There were more chuckles and even a few howls of laughter. Silky’s heart rate blipped in the span of a single breath. Clara imagined that the man would not accept being shown up by a girl. They may be as old as those who fought in the Great War, it doesn’t make them wise.

“Ecclesiastes 4:10,” Silky said without any modulation, instead aggression filled in that void.

Clara knew the answer:

If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

It was a jab at having taken down Clara, leaving Julia to stand on her own. The werewolf was not so quick to respond this time. Her heart rate went sky high and she gulped loud enough for everyone to hear.

“You’re telling me that you just stumbled onto this place?” Silky asked, the modulation was more overt which would have been hard for humans to ignore. I’ll need to ask Evelyn to show me how to do it.

Clara created the illusion of her heart racing to account for the blood loss while showing signs of faltering. She knew the werewolf might pick up on it and hoped she would ignore the realism or play it up.

“Next time don’t fucking use bible verses that hint to their purpose,” Julia said.

More truth to deflect. By pointing out that it was painfully obvious vice a superhuman sense of scent, Julia could avoid making unnecessary lies.

They collectively stopped, once the lead group was within fifteen paces. The man who lined up with the direction of bolts in her back made a sign with his arm to order them to halt.

“What are you doing here?” Asked a man who stood to the left of the one she guessed was the leader.

His voice was smooth as silk, and Clara heard the modulation in the voice. She was not sure how, but he somehow learned how to use their voice like vampires did. I’ll call him Silky.

“We got trapped in a fucking endless corridor and found this place.” Julia said.

The best lies were those based on truth, but her already high heart rate went up a tick. It was not much, but someone like Clara would pick up on the deception.

Their discipline was unreal, with barely any variance in their heart rate and breathing. What differed were their strides, varying based on height and size.

The bigger and presumably stronger men were leading, whereas the smaller and younger ones hung back. If this were to devolve to hand-to-hand combat, those in the back would maintain their distance and engage with their crossbows… even I’d have problems engaging multiple threats at two ranges…

They collectively stopped, once the lead group was within fifteen paces. The man who lined up with the direction of bolts in her back made a sign with his arm to order them to halt.

“What are you doing here?” Asked a man who stood to the left of the one she guessed was the leader.

With their target down they moved out from cover, and approached in a deliberate manner. Julia remained where she was with her shotgun in hand, but they did not take the shot. Clara was running at such a speed that she could intervene… Julia can’t take them on herself…

At this rate their movements were slow and laborious, like watching snails run the thousand metre dash in slow motion. Clara used the time to track the motions of the group, paying heed to where they were and how they behaved.

Their discipline was unreal, with barely any variance in their heart rate and breathing. What differed were their strides, varying based on height and size.

This would go on until they either ran out of bolts, or their numbers increased in their favour. This far out of sync with time, Clara’s reaction times were faster than their eyes could see… that gives me some options…

Clara winked at Julia, long enough to ensure the werewolf caught it. When another bolt was fired, she grabbed it as the razor-sharp tip drove towards her chest.

Under control she led the bolt in closer, crumpled in conjunction with an impact. Her wings covered most of her, preventing them from taking potshots. Sure enough, and an additional two struck her in the back, but the thick layer of feathers meant she felt little more than a prick… They aren’t taking chances…

Julia showed signs of irritation, her face slowly hinting that she was on the verge of taking action. This was a problem, because Clara was the obvious target, and had no reason to suspect Julia.

Clara blipped for a second. She appeared right by Julia and whispered into her ear.

“Stop. They think you’re human.”

Before Julia had the opportunity to realise what was said, Clara was back in place. Bolts continued to be fired at her, and her wings deflected them with ease… I can’t keep this up for long…

On occasion she grabbed one out of the air and snapped it in half. Clara thought that anyone approaching a winged woman who moved fast enough to steal a bolt in mid-air would give them a reason to reconsider… Not when dealing with fanatics…

Several bolts were sent her way, her wings doing what they were designed to do. This game was beginning to bore her, so Clara focused until the passage of time slowed down… I’m lucky that ability is integral to angels…

On this point, she was able to focus on twelve distinct heartbeats. Their tactic was sound, they kept their spacing, and ensured they could bring fire to bear in any direction.

These were clearly hunters and not soldiers. There would have been orders to fire, and further direction on how to proceed. This group remained silent and coordinated themselves using stealthier means. An impressive feat, considering that few at The Tower were capable of this level of coordination.

Namely the elites of Les Fille de Jeanne D’arc, was the only group she knew of personally. As judged by the heart rates, this hinted the boys must have an equivalent… funny how we never talked about the boys when I was there…

“We’re being hunted,” Clara whispered as she opened her wings.

Julia nodded, likely reaching the same conclusion. From out of the red backpack came a nine-millimetre pistol, which she tossed to Clara. The angel smiled, and noted the werewolf armed herself with a shotgun.

All around them there were several heart beats. These were steady, controlled, and disciplined… only hunters can manage that feat…

There came a twang, and one of Clara’s wings reacted on instinct. It opened and blocked the path of the bolt, the weave and density of her features were enough to stop the bolt… that would have missed us both…

“Stay close,” Clara said.

The sight of her wings must have had a psychological effect on their foe. Another three crossbow bolts flew at her and these were aimed to kill.

Her wings handled them with ease, and she fired two rounds in the air. The gunshots rang out like thunder given the surrounding trees.