"How am I the one that holds us all together?" I asked, confused that Mark seemed to be in agreement with Haniel. "Why am I more special than Sam or Lynn?"

"I'm not sure how to explain it to you. It's just the way you execute yourself. Ever since we were held captive, you have evolved into a stronger person that seems to exude knowledge and poise. What happened tonight was an example of that. Sure, you're not supposed to use your power that way unless you're in danger, but the fact that you did, shows that you are learning at a more accelerated rate than the others."

"All it shows is that I can be mean-spirited," I mumbled as we headed back to the house.

Haniel was waiting for Mark on the deck, so I headed off to find Sam and Lynn. Sam had received permission to crash with us tonight since we were supposed to be at prom until the wee hours.

Thanks to me, that plan was shot.

I was excited, though, that Sam was staying over. I loved it when we were all together like a family. I loved my mom and missed her while she was in the hospital, but in her absence our motley crew had forged an unbreakable bond that bridged the gap that I had experienced my entire life. It was nice to be able to feel normal and not crazy all the time.

I found Sam and Lynn in the guestroom that Lynn and I shared. They had been busy while I was out walking on the beach. They shoved the two full-size beds in the room together, creating a massive bed with each of our sleeping bags thrown on top. This was my kind of camping out, no hard ground or pesky bugs aggravating you. They had added a mountain of at least twenty pillows to the head of the bed creating a comfy nest for all of us. In the middle of the bed was a collection of every chocolate snack imaginable.

"It's about time you got back. I thought your ice cream was going to melt," Lynn said, handing me an ice cream sundae that could rival anything you would find on my favorite show, "Extreme Eats." It was topped with hot fudge, cookie crumbs, whipped cream and not one, but five, cherries.

"Holy crow bear this looks delicious, but when did you guys do all this?" I asked, indicating my ultimate chocolate fantasy.

"We sent the boys out as soon as you left," Sam said, entering the room clad in her PJ's and slippers, carrying several Blue-rays. "We're having the ultimate girl's night in. So…go change into some comfy clothes. I had Shawn rent us movies that are guaranteed to make us laugh, cry and scream in horror in that order. We have a comedy, drama, and a slasher film that will be sure to keep us up all night," she added mischievously.

My eyes blurred with sudden tears as I thought of all the hard work they had gone to just to cheer me up. "Thanks guys," I said in a somewhat choked voice, grabbing a fresh pair of sweats and long sleeved thermal shirt out of the dresser I was using.

"Hey, no tears yet. That's not until the second feature," Sam gently chided me, shooing me out the door. "Hurry up! I'm ready for a chocolate coma and some serious estrogen."

Several hours later, I smiled, glancing at my two lightly snoring friends. True to form, we had laughed, cried, and screamed, much to the dismay of the guys that had raced in to save their damsels in distress, only to discover we were screaming at a melted Freddy Krueger. Grumbling about crying wolf, the boys headed back for more quality time on the Xbox, leaving us to our horror flick. The remains of our chocolate frenzy were heaped on the dresser. My friends had proved to be lightweights when it came to chocolate-worshipping and had finally succumbed, as Sam had predicted, to 'chocolate comas.' I, on the other hand, felt restless. Taking care not to wake my two friends that had both chosen to sleep on either side of me, I had felt their emotions working to fill the rest of my emotional void the entire night. I was touched at their gesture, and felt an overwhelming surge of love for both of them for caring so much. Using my sleeping bag to my advantage, I let the nylon material do the work as I slid down to the foot of the bed. Once I made it out from between my two friends, I dragged my legs from my warm sleeping bag and stood up then quietly left the room with Feline at my heels.

After hitting the bathroom, I headed through the living room laughing silently at the guys that were crashed on the floor. The TV was still on, with the game beeping annoyingly to be restarted. I used the throw blankets Mark had added to the living room to cover all of them up and pried one of the game controllers out of Shawn's hand and laid it on the coffee table. Still smiling, Feline and I headed out onto the patio. I knew I was tempting fate by letting him come with me, but I didn't feel like being alone. I snagged the last blanket off the back of the wing chair in the corner and quietly shut the door behind me.

"Little late to be up isn't it?" asked a quiet voice behind me.

Muffling a scream with my hand, I turned to see that Haniel was stretched out on one of the cushioned lounge chairs. "Ugh, you scared me," I complained in a shaky voice. "Sam forced me to watch a scary movie and having you sneak up on me doesn't help my frame of mind."

"I am not sure how I could sneak up on you if I was already here," he said lightly as I slid into the chair beside him, wrapping the blanket around me first. Feline being as impatient as ever, jumped on my legs the instant the blanket slid into place.

"So, do you sleep out here?" I asked curiously, wondering why he didn't just sleep in the house.

"No, there is no need for me to sleep. I have no need to rest. My sole responsibility is to watch and train those appointed to me," he said somewhat formally as if he was reciting his resume to me.

"Sooooo, there are others you are training right now?" I asked, trying to glean more information from him.

"Yes. Guides and Protectors come in ten year gaps. I have three bands right now, other than yourselves, that are in active duty."

"Are they here in Santa Cruz too?" I asked slightly bewildered.

"No, they were drawn to other locations around the world. Every band has a predestined location that compels them."

"Where are they now?" I asked, hungry to hear more about others like me.

"The other Guides and Protectors are off on various assignments. The skills of Guides are needed more now than ever before. Humanity does not make our jobs easy. Freewill, however wonderful a concept, is a privilege not handled by all of humanity equally. Some simply want more out of your world than they are entitled to. This is why you were created. Humanity has many times threatened itself to near extinction through conflict and war."

"So, if God created us to help humanity, where was he when things like 9/11 happened?" I asked.

"Oh, he is here, but not every disaster can be avoided. He does hope each time that humanity will learn from their mistakes and ratify them. Evil is always present and for every evil person stopped, there is another more than willing to take over," he said, sounding frustrated or as close to it as he was capable of.

"Like Mark's dad?" I asked.

"Yes, like Victor."

Victor. I ran the name through my head. For so long, I had thought of him only as a monster. To have him referred to by name threw me off.

"You were created to be celestial beings, but this does not mean The Light wanted to strip you of your own freewill. Your gifts, however blessed you are to have them, are still yours to do with as you choose. You are here to serve mankind and keep them from ruination, but as has always been the case, as a human, you have your own freewill. Unfortunately, that also makes you as susceptible to the temptations of evil as anyone else. It is rare, but Victor is not the first Protector we have lost. We are grieved with the outcome of his deeds and the actions he took for his own personal gain. Unfortunately, he had already gained the protection of the Dark One before we realized how far gone he was. Freewill is one thing, but destroying something so precious to The Light will not go without retribution. We are just biding our time for the right opportunity."

"Do Guides ever turn?" I asked, feeling a slightly panicked given what I had done earlier that evening.

"No, we have never had a Guide turn. It is certainly possible, however your emotional compass should always steer you down the right course. I know you are concerned about what happened earlier, but remember, you are still trying to understand your gifts and how to use them. The fact that you understand the illicitness of your actions and displayed repentance shows the beauty of your soul. You have nothing to worry about. You already show more promise than any Guide I have trained throughout the years. Saving yourself and your Protector a few weeks ago put you at an advantage over other Guides. You used knowledge that was not yet bestowed on you, and because of that you are the leader of the Guides in your band."

"Haniel, what about the two that aren't with our band, the ones that Victor stripped from us?" I asked, cringing at how dirty the name tasted in my mouth. "Have their souls already been compromised? Will we be able to save them?" The questions tumbled out of me in a rush.

Haniel held up a hand to stop my onslaught of questions. "We are unsure if they have truly been turned. However, The Light feels that all hope is not lost and has not given up on them."

"Then why don't we go and save them now?" I asked my voice escalating.

Haniel once again held up his hand to quiet me. This time, I fought the temptation to slap it away. Why were we idly sitting by playing war games? None of it made sense to me. First God had left me and Mark on our own a few weeks back, and now he was abandoning two lost souls or forgotten souls, whatever they were called.

"Krista, have you not heard the words I have spoken to you? The Dark Angel has the protection of a very powerful being right now. To intervene now would mean the loss of more Guides and Protectors. The moment is fast approaching that The Dark Angel will have to answer for his choices, but now is not the time. If we sent your band in now, you would not survive. There are no second chances in this."

"If things are so dire, then why doesn’t The Light send in the Archangels to take care of it? I mean, surely you are more powerful than us lowly celestial beings that don't even have wings?" I asked.

"Krista, The Light cannot send us in. We do not exist on the same plane as you or humans. If we were to intervene on behalf of humanity we would be stepping into your realm, thus giving every underling from The Dark One's command the same privilege. The Light has his Chosen Ones to do his bidding, just as The Dark One has his Abbadons and human hosts."

"Human hosts?" I asked confused.

"Humans that no longer care about themselves or others, can be taken over by evil spirits called Daemons. I believe you encountered several in your recent battle with The Dark Angel," he said quietly.

All my anger dissipated and I sank back against my chaise lounge. There was so much all of us still had to learn. Daemons using human hosts seemed to be the icing on the cake. Suddenly, the weight of it all threatened to pull me under, and for the first time in weeks I had to work to control my emotions. After a few shallow breaths, I was finally able to subdue them.

I opened my eyes to see Haniel studying me. "What?" I asked self-consciously.

"I can see why The Light wants to protect you. You are truly a remarkable Guide and will be spectacular when you come into your own," he said as he stood. Heading toward the steps, he turned to me one last time.

"You know, just because you cannot see your wings, does not mean they are not there. After all, you do not see mine either right?" Without waiting for answer, he walked away in his usual fashion, leaving me to ponder his words. It was quite disconnecting to have him think I was that special. And it was a whole other thing to think that if we weren't in the human realm we would also have wings. How had I gone from freaky emotional girl to something so extraordinary in such a short amount of time?

Feline nestled closer to me on the chaise lounge. My eyes began to feel heavy and drifted closed. With Haniel's words floating through my mind, I fell asleep.

Chapter 6

The next week passed in a blur as we trained harder than I could have ever imagined. Thanks to Haniel's healing, Mark was once again in top form, and by the end of the week he was able to out-master both Shawn and Robert. Haniel was a much tougher opponent, but for the most part Mark was able to hold his own.

By Tuesday, Sam and Lynn were both able to protect the children in the images projected by Haniel. I had moved on from not only being able to protect them, but to also change the pictures entirely. I still struggled with holding on long enough to actually filter the emotions completely, but I felt like I had a good handle on it. I could tell, in his own way Haniel was proud of my efforts.

Our favorite part of training, by far, was the sprints that Haniel coached us through. Lynn and Sam were quick learners and it wasn't long before the three of us could run five miles in just under five minutes. The guys loved watching us during this training in particular. When I asked Mark why, he told me it was because we moved so fast it was as if we were flying.

"I guess you could say you truly look like Angels when you're running," he said.

On Saturday morning, I woke up early and excited. Haniel had given us all the day off, and Mark and I decided that alone time was definitely on the agenda.

Crawling out of bed quietly, I gathered my clothes and tiptoed out of the room. Lynn had made it clear she would spend her day off sleeping in.

Heading toward the bathroom with Feline at my heels, I couldn’t help walking with a spring in my step. A day alone with Mark sounded heavenly.

Feline perched on the counter while I twisted the shower nozzle to hot. I flipped the switch for the exhaust fan and stepped into the steaming shower. I would definitely miss Mark's oversized shower/tub when I returned home with my mom on Monday.

I squeezed shampoo into the palm of my hand and worked the lather through my hair. I grimaced when I felt sand on my scalp. Training on the beach, though ideal, made it hard to keep my head sand free. I scrubbed my scalp as thoroughly as possible, using my nails to dislodge all remnants of the beach. Once I was satisfied it was as good as it was going to get, I finished the rest of my shower in a rush, ready to start my alone time with Mark.

Feline leapt off the counter when I stepped out of the shower with the oversized beach towel wrapped securely around me. I felt his rough tongue licking the water beads off the back of my calf while I brushed out my hair. Smiling, I squatted down to scratch behind his ears.

"My poor baby, feeling neglected?" I cooed at him as he lifted his head so I could scratch him under the chin also. I obliged him and was rewarded with his answering purr of gratitude.

I stood back up and refilled his saucer with water and placed it in front of him and resumed getting ready. I pulled on the light yellow sundress I had allowed Sam to talk me into a few weeks ago that Mark had yet to see. The material was airy and flowed gently around me, making me feel more feminine than I had in a week. Training for hours every day after school was beginning to make me feel like a grunt, and very unladylike. I was anxious for Mark to actually see me dressed like a girl again.