Angels of Darkness

changed in a smooth, quick transition. No blue skin, just Radha as she might have looked as a young human woman in Bengal—though she’d certainly never worn a conservative black trouser suit, a badge, or a long wool coat that matched his.
    â€œEveryone who sees me will assume I’m your partner,” she said.
    â€œWhy didn’t I sense your Gift?” A Guardian’s power typically felt like a small burst of psychic energy against his mind, and the use of a Gift usually exposed a Guardian’s presence to nearby demons. Hers wouldn’t—though that hadn’t always been so.
    When he’d known her, she’d only recently begun using the indigo dye. Her illusions had been strongest when a crack opened in her opponent’s psychic shields—and even a demon experienced a moment of surprise when under sudden attack from a blue woman. She’d used that surprise to force her illusions through.
    Now, she apparently didn’t require a weak spot—Marc knew his shields had remained strong, even though she’d been invisible to him—and she could hide her psychic presence, too.
    â€œIt’s another illusion, but a psychic one. I just create an illusion of not feeling my Gift.”
    Impressive. “When did you learn to do that?”
    â€œAbout forty years ago. If I’m fighting, I can’t hide it as well, but for work like this, it’s easy.” She let the illusion fade—but only for him, he realized. Everyone else would still see the federal agent. “I’ve heard that you finally discovered your Gift when you came back to Earth.”
    â€œThere was no dirt in Caelum to move around.”
    No dirt, period. Just a lot of marble, and nothing for his Gift to work with. After he’d left Caelum, though, the pure strength beneath his feet had staggered him. Fifty years on, and his Gift had barely tapped it.
    â€œIt fits you. Who has a deeper connection to the earth than a farmer?”
    â€œThe dead who are buried in it.”
    She smiled a little. “Aside from them.”
    Maybe no one. Even now, though he could plow a field with just a thought, there was almost nothing he liked better than working his hands through the soil—and on any other day, she might have run into him with dirt beneath his fingernails and mud on his boots.
    He’d seen Radha come from Earth to Caelum with dust on her bare feet, but it had never seemed to touch her, and it was never what a man noticed. Not when he could remember her dancing, slow and deliberate, her fingers rigid yet as graceful as bird’s wings, every movement as precise as a word in a story, every step another tale. Though he couldn’t see her feet now in the snow, he knew that instead of mud squishing between her toes, more gold rings circled them.
    He’d kissed them once, and all the way up to her smooth, blue thighs. And he’d wondered whether he was blessed or cursed? Looking at her legs now, the answer was obvious. He’d been blessed.
    Blissfully, undeservedly blessed.
    â€œSo why these girls?”
    It was a long story, but he’d try to make it short. “There’s a community of about two dozen vampires spread through the towns in this area—a few of them have lived here for almost a hundred years now. They’re quiet, take care of themselves, deal with their own problems.”
    And Marc kept his nose out of their business. As long as vampires weren’t feeding from humans or exposing themselves, Guardians left them alone.
    â€œBut a couple of months ago, Abram Bronner—the community leader—contacted me for help. There’d been a couple of vampires killed, and except for one, they’d all been exposed to the sun and turned to ash before anyone found them.”
    Radha nodded, catching on. “A demon?”
    â€œThat’s what I thought—and in this area, there was one demon, Basriel, who kept giving me the slip. He’d move around, killing other demons, establishing most of the Midwest as his territory.”
    â€œAnd that means taking control of the vampire communities, too. Or crushing them.”
    â€œYes. But a little over a month ago, I caught up to Basriel in Duluth.”
    â€œAnd killed him.” It wasn’t a question. Of course he had.
    â€œYes. And I thought that might have been the end of it . . . until I came through the town again a few days ago, and felt this.” The