Angel

13- Killer In Me

In the nest of the night, the step-mother and her wicked daughters slumbered and dreamed of princes and servant boys, of elaborate feasts and the sweet taste left behind once a whip is cracked. Midnight fell into the darker part of the sky. Soon three AM crawled upon the walls like some shadow.

The two sisters had fallen asleep in the front room, each laying fully clothed on separate settees. A bottle of green liquor rested next to their teacups. Even awake, they would not have heard the silent intruder enter.

When sharp fangs broke into Drusilla's throat, all she could do was sputter and try to push the trespasser away. But the man was much stronger. Determination held one sister down before moving to the other, draining them both until their heart stopped and his belly was filled. When he looked towards the hall leading to the rest of the house, his eyes shimmered silver.

A trail of pale mist followed him as he headed to the step-mother's room – a shadow which bore wings and horns. As the man entered the mother's bedroom, the shadow slithered on the wall and waited.

His teeth dug into her pasty skin, deep and painful. His angry mouth tore at her jugular in an inelegant manner. Unlike the swift death he had offered the two daughters, the step-mother's death was neither neat nor merciful. The figure pinned her down by her chest, pressing into her ribcage as he bit her. The cracking of her ribs meshed with a pitiful gurgling sound coming from her lips. As his ravenous teeth tore bits of flesh away, blood spouted from her like a fountain. The figure's hands buried themselves into the mother's chest until he had made his way through to her heart and pulled it out from the roots. Hurling the obscene thing away, he rose and wiped the blood off his lips with the back of his hand.

As he entered the hall, his shadow draped itself around him like a cape and followed him downstairs to the cellar where Kylo slept.

Skulking down the stairs, the shadowy figure found Kylo and knelt before him as if a pilgrim to prayer. The younger man sleeping before him was his altar. The desperate desire to have him was his God. When he brushed the back of his hand along Kylo's ivory skin, the other woke with a gasp. His dark eyes snapping open to view a pair of silvery ones looking back at him.

"My lord," Kylo cried in sleepy silence. "Am I dreaming?"

Shaking his head, Vincent gestured Kylo to sit up. "I have come for you, my angel." Helping him up, Vincent led him to the stairs.

"The others, they will hear and they will come. We will both get whipped. My lord, they will not care that you are who you are if they catch us..." Kylo whispered in a trembling tone.

"Do not fret about the others. They no longer belong in your world."

"Wha...what did you do?"

"I took them out." Gently covering Kylo's eyes as they stood on the top step, Vincent leaned into his ear and spoke, "Promise me you will not peek."

"I am frightened," Kylo uttered in a shaky voice, terrified the step-mother's fury would come running after him with sticks and things that hurt.

"My angel, hush and follow me," Vincent begged as he led Kylo through the front room. The two sisters lay dead, blood dripping from puncture wounds on their necks. And their eyes, glassy and sightless, were focused on the ceiling. "No one will ever hurt you again."

When the pair had exited the house, Vincent lowered his hand.

Kylo blinked in confusion. "Blood..." he uttered. "I smelled it in the house and I smell it on you." Pausing, he looked at the lord wide-eyed. "Why had no one stopped you from entering the house uninvited? Why has no one stopped me from leaving?"

Vincent cast a glance to the house then to Kylo. Amidst the panic, he had salvaged the black gloves. Handing them to the other, the lord said stoically, "I killed them."

Clutching the gloves close, Kylo let out a trembling breath. "I am free?"

Vincent nodded as he touched his hands to Kylo's arms. This close, the lord felt a small flutter in his chest. "You are free. As long as my heart beats, I will protect you. If anyone ever harms you again, they will have me to answer to."

A small tear trickled out of Kylo's dark eyes. Words of gratitude blossomed on his tongue but he was too emotional to speak.

"Come with me?" Vincent begged. "Back to Venice. Away from years of sorrow. We can sail into the canals where you will no longer be Kylo the Cinder-Boy but Angel," Vincent touched his forehead to Kylo's and added, "my angel."

As night licked along their skin, Kylo nodded. "Take me away from here, my lord."

Quickly moving to Vincent's black horse, the two men mounted the steed and tore off into the night where a carriage waited for them to take them to a ship that would take them far away from all the painful memories which had left stains upon Kylo's soul.

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