The Saving Angels Series: Books 1-3 (59 page)

"I'm sure," Shawn said, swooping her up into his arms.

Sam giggled as he dangled her upside down. "Stop," she gasped, trying to keep her shirt from sliding up.

"Shawn, we could use your help when you're done screwing around," Jacob called from the back of the van where everyone had finished loading up the gear.

I adjusted the straps of the sleeping bag on my back and pulled my iPod out of my pocket. I slipped on my headphones, letting the music drown out my friend's voices. I was overjoyed to be with all of them, but after almost four hours in a van, I craved some space and this was the only way I knew how to get it while being surrounded by so many people.

It took us most of the day to hike to the temporary campsite Haniel had chosen beforehand. The hiking wasn't as bad as I had originally anticipated although the throbbing blisters on my heels would beg to differ.

The terrain of the mountain slowly changed the further we hiked. The trees now seemed larger and more forbidding. There was a tranquil beauty to the vast wilderness that surrounded us and yet, an eerie feeling that something unexpected could happen at any moment. Strangely though, the weight that had been sitting on my chest for the last two months began to ease and I wasn't sure what to make of it. Was I getting closer to Mark? Within the cloud of unease that had each of the Guides on edge as we trudged along, I could pick up the slightest flicker of pure goodness shining in the midst of it all. Maybe it was coming from our missing pair, but somewhere in my heart of hearts I wanted to believe it belonged to someone else.

Haniel stayed by my side the majority of the afternoon and after several hours I removed my headphones so I could chat with him.

"You are done with your instrument?" He asked, indicating my iPod Touch.

"iPod Touch," I corrected. "Yeah, I love music, but after a while it begins to give me a headache."

"I see," he said. "So, tell me what you have learned about this mountain," he continued, making it clear that my recent research hadn't gone unnoticed.

I smiled at him sheepishly before plunging in with the details I had come across. "The legends go back many years. The townspeople believe that hidden beneath the mountaintop is an entire sunken continent called Lemuria. They believe it is inhabited by mystical beings, even to this day. I'm sure Victor has used the legend to take control of the mountaintop. The townspeople believe the dark and evil undertones of the mountain come from the inhabitants of the lost continent as a warning to stay away. They respect the legends and treat this mountain as sacred ground."

"Very good, Victor has found the inner catacombs of the mountain and has been using it for his purposes for many years. The Light has informed me that The Dark one plans on using Victor and this mountain to try to take over what The Light has created. They will be stopped."

"What is Mark's role in all of this?" I asked quietly, hoping my friends couldn't hear.

"His plans are murky at the moment. It is unclear what path he will ultimately decide to take."

"So, there is hope?" I asked.

"Krista, there is always hope. At one time even Victor stood on the pinnacle of hope before he leapt into the darkness he shrouds himself in," Haniel said, making his point clear. There was always a chance of hope, but the question was, could that small chance of hope ward off the evilness that was eagerly waiting to suck it in?

"Then I choose to hope," I said stubbornly.

"That Krista is one of your greatest virtues. You put your heart and soul into what you believe."

"Yep, I'm a regular cup half-full kinda girl."

"What cup are you referring to?"

"Never mind, it's just a phrase we use to show when we're optimistic."

"Ah yes, well, optimism is good."

"Haniel, Is this the spot you marked on the map?" John called from the front of our pack.

I was startled to see that Haniel and I had allowed a gap of about a hundred yards to grow between us and the others. Picking up our pace, we finally stepped into a small flat clearing where the rest of our group was waiting. We had been hiking up a fairly steady incline the entire day, so it was clear why Haniel chose this relatively flat spot for us to make camp. The clearing was unobstructed by trees, leaving a clear view of the majestic snow-covered peak. Judging by the dark ominous looking clouds starting to roll in, it was clear we could be in for some heavy snow. The temperature had definitely dropped the higher we had climbed. I untied my hoodie from around my waist and slid it over my long-sleeved shirt.

"This is the location," Haniel said. "It is imperative that you set up camp immediately. Victor is undoubtedly aware of our presence and you will need to prepare for what could come. I must now meet with The Light," he said, stepping out of the clearing into the dark woods beyond. "Do not tarry," he added before disappearing into the trees.

"Sheesh, talk about trying to freak us out," Jaime grumbled, dropping the double-sized sleeping bag she had been carrying onto the ground.

"It's fine babe, we'll have the tents up and nets around our campsite in no time flat." Paul said, pulling Jaime in for a quick hug.

"I'm not worried," she said, clearly offended. "I was just pointing out that after spending thousands of years with humans, you would think Haniel would have a little more tact. Especially with the youngins' around," she added jokingly, knowing it bugged the guys to be called that.

"Ha, that's so funny," Robert said sarcastically, dropping his pack to the ground.

Within minutes we had all the supplies lined up on the oversized tarps that we brought to cover the ground. The guys made quick work of erecting the three tents and then went to work stringing up the mesh netting that Shawn had reassured me would keep out most of the creepy crawlies.

Kim, Kieran and Sam set up a mock kitchen area and started preparing dinner on the campfire that John had started. Since it would have been disastrous if Lynn, Jaime, Jenna and I helped in the kitchen, we instead unrolled the sleeping bags and got busy placing them in the appropriate tents. I couldn't help crinkling up my nose as I crawled into one of the tents dragging a sleeping bag behind me. The smell of the nylon material triggered unpleasant memories from my childhood when I had gotten the flu while camping.

"Ugh," I muttered as the smell crowded my senses.

"That's right, I forgot you hated "tent smell," Lynn said, climbing in behind me. "Are you going to be okay sleeping in here?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine, besides I'm not sure how much sleeping I'll be doing anyway. The nightmares so don't make sleeping worth it," I said, smoothing out the second sleeping bag.

"Nightmares?" Lynn asked concerned.

"Yeah, I pretty much have them every night," I said, aggravated that I had let it slip out I was having them.

"What are they about?" Lynn asked with concern laced through her words.

"They're always the same. I'm in some kind of pitch black chamber. I can't see anything and I'm petrified to move because I'm afraid I might fall into oblivion. Then, when I finally work up the nerve to move, I realize I'm not alone," I said, shivering slightly as I recalled the terrible oppressive darkness and voices from my dreams.

"Krista, have you told Haniel."

"No way, I just know he would have used it as an excuse to make me stay at home," I said defiantly.

"I'm not so sure about that," Lynn said, smoothing out one of the sleeping bags with her hands.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked curiously.

"Well, let's face it Krista. We all try to act blasé about it, but there's no denying you got some serious kickass powers now. We all know it, including our see-all-know-it-all Archangel. We definitely need you here. Haven't you noticed how protective Haniel is of you, like, hiking beside you the entire afternoon?"

"I thought he was just doing that because he didn't want me to feel like the odd man out," I said, trying to analyze her words. My new powers were no secret, but were they really all that spectacular?

"I don't know Lynn. So what if I can now change over Forgotten Souls without even trying anymore. I'm not sure how that skill will be able to help us in this situation, especially if Victor is using nothing but Daemons…"

"Hey, why wasn't I invited to this party?" Sam asked, crawling under the flap of the tent to join us and settling on the stretched out sleeping bag beside me.

"What, you didn't get the secret party vibe I was trying to send your way?" Lynn mocked.

"I must have missed that one. Anyhoo, I agree with Lynn, your powers are something else."

"Oh great, can anyone else hear us too?" I asked self-consciously, not crazy about everyone in camp knowing about my bad dreams.

"Nah, it was just me. I was moving all our packs of clothes closer to the appropriate tents and I caught Lynn talking about your
steroid powers
," she quipped.

"Nice, steroid powers?" I asked, giving her a nudge.

"Hehehe, yeah, that's what I call them! You put the rest of us 'Olympians' to shame," she said, still giggling.

"Well, I would prefer to be like the rest of you," I said, quietly picking at a stray string that had pulled free from the material of the sleeping bag I was perched on.

"Dinner." Kieran called, interrupting any further conversation.

Sam, Lynn and I crawled out of the tent and joined the others around the campfire. The guys had dragged boulders and downed tree trunks for all of us to perch on while we ate.
Super strength was a definite perk when camping
, I couldn't help thinking as I sat beside Sam and Shawn with my loaded plate balanced on my knees.

"Wow, you girls outdid yourself," John said between a bite full of beans.

I had to agree with him as I took a big bite out of my burger. How they constructed such great tasting hamburgers in the middle of nowhere was beyond me. I had thought they were crazy when they were packing up the insulated backpack cooler with meats and condiments, but I was so glad they had insisted.

After I finished my meal, I stood up completely stuffed. I threw away my plate and noticed the bag of sour cream and onion chips had been accidently knocked over. I bent over and picked them up, placing them in the trash receptacle we had sat up beside the netted wall. Still a little nervous about bugs, I ran my fingers along the netting, testing its tautness. I was relieved of course to discover that the guys had outdone themselves making our campsite as secure as possible.

The rest of my friends finished their dinner and we spent the next hour discussing what all the other Band members had been up to.

"How's Timmy doing?" I asked Jaime while the others chatted.

"He's doing well. He still asks for his mom and dad a lot, but Logan and Ruthie have instantly taken to him and have helped take his mind off his loss. He prefers to hang out with Reagan, Kieran's little girl, but we all know why that is," she added with a small laugh.

"So Reagan will be Timmy's Link?" I asked, trying to understand the logistics of how we were created to complete each other.

"Yes, hopefully they'll be saving Forgotten Souls just like us one day. I feel for my poor Logan though," She added sadly.

"Why?" I asked confused.

"Because, Grace was three months pregnant with his Link when she was murdered."

I gasped in horror at her words. The loss of Grace had been hard on all of us, but I was particularly grief stricken at losing her. I was so upset that had never thought to consider the impact her death would have on what we were created for.

"What will happen to Logan?" I asked with dread, knowing that Protectors could not survive without their Guides.

"He won't die," she said in quick reassurance. "He was too young for the link to work that way. Haniel said he will always miss what he never had a chance to cherish, almost like missing a limb, but Haniel said her soul will always belong to Logan. One day when he joins her in the Other World, it will be as if they were never separated."

"Jaime, I'm so sorry. In my own selfishness lately, I never considered the full-impact Grace's death would have on all of us, but most of all your own family."

"Thanks Krista, but it's okay, this is what we we're created for," she said, sounding sadder than I had ever heard her.

I reached over and gave her a hug, getting a barrage of images from the pain she was in. My emotions sifted through her pain in rapid succession, and I poured the right amount of peace into her, taking away her melancholy and sadness without even thinking about it.

"Wow, Krista how do you do that?"

I shrugged my shoulders, slightly embarrassed by the awestruck look that covered her slender face. "I'm not sure, it just happens on its own accord now."

"That's amazing. Haniel told us your gifts had accelerated, but holy cow that's insane. I know that I should still feel bad, but I can't seem to find an ounce of sadness in me now. This is the first time in the last few months that I don't feel like I have the weight of the world resting on my shoulders. You are truly blessed."

"I'm glad," I said. For the first time since discovering them, I didn't resent my new abilities. Jaime's peace gave me hope that maybe I wasn't some kind of freak after all.