Felix stared, wide eyed, as the mighty doors swung shut behind the cage. He had not the slightest idea what a Felaryan Angel might look like, but it sounded wonderful. Unfortunately, Lord William did not seem inclined to offer any further explanation.
"When shall my duties begin, sir?" Felix whispered, keeping his eyes downcast. He did not want to appear too eager, or his master might change his mind. Lord William did not like his slaves to enjoy their work.
"Report to the Beast Master tonight." Lord William's upper lip lifted in an ugly sneer. "Oh and be careful, boy. I hear angels find human flesh quite delicious."
William stomped away down the stone hall, leaving Felix shivering in the cool dungeon, listening to the screams of the newly imprisoned angel. There was a lot of work to do between then and dinner time that evening, Felix reminded himself. If he didn't get everything done spotlessly, the Slave Master would beat him for each transgression. If he was bad enough, Lord William might order a whip. Felix had never been that bad before, but he had seen it done to some of the older boys. One of them, Juno, nearly died. Felix pushed aside his fear of the creature and scurried away after Lord William, determined to find a way to escape sooner rather than later.
All too soon, however, the time had come for Felix to return to the dungeon. He twisted his hands into the hem of his grimy tunic so the Beast Master wouldn't see them shaking.
"Right, boy," the grizzly, scarred old man growled. "This beastie is just a baby, so fifty pounds of meat a day should do it. It's not up to eating live prey, so you are in charge of loading its feed tray and then getting the hell out of the way, understand?"
Felix nodded, not trusting his voice.
"Go on then."
Felix eyed the cart of bloody meat that the Beast Master was gesturing towards and swallowed back the bile in his throat, not wanting to know where it came from. It was an uncomfortable coincidence that Lord William had just increased the penalties for severe crimes to execution without burial.
With gritted teeth, Felix heaved the metal cart towards a smaller human sized door to the cell. When the door finally opened, it took him a moment to recognize the creature. It was curled up against the far wall, a mighty chain around its neck keeping it tied to an equally massive ring in the floor. As Felix approached, the creature...