Bruises

Bruises
Chapter 1

In the darkness of his bare, stone chamber, a pale young man sat on his bed, listening to the comforting sounds of the rain beating down outside his window and the thunder crashing in the midnight sky. He brushed a lock of his black hair behind his ear, sighing and leaning his robe-clad back against the wall his bed was placed against. All over his body bruises throbbed and ached, each one telling a story of its own. Being a Serafan warrior priest was never an easy thing, especially when one had the looks to go with the label of ‘avenging angel,’ and survived the dark and sunless days of battle with vampires only to fall unwilling prey to the lusts of his five fellow Serafan. A bruise from a vampire here, a bite mark from Melchiah or Zephon there… By no means was Raziel defenceless, but against five strong Serafan he had no option but submission.

It was only times like this, when he had managed to avoid or divert their attention from him for the night, that he could be at peace and rest his weary body. That thought in mind, Raziel let his emerald eyes slide closed, still leant against the wall, and relaxed, though his hand never left the hilt of the silver sword that graced the bed next to him.

* * * * * * *

Raziel’s eyes snapped open as he felt something touch his cheek, grasping for his sword and silently cursing as he found the space it had previously occupied empty. He looked up, growling, expecting to see of one of the other Serafan smirking at him but instead he was met with the sight of an unfamiliar figure gazing down on him with an unreadable expression on his handsome face, framed by long, blonde hair.

“Who-who are you?!” Raziel demanded, noting that the man held his sword, though not in a threatening way. More like he was holding a dangerous toy out of reach of a child. The man, who was standing a few feet from the bed, having moved back once Raziel had awoken, laughed.

“Just a creature of the darkness, one whose eye you have caught, Raziel.” The man said in a deep voice, and Raziel’s eyes narrowed. A vampire, his fangs proved it, and the claws on his fingers.

“How do you know my name? And what would a parasite like you want with it?” Raziel demanded, warily rising from the bed to stand before the taller vampire, tense as a coiled spring as he waited to be attacked. Another laugh.

“What an amusing creature you are. Your name is what bought me here. I heard one of my fledglings mention it, and I desired to see for myself if you were really as alluring as your name suggests. It means, if I am not mistaken, ‘the angel of divine mysteries.’” The vampire said, slowly moving closer to Raziel, who backed up a little until the backs of his knees met the edge of his bed.

“I had also heard that you had the beauty of an angel as well as the name, it seems the rumours did not do you justice, though.” The blonde vampire murmured, his clawed, cold hand reaching out to run gently down the Serafan’s pale face. Raziel shivered at the touch, steeling himself for a punch or for the bite of the sharp claws into his skin but the pain he expected never came, just more feather-light caresses down his cheek and the side of his throat.

“Who are you?” Raziel asked once more, his eyes drawn inexorably to those of the vampire, who was looking down on him with a mixture of amusement, lust, and a strange hint of tenderness that puzzled the young Serafan.

“You may call me Kain.” The vampire said, studying every inch of Raziel’s slightly flushed face, enjoying the look of shock that appeared at his words.

“K-Kain!” Raziel gasped, trying to pull back but falling onto the bed as he lost his balance. This was the mysterious Kain? The one who ruled over the vampires? Could trap souls from the underworld and imprison them to create his monsters, which now ravaged the land of Nosgoth, and which Raziel spent each day trying to destroy? But why would he be here, among mere humans, and even his enemies, the Serafan?

“What do you want here?” Raziel demanded, feeling vulnerable sprawled on the bed as he was, and not liking it. Kain looked thoughtful, and thankfully backed off a little, allowing Raziel to sit up as the vampire moved to sit on the stone sill of the large window.

“When seen from the perspective of immortality, the world is a lot different, Raziel. The humans are a dying breed, scraping out their pathetic existence amongst that which is destined to eradicate them entirely sooner or later. Amongst all of this chaos and struggle, there is little time for aesthetic pleasures, but I find myself desiring something beautiful to look upon once in a while. Even among the vampires, there are not many with the grace you possess, you are indeed a treasure to find amongst all of this human decadence.” Kain said, enjoying the way Raziel blushed slightly, a mixture of anger, fear and shame in his emerald green eyes.

“You are my enemy… It is you vampiric parasites who shall be driven from Nosgoth, not the humans.” Raziel hissed, giving a startled gasp as suddenly Kain was upon him, pinning him to the bed and looking down at his prize with a wicked look on his face, discarding the sword he had been holding easily where Raziel could not hope to reach it. After a brief moment of struggling, it was painfully obvious to Raziel that he was the weaker, and that he was at the mercy of the vampire, so he stilled, glaring hotly up at Kain, who laughed.

“Such passionate eyes shall be my undoing. Tell me, what is really worth saving about your fellow humans? And do not tell me you fight simply because it is ‘right’ and the vampires are evil. Have they treated you so well that you would give your life protecting them?” Kain asked, trailing his claws in a spidery touch down Raziel’s robe-clad chest, drawing forth a shiver from the human.

“I…” Raziel began, trembling as he felt his heart pounding wildly in his chest. It was true, the other humans had never treated him well, even the other Serafan, strongest of the humans, showed him no more respect than an animal would receive, using him as a toy for their lusts. But he couldn’t just agree with this vampire, his mortal enemy, who, it seemed, was about to do exactly the same thing to him. “I must fight. It is all I know. What would you have me do, lie down and die quietly? Let your creatures tear out my throat and feed upon my flesh?” Raziel snarled, trying to shake off Kain’s teasing hand but failing, whimpering as Kain pinched sharply at one of his nipples through the thin cotton robe, warning him to be still.

“Ah, so you fight out of instinct? Kill or be killed? What a noble cause, my little Raziel.” Kain laughed, his claws moving down to the tie that held Raziel’s modest sleeping-robe in place.

“Who are you to speak of noble causes? Stop these insipid games of yours and release me! I have no interest in conversing with my sworn enemy, give me my sword and I shall show you who is to be driven from the face of Nosgoth!” Raziel hissed, trying to push Kain away. He had no wish to reveal to Kain the healing bruises present on the insides of his thighs, a clear sign that he could, and indeed had, been taken and used. In these troubled times rape was not so uncommon, but for a Serafan… The bruises were a sign of his weakness and that was something he could not allow himself to show before his enemy.

“Your sword would be of little use against me, Serafan.” Kain smirked, untying the knot and drawing Raziel’s white robe open. The young human closed his eyes, cheeks burning in shame, and turned his head to the side. Would everyone stronger than him use him this way? He was one of the strongest warriors among all the humans, but at the end of the day he was just another helpless victim, closing his eyes and praying that it would be over quickly.

“Oh? What is this?” Kain’s deep voice sounded mildly surprised but Raziel did not open his eyes, biting his lip as he felt his thighs being parted. He did not even bother to beg for mercy, it would do no good, and would only make him more pathetic than he already felt.

* * * * * * *

Kain traced the dark bruises marring Raziel’s pale thighs with gentle claws, scowling. Had his fledglings done this? No, there would be far more damage if they had, Raziel most likely would not have survived it. That left only one option, the humans. And only a few humans were strong enough to be able to do this to Raziel: the other Serafan. Kain growled, looking down at the deep flush of shame across Raziel’s white cheeks, his fingers still gently caressing the healing bruises on the human’s soft inner thighs.

Having been treated in such a way by his own people, it would not be hard to bring Raziel over to his side, Kain mused, and the idea of having the beautiful Serafan around permanently as a companion suddenly seemed attractive. Eternity was a long time to spend alone, and one forced night of unwilling sex would surely not be enough to satisfy his lust for this beautiful, delicate creature that was now trembling and gasping softly beneath him.

Making up his mind abruptly, Kain reigned in his lust for the time being and drew back, standing up and retreating to his previous position on the window ledge, watching Raziel open his emerald eyes and look up in confusion, sitting up on the bed and drawing his robe to cover himself.

“I see your fellow Serafan are not as saintly as they are rumoured to be,” Kain remarked, looking slightly angry. Raziel shivered, feeling suddenly weak, and lowered his eyes in humiliation. He was marked, not even good enough to be raped by a bloodsucking parasite.

“It is none of your concern.” Raziel whispered, feeling pathetic and worthless.

“You are strong, why do you suffer this? Why stay here with these animals?” Kain asked, coming over and gently tilting Raziel’s chin up, looking down into the human’s haunted green eyes.

“There is no place for me anywhere that I would be any safer.” Raziel said quietly, flinching then surrendering weakly as Kain leant down to kiss him, claiming his mouth almost tenderly.

“Let me take you from this.” Kain offered, already knowing the answer he would get, but determined not to accept it as final.

“To be your plaything? Never.” Raziel said breathlessly, lips still tingling from the vampire’s kiss.

TBC

Yes, I know it's absolutely not canon.