I could hear the opening strains of "Pomp and Circumstance," the traditional graduation march playing as we exited through the side doors. I felt a small stirring of nostalgia, listening to the music grow louder with each step I took. Sure, St. Briggets didn't quite live up to my expectations, but I still felt like this was the end of an era.

Filing down the grass, we separated and sat in the white wooden chairs placed in rows of twenty. I scanned the crowd, spotting my and Sam's families off to my left on the temporary bleachers the country club had assembled. Mark and Haniel were deep in conversation, but my mom blew me a kiss and Shawn gave me a thumbs-up. I slid my gaze down the row until I found Lynn. I giggled when she stuck her tongue out at me.

Feeling a little more relaxed now, I settled back in my chair while our class valedictorian made his speech. It was typical, filled with youthful energy about moving on to the next step, attending a top-notch college and making our marks in the world. He was a little long-winded and my eyes felt heavy as my mind drifted away.

After a few more seemingly never-ending speeches, the principal finally took his place to hand out our diplomas. Please God, don't let me trip, I thought nervously, listening to the long list of names being called ahead of mine. With shaky legs, I climbed the steps and crossed the stage to receive my diploma, willing myself to remain calm. A quick flashbulb went off in my face as the photographer snapped my picture when I was handed my diploma.

"Congratulations Ms. Miller," the principal said, indifferently.

"Thank you," I mumbled, shaking his hand.

I paused at the foot of the steps to pose for another picture for the insistent photographer who wanted a shot of me holding my diploma. I could hear my mom and my extended family cheering as I posed for the last picture and made my way back to my row of seats.

Relieved that my turn was over, I sank back into my chair, waiting for Sam's name to be called. In typical Sam fashion, she sailed across the stage, surprising our usually dignified stuffy principal by throwing her arms around him instead of shaking his hand like the rest of the graduates. His expression was priceless when he handed over her diploma, looking quite put out. I could hear Shawn wolf-whistling in the crowd.

Turning in my seat, I grinned at him. He let out another ear-splitting whistle as the photographer snapped Sam's picture with her new diploma, earning him some annoyed stares from the uptight parents near him. By the grin on his face, it was clear he knew exactly what those around him were thinking, which had Lynn and Robert shaking with silent laughter and my mom and Sam's sharing indulgent looks. My heart swelled. This was my motley crew. My cheeks began to ache from the silly smile I couldn't seem to wipe away.

Mark took our entire crew to La Casa, our favorite restaurant near his house. He was friends with the owners, who treated Sam and me like celebrities when we walked through the doors. I was slightly embarrassed when they greeted us so boisterously.

The dinner would have been perfect if not for the absence of my dad. In the time since he died, my life had done a complete one eighty, but that didn't change the way I felt about his absence. My heart still ached at everything he was missing. We had often talked about college. I knew how proud he was of my good grades and had looked forward to seeing me graduate.

"Ms. Krista and Ms. Sam, we are so happy for your big accomplishment," Maria said to us in her strongly accented voice that boomed across the room, kissing us both on the cheek. Miguel, her husband, led us to the back of the room where they had pushed several tables together to accommodate our party of nine. Haniel, of course had bowed out of joining us.

"Thank you Maria, how are the boys?" I asked in a quieter voice, not wanting to disturb the other diners any more than we already had.

"The rascals are very wild," she answered just as loudly, missing my hint.

Sam, who was well aware of my tactic, nudged me in the ribs as we took our seats. She stifled a laugh as I shrugged my shoulders, finally giving up. This was their restaurant and they could do whatever they wanted.

Shawn, Lynn, and Robert sat across from us while Mark claimed the seat on my other side, leaving the far end of the table for the adults. The laughter around our table flowed fast and easy as Shawn once again entertained us with stories from when he worked on the Boardwalk. He could mimic a harassed tourist dead-on. His impersonations kept us all in stitches, including the adults.

"The worst are the guys who think that they're too cool for sun block. They come hobbling onto the rides with their families, burned to a crisp after a day on the beach. You should see them trying to sit all gingerly and still look tough at the same time. None of them realize that the rickety coaster tracks will have them sliding all over the place before the ride is over. By the time the coaster comes back in, they need help to get off," Shawn said, making us laugh as he stood up from his chair slowly, showing us how they look.

Poor Sam laughed so hard she wound up choking on her Coke, which required a lot of back pounding from me.

Once our dinner plates were carried away, Miguel brought out plates of fresh from-the-oven-sopaipillas, dripping with warm honey. "These are on the house for the graduates," he said, setting the plates down with a flourish. "Also, Maria and I want our pretty new friends to pick their favorite piñata to take home to remember their special night."

Sam bounced in her seat at his words. She had been itching for a piñata since our first visit.

"Woot woot, I'm so excited!" she said, leaving her dessert behind as she wandered through the restaurant ohhing and ahhing at each brightly colored piñata hanging from the bare rafters of the restaurant.

Laughing at her excitement, Miguel claimed her empty seat to chat with the guys. Miguel was obsessed with his favorite team, the Padres’ chances of making it to the World Series. Lynn and I quickly became bored with their baseball talk.

"I'm telling you man, you need to switch teams, go with the Dodgers," Mark said, reaching across me to sock Miguel in the arm. "Besides, I think it's like against the law to live here and not be a Dodgers fan."

"Or at least the Giants, bro," Shawn said teasingly. "It’d be a shame to see a good man go down just because he chooses a suck-ass team."

When the conversation shifted to RBI's, I felt my eyes begin to glaze over. "I think I'm going to go pick my piñata," I said standing, but the guys were too far gone into their baseball talk to give much notice to anything around them.

"Do you want to come with me?" I asked Lynn, but she merely shook her head, examining the iPad that Karen and Tom had given Sam as a graduation present. Lynn and I were both a little jealous, though I had a sneaky suspicion I was getting one too. My mom had been quite secretive about my own graduation gift and I had seen her exchanging glances with Karen when she saw me ogling it. I could always read her like an open book when she was trying to hide a gift from me.

"Hey, have you found one?" I asked Sam, joining her on the far side of the restaurant.

"Ugh no, but I do have it narrowed down to either that one, maybe…" she said, pointing to a brightly colored maraca, "or that one," she added, pointing to a cute cat "or even that one," she said thoughtfully, pointing to one shaped as an oversized wine bottle, "oh, and that one there," she said, pointing to yet another one.

I started laughing. "Sam, you're a mess," I told her affectionately. "I’ll tell you what. I’ll buy you one as a gift from me. That way you can pick two of your favorites.”

"Woo hoo! I need to loop the restaurant again, now that I know I get two," she said, skipping away.

"Hey wait. I thought you already had all those ones picked out," I called after she pointed to the different piñatas along the rafters.

Sam just laughed and continued her frantic search.

Shaking my head, I searched for my own piñata. After a few moments, I settled on a brightly colored flower that reminded me of something from a carnival. Instead of heading back to the table for more baseball love fest, I headed for the bathroom to freshen up before we headed out.

I added a touch of my mango lip gloss from Bath & Body Works before I pulled the door open and barreled into Mark's hard and muscular chest. "Hey, I was looking for you. Did you find a piñata you like?" he asked, grabbing onto my hand as we headed for the checkout counter.

"Yeah, I want that pretty flower one," I said, pointing to the one right above our heads. "I promised Sam I'd buy her one too. She was having a hard time trying to decide."

Mark started laughing beside me.

"What?" I asked confused.

"Well, your dear friend also conned one out of Shawn and her parents, so if I'm understanding this right, she's going home tonight with four.

"What?" I asked in mock anger. "Here I thought I was doing something special for her," I said, bumping into her playfully.

"You are. I just couldn't decide," she said, sheepishly dancing away from me as I tried to swipe at her one last time.

"Sweetie, I'm going to head out with the Harrisons," my mom said, coming up to give me one last hug. "You guys have fun, but stay safe," she added, giving Mark a stern look. "No drinking and driving. Got me?" She asked, addressing the last part to him.

"Yes ma’am," Mark said solemnly. "We're just going to hang out at my house watching movies and stuff."

My mom raised her eyebrows at his phrasing.

"I mean, not stuff like that, I meant games and stuff…," Mark said, trailing off as his face paled.

I giggled as he buried himself deeper and deeper. "She's teasing you Mark," I said, finally swooping in to save the day. She knew where I stood on the whole sex issue. I had promised that I intended to wait, and truthfully, after all the drama lately, it left little opportunity for us to do much more than make out a few times. Not to mention, our Archangel made a pretty handy chaperone, since it just felt wrong to fool around too much with him around.

The sun had set by the time we arrived back at Mark's house. Everyone piled into the house laughing as Sam struggled to carry her piñatas on her own. Shawn finally showed her some mercy and carried three of them in for her. Their antics made me smile, but I had plans of my own as I tugged on Mark's hand, dragging him toward the path that would lead us to the back patio. "Let's sit by the pool for a little while," I said, craving some alone time with him.

"Sounds good to me," he said, pulling me under the crook of his arm as we made our way along the crushed seashell-strewn path. "Did you have fun tonight?" he asked, pulling me onto one of the chaise lounges with him.

"It was one of the best days of my life," I said, snuggling up against his chest.

He slipped his arms around my midriff, pulling me even closer, anchoring me in place by lacing his fingers together.

"I'm glad," he said, pressing a light kiss on the side of my neck, making me shiver with pleasure. Chuckling softly, he did it again, but this time he tasted my sensitive skin with the tip of his tongue. Letting out a purr of pleasure, I rolled my head to the side to give him better access.

"If there were such things as vampires, I could totally see their fascination with necks," he said in a smoldering voice as he placed another searing kiss on my neck. Twisting around, I tangled his hair in my fingers, pulling him toward me. This time he groaned against my lips as I used the tip of my tongue to trace the outline of his full lips. Mark's fingers grazed over my flat stomach, inching my shirt up slightly to caress the sensitive skin there. Losing myself in the heat of the moment, I shifted closer to press against his hard muscular body. His lips left a trail of fire along my neck as he placed a deep kiss on my collarbone. His hands slid further up my stomach, grazing my ribcage, making me burn with a fire that only his touch could extinguished. Dragging his lips to meet mine, he pulled back slightly letting my own insistent hands slide under his polo shirt. I sighed with pleasure as I felt his lean rippled muscles under my fingertips. I inched my fingers around his bare back trying to pull him even closer. I sighed in irritation when the arm of the chaise lounge dug into my ribs, hindering my movement.

Chuckling softly against my lips, Mark dropped the back of the chaise lounge down in a few deft movements and flipped our positions so that I was now lying under him with every blissful part of him sprawled on top of me, never once taking his lips from mine. This time, I sighed in pleasure as my hands traveled up his lean back, making his shirt ride up in the process. Finally breaking the kiss, Mark gave into my tugging and pulled the hem of his shirt up revealing his golden skin underneath. He tossed the shirt onto the end table beside us, pulling me back in for another mind-blowing kiss. His skin was warm to the touch as my hands explored the hard planes. Lifting slightly, he ran his own hand under my shirt, moving purposefully toward its destination. My insides screamed as his fingertips grazed the lace on my bra. He used his other hand to slide my shirt up while he buried his face in my neck.

"Um, Krista, Mark," a tentative voice said, breaking into my haze. I pulled my kiss-swollen lips from Mark's, turning my head to see a flustered Sam standing by the patio doors. Blushing, I pulled the hem of my shirt back down, covering up my exposed skin. "Sorry to interrupt guys, but we think you need to come in," she said quietly, looking scared.

Alarmed at Sam's expression, Mark and I both jumped to our feet at once. Mark tugged his shirt back on and we followed Sam into the house.

Everyone was sitting on the couches, while Haniel stood in the center of the room, looking graver than I had ever seen him.

"The time you have been waiting for has begun," Haniel said simply, like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. "Your father has been a very busy man over the last few weeks," he said to Mark, but looking at all of us as a whole. "He has done the unthinkable. He has murdered more of our Guides and Protectors."

Chapter 13

"You mean other than our parents?" Sam asked, trying to make sense of his words.

"Yes, other than your parents. Until now, only one Guide has died by his hand," Haniel said gravely. “The rest died by the hands of Daemons led to our Guides as a result of the Dark Angel’s betrayal.”

"Why, why is he doing that?" Mark demanded, appalled.

"He is slaying them because each death makes him stronger. The murder of your parents earned him favor and power from The Dark One for his traitorous behavior. We have known for quite sometime that his ultimate plan was to recruit Guides and Protectors, choosing only to kill those that refuse his demands."