob, as I see the once ailing man’s face in the crowd.
“NO!” I yell surprisingly loud, with what little strength I had. My brain is still foggy from whatever they forced my nose to inhale.
He runs up to me, a rough hand grabbing my face. “What did you say, son? I told you to let the demon burn!” Stinky hot breath assaults my face. His face storms with livid rage that I refuse to follow his command. I’m nota puppet like everyone else.
“Read my lips father, N-O, NO!” I spit in his face. I wouldn’t lay the final blow on my best friend, my brother.
He signals to the guards, who tighten my restraints. “You hear this people. I don’t have one son overtaken by a demon, but two.” The crowd yells, outraged. He grabs my throat in a near death tight grip. “You’ll watch that winged demon freak die, then you’re next!” He pushes me down, kicking sand in my face. “Guards, make sure he gets a good look at what’s happening!”
He takes a torch from one of the men in the crowd. “No, don’t do it!” A guard ties a restraint around my mouth. I try to shut my eyes to block out the vision of father putting the flamed torch to his wings, but a guard forces my eyes open.
“Burn in hell demon!” Father yells, as the flames hit his shredded wings below him, soon to engulf the rest of his body. The crowd cheers. Disgusting.
The flames seem to dance around his body, but not quite touching him, just going against nature. “Why isn’t he burning up?” “What demonic power is this?” The crowd’s cheers change to screams, as he’s still clearly visible through the flames.
“What’s happening?” The flames leave his body, not having killed him. With wings re-sprouting, pure black and meaner, eyes crimson red and full of hatred, pale white skin, he now looked like a monster. He revealed pointy teeth in a twisted smile. His wounds withered and healed away as if nothing was there. “Stupid human’s, run while you can.” The voice is unrecognizable. He was someone new. Damien was never like that. What have they turned him into?
The guards hold me, plunge a knife through my throat, leaving me for dead before running off with the rest of the crowd. I lay there bleeding out while Damien is reborn.
xxXxx
“I only wanted to do good, to help but they wouldn’t let me. They burned me at the stake.” I reawakened with a pounding head and sore jaw to see Damien frowning. The city of Eadon that I loved, grew up in, now laid in ruin.
“Damien?” My mouth feels dry. I smell a salty smell in the air.
“I saved one for you though, brother.” He has a young woman in his now demon grasp, blood trickling down her neck.
“Please,” she whispers quietly as a mouse.
I don’t understand, as my jaw aches. My head burning, as I can smell the blood running down her neck. I can almost taste it. “What happened to me?”
“Our new life journey brother.” He throws the girl's limp body at me, and I can’t stop myself from tearing into her flesh with my teeth. I relish the taste, drinking it in in long pulls, somehow enjoying it, while mentally disgusted with myself. What was wrong with me?
xxXxx
“He once was an angel, turned into a demon.”
“How is that even possible?” She gasps, tears pricking at her eyes from what she just saw, clearly at a loss to make sense of it all.
“I figured you would know what happens to an angel when burned at the stake by cruel, confused humans.” She shakes her head, still so young, and clueless of even her own species history. What have they told her?
“There are some books that aren’t available to everyone. Theresa would probably know.” She twirls a lock of blonde, silky hair around her finger. “I’ve heard of rebels, angels with other colored wings for a variety of reasons but never this.”
“He hates humans for that very reason, doesn’t have much sympathy for how they shun what they don’t understand. Gabriel never really was a kid to ‘fit in’ so it got along well with him.” I sigh, thinking back to all the times he came to my shop in tears because kids were kids, mean. One time he’d had to call me from the school when his dad wouldn’t pick up, his clothes and shoes tossed out when he was showering after gym class.
“How are you a vampire?”
I sigh. “That’s not such a PG13 thing to get into detail over.” I trail on awkwardly. Aura gives me a pointed look. “Short version. Met a girl, died with her blood in my system, woke up like this.” My brow furrows, mind going back to the memory. “Well, not exactly like this. I used to be much worse, not knowing who I was, how to control it but I got better.” I pause, thinking back to past horrors I could never atone for. Lives lost. “I didn’t even realize what happened until my memories came rushing back. Some servant in my father’s kingdom.” The beautiful lass that took care of my brother.
“How do you know my mom?” That question.
I’m at a loss of words. So much history there.
After all this time, the mystery of her death still burns on her mind. “It’s late, I’ve already given your mind a lot to process.” She nods. “We can talk about it another night. She was a good woman; she didn’t deserve the cruel ending she got.”
xxXxx
Gabriel
“Come on, show me what you got, bad boy.” The raven-haired girl pulls at my arm, leading me down a dirty alleyway. Mary, or Ann, whatever her
name is. Did it even matter? She kept chattering my ear off all night like I was one of her girlfriends, so it didn’t really stick; her curves were far more interesting than any words that came out of those pretty red lips.
I run my right hand up her thigh. “I can show you a lot of things. What would you like to start with?” I give her a crooked smile.
“I want to see your demon side.” Her words make my veins run cold, reawakening him.
Don’t you want to make the pretty girl happy? I could show her a time so good; it’ll be life changing.
“No.” I turn back around, refusing to make eye contact, the demon inside reaching to be let loose.
She pulls at my arm. “What are you too pussy to show me it, Gabriel?” She sneers. “I want you to be him when you take me, if I wanted a homeboy looking act, I could have easily found someone else. At least someone who didn’t reek as bad.” She makes a dramatic show of plugging her nose, as if to emphasize her point.
I shove her off, knocking her to the ground. “No, get away from me crazy bitch!”
She sighs in disdain at her broken heel. “Do you know how much these cost me?” She takes off her shoes, standing barefoot on the cracked pavement ground.
“Do I look like I give a fuck?” I yell at her. “Now go run home and leave me the fuck alone!” Stupid bitch. My body shakes as the demon writhes inside,in an attempt to force the change at any moment. I had to stop it, I had to get away from here. I couldn’t kill her.
“Not until you show me what you are!” She throws her broken heel in my face, my eyes squeezing shut at the impact. God, no. Not like this. My mind goes blank as he takes over.
“Is this what you wanted, little girl?” With a sharp twisted smile in place, the demon comes out to play.
Chapter 11
Gabriel
Last night ended the same as far too many times before. Another body— this time the lips sewn shut, naked and dismembered in the trees. It took forever to get that jigsaw puzzle complete. The two must have gotten along well if he went through all that effort. She got her wish of getting to see the demon but didn’t live to tell the tale. One of several, her tale was like it never existed now. Stupid girl.
I stumble off to Luke’s, not wanting to face father’s approval of another causality. He may have been the one to send her my way to begin with. Meddling parents...
“Why the hell did you leave Aura out there alone last night?” he blares, the first words to come out of his mouth, when he catches sight of me. Not how am I, what’s wrong, just about Aura. A look of disappointment crosses his face, quickly changing to worry.
“Please don’t do this now, Luke.” I mumble, voice broken. I hated waking up like this. It made everything impossible. Friendships, relationships---one bad argument, blackout, then they're dead. Fuck.
“Gabriel what’s wrong?” Luke asks. “You look like you’ve been through hell.” When didn’t I look like that? That was just my day-to-day fashion. “And if you think this excuses your behavior from yesterday, think again.”
Whatever, dad. “Aura can fully take care of herself. She’s not some little kid.”
“You can stop with the jealous act, Gabriel.” I’m that transparent?
I delay commenting on that, straightening myself up. “I ran to the bar after memories of Claire were brought up.” I recall yesterday afternoon, thinking about that too much brings memories to the surface better left buried. Ignorance is bliss.
“Not that seedy bar again, I hope?” Luke sighs in disappointment. “It was. You’ll refuse to take any over-the-counter medication and instead decide to self-medicate with drugs and booze.” I know that’s not healthy. I’ve heard it a million and one times, at least.
“I swear it’s the last time.” Lies. It always was the last time. Drugs and alcohol dulled the pain. more importantly they shushed the demon.
“So, what happened after the drinking and booze?” Luke prods, choosing not to question my lies.
I bite the inside of my cheek. “I was going to hook up with some girl, then ended up killing her instead. She kept insisting on showing her my demon, and I was trying to get away, but she kept pushing it. So, my demon accepted the invitation and killed her.”
Crazy bitch wanted to die. Great, now to make things better he returns. You know you love me.
No.
Fuck off. I direct an image of a mental middle finger to him. He’s done far too much damage as is.
“I’m sorry, Gabriel.” He pulls me into a hug which I try to resist at first. After a scowl though, I give in. Fuck it. “Things will get better.”
Aw, is little Gabriel getting all emotional?
“How the hell can they get better? He keeps killing more often. I keep blacking out more often. I’m a killer.” I look desperately at Luke.
The pretty little blonde peeks her bed head out from around the corner.. Pajama shorts show off her long legs. I bet if she turns around, I could get a peek with how short that fabric was. Her top was not much better, as the cami was slightly slid up showing off a toned stomach. Nipples poked through the cami’s thin fabric. My mouth is drier than the desert.
Fuck.
Her and Luke? The demon teases.
No that’s gross, Luke’s ancient. And anyway, it wouldn’t matter, she’s nothing to me.
“How much of that did you hear?” I shouldn’t have let my senses get that dulled. What if it was someone worse listening in, like father or one of his pals? I had to be more alert.
If it was anything important, I would have let you know.
“Enough.” She sighs, walking around the corner, in that tiny distracting outfit. My jaw clenches painfully as I see her ass walking right past me, the bottom of her cheeks poking out. I was right. Fuck. I’ve slept with countless girls and guys alike; some little angel shouldn’t be getting me all bothered.
“Why don’t you just kill me instead?” That would be far less torture then working with her for a fix to my issue. Too much, I find something else to focus my eyes on instead. The renaissance painting was little to none of a distraction.
Ditch them. Or fuck her, then ditch her. I freeze at those words, there was no way I was letting his slimy paws touch her. Possessive, are we? he takes amusement in my anger.
No. I should leave. It would be better for everyone if I was gone.
I haven’t gotten the chance to toy with her yet though, he pouts. We could just share her Gabriel; wouldn’t that be fun? I’d even let you go first. I wouldn’t mind sloppy seconds. Disgusting.
I try to ignore the demon’s voice, while directing my attention towards Aura. Her face. Pay attention to her face.
If she notices my dilemma, she decides not to comment on it. “You should accept my help.” She reaches out to grab my hand, but I yank away from her.
“How do you suggest going about that?” I try to keep the tremor out of my voice. I could think of several ways she could help me, but likely not in the way she’s thinking. It must be the damn angel stench, usually I don’t get this tightly wound up over some woman. I’ve been with many, many beautiful people, they don’t faze me like she does.
“You should stay here.” And be that close to her constantly? Have constant blue balls, I think not. “You’re less likely to encounter your father here, and-” I cut her off.
“So, you and Luke can babysit me to make sure I don’t go do something stupid.” The moment of needing her, wanting her is over. “I don’t need a fucking babysitter.”
She scoffs, as if to counter that “Are you sure about that Gabriel?” Such a know it all bitch.
Luke steps in. “It might not be a terrible idea Gabriel, with how the last few nights have gone.” I can’t believe he was going for it. Being around her all the fucking time yet not touching her, my body wouldn’t be able to handle it.
“Fuck this.” I leave not wanting to hear more of the argument. Besides, I needed to find a distraction to get my mind off Aura.
xxXxx
Gabriel
I unlock the door to my studio apartment with a heavy sigh. Annoyed and exhausted with others telling me how to live, how to do things—both sides had that down pat. I’m a person, not a mold. Why couldn’t anyone see that?
My breath catches, as I’m suddenly swept off my feet, and pinned to the bed on my stomach.
Hot breath touches my neck, along with a familiar giggle. “Miss me Gabriel?”
Chapter 12
Aura
Gabriel is so mood swingy, always leaving the moment things don’t go the way he wants. Temperamental man-child.
Luke stands up, just as annoyed at Gabriel’s impromptu leave as I am but he shakes it off. “Well, I must get back to work downstairs before Tiffany gets even more pissed off at me considering I left her working alone for so long.” How could he be so easy going?
I puff up my cheeks, before blowing the air back out again. What the hell was I supposed to do in this time?
Luke turns back around. “You all right Aura?” A flash of concern in those amber eyes.
The words churn in my head a bit before I answer. “Would you need any help in the diner by chance?” I ask, trying not to sound too hopeful. I could only do so much studying on how to fix Gabriel before I went insane. Plus, it would be nice to be around other females, instead of drowning in all this testosterone. Maybe make somewhat of an income so I don’t have to be stuck wearing Luke’s girlfriend’s clothes all the time. A lot of it is more revealing than I would have liked. I could feel Gabriel’s eyes on me earlier, nearly burning into my skin with their intense stare.
“You want to do that?” He looks baffled at the idea, almost offensively so. With the way he was looking at me, you would think I never worked a day in my life. While I didn’t have a job for a while, I’ve had several in the past. “Doesn’t an angel have better things to do with her time, besides clean tables and serve food to entitled assholes?” A hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
The Demon Inside (Hell's Creatures Book 1) Page 6
