Lonely Angel: Prologue

Kill.

The thought banged relentlessly in his mind. He would not let his impulses govern him.

I am not an impulse. I am the anguish and anger you have hid for years, even from yourself.

He grit his teeth, willing the impulse to leave him.

"Boy! Are you listening to me?"

"Yes." He looked up, careful not to completely meet the eyes of his master. It was not a matter of deference.

One glance is all it would take. Just one glance and you will be rid of him forever.

"Good. You have your instructions, get on with it." His master's eyes were small but hard, engulfed in the fleshy mass of his face. His skin was shiny with sweat from the effort of dragging his weight on and off of his horse. It wasn't just his master's physical appearance that he hated, it was his whole demeanor. His master spoke as if he was better than him, better than everyone, even. He had seen the leering way his master looked at young girls, the revulsion apparent in their wide eyes. But he had been powerless to stop his master from doing what he wished with them, especially powerless when it came to obeying his master. For if he somehow put a stop to his vile master, where would he go, where he would be safe from the Guild? The Guild would surely come after him if he killed his master.

Instead, he would wait.

It was a week later, when the opportunity finally presented itself to him.

He had been finishing up the final step of the instructions his master had given him. The only thing left now was the murder itself. Once he completed this task, he would kill his master; he thought to himself as he perched on a roof. It was night, and the silver sliver that was the moon was obscured behind a thick veil of dark clouds. It was the perfect night for a murder.

The light went off in the window across the lane from him. It was time. With grim determination, he spread his wings and glided effortlessly to the roof of the house of his victim. No one saw him, for he was just another black shape in the night air. Nothing but a soft whoosh made his presence known, barely loud enough for a stray cat to prick its ears.

No. Not his victim, his charge. He always tried to kill his charges without too much fright or pain on their part. Victim suggested torture. He preferred to think of his dark deeds as merciful, not cruel. He knew he would rather die than be subject to fear all his life.

From the roof, he peered downward, positioning himself directly above the dark window. He drew a breath, summoning all the rage he felt towards his master until it overtook all other thoughts and guilt. He was ready.

Kill.

This time, he heeded the impulse, letting it govern his body so that he fell forward into the open window. His wings brushed the shutters, causing them to clatter against the wall. In the dim room, he saw many ornate furnishings and a candle lit on a table, but instantly focused on the curtained bed. A dark figure was visible behind the curtains folds, a silhouette of a man sitting upright.

"Who is there?" The voice was bold, but feigned. He could sense the man's fear; it was wafting off him in strong waves. It fed his rage.

Wasting no time, he strode over to the bed, ripping the curtain away to reveal a middle aged man clutching his sheets to his body, as if the mere fabric could protect him. The candlelight was just strong enough for his accustomed vision to make out the man's mouth, about to scream. But then he saw the man's eyes, wide in terror- and it was over, a moment after the first shrill call came from the man's mouth.

All that remained of the man was a pile of ash and a skeleton. Immediately, a black rose emerged from between the ribcage; the same smoky black as his wings. He was grateful for that bit of beauty which could exist after the horror he committed.

Steps echoed somewhere in the house, bringing him to his senses. Overcome with grief, he lingered a moment longer than necessary, then launched himself from the window. As he flew away, he heard the piercing shriek of the one who found the remains of the man. It would haunt him in his dreams that night.

No. He was done with unnecessary murder. This last one sickened him more than the rest. It added more guilt to the existing anguish he felt. No more would he tolerate it. Suddenly determined, he flew back through the night to his master.

By morning, when the Guild came to investigate, all they would find in the cottage of his master would be a black rose rising from ashes and a skeleton. Then, he would be free.

~

Unfortunately, all did not go as he planned. Once he arrived at his master's cottage, his master was nowhere to be seen in the first few rooms. After a short search, he found his master in the master bedroom, advancing on a terrified girl. It was one thing to leer at a girl, but another whole matter to kidnap one with dishonorable intentions. She was huddled in the far corner, arms stretched out to protect herself.

"Stay away from me!" Her voice was hoarse from screaming, but it was still strong.

Solus entered the room silently, keeping behind the bulk of his master. Even from his position, he could smell the foul fumes of his master's breath as he spoke. He was evidently very inebriated.

"You can't do a thing about it," His master growled to the girl. He was now nearly within reach of her.

Suddenly, Solus spread his wings out in a swift motion. He heard the girl gasp in astonishment.

"Don't go any nearer to her." It was an order issued from long dormant rage and a fierce need to protect the girl. He was fed up with the ways of his master.

"What-" His master whirled his massive body around as fast as he could, but it wasn't nearly swift enough. He caught sight of Solus's furious gaze when he was halfway turned around. Solus realized, a bit belatedly, that the girl would witness everything, but it was too late to shield her eyes. The bones of his master clattered to the ground long before the first bits of ash wafted down. The girl, surprisingly, was silent. Ashamed, he turned to see her reaction, expecting to find her staring agape at him. Instead, she was wielding a long bone at him, like a club.

"Wait! No, don't hit me, I saved you!" He cowered instinctively as the bone narrowly escaped contact with his head.

"You killed him!" She hefted the bone up, readying for another swing.

"No- stop it- what else should I have done?" He just about shrieked as the bone moved rapidly towards his midsection. At that, she paused. He suppressed a sigh of relief when she lowered the bone to the ground.

"I suppose… you could have tied him up or something…" She seemed almost thoughtful, not at all frightened. He found that most appalling of all.

"Have you seen anything long enough and to go around his stomach and hold him tight in here?"

"I don't think it's possible for a rope to be that long," she responded with a giggle.

Solus stared at her, astonished.

Her brow furrowed. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

He nodded pointedly to the bone in her hand. "You're laughing, while you stand with the bone of a recently dead man in your hand. That's completely normal, especially after you just witnessed someone die."

"Oh!" She peered at the bone as if seeing it for the first time. "Oh, heavens!"

"Now do you finally realize the seriousness of this?" He demanded.

"Yes, I do… Wait- how did you do that? How did you kill him so quickly?" She asked. Then her eyes flickered away from his face, fixing on something to his side, widening in total and complete wonder.

"Uh… I am not quite sure." He stepped away from her, uncomfortable.

"Are those wings?" Her mouth dropped open. She reached a hand forward, and Solus automatically cringed, a habit born from enduring an abusive master. The girl blinked, confused.

"What's the matter?" She asked, concerned. He avoided her gaze, not wanting her sympathy. When he didn't respond, but just stood in front of her with his wings curled around his body like a shield, she couldn't resist letting her hand brush softly against one of the feathers on his wing.

Abruptly, there was a faint knock from the front door. Solus rushed to the window and pushed back the frail curtain. She heard him hiss softly. Running over next to him, she peered out the window into the brightening sky. There, on the doorstep, stood three figures clothed in dark purple robes, each holding the reins to an equally dark horse.

"Guilders!" She whispered in horror. They would capture Solus and take him in for interrogation, which would inevitably lead to his execution.

"I have to go." His face was grim.

"But-"

"Go home, before anyone worries about you. I'll find a way to escape them." He fixed his eyes on her face, willing her to heed his advice. To his dismay, her face lit up. "I can distract them!" She was anxious to help him, considering he had saved her from that vile man.

"No. They would be suspicious of you."

Folding her arms, she glared at him. "You aren't in charge of me. I'll do what I want, which is to help you. Now, go!" With that, she shoved him towards the other window and stalked out of the room. Still uncertain, he hesitated, but opened the window once he heard the girl's voice raised at the Guilders.

Clinging onto the windowsill, he spread his wings and leaped off into the dawn.

"It was horrible! That man… he took hold of me and forced me on his horse and brought me here. Then," She gulped, forcing tears to her eyes. "he dragged me upstairs to his room, and was about to-" She shuddered. The Guilders listened attentively to her story, their stern faces showing only the slightest pity.

"Go on."

"And just then, a dark shape came up from behind the man. It was tall, with huge black wings and a monstrous form. That man turned, but it was too late, and the… monster reduced him to a pile of ash and bones with one glance of its eyes. I was so terrified! But then you knocked on the door, and the monster leaped out of the window. I ran down here as soon as I recovered from the horror," she said as earnestly as she could.

The Guilder nearest to her narrowed his eyes. "You didn't see where it went?"

"Um… It flew off somewhere over there," she said, gesturing over her shoulder. "How did you know to come here so quickly?"

"There was another killing in the city earlier tonight. We tracked the monster from there to here." The man who spoke was younger than the first, with frizzy blond hair, tanned skin, and suspicious violet eyes. He reminded her of a girl at the Academy, another Electric type.

"Oh. May I go home now?" She asked.

"We will escort you. We don't want the monster attacking you, now do we?" The Guilder assisted her onto his horse a bit rougher than she thought necessary, and led the horse down the rough dirt path. They were quite a ways out from the city. It was visible only because there weren't many trees blocking the view. Suddenly, she realized it was only the Electric Guilder and her.

"Wait," she called out. The Guilder looked back at her without breaking his stride.

"What?" He sounded bored.

"Where are the other two Guilders?"

He shrugged. "Just tracking down the monster. Don't let it worry you."

She twisted around in the saddle, troubled. The only things visible in the dawn light were the mountains past the cottage they had come from. Straining her eyes, she finally caught sight of a dark speck far off in the sky. It was him, she knew, the boy with the wings. Below the speck were two figures: the Guilders on their horses. They were circling below him, as if they were vultures, and he the nearly dead animal. How long could he stay in the air? She watched in apprehension as an even smaller speck was let loose from one of the Guilders. It was an arrow, and the Guilders were some of the most skilled men in Datrebil. The arrow was just nearing the boy in the sky when the Guilder leading her spoke.

"Here we are. This is your home, I presume?"

"What? Oh. Yes, it is." Barely containing her anxiety, she let herself be aided off the horse by the Guilder. She was about to open the rusted iron gate when he grabbed her arm.

"Excuse me!" She said, attempting to wrench her arm out of his grasp, and failing.

"I am sorry I have to do this, but it is for your own good." He didn't seem a bit sympathetic as he placed the tips of his fingers on her head in an iron grip. "We can't have you remembering any of this." Realizing what he was about to do, she writhed and screamed, but it was to no avail. Jets of electricity shot through his fingers and into her mind- then everything went black.