The Saving Angels Series: Books 1-3 (38 page)

"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.

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.

"My poor baby, feeling neglected?" I cooed at him as he lifted his head so I could scratch him under the chin also. I obliged him and was rewarded with his answering purr of gratitude.

I stood back up and refilled his saucer with water and placed it in front of him and resumed getting ready. I pulled on the light yellow sundress I had allowed Sam to talk me into a few weeks ago that Mark had yet to see. The material was airy and flowed gently around me, making me feel more feminine than I had in a week. Training for hours every day after school was beginning to make me feel like a grunt, and very unladylike. I was anxious for Mark to actually see me dressed like a girl again.

Mark had indicated that we would be spending the day outside, so I gathered my hair together and pulled it into a high ponytail on top of my head so it wouldn’t become a mess after a few hours in the heat. After a light layer of lip gloss, a touch of eyeliner, and a spray of my favorite perfume, I was ready to go.

I walked through the house quietly leaving Feline behind to finish his water in the bathroom.

I found Mark on the patio watching the waves roll in.

"Hi," I said, walking up behind him and placing my hands on his shoulders.

"Hi yourself.
Don't you look pretty today," he said, pulling me onto his lap. "Not that you're not pretty every day," he added quickly.

"Sure, sure I got you. Believe me I know I've looked like death this past week," I said grimacing.

"You could never look anything but beautiful," he said seriously, dragging his hand around the nape of my neck to pull me in for a kiss.

After making his point clear, he finally pulled back. "You ready to get out of here?" he asked.

"Most definitely," I said enthusiastically, hopping off his lap.

We drove with the windows down on the way to Mark's secret destination. The ocean breeze blew through the window filling the car with its briny smell. I inhaled the salty scent as the wind whipped my ponytail around. I loved living near the ocean.

"Okay, sooooo where are we going?" I asked for like the hundredth time.

"Can't say," he said, grinning at me mischievously.

I slid down in my seat, pretending to pout, but I couldn't help but grin. I was so excited to be out that we could be going to the dump and I would be perfectly happy with it.

As Mark turned up the radio, I closed my eyes and turned my face toward the window to soak up the warm rays of the morning sun. With my head relaxed against the headrest, the warm air blew across my face as the music from the radio surrounded us.

After half an hour, Mark pulled off the highway and made a series of turns, finally pulling into a sandy parking lot. By the look of the many outdoor tables and booths in the distance, it looked like we were at some kind outdoor market.

Jumping out of the vehicle, I took a look at the sights surrounding me. Mark came around the vehicle and joined me.

"You remembered," I said, throwing my arms around him. Weeks ago I had expressed my desire to someday visit a year-round outdoor market. Being from the arctic climate of Montana, an outdoor market was unheard of.

"Of course I remembered. I remember everything you’ve ever said to me," he said in a husky voice near my ear making me shiver in delight.

"I'm so excited," I said, grabbing onto his hand and dragging him toward the entrance.

The outdoor market was everything I had imagined and more. Each seller had their own wooden stand with long tables filled with their wares. Fruits, vegetables, and baked goods lined the majority of the tables. The sweet smell of every fruit imaginable hung succulent fragrances in the air making even a chocoholic like me, water at the mouth. Vendors from each side of us offered to cut open fruit from their stands hoping to entice buyers in.

I paused at one of the tables to try a fruit I had only read about in books. Accepting the small piece of passion fruit, I popped it into my mouth cautiously after eyeing the slimy yellow middle. I was pleasantly surprised at the flavors that burst in my mouth. I wasn’t overly crazy about the texture, but aside from that, the fruit was extremely tasty.

Moving on to the next stand, I paused to look at the pretty color of the porcelain hair clips that lined the bright, woven cloth.
"How much?"
I asked the old Mexican woman behind the table.

"Six dollars each, two for ten, or three for twelve," she said in a heavily accented voice.

Pleased at the price, I studied the hair clips and picked a pale pink one for myself, and a dark purple one that appeared black until the sun shined on it just right making the purple come alive, for Lynn. Finding one for Sam took much longer as I searched for something that she would like. I had it narrowed down to three when I finally had to ask Mark for his opinion.

"I think that one matches her the most," he said, pointing toward the swirl-colored one I had been leaning toward.

"I think that one's perfect too," I said, giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"So, are you trying for the perfect boyfriend award or are you really okay with this whole shopping thing?" I asked teasingly as we moved on.

"I enjoy shopping as much as the next guy, but spending the day with you totally makes it worth it," he answered, draping his arm across my shoulders.

"Well, I'll take it," I said, moving on to the next stand where a cute little boy who looked to be about three rushed around the table to proudly show me his truck. I squatted down to admire it.

"I think that's the coolest truck ever," I said, praising it as he handed it over for me to take a closer look. "I love the big wheels," I said, handing his prized possession back to him. Grinning at me, he scurried back around the table, suddenly shy.

"Sorry about that, he's usually too shy to come out behind the stand," a pretty woman that looked to be in her mid-thirties said to me while wiping her hands on the half apron tied around her narrow waist. "He obviously knows a pretty girl when he sees one," she added, grinning at me before she turned to help a customer. I returned her smile and turned to Mark only to see him studying me intently.

"What?" I asked, self consciously swiping at my face with my hand, making sure I didn’t have anything on it.

"You're going to make a really good mom someday," he said, looking at me in a way that made my heart beat at an erratic pace. The picture of cradling our child in my arms filled my head and I
blushed
thinking about what we would have to do to have a child. Both were extremely appealing pictures. I was definitely not ready to have kids now, but the promise of someday was enough to make my soul sing.

Mark smiled when he caught the gist of my thoughts. "Yep, definitely not ready for kids but…," he said, winking at me suggestively.

I giggled and reached for his hand. Our minds were obviously on the same page on that topic.

After several hours of shopping at the various makeshift stands, we were both famished and decided to dine at one of the countless food eateries there.

"I want a corn dog and fries. The smell has been driving me batty since we got here," I said after a few minutes of deliberating. "Ooh and I want a yummy chocolate ice cream cone," I added, spotting the ice cream vendor across the way.

"Of course you do," Mark said laughing as he headed off to get the food.

All the plastic resin tables were taken, so I picked us a secluded spot under the shade of a beautiful weeping willow tree. I ran my fingers over the light branches that hung almost to my waist in some places, giving it the feel of an outdoor tent.
Stooping low, I crab-walked under the long branches sighing with pleasure as I stood under the canopy.
Willow trees were by far my favorite species of trees. They had a mysterious appeal about them that seemed so romantic and sad at the same time. Combining our purchases into one bag, I spread the other two out so we could sit on them.

I sat down on my bag and drew my knees up to my chest, smoothing out the skirt of my dress over my legs. I watched mesmerized as the branches danced around me, gently putting on their own little show.

"Hey, I almost couldn’t find you," Mark said, chuckling as he parted the branches to join me.

"Sorry, I couldn’t resist the nice canopy under here. It feels magical doesn’t it?" I asked.

"It's pretty spectacular," Mark said, handing me the tray with the corn dogs and fries on it, before he plopped down next to me with our drinks. "I figured we could get you your cone when were done eating," he added.

"Good call, as long as we don't forget," I said solemnly.

"Um, Krista, no offense, but I'm not sure you could ever forget about chocolate."

Laughing, I swatted his arm lightly. "I can't help it. I think it's a part of my DNA. Subject must love chocolate," I said, trying to sound serious.

"Along with junk food," Mark added, indicating our food.

"Oh yeah, definitely junk food too," I said, emphasizing my point by dunking my corn dog in the ketchup and mustard before taking a bite of the deep fried treat.
"Although, how could anyone call something like this junk?
We need to rename junk food. I say we call it 'yummy food' or 'yum food.' What do you think?"