Angel pressed her face against the window of the jet, watching the ground fly past underneath her, going this fast took her breath away.
Laughing at her, Danny stroked her good wing gently, "You doing okay my bird?"
"Yeah! This is so cool!" She exclaimed, earning another laugh from him.
"Hang on, we'll be landing soon." Sure enough, not five minutes later, Danny and Angel landed in Steepridge. Hand in hand, they walked down the empty street of the small city and into the Blue Moose Cafe.
Mariah looked up as they walked into the cafe and gasped, "Oh my goodness! You're okay!" She exclaimed as she embraced her friend.
Giggling, Angel wiggled out of Mariah's embrace, "Yeah, I'm fine. Still have one busted wing, but a little time here will cure that. Are my kids okay?"
"I don't know, Steepridge is on lock down. Wolf got really paranoid when you disappeared and then the storm at the summit picked up, now none of us can go up the mountain without a lightning bolt shooting at us."
"Good dog," Angel murmured. Raising her voice, she said, "Standard protocol. Wolf knows I would never abandon him, so if I disappear he is supposed to put all our defenses to use to protect the kids."
"Well you had better go find them. I bet they are worried sick!"
Hugging Mariah quickly, Angel bolted out of the cafe with Danny racing after her. Gripping his hand in her own, Angel sped up, running through the town.
Once they got to the edge of the city, Angel shrugged her coat off and began ripping the bandages off of her wing.
"Angel, what are you doing!?" Danny gasped, putting his hands out to stop her.
"Trust me, this place has a certain magic about it, can't you sense it?"
Stepping back, Danny closed his eyes and concentrated. After a while, he nodded. "You are right... There is something here... A, a magic I do not recognize."
"Of course I'm right," Angel laughed, "It IS my mountain after all." Spreading her wings, she flapped them gently, everything seemed in working order, though her injured one still felt much weaker than it should. "Hold on," She grinned as she wrapped her arms around his waist and flapped down powerfully, sending them shooting into the air.
As soon as they reached the mountain, the storm surrounding it opened up a clear spot- as if by magic- leaving them a safe path to fly though.
Over sweeping pine trees and tumbling, half-frozen rivers they flew, until they reached a familiar tree. An ancient pine, growing precariously on the side of a cliff above a tumbling waterfall. A camoflauged tree house perched in its arching branches.
The second her feet touched the rough wood of the porch she let go of Danny. They didn't have time to anything else before the door swung open and small children swarmed out.
"Momma!" Twenty voices cried at once as they surrounded Angel, all reaching out to touch her as if they couldn't believe she was still alive. Most of them were crying, and all had looks of relief. The kids varried in age from six to fourteen and were all different nationalities.
"Children!" She exclaimed, kneeling down and trying to hug all of them at once.
"Momma!" The others parted for Daniel and Xiwang, who were obviously the leaders of the others.
"What the heck happened to you?" Xiwang growled.
"We thought you were dead!" Daniel added.
"I'm so sorry baby!" Angel drew the two children closer, hugging them tightly. "I was kidnapped by the scorpian-man. Danny here saved me."
Raising one eyebrow, Daniel asked, "You?"
"Yeah," Danny shrugged, "She saved me, I was just returning the favor."
"We were so scared," A small girl, about 5 years old, whispered.
"I know Rose, I'm sorry. But I'm afraid I must talk to all of you."
"About what?" Daniel frowned, picking up on her tone.
"About leaving you all again."
