Free Beyond by Mary Ting Page B

turned vampire if they ever needed to save his life. Lucky for him, he had a healing crystal. He pulled it out to examine the beauty of it and inwardly thanked Margaret for giving it to him before he left. I t was rightfully his , handed down by his father who had passed away.
    Right on schedule, he placed his crystal back into his pocket, exhaled a heavy sigh and walked in. From the moment he walked through the door until he reached the front of the auditorium, he could feel their gaze s fall heavily upon him. He glanced among the supernatural students. There must have been hundreds of them and right in front, he spotted Benjamin, the sole reason he was t here. Benjamin was the nephi li m he needed to help protect. They made eye contact and exchanged smiles .
    This meeting room looked like any ordinary auditorium, only it was furnished with top-notch materials. The cherry wood tables and chairs with plush cushion s looked too comfortable , n ot that they could feel the difference. In the front of the room was a laptop and a projector placed on a table.
    Michael didn’t want to be the center of attention, more so he didn ’ t want to be t here. He had just been with Claudia. H e could still smell her scent , as if she was right t here. Even though the experience with her had weakened him, h e had to be strong and make it through this speech. Impressing the vampires was important. As Michael prepared himself to speak, all eyes were focused, filled with curiosity as they listened intently.
    Michael cleared his throat. “ Hello, my name is Michael. Angels like myself are called alk ins . We are the first and only generation in Crossroads. We are not permitted to interact with mortals. We can ’ t spend extended periods of time away from Crossroads. You can think of it like a rechargeable battery. We need to return home to energize ourselves. Of course , there are times we would like to stay here, but it ’ s just not allowed , and they will change everything to keep it that way. I know it ’ s for her…I mean… .” Uncontrollable thoughts of Claudia rippled through his mind , causing him to stumble off topic . He closed his eyes. “ Focus, ” he said to himself.
    When he opened his eyes, he spotted an unknown female standing toward the back , and wasn ’ t sure if he should be on the alert. Good or bad, all vampires gave him the creeps.
     
    Is he Michael? Sophia telepathically communicate d to her brother, Alexander, who was sitting.
    Yes, Alexander replied .
    What ’ s his deal?
    Not sure really, I can ’ t connect or read him. It must be some kind of angelic block.
    Okay, then what are you learning from him?
    He ’ s explaining a little about why the angel hunters want the half angel, half human beings , and explaining to the students how we were able to cloak Benjamin. I think he may be a good addition to our teaching staff, if we can convince him to stay.
     
    Michael continue d as he watche d Sophia settle herself on a chair. He observed through their gesture s that she and a male were communicating silently . He didn ’ t care what they were talking about , as long as it wasn ’ t about attacking him. “ We angels know it ’ s for the protection of those here on Earth, but it ’ s not always what is best … as least it doesn ’ t always feel right. ” His tone was low and tapered off at the end.
     
    Sophia Pierce telepathically communicate d to her brother Alexander again .
    I can sense his pain. Michael is hurting more than any angel should. I always thought they were full of peace and joy, but I ’ m learning how wrong I ’ ve been.
    Alexander replie d , I know what you mean. I feel it too.
     
    “ Michael, why is it you ’ ve been sent to us? ” Eliza asked. Michael immediately sense d her different aura. She was not a vampire. He concluded she was one of their friendly witches.
    “ One of my leaders, Katherine, is one of the Twelve. She believes nephilim can be trained properly and used