"Come on, we need to get you guys in the house before you get sick," Mark said, pressing my shaking body tightly against his. I welcomed his body heat as I snuggled in even closer. The walk to the house seemed endless as my unprotected side was exposed to the persistent breeze blowing off the water.
Robert kept up his colorful string of words each time the breeze blew across us.
I would have laughed, but the cold had sucked all humor out of the situation for me, as I focused, on placing one foot in front of the other. My frozen feet screamed at me with each step, but I clamped my lips together, not wanting to worry my friends.
Mark halted our progress when I stumbled over my next step, unable to feel my feet. "Are you okay?"
Finally caving, I shook my head painfully. "I cannnn't feellllll myyyy feeeeet," I said through my painful chattering teeth.
Mark knelt down in front of me to get a better look at my feet, but the lack of light made it hard for him to see. He scooped me up in his powerful arms as if I weighed nothing more than a toddler. "Shawn, come hold Krista's feet," he barked, striding toward his house at a brisk pace.
Shawn walked sideways, rubbing my ice cold feet with his hands. "Holy crap, your feet are like blocks of ice," he said, rubbing his hands over them briskly, using the friction to try to warm them.
"Soorrrrrrrrryy," I said apologetically. "They'reeeee alwayyyss coolld," I added.
I almost groaned out loud with relief when I saw the wooden staircase leading to Mark's house up ahead. Mark strode purposefully up the stairs with me still cradled in his arms.
"What happened?" John asked concerned as we climbed the last step.
"Krista and Robert went for a brief swim," Shawn said jokingly.
"Really, you choose a time like this for irresponsibility?" John asked reproachfully, taking in mine and Robert's blue lips and chattering teeth.
"Well, it's not like they did it on purpose," Sam said in a feisty voice, sticking up for her brother and me. "It was an accident, we were just messing around."
"That's all fine and dandy if we weren’t facing a life threatening situation," he said, clearly pissed off as he trailed after us. "It's time you stopped acting like kids and fulfilled your roles," he said in a loud voice, making me cringe deeper into Mark's arms. I hated to be yelled at more than anything else. I could feel panic clawing at me as he followed us into the house.
I was shocked at his tone and was surprised Mark didn't jump in with his own comment. I tilted my head to look at his face and saw his jaw was clenched as he strode with me through the house toward the guest bathroom.
"What if they get sick now and are unable to fulfill their duties?" John continued to berate us loudly, ignoring Kieran's voice as she tried to calm him.
"Enough," Haniel said with authority ringing through his voice that only an Archangel could pull off. "Go warm her up," he directed Mark.
"What was that about?" Sam asked quietly, running a steaming tub of water for me as Mark continued to cradle me in his arms.
"He's right," I said as another shudder raced through me. "It was irresponsible of me."
"No he's not right," Mark said quietly. "You’re still young. We all are, and we should be allowed that luxury without the weight of the world on our shoulders all the time. Yeah, getting wet was not the best idea, but accidents happen," he added, setting me fully dressed in the tub of steaming water. Pinpricks of pain shot through me as the hot water engulfed my frozen limbs. After several painful moments, my flesh began to warm and the pain faded away. Lying back against the back of the tub, I sunk down until every inch of me was submerged, except for my chin.
"You stay with her," Mark said after a few minutes. "I'm going to go see what's going on."
I closed my eyes, dismayed at the trouble I had caused. I was a walking disaster. If I wasn’t getting kidnapped or taking on an Abbadon three times my size, I was falling in an ice cold ocean at the most inopportune time. No wonder John had gotten so pissed. I was like the ultimate drama queen. I felt bad and hated the idea that someone was mad at me.
"Krista, it's not your fault. Truthfully, the whole thing is my fault for messing around in the first place, but honestly, I really don't understand what the big deal is. I mean, sure, I hope you guys don’t get sick, but I don’t know how a case of the sniffles is going to affect your performance?" Sam asked, sounding bewildered.
"I'm not sure," I said, standing and drawing the curtain closed so that I could shrug out of my soaked shorts and t-shirt. Sam handed a towel through the small crack between the shower curtain and the wall. Draping the towel around me, I knotted it at the top securing it into place so I could wring out my dripping clothes. Once most of the water was wrung out, I hung them on the towel rack at the far end of the tub so they wouldn’t drip on the floor. I was surprised to see the bathroom empty when I stepped out of the shower. Sam had thoughtfully left my current sleeping attire of sweats and sweatshirt on the bathroom counter. Snuggling into the clothes, I reveled in the comforting warmth they provided. Only one last touch, the thick fuzzy socks lying on the vanity stool that didn't belong to me but I would gladly borrow.
I walked on silent feet toward the living room where I could hear a hushed conversation going on. Stopping in the doorway, I was surprised to see everyone crowded in the living room listening to Haniel intently.
Haniel broke off when he saw me. "Feeling better Krista?" he asked.
"Yeah," I mumbled, squeezing in between Sam and Shawn on the couch. "What did I miss?" I asked, feeling self-conscious.
"You did not miss anything. I was merely explaining the importance of unity," Haniel said, looking at all of us. "Your enemy will find the slightest crack in your armor and use it to his benefit. Do not give him that advantage," he said, leaving us to ponder his words.
His departure released the lid on the quiet atmosphere as several conversations broke out around the room. I watched John approach Mark and observed their quiet conversation. Confused, I turned to Sam. "What did I miss?" I asked, repeating my question from moments before.
"Mark came out here and blew a gasket. Told John he wasn't our father and that if he ever talked to you like that again he would no longer be welcome here," Sam whispered in my ear. "It was kind of cool having Mark stand up for us like that."