Angel Magic by Brooklyn O'Bannon Page A

the sky, sparkling in the light of the setting sun, reflecting the coral swath of the sky. They glittered like cut diamonds, and she wondered if they were actually made from diamonds. Inside was just as breathtaking with walls a milky white, like moonstone, so the setting sunlight shone through. Furnishings in rich colors or with intricate carvings filled the rooms they flew through.
      Then they were at Amber’s bedside. Tehmuel was there and a handsome woman Angel in a glimmering lavender gown. She had flowing dark waves of hair, pulled back with a jeweled clip. And huge blue eyes ringed in long black lashes. She was smoothing a cloth over Amber’s abdomen. Amber was asleep or unconscious.
      “Is she going to be all right?” Kari asked.
      “Yes,” the woman said. “She is in a restorative sleep right now and she is going to be fine. She was very lucky.”
      “Kari will stay with you, Tehmuel,” Rahmiel said. “I must go get Tressa, just in case Kaphawn knows of her from Amber.”
      “Let me go get Tressa,” Tehmuel replied. “The Guardians aren’t hunting for me.”
      He turned to speak to Kari. “This is my daughter Kaliel, Auriel’s mother. She can take care of those scratches Rahmiel is wearing, too.” He phased.
      “Greetings, Kaliel. Interesting son you’ve got,” Rahmiel said as Kaliel began rubbing some type of cream on his cuts.
      “You don’t have to worry about the Guardians showing up here. This home has very good security, Rahmiel,” the woman spoke in a cool voice. “It would be best if you left me to work a little longer with Amber. Your cuts should heal easily. Auriel is in the next room.”
      Kari couldn’t help but stare at the woman. Feature for feature she looked like Auriel
      — and only a few years older than her grown son. Angels age well, Kari thought.
      The hallway shimmered as they walked to the next room. Auriel was inside, resting on a floral couch. He was dressed in a clean tunic, and Kari couldn’t tell if his wounds had healed already or if Kaliel had simply bandaged them.
      “Don’t even say it, Rahmiel,” the boy spoke quickly. “I know what an idiot I was to take the girl there. I nearly got her killed.”
      “Nearly got yourself killed, also.”
      “I’ll be all right in a day. It will be longer for Amber.”
      “How long?” Kari asked, thinking of her mother’s long recovery from surgery.
      “Seven days at least. Maybe a while longer. But she’ll feel better right away, when Mother is finished.”
      Kari smiled. “For humans, that doesn’t seem long. It would be much longer on Earth, more like six or seven weeks. Plus, Amber doesn’t have health insurance so the cost would really be a problem.”
      “People exchange currency for healing?” Auriel looked shocked. “Healing isn’t a calling?”
      “Well, it is a calling to some, but it is so expensive—the equipment, hospitals and all that.”
      “What if someone can’t afford it? If they are…poor?”
      “There are some ways to get help, but many people go without medical help.”
      “Barbaric,” Auriel looked at Rahmiel. “Was it always so?”
      “No, but humans are no longer in tribes that care for their own. And Angeli healers did much of the healing back in the days before the move to the Overland.”
      “So when Angeli left, humans suffered?”
      “Yes,” Rahmiel nodded.
      Kaliel entered the room. “The little girl will require rest for the next two or three days, but her health has been restored.”
      “Can I see her? I really need to talk to her,” Auriel said.
      “Apologize to her for endangering her life, you mean? That will have to wait. She is in a restorative sleep for now, which is what I want you to do also.” She moved to Auriel’s side and placed her hand on his forehead.
      “You will have to make a decision about binding her. She will be in danger when she returns to Earth,” Rahmiel said as the boy’s