The Ascended (The Saving Angels 3)

"I think they were just a test, things will get tougher." I said, breaking into the guys' chatter. >I had discovered the night before that it was almost painful to be surrounded by conflicting emotions. Unanswered questions swirled around in my head. Did Haniel feel the same pain I did from negative emotions? If so, does that mean I'm now more a part of the Heavenly Realm than the Earthly one? What would all of it mean when the night came to a close?

Chapter 10

The afternoon slowly drifted into the evening. As the clouds finally parted, the moon and stars shone brightly down on the snow that was more than a foot deep. The snow made the night lighter than it normally would have been from the whiteness that surrounded us.

Haniel arrived as we were making our final preparations. He glanced at me appraisingly, obviously getting a feel for how I was feeling about the situation I would soon be facing. It amazed me how well I could read him now. I would have called it an out-of-body experience, but truthfully, I had never felt more in control of myself than I did at that moment. My heart still ached painfully for the love I had lost, but other things seemed bent on crowding that ache away. My love for my friends and their safety dominated every cell in my body. I could feel it radiating through me as the time of our departure loomed ahead.

Haniel flashed me a rare proud smile as he read my thoughts.

"The time has come," he said, addressing all of us.

His words triggered a flurry of activity as the Protectors swiftly removed the tarp above our heads and wrapped it around the backpacks we had piled up near the campfire. It was decided that the only commodity we would carry were flashlights and pickaxes for protection. The rest of the supplies would only weigh us down.

Once the packs were securely covered, Robert and Lynn came over to join Sam, Shawn and me. Lynn gave Sam a quick hug. "Be careful okay. Don't go off on your own like you've been known to do."

Sam blinked back tears. "I won't, not like Shawn would let me even if I tried," she said, trying to lighten the mood as she stepped back and turned to her brother.

"Stay safe," she said, choking slightly on the words.

Robert nodded and pulled her in for a gentle hug. "We'll see you soon," he promised, using his thumb to wipe away a tear from Sam's cheek.

Sam gulped back a half sob, burying her head in Shawn's shoulder.

Lynn turned to me, giving me her usual hard penetrating stare. "We need you," she said fiercely, giving me a hard hug. "Don't forget that," she added, making her point abundantly clear.

"I know, I promise this isn't a suicide mission for me. Maybe a couple days ago it was, but all of that has changed now," I said, finally coming clean.

She gave me one more probing look that softened when she could see the resolve on my face. Turning toward Shawn, she gave him a quick hug. "Take care of my besties," she said in an uncharacteristically strangled voice.

"I will," he said solemnly, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

Robert pulled me in for a long hug without saying a word. I could feel his turbulent emotions as he glanced at us one last time before he and Lynn joined the other group. Sam's eyes stayed locked on them as we watched the other Bands say their own goodbyes. Haniel and I had decided to split the Bands to help preserve the lineage of each group as much as we could. The chances of all of our members being completely decimated were slim, but the likely hood that all of us would survive was a pipe dream as well. Preserving even a small fraction of each Band was better than nothing.

Haniel joined my group before we headed out. "You have the power," he said, looking at me intensely.

I nodded my head. "I won't let you down."

"Follow Krista's lead. She will not lead you astray," he told my group before he departed with his own group.

We watched him and our friends trudge through the deep snow away from the campsite until they disappeared from sight. Their journey would take longer than ours since Haniel planned on taking them around the mountain to the back entrance of Victor's lair. My group's journey would be much easier with a straight path right up the mountain.

"I guess we should head out," I told everyone, stomping my feet in hopes that the movement would get a little blood flowing to help the numbness.

The Protector's led us out of the campsite and the Guides and I fell in behind them. Jaime and Sam flanked my sides while Kieran and Amelia moved to the rear of the group.

Hiking through the thick snow made talking difficult and within a few minutes we were all breathing heavy. "Sheesh, obviously super lungs isn't part of my new powers," I gasped as I tied my windbreaker jacket around my waist and pushed up the sleeves of my hoodie.

"Yeah, because being able to read minds, save people, and have an Archangel at your beck and call isn't enough," Sam teased.

Jaime laughed at her words. "Sam's got a point Krista, besides if you're so bent on wishing for new powers, I would wish for the ability to fly, that way you would already be there," she joked. Her remark made all of us girls burst out laughing.

"Perhaps breathing would be easier without so much chatter," John said, using his voice of reason.

Kieran mimed his words behind him, making us laugh even harder. It felt good to let go of the sadness we had all felt at the campsite.

Our laughter wound up winding us though, so any further talk was put on hold as John led us up the mountain at a grueling pace. Thirty minutes later, we entered a pass that was somewhat flat and allowed us to catch our breath.

"I would give my left arm to a starving zombie for a drink of water," Sam huffed as she worked to even out her breathing.