Mark's view:

After a while of talking with Ethan, I decide to leave. As I am nearly at my car those images from the first day I met him played in my mind again.

Doctors working on a woman's body. Her body beginning to shake. Ventilator showing a straight line. Lifeless woman on the operating table. A church. A coffin, black cloth draped over it, white flowers on top of it, the woman's image on top of the coffin. A cemetery. A gravestone reading 'Marie Elton, forever in our hearts. Beloved mother, beloved angel.'

I shake my head and get into my car, driving off. Leaving one hand on the steering wheels and my other hand on my chest, over where my heart is meant to be - no heartbeat. 

Good. Just how I want it.

Instead of driving home, I make my way over to Falcon's and stop my car on the rocky driveway. I make my way over to the front door and ring the doorbell - waiting. I didn't have to wait long before a woman with frizzy brown hair and eyes, a thin frame and a pale complexion opens the door.

"Hello Falcon's mum," I greet with a small smile. 

"Hey Mark. It's been a while. You are here for Falcon I'm assuming, come in," she welcomes, a bright smile on her face, her eyes lighting up. 

I nod and enter the house.

"You haven't been coming over for a long time, how have you been?"

"Good ma'am, just the usual school work and all," I lie.

"You don't look too good, are you sure you are fine?"

"Yes, very."

"Falcon's upstairs in his room, you know where it is, don't you?"

I nod briefly.

"You can go up and see him if you like."

I nod again and race up the stairs and down the corridor. Falcon's bedroom is the second door on the right, and that is where I went. I knock on the door and wait - no answer. I know again, this time harder.

"Who is it?" Falcon yells.

"The boogeyman," I yell back

"Very funny, come in."

I open the door, closing it once I enter. As I make my way over to Falcon's bed, I glance at him for a small while, observing him.

"No shirt today?" I ask.

"No, true werewolf style today," he replies with a laugh.

I nod and sit across from him. 

"You look like hell." He laughs and punches my shoulder playfully. 

I give him the death glare and he stops laughing almost immediately.

"Any news?" he asks, sounding more serious.

"No. Though I got some new information about that Mitch guy," I reply. 

"Go on."

After a while of talking with Falcon, spewing my mind out, all the stress melts away. 

A knock on the door makes Falcon and I jump. 

"Boys, it's just me. I bought you two some home-baked choc-chip cookies," Falcon's mum calls. 

"Come in mum, and make it quick," Falcon yells out, a small smirk following. 

I look at him and laugh, nearly falling off the bed. 

Falcon's mum places the plate on the bedside table and quietly leaves. 

We both sit there in silence for a small while as we eat a cookie each.

"You know..." I begin.

"Hm?" Falcon questions through a mouthful of food. 

"This is the youngest I've ever felt in so long."

"But you are young, Mark."

"In human years I am, but given my age, I would be considered ancient for your kind. I've stopped aging a long time ago. You already know this."

"I know Mark, but you know what I mean."

"You are lucky to be seventeen. I have to try acting that age to turn away suspicion."

"Well, you are a wonderful liar."

"I have seen a lot in my one hundred and thirty-seven years, many wars, fights and even lived long enough to see the evil queen Victoria get her vengeance."

"Evil queen Victoria?"

"Yeah, if you live long enough you will see her return."

"Alright."

"You don't sound too convinced."

"That's 'cause I ain't."

"Why?"

"Because I'll probably die before I meet the chic."

"Never say that, Falco."

He rolls his eyes and chews through another cookie, crumbs falling all over his lap and bed. 

---------------------

After a small while of speaking with Falcon, I head home, parking my car in the driveway then head out again by foot.

I need answers, and I need them now!

I make my way over to the heart of the forest where a Moreton Bay Fig tree lays. Upon arriving at this tree, I pull on one of the braches which acts as a leaver and a secret passage opens up and I walk through it. Along the other side of the passage is another dark city, tall buildings and no sunlight. Each building is made of grey brick. The only difference was the signs and the addresses of each. Each one is close together but the streets are silent with only barely people walking about. 

 As I walk down the street, I try to find building fifty-nine which the head of vampires; this is the council for people like me - Inhuman or immortals. As I enter the headquarters, I am met by a lady behind the large, white desk.

"Hello Mark, nice to see you again," the receptionist greets, a warm smile on her face, her hazel eyes lighting up.

"Hello Hazel, nice to see you too. Are the heads in?" I ask with a forced smile. 

"Yes, in the usual room. You know where?"

"Yes, thank you," I say as I walk past the reception desk and through the dark hallway. 

As I approach the last door with a sign "Members Of Council," I knock on the maroon door a couple of times.

"Come in," a deep voice sounds.

I enter immediately, closing the door behind me. "Good evening Mayor and councillors."

As I stand there I am met by a large, white, curved desk on the opposite side of the room, with seven men seated behind it, all looking at me displeased. Their arms crossed over the desk, eyes narrowing at me.

"Hello young vampire," one man greets, the submental fat under his chin moving as he speaks.

That THING moving under his chin needs to be chopped right off. That is one distracting son of a gun.

"Hello Mayor Reynald, hello councillors," I greet, bowing.

"How can we be of service to you today?" one councillor asks.

"You all are the wisest vampires in the land and I seek answers to my questions," I say, looking around at them.

You'd think half of them would crack a damn smile at my compliment! I don't compliment people all the time, damn it!

"Go on," the mayor says with a smile.

"Well, I don't know where to start but here it goes. I met a boy, but I am confused. When he touches me or I touch him or even if I am around him, I get these images," I begin.

"What are these images you see?" the councillor asks.

I explain the image of the boy in white, then the flashing images of the woman ending in the gravestone and the name, 'Marie Elton.'

As I finish explaining, they all look at each other as if they were discussing something I couldn't hear.

Why do I bother? They won't help me.

"Well?" I ask in frustration, about ready to turn and leave.

"What was the boys name?" the mayor asks.

"Ethan," I reply.

Why is his name relevant?

"Well, he is a Guardian Angel," the mayor says.

"Guardian Angels do not exist," I say through my teeth.

"Oh, but they do, my son. We all have a Guardian Angel - your family members each have one. Did your parents not explain this to you?"

I shake my head.

"We need to summon this angel."

"Wait, angel? 'Beloved mother, beloved angel' was written on the woman's gravestone. Is this boy's mother a Guardian Angel too?"

"Yes, but she is very much alive, so what you have seen in your mind... It is best to not say anything."

I nod silently. Then out of nowhere a bright light flashes next to me, filling the room in bright yellow, blinding me. I close my eyes, covering them. As soon as I am sure the lighting is gone I open my eyes. In its place, the boy appears.

"What am I... Oh..." Ethan begins as he scans the room.

"Hello young Guardian," the mayor greets, giving a simple nod.

"Hi," Ethan says flatly as his eyes then meet mine. "You... What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same damn question," I reply, growling.

A golden flame appears from his hand as he repeats his question.

"Have I really got to repeat myself to you, stupid guardian angel!" I say in anger as I levitate a chair in the corner of the room, smashing it against the wall behind Ethan.

"Hey! You two better not kill each other!" the mayor yells.

"What the hell are you?!" Ethan questions.

This is going swell.

I turn around, tapping into my inner self as I drop onto my knees, letting out an ear-piercing screech as I turn back into my vampire self, as I stand up and face the boy, covering my face with my cloak.

"Mark, reveal yourself," he says, crossing his arms.

"You first," I say, still covering myself.

"Fine," he says, and with a swift movement of his hand, his outfit changes to his white suit.

"Nice. Great to see it's true," I say as I drop my cloak, revealing myself, my fangs visible. "How's your mum doing?"

"Why?"

"Tell me."

"She's fine. Sick, but fighting."

I nod, pacing around as silence fills the room.

"You saw something when you touched me. What is it?" he asks suddenly, making me jump.

"Nothing," I reply, telling a little white lie.

"You're lying. Tell me."

"No, I can't."

"Just tell me!"

"Listen, you seething son of a bitch, you don't deserve to know what I saw! Only thing I am gonna tell you is you better tell your mother you love her before she has her surgery."

Silence filled the room once more.

"You better not say a thing to Isabella about me," I say, breaking the silence.

"Well, you better do the same about me," he says, smiling.

"Just gonna warn you, if I go down, you go down with me."

"Don't worry, Issie doesn't suspect a thing. I've been pretty good at hiding this life from her, and I'm guessing you have been doing the same."

I nod. "Yeah, well, it isn't easy."

"Her teeth are sharpening."

"I've noticed. My friend thinks she's a hybrid."

"Gotta wait and see, I guess."

"Boys," the mayor says, snapping our attention back to the desk. "Mark, Ethan is a Guardian Angel. The reason you get those flashing images and such is because he is your Guardian Angel. You two are to be close but avoid suspicion from the outside world."

I look over at Ethan and judging by his expression; he is either shocked or about to faint. Or both.

I snap my fingers in front of him, drawing him back to reality.

"Look," he says. "Mark, I've been a Guardian Angel since I was born, I've learnt to perfect my skills, but it wasn't until now that I was assigned a 'person' to guard. Both of us have ties to Isabella, which may or may not make it hard, but it is both of our duties to protect her, while I have the added duty of looking out for you too. Guardian Angels have existed for a long time, since the 5th century to be exact. People have thought we are a myth, but we are not."

"I'm gonna be honest with you here, Mr Angel. I don't need a Guardian Angel. If anyone needs one, it's Isabella. I never knew people like you existed until today, so I don't know what the hell I should be feeling," I say coldly.

"Listen, like it or not, you are stuck with me. If it was my choice, I certainly wouldn't pick you to guard, but the elders have chosen this so we can not argue. You seem like a strong guy, don't get me wrong. But you might need some guarding."

"I do not need guarding. I've done well over my one hundred and thirty-seven-year lifespan to not get killed and I never had a guardian angel back then s-"

"Actually, you did. Sorry to burst your bubble. My uncle was your guardian angel and before him it was my grandmother. So now you have me. I can't believe no one told you about us. Where have you been living - under a damn rock!?"

"If I didn't meet you or get those images from you, I would have never known."

"Fair enough. So what now?"

"Seems you kids are getting along, you won't be needing us anymore," one councillor says, a smile beaming on his face.

"That's our queue to leave," I say with a laugh.

"Thank you," we both say in unison as we take our leave.

As we are walking, Ethan scans the area and as he does so I notice a scar on his neck.

"What happened to your neck?" I ask.

"Oh, nothing. A piece of wood fell on me when I was helping dad out," he says with a nervous laugh.

"Doesn't look like wood falling on you caused that. A plank of wood would have left bruising or something, or let's just say snapped your spine. In other words, tell me the damn truth. If you are gonna be my Guardian Angel, you are gonna have to tell me the truth about your injuries."

"Fine then. I was sort of... attacked," he says briefly. "Before the council called me, a got into a small argument with a displeasing wolf. Heck, if you didn't call me when you did, then I would have been dead."

"So I saved your life then," I state, walking next to him but keeping my eyes firmly ahead of us.

"Don't gotta look like that. I ain't a child that needs protecting. If anything, I should protect you like I said."

"I don't care. I'm a vampire, it's in my damn nature!"

"Seems like I ain't gonna win this argument, am I?"

"No, you aren't."

"Damn. Okay then."

It was silent for a small while as we walked. My senses are lingering. Something is coming, something evil was lurking.

Danger.

"Be careful," I whisper, my senses on high alert as I scan the area.

"Is something here?" he whispers as he holds onto my arm.

"I can feel it, yes. Just be careful and stay close to me," I whisper once more as we walk through the dense bushland.