Most likely she would be in the same spot in the morning when I woke with a dozen mini-candy bar wrappers littered around her. Once she hit her groove she could write twenty hours straight before dropping off into a post-chocolate-writing coma. Mark would carry her off to bed when she would finally nod off at her computer, no longer able to keep her eyes open.
And then it really hit me. Now that I really had time to process it, I was gripped by overwhelming grief at the hopelessness of my relationship with Emrys. We'd never hit the status of Mark and Krista. He would never cradle me in his arms as he carted me off to bed. Marriage was the furthest thing from my head, but just knowing if we wanted to, we would never grow old together. Our relationship was on a doomed train ride to nowhere before it ever really started.
Sometimes it feels like life never ceases to aggravate me. I stalked over to my French doors and ripped them open. Cool summer night air flowed into the room, soothing the heat on my cheeks. Maybe I was just being ridiculous. Emrys and I hadn't even determined what kind of relationship we were in and here I was worrying that he wouldn't be around to grimace at my grey hair and dentures.
Still, I couldn't stifle the acute lonesomeness I felt. I wished that Emrys was with me now. Better yet, I wished we were back on his favorite spot watching the lights of the city. I pictured the catwalk clearly in my mind. In that second, everything around me disappeared and I was suddenly standing on the edge of the catwalk I had just pictured in my head. "What the hell!" I yelled, shocked that I was no longer on my own patio. I stumbled, trying to get my bearings, which only brought me too close to the edge. I teetered back and forth, unable to maintain my balance. A sudden gust of wind was all gravity needed and I tumbled off the building into the night sky. A scream tore its way out of my throat as I plunged to my death.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The screams continued as my body rocketed down like a missile. I was going to die. I frantically thought of those I would be leaving behind. A devastated Mark and Krista flashed in my mind's eye, and Lynn and my other grief-stricken friends. I thought of Krista sitting in the living room, burning the midnight oil, not even aware of where I was. I wished I could have given her one more hug.
The blackness around me disappeared and I landed in an unceremonious heap in front of Krista's astonished eyes.
"Oh my god!" she yelled as darkness finally pulled me under.
I woke to raised voices and a strange sensation of déjà vu. Krista was absolutely going off on Haniel. "Why didn't you tell us she could Place Travel?" she asked angrily.
"I was not at liberty to disclose that information to you," he said in his normal monotone voice.
"You weren't at liberty?" she shrieked. "You don't think that's something we should have known? This 'need to know' excuse is getting tired, Haniel."
"What happened?" I finally asked, feeling groggy as I opened my eyes to discover all three of my mentors hovering over me.
"Are you okay?" Krista asked anxiously, helping me sit up.
"I think so," I said, taking stock of my still-working limbs. "I fell off the freaking Empire State Building though," I added, glaring at Haniel. "I Place Traveled. You never told me I could Place Travel," I said in a shrill voice that sounded eerily like the one Krista had used just moments before.
"The Empire State Building?" Krista broke in, shocked. "Why the Empire State Building?"
"I don't know. One moment I'm standing on my patio thinking about the catwalk on the building, and the next moment I'm teetering on the edge," I answered, still glaring at Haniel.
"Why would you be thinking about some catwalk on the Empire State Building?" Krista asked, trying to sort through my story.
"It's a place Emrys likes to take me to," I admitted. "Did I get there because I was thinking about it?" I asked, starting to revel in the excitement of my newly discovered ability.
"You must picture a place clearly in your mind. Once the picture is clear, your body will leave your current location to join your mind at its new location," Haniel explained.
"That is so freaking awesome," I exclaimed, bouncing with excitement. "But why didn't you tell me? We could have incorporated it into my training."
"I was not at—"
"Liberty to disclose that information," I finished for him. "It's all peachy-keen that your boss likes to hold his cards close to the chest, but what would he have done if I wouldn't have thought about Krista and this living room as I was falling? I'd be some gory smear on the sidewalk in New York City. Is that what you want? Have you spent all this time training me only to let me plunge to my death?" I demanded, jumping to my feet as my earlier elation was replaced by anger.
"No," Haniel replied, looking more distressed than I had ever seen him.
"No, what?" I yelled.
"No, tonight was not supposed to happen. My mission is to protect you. To train you. To show you who you are," he answered calmly as his protective shield once more slid into place.
"But tonight did happen," I said quietly, looking at Krista and Mark for their input.
"She's right. Tonight could have ended tragically," Mark said to Haniel. "If you refuse to consult with The Light concerning Jordyn, then Krista and I will request our own audience with him. The time for secrets ended tonight. I've spent months keeping Krista at bay, knowing she was right. Secrets only hurt those we love. If you feel anything for Jordyn or Krista, you will ask The Light to share his secrets with all of us. I will not put the safety of Jordyn at risk again," he said. "Do you understand me?" he added, standing toe to toe with the imposing Arch Angel. If the circumstance had been different, I would have laughed at the differences in their sizes, but at the moment, I was flooded with love for my uncle who was willing to fight for me.
"I understand," Haniel finally answered, sweeping his eyes over mine before disappearing from the room.
His departure evaporated the last of the tension that had cloaked the room. "Are you okay?" Krista asked again as I sat down heavily on the sofa.
"Yeah, now, but I'm not gonna lie. I've never been that scared, or not that I remember," I said ruefully, grinning at her.