Angels of Darkness

lookout point.
    Jessica looked to Marc again. “So where’s your so-called proof?”
    â€œYou have it,” he said. “It’s your memory of everything they’ve ever done. Has any of it been evil? Name one thing.”
    They apparently couldn’t. Angrily, they simply stared back at him.
    â€œWhat have they done ? Tell me why they deserved to die. Just one thing.”
    â€œThey hide their evil.” Miklia found her answer and immediately warmed up to it. Fists clenched, she tossed out, “They lie!”
    â€œThey lie,” Jessica echoed. “Just as demons do. Isn’t that true?”
    â€œVampires aren’t demons.”
    â€œAnd demons sow doubts. Don’t they?”
    Oh, Radha saw where this was going. Marc wanted them to doubt their actions. Therefore, he was obviously a demon. Marc must have seen the direction they were taking, too. With a sigh, he shook his head.
    â€œAnd they can take any form! Isn’t that right? But you can’t hurt us. So we’re not afraid of you!”
    â€œI’m almost sorry for that,” Marc said, and he glanced at Radha. Debating whether to try something else, she knew, or just leave.
    Leaving seemed like the most sensible option. These girls weren’t going to be talked or scared into anything—and certainly not into accepting any truth but the one they already believed. Nothing she or Marc did would change that.
    The sensible option wasn’t any fun, but that was sometimes the life of a Guardian.
    Jessica crossed her arms over her chest. “Do you really have anything to tell us?”
    Was there anything they’d listen to? As if tired, Marc rubbed the back of his neck. Yes, completely done with this whole scene. Radha was, too.
    â€œJust try not to hurt anyone,” he said. “That includes vampires. That’s all I can tell you.”
    â€œThat’s all ?” As if stricken, Miklia fell to her knees. “Then you can’t be a Guardian. A Guardian would have supported us, no matter what.”
    So much for the power of glowing wings and a mysterious spicy scent. She met Marc’s eyes, gestured upward, and concealed her voice from the girls. “Ready to go?”
    He nodded, but a movement in the bleachers across the field tore Radha’s gaze away from him. Not long enough to affect the illusion she’d created, but—
    What is that redheaded girl doing with a crossbow? Ripping pain slammed through Radha’s wing and shoulder from behind. She cried out, stumbling forward from the impact.
    â€œRadha!” Almost instantly, Marc crossed the distance between them and swept her up before she fell. He knelt, cradling her against him, his big body shielding hers. Face white, his gaze dropped to her shoulder. “God damn them. Are you all right?”
    Through gritted teeth, she forced out, “Fine.”
    A bloodied arrowhead and shaft jutted through the front of her right shoulder. It hurt—a lot—but that was what happened when a Guardian was stupid enough not to keep her eye on a deluded human: she got a surprise crossbow bolt.
    It didn’t matter. She’d had worse. Still, it would hurt more before it got better. “Tear it out,” she told him.
    Jaw clenching, he nodded, broke off the jutting arrowhead. Behind Marc, Jessica and Miklia stared at them, mouths hanging open. Her illusions had shattered, Radha realized. Another unfortunate consequence of a surprise crossbow bolt through the shoulder.
    Jessica came out of her shocked stupor. “There’s two!” she shouted. She fell to her knees beside Miklia.
    â€œBl . . . blue.” Miklia was staring at Radha, stuttering from astonishment. “And wings.”
    â€œShut up! And hurry!” Jessica shouted at her, ripping off her gloves and digging through the snow. “Ines! Come on, shoot!”
    â€œIt’ll hurt.” Marc reached for the feathered shaft still sticking out the back of her shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
    So was she. But it was the fastest way—she’d begin healing as soon as it came out. “Do it quickly.”
    He yanked. Radha screamed.
    The ground shivered. Eyes glowing, the power of his Gift slipping through his shields, Marc looked over Radha’s head to the bleachers behind her. Lynn was still back there, Radha realized—the girl had shot the crossbow at her. Aiming for the illusion of Marc, but an