The Ascended (3 page)

"With stipulations," Haniel continued, breaking into my thoughts.

"What kind of stipulations?" I asked apprehensively.

"You will not be alone on your quest. The other active bands will join you, as will I."

"What?" Sam asked incredulously. "I thought the livelihood of humanity will be put at risk if you were to help fight with us."

"The agreement has already been breached. Victor would not have been able to control and dominate so many Daemons without the direct help of The Dark One. The Light has given me the authority to make whatever decisions are necessary. Victor has been hard at work rebuilding his army, and his forces have grown."

"So, you're telling us that the battle we endured two months ago was like a chess match?" Robert asked.

"Chess match?" Haniel asked puzzled.

"Like a game," Sam said, trying to explain Robert's analogy.

"Ah, yes. Victor orchestrated every aspect of the last meeting. All
except
one," he said, looking at me pointedly.

I blushed at Haniel's words. My friends had been awestruck at the power I was able to emit that saved us all that night. Haniel had told me weeks later that in all his years training Guides, he had never seen any stop so many Daemons at once. I knew he believed it was because I was special, but in all actuality, I knew it was something else. When Victor had stripped everything from me, something inside of me snapped and I was able to somehow harness all my power and use it against the Daemons we faced. I wasn't anything special, unless you counted the fact that I was the only Guide that had survived the separation from their Protector, and I wasn't sure if that could be counted as a virtue or a serious character flaw.

I pulled away from my errant thoughts when Haniel continued. "Krista, you are allowed to accompany us on our journey, but are instructed to stay behind in the camp when we move forward."

"Are you kidding me? No way, I'm not staying behind…"

Haniel raised his hand, cutting off my rant. "Then you stay here," he stated, leaving no room for argument. "The Dark One will be able to use your vulnerability against you with those he has turned," he added, making his implication clear. If Mark had indeed embraced his father's dark side, he could use it against me. It seemed surreal to think that Mark would use my love and the bond we had shared against me, but I knew it was a distinct possibility. Haniel had told me not long after Mark had left me, the exact circumstances that had transpired when Victor had changed. How he had turned the love of Mark's mother against her. I knew that if Mark was forever lost, he could kill me as easily as his father had killed his mom.

True evil was a force to be reckoned with.

"Fine," I agreed stubbornly. "What do you mean stay behind at the camp though?" I asked as the rest of his words finally registered through my head.

"As you are already aware, Victor has chosen to seclude himself on Mt. Shasta. His facility is nestled deep in the heart of the mountain. He has also used the
mystical
reputation that Mt. Shasta has acquired through local folklore to his advantage. He uses Daemons in their true form to scare away any unwanted visitors, which has only fueled the superstitions that surround the mountain."

"Mt. Shasta?
I'd never heard of it before you mentioned it a few weeks ago," Lynn finally piped in. "Is it in California?"

"It is located five hours north of the area you call San Francisco."

"It makes sense that Victor would choose such an obscure place," Sam said quietly. "If he's building an even greater army, he'd need a spot where he's least likely to get unwelcome visitors."

"What's he planning Haniel?" I finally asked, moving past my initial excitement of finally doing something, to being a little concerned. The fact that Haniel had consented to intervene and be a part of my mission was enough to sound an alarm in my head.

"It would seem that Victor has decided the world would be a much better place with less human interference. It has come to our attention that he is now taking greater advantage of
forgotten souls
by resorting to possession. Their thoughts, feelings and any emotional attachments are wiped clean while he uses them for his bidding."

"How is that any different than when a Daemon possesses a human?" Lynn asked.

"When a Daemon possesses a human they can only use one host at a time. Victor is able to possess multiple
forgotten souls
at once."

"How is that even possible?" I asked with disbelief coloring my voice.

"The Light did not share his insights with me. My duties were handed down to me by one of The Light's most trusted Angels. We do not question The Light," Haniel said, making it clear that even the thought of doing so was ludicrous.

I looked at him in dismay. I get it, the Light was all powerful and the very reason for our existence, but to not be able to ask questions seemed insane to me, especially in a situation such as this.

"It is the way it should be Krista," Haniel said, reading my disgruntled thoughts.

"The Light knows the outcome of every situation you will ever face, but it is your freewill that gives you the opportunity to change the outcome of everything you encounter. The explanations that you seek will only inhibit your very essence of being. To question The Light, would be to know your future."

"I get that, but surely a little heads-up could only help in a circumstance like this," Robert said, jumping into the conversation.

"It is neither my place nor yours to question The Light," Haniel said, closing the door on any further argument. "We leave for our journey in the morning," he added, heading for the front door.

"Wait, what about the others? Are we leaving without them?" I asked.

"They will be here by morning," he said, closing the door softly behind him.

"Frick, that annoys me so much!" I grumbled, sinking back against the worn cushions of the couch we had picked up at a garage sale. The musty cushions emitted a faint scent of pipe tobacco as I rested my head back. Shawn had volunteered to clean them, but Sam and I had both protested. For some reason the smell was comforting to the both of us.

"He's got a point Sis. If The Light answered every question we asked, we would never make a decision on our own. It would change the course of our lives," Shawn said, perching on the arm of the couch next to me, as he reached out to ruffle my hair affectionately.

I ducked to the side trying to save my ponytail from looking like a cyclone had wrecked havoc on it.

"Stop!"
I protested, giggling as he used his long arms to maul my hair one last time.

"So, how are things between you and your mom?" Sam asked, bringing down the mood again.

"The same.
She was upset when I told her I wanted you and Shawn to drive me to the airport, but I've been distancing myself from her so much the last few months, that her protest seemed feeble. I know she's hurt that I've changed so much lately, but I'm so sick of pretending I'm something I'm not. The whole human charade has become a big fat pain in the neck," I said defensively, trying to hide the real reason I had begun to cut myself off from my mom. The pain over losing me this way would be much easier on her than if I were to die.

"Krista we're not judging you. We know how tough all of this has been on you," Sam said, sinking next to me to grasp my hand.

Sudden moisture filled my eyes as my friends all looked at me compassionately. I knew they could see through my ploy. "I'm just trying to make it easier for her," I mumbled, willing the moisture back.

"We know Krista, but we're not going to allow anything to happen to you, no matter what. You understand? We are not letting you go," Shawn said, his voice shaking with emotion.

"You guys just don't understand," I said standing up. "I'm an empty shell without him. I would say I ache, but there's nothing left inside me to ache. If I've lost him forever, what will fill that void he left behind," I said with my voice rising slightly.

I was grateful for the silence that now followed my rant. I did not want to be pacified. I just wanted them to understand how I felt.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," I said after my angst dissipated. I headed toward the door, keeping my eyes averted from the worried looks that followed.

Chapter 3

The next morning I dragged myself out of bed exhausted. My mom and I had stayed up late as she made a final attempt to change my mind about her going with me to Colorado to check in at school. I knew this was all taking a toll on her, and I hoped to be able to make it up to her someday, but I held firm that this was something I wanted to do alone. After a fountain of tears she had finally consented and we hit the sack on somewhat of a truce.

I could hear her moving around as I gathered my bags together. I looked around my room one last time to make sure I had everything. My heart broke as I watched
Feline
snoozing on the rocking chair in the corner of my room. I approached him sadly, and sank down on my knees in front of the chair.

"I will miss you my wonderful furry friend," I said sadly, scratching him under the chin. I knew these goodbyes were inevitable, and I thought I had prepared myself, but as Feline let out a loud purr of approval, hot tears streamed down my cheeks. It's times like this that I wish my heart would turn to stone, making me immune to heart wrenching goodbyes.

"I love you buddy," I said, dropping a kiss on the top of his head.

I stood back up, slung my backpack over my shoulders, and grasped the handles of my two suitcases as I prepared to head downstairs. I swept my eyes around my room one last time, drinking in the space. My winter clothes from Montana sat in the far corner of the room in three cartons that were ready to be sent when I was ready. I opened the door and was startled to see my mom sitting in one of the Lazy Boys in our mock library.

"You all ready?" She asked sadly, eyeing the bags at my feet.

"Yeah, Shawn and Sam should be here in a few minutes," I said as the feeling of grief was pressing hard on me. My grand plan to distance myself from her had seemed like the best solution to all the madness that surrounded me, but looking at her drooped shoulders and red eyes, the guilt was becoming more than I could bear.

I dropped my backpack at my feet and stumbled over my suitcases as I rushed into her waiting arms. "I'm sorry mom. I just need to get away from this area for a while," I mumbled, throwing up the only excuse that would make sense to her.

"I know sweetie. I just feel like I lost you somewhere between our move from Montana and now," she said stroking my hair.

"You haven't lost me."

"I know you miss him, but don't lose yourself while you're away," she said, cupping my face so that she could peer into my eyes.

I nodded my head and placed my own hands over hers. Using my God-given powers, I shifted some of her anguish aside and replaced it with the small amount of joy I felt the previous day after Haniel accepted my plan to find Mark.

"I love you Mom," I said, giving her a quick peck as the doorbell rang from downstairs.

"I'll help you with your bags," she said more lightheartedly than she had been in weeks. My nudge of emotions had worked their magic on her and hopefully they would linger for awhile after my departure.

She grabbed one of the suitcases I had abandoned in my doorway and headed for the stairs. I glanced around the comfy haven we had created one last time. My emotions were like a kaleidoscope mixing together. I was anxious and excited to begin our journey and to finally be able to leave the human charade behind for a while, but I also felt so sad to leave the one person that had always been there for me. I slung my backpack over my left shoulder with one of the straps and grasped the handle of my fuchsia suitcase.

The wheels of the suitcase thumped down the stairs behind me as I made my way to the foyer.

"Here I'll get that," Shawn said, bounding up the last few steps to grab the heavy suitcase from me. He scooped it up like it was as light as the feather pillow on my bed.

"
Sheesh,
must be nice to be freakishly strong," I muttered for his ears only.