The Ascended (The Saving Angels 3)

"It’s an honor," Harmony said, sneering at me.

I shook my head, looking at her with pity. She was just another pawn that The Dark One and Victor were using.

"Don’t give me your pity Krista, I’ve spent years perfecting my gifts. Haven’t you even wondered why you haven't been able to connect with your precious Link all these months? That was my doing. I’ve blocked every attempt either of you have made, cutting both of you off. I broke your Link just like father requested," she said gleefully, gloating in her deeds that had destroyed my link with Mark.

I expected anger to well up in me at what she had done, but my pity for her only increased as I clearly saw the disillusions Victor had been feeding her for years.

"Oh my God, I said I don't need your pity, Angel whore," she said, spitting the words at me.

"Harmony dear, you mustn't let her get to you like that. Come along my dear. We shall leave her alone with something that no longer belongs to her," he said, indicating Mark in the far corner.

I felt disgust flowing through me at his referral of Mark, like he was nothing more than an innate object or something.

"Mason, here," Harmony commanded. I watched with shocked curiosity as her link rushed to her side like a puppy, shooting me an almost apologetic smile.

The door slammed closed behind them, leaving me alone with Mark for the first time in months.

I slowly turned around, cautiously eyeing him. Unanswered questions burned through me. If Harmony had been blocking our emotions for all these months, did that mean Mark regretted his decision to leave me? And if he did, how did he feel about our Link being broken?

Without meeting his eyes, I slowly walked toward him. I knew that I should be using my time to reach Haniel and figure out where my friends were, but for the moment I shut all of that out. I was just an ordinary girl seeing her ex-boyfriend for the first time since a terrible break-up. I wiped my sweaty hands on my jeans as I stood a foot from him. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally worked up the nerve to lift my gaze to meet his. My heart constricted as his chocolate brown eyes drank in my appearance. I was dying to know what he was thinking and knew that I could have picked his thoughts from his head effortlessly, but I did not feel right invading his privacy that way. Our Link was completely gone and yet, I found myself drawn to him like never before. I smiled at how wrong Victor had it. He had always assumed that as a Guide and Protector, you lost all your freewill, but here I stood, no longer a Guide, and I was still taken with the boy that stood before me. >"Aye aye captain," I said, falling in line with Sam, Kieran and Kim.

“So, how are we supposed to get in?” John asked, staring at the large imposing door in front of us.

“You know what, just try opening it—carefully though,” I said suspiciously.

John cautiously pulled the huge metal door, surprised to find it unlocked.

“I knew it,” I said. “He knows we’re here so he’s screwing with us. Everyone be ready for anything.”

I blinked my eyes in the sudden brightness that greeted us. After using flashlights as our only light source for the last few hours, stepping into so much light was unsettling. I peered over Shawn's shoulder at the long industrial hallway in front of us.

"Um, that's a little creepy," Sam said, eyeing the long empty expansion in front of us.

I had to agree with her. Everything was quiet—too quiet considering Victor knew we were here.

"What you were expecting, dungeons or something?" Shawn asked.

"That would have been more appealing than this," she said, running her hand over the pristine white walls.

"It takes time and manpower to build something like this, so I'm wondering where all that manpower is hiding," I questioned.

"I'm guessing that way," John said, indicating the space beyond the hallway.

"Yeah, I gathered that much,” I said sarcastically, “but I'm not overly crazy about us walking into an ambush."

"What choice do we have?" Shawn asked.

"I know, I'm just saying," I said, cutting my eyes back toward the door.

"Come on, let's go," I said, taking control over the situation.

My command prompted the group forward with the Protectors slowly leading us down the long hallway. I focused all my attention on trying to get a feel for the space in front of us. I could make out the presence of multiple Daemons in the vicinity, along with a dark evil essence that I hoped was only Victor. It was stronger than it had been in June, so either he was seriously more powerful, or I was sensing someone else with him, someone with the same dark emotions. My heart lurched slightly at the thought that it most likely belonged to Mark. Shrouded by the dark cloud of evil, I could also feel something else. Something like a beacon of light amidst a dense fog. It was faint, but it was definitely there.

It had to be the missing pair from our Band, I thought in satisfaction. Our rescue mission was not a waste. We would be saving what was stolen from us so many years ago.

I can handle this, I thought just before all the light above our heads went off.

Chapter 12