Dark Angel (Sequel to White Raven)

Chapter Nine: When Angels Become Demons

Warning: Strong Language and Sexual References!

********************************

It took Ary a while to return to the land of the conscious. She kept fading in and out of the darkness. The few seconds that she managed to stay awake it was like she was looking at the world through a kaleidoscope. Everything was spinning and there were spots of colors on the fringe of her vision. She imagined this was what happened to people who were on LSD.

She blinked a few times, trying to focus long enough to take in her surroundings. She was inside somewhere. The room was dimly lit; the only source of light was coming from a small lamp set on a tiny little desk in the corner of the room. Other than that, and a small twin sized bed set up against the wall beside her, there wasn't much of anything in the room.

She had to think for a moment about how she got to this room. As she tried to recall everything that led up to her being here, a headache began to form behind her eyes. The pounding in her head became more insistent as her mind became clearer. She went to press her hand to her forehead, but her hand wouldn't move.

"What the-" Ary looked down. Her hands and legs were tied to a chair with some rope. This surely had something to do with Christian. Was he still calling the shots, even from behind bars? It was a scary thought.

"I see you're finally awake," someone said from behind her. She didn't recognize the voice.

"Who are you?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes at the shadowy figure to her left. She wasn't sure if it were the terrible lighting or the concussion, but she couldn't see him clearly.

"I'm just a concerned friend," the man stated simply.

"Oh, so now friends tie each other up?" she snorted, rolling her eyes. "Is this really necessary?" She asked, pulling on her restraints. There wasn't much leeway; they were pretty tight.

"After seeing Kane's face, I'm going to have to say yes," the man said, coming around to stand in front of her.

He was a different man from the three that had taken her. He was older, early to mid-forties. He was tall and a bit on the lanky side, but he had some muscle definition from what she could tell. He wore black cargo pants with army boots and a simple dark green t-shirt. His hair was a dark brown mixed with silver and he held a steely look in his brown eyes. This man exuded authority and if Ary didn't know any better she'd think he was a military man.

"Yeah, sorry, I tend to overreact when someone hauls me out of a trunk after kidnapping me," she said, sarcasm dripping from her words.

"I'm sorry about that. They weren't supposed to hurt you," he apologized and for a moment Ary almost believed that he truly was sorry, but just for a moment. She couldn't actually believe a word he said. He did kidnap her and tie her to a chair after all.

"Well gee, that makes me feel so much better," she scoffed, rolling her eyes.

The truth was that she did actually feel better. She didn't feel as threatened as she did before, although being tied to a chair was keeping her from feeling completely safe. Still, it was pretty obvious that these guys weren't involved with the Bloodbaths. That raised even more questions for her though. Who outside of the Bloodbaths would want to abduct her?

"Maybe if we get to know each other better things would be less hostile." The guy grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and set it directly in front of her. He then took a seat in it. "Hi, I'm Garrett Maddox."

Ary studied the man before her. He didn't look dangerous, but then looks could be deceiving. Most people thought she was harmless. This guy could just be putting on an act to try and gain her trust. Wouldn't he be in for a rude awakening when he discovered that she wasn't one to trust so easily.