Vampire Mine - Kerrelyn Sparks [35]
“She needs to know.” Robby moved close to the priest.
“Nay. She’s been through enough tonight.” Connor wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “I willna have you upsetting her.”
Robby’s eyebrows rose. Father Andrew froze with his handkerchief half tucked into his pocket. And Gregori, blast him, actually grinned.
Connor felt warmth flooding his face, but he kept his arm around her. “She’s been through hell tonight—banished from her home, attacked, her back burned and her wings ripped off. She was left in the dirt wounded and bleeding. And she was threatened by a demon—”
“A demon!” Father Andrew’s face grew pale. “Oh dear God. Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she replied softly. “But I’m afraid there’s something you’re not telling me.”
When the priest nodded, Connor groaned and lowered his arm. Hadn’t she been through enough tonight?
“I would consider it a great honor to be touched by an angel,” Father Andrew explained. “But my friends are concerned that your touch could harm me.”
“Oh. Is that all?” She exhaled wearily. “You need not fear. I have lost most of my angelic gifts. I can no longer fly or communicate with the Heavenly Host. And my touch no longer kills. I have been touching Connor all evening with no effect whatsoever.”
Gregori snorted. “Right. No effect at all.”
Connor scowled at him. “She would never knowingly harm anyone.”
“Tell that to Shanna,” Gregori muttered.
“Who?” Marielle asked.
“Stop yer yammering,” Connor growled at Gregori. “We can warn her no’ to touch mortals and leave it at that.”
“Are you saying I’m still dangerous?” Her eyes widened with alarm.
“Only to mortals,” Connor grumbled. “Ye can touch us Vamps without a problem. We’re already somewhat dead.”
“And how do you know this? What happened?” She gave him an annoyed look when he remained silent. “You’d better tell me. You may be centuries old, but I am millennia old, so don’t treat me like a child.”
He arched a brow at her and whispered, “Have I been treating you like a child?”
Her cheeks turned pink.
“My dear,” Father Andrew began. “Perhaps we can help you fill in the blanks if you tell us what you remember from tonight.” He motioned to the rocking chair as he sat on the couch. “I, for one, am very eager to hear your story.”
“All right.” She perched on the rocking chair while Connor remained standing by her side.
Robby and Gregori sat on the couch, sandwiching the priest between them.
She folded her hands in her lap. “Earlier this evening, we were sent to a campground in the area known as South Dakota.”
“Who is ‘we’?” Robby asked.
“My supervisor Zackriel and I,” she explained. “We received orders to deliver seven souls. After we arrived, I took a married couple. They were already dead, but their souls were clinging to each other in great fear and despair over their children.”
She shook her head, closing her eyes briefly. “I took them quickly so they could be at peace, but they pleaded for their children, and I . . .” She clenched her hands together tightly. “I could not bear it. Two of the children were still alive, barely, but I thought they could be saved, so I refused to take them.”
Connor touched her shoulder. His beautiful, sweet Marielle; she’d lost everything, trying to protect two children. She glanced up at him with tears in her eyes. God help him, he wanted to pull her into his arms and comfort her. But he couldn’t do it in front of the others. What he was feeling was far too intense to let anyone else see.
“What happened then?” Father Andrew asked.
She dragged her gaze away from Connor, reluctantly, he thought, and continued, “Zackriel and I argued, but in the end, more Deliverers came to help him take the children. I flew off into the woods to grieve and pray. Then a little while later, Zack found me and told me I was to be banished.”
“Damn,” Gregori muttered. “That’s harsh. All you wanted to do is save a few kids.”
She wiped a tear from her cheek. “I disobeyed orders. And it was the third time. I