The Hidden Deep Page 8

  “Kinda,” he replied. “You came this far. Might as well see the rest.” Gesturing for her to follow, he strolled a short distance down the passage. As he moved, his wings relaxed, draping in neat folds that barely swept the floor. Prissie stared in fascination. She was tempted to touch them, to see if the translucent cascade was made of intangible light.

  When he reached the opening, Marcus scooped up a stray pebble and casually tossed it into the darkness. Long seconds passed before a distant patter sounded somewhere far below. Then he propped his forearm on the edge of the opening and peered into the echoing space beyond. “If you stand in front of me, I’ll show you what’s out there,” he offered.

  “Do I want to know what’s out there?”

  “I dunno, but you have an opportunity to see something none of the cave explorers will ever discover,” he said. “Your chance is now if you want to take it.”

  Part of her wanted to run away, but she remembered Harken’s warning when she’d been nervous about trying manna for the first time. Some offers only came once in a lifetime. Prissie hung back and asked, “Why do I have to be in front?”

  He favored her with a long look. “I’m gonna turn up the wattage, and I really doubt Tamaes would thank me for blinding you.”

  “Oh.” She hadn’t expected to face her fear of heights while under the earth, but her knees were already knocking. With a shaky nod, she edged past him, nearly screaming when he placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “Aw, c’mon! Calm down or Jedrick is gonna chew me out!” And then, golden light swelled behind her, spilling across the few paces that remained between them and a precipitous drop. “I might only be an apprentice, but I’m still a Protector, Prissie. I’m just trying to keep you safe.”

  Even though she knew Marcus was telling the truth, it was hard to trust him. She was too used to thinking of him as a troublemaker. “I really, really don’t like high places,” she confessed through clenched teeth.

  “Don’t I know it,” he replied. “Tamaes gave the whole Flight a schooling after that Ferris wheel thing. You can take the inside. It’s not far.”

  “Is it safe?” she begged, needing reassurance.

  “Yeah, Prissie,” he assured. “I’ll let you take a quick look, and then we’ll get out of here.”

  The path that curved along the cavern’s wall was broad, and Prissie was able to hug the sheer rock face as they slowly approached an enormous slab of stone that was set into the wall with chains. She brushed the polished surface with cold fingertips and asked, “What’s this doing way down here?”

  Marcus tested one of the chains and grunted softly. “It’s kind of a lock-up.”

  “Like a prison?” she asked tentatively.

  “Yeah, just like a prison.”

  Her eyes widened in dismay. “You mean there are people inside?”

  “Enemies,” he clarified. “Many who have Fallen await God’s judgment.”

  Horrified, Prissie snatched back her hand and stepped away from the square barrier. “Shouldn’t there be guards or something?”

  “Oh, there’re guards,” Marcus replied nonchalantly, nodding to a few points in the vicinity. “Beats me why you’ve got such selective vision.”

  “I’m sorry,” she murmured, glancing around uncertainly. “I can’t help it.”

  “Nothing to apologize for,” he said gruffly. “Come on, let’s head back.”

  They turned and retraced their steps, and the going was easier with the Protector’s wings to lend them light. After the first few twists and turns, Prissie dared to ask, “Marcus, why are you here?”

  “I already told you. I’m here to lead you out.”

  “I know that,” she huffed. “What I meant was … why are you here instead of Tamaes.”

  Marcus tapped her shoulder, and she turned to look at her rescuer. “Tamaes is up to his whatsis in trouble,” he said seriously. “Knowing him, he’s having kittens and slaying lions.”

  “Having kittens?” she echoed incredulously.

  “He’s worried about you,” Marcus clarified. His golden eyes narrowed for a second, and without warning, he leaned forward and gave her forehead a flick with his middle finger. “Don’t even think for one second that he let you down!”

  Rubbing the spot, she grumbled, “Are angels allowed to be this mouthy?”

  “Am I wrong?” he challenged.

  Prissie turned her back on her classmate, resuming her upward march. “Are you sure you’re an angel?” she flung over her shoulder.

  “True facts, kiddo!”

  “Don’t call me kiddo,” she snipped. Then a thought occurred to her and she paused. “Hang on. How old are you?”

  “Older than you by a long shot, but what you see is what you get. Until Koji showed up, I was the youngest member of the Flight.”

  “So, you’re still learning?”

  “Yep, I’ve got a lot to learn.”

  Prissie wasn’t sure if she should be worried that her life was in the hands of a novice, but it was sort of nice to know that Marcus wasn’t perfect. “How much further do we have to go?”

  “A lot further, actually. We’re a long ways down. Gives me the creeps,” he said, hunching his shoulders. “Why’d you come all this way in the first place?”

  “I followed one of the little angels down here. He seemed to be in trouble.”

  Marcus stopped in his tracks, and she turned to peer into his baffled face. “There’s nothing but darkness down here, and they need light to survive.”

  “I know that!” she retorted sulkily. “That’s why I was so worried about him.”

  “Are you sure you didn’t imagine it?”

  She glared at him. “Obviously!”

  The young Protector’s face grew serious, and he gazed back down the way they had just come. “The need must be desperate,” he mused, and then his eyes widened. “Oh, man. I wonder if there’s any chance …! Hey, Prissie, did you get close enough to see the little guy?”

  “Of course,” she said in exasperation. “We were together the whole way!”

  “What did he look like?” Marcus pressed.

  “Just like all the others, except for his hair. It was short … and stood up like a little mane … and it was a very pretty shade of green.”

  With a stunned expression, the Protector whispered, “Lavi.”

  7

  THE

  PARK

  RANGERS

  A bent figure skulked through the shadows, stubbing gnarled toes on a tumble of stones and cursing as he pitched onto his knees. “This wasn’t there before,” Dinge muttered sourly.

  “You’re just clumsy,” taunted Murque. The lumpish demon patted the untidy heap of stones in a proprietary gesture. “I picked ‘em up. Thought it might be fun to pitch them down the hole.”

  “Might be at that,” his companion replied with a hoarse laugh. He squinted down into the pit and said, “A few rough knocks to teach him not to let his guard down.”

  “Sleeps too much, that one,” Murque grunted.

  “Yes. I don’t trust it,” Dinge muttered. “I was a Messenger, wasn’t I? There’s dreams to consider.”

  “I remember dreams,” the other demon murmured, then his lip curled. “Taken, weren’t they.”

  “That they were,” his companion said in a dull voice. Reaching down, he picked up a stone and hefted it experimentally. Crossing to the edge of the pit, he sneered and let the missile drop. A soft grunt echoed from below, and a cruel smile cut across Dinge’s misshapen face. “Yes, this might be fun.”

  “Who’s Lavi?” Prissie asked.

  “One of Abner’s yahavim,” Marcus said. “They all have names since Abner dotes on them so much. They know his voice. He knows their names. Stuff like that.”

  “Like a shepherd?”

  “Just like that, yeah,” he replied, gesturing for her to keep walking. The passage had widened somewhat, and they could travel side by side again. “Of course, Caretakers are responsible for
a lot more than those pipsqueaks, but Jedrick says Abner is good at getting lost in details. Lavi went missing not long ago, and Padgett has been beside himself looking for any trace of the little guy.”

  “Padgett?” Prissie repeated, feeling like a parrot.

  “Abner’s apprentice,” he said with a sidelong glance. “Him and Padgett both work as rangers at this park. Koji didn’t tell you?”

  “He and Padgett,” she corrected automatically. “And no. Koji didn’t get around to telling me anything before I followed the little manna-maker. Lavi.” Prissie liked the way the name rolled off her tongue and quietly confessed, “I was wishing he could tell me his name.”

  “They don’t talk.”

  “I know!” Her brief flare of temper fizzled fast. “Do you think he’s okay? He wasn’t shining very brightly.”

  “If he flew all the way to The Deep, then he’s pushing himself awful hard.”

  “I carried him most of the way.”

  Golden eyes flashed her direction once more. “You like those little guys?”

  “Yes,” she replied, bristling because he seemed to be laughing at her. “Is that so strange?”

  “Nah, they’re cute and all,” Marcus admitted. “I was just wondering why you think my hair is weird, but you think Lavi’s wild, green frizz-job is pretty.”

  “That’s hardly the point,” she grumbled.

  “You got that right,” he agreed with a smirk. “There is something important about that little guy, though. He was Ephron’s special favorite. They weren’t as close as Taweel and Omri, but headed that way.”

  “Does that mean you think your friend is down there somewhere?”

  “Could be,” Marcus replied grimly. “Abner’s gonna knock something loose if he finds out Ephron’s been right under his nose all this time.”

  Prissie once again lost track of all the turns as they wound their way upward. “Do you come down here a lot?” she asked, hoping her guide wasn’t as confused as she was.

  “Nope.”

  “How do you know your way, then?”

  They reached a fork in the trail, and he led her to the left. “I’m just retracing my steps, but I had help coming in.”

  “Harken’s?”

  “Nope,” Marcus replied, and once again Prissie felt as if he was teasing her. She clammed up, but in a little while, he said, “Took you long enough to call for help.”

  “I guess,” she mumbled sulkily.

  “Y’know, there’s only so much we can do on our own,” the Protector said seriously. “When you need help, don’t wait to ask. Sometimes that’s all God is waiting for. It’s so frustrating to stand by and wait to be Sent, but Jedrick says I’m too impatient.”

  It occurred to Prissie that Marcus was actually pretty talkative. At school he mostly just shrugged and grunted. Of course, at school, he didn’t have strange eyes and shining wings, either. “Why are you pretending to be a student?”

  “Harken will be retiring soon, and Jedrick wanted to have another Graft in place.”

  “Why would Harken retire?”

  “He’s getting old,” Marcus replied nonchalantly. “By human standards anyhow. People would notice if he hit his hundredth birthday and kept ticking, so he has to move on.”

  “No!” Prissie gasped. “Harken’s always been there! I don’t want him to go!”

  Her classmate turned, and his expression softened. “Don’t panic. I’m not talking about next week or nothing. In the next decade, maybe. By then, I’ll fit in somewhere, and I can help Milo keep an eye on things. In fact, we’re kinda thinking if Harken pulls out, I can just move in with Milo. Nobody would be surprised if he befriended me, since he’s friends with everyone.”

  “Would you run The Curiosity Shop, then?”

  “Dunno for sure. Maybe.” Marcus paused at the next turning and frowned. “I should probably switch back just in case we run into someone. I’m only allowed to freak you out today.”

  Prissie watched in awe as he shook out his wings. The shifting shades of butter and cream pulled together, winding into tight strands that settled onto his skin in jagged patterns. She stared until the last little bit of light left with them, then sighed with regret.

  “Turn my flashlight on?” prodded Marcus.

  She’d forgotten she still had it, and when she snapped it on, her companion was untying his hoodie from around his waist. Marcus pulled it on and zipped up, then squinted at her in the beam of light. His eyes were back to being brown, and he looked like a normal teenaged boy again. Well, as normal as someone with two-toned hair could look.

  They stepped onto a path that was much wider and smoother than the way they’d been going, and Prissie realized that they must have reached one of the mapped tunnels. Though the passage was once more wide enough for them to be side by side, Prissie’s steps lagged. They’d been walking for what seemed like forever, but there was no end to the darkness. She couldn’t remember the last time she was this tired. “Are we almost there?” she asked, whining a little.

  “Hang in there, kiddo,” the Protector replied. “Not much further.”

  For a while, the only sound was the scuff of their feet, but suddenly, Marcus stuck his arm in front of her, and she jerked to a stop. “What’s wrong?” Prissie whispered.

  “Someone’s coming,” he announced. The heavy tread of boots came from the direction they were traveling.

  “Do you have a sword or something weapony?”

  “Weapony?” he snorted.

  Prissie gave him an impatient look. “Yes! Don’t Protectors carry sharp pointy objects?”

  “Not on the school bus.”

  “So should I be worried?”

  “Nah,” Marcus replied nonchalantly. “There’s no reason to get bent out of shape.” Low voices carried along the passage, echoing slightly in the darkness, but he didn’t seem at all concerned … until two figures came into view. “Or not,” he muttered.

  “What?” she hissed, wondering if that was her cue to run for it.

  However, Marcus ran to them, calling, “Tamaes, oh man! What happened?”

  Prissie’s eyes widened in alarm as soon as she realized what she was seeing. Her guardian angel leaned heavily on Jedrick, whose drawn sword caught flashes of the colored light radiating from their wings. Marcus reached them and pushed himself up under Tamaes’s other shoulder, though it didn’t do much good because of their height difference. Still, the Guardian smiled faintly at his young teammate and said, “Thank you, Marcus.”

  “You’re going the wrong way, you know,” the teen grumbled. “Abner’s waiting in the garden.”

  Jedrick shook his head. “Tamaes was quite insistent.”

  The sagging warrior murmured, “I just needed to be sure.”

  Looking her way, Jedrick studied her dirty clothes and tear-stained face with concern before asking, “Prissie Pomeroy, are you well?”

  “I’m … fine?” She was stunned to realize that her guardian was clutching a wound in his side. “Why is he hurt?”

  “Tamaes was beset,” the tall Protector explained. “We have been battling the enemy since the buses arrived on the park grounds, and it appears that their purpose was to separate the two of you. Did something happen?”

  Prissie nodded mutely, and Marcus quickly said, “Can we talk and walk at the same time?”

  Jedrick tried to maneuver Tamaes around, but the Guardian dug in his heels. With a small shake of his head, the green-winged warrior beckoned. “Please, Prissie. Let Tamaes reassure himself?”

  Shuffling forward, she peered up into her guardian angel’s scarred face. “I’m fine,” she repeated, more confidently this time. For once, Tamaes didn’t avoid eye contact, and there was a warrior’s fierceness in his attitude.

  The Guardian carefully withdrew his arm from around Marcus’s shoulder and lifted his wings, increasing the intensity of the light that surrounded them. His fingertips rested atop her head, and he pronounced, “I thank God for guarding your steps
while I could not.”

  “You’re hurt,” she whispered, taking in the gouges in his armor and the tears in his raiment.

  Marcus casually remarked, “It takes an awful lot to keep a Guardian from his charge.”

  “Doesn’t he need a doctor or something?” Prissie asked anxiously.

  “We will take him to Abner,” Jedrick said, adjusting his grip on Tamaes. “Marcus, if you take Prissie to the garden, Tamaes will have no choice but to follow. Use the stone door.”

  “Yeah.” Waving urgently for her to follow, the teen said, “The sooner we get there, the better. Tamaes isn’t the only one who wants to reassure himself.”

  “Who …?”

  With a faint smirk, Marcus said, “What did Ransom call him? Your conscience?”

  “Oh, no!” she gasped. “Koji!”

  Before long, the passage opened onto one of the well-lit thoroughfares, and Prissie glanced around, trying to get her bearings. “That isn’t where I went in,” she said in consternation.

  “Nope. This way,” Marcus directed.

  She glanced behind to be sure that Jedrick and Tamaes were still following, then hurried after her classmate. When they rounded a bend, she reached out to tug at Marcus’s sleeve. “One of the rangers is up there,” she whispered, pointing.

  “Yeah. He’s holding the door for us,” Marcus replied. “I’ll introduce you.”

  “Is that Abner?”

  “Nope. That’s his apprentice,” he corrected. “Padgett’s nice and normal. You’ll like him.”

  The stone door wasn’t a proper door, meaning there weren’t any signs of hinges or a handle. A part of the wall had simply been pushed outward, creating an opening from which soft light spilled into the cave. Prissie recognized the ranger who stood in the gap. He was the one Koji had been talking to just before she left the learning center. As they drew near, he stepped aside to let them pass. “Welcome back, Prissie Pomeroy,” he said politely.

  “Th-thanks.”

  “In first; introductions second,” Marcus urged, hustling her through so Jedrick could maneuver Tamaes over the threshold.