Secrets And Sins Part 3: Happy ever after

Chapter 23

~Halo~

Why did all their nights out have to end with a fight to the death?

One moment Halo was trying to understand the intricacies of Beatrice's strange, but fascinating, relationship with her parents, and the next, Ava was sword fighting with a piece of garden chair. It wasn't Ava's fault though, not this time anyway. Nope, Halo was solely to blame for this one, they should've warned her.

"God fucking damn it!"

The voices of Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair broke Ava's concentration, and though she was distracted for only a split second, that was all it took.

The disconnection was brief but excruciating. The process didn't physically hurt Halo, not like Ava, but they despised it, nonetheless. There was nothing but crushing loneliness without their Bearer, and Halo hated that void. Even being apart for only a short period, there was no way to tell how much time had passed when they were trapped there, it was enough to drive any sentient being insane.

"How bad is it if I think I saw some of my intestines?"

Suddenly back in Ava's head, Halo could quite clearly see what the Bearer was talking about. Blood seeped freely from the wound left by the sword, a hint of shiny viscera visible through the gaping hole in her stomach.

Halo panicked, pooling all of their resources to kick healing up into high gear.

Keep the wound closed!

Ava lifted weak and shaky hands to her torso, pulling the edges of her flesh together. Halo could feel her pain, deep and throbbing. She was bleeding out on the muddy, torn-up dirt in the steady rain. They ached for her.

The sound of murmuring pulled Ava's attention back to their attacker, and Halo felt a bolt of fear, they hadn't heard that prayer in a very, very long time. Before they could do anything, a tug dragged at Halo's consciousness, trying to wrench them from Ava.

Halo held on the best they could, opening the well of power as wide as possible and relinquishing all control they had over it so Ava could access the relic's energy without restraint.

There was another tug, stronger this time. Halo fought to stay, terrified that this would be the last time they would be with Ava, her life was fading so fast.

They weren't strong enough.

With the last words of the prayer mumbled into the night, Halo was torn from their place at the back of Ava's mind.

With their connection to the planes of reality lost, Halo floated freely in the void, untethered and alone and thinking about Ava.

~

"I take it they found you then?"

The voice in the dark was the last one they had expected.

Gabriel? Halo was shocked, they hadn't been in their master's head for centuries, How... why am I with you?

He chuckled softly, "Because I called you to me. "

It was then that Gabriel opened his eyes and Halo could see where they were.

They imprisoned you?

Gabriel's cell was more like a gentleman's study than a prison cell. Floor to ceiling bookshelves lined three of the four walls, a half-moon couch and glass coffee table, which was adorned with a crystal whisky decanter and glasses, the centerpiece.