The Ascended (22 page)

"Is that the best you got?" I mocked, using a tone I was sure would get under his skin. I fought back a small smile as my words had their desired effect.

"You are as foolish as you are insolent, standing there so proud. Are you expecting some kind of miracle? Perhaps you're wondering where your Archangel is. He won't be swooping in to save the day. He cannot enter this area. It's sacred," he said, wrapping a hand around my throat much like he had Mason. "You have to be invited by a greater being, and just put it this
way,
I won't be calling your Angel in anytime soon."

"Sacred?" I asked, not understanding.

"I chose this space for my lab specifically. It is centered directly over a gateway The Dark One himself uses. The folklore surrounding the mountain is true, although instead of aliens like the locals believe, it is The Dark One and his loyal servants that inhabit this space."

"If that's true, why would he allow you to build this monstrosity on his sacred ground?" I asked, trying to make sense of his words.

"Because my dear naïve girl, I have given him what he craves the most over the years."

"What?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"Forgotten Souls."

"Forgotten Souls?" I asked as bile climbed its way up my throat. "You give him humans that are still alive?"

"Well, just put it this way, they're no longer human once they make the journey through the gateway," he said, using the same mocking tone I was completely sick of by now. His fingers tightened slightly around my throat, limiting my air supply. "Would you like to see what Forgotten Souls feed on when they come back?" He asked, shifting our bodies so I could see the mayhem behind us.

The Light inside me extinguished as I reached out with my emotions and discovered the Daemons were feasting on my friends' souls.

"NO!" I shrieked, trying to squirm out of his hold.

His fingers tightened further, "Yes my dear. They take what they have lost, their souls. They may not be the sharpest tacks, but they are loyal servants, and will follow me wherever I choose to go."

My oxygen level declined as I scraped feebly at the back of his hand, trying to break free. My vision began to cloud, and for the first time since we had entered the mountain, I called out in vain for Haniel. I knew all was lost and my only regret was that Victor would continue to wreak havoc on the earthly realm once we were gone. I closed my eyes, praying the end would come quickly.

"Let go of her!" A voice thundered across the lab.

My eyes flew open in time to see Victor's incredulous expression as he released his deathly grip on my throat.

I slid down the wall, trying to catch my breath. The ground beneath me began to shake and shudder as Victor turned toward the voice.

"How are you here?" Victor asked, sounding confused for the first time.

"I was invited by someone far greater than you," Haniel said, looking at me briefly. "She holds more power than you could ever dream realize."

"You think you can defeat me?" Victor asked, glaring at Haniel with hatred.

"You are already defeated. I am merely here to send you home," Haniel said as the quaking beneath our feet intensified.

I watched in amazement as the concrete flooring in the center of the room gave way, sinking into oblivion below it.

Join the others,
I heard Haniel's thoughts in my head.

I glanced at my friends and was relieved to see that Haniel's appearance had spared them from the Daemons onslaught. John and Jacob clutched their unconscious Guides, dragging them to where Mark stood on the far side of the room. Using the wall for support, I slowly crept along the perimeter of the room as the flooring in the center of the room continued to sink away.

"You think I will just jump in there willing?" Victor asked belligerently, inching toward the doors that led to the lab.

Knowing his intention, I reversed my direction and headed toward the doors to ward off his escape. I was so intent on my mission that I gasped when a hand snaked out and grasped my own. Glancing down, I saw Mark's long lean fingers wrapped securely around my wrist.

I don't think so,
his thoughts flashed through my mind.
Haniel has this.

Looking up, I saw he was right. Haniel continued to stalk Victor, closing in on him.

"You are nothing Angel," Victor said as he finally reached his destination and grasped onto one of the door handles behind him.

I wanted to shout out a warning to Haniel, but saw he was one step ahead of me as Victor pulled on the doorknob in vain.

"You will not be leaving the mountain that way Victor. The Light has made a deal with The Dark One," Haniel said, continuing his slow advance.

"The Dark One does not make deals with The Light," Victor said, looking scared for the first time.

"He made an exception this time. You see, he feels that someone like you must be stopped from ever walking in the earthly realm again."

"What could The Light possibly offer The Dark One that he couldn't obtain himself?" Victor asked.

"The Angel that watches over his most treasured celestial beings," Haniel answered, finally reaching out to grasp Victor.

Haniel's words took a moment to sink in.

"No!" I screamed, trying to break Mark's hold on me so I could race to Haniel's side. How could The Light offer up Haniel for us?

Mark's grip on me tightened, holding me in place.

"No, no," I said again as tears flowed freely down my cheeks. I struggled against Mark, trying to use my new gifts against him to break his hold, but realized his gifts matched my own. I could not break away from the one person who was equal to me. I watched Haniel with grief-stricken eyes as he slowly dragged Victor across the floor.

Haniel's eyes met mine as he held a vice-like grip on Victor's flailing body.

"It is the only way Krista," he said sincerely before he jumping into the empty space, dragging Victor with him.

Victor's screams slowly faded away, but mine remained as I watched Haniel disappear into total darkness.

Mark released his hold on my wrist as I sank to my knees sobbing. Disbelief flowed through me as Haniel's death pierced through me like a sword. How could The Light value Haniel's life so much less than ours?

Through dazed eyes, I watched as Mark, John and Jacob used their strength and Mark's new powers to shove the Daemons down the gaping hole in the floor. None of them put up much of a fight, confused that their master had disappeared on them. Within seconds, only our group remained in the huge room. The floor began to shake and shudder again as the hole in the center of the room began to grow. I approached the hole in the floor, wanting to jump in myself.

Mark jerked me backwards just as the floor collapsed where I had stood. "Dying won't bring him back!" He yelled over the deafening noise of the building caving in around us.

I looked at him blankly, trying to make sense of what The Light had done.

"We have to leave!" Mark said, shaking my shoulders.

I nodded, knowing he was right. Even if I jumped in the hole that took Haniel, it wouldn't change anything.

I saw John and Jacob scoop up Kieran and Kim into their arms, sprinting along the perimeter of the room toward us. Mark grasped onto my wrist and pulled me from the room toward the double doors. He used his broad shoulders to ram into the doors, flinging them open as we ran. John and Jacob sprinted behind us, cradling their Guides in their arms. Glancing back, I saw that the floor continued to crumble away, nipping at our feet as we raced down the endless hallway.

"Hurry," I yelled at Jacob, finally coming to my senses as I watched him struggle to keep up.

My words seemed to give him the burst of speed he needed as he caught up to us just as we burst through the heavy door, depositing us into the early dawn air. The door behind us collapsed as the mountain sealed itself away, leaving nothing but rubble behind.

Victor's lair had disappeared into where it rightfully
belonged,
taking the monster that had haunted us for so many years with it.

We sat on the ground that continued to rumble, trying to catch our breath. Glancing around at my friends, I was relieved to see Kim and Kieran starting to come around in the arms of their Protectors.

"Krista?" A voice called out behind us.

Turning around, I saw Lynn and Robert stepping out of the woods approaching us with their entire party still intact.

Jumping to my feet, I limped toward them as fast as my injured leg would allow.

"Are you okay?" Lynn asked, openly crying.

"Yes, are you?"

"Yeah, we never made it into the mountain. We got to the back entrance, but Haniel couldn't enter. He tried everything and finally disappeared for a while to confer with The Light. When he came back, he said we needed to wait until you called for him. He said once that happened, we were to make our way to this entrance and wait for you," Robert said. "Where is Sam?" He continued in the same breath.

"She's at the hospital with Shawn. I'm sure she's okay," I said, trying to ease his anxiety.

"Krista, where is Haniel?" Lynn asked, looking around anxiously.

I shook my head, unable to answer her question. Hot tears tracked down my cheeks as the impact of his death hit me full-on.

"No," Lynn said, unwilling to believe. She turned to John for a more suitable answer, but he merely nodded his head, confirming what I had been unable to say.

I closed my eyes as my friends expressed their anguish.

"What are you doing here?" I heard Lynn demand.

Opening my eyes, I saw her studying Mark harshly.

I started to explain, but Mark held up his hand. "Let me," he said, pulling me into his arms, giving me the comfort I so desperately needed. I sank back into his arms gratefully.

Mark plunged into an explanation, highlighting everything our group had missed. I watched the play of emotions cross their faces as they realized Mark had never crossed over, along with their pain when he explained the sacrifice Haniel had made for all of us.

We were here because Haniel had given his life for us.

Mark's words stalled as an imposing figure stepped out of the woods. For the briefest moment, I thought it was Haniel and my heart leaped to my throat, but to my dismay I could see it was a different Archangel.

"Krista, Mark," the stranger nodded, "you are to accompany me. There is someone who wishes to seek your acquaintance," he said formally, sounding much like Haniel had when we first met him.

My heart wept as the pain of losing Haniel hit me acutely.

"Why?" Mark asked.

"That is a question only he can answer," he said, waiting for us to join him.

Mark glanced at me. I shrugged my shoulders, grasping onto his hands. Was it even possible to say no to an Archangel? Stepping away from our group, Mark and I joined him as he reached out with his hands. Together, Mark and I grasped onto them as he slowly lifted our feet from the ground. I glanced back at my friends as we slowly
Ascended
away from them, toward what awaited us beyond the earthly realm.

Epilogue

There is no sense of time in the heavenly realm. When Mark and I returned back to our friends, we had no earthly idea that several days had passed. We weren't surprised though, to find them in the place that had drawn us all together.

They greeted us exuberantly as we suddenly appeared on the sand just beyond where they were all lounging. They jumped to their feet, taking turns embracing us as we were passed from one set of arms to the next.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked, laughing in delight. "Oh Sam," I said, squeezing her in my arms. "How are you feeling?"