Page 26 of Descent of Angels

My father sat on my bed, highlighted by the moonlight that shone through the window. His face was in shadow, so I couldn’t make out his expression as his head turned toward me. He must have gotten home when I was showering. I’d been in a while, and the sound of the water would have covered the noise of the truck. The stench of beer, whiskey, and sweat drifted over to me, and I scanned him for signs of danger. My heart sank as I saw the rifle behind him on the bed, his hand resting on the grip.

“Interesting time of night to take a shower, Dylan,” he remarked casually, his words slurring slightly.

“I was too hot,” I replied. “I wanted to cool down, so I took a shower.”

“At three in the morning?” He stood, picked the gun up, and walked over to me. I tensed, feeling very much like a deer caught in the headlights. He looked down at me, his eyes glittering in the moonlight, and I caught the flash of white teeth. “You weren’t, by any chance, trying to wash the filth off your body before I got home then?”

Fear ran through my veins like ice. “I—”

He hit me across the face, and I crashed into the door.

“Don’t lie to me, Dylan,” he said, his voice calm and quiet. That wasn’t a good sign, so I stayed quiet. Sometimes he got bored and left me alone—sometimes, but not this time. His fist collided with my stomach, and I tried to gasp for air as I doubled over with pain. He grabbed me by the throat and shoved me against the door. “I asked you a question, girl.”

“No,” I rasped before he punched me again. This time, my knees gave way and I fell to the floor, gasping desperately for air.

“Stop. Lying. To. Me.”

I cried out as his foot connected with my ribs with each word, and then I curled up with my arms over my head. “Please... No, please... I’m sorry...”

“You fucking little whore.” He grabbed my hair, dragged me up onto my knees, and slapped me across the face. My ears rang and tears streamed down my face. “You couldn’t fucking wait, could you? You just opened your legs for the first men that came along. They are not even fucking human!”

He pulled on my hair, slamming my head against the wall, and my vision blurred. I fought to stay conscious, and when he released me, I dropped to the floor and forced myself onto my hands and knees as I tried to crawl away from him. I’d never seen him so angry, and I needed to get away. The rifle butt hit my face, sending searing pain across my cheekbone, and I fell sideways. His foot kicked me hard in the stomach, and I gave up trying to get away and concentrated on surviving. I curled into the tightest ball I could.

“Please, please stop... I’ll do anything.”

“I bet that’s exactly what you said to them, isn’t it, you little ungrateful bitch? I saw you in the woods. I came back early and caught you in the act. I knew you were a dirty little girl, but my God, you are more of a slut than I thought you’d be.” His breathing was fast and harsh from the effort of hurting me. “You thought you would let them fuck you and then what? They’d take the farm from me and have somewhere to hide from that lieutenant?”

Shock made me uncurl and stare up at him, and he laughed. “Oh, I know all about it, my girl. I know they deserted their host and are being tracked down. But don’t worry, Dylan. They aren’t being tracked anymore. The angels know exactly where to find them now.”

“No!” I gasped. “Daddy, please!”

“Yes. They are on their way now, and you’ll never see them again. It’ll be just you and me again, the way it was supposed to be.”

“No, no...” I cried quietly on the floor, all my dreams of love and happiness falling into the dust with my tears.

“I expect they’ll be executed,” he remarked calmly, as if he was announcing he thought it might rain.

Fear and anger rocketed through me, and a strength I didn’t know I possessed filled me. I got up on my knees, pain shooting through my body.

“I won’t let you,” I said, and he stilled.

“What?” His voice was ice cold, but I didn’t care. Something inside me, something fueled by touch and warmth and love wasn’t going to back down anymore. I’d had enough.

“I won’t let you hurt them,” I stated, and I reached for the gun.

He jerked it away from me and kicked out, catching me in the chest and sending me backwards.

“Ungrateful little whore. Fuck you, you little bitch!” He dropped to his knees and pounded on me. I curled up, unable to stop the hailstorm of fists on my stomach, back, head, and face. I couldn’t even raise my arms to protect myself anymore. He was going to kill me. Regret filled me as I thought of the future I could have had with them.

After some time—I had no idea how long—the barrage stopped, and I heard his footsteps clunking down the hall. I tasted blood in my mouth, and then even that sense faded away into the darkness.

I floated in and out of consciousness. The pain ebbed and flowed, and sounds came and went. In a moment of clarity, I heard raised voices outside. One was shouting my name, and I tried to answer, but only a weak croak came from my throat, and I sagged with the effort. I heard my father’s voice, followed by the report of his gun. My mind went crazy. I couldn’t move, my body was broken, and all I could do was lie here with fear consuming me as tears trickled from the corners of my eyes. More shouting, then I suddenly heard footsteps coming along the hallway. Fear gripped me again as they approached.

“No more,” I whispered.

“Fuck, Jophiel, get your ass up here now!” Ade sank to his knees next to me. I had fallen on my front, and I couldn’t turn my head to see him, but I felt him stroke my hair. “It’s okay. It’s okay, baby girl, Joph’s coming. Hold on. I am going to fucking tear him apart!”

A second set of footsteps sounded, and I heard Joph gasp. “What the fuck? He did this? I am going to kill him.”

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