A Fallen Angel

Chapter 1 - The slave-house

The air flew past her at a neck-breaking speed. She tried to struggle but failed when the chains didn’t break but rather burned in her skin. Caitlin looked back up at her home, which was quickly fading from view and let out a broken-hearted scream. She knew there was no turning back. She wouldn’t escape her fate, not like when she helped Liam escape his.

 

But still…it was worth it.

 

She felt the pain when she blasted through the last layers of her realm, breaking all the physical and emotional links with her people above and went tumbling down to the worlds below. Her body started spinning out of control, straining against the resistance of the air, wanting to push her up while her wings were straining against the hold of those cursed chains.

 

Just a few more seconds left…and then the resounding smack as she was met by the greeting of unforgiving ground.

 

Pain. Bone-shattering pain. She felt every bone in her wings snap as easily as if they were made of glass while her head made a sickening crunching sound when it made contact with the hard rock underneath her.

 

And then silence.

 

Through her pain-filled haze, her disability to scream and all of the wounds screeching out, alerting her of their presence, she heard the sound of distant voices.

 

Humans.

 

The only luck she had, was the fact that she broke her fall with her wings, shattering them in the process. Clenching her teeth together to stop the moans and grunts of agony, she pulled them in her back and withdrew the last feather when the first human rounded the corner.

 

Startled shouts filled the air before padding of feet on hard rock alerted her that they were coming towards her. She only caught a glimpse of the small, rugged group of people, who were on edge, scanning the terrain around her, before she passed out.

 

---Caitlin’s POV---

 

“ Are ye’ sure we can trust her? What if she’s a spy?”

“Don’t be a fool, Nicolas. Do you honestly think she looks like a vampire? Or a demon? To me, she looks like a woman who ran out of luck. Took a thorough beating as well; her whole back is covered in bruises and marks.”

The voices slowly registered in my mind as I became aware of my surroundings. I was lying on my stomach on what felt like a pile of rags. One of the humans was peeling the last of the chains of my body while two of them were in a heated discussion.

I winced when the hands gripped the piece of chain wrapped around my throat, causing an eerie silence to slice through the room before footsteps approached me.

“Can ye’ hear us lass?” a male asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. Slowly, I raised my head of the rags to nod numbly, groaning under my breath when the bruises protested. Another, softer pair of hands gently pushed me back down. “Stay down, your body is covered with chain marks and your back is badly bruised.”