Heel

~ Nina D'Arcangela

Stripped bare of her clothing, wrists shackled in heavy irons, ankles and neck fettered as well, she does not bother to struggle. Staring down the length of chain leading from her throat to the beast holding her bonds, disdain bleeds from her eyes as they bore into his.

“You’ve always been an arrogant cunt, it’s time someone taught you to heel,” he slurs past the malformed lump serving as his lower lip. His jagged, cracked teeth do nothing to improve his enunciation.

With a quick, hard yank, he drags her forward a step, but only one; the crunch of bone distinctly recognizable over the sound of the rattling chains. A bare flicker of emotion registers in her expression as her left wrist falls slack. Still, she stares in defiance.

Stepping down from the dais, he paces, seething with anger. The longer he paces, the angrier he becomes. Standing on the stone floor several arm lengths away, she remains stoic. His nakedness as rigid as her obstinance, he closes the gap between them in two quick strides.

“Ragged whore, I am your keeper. Without me you are nothing, as pathetic as those loathsome sheep you seem so fond of. When I command you to heel, you will do so.” The threat issuing from his vile, twisted mouth is unmistakable. Still, she stares back as the bones of her broken wrist begin to stitch together.

Wrapping the chains around his forearm to shorten the length, he looms over her, spittle flying as he roars, “You were told not to interfere.” Ah, the crux of her punishment has come to light.

They continue to stare at one another, his breathing growing heavier by the moment. Finally she breaks the silence. “And I did not, My Lord,” the slight bow of her head clearly meant to mock him; her dismissive tone conveying her disinterest in his attempt at intimidation.

With a growl that comes from deep within his chest, fury radiating from every pore of his being, he begins to froth. Using the chains wrapped around his arm, he raises her two feet above the ground, bringing her level with his eye. With the other hand, he snaps her right wrist between his forefinger and thumb. A slight groan escapes her before she can contain it. A smile begins to spread upon his face.

Cupping her ass with his free hand, he presses her body hard against his own, his want throbbing against her. He leans forward, whispers in her ear, “So you do feel. I’ve heard an angel is an extremely… erotic creature and the darker the soul, the sweeter the nectar. Perhaps I have been going about your discipline all wrong.” He slowly licks her shoulder, her neck, the side of her face, then begins to boom with laughter – intent all too clear in his eyes.

She returns his slight smile as he runs a razor-sharp black talon over her lips, tearing them to shreds. Blood begins to trickle down her chin; he laps it clean. She unfurls an obsidian wing; he stares at it in wanton lust. With lightning speed, she uses the tip of a feather to pluck his left eyeball from its socket. There is a moment of resistance as the sinew and tendons try to cling to his skull before tearing away.

Screaming in agony, he releases her and she tumbles to the stone floor. His arm still tangled in the chains, he drags her with him as he retreats to the dais until they become unwound. Cupping his empty socket, he screams, “You whore!”

Lying on the floor, she begins laughing manically.

“You fucking whore! I’ll see you dead for this!”

Gently, she places the eyeball in her mouth, blood still running down her chin from her slashed lips. Through peals of laughter, she positions her new prize between her teeth, and as he watches in horror, she smiles brightly and begins to chew.

Darting forward once more, her wing tip slams into his other eye with an audible pop, then carves it in two with a single stroke. She leaves this one in place to heal useless and deformed; a match for his lower lip, a reminder of her for the days to come.

Rising to her feet, she walks to the dais and flippantly asks, “You wish to see me dead?” With a mirthless chuckle, she leans in and whispers, “I don’t think you’ll be seeing much of anything…”

~ Nina D’Arcangela

© Copyright 2014 Nina D’Arcangela. All Rights Reserved.

Published by Nina D'Arcangela

Nina D’Arcangela is a quirky horror writer who likes to spin soul rending snippets of despair. She reads anything from splatter matter to dark matter. She's an UrbEx adventurer who suffers from unquenchable wanderlust. She loves to photograph abandoned places, bits of decay and old grave yards. Nina is a co-owner of Sirens Call Publications, a co-founder of the horror writer's group 'Pen of the Damned', founder and administrator of the Ladies of Horror Picture-prompt Monthly Writing Challenge, and if that isn't enough, put a check mark in the box next to owner and resident nut-job of Dark Angel Photography.

34 thoughts on “Heel”

    1. Hi Jon, thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it. If you think she tilts left in this one, read some of the other Dark Angel pieces; she’s always a wickedly bad winged girl! Thanks again! 🙂

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    1. Hi Tom, thank you, thank you! I’d say it’s blurring the lines between dark and darker when my Dark Angel is the lesser of the two evils, but it was fun to have her on the receiving end. She’s usually the aggressor. I guess the old saying is true, eventually we all answer to someone. I’m glad you enjoyed the imagery; a picture is worth a thousand words, but then again, a few words can conjure a thousand different images depending on the reader… Thanks again, Darkling! 😉

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  6. Great story, Nina! I particularly loved the sarcasm in the last sentence:

    “I don’t think you’ll be seeing much of anything…”

    Nothing is ever so sweet as well deserved revenge. 🙂

    Blaze

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    1. So very true, my blazing friend! A dish best served… gooey? lol

      Thank you, Blaze! I’m glad you enjoyed it. It was meant to be quick and punchy, with an ‘oh shit’ factor of at least seven. Thanks again, doll!! 🙂

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  7. Whenever I know that the Dark Angel will appear in your fiction, Nina, my enthusiasm turns almost child-like – I’m running for the popcorn, my comfy chair, and don’t bother me while I’m readin’ and long after I’m done! lol You draw me, and by the obvious comments your readers, into this dark, tragic and yet simply beautiful world of the Dark Angel with horrifying ease.

    In my mind’s eye, each ‘snippet’ of prose plays out like a graphic comic. I love how you start your scenes, in this case ‘HEEL,’ midstream, and yet it’s so seamless. We the readers become immersed and get swept away. So much of the Dark Angel’s world to explore and learn, and yet like a true mistress of the things hauntingly gorgeous, you will spoon feed it to us when you see fit 😉

    ‘HEEL’ is outstanding! I loved it, NIna!! 🙂

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    1. Perhaps I write about her wold with a bit too much of that horrifying ease…

      Thank you Joe! This piece shows a slightly different side of my Dark Angel; an almost subservient one – in the beginning at least. She’s usually much more aggressive from the onset. I’m laughing at the image of you running for popcorn and your comfy chair to delve into her dark world. She, of course, would be arrogantly standing over the chair wondering why you weren’t already there waiting in the first place! lol

      Thank you again for always being so kind with your praise. It is truly and humbly appreciated. 🙂

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    1. LMAO – somehow, Zack, I knew you’d appreciate the vengeful violence of this piece. It makes my … ahem (avoiding ocean metaphor)… heart sing too! Thank you, TE, for your gushing praise! (no longer avoiding ocean metaphor) ;]~

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  14. Pingback: Twitch and Arch | Michael Forman. Author of Naughty, Evil Little Thriller Novels

  15. Such intense writing. And while the demon is vile, you get a sense that this angel is not exactly an innocent. Lots of ambiguity, rather than a good vs evil type of thing. Does this Dark Angel have more stories?

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    1. The Dark Angel is far from innocent!! Yes, there are a good number of DA stories on both Pen of the Damned and on Sotet Angyal – The Dark Angel. She is sadistic, loving, arrogant, and evil in all the best ways possible. on http://sotetangyal.wordpress.com – Feb 14, 2014 I posed a very different type of DA piece, but no less in keeping with her nature. Thank you for reading ‘Heel’ – I hope The Dark Angel has found a new fan. 😉

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      1. When I’m feeling nasty I will definitely be reading dark Angel stories. Now here’s the question: is that your real last name and you are capitalizing on it, or is it just a really clever pen name?

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        1. It’s a pen name, but it’s also a valid name for me… Here’s why. Since I was a small child, my mother has always called me Nina because when I wanted to take a nap, I would say I wanted to go ‘ninanahs’. So I became her Nina. As to the last name, it is my husband’s mother’s family name – so it’s completely legitimate. Though the family spells it in two different fashions – one meaning The Dark Angel, the other meaning The Arc Angel. It’s about a 50/50 split among them – clearly I chose the one that would suit my writing persona the best. Pius is not a term one could easily apply to my Dark Angel and her doings, or much else that I write! 😉

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