Page 62 of Avenging Angel

“I’m not so sure about that,” I say, only half joking.

Owen follows my line of sight toward Uri, then looks back at me. “Angel, who are you talking to?”

“Is Uri here?” Roger asks, glancing around the area. There’s a childlike excitement in his voice I’ve never heard from him.

I nod, then tell the story of our rescue. “Daisy wasn’t joking when she said the rocks fell away from divine intervention. At first, it was just Eva and Uri moving them by hand, but when you and the rest of the team approached, Eva fled, leaving Uri to finish the job. Uri prayed to God, and that’s when the mountain shook.”

Owen looks so confused right now. “The mountain never shook, Angel. We never felt a thing.”

“I’m telling you, it did. Uri is an angel, Owen, and it’s not the first time he’s protected your sister.”

Owen looks to Roger for confirmation. “She never said anything to me. You never said anything. Why? I would have believed her.”

Roger grips his shoulder. “To be honest, I don’t know if she believed it herself at the time. Daisy was so young, and her experience was traumatic. But when she told me the story in the Grahams’ kitchen, I knew it to be true. So when she asked me to keep it a secret, I did. I’ve been in the same position and knew exactly how she felt.”

Roger tells the story of when he was in college, back home for the summer as a camp counselor. His parents were devout atheists, and he was alone on a mountainside, questioning God’s existence. Roger asked for a sign. And he got one.

The side of the mountain broke free, and he was buried alive in a rockslide. Then a stranger happened upon him in the middle of nowhere and dug him out. The man looked like a cross between Jesus and a lumberjack, but Roger knew the man was sent by God. It took years before he shared the story with anyone, and most nonbelievers were more than skeptical. Even those who do believe in God often give him a polite smile when they hear of the miracle.

“Uri carried Daisy to the Graham homestead because the couple could be trusted. His voice guided her along the path, gave her hope when she wanted to die, and then he used his God-given strength to carry her the rest of the way when she could go no further,” Roger says.

Uri smiles as Roger shares Daisy’s encounter. “He gives credit where credit is due. I like that. The Father is the source of my strength, as He is the source of yours.”

Owen mulls over what Roger has told him and what I’ve told him. “So Uri is some kind of guardian angel, and he’s been looking after my sister for all these years. Wow!”

“Not just Daisy,” I tell him. “The woman who helped rescue us is the same woman Kenneth Johnson was talking to at one of the lost buildings we saw earlier today, Eva Vidal, also known as Maarika Kivemäe.”

I wait patiently for Owen and Roger to come to the same conclusion I did when we listened to Eva and Kenneth’s conversation. Roger purses his lips. “We may have miscalculated.”

“If Eva is innocent, then why did she run in the mines?” Owen asks. “Why did she try to kill you and my sister?”

Now that Eva’s identity is known, I glance over at Uri, who nods his approval.

“Eva didn’t set the bomb in the mine. The man in the photo did. Uri urged her to send the picture to us, knowing that Daisy and I would go.”

Owen searches for Uri but doesn’t see him. “Why would God send an angel to trap you in a mine?”

This is the part that will upset Owen the most. “The man who set the bomb knew he was being watched and was hoping to make that person disappear. Uri sent us in to draw attention away from Eva and buy her some time. And just so you know, Daisy’s identity is compromised.”

Roger heads back to the cabin. “We should have the rest of this conversation inside. Will Uri be joining us?”

Uri shakes his head. “I’m needed elsewhere, but remember what I told you, Angel. Dark times are ahead. Daisy is still in danger, and sacrifices will need to be made. Her life and the lives of many others will depend on it. But victory is all but assured as long as you put your faith in the Father and pray fervently. Your heart will be tested in the coming days, so keep your focus on the Light so that you do not lose your way.”

As I turn to leave, Uri stops me. “One more thing. Pass this message on, as there are members of your team who carry doubts and regrets and wonder if this is where they belong.”

“Who?”

“That is between them and God, but here is the message for you to deliver: Everything that has happened in your lives, the successes, the failures, the loves, the losses, and every moment that has shaped who you all have become, has brought you to this moment. To this team. To serve a greater purpose than yourselves. Each one of you, at some point in your life, has asked, ‘Why, God?’ It is human nature to do so. The Father did not cause the suffering you have endured, but He allowed it to strengthen you and prepare you for what He has called you to do. This fight is only one of many that lie ahead.”

I head up the stairs and turn around, about to ask if I’ll see him again. Instead of a seven-foot-tall angel, all I see is an empty forest.

Chapter twenty-five

Angel

When I walk inside the cabin, I can tell that Owen and Roger have already shared the news of Uri’s arrival. It’s a dead giveaway when Jeremy and Jack lean to the side to peer past me, hoping to catch a glimpse. Even Faith is standing on her tiptoes to check and see if he’s behind me.

“He’s not here, so you can stop craning your necks.”