The Hidden Deep Read online

  She barely had a chance to take in the new setting when Koji barreled into her. Without a word, the young Observer hugged her tight and hid his face in her shoulder. “Mercy,” she groused. “You really have been spending too much time with Zeke.”

  To her embarrassment, that was the moment when all her pent up emotions decided to break loose. Sniffling, she turned her face, trying to hide her tears from Marcus. With a snort, the apprentice Protector patted the back of Koji’s head and said, “Looks like you’re in good hands here. I’ll just go help Jedrick.”

  Prissie was grateful to see him go, and immediately felt awful because it was the wrong reason to be glad. “M-marcus?” she called, her voice barely carrying across the distance between them. He paused, though, and she whispered, “Thank you.”

  He smirked over his shoulder, then disappeared through the trees.

  “Trees?” she mumbled, looking around in confusion.

  “Promise me?” Koji begged, backing up enough to grab her arms and give her a small shake. “I have asked, and it is permitted for me to request a promise from you. Because we are friends.”

  “What are you talking about?” Prissie asked, wishing desperately for a tissue.

  “It’s unusual for an angel to secure a promise,” interjected the ranger. Padgett wasn’t exactly smiling at her, but his dark eyes were attentive as he offered her a handkerchief. “But Koji’s desires coincide with the will of God.”

  The boy let her go so she could blow her nose and dab at her wet cheeks. Once she pulled herself together, she asked, “You want me to make a promise?”

  “Yes.” Koji reached out, and his fingertips grazed her hand. “Promise me that you will not go off without me again. Let me stay by your side for all the time that remains to us.”

  Prissie’s brows drew together. “I didn’t mean to go alone. It just sort of happened,” she said defensively.

  “From now on,” Koji pressed. “Promise to keep me close. Please?”

  This was obviously very important to him, and after the experience she’d just had, Prissie really didn’t want to be alone again. “Okay,” she agreed. “I promise, Koji.”

  The Observer’s sigh might have been relief or contentment. Either way, he brightened considerably. Turning to their quiet companion, he said, “This is Padgett. He is the Caretaker apprenticed to Abner.”

  For the first time, Prissie really looked at this new angel. He wasn’t particularly tall, yet he stood tall. With his black hair and eyes, Padgett appeared to be Native American, and he fit into the same hard-to-figure age group as many of the members of Jedrick’s Flight — grown up, but not old. His park service uniform was neatly pressed, with short sleeves that left his arms bare, and she glanced at them, curious to see what color his tattoos might be. “My sort doesn’t have wings,” he said.

  The gold name tag over his shirt pocket read, Padgett Prentice, so she courteously offered, “How do you do, Mr. Prentice?”

  He gave a small shake of his head. “Padgett will do, miss.”

  She nodded and glanced back the way they came, frowning in confusion when she found nothing but blank stone. “Where’s the door?”

  “Caretakers can make doors,” Koji said in awed tones.

  Prissie thought back to what Adin had told her about this kind of angel. “You can move earth and bring storms?”

  Padgett smiled. “As you might imagine, Caretakers take care of things. Creation is our concern, and we have been given the means to tend it by God.”

  “So you care about the environment and stuff?” Prissie guessed.

  “That is a part, but not the whole,” he replied, gesturing for Koji to lead the way through the trees. “We are not limited to this earth. A Caretaker renders his service to heaven as well.”

  “They sing with the stars,” Koji whispered, as if sharing a great secret.

  “The universe is vast,” Padgett said calmly. “But my place is here.”

  Suddenly, Prissie realized that there was something very familiar about the forest Koji was leading her through, and she looked up between green leaves that belonged to an eternal summer. Sure enough, shifting lights filled the sky. “Is this the garden behind the blue door?”

  “It is,” Padgett replied.

  “But we didn’t use the blue door.”

  “There is more than one way in,” the Caretaker explained. “The blue door was given to Harken and Milo so that they could enter this place. Baird and Kester also have a door, and there is a way in for Shimron, which Koji also used once upon a time.”

  “Do you have a door, too?” Prissie inquired.

  “Of course,” Padgett acknowledged. “Abner needs easy access so he can care for his flock, and we tend the garden.”

  “I like gardening, too,” Koji shared, giving his teammate a shy smile.

  “Yes, it is a pleasant pastime,” agreed the Caretaker. “Here’s Abner.”

  The forest opened up ahead, and when Prissie slipped between some saplings and into a small clearing, she was met by a fantastic sight. Upon a mossy knoll stood the most beautiful angel she’d ever seen. He was dressed in raiment similar to the kind Koji had been wearing when Prissie first met him. However, the beige tunic was longer, and the stitching that edged the collar and cuffs was black. The creamy hues of the cloth shimmered in subtle contrast to Abner’s gleaming silver hair, which fell nearly to his ankles.

  It took several moments for Prissie to realize that half the light that dazzled her eyes was coming from yahavim. The flock swarmed their shepherd, twirling around his upraised hands as he hummed softly. She didn’t recognize Abner’s melody, yet it seemed familiar somehow. As the notes flowed together, peace settled over Prissie, and fears she hadn’t realized she’d carried back with her from The Deep lost their grip and faded away.

  His song tapered off, gently giving way to silence, and then the Caretaker turned to face them. Prissie blinked as reality seemed to flicker. The brilliant angel was gone, replaced by a balding man in his fifties wearing a park ranger’s uniform. With a gentle tsk-tsk-ing sound, he shooed away a playful little sprite who attempted to perch on the wire-rimmed glasses that he straightened as he strolled over. He studied her with icy gray eyes, then exclaimed, “The girl!” Without waiting for an answer, he looked to Padgett. “You found her?”

  “Marcus brought her, sir.”

  “You don’t have to call me sir when we’re in here,” Abner chided.

  “Have you tended to Tamaes, sir?” Padgett asked quietly.

  “Hmm?”

  His partner patiently said, “Tamaes was injured in the recent fracas.”

  “He certainly was,” Abner agreed. “I did what I could. Jedrick and Marcus are wrapping him up somewhere over there,” he said, doing a little finger twirl in their general direction. Immediately, several yahavim started turning cartwheels in the air, causing the Caretaker to chuckle. “I was counting the ninety-nine,” he explained distractedly. Then suddenly, Abner peered at Prissie with new intensity. “Lavi is still missing, but Marcus tells me you’ve found my lost lamb.”

  “I met a little manna-maker with green hair … sir.” The name tag pinned to his shirt said Abner Ochs, but she thought it best to follow Padgett’s lead.

  “Nonsense,” he scolded. “My name is Abner, and that is what I wish to be called.”

  “Abner,” she repeated obediently, still boggled that the old man in front of her was the beautiful angel she’d seen just a minute ago. His features were similar, yet unremarkable in his new guise. “I’m Prissie.”

  “Of course you are,” he said, clasping his hands behind his back as he peered at her. “I’ve heard much about you from your friend.”

  At first, Prissie wasn’t sure who he meant, for she’d gained many new friends within Jedrick’s Flight over the past several weeks. Then, Koji shuffled his feet, giving himself away. It seemed to her that the young Observer was more than a little in awe of the Caretakers, and she planned to ask why the nex
t time she had the chance. Remembering her manners, Prissie said, “Thank you for the apples.”

  His brows arched. “God created apples, not me.”

  “Oh, of course! I meant thank you for finding ripe apples,” she clarified.

  “Did I?” he asked, glancing at his apprentice.

  “You did,” Padgett confirmed.

  “Ah,” Abner murmured. “That explains that, but not that which needs explaining.”

  Prissie took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry if I did something wrong, but I was only trying to help.”

  The senior Caretaker focused on her, and the keenness was back in his gaze. “You don’t need to explain yourself to me, Prissie.”

  She was relieved to hear it, but Padgett quietly reminded, “Time holds no sway in this place, but it’s running on schedule out there.”

  Abner nodded seriously. “Yet we are here, and here I hold a little sway. I’m permitted to bend the rules, but Prissie’s choice will still have its consequences.”

  “Consequences?” she asked nervously. Hours must have passed while she was missing in the caves, and she felt a little sick at the thought of all the people who must be worried. “I’m in a lot of trouble, aren’t I?”

  “No,” the Caretaker replied, peering over his glasses at her. “You’re safe here.”

  Prissie didn’t know how to respond, so she glanced at Koji, hoping for a clue. The young Observer helpfully explained, “This garden is outside of time.” She shook her head, and he tried again. “Abner will open an earlier door.”

  Padgett stepped up and quietly murmured, “Excuse me, miss. You’re a little worse for wear after your ordeal.” He gently cupped her cheek, and while she blinked up at him, he almost-smiled at her. “What Koji means is that we’ll return you before you’re entirely missed.”

  “No one will know I was gone?” she asked.

  “Only those Ransom Pavlos spoke to,” Padgett replied.

  Glancing from him to Abner, she asked, “Who did he tell?”

  Marcus sauntered through the trees at that moment and answered, “Me for one. Koji for the other.”

  “And he came to me as well. Angels one and all,” the head ranger announced as his apprentice dropped his hand and stepped back. “Not bad, not bad,” Abner remarked, looking critically at Prissie.

  Startled, she glanced down at herself and found that the grime had disappeared from her clothes. Prissie felt better, too, less tired and more clearheaded. “What did you do?”

  “I ministered to you,” Padgett answered.

  “Oh,” she replied, not entirely sure what that entailed. With a tentative smile, she mumbled, “Thank you?”

  “You’ll need it,” he replied seriously.

  “Why?”

  “Because we have to go back into those caves, kiddo,” Marcus answered for him. “The field trip. Remember?”

  Prissie paled. “Do we have to?”

  “C’mon,” Marcus said, jerking his thumb in the direction of the trees. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Abner nodded and led them to the stone wall. “I’ll meet you back at the cave entrance,” he instructed. “Be quick, and be quiet.” That said, he placed his hand upon the featureless gray rock, and it opened before them, leading into inky darkness.

  “Flashlight?” prompted Marcus.

  “Oh … umm,” Prissie murmured in confusion, trying to remember what she’d done with it.

  Padgett smoothly placed it in the young Protector’s hands and said, “Jacket?”

  “Yeah, you’d better give it back,” Marcus agreed. “That’ll only add fuel to the inevitable fire.”

  Prissie slipped out of the heavy leather jacket, feeling more vulnerable with its weight gone. “Where does this lead?” she asked in a small voice.

  “This is where you came in,” Marcus explained. “A quick jog will put us back where we belong, and only a little late. Koji, you go ahead and let him know we’re coming.”

  With a nod, the young Observer darted through the opening. Abner nodded approvingly, then said, “Take courage, Prissie. Not every shadow is something to be feared.”

  Clicking on the flashlight, Marcus hooked his hand through her elbow and steered her through the opening. Darkness swallowed them up, and she fought back a whimper of protest. Using the flashlight to point the way, he hustled her along the passage. “Tamaes is okay, by the way,” he announced. “He’ll need to rest for a while, but that’s to be expected after he was mobbed like that.”

  Prissie was pretty sure he was trying to reassure her, but the mental picture of swarming demons wasn’t helping her battered courage. Seconds later, she could see a light ahead, and she hastened her steps. Marcus willingly picked up his pace as well, and by the time they clambered over the chain barring the side passage, she was breathing hard. Several heads turned, and someone called out, “They’re over here, Mrs. Solomon!”

  “There you are,” their science teacher snapped in exasperation. She gave them both a stern look, then made a point of checking their names off her list. Lifting her voice, she called, “All present and accounted for, Ranger Ochs! You can begin the tour. Finally.”

  Prissie wilted under her teacher’s disapproval, but was quickly distracted when she realized that Ransom and Koji were talking to Abner, who certainly didn’t look as if he’d just raced in from someplace else. Padgett walked in and spoke softly to his mentor, who nodded before clapping his hands for attention and launching into a quick run-down of some of the cave formations they’d be seeing today.

  Ransom hurried over and punched his best friend’s shoulder. “I was starting to worry.”

  “Wasn’t nothing,” Marcus replied with a laconic shrug.

  “You okay, Miss Priss?” Ransom asked with a frown.

  “Fine,” she muttered. “Stop making a big deal out of it.”

  “Yeah, okay,” he said, glancing at the rest of the class. “At least Marcus was able to haul you out before Mrs. Solomon finished roll call. I would not want to cross that woman. Yeesh.”

  With that, he and Marcus took off, falling in line with the rest of the class to be fitted for helmets with flashlights set into them. As soon as they were out of earshot, Padgett strolled over and said, “I’ll be bringing up the rear. You may walk with me if it would help.”

  “I have never been underground, and Prissie is still frightened,” Koji frankly admitted. “I would be glad for your company.”

  The Caretaker nodded, the Observer smiled, and as Abner led the way into Sunderland State Park’s famous caves, Prissie hoped that no one would notice just how tightly she clung to Koji’s hand.

  8

  THE

  BENCH

  WARMER

  Sit still.”

  “I must get back!”

  “You must rest and heal,” Shimron countered. “You can watch from here.”

  “Do not ask it of me,” growled the warrior. “I cannot sit back and watch like you, Observer. She could be in danger!”

  “Injuries need time to mend,” the white-haired angel said, patient and firm. “You will do your young lady no good if you are endangering yourself.”

  Tamaes frowned miserably at the small flock of yahavim hovering anxiously around his head. “My place is with her.”

  “This is why active Guardians are paired with a mentor,” Shimron remarked, giving the bandages a firm tug. “Taweel is watching over Prissie.”

  Wincing at the sudden pressure against his wound, Tamaes stubbornly argued, “Leaving Milo at risk!”

  “Jedrick is with him.”

  Eyes widened. “What about …?”

  “Padgett is there.” With a serene smile, the ancient angel said, “We are a team, Tamaes. Let the other members of the Flight cover for you while you heal.”

  Broad shoulders sagged as the Guardian finally relented, allowing Shimron and the yahavim to meet his needs.

  Over the next few days, the school buzzed with rumors about the good girl a
nd the bad boy who’d snuck out of the tour group in order to meet in the caves. It was Prissie’s first brush with scandal, and she didn’t care one bit for the attention. She walked through the halls with her nose in the air and her ears burning, horrified that so many people would believe such complete and utter nonsense.

  The worst part of the whole mess was her friend’s reaction to the gossip. Prissie had spent what seemed like twenty unchaperoned minutes alone with the boy Jennifer was crushing on, and Jennifer believed the rumors.

  “I don’t like Marcus!” Prissie said, rolling her eyes in exasperation. “Far from it!”

  “I know you do!” Jennifer argued. “You’d be crazy not to!”

  “Then I’m crazy.”

  Jennifer’s brown eyes flashed with anger. “We talk about him all the time!”

  “You talk about him. I just listen!”

  “I trusted you with my private feelings.” Drawing herself up, she accused, “All this time, you just wanted him for yourself!”

  “You’re being stupid,” Prissie protested. “If that’s what you think, you don’t know me at all!”

  “I guess not!” Jennifer stormed away. A few steps later she called back over her shoulder, “I thought you were my friend!”

  Prissie could only watch her go with a bewildered expression on her face. “I thought you were, too.” Turning to find Koji right at her elbow, she muttered, “Why won’t she listen?”

  Koji gazed after the girl. “She is angry.”

  “That’s not a good reason to accuse me of something I never did!”

  He peered thoughtfully at her, but simply answered, “No, it is not.”

  Prissie stalked off toward their lockers. “Me and Marcus,” she muttered. “Impossible! And even if I did like a boy, I wouldn’t sneak around to meet him!”

  “There is no truth to what is being said,” Koji agreed quietly.

  “No one cares about the truth,” she replied waspishly.

  “I do,” he replied, his dark eyes shining.

  She hated it when he did that. It was so hard to stay angry when Koji smiled.

  During classes all week, Prissie took extra care never to look in Marcus’s direction. In her experience, if you ignored something long enough, it went away. Not that Marcus actually went away. He stayed put, acting just the same as he always had. According to April, he shrugged off all the rumors, so people were already losing interest. Prissie supposed she should thank him, but it was still too strange to think of him being an angel. Even stranger, he was an angel who willingly hung out with Ransom, of all people. Risking a glance in their direction, she puzzled over his reasons for sticking so close to someone who didn’t even believe in God or church or anything.