Bloody Angel Book 1

Shattered

(Songs used are:
Life Eternal: Ghost
Shatter Me- Lindsay Sterling)

Annie lounged in her usual corner on the longer of the two couches, staring blankly into the low fire in the hearth. Lilit wasn't back yet, but she wasn't worried. Her little sister wasn't so little anymore and had quite the life here, exploding out of her shell and living a life Annie had longed to give her for so long. For that she was glad.

What did worry her was the fact that the Cardinal was late. Anxiety gnawed at her stomach. He was never late. He always joined her for dinner, usually bringing it with him unless he opted to cook for her. She didn't even know how long ago dinner was, just that the sun had long been set beyond the horizon so it has been some time. All she'd had today was a handful of flowers and herbs having skipped breakfast and forgetting to make her lunch before she left the kitchens. Maybe it was just hunger gnawing at her? She didn't know. And a part of her didn't care. So trapped within her troubled mind lately she finds herself without the energy to.

She sighs and relaxes against the couch, her eyes unfocusing as she listens to the crackling fire. In the flickering flames she begins to see flashes of light and shadows other than the warm oranges within the hearth, legs growing warm as the sound of fire intensified the longer she stared. Screams echoed faintly, mixed with jeers and loud prayers as she grew hotter, a sweat breaking out over her brow. She tried to run but could not move, held in place against a thick wooden stake by invisible chains. An overwhelming sense of helplessness washes over her and her still unfocused eyes long to frantically dart around looking for something, someone to save her as she feels the fire licking at her skin.

Suddenly a familiar dark haired man rushes her, sneering as he grabs her by her throat in a vice-like grip. He laughs, the sound cold and taunting, filling her with fear. Her tormentor had her once more, trapped in this nightmare. Was it a nightmare? Daymare? She didn't know.

"You will never escape from me, wench! I will find you, wherever you have gone, and finish what I started. Such a temptress to have them wrapped around your finger. I should've broken them all when I had the chance." He laughs cruelly, a crazed maniacal gleam in his eyes. He pulls his knife from his belt and trails the edge up her thigh.  "Do they know what you've been, succubus? Why they care so much for such a…thoroughly used, broken little puppet like you I'll never know."

The flames grew hotter around her, her name echoing around the inferno she stood in as he laughed while she started to tremble violently, feeling the fingers grasp tighter around her neck, the cold metal sliding up her stomach. The fire roars louder and she feels her body shake as the echo of her name grows louder and louder until it's right in front of her.

"Your devil can't keep you safe forever, Annie!" He yells and she feels the sharp blade plunge into her. As pain erupts in her chest and her eyes snap to focus into reality with a strangled gasp, meeting a pair of wide, familiar mismatched eyes.

"Annie? Annie, come back to me, amore," she finally hears clearly. The fire is low once more in the hearth, her body chilled as a blanket of calm drapes over her, easing her will to struggle and fight from the man kneeling in front of her and she blinks several times to soothe her dry eyes. Other senses slowly come back and she feels a warm leather clad hand cupping her face, his thumb brushing lightly over her cheek as his other hand holds hers tightly. Taking a deep breath she picks up the familiar comforting scent of incense and leather mixed with something else. Tears slide from her eyes and she focuses fully on the worried Cardinal in front of her.

"C-Copia..?" She asks, voice rough from her parched throat, her lip trembling.

He sighs in relief, leaning over to press his lips against her forehead. "Si, amore. It's me. You're safe."