“That is also a possibility – why I said eighty percent sure,” Mia said. “I only know of one angel I would trust with this information.”
“Altair?” Audrey asked. She liked his easy manner.
“No. Michael.”
“But he scares me.”
“Yes, but he will be able to protect your son from those who would try to corrupt him. He puts up with me. He would know the minute he held him.”
“Would he take him away?” Audrey asked.
“I hope not, but I can’t answer for certain. All I know is that Luke has been listening in on the angel song. Soon he will join in with the song, and one of the chorus is going to become curious enough to find out who the new voice is. Luke will rock their world.”
“What about your maternal grandmother? She’s mostly angel,” Orion asked.
“I don’t know her well enough to trust her,” Mia admitted. “My advice is to take Luke to Michael.” Mia got up. “Let me know, and I’ll set up a meeting.”
“Are you going to tell him?” Orion asked.
“No. You’re his parent. I expect you’ll do what you think is right. I wouldn’t share this with Angelo though. You know how he feels about angels.”
“He’s his godfather,” Audrey worried.
“Then he’ll make an exception,” Mia said.
~
Mia pulled into the drive and slowed down as she passed the woodpile. She saw that the axe was imbedded in the stump. She had a blender full of emotions move through her, settling on a nice memory she had shared with Murphy. She left it at that and drove on and parked near the office. She noticed that Burt’s car was there. She smiled. She got out of the truck and stopped as Mike sped into the lot. He slowed down, looking out the window, surprised to see her standing there.
Mia waited for him to pass before she went into the office. Burt and Patrick had dominated the conference table with their maps and research. Burt looked up and gave Mia a smile that seemed to be attached to both ears.
Patrick looked over. “Girly-girl, aren’t you supposed to be off your feet?”
“No. I have a clean bill of health. How’s the treasure hunt going?” she asked, changing the subject.
“We’ve scouted out the areas we think most likely to have a place to hide treasure, but so far, no luck.”
“The locals started to get interested in what we were doing, so we backed off,” Burt said. “I think the idea of doing a PEEPs investigation is a brilliant cover. Everyone knows the island is haunted, but hopefully, no one knows about the treasure.”
“Could you use my help?” Mia asked.
“Are you up for it?” Burt asked.
“I’d love to. We still have a week of free babysitting. Put us to work.”
Ted walked in from the garage. “Heads up, Mike’s on his way in with Sabine.”
Patrick’s face clouded over. Mia felt sorry for him. Her cousin didn’t know what she wanted and probably couldn’t see Patrick’s worth in her confusion.
Ted looked at Mia and asked, “Mind if I borrow you for a minute or two before you get entrenched?”
“I’m all yours,” Mia said, following him out to the workshop.
“Orion called. He wants to see Michael now.”
“Now. K,” Mia said, opening her wings and tapping the side of her neck. The roof disappeared, and she shot upwards at an incredible speed.
“Whoa, Mighty Mouse 3.0,” Ted said.
“Didn’t I see Mia step in here?” Mike asked.
“She just stepped out. She’ll be back for the meeting. I hope,” Ted added.
Mia closed her eyes and sought out Michael. “I need to have a private audience with you. It’s very important.” She drifted for a few seconds before Michael joined her. She looked upon his magnificence and understood why someone as devout as Audrey would be fearful.
“Yes, didn’t we meet before?”
“I’m eighty percent sure you need to come with me, and a hundred percent sure we need to keep it quiet.”
“You have me intrigued. Where are we going?”
“To Orion and Audrey Stavros’s house. This is why,” Mia said, moving close to him and placing her forehead on his.
His eyes snapped open. “It’s improbable but not impossible. I don’t want to get my hopes up,” he said. “Lead the way.”
The doorbell rang, and Orion opened it up to see Mia and a handsome, suited man standing there.
“Come in.”
“I hear him singing,” Michael said as he walked up the stairs. “He could be a listener or a hunter like Mark…” he stopped talking when he saw the child Audrey had clutched to her chest. “Do not fear, I bring you tidings of joy,” he said.
Audrey looked over, and instead of the fearsome archangel of her school days, she saw the angel above the shepherds in all the Christmas pageants she had seen.
“This is my wife Audrey,” Orion said. “We’ve met.”
Michael nodded. “May I?”
“His name is Luke,” she said, lifting him up.
Michael took Luke, turned him around, and lifted him so that his forehead would be even with his. Michael hummed the tune Mia could not get out of her head. “You are a miracle and a prophesy realized. God told us, when our numbers dwindled, to look for angels hidden in the human race. This is why Mark Leighton is so very important. But of course, you knew that, Orion. We need to get to these children and silence the song until they are old enough.”
“You’re not going to take him away from us?” Audrey asked in fear.
Michael handed Luke to Mia and gathered Audrey in his arms. “No, he is safer here. Raise him in your faith, but let him be a normal child. We’re talking skinned knees and baseball games. He will hear
