Angels of Darkness

Bender. If what he said was true, he could kill Emily in front of her, wipe Karina’s mind clean, and she would never remember it.
    Karina found Granny Smith apples in the bottom of the fridge and checked the drawers. On the third try she hit what looked like a utility drawer: knives, screwdrivers, bottle openers, and wooden spoons. She fished a medium-sized knife from the drawer, peeled the apples, cored and chopped them, and set them to fry slowly, sprinkling them with brown sugar.
    â€œIt smells divine,” Henry murmured.
    â€œIs there cinnamon?”
    â€œI am sure there is. It’s brown powder, right?” Henry stepped into the pantry.
    â€œYes.” She grabbed the knife, pulled the fabric of her jeans away from her hip, and slid the knife into her pocket. The point of the blade cut the lining and she jammed the knife all the way down to the hilt. The blade scraped against her skin. She glanced down. No blood. Karina exhaled. Cutting herself was a calculated risk—she had no other place to hide the knife. Anywhere else it would make a bulge. She pulled her T-shirt down over it.
    Henry came out of the pantry. She held her breath. Maybe he could read thoughts. Maybe he would pluck the image of the knife out of her head. She had to stop thinking about it, but she couldn’t. The shape of the knife was probably glowing in her brain.
    Henry shook a plastic container of cinnamon. “Found it.”
    She had to say something or he would realize things were wrong. Karina willed her mouth to move. “Thank you.” She took the cinnamon and sprinkled it on the apples.
    The bacon rack was missing in action, or perhaps they didn’t have one. She layered a plate with paper towels, placed the strips on top, and popped it into the microwave.
    â€œYou don’t cook often?” she asked.
    â€œOn the contrary. I cook quite frequently, out of sheer necessity. Unfortunately, most of what I produce is inedible. Daniel’s cooking is even worse than mine, if such a thing is possible. Lucas can grill quite well when pushed to it, but in the kitchen his idea of a meal involves a raw piece of meat, burned on the outside. Adrino was our cook.”
    â€œWhere is he now?”
    â€œDead. About nine months ago.”
    She paused to look at him. “I’m sorry.”
    Henry nodded. “Thank you.”
    Karina resumed stirring the pancake batter. “How did he die?”
    â€œLucas bit him in half.”
    She stopped. “Was he a member of your family?”
    â€œHe was. He was Lucas’s cousin on his mother’s side, and my stepbrother.”
    Karina found the griddle and set it on the burners to heat up. She stirred the apples with a wooden spoon, then pulled the bacon out of the microwave and peeled it from the paper towels.
    â€œI can do that,” Henry offered.
    â€œThank you.” She poured the pancake batter on the griddle in quick drips and watched the first pancake puff and bubble at the edges. “Why did Lucas kill him?”
    â€œAdrino tried to murder Arthur.”
    â€œWhy?”
    Henry smiled, a quick baring of teeth, meaningless and flat like a mask. “Adrino had raped a woman on base. As a punishment, Arthur had him chained for two months.”
    â€œChained?”
    â€œIn the courtyard. Eventually Adrino was let off the chain and everything went quite well, until he attempted to solidify Arthur’s blood during the last Christmas dinner. In retrospect, we should have expected it. His subspecies is prone to rashness.” Henry smiled again. “You will find that we’re a violent, vicious lot, Lady Karina. All of us hate Arthur, hate each other, hate who we are, what we are, why we are. This hate is so deep within us, it’s in our bones. Lucas hates stronger than most of us for his own reasons. But Lucas is also far more controlled in his rages than he lets on. He recognizes the simple truth: Arthur is the glue that holds us together. Arthur makes mistakes, and he’s brutal, but he’s also fair. Every tribe must have a leader. Without the leader there is chaos. May I just mention that your pancakes smell delicious? I don’t suppose there is any way I could steal one right now, is there?”
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    T hirty minutes later, the pancakes were done, the bacon was cooked, and Karina crossed the room to her daughter.
    â€œEmily? Wake up . . .”
    â€œMommy!” Emily clutched Karina