The Hidden Deep Read Online Free PDF Page A

too fast in her nervous excitement.
    “A whole company of angels,” he replied warmly. “As it happens, Milo is resting in the garden. Shall we join him? Then, you can tell us both at once, and we’ll carry your message along to the others.”
    “Yes, please.”
    Harken gestured for her to go ahead, and she gladly stepped into the back room. On the far wall, there were two doors — one green, one blue. The green one led to the parking lot behind the store, but the blue door was miraculous. Old and ornate, its carvings of flowers, fruit, and leaves surrounded a pair of trees with intertwining branches. The knob seemed to be made from living crystal, gleaming with shifting colors; when Prissie took hold and turned, it hummed beneath her palm.
    Beyond the blue door lay a forest glade that wasn’t so much
outside
as it was outside of time. Light rippled and swirled like water in the sky overhead, and soft grass covered the ground. Koji immediately shed shoes and socks and jogged across the meadow toward their friend. Milo was sprawled on his back with his arms behind his head, smiling up at a flock of bright lights that danced above him like fireflies.
    Koji all but tackled the unsuspecting mailman, who laughed. “I can tell you’ve been living with the Pomeroys. You’re picking up some of their habits!”
    “I have not been here for many days,” the young Observer declared happily. “My heart is full!”
    Milo ruffled the boy’s hair. “Dreams help, but it’s not the same,” he agreed. “C’mere and rest a while.”
    Without hesitation, Koji flopped onto his back and spread his arms wide, closing his eyes with a gusty sigh of contentment.
    Harken and Prissie reached them, and suddenly worried, she asked Koji, “Do we need to bring you into town more often?”
    He peeped at her with one eye, then shook his head. “This light is not required for my subsistence, but I long for it.”
    With half her attention already caught by the tiny fairylike angels flitting around them, Prissie asked, “Why?”
    The boy’s eyes opened fully, and he gazed at her with disconcerting steadiness, which always made her feel as if he could see right to her heart. “Can you not feel a difference?” Stretching his hand toward the sky, he added, “This is unlike starlight.”
    “I guess I didn’t notice,” she said, looking at the sky. “It’s as bright as the sun.”
    “The sun
is
a star,” Harken gently reminded.
    “Oh, right,” she muttered, feeling silly.
    The shopkeeper patted her shoulder. “The reason young Koji finds so much delight in this place is because we’re closer to home here. This is heaven’s light.”
    Prissie’s eyes widened, and she managed a dazed, “I had no idea.”
    Milo smiled up at her. “Now that you know, pay more attention. This is something you’ll want to remember.”
    “I don’t see how I could forget,” she replied. Then, herattention was caught once more by Abner’s flock. “Are these guys as friendly as Omri?” she whispered to Harken.
    The old man’s soft chuckle sent the tiny angels into excited spirals. “Have the yahavim charmed you?” he asked, beckoning her closer. “Taweel’s little companion is quite possibly the boldest of his kind, but since you can see them, they may respond to your wishes. Like so.” Harken extended his hand and crooked his fingers.
    Immediately, three of the luminous figures separated from the rest and zipped over. Prissie squinted, for the yahavim were so bright, they were hard to look at. Mimicking the Messenger’s stance, she tried to coax one over, and to her delight, one of the tiny creatures dipped closer, then settled on her hand. For several breathless moments, the two simply stared at each other.
    When she’d first seen the yahavim, Prissie mistook them for fairies, but Harken had explained that they were the lowest order of angels. They were sort of like pets, not clever enough to talk, but very responsive to the needs of