Fallen Angel

Chapter 20: Emily

I watched as a white feather fell to the ground, a soft wind picked it up and made it float through the air in front of me. Like it thought it was necessary to throw my defection back in my face, the white feather floated around me and slowly fell to the pristine water. I was on the deck, looking out over the water. Fish swam around the piers, some venturing out into the sunlit waters.

The devil suggested that I kept my wings out for a while, almost like a goodbye of sorts. He was nothing like I expected, I never thought that the devil could care. But he did, he loved his son and his son wanted something. Like all parents, he was prepared to give his son what he wanted but had to ensure that it was safe for everyone else. I was locked into this layer of hell until the devil was satisfied that I had fallen completely and was not a danger to anyone.

Try as I might, I could not offer a word that could be convincing. He had every right to be suspicious, I know I would be. I had to give him credit, he sat and listened to my pathetic sob story. Listening to how I felt unappreciated by my own kind, given a mission that was beyond my expertise and aside from that, what they asked was wrong. He agreed completely.

There I was a nobody, here I was a somebody. Here I had acceptance, here I had a sense of belonging. And here, I had Brannon. It was crazy because I barely knew him but I couldn't shake the feeling that he was everything that I have ever wanted or needed. I knew nothing of love, my past had been fleeting glances in the corridors of the education hall. I'd been told that if I made it to the next level then I'd have time to consider a romance and until then I was to work hard and behave myself.

But I'd gone against their wishes once I was on Earth, after watching my classmates have relationships and hearing the girls giggle and gossip about the boys, I needed to understand. I needed to learn. It was a waste of time. What did I learn? Vampire boys are self-absorbed assholes. The only exception was Luca and I firmly believed that was because of Brannon's influence. There were a couple of Duroman boys but the Duromans were a shady lot and because they were from another dimension, they never hung around much.

I'd even ventured out to the human world and found a couple of nice looking fellows, cast a light spell over them to make them more receptive to me and had a conversation with them. It hadn't turned out well, they were too busy complaining that the cops kept confiscating their skateboards. I wanted to point out that they were hanging around a section that had signs everywhere that said they were banned but I couldn't be bothered.

So that was it. I figured that I would spend a few decades doing as I was told and then maybe one day I'd have the maturity to find something more. Did I think that the something more was only a few steps from me? No, I didn't.

Brannon was like an enigma, seemingly closed off to the world except for Luca. Those two were like brothers, having learned that Luca's father worked for the devil, I understood their friendship. They'd spent eighteen years like this, in hell or in school, those two were never far apart. It made me wonder for Luca's sisters, wondering if they'd ever been anything more than just a friend to him.

With a heavy sigh, I watched another feather drop into the soft breeze and float slowly to the water. Would they notice that I wasn't a proper angel anymore or would it be Thursday before they realised? Would they storm hell to try to retrieve me? It was unlikely, once you'd accepted the path of darkness there was no going back. There was no forgiveness.

I was also just an infra, I was expendable. They wouldn't care about me, they probably wouldn't even notice me missing.

It was disheartening but I no longer cared. I had offered myself to this path and I had accepted this way of life. I do not regret it. With that thought, I pulled a loose feather and tossed it to the water.

A creak in the floorboard alerted me to the fact that I was no longer alone, I turned and saw Brannon standing at the doorway.

"Hey."

He smiled and I felt my legs weaken.

"Hey."

"This place is awesome." Luca crooned.

I looked past Brannon and saw that I really wasn't alone. Luca and a woman were standing by the windows in the lounge area, looking out at the vast tropical wonderland.

It would have been nice to be alone but I guess he wasn't so sure of me yet. Maybe this was his father's doing, his own personal security team. Not that a human feeder and a vampire could stop me.

Luca walked to the edge of the room, wincing at the sun.

"Oh, I guess this is why you've never brought me here." He grumbled.

Brannon waved his hand in the air and the land turned from a bright golden sunny hue to a soft red colouring.

"Much better."

I turned and looked at the red sun, it wasn't so different to what it had been before, it still warmed us and gave off sufficient light. But now the vampire could step out and play in the water with his girlfriend.

Said girlfriend had stripped down to a bikini that was a pathetic attempt at hiding what she had. She would have been better off going in naked. With a rather large splash, Luca fell backwards into the water, the human feeder slowly made her way in.

"That's Kelsey. She's second generation feeder to the dynasty."

"Yeah, think I've seen her around the school."

Brannon nodded.

"It's one of the perks of being a feeder for a vampire dynasty, private schooling fully funded."

Gee lucky her. All she has to do is put up with a vampire biting her and sucking out her blood. Though she did look healthy, her skin wasn't gaunt or discoloured. In fact, she looked well cared for and aside from the fact that she was frolicking in the water with a vampire, she looked really happy too.

It was rare to find a human in the school, she was one of a small handful of them and they were all feeders. They were the ones that had already had their silence bought, they were offered an open door into a world that the majority of this planet's occupants didn't know existed. Feeders were always appreciative of their good fortune and the vampires flushed them with riches that were beyond comprehension. To be a feeder was rare, to keep the placement was hard. Each of them knew that if they took one step out of line they would be cast away, replaced by someone more willing to behave. All the vampires required was secrecy and a little blood every now and then and in return, they gave their feeders everything their hearts desired.

Brannon shifted, I turned to watch him tug at a loose feather, a soft and satisfied smile on his face. Deep red eyes lifted to me as he let the feather float into the wind.

Nothing was said but I could feel the tension rising between us. It didn't help when he removed his shirt, showing off the stunning body beneath the soft cotton. Left in nothing more than a pair of board shorts, he wandered to the edge of the deck and stepped downstairs that did not exist.

The three of them looked at me with a lot of expectations. I slid my wings back to my body and altered my clothes into a bikini that was provocative but not so revealing as Kelsey's. This little fallen angel was not as brave as she was.