A Strange New Love

A thin crimson path made its way down his body to finally drip off his toe and into a puddle of blood. This growing puddle lay only a few centimeters under his hanging body. The blood was coming from raw cuts in his wrists made by the shackles that were holding him in place and making it impossible to escape.

He had been in this place for weeks, being beaten almost constantly and he could hardly remember the last scrap of food they had given him, all he knew was it had been green with mold.

A hiss of pain was all that escaped his lips as he awoke into his on going nightmare.

"So I see that you are awake my angel." Was the voice he knew was only heard in his head.

Ever since he had been captured he had been hearing this voice. For three straight weeks, judging by the change of guards, it had been all he knew except for the constant pain. His torturers never spoke and always had black masks on. His only release was in hearing this voice. Even of he never answered for fear of a guard hearing him and coming in to beat him again.

The voice was soft and silky, but was entirely emotionless. But still it seemed to understand what he was going through. Even if hearing voices is the first sign of insanity, this voice was the only thing keeping him sane.

His pointed, almost elf like ears twitched at a noise in the hall, footsteps. Three pairs, one with a soft tread and two more with deep echoing claps almost painful compared to the total quiet of a moment before, when the only sound to be heard was the dripping of his own blood and his own labored breathing.

He heard material rustling and the sound of his guard outside slipping the key into the lock. Then the door opened. He was at an angle but he could still watch as the first two walked in, they were the ones who always caused his pain, his torturers. With their black masks and tight outfits that showed off ever bit of fat these men possessed and that was a lot to show off. At first he had shuddered in disgust but now he knew better then to do this. The only way for these pitiful men to feel better about themselves was to inflict pain on others.

Then the other who had been with these monsters stepped into the room. He was tall, and slim. He was clothed in deep reds and blacks that cascaded down his body yet clung at just the right spots to show that this man did not lack in muscles. His hair was jet black and reached to his waist. It looked smooth and as soft as silk.

His torturers came in from behind him and grasped him none to gently. They started to pull at his already bleeding body to show him off to the dark stranger. Even pulling out his wings to their full extent just to show that they were real.

He was not a pretty sight to see. Once he had been a beautiful fallen angel with wings of pure black and a body to rival the man who had just entered the cell. Now after weeks of torture and very little food his body had sunken in and had started to waste away. It was covered in deep and shallow cuts, large angry purple bruises and you could see where bones had been broken. For fun his captors had pulled out handfuls of his feathers and had used them to agitate his wounds. This was all for their own sadistic pleasure.

The strange man inspected him with a critical eye inspecting his body and searching for each and every wound. After three full rotations of the angel's body with the shackles cutting ever deeper into his wrists the man suddenly raised his hand and the men stopped turning the angel.

The man stepped closer until the angel could see why his captures held him in such high regard. This man wasn't even a man, he was a vampire and he had inch long fangs.

The vampire walked up to the angel. He came up very close and then drew his tongue across one of the tiny rivers of blood making its way down the angel's arm. He leaned over and whispered into the angel's ear, "Its time to get you out of here my angel."

If he had had enough strength left to do so the angel would have gasped. It was the same voice from his delusions. It was the same voice that had kept him sane and gave him enough hope to live through the beatings. The angel was over come with thoughts and it was all too much for him, his chin hitting his chest was the only indication of what he had just done. He had fainted.

When the vampire noticed that the angel was out cold he smirked to himself. No angel, even if it was a fallen angel, deserved to see this much blood shed. He turned towards his angel's captors, they took the smirk as a sign that they had pleased the vampire and started to smile.

The man on the right's smile vanished as soon as he noticed that the vampire's hand was now protruding through his chest. He turned to his friend in his last seconds and all he got to see was his friends face twisted in horror at the sight he was seeing.

The now dead man collapsed against the vampire soaking the front of his robes in a warm flow of blood. The vampire launched his the man at his horrified friend. The man crumpled to a heap under the dead weight. The vampire then grasped him by the hair and quickly drained him of his blood.

He found the keys on the dead man's body and released the angel from the shackles. Letting him fall into his arms. He walked out of the room passing the guard he had decapitated previously before entering the room after the men he had just killed. He kept going until he was out of the castle.

The sun was soon to rise but he did not want to take any risks with his angel. He had to make it back to the forest where he had hidden his coffin before he would stop. It was the closest safe place with a place he could go to hide from the sun, and he had to get there soon.

The angel woke up to the sun setting in the forest. He had limp arms and a horrible ache everywhere. He realized he had been sleeping on the forest floor, and he was completely bandaged, and it smelled like there was a healing salve on him as well.

"I would not try to move if I were you, you have many broken bones and I will not be able to help you for another ten to fifteen minutes if you get hurt." A silk yet muffle voice came from a little to the right of him.

The angel shifted his head to see a long wooden black box lying in a pile of leaves beside where the angel himself lay. Of course, he thought, a vampire must sleep in a coffin. He was confused about how he had gotten here, all he could remember was being tortured then a beautiful man, no vampire had whispered into his ear that he would get him out. But how had he done it, and he wouldn't have possibly brought him all the way out here. Why would a vampire do something like that for him, a fallen angel?

It seemed that that had to be true. But how could this be? He had been taught that vampires were evil and all they did was wreak havoc and kill. But he must be mistaken in his knowledge, because this vampire had just rescued him.

The last bit of the sum went down and he heard the creak of the coffin's lid opening allowing him to see his rescuer. He must have changed clothes because before he had been wearing blacks and reds, now his robes were pure black.

He opened his mouth to voice his confusion as to why he was here but the vampire cut him off. "Don't try to speak, all you have done since being captured was scream, it will take a while for you to regain your voice."

The vampire reached into his coffin and pulled out a goblet. He also pulled out a pigskin pouch and poured its contents into the cup. "It's only water, drink a little and you will feel a bit better." he raised the goblet to the angel's lips, "trust me." And for some reason beyond the angel's comprehension he did.

The water felt soothing as it made it's way down his raspy throat. The vampire had been right; if he had tried to speak nothing comprehendible would have come out and he would have been sent into a fit of coughs that would not have been good for his already beat up body.

The vampire took the cup away from his lips. "I think that should feel better now, but I think it would be a good idea if you still did not try to speak for a day or two. At least until you feel well enough to move." The angel thought to himself that he knew it would take more then just a few days until he felt well enough to move. Even if his recovery time was faster then that of a human it would still take a few weeks for all of his bones to mend. Maybe vampires had faster recovery rates and were ignorant to those of other races.

The vampire started to head out into the forest. "Do not worry I will be back in under an hour, you will be safe while I am away." With that he turned away from camp and disappeared from sight.

While the vampire was gone the angel's head was spinning. This supposedly evil being had just rescued him from almost certain death and now it seamed like he would be taking care of him. What was going on? He had always been taught to beware vampires for they were evil vile creature that lived on blood and the fear that they created. Was what he had been taught wrong why was he being saved?

The vampire came back a short while later and in his hands was a snow-white rabbit. It was dead. And then he started to prepare it to be cooked.

The angel turned his head away in disgust as the vampire gutted and skinned the rabbit.

"Do not turn your head away, this rabbit gives you food which gives you life. It is a noble creature even if it does not realize that by it's death it brings live to others. If it is not to be eaten then it's life was one of waste." The vampire said after seeing the reaction the angel had given.

The angel thought on this and had to agree. But although the angel was not opposed to eating meat he did not want to watch as it was being gutted. It seemed, to him, still to be cruel.

The vampire made a type of rabbit stew out of the rabbit ad waited for it to cool, then he fed it to the angel. He did not take any for himself; he had filled his stomach the night before and would still be full for a few nights to come. He gave the angel more water from the pigskin pouch and then sat down beside him and started to change his bandages. All of this was done in silence and it was starting to get to the angel.

He took a breath and rasped out, "My name is Michel." It was all he could manage. The vampire had been right about not speaking, and so he started to cough. Every cough hurt his broken body and then he started to cough up blood. His throat was worse then he realized.

When he was done coughing the vampire looked him in the eye and said, "I told you not to speak, you are not well enough yet and it will only cause you pain." The vampire checked the bandages he had just finished putting on the vampire and noticed that there was now fresh blood on them. The coughing had opened some of the wounds.

He quickly undid the bandages and fixed up the wounds. The flow of blood eventually slowed and he put new bandages on.

"My name is Soma, you are probably why it was that I rescued you, and I will tell you." He said as he went to his coffin and got out a new set of robes. He draped these across Michel. They would keep him warmer.

"Around three hundred years ago a curse was placed on all vampires; that their soul mates would be of another race that hated them and they would have no access to this race of creatures. The vampire did not believe the credibility of this curse and soon it was almost forgotten. Then a war started between the angels and the vampires and with no end in sight the angels fled to heaven and have never come back to earth."

So far most of this made sense to Michel, he had learned this history of this war before he had been banished from heaven.

"Soon after it became apparent to the vampires that something was most defiantly wrong. The youngest generation could find no mates, and a vampire can only mate with its soul mate. The curse was proven true and there was mass panic. Most of the vampires died out without ever finding their mates and knowing love."

"Around two months ago I started to feel a pull and I had no idea what it meant. Then three weeks ago the pull got urgent and ever since then I have been traveling here to find it. Then last night I saw you hanging there shackled to that wall and I knew. I knew you were that pull, my reason to live, my love, my soul mate." Soma watched Michel for a reaction. This was a lot to put on him, especially since they had known each other for less then a full day and all Michel had every said to Soma was his name. The angel couldn't even say anything back.

Michel looked into Soma's eyes trying to understand what he had just been told. Yes he realized now that he felt a strong attraction to this man, no vampire, we'll…Soma. But was there really such thing as a soul mate? Wasn't that just a romantic fantasy made by two lovers who thought it would last forever?

As he stared into Soma's eyes he knew this was real. Otherwise why would a vampire, the supposed darkest of creatures, rescue an angel, even if he was a fallen.

That was it Michel accepted Soma's love. Even if it did not seem possible as they had only fist set eyes on each other the night before. But what else could explain how he heard Soma's voice when he had nearly given up and died.

Soma smiled when he realized Michel's answer was a yes. He knew he would have to go slow Michel was still healing. And it would be a bit strange for Michel at first because he was pretty sure that two men as a couple was not something you usually saw. But he knew they could make it. After all they were soul mates.