Embraced By Darkness (Riley Jenson Guardian 5)

It was a simple affair, with just an on/off button and a second red button. I switched it to off, then gripped the until and smashed it against the floor as hard as I could. It probably wasn't the best way to get rid of a firing mechanism, but it was all I could do right then. I couldn't risk Yohan getting his hands back on it if I went down. At least Rhoan was safe. As safe as he could be until I took out Jorn and Yohan, anyway.

Another shot echoed. Stuffing and leather went flying as the bullet streaked past my nose and disappeared into the nearby wall.

I twisted around, and scrambled to the far end.

"Give it up, little guardian. You're trapped in this room. The windows are shatterproof and there are guards waiting in the hall."

"Go fuck yourself, Yohan." I rose, shot out the light with the last of my bullets, then tossed the gun to one side and dove toward the window, hitting the auto-close button.

Another shot rang out. I twisted away, but not fast enough. The bullet ripped through the fleshy part of my calf, missing bone and tendon, but tearing flesh and muscle. Pain exploded and I fell, my leg momentarily unable to support my weight.

Darkness swept into the room as the curtains closed. I pushed to my knees, barely restraining a hiss of pain as sweat popped out across my forehead.

Yohan laughed. Laughed,

What was it about bad guys that made them feel so superior in moments like this? Just because a quarry was down didn't mean it was out. Besides, Yohan and his psycho brother had enough respect for the capabilities of guardians to leave the UK when the Directorate started investigating their activities, so why the laughter now?

Or was it just me he didn't respect?

"Do not think the shadows will protect you, little guardian. I can smell your fear. Smell your blood."

"Humans haven't got senses that sharp," I said, wrapping the shadows around me and moving as soon as the words were out of my mouth.

It hurt - hurt bad - but nowhere near as bad as the bullet that smashed into the spot I'd just vacated would have.

"Ah, but we are the pinnacle of human development. We are what you animals strive to be."

"What's with the animals comments?" I moved position as soon as I spoke. Again he fired the rifle at the spot where I'd been. The noise was beginning to hurt my ears. "Does it make your slaughter more palatable or something?"

I moved position again, scooting around behind a desk. Despite his earlier claims, he obviously wasn't smelling my blood or my fear, because he was only shooting after I spoke.

"It was an animal that killed our father, and such animals will continue to pay for that as long as either of us lived."

And if he thought he was going to live for too much longer, he was more insane than I figured. "That's a warped way of justifying murder, you know."

He took another shot, then said, "It's not murder. It's ridding the world of dangerous pests. Besides, there's nothing more magical than seeing the realization of death spark in your prey's eyes."

Definitely, certifiably crazy.

He continued, "Give this game up, guardian, and you'll get your chance in the forest. If you don't give up, I'll simply shoot you dead in whichever hole you've crawled into."

Great options. Dead now, or dead later. How generous of him. I took off my sodden tank top and wrapped it around my bleeding leg. As tourniquets went, it wasn't great, but at least it would provide a little support when I had to stand.

I reached up onto the desk and felt around. My fingers brushed against papers and pens, then finally hit something more solid. A stapler. I gripped it lightly, then carefully rose to my feet.

Pain bloomed, roaring up my leg. I gritted my teeth against the urge to scream, and forced myself to breathe deeply and softly. Sweat rolled down my cheeks and my back, and my stomach rolled threateningly.

I tried to ignore it all, and threw the stapler across the room. It hit the wall and fell to the floor with a clatter. Almost instantly, Yohan fired, the flash of the gun a flame in my infrared vision.

I ran at him, as hard and as fast as I could. He heard my steps, but he barely had time to react before I was on him, grabbing the weapon with one hand and breaking his arm with my other, making it impossible for him to hold a weapon let alone fire one.

He went down, screaming for help.

Whiny, little coward...

The door opened. I flipped up the rifle and fired without sighting. One man went down, his gut exploding. Two of his colleagues leapt over him, coming at me. I fired again, hitting one and missing the other.

That one ducked to one side and raised his gun. But despite the light seeping in from the hallway, the shadows still covered me, and he hesitated, confusion on his face.