Glen and his boyfriend Aiden live a mostly peaceful life in New York City, but then Aiden’s abusive ex, Stephan, comes back into the picture. After an odd encounter with a Catholic priest, Glen begins acting strangely.<br><br>He attributes it to stress at first, but then things get even worse. Glen experiences mental blackouts, and when he comes to, he finds he has been up to no good. A stolen wallet here, a violent loss of temper there, and an unsettling trend of nightmares plague him.<br><br>Glen prays he isn’t losing his mind and hopes he can regain control of himself, but when Stephan slips back into old habits and goes after Aiden, the darkness in Glen’s soul takes over again. Can Glen subdue his inner demons before they consume him, or is it already too late?

Vitia ex Virtus

Instead, he dreamt of the angel. It grew from six inches to six feet, eyes and sword ablaze. It knew every wrong Glen had ever committed or ever would, and it raised its sword to strike him in punishment. Aiden was there, too, but Glen pushed him out of the way. He put his hands over his head to protect himself. Before the burning steel could slice him in half, Glen was shaken awake.


“Baby? Baby are you okay?” Aiden anxiously stroked Glen’s hair. “You were tossing and turning in your sleep.”


Glen panted. Despite the air-conditioning in their apartment, he was still sweating. “Weird dream,” he muttered. “The angel thing tried to kill me.”


“What? Why would it do that? I thought it was supposed to be a defending angel.”


“I dunno, I must have done something to piss it off. I can’t remember. I-I think I saved you from it though.”


Aiden snuggled up closer to Glen. “Oh?”


“Yeah, it was coming after you so I pushed you out of the way, then it tried to fillet me.”


Chapter 6