Her Guardian Angel 4-Her Angel Series by Felicity Heaton Page B

in
the present and in the future.
    He had
never seen the single pool which held the future. Only a few angels
were allowed entry to the room containing it in the grand palatial
house of Heaven, and those angels were sworn to silence, allowed
only to speak to their superior, who in turn relayed necessary
information on critical events to other high ranking
angels.
    His
superior included.
    Which led
Marcus to believe that he was aware of what fate awaited
Amelia.
    Marcus
curled his fingers into fists and frowned at the vambraces
protecting his forearms, watching the way the sunlight danced
across the blue armour and reflected off the silver raised edges
and the silver buckles on the leather straps against his
underarms.
    There was
something freeing about changing out of his mortal appearance and
donning his armour. He felt closer to home again and distant from
the goings on of the mortal world around him. He shrugged his
shoulders, raising the blue breastplate of his armour and exposing
his bare stomach, and then stretched his arms out at his sides and
closed his eyes as he unfurled his wings.
    Warm
summer air tickled his silvery-blue feathers, teasing his senses,
and he basked in the sunlight, absorbing the heat and allowing it
to relax him and chase away his troubled thoughts.
    He was a
soldier.
    Soldiers
followed their orders.
    He didn’t
have to think. He just had to follow orders and his mission would
be over.
    Marcus
opened his eyes and looked at the infinite sky. The pale blue dome
turned to green and then hues of orange near the horizon, scattered
with ribbons of cloud that caught the fading sunlight and burned
gold and pink. It was beautiful and this evening it would be his
playground again, his world in which he would immerse himself to
escape the mortal realm and find peace for a few brief hours. He
would fly until he ached from the exertion, until he couldn’t beat
his wings one last time, and then he would return to his apartment
and sleep until morning finally came.
    Free of
this world.
    Five
centuries without wings and every day had been torture.
    He beat
his wings and lifted off the tarred roof only to be struck by a
shaft of brilliant white light.
    Marcus
closed his eyes and waited for the tingling sensation caused by the
light to pass before opening them again.
    He sighed
at the sight of the white double doors ahead and the reception room
surrounding him.
    All he
had wanted was to fly for a while. Couldn’t they have waited? By
the time they returned him, it would be deep night. These things
never moved swiftly and while they could return him to the same
moment they had taken him, they never did.
    Marcus
pushed the double doors open and marched straight to the dock,
facing the same three angels who had questioned him the last time
they had brought him here.
    “There
has been a development.” His superior sat at the head of the
triangle closest to Marcus, his sandy hair as neat as his blue
armour and the large silver-blue wings tucked against his
back.
    The dark
haired mediator and white-blond haired angel of death murmured in
agreement.
    “May I
ask what this development is?” Marcus hid none of his displeasure
at having his plans for the evening ruined. They had brought him
here and he would make the most of it. While they hadn’t answered
direct questions about his mission, perhaps they would answer one
about the date of the event if he asked it in such a way that
linked it to this development. “Does it mean my mission will end
soon?”
    All three
angels nodded.
    “Your
final task approaches.” There was no lie in his superior’s
expression, or that of the other two angels. “Soon your mission
will end, Marcus.”
    “You have
been patient in your duty and we appreciate everything you have
done for us. Once this final task has been completed, you will be
free to return to Heaven.” The mediator to his superior’s left
smiled at him and then looked across at the angel of
death.
    “You must
be