Forgotten Souls (The Saving Angels 2)

"Yes, like Victor."

Victor. I ran the name through my head. For so long, I had thought of him only as a monster. To have him referred to by name threw me off.

"You were created to be celestial beings, but this does not mean The Light wanted to strip you of your own freewill. Your gifts, however blessed you are to have them, are still yours to do with as you choose. You are here to serve mankind and keep them from ruination, but as has always been the case, as a human, you have your own freewill. Unfortunately, that also makes you as susceptible to the temptations of evil as anyone else. It is rare, but Victor is not the first Protector we have lost. We are grieved with the outcome of his deeds and the actions he took for his own personal gain. Unfortunately, he had already gained the protection of the Dark One before we realized how far gone he was. Freewill is one thing, but destroying something so precious to The Light will not go without retribution. We are just biding our time for the right opportunity."

"Do Guides ever turn?" I asked, feeling a slightly panicked given what I had done earlier that evening.

"No, we have never had a Guide turn. It is certainly possible, however your emotional compass should always steer you down the right course. I know you are concerned about what happened earlier, but remember, you are still trying to understand your gifts and how to use them. The fact that you understand the illicitness of your actions and displayed repentance shows the beauty of your soul. You have nothing to worry about. You already show more promise than any Guide I have trained throughout the years. Saving yourself and your Protector a few weeks ago put you at an advantage over other Guides. You used knowledge that was not yet bestowed on you, and because of that you are the leader of the Guides in your band."

"Haniel, what about the two that aren't with our band, the ones that Victor stripped from us?" I asked, cringing at how dirty the name tasted in my mouth. "Have their souls already been compromised? Will we be able to save them?" The questions tumbled out of me in a rush.

Haniel held up a hand to stop my onslaught of questions. "We are unsure if they have truly been turned. However, The Light feels that all hope is not lost and has not given up on them."

"Then why don't we go and save them now?" I asked my voice escalating.

Haniel once again held up his hand to quiet me. This time, I fought the temptation to slap it away. Why were we idly sitting by playing war games? None of it made sense to me. First God had left me and Mark on our own a few weeks back, and now he was abandoning two lost souls or forgotten souls, whatever they were called.

"Krista, have you not heard the words I have spoken to you? The Dark Angel has the protection of a very powerful being right now. To intervene now would mean the loss of more Guides and Protectors. The moment is fast approaching that The Dark Angel will have to answer for his choices, but now is not the time. If we sent your band in now, you would not survive. There are no second chances in this."

"If things are so dire, then why doesn’t The Light send in the Archangels to take care of it? I mean, surely you are more powerful than us lowly celestial beings that don't even have wings?" I asked.

"Krista, The Light cannot send us in. We do not exist on the same plane as you or humans. If we were to intervene on behalf of humanity we would be stepping into your realm, thus giving every underling from The Dark One's command the same privilege. The Light has his Chosen Ones to do his bidding, just as The Dark One has his Abbadons and human hosts."

"Human hosts?" I asked confused.

"Humans that no longer care about themselves or others, can be taken over by evil spirits called Daemons. I believe you encountered several in your recent battle with The Dark Angel," he said quietly.

All my anger dissipated and I sank back against my chaise lounge. There was so much all of us still had to learn. Daemons using human hosts seemed to be the icing on the cake. Suddenly, the weight of it all threatened to pull me under, and for the first time in weeks I had to work to control my emotions. After a few shallow breaths, I was finally able to subdue them.

I opened my eyes to see Haniel studying me. "What?" I asked self-consciously.

"I can see why The Light wants to protect you. You are truly a remarkable Guide and will be spectacular when you come into your own," he said as he stood. Heading toward the steps, he turned to me one last time.

"You know, just because you cannot see your wings, does not mean they are not there. After all, you do not see mine either right?" Without waiting for answer, he walked away in his usual fashion, leaving me to ponder his words. It was quite disconnecting to have him think I was that special. And it was a whole other thing to think that if we weren't in the human realm we would also have wings. How had I gone from freaky emotional girl to something so extraordinary in such a short amount of time?

Feline nestled closer to me on the chaise lounge. My eyes began to feel heavy and drifted closed. With Haniel's words floating through my mind, I fell asleep.

Chapter 6

The next week passed in a blur as we trained harder than I could have ever imagined. Thanks to Haniel's healing, Mark was once again in top form, and by the end of the week he was able to out-master both Shawn and Robert. Haniel was a much tougher opponent, but for the most part Mark was able to hold his own.

By Tuesday, Sam and Lynn were both able to protect the children in the images projected by Haniel. I had moved on from not only being able to protect them, but to also change the pictures entirely. I still struggled with holding on long enough to actually filter the emotions completely, but I felt like I had a good handle on it. I could tell, in his own way Haniel was proud of my efforts.

Our favorite part of training, by far, was the sprints that Haniel coached us through. Lynn and Sam were quick learners and it wasn't long before the three of us could run five miles in just under five minutes. The guys loved watching us during this training in particular. When I asked Mark why, he told me it was because we moved so fast it was as if we were flying.

"I guess you could say you truly look like Angels when you're running," he said.

On Saturday morning, I woke up early and excited. Haniel had given us all the day off, and Mark and I decided that alone time was definitely on the agenda.

Crawling out of bed quietly, I gathered my clothes and tiptoed out of the room. Lynn had made it clear she would spend her day off sleeping in.

Heading toward the bathroom with Feline at my heels, I couldn’t help walking with a spring in my step. A day alone with Mark sounded heavenly.

Feline perched on the counter while I twisted the shower nozzle to hot. I flipped the switch for the exhaust fan and stepped into the steaming shower. I would definitely miss Mark's oversized shower/tub when I returned home with my mom on Monday.

I squeezed shampoo into the palm of my hand and worked the lather through my hair. I grimaced when I felt sand on my scalp. Training on the beach, though ideal, made it hard to keep my head sand free. I scrubbed my scalp as thoroughly as possible, using my nails to dislodge all remnants of the beach. Once I was satisfied it was as good as it was going to get, I finished the rest of my shower in a rush, ready to start my alone time with Mark.

Feline leapt off the counter when I stepped out of the shower with the oversized beach towel wrapped securely around me. I felt his rough tongue licking the water beads off the back of my calf while I brushed out my hair. Smiling, I squatted down to scratch behind his ears.