Archangel_of_Pain

Their vacation to Cancun had been wonderful. Aziel had acquired a small beach house on the coast some years ago, and that was where he chose to stay. It would have cost a fortune, if Aziel hadn’t been as shrewd as he was. It had taken an exceptional amount of work on his part, but he had managed to manipulate one of his victim’s estates to ‘drop’ the estate. Accompanied with the burning of several of the deceased’s property (which took care of most of the deeds), Aziel had managed to snea

Cam woke up wrapped in warm arms. The light was drifting in through the closed Venetian blinds, making small slits of golden yellow that played across his dresser and carpet. Cam watched the motes of dust float in the sunlight from his position against Gabriel’s chest. It was a peaceful morning. Gabriel’s naked body felt good against Cam’s own, and his even breathing told him that Gabriel was still fast asleep. Cam loved Saturday mornings like this. Gabriel always slept a little later

The call had come very early in the morning. Cam had slapped at his alarm clock ineffectively for at least fifteen seconds before he realized that it was 5:02AM, about two hours before his alarm was set to go off. Gabriel grumbled beside him, something about Cam needing to take less time in the shower so they could snuggle longer in the morning. This comment caused the side of Cam’s mouth to tilt up just a little. Finally, his morning-numb fingers closed over his cell phone. “Hello

The world was incredible pain. His heart raced in his chest, pounding so hard, he thought it was going to leap right out of his chest. His head hurt, feeling like it was full of glass needles that jostled against each other and pushed at the soft tissues of his brain. Following on the heels of this incredible pain was a sense of debased wonderment focused on a single, leaping thought. Why am I alive…? He struggled to move, groping blindly in the darkness behind his eyelids. He was l

Cam felt better as Gabriel held him. The tears stopped, and gradually he relaxed. His confession had tumbled out, and there had been a blissful moment when he was sure that everything was going to be all right. Maybe he should have told Gabriel sooner, because Gabriel could have protected him. Cam allowed himself to be held against Gabriel, his head on his shoulder and pondering the road that his life was going to take. Would the police be able to protect him? Could he get into reh

Cam woke without pain. He was almost surprised, and his muddled brain associated the warmth and security of another’s arms around him with Gabriel. Perhaps all the drugs and the second arrival of Aziel had only been a nightmare? He didn’t want to open his eyes and find out if he was wrong. The reality would be too painful. So instead of opening his eyes, Cam lay with his cheek pressed to a warm shoulder, his arms around a firm chest, and warm breath trailing over his cheek. He could ha

If everything in Cam’s head had been made of crystal, it was surely shattered now. Individual shards of crystal were piercing the tender, delicate tissues of the inside of his skull, lancing his arteries and filling the inside of his head with pumping, hot blood. The pressure and pain were something that was quite unlike anything Cam had ever felt before. His eyes pounded in their sockets, thumping against his eyelids as if they had a will to escape. His ears rang a high-pitched squeal th

To say that Cam was terrified was an understatement. After Gabriel had left (Cam had finally convinced him to go home sometime around noon) he had frantically paced his apartment. He found himself cleaning; picking up plates and cups, straightening out the furniture and making sure the dust was off the ledges. When he caught himself preparing, he stopped. Why was he doing that? Because he was terrified of what Aziel was going to do, that’s why. There was a horrible hour where Ca

For long moments, all Cam could do was gawp at the gleaming red phone that sat with inanimate indifference on the counter. It had landed face up, about two feet from the box. It had almost toppled onto the floor, but friction had granted it mercy and stopped it precariously on the edge of the counter. He didn’t hear Gabriel’s questions, in fact, his drawn face did nothing; the only movement was in his gawping mouth and throbbing Adam’s apple. When Gabriel seized him by the shoulders an

It had been a pretty busy week for Cameron. He had been sending off letters and collecting information on different colleges and the programs that they offered. Prices, options of night classes and correspondence were his main concerns. While the money that he had sitting in his bank account had accrued a vast quantity of interest, Cam felt an overwhelming reluctance at using all of it. The more he thought about it, the more Cam believed that the money was dirty, and using it was someh

Another month passed… Cam could hardly believe that he had finally graduated grade 12. With his high school degree in hand and still more than enough money in his bank account to continue on, Cam was left feeling like he was standing in a large room that was composed of nothing but doors. He could go anywhere he wanted, do anything he wanted. He’d already started to look into various college requirements, thinking that he would get himself a technical degree and maybe start working with

Gabriel took Cam out for dinner. Cam had protested, since he had been the one to ask, but Gabriel was firm. He said that regardless of the financial situation, it was just wrong to make a student buy him dinner. Gabriel’s smile had been the final nail in the coffin of Cam’s argument… it was just so hard to argue with that. Cam was excited. He hadn’t been on a date in years. Even the swelling promise of another Craving didn’t deter his genuinely happy mood. He got dressed with a smile o

Jared never saw his face. But he was sure, sure, that if he ever saw those cold, calculating eyes again, he would know the demon. They way they glittered like ice chips suspended in the deepest of space, devoid of anything human and sane and warm… He was sitting in the chair, slumped over. He could feel blood running from him. He didn’t know the answers to any of the questions that this other was asking. He didn’t know why he thought that this other would think he would know them. He w

Cam leaned against the wall of his small cozy apartment and squeezed his eyes shut. He fought down the horrible thirst that was squeezing his heart. It had been three months, and the cravings would still come for him. He was starting to feel like his body would never forget the flavor of Aziel’s deadly kiss. Sinking slowly to his knees, Cam held himself against a cold that was coming from within and let the tears slip down his cheeks. Would his life always be like this? Shaded by a hor