Taking Angels (The Angel Crusades) (28 page)

It did end, but not the way I’d hoped. I eased my
eyes open, seeing the sterile walls of a hospital room; the
sounds, muffled at first, slurred into clarity as the
whirring and beeping of machines and monitors brought
back all too familiar memories.

I glanced to one side as a nurse checked my IV.
The room was familiar, yet confusing. This wasn’t Grand
Rapids. This wasn’t Rochester Mayo. This was…

“Where am I?” I whispered, the effort burning my
throat.
“Oh, you scared me.” The nurse jumped, putting a
hand to her chest. “You’re just fine. You’re going to be
just fine.”
“What happened, where am I?”
“You’re at the Ely Hospital; they found you by a
river.”
I tried to sit up only my arms and legs wouldn’t
work. I hurt all over. Did I dream it all? I panicked,
unable to wrap my head around it. Ely was the nearest
hospital to the BWCA. And the waterfall.
“Easy, you’ll pull your IV out,” a soft voice
cautioned.
I turned my head and he sat looking at me. His
bright smile not as bright, his normally sparkling eyes
clouded with concern. Allister stood up and moved over
to my bed, and sat down on the edge.
“Oh my God,” I gasped, feeling the tears
threatening. “I thought it was all a dream.”
“A nightmare, you mean.” Allister frowned.
“As long as I have you, it’ll be a dream.” I smiled
through wet eyes. “What are we doing here?”
“You must have lost your focus because you
traveled to the edge of the very river where we first found
you.”
“Why am I here?”
“The traveling with Angelina and Jennavia pushed
you to your limits. You were badly burned and they
needed to get you here to treat you.”
“Why didn’t Angelina or you just heal me?” I
frowned.
“Britt, you’re more angel than Eternal now. We
can’t heal you like we once could. I guess our abilities are
limited to humans and Eternals. You’re something
entirely different.”
“Bastion,” I gasped, remembering the Eternal now
knew where I lived.
“Don’t worry. I think Bastion will have more
important things to worry about. The Eternal Council
survived the coup and all Eternals involved with the
attempt will be hunted down and imprisoned. Bastion is
in league with Hamlin. He should be on the run for a long
time.”
“Let’s hope so.” I felt my tension ebb. My friends
and family were safe.
“There is going to be a lot of trouble over all this.
They asked Victor to take control of the council again.”
“And?”
“He’s thinking about it.”
“What about us?” I asked the question foremost in
my mind.
“I think my family wants to stay in Grand Rapids
for a while, if that’s okay?”
“Okay? It’s more than okay.” I sat up, ignoring the
pain in my damaged, shifting skin as I wrapped my arms
around his neck.
Allister sensed my discomfort and looked at me
with concern. “Sore?” he asked.
“Yeah. Can’t I heal like before?”
“Angels are actually a lot more resilient than we
are, but you pushed it. Even immortals can push too far.”
“Then don’t make me come save you again,
okay?” I smirked and gave him a kiss. This forever thing
might turn out yet.

Trish’s Jeep sat alongside the road just before the
‘Welcome to Grand Rapids’ sign as Elise and Trish
worked at changing the large off road tire. They’d
struggled to get the spare off the back and now worked to
jack up the back side of the Jeep.

“You’d think with all this racing around with
Kendal,it would have gone flat then,” Trish grumbled.
“Not now.”

“Quit complaining and let’s get this thing
changed. Cassie is waiting for us to pick her up at the
hospital.”

A sleek black Mercedes pulled up, the windows
tinted too dark to see who was inside. The window
hummed down partway and the girls turned to see the
nose and jaw of the driver inside illuminated by the
fading sunlight.

“I think we got it,” Trish called out and turned
back to changing the tire.
“Maybe we can catch a ride to the hospital and
have the boys come out and get this?” Elise hated manual
labor.
Trish straightened with a hand to her back as she
considered the comfort of the black Mercedes. She
nodded, “Alright, thanks mister.”
“No problem, no problem at all.” The man smiled
and ran his tongue over his shiny silver tooth.
Stay tuned for book two of
The Angel Crusades
Summer 2014
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my wife for her patient support of
my writing. My four children, Ruth and Dale who are
constantly cheering me on. My Roseville writing group,
(Celia, John, Quinette, Cathy, and Michelle) who helped
me wade through uncharted waters. And to Heather.
Without her insight and input, this book would definitely
be lacking. And to Sheri and Mike for the support an
author can only dream about. You guys are awesome!
About the Author