He closed his eyes and scanned the hospital looking for a discreet spot where no one would see him appear. Once found, he wrapped an arm around Elise's waist, and they were gone from the garden to appear instantaneously in an empty room of the hospital. Before she could even recover a moment, he pulled her out of the room with him and hurried to the elevators.
"Red, do Kathy's parents know about me?"
"Yes absolutely, the story has spread around."
"Okay two floors up and tell them I'm on my way. I have to pick someone up first."
With those words, he shot off at breakneck speed toward the cafeteria. He saw her in a corner staring mournfully into her cup of coffee. Jon sat down across from her, and she was startled from her thoughts. She turned pale and quickly said:
"Jon, I'm not here for you. I had no intention of ignoring your ban."
He gently placed a hand on hers.
"Relax Jo, I know that, and that ban was never meant for you, you know how much I love you. Who are you here for? Because knowing your taste you are not here for that junk, they dare to call coffee."
He noticed immediately that Angel must be extremely heartbroken because otherwise she would have at least giggled a bit with his joke about the coffee.
"For the parents of a boy and a girl. Both mothers are white witches and such good, wonderful people. However, they are so sad, and they feel so lost, and I am powerless, my powers no longer work."
"Then we will surely have to make them happy my way Jo."
"You wi..."
She could not finish her sentence because he had already taken her by the hand and pulled her along in the direction of the elevators.
Four floors up, Elise had flown into Kathy's room. The girl's parents, Mike and Sophie looked up momentarily startled. The mother asked:
"What's going on?"
A secretive smile appeared around Elise's mouth, and she said:
"We haven't met yet, unfortunately. My name is Elise Paschal, and my future husband is Jonathan Drago."
The mother immediately made a small bow to Elise:
"My Lady, what is going on?"
With eyes brimming with joy, Elise said:
"Our big gun is in the building and on his way here."
"You mean the Prince? Can he help Kathy?"
Asked the mother, and one immediately saw that hope took hold of her again.
"Yep! And he's pretty pissed because this is not a natural disease, this is the result of black magic. Believe me, whoever did this is in for a very unpleasant visit."
She said with pleasure visible in her eyes.
Less than five minutes later, he stormed into the room. He barely looked at the parents for he had more pressing matters to deal with.
"You two on the other side of the bed because I need space. Jo the door, I wouldn't like anyone accidentally walking in and seeing a couple of big ass wings. Elise stand in front of me please."
He pointed to the father:
"Kathy will need her mother first and I know the urge with you is going to be great to be with her too, but I have to ask you to do something for me first. When I am gone there will be some drops of blood on this side of the bed. Those must disappear first, okay? Can you manage that for me please?"
The man nodded. Jon made his wings appear, but he couldn't possibly unfold them completely due to lack of space. One could hear the parents gasp when they saw his wings.
"Elise, that big one over there, pull."
She did as she was asked and immediately blood began to run down his feathers. He snapped his fingers and the blanket and hospital shirt the girl had been wearing were gone. Jon took the feather from Elise. Took it in one hand and placed it on her heart. The second hand with the feather on the spot where the girl's womb should be. His eyes lit up gold and so did his hands. A few seconds later, the girl's entire body began to light up. Jon knew she was already fine, that her heart was as good as new. Still, he let the light continue to increase in strength until it exploded. A shock wave of healing powers shot through the entire children's wing of the hospital. The girl regained consciousness almost immediately, looked at Jon and said:
"The Angel told me to tell you nice job and to take care of Jo."
"Well thank you for the message, Kathy, you did a great job girl."
He gave her a kiss on the forehead and said:
"Honey, your heart is as good as new, and in a few days, you can go home. Then you can do anything you want again. I'm sure we will have time later to talk."
He snapped his fingers, and she was dressed and covered up again. The three made their way out toward Danny's room. They had only taken two steps into the room when Jessie grabbed Jon and said tearfully:
"I'm going to lose my little brother Jon."
"Ah, Jessie, and I who thought that you said at the ceremony that you believed in me..."
Those words made her head shoot up.
"You can..."
She got no further because Jon had no time to waste.
"Okay, people time to get to work. Parents and Elise on the other side of the bed, Jo at the door, and Jessie stand in front of me."
When everyone was in place he said to Jessie:
"When I leave later there will be a few drops of blood on the floor here honey. It's important that those disappear as soon as possible, okay?"
"Yes Jon, I'll take care of it."
He gave her a kiss on the cheek and with a smirk he said:
"No wonder Pamela can't stop talking about what a wonderful girl you are Jessie. Okay, let's get our beautiful Danny back."
His wings reappeared.
"Jessie, will you pull that feather over there?"
Another snap of his fingers and the boy was naked in bed. The girl did as she was asked and handed him the feather. This time he placed it on the boy's heart and the other hand on his lower abdomen. The light in his hands began to glow again after which the boy's whole body lit up. As with the girl, he let the light increase in much more intensity than was necessary to heal him. The light exploded so that a second shock wave spread across the children's wing. Almost immediately Danny opened his eyes, saw Jon, and flew around his neck. Jon hugged him back for a moment until he said:
"I unfortunately don't have time kid, but you'll get plenty of hugs from your mom, dad, and big sister."
He pressed a gentle kiss to the boy's head and turned around as he snapped his fingers and Danny was dressed and covered up again. He looked at the Angel and said:
"Jo, will you please accompany me to our home?"
The Angel nodded meekly, and the trio disappeared from the hospital to reappear in the garden. All present got wide-eyed at the appearance out of nowhere of Jon, Elise and what was clearly an Angel for her wings were clearly visible. Of the ten children the black mage wanted to kill, two were in the hospital and were now safe, seven others were already present, and thirteen of the sisters. He scanned the area for a moment and saw that the last two sisters with the last child would arrive safely in a few minutes. Frank had apparently appointed himself a bartender and was standing behind the bar that Jon had manifested earlier.
"Sorry Frank for the commotion but I had to react quickly."
"No problem, Jon, we can just postpone our appointment for a while. Something to drink?"
"Vodka orange as usual and for these ladies Chardonnay please."
"Coming right up."
Frank chuckled as he poured the wine glasses and said:
"I imagined my first meeting with an Angel differently Jon. At least nothing to do with pouring her a glass of wine."
Jon replied with a chuckle:
"Keep up the good work Frank and this will not be the last Angel you will meet in the near future."
He turned to Jo for a moment and said:
"You'll love this I think."
Instead of responding to that, she asked:
"What on earth was that good for Jon? Two such shock waves?"
"Let's just say I needed to vent a little."
Elise interfered in the conversation:
"Isn't that dangerous for those little ones Jon?"
"On the contrary babe. Fractures will heal much faster, kids who need surgery will recover from it much faster, certain diseases will disappear at record speed, and doctors will find to their amazement that their little patients with cancer will respond 100% positively to their treatment. That child's wing will also be known as a miracle wing for a while because the two shock waves have reinforced each other and will remain active there for quite some time. A fun fact is that the doctors are going to tear the hair out of their heads because they absolutely will not be able to explain it. I always find that quite funny. Ha, my little brother Saint Raphael got nothing on me the amateur... "
This explanation got him a rather big kiss from Elise. He took his glass and chugged it in one go and Frank simply refilled it without question. He was already used to the fact that Celestials could apparently drink alcohol like fish water. The last two sisters entered the garden along with the boy of fourteen. He took another big swig and gave Elise a kiss on the mouth.
Jon stood between the bar and the pool in front of the chairs. Everyone quickly took their seats, and he saw David hesitantly lagging behind. With a soft smile, he said:
"David, didn't I ask you to stay with my girls? Please sit down, there is no reason to be afraid."
The kid nodded gently and then sat down with the five girls and Maggie. Jon began to speak after first looking at his watch for a moment:
"Well ladies, kids it's almost six o'clock and we've had quite a bit of excitement already. That we are here together has several grounds. The main one is that I have to offer you my sincere apologies with embarrassment on my cheeks. But that will become clear in a moment. Outlining the situation in brief. There is a warlock who is after Liz and Brandon. His goal is simple, he wants to cause as much pain and suffering to Liz as possible and then use Brandon in some crazy ritual. He is disturbed that much is clear. A psychopath with a decidedly sadistic disposition. So, we can surmise what would have happened to Liz and Brandon had they had fallen into his hands. In addition, he had it in for ten of your children including our daughter Sam."
He heard the sister's gasp. David in shame wanted to pull his hand away from Jules' but the latter looked at him sternly and lipped emphatically NO. Jon continued:
"That's why you're all here. First, because I want to apologize. The marker I placed on each of you does not work against mentally ill people who cannot think logically. I am not looking for excuses but I myself have never come across or even heard about a loony tune that would engage so deeply with black magic. Normally in order to successfully engage yourself with white or black magic you must at least be able to think clearly and logically. So, I'm truly sorry I didn't think of that possibility, and I hope you can forgive me. What I am going to do now is place a much stronger marker on you because I don't want to take any more chances. From now on if anyone with black magic, normal or totally insane will not matter, even attempts anything against any of you they will regret that they were ever born forever and that will be just the beginning. They will be on the pick-up list of the head huntress of Hell in a split second. Their afterlife will be a fucking nightmare. And with your kids, I certainly don't want to take any chances because they were his initial target, and we don't know if he has already initiated anything or not. Kathy and Danny almost fell victim to that madman and should have died today. Thanks to the marker I had placed on Danny, one of my Angels, you know here from the ceremony, was able to conclude very quickly that Kathy also belonged to our group and came to warn me that they were very close to death. That problem has been solved and in about three days they will be home totally healthy and well. Danny maybe even as soon as tomorrow afternoon."
Someone said:
"But how could that be? It was her heart. The doctors said it was beyond saving and that she needed a transplant, but no suitable heart was available."
Jon smiled softly at the witch and said:
"I simply allowed her heart to return to when it was still functioning perfectly and undid all the damage inflicted. In other words, I gave her a new heart. If she wants to, and trains a little of course, she can run a marathon in no time."
Just about everyone was staring at him with open mouths. There seemed to be no end to the power he had. From the bar, he heard Liz snickering:
"Of course, it's no big deal, like changing a light bulb..."
Elise snorted at those words. He pretended he hadn't heard anything.
"I'm about to temporarily turn this pool into a cleansing pool. Since that lunatic had it in for the kids, I want to see them all in the pool. Kids you all go in there. Either keeping your underwear on or go skinny dipping makes no difference to me. You can certainly amuse yourselves for a while, but you must go under a few times. Is there anyone afraid of going underwater completely?"
Brandon raised his hand along with the eleven-year-old girl he had seen during the ceremony. He asked:
"What's your name honey?"
"Anna My Lord."
"Kids, would you give Brandon and Anna a hand please, and be gentle?"
There was a sullen nod.
"Good, you guys can go ahead and get undressed and ready to jump in. I'll take care of the pool."
He walked toward the pool, got down on one knee, and stuck his clenched fist with the signet ring into the water. A moment later the entire pool lit up gold and the light seemed to explode and disappear into the water. Jon stood up and said:
"All set, have fun."
Less than a minute later they were all in the pool except David. He beckoned him to join them at the bar where he stood with Elise, Liz, Jo, and Frank.
"My Lord, I don't dare very well, not the way I look right now."
"I know boy, don't worry. I don't suppose you have anyone you could go to since you were staying with your uncle?"
He shook sadly with watery eyes.
"Never mind David, you stay with Elise and me, and tomorrow we'll talk. Liz, I want you and Brandon and Domino to stay over this weekend too, okay?"
Concerned, she asked:
"Isn't it safe for us Jon then?"
"I just want to play it safe, not take any chances, Liz. You guys are too important to Elise and me and that guy is just totally nuts. Before I delivered him where he belongs, I wouldn't have a moment's peace."
With a steely face, he added:
"I also placed the guards at Deflin House on high alert. This weekend only marines on duty, locked and loaded, shoot first, ask questions maybe next century."
She nodded. Elise addressed the boy:
"Are you hungry David, how long has it been since you've been fed?"
"Almost three days My Lady."
Jon could swear Elise's eyes were about to ignite with Hellfire when she heard that answer. She took hold of his hand and practically pulled him along in the direction of the kitchen.
"Okay son come with me, you need to eat something."
As the two walked toward the kitchen Jon sighed and asked Frank:
"Is there still room on campus for a dozen students Frank?"
The latter smiled softly and replied:
"I can always accommodate them somewhere Jon."