Free The Ascended by Tiffany King Page A

was a surreal experience and I knew exactly how to direct her.
    "Go back to your babies," I directed in a loud voice, trying to be as stern as I could to a gigantic black bear that could tear my head off.
    She looked down at John one last time before loping off through the forest, relieved to have escaped the voice that had ordered her away from her babies. I could feel her anticipation to be home as the sound of her crashing through the forest quickly faded away.
    I sank to my knees beside John as the blood continued to drench the ground beneath him. I pulled my hoodie off hastily and pressed it down on his chest, remembering another time not long ago when I was forced into a similar situation. He was deathly pale and his blood soaked through the heavy material of my jacket, running warmly over my fingers. I pressed down harder, trying to staunch the flow.
    "Don't you die on me John," I ordered, using the same tone I had on the mother bear. I could hear movement in the trees and knew my friends were on their way. I could feel their turbulent emotions as they raced toward us. Kieran's panic was more prevalent as she raced ahead of the others using the speed The Light had given us to its fullest potential. She knew her Link was fighting for his life.
    "Kieran's on her way," I told John, glancing away from his now ashen face.
    The words had barely left my lips when Kieran burst through the trees looking disheveled with leaves and debris tangled throughout her wavy hair. She raced to my side and without pausing to think, she placed her hands over mine, trying to stop the blood that still seeped through my fingers.
    "Krista?" She said, looking at me with glistening eyes.
    "It's okay Kieran. I'm calling Haniel now," I said closing my eyes. I used every bit of concentration I could muster and called for our Archangel.
    "How Krista? How can you call Haniel?" She asked, openly crying now.
    "I don't know how it works, I just know I can do it now," I said simply, looking up as Haniel strode purposefully through the clearing. The others poured out of the woods as one and stood in a loose circle around us.
    Without a word, Haniel knelt beside me and placed his hands over mine, giving me a nod. With awareness like I had never experienced, I knew exactly what he was silently asking. I removed my hands from John's gaping wounds and pulled Kieran to the shallow water's edge with me. She came with me willingly, knowing that at the moment John was literally in the best hands possible.
    "I don't understand," she said more confused than ever as we kneeled on the pebble strewn ground.
    "We'll explain later," I said, giving her a sideways hug of reassurance, feeling like the adult. My encounter with the bear had opened my eyes and I now understood my hybrid status completely. In the span of the two minutes during and after John's attack, my understanding was now clear.
    "What if he dies?" Kieran whispered, changing the subject.
    "He won't, I promise."
    "Kieran, John's asking for you," Jenna said, kneeling beside us.
    Kieran whipped around, surging to her feet in one fluid movement.
    I stayed at the water's edge, washing all traces of John's blood away. I felt Haniel's presence without having to turn around.
    "You understand now?" He asked frankly, placing his hands in the water next to mine.
    "Yes," I said, turning toward my friends so I could check on John. I was surprised to see that my friends were already assisting him from the small clearing. Paul and Jacob had his arms around their shoulders, helping him navigate the uneven ground.
    "Will he be okay?" I asked, watching them disappear from sight.
    "Yes, although his body will need to recuperate from the trauma he suffered. He would have perished if not for you."
    "I didn't do anything but call you," I said.
    "Yes, you used your Gifts to summon an Archangel."
    "Do you mean I could have paged a different Archangel?" I asked skeptically.
    "Paged?" he questioned before answering me, filing the new