Page 10 of Angel Condemned

Axton

Shit! Jody was getting under my skin. I was a time bomb waiting to go off. I had to shut her out completely before she got hurt.

I’d started to act like a damn fool talking about my sister and shit. Which was why I had turned down her offer of the Tzak. Then the terrified look on her face cut me. It shouldn’t matter what the hell she thought of me.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

Jody finished her meal and leaned up against the wall. I felt her presence as though I watched her. Each of her breaths, every brush of the prison clothing along the stone floor or wall filled me with the need to open my eyes. I longed to see if she had fallen asleep or if not, be able to talk with her. It had been so long since I'd had normal communication with anyone.

The females the Roulex had forced on me had either been crying or screaming, or they’d been alien whores who were only here for payment. All of them made me sick to my stomach and none of them had said more than three words to me, unlike Jody. No matter how many times they beat me, I never gave into lust. For all of their gadgets, the Roulex couldn’t keep any of my kind’s sperm alive once ejaculated to get anyone pregnant. Our mages had always told us our baby-making parts were sacred. Only fated or mated couples could reproduce.

A scream echoed through the stone walls and Jody hiccupped a startled cry.

Since I wasn’t going to get any sleep as it sounded like the Roulex were getting started on their torture, I sat up.

“Why are you glaring at me?” she asked, but her voice wasn’t as boisterous as it had been earlier. Her gaze darted around the room as though seeking where the next terror would leap out at her.

“How did the Roulex capture you?”

Her head snapped back to me. “Wha—captured?” She paled.

“My sister and I along with her husband were caught on the beach. How did they get you?” I spoke a little louder than usual, hoping to distract her from the muffled cries and whimpers. No one should have to listen to that horror their first night even in this hellhole.

“Th-they came to where I worked and uh…used my father to bring me in.”

“Blackmail then.” I nodded. “The Roulex will use anything to get what they want.”

She bit at her fingernails. “What are they doing to that prisoner?”

The less she dwelled on what might be happening to the poor fellow the better. I had tried to shield my sister from this ugliness and failed. The least I could do is help this silly human for one night. “I owe you a name.”

“Pardon?” She blinked at me, her brow furrowing.

“You can’t keep calling me Dilbert,” I spat out the name, my mouth curling into a sneer.

“Why not? I think it’s kinda fitting. Matches your black, spiral horns and everything.”

“It sounds like something you’d wipe off your boots.”

“All right then, what’s your name?”

“Oh, you’re not getting it that easy.” I stood and stretched. My wings ached from their regrowth, but in another day or two, they’d be back to how they were before they were butchered.

She stood as well, her face flushing, and making her gray eyes sparkle. “Why not? I gave you mine.”

“Names are powerful.” I stalked toward her.

She flattened herself up against the stone wall, but she didn’t run.

This human was surprising me more and more. “Some of our mages believe they can be woven into a binding spell if not careful.” I shrugged a shoulder.

“And you believe them?” She barked out a laugh.

“I’ve heard of crazier stuff than that, but I’m willing to take a chance for the right price.” I closed the distance between us, and she met my stare. This close, her spicy and sweet scent tantalized me. Reminded me of the koycha berries shuttled in from Brojjum Frontier that had been expensive even before the Roulex hijacked our trade.

“There’s nothing I have to offer you.”

“No?” I placed my hands on either side of her head and leaned forward until we were a breath apart. Now that I had smelled her, I was teasing fate. I wanted to find out if she tasted as good as she smelled. “You can’t think of anything to trade?”

---