"I guess we should get in there," Mark said, opening his car door.
Sam and Shawn climbed out my side of the vehicle which faced the tent. Lynn and Robert discreetly climbed out on the other side which opened near the woods. We had decided that we would look suspicious walking in together, so Lynn and Robert would follow us into the tent after a few minutes. We knew that time was crucial, and Lynn would be of better use if she was with us the instant we entered the tent, but Haniel had advised us to avoid drawing too much attention to ourselves.
"And do not separate from your Protectors under any circumstance. You cannot do your job effectively if your Protector is not there with you," he stated, leaving no room for argument.
Taking his words to heart, we decided the next best thing would be for them to follow us in.
The tent was noisy when we entered, with different groups of attendees scattered about chatting amongst each themselves. Mark and I separated from Sam and Shawn once we got inside, deciding each of us would take a different direction. Mark and I approached a lone girl standing just inside the entrance of the tent. She was dressed in all black and had dyed her cropped hair orange. She had a tattered knapsack slung onto her back and clutched a Monster energy drink in her left hand while her right kept the straps of her bag from slipping. The despair she felt was tangible, to the point that I felt like I could taste it. The images began flooding my mind as I attempted to make a connection with her. It took every bit of concentration I had to filter the negative emotions I was now feeling. She was obviously a runaway as I sensed a heavy feeling of homesickness. Suddenly, I was no longer in the revival tent, but what seemed like an abandoned building with boarded up windows. The smell of urine was overwhelming as rats scurried across the trash-covered floors. There she was, frightened and huddled in a dark corner. I could feel her every emotion as if we were sharing the same mind. She was afraid to fall asleep and starved from not eating for days. I trusted the weeks of training with Haniel, embracing the horrific images and replacing them with my own.
All of a sudden we were no longer in the abandoned building. I stood in front of a woman, maybe in her thirties at most. She was wearing an apron, pulling fresh baked pies out of the oven. The kitchen windows were open to let the cool autumn breeze find its way inside. A little girl ran into the bright room, dragging a doll with tattered hair across the floor. The woman turned, smiling, to pick up the girl with outstretched arms and covered her neck with kisses, making the young child squeal with delight. Suddenly the image blurred and I began to once again hear the rumblings of several conversations at once. I felt Mark grab my arm to hold me up.
"Krista, are you okay? You looked like you were losing your balance," he asked concerned.
"I'm fine, but that felt like it took forever. Is she still here?" I asked, regaining my focus.
"She's over there. What do you mean it felt like forever? Your eyes were only closed for a few seconds."
I found myself more concerned with the girl than what Mark telling me. I looked to my right to see her quietly exit through the open tent flap.
"Did you see that?" I asked Mark enthusiastically. "Come on."
I made my way over to the two guys standing a couple feet away. Mark instantly engaged one of them in a conversation while I worked my magic on the other. His emotions were different than the girl I had left, and the animosity he emitted was warranted as his images flashed in front of me. Once again, I took them in, filtering them with the happy ones while washing away all the ill feelings that were attached to them. Mark stopped midsentence as I turned to his friend and started the process again. It amazed me how readily my soul embraced the images and emotions that it had shied away from the last week. I felt jubilant as I moved on. I had previously perceived the emotions as heavy and draining, but instead, they acted like an energy source that propelled me forward.
I lost track of time as we made our way around the tent doing the job we were created for. I was so focused on the task at hand that Mark had to tug on my arm to get my attention.
"Krista, we gotta go. The revival will be starting any minute."
"Just a few more, please," I begged, looking around at the few remaining forgotten souls on our side of the tent I hadn’t gotten to yet. "I haven’t found the girl market yet and I don't know if Sam or Lynn have either," I whispered, looking around at a tent that was now emptier than it was earlier.
"Krista, they're already outside waiting for us," Mark said, grabbing onto my hand and dragging me toward the exit.
I looked behind me helplessly, feeling awful for the few souls I had been unable to save. Haniel had warned us that we couldn’t save everyone and that even one soul saved was better than none.
We were almost to the exit when I heard Alan's voice behind us encouraging the few followers we had left behind us to find seats. We picked up our pace and reached the exit with a sigh of relief.
"Not leaving so soon are you?" A voice boomed across the tent as a huge body stopped in front of us, blocking the exit. I recognized him instantly as the guy who had watched us so intently the week before.
"Of course not," Mark said. "Misty just remembered she left her purse in the car," he added, nodding toward me, acting like he was aggravated for my negligence. Taking Mark's words as a sign, I closed my eyes and reached out to embrace the hatred that was flowing freely around the man in front of us.
The images that greeted me swept all air from my lungs as I realized my mistake instantly. He was not a forgotten soul. He was something else entirely. My own emotions burned inside me, leaving me disoriented. Allowing him inside and getting a glimpse of the darkness that resided in him had robbed me of all the energy I had gained just moments before. His soul wasn't dark like I would have expected in someone that evil, it was just simply gone.
He was soulless.
Chapter 11
"Come on Misty, let's go get your purse," Mark said, tugging me close so that my depleted body could lean heavily on his.
"I believe Alan might want a few words with you first," the soulless creature said in front of us.
Focusing all my attention on keeping my emotions at bay, I felt Mark shifting our bodies slightly so that we faced the man at the front of the tent.
"Ah, I see we have a traitor in our midst," Alan said in a dry tone, addressing the small group of people that remained. Because the mass exodus of the tent was now so evident, I could clearly tell who the last of the forgotten souls were and who were soulless Demons.
"Do you know the best way to flush out a traitor?" Alan asked, breaking into my thoughts. "Live bait," he said, dragging the girl I had been looking for by the hair to his side. I watched in horror as he tightened his hand in her hair and pulled a small handgun out of the waistband of his jeans.
I went to take a step toward her, but Mark had me anchored firmly against him.
"No!" he whispered, pushing me behind him through the narrow opening in the tent wall that was still exposed. "Run and get the guys and don't come back," he said, propelling me out the opening.
I turned and fled in one movement, feeling the monster behind me grasping at the thin air I left behind as I raced toward the others.
"Get her!" Alan screamed as panic erupted inside the tent. My legs propelled me across the dirt lot faster than I had ever moved. In the blink of an eye, I was at my friends' sides shouting at Shawn and Robert to help Mark.
I watched as Shawn and Robert headed back toward the tent at what seemed like a turtles pace after my own sprint. I turned and glanced into the worried eyes of my friends as a gunshot rang out through the night.
Without pausing to think, I raced back toward the nightmare, into the mayhem I had just fled. The scene inside the tent was chaotic with people scattered everywhere and our Protectors in the middle of the mess fighting off the soulless creatures Alan had at his disposal.
"Thank God," I exhaled, seeing Mark alive and fighting at the far end of the tent. Continuing to scan the ruckus
in front of me, I finally settled on the victim of the gunshot. The girl I had intended to save, the whole reason we were even here in the first place lying in a pool of blood on the hard-packed dirt at the front of the tent.
Time stood still as my soul took in the sight before me, and all rational thought left as I raced to her side. I reached down and grasped her slender wrist in my hand and could feel her faint pulse. She looked at me her eyes clouded over, full of tears.
"I-I-I'm so s-sorry," I choked out as best I could, taking her images into my soul and filtering them like I should have in the beginning. I poured all my love into them and gave her all the peace I could.
"Thank you," she said faintly before her eyes closed for good as I held her hand in my own with hot tears falling down my cheeks.
I was so lost in grief over the girl that lay before me that it took a moment to realize someone was standing over me.
"Well if this isn’t the most touching thing I've ever seen," Alan said, dragging me to my feet by my hair. "You think you can come in here and take everything I've worked for away from me," he demanded, spitting the words at me.
I felt like I was looking at The Dark One himself as I stared into the eyes of my captor. "It looks like that’s exactly what we did," I said, not fearing him as I knew I should have.
"Do you want to know a secret?" he asked coldly. "I know he can't live without you," indicating someone outside my line of vision. I did not need to turn my head to see who he meant.
He knew our secret.
I felt his hands closing tightly around my throat. While I still had time, I sent a silent message to Mark asking him to forgive me for getting us in this situation. I was going to die. I knew it as clearly as I knew my own name. My actions, though, would not only affect me, they would also affect the person who held my heart. I had jumped into the situation without considering who would ultimately pay the highest price.
Blackness began to threaten my vision. Through my cloudy sight I saw a person charging, knocking us to the ground in a heap. My head hit the dirt with a solid thump and blackness welcomed me into its waiting arms.
***
I awoke to gentle swaying as Shawn maneuvered the vehicle along the dirt road.
I tried to sit up, but was forced to grab my head to ease the piercing pain that was splitting my skull.
"Are you okay?" Mark asked, gently directing my head back down to rest on his lap.
"What happened?" I asked in a hoarse voice as pain that felt like liquid fire poured down my tender throat.
"You almost died," Mark said, voice laced with torment. "What were you thinking Krista?"
"I wasn't," I said miserably, not cringing away from the razor sharp pain that ran down my throat. I felt it was justified for how close I had come to ending not just my own life, but Mark's as well.
"I'm sorry," I said, swiping a stray tear away.
"Krista, I was just afraid I had lost you," he said, gathering me close in his arms.
"I'm sorry," I apologized again, against his chest.
"Don't apologize. Just be more careful from now on. You got me? I almost died inside when your thoughts flashed to me. I was so caught up in the adrenaline of the fight, I wasn’t even aware you were back in the tent."
"I thought you had been shot. I couldn’t handle not knowing," I mumbled, as tears flowed freely down my cheeks, remembering how scared I had been that he was the recipient of the gunshot.
The rest of the car ride was silent. My head pounded painfully and only keeping my eyes closed offered any kind of relief. After a few miles I drifted off to sleep.
The vehicle being shut off woke me up and I looked up into Mark's troubled eyes. I tried to get a gauge of what he was thinking, but his thoughts were firmly blocked away.
"We're home. Can you walk?" he asked, helping me climb down from the SUV.
I nodded my head weakly and leaned on him for support as he guided me toward the front door of his house.
Everyone was already sitting on the couches in front of Haniel when Mark and I finally shuffled into the room.
We sat on the same couch as Shawn and Sam. "You okay?" Sam asked, giving me a quick hug.
"My throat hurts like crazy and I think my head is planning mutiny, but other than that, yeah, I think I'm okay," I said, trying to lighten the somber mood.
At my words, Mark placed his arm around me so I could lean into his embrace while we waited for the verdict on how much trouble I was in. We had been warned to leave the revival before it could start, and we had also been warned that if we were to be caught, the Guides were to get as far away as we could. I had blatantly disregarded both rules.
"Yes, you disregarded every rule I set, and yet here you sit," Haniel finally said, picking the thoughts from my head. "Your unwillingness to leave others behind seems to be your greatest virtue."
"What?" I asked incredulously, surprised by his words. Here I was expecting to get yelled at and instead, he was talking about my lack of listening skills being my greatest virtue.
"Do not misunderstand me. I wish you would practice a small amount of restraint to avoid harm, but what were the after effects of not following directions tonight?"
I shrugged my shoulders, confused. To me my stubbornness had caused nothing but mayhem and trouble.
"When you were held captive by The Dark Angel, did you leave your Protector behind when you escaped?" he asked me.
I shook my head no, shuddering at the mere suggestion.
"You were willing to sacrifice your own life to save him. Am I right?"
"Of course," I acknowledged. "But that was different. It was just Mark and me, and it was only my life I was risking," I finally said in a hoarse voice.
"Tonight was no different, Krista. Your unwillingness to leave saved many more souls, and most importantly, you helped another find her way to Heaven."
"I did?" I asked, sudden tears springing to my eyes as I recalled the lifeless girl on the dirt floor we had left behind.
"You did," he replied. "Plus, what you did not see was the rest of your band following you back in to save the remaining forgotten souls."
"You guys did that?" I asked with overwhelming happiness flooding its way inside me. Maybe I hadn't botched the entire mission after all.
"We couldn't let you down Sis, since you seemed Hell bent on saving everyone," Shawn said, smiling at me. "Oops, sorry Haniel about the "H" mention," he added, winking at me.
"I would say your first mission was quite successful. All of you should be proud of yourselves," he said, turning to leave, but paused at the double French doors. "Krista, perhaps we should take care of your neck before you head home."
"What?" I placed my hands on my neck and cringed when my touch sent waves of pain shooting through me, making my eyes water. I stood up to see the evidence in the oversized mirror over the couch, gasping in surprise at the purple bruises covering my throat.
"Oh no, my mom will freak if she sees these," I said, stepping closer to the mirror so I could inspect the marks more closely. It amazed me that each of his fingers had left their mark on me.
"Krista, if you are done admiring your injuries, could you please follow me to the patio," Haniel said dryly, making me laugh.
"Okay, keep your shirt on," I joked, heading toward him.
"Keep my shirt on. Why would it be off?" Haniel asked puzzled as I walked by.
Sam burst out laughing behind us as Haniel closed the patio door.
Haniel still looked confused. "It's a phrase, Haniel," I said sighing. Trying to explain our humor to a celestial being definitely had its obstacles.
"Oh, I see. You were joking."
"Yep, it was a joke,"
"Well, shall I fix your neck now?" he asked.
"That sounds like a good plan," I said, standing in front of him.
Haniel cupped his hands and gently placed them around my throat. The pain instantly left me and was replaced by a cool tingle that traveled the length of my body.
br /> "Wow, that's amazing," I said, poking at my throat.
"I am good at my job as well," Haniel said, flashing me the briefest of smiles before he headed for the beach access stairs.
I stood on the deck smiling, watching his retreating back.
"Krista, are you coming inside?" Mark asked, walking up to stand behind me.
I leaned back against him and wrapped his arms around me, drawing myself closer.
"Are you still mad at me?" I asked after a few minutes.
"Krista, I was never mad. Scared yes, but never mad. I know the lives of others are important, but if I had to choose between theirs and yours, I will pick yours every time. Seeing his hands wrapped around your neck tonight was enough to take ten years off my life," Mark said, grabbing onto my hand to lead me inside.
"Wow, your neck looks so much better," Sam said, stepping closer to look at it. "Dang it, where was Haniel's healing touch when I had that mega zit a couple weeks ago?" she asked jokingly.
"I know, right," I laughed.
"So Sis, I'm excited you're some, like, Super-Guide and all, but can you let one of us be the badass next time so I won't have a coronary?" Shawn asked, ruffling my hair affectionately.
"Sure thing. I'm ready to not be the cause of so much drama. I think drama will fit you much better."
Chapter 12
"Mom, I can't get this stupid cap to stay on my head. I think my head is to lopsided," I yelled down the stairs. Giving up, I snatched up my purse and keys and stomped down the stairs to vent my frustration.
"Aw honey, look at you in your robe," she said, admiring me with tears in her eyes.
"Mom, it's basically a glorified maroon bathrobe," I said jokingly.
She swatted my arm. "No it's not."
"Well, I'm going to look like an idiot without a cap on," I said, tossing the offending cap on the table.
"You're just not doing it right," she said, placing it on my head. She started with the front of the cap on my forehead and used her fingers to adjust the elastic band around the back of my head, securing the cap snuggly into place. "There," she said, stepping back to admire her work. "Now, the tassel goes to the right until the end of the ceremony, and then you switch it to the left."