Empower

by Ashley Stambaugh

  Melina sent off a short text to Lee then stood up to look for Tessa. The dark atmosphere and her short stature made it difficult for her to see very well, but after several seconds of scouring the dance floor, she finally saw her friend’s bouncy golden curls. She started to push her way through the mass of people, and as she grew closer, she saw that Tessa was now dancing with two guys instead of just the original one. Melina shook her head and started to giggle, but her laughter was cut short when the second man turned to the side.

  Her eyes widened as she stopped in place. Was that soot on his face? She took in a deep breath and continued moving forward, her eyes fixed on the man. She had never seen Noxin demons interact with humans that way, so maybe he wasn’t a demon. But if he was then what did he want with Tessa?

  When Melina was only a few feet away, she noticed smudges of soot on the man’s otherwise clean, crisp, white button-down shirt. He also had long, greasy hair. Another telltale sign of a Noxin demon. She took a couple of steps closer, ready to confront him, when a dark-haired woman came up behind him and started to dance with him.

  Her hair was well groomed, and she wore a slinky black dress with matching heels. The woman appeared to be well kept, but as Melina continued to scan her appearance, her breath hitched when she noticed a single black smudge mark on the woman’s lower left jaw. Melina instantly started to search around the room. If there were two Noxin demons there together, did that mean there might be more? She turned her head from side to side, her eyes straining to pick out details in the dim light. At first she didn’t see anything, but then suddenly she caught sight of two pairs of fiery red eyes glowing from the shadows on the other side of the room. Her eyes grew big as she let out a short gasp. There were more Noxin demons there.

  She stared over at them, and after a couple of seconds, she noticed they were starting to move toward her. They were moving so slowly that she wondered why none of the other humans could see them.

  They must be in stealth mode, she thought to herself. Surely they wouldn’t cause a scene in front of all these people. But why are they coming toward me?

  Melina desperately tried to think of what she should do, but as the demons inched their way closer and closer, she realized they weren’t looking at her. They were looking at Tessa.

  Chapter Six

  “No.” Melina’s eyes darted back and forth between the demons and Tessa. Would they do something to her in front of all these people? Surely not, but then why were they still moving toward her? They obviously had something planned. She had to stop them. But before Melina could act on anything, she heard a low, gravelly voice come from behind her.

  “It’s you.”

  Melina slowly turned to her right and came face to face with the male demon who had been dancing with Tessa. His expression was a mixture of hatred and fear. The female demon, who was now hiding behind her male cohort, was giving her the same look.

  How did they know it was her? She knew they could sense her demon powers, but there were other Noxin demons in there besides them. Suddenly it dawned on her. They must’ve heard her thoughts.

  Melina stood up a little straighter and narrowed her eyes at them. They weren’t going to scare her. “What do you want?” she asked through clenched teeth as she stared directly at the male demon.

  “She warned us about you,” the female demon said, ignoring her question. “And as much as we’d like to finish what we started here tonight, she told us to leave and not risk it if you got involved.”

  Melina’s brow creased. What was the demon talking about? She was about to ask when all of a sudden there was a loud crackling noise followed by a huge spark near the back of the room. Then the entire club was plunged into a silent darkness.

  Everyone around her gasped in unison, followed by a few surprised screams from across the room.

  “Tessa!” Melina yelled.

  She held her hands out in front of her as she desperately tried to find her friend. If the demons did something to her, if she was hurt in any way… Almost immediately, anger started to rise up inside of her, right alongside the burning sensation.

  No, no. Not right now. Please, just go away.

  She closed her eyes to calm herself down when suddenly the lights flickered back on. Her eyelids shot open as she frantically started searching around for the demons, but they were nowhere in sight. They must’ve teleported away. As she continued to look around, she didn’t see Tessa nearby either.

  Oh no. Where is she?

  The burning inside her was only growing worse, feeding off of her mounting panic. She took in a deep breath and felt someone grab onto her arm. She whipped her head to the side, prepared to see one of the Noxin demons, but to her relief it was Tessa.

  “There you are,” Tessa said.

  “Tess!” Melina lunged forward and wrapped her arms around her friend. As relief took place of her worry, the burning that was coursing through her body started to fade away.

  “Um, are you all right?” Tessa asked.

  Melina quickly nodded her head and then took a step back. “Yeah, but we need to go.”

  “Go?” Tessa asked as she glanced back at the guy she had been dancing with only moments ago. “But why?”

  Melina sighed. She didn’t want her supernatural life butting in, again, but Tessa probably wouldn’t leave unless she knew it was urgent.

  She waited for the stunned crowd to start talking again and for the music to start back up and then leaned over to her friend and said, “Noxin demons.”

  Tessa’s eyes widened. “Where?”

  “They were here in the club,” Melina said. “And there weren’t just a couple. I saw four of them.”

  “Four?! There were four here in this club?”

  If not more, Melina thought to herself. She would almost bet that the electricity going out was caused by a demon, so there had to have been at least one more.

  “Come on,” Melina said as she started to drag Tessa off the dance floor. “They’re gone now, but who knows if they’ll come back or not.”

  “Were they all here because of you?” Tessa asked as she followed behind.

  Melina didn’t respond at first. She didn’t want to lie to her friend, but she also didn’t want to scare her. Being vague was probably her best bet. And maybe, for once, Tessa wouldn’t ask any more questions.

  “I’m not really sure what they were here for. But after they saw me, that’s when the power went out. And when it came back on, they were all gone.”

  Tessa shook her head and then went to retrieve her coat. About a minute or so later, they were both walking out the front door of the club.

  “I still can’t believe there were four of them,” Tessa said as she pulled her coat collar up tighter around her neck. “And they must know who you are if they teleported away after they saw you, but I wonder how?”

  “Well, they could sense the demon powers in me, but I think what really landed me on their radar was when they heard my thoughts.”

  Tessa came to a halt and looked directly at Melina. “But I thought the elders said the powers would be too weak in them to really use?”

  Melina swallowed. “Yeah, that’s what they said.”

  Tessa’s wide eyes narrowed as her brows scrunched together. “So are the elders wrong?”

  “I don’t know.” Melina looked down at the ground as she rubbed at her forehead. “I’m not really sure what’s going on.”

  Just then the valet approached them to retrieve their ticket. Tessa handed it over, and they both remained silent until he was out of earshot. As soon as he was gone, Tessa let out a heavy breath and shoved her hands into her coat pockets.

  “I hate all of this for you,” she said. “I mean, will you ever have a normal life again?”

  The words caught Melina off guard. She stared at the ground for a few more seconds and then slowly turned her head to look at her friend. She held her gaze for a moment, unsure of what to say.

  “I, I’m sorry,” Tessa s
aid. “I didn’t mean…”

  Suddenly the door to the club opened, and a small group of people walked out. They came up behind them and waited for the valet. Tessa and Melina didn’t say anything more until the valet pulled up with Tessa’s car. He hopped out and handed her the keys before wishing them both a good night. They both climbed in and drove off in silence.

  A couple of minutes later, Tessa finally spoke up. “I shouldn’t have said what I did back there.” She glanced over at Melina. “I didn’t mean that your life isn’t normal, it’s just—”

  “It’s okay, Tess. Really.” Melina gave her a small smile and then turned back to look out her window. “This is my normal life now. It’s just going to take some getting used to.”

  An awkward silence fell over them again. Melina continued to gaze out the window as she thought about her supernatural life being her new normal. There was no other choice. She had to get used to it and accept it. But Tessa did have a choice. Would it all eventually be too much for her?

  Melina folded her arms over her stomach and began to bite her lip. Back when she had been struggling to overcome the growing demon powers within her, she had thought that she might lose her best friend, but Tessa had reassured her that that would never happen. So why was she so worried about it now? She closed her eyes and tried to clear her head.

  After taking in a deep breath, she exhaled slowly and then opened her eyes. As she turned her head toward Tessa, she saw that her friend was looking at her. Tessa just grinned and then focused her attention back on the road. They remained quiet for the rest of the drive.

  Once they arrived back at Tessa’s, Melina exited the car and started to walk over to her Jeep but then stopped herself. She couldn’t leave things with Tessa like this. And she also couldn’t leave her friend alone tonight. Not after what those Noxin demons had said to her at the club. She didn't know what they wanted to finish with Tessa, but she was determined to not let it happen.

  She walked over to Tessa and linked her arm through hers. “What do you say we turn our girls night out into a girls night in?”

  Tessa looked at her, at first with a bit of surprise, then a small grin took over her face. “Yeah,” she said. “We could have a sleepover. It’ll be fun!”

  “Great,” Melina said and then followed Tessa inside.

  Melina and Tessa spent the rest of the night watching chick flicks, doing their own mani-pedis, and reminiscing about the most memorable moments from their childhood. They laughed, cried, and then laughed some more, but no matter how much fun they were having, Melina couldn't stop thinking about the demons. What did they want with Tessa? And when the female demon had said ‘she,’ had she been talking about Maura or Adelia?

  She needed to talk to Walter or one of the other elders soon, but she couldn’t leave Tessa. Not tonight. It would have to wait until tomorrow.

  By two in the morning, they had finally decided to go to bed. So it was no surprise that it was well after ten o’clock before they both finally woke up.

  Melina shuffled out into the kitchen, trying not to trip on the overly long sweatpants Tessa had let her borrow, and spotted her friend standing at the counter, pouring coffee into two small mugs.

  “Morning, Tess.” Melina slumped down into one of the kitchen chairs and ran her fingers through her disheveled hair.

  “Good morning,” Tessa said as she tried to stifle a yawn. She carried the coffee mugs over to the table and took a seat next to Melina. “Last night was fun. It reminded me of when we were in college.”

  Melina smiled. “I know,” she said then took a sip. “We need to do it more often.”

  “I agree,” Tessa said. “Do you want anything for breakfast?”

  “I’m good,” Melina said as she held up her mug.

  “Suit yourself.” Tessa stood up from the table and walked over to the fridge.

  Melina took a long drink of her coffee and then looked back over at Tessa. She needed to head back to her place so she could talk to Walter about the demons she saw last night, but she was reluctant to leave her friend alone.

  “So what are your plans for today?” Melina asked.

  Tessa opened the refrigerator door and started to search around for something to eat. “My mom’s coming to visit this afternoon. We’re going to go shopping around town, and then my brothers are meeting us for dinner later.”

  Melina let out a relieved breath. She felt much better knowing that Tessa wasn’t going to be alone. At least for the majority of the day.

  “That sounds like fun,” she said as she stood up from her chair and walked over to place her empty mug in the sink. “I think I should probably head out of here then. You know, to let you get ready and whatnot.”

  Tessa finally selected an apple from the fridge then turned around to face Melina. “No, you’re fine. I’m sure my mom would love to see you.”

  Melina smiled. “I should still head back to my place soon. I need to talk to Walter about the demons I saw last night.”

  Tessa’s forehead creased as she took a small bite of her apple. “I really hope you figure out what’s going on soon. All of this is making me nervous.”

  “Yeah,” Melina said. “Me too.”

  Chapter Seven

  When Melina arrived back at her apartment, she showered and got herself ready for the day. Or what was left of it. By the time she was finished in the bathroom, it was almost noon.

  She quickly dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a long-sleeved emerald green tee that matched the color of her eyes. She then stepped over to the mirror on her dresser to examine herself. Her long, wavy brown hair had seen better days, so she pulled the top half back away from her face and secured it with a small clip. When she was satisfied with her appearance, she made her way into the kitchen and took a seat at the table.

  There were so many things she needed to tell Walter and so many questions she wanted to ask him, but the more she thought about everything, the more she started to confuse herself. She briefly shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She needed to get him there first, then she could work out what she was going to say.

  “Walter,” she said out loud as she looked up at the ceiling. “It’s Melina. Can we talk?”

  A few seconds passed and nothing happened. She waited a little bit longer then tried again.

  “Walter?”

  She tried to wait patiently, glancing up at the clock every few minutes or so. But after ten minutes had passed, Walter still hadn’t appeared. It was the first time she had actually had to wait for a response. They must all be preoccupied with something. If that was the case, then it must be something pretty big.

  Her forehead creased in concern. She was starting to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, which only seemed to grow worse as the minutes continued to tick by. Where was he?

  Another ten minutes passed and still nothing. A heavy sigh escaped her as she bit down on her lip. She needed a distraction. She stood up from her chair to find something to eat for lunch. After perusing the contents of her cupboards and fridge, she finally decided on a salad.

  She turned the kitchen radio on before sitting back down at the table. The music helped to keep her mind from wandering while she ate. When she was finished with her lunch, she cleaned up her dishes and then turned everything off in the kitchen before grabbing her keys and heading toward the door. As much as she tried not to worry, she couldn’t help it. And waiting around in her apartment wasn’t helping any. She grabbed her coat from the hook by the door and was just about to slip it on when a bright white light flashed behind her. She slowly turned around and saw a white-haired, elderly man dressed in a matching black fedora and trench coat standing in her living room.

  “Walter,” she said as her mouth turned up into a smile. “I was getting worried.”

  Walter embraced her in a brief hug then stepped back to look at her, his expression serious. “I wish I could say that you were worrying for nothing, but I’m afraid I’d be lying.”


  Melina’s eyes narrowed. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

  “Nothing yet. Or I guess I should say nothing that we’re aware of.” He paused and then said, “We think the Noxin demons may have already started their plan.”

  “You do?” she asked.

  He nodded at her then furrowed his brows. “And you do, too,” he said, obviously picking up on her thoughts. “What else has happened to make you think that?”

  Melina held his gaze for a moment and then bit her lower lip as she looked down at her fidgeting hands.

  “Melina,” Walter said as he took a step closer. “You went after another Noxin demon, didn’t you?”

  She glanced back up at him, still chewing on her lip. “Only one. The other ones I saw showed up where I was.”

  Walter’s eyes grew big. “So you’ve had more than one encounter since you spoke to Cecil and Helene?”

  She slowly nodded her head as she put away her things and then sat down on the couch. He took a seat next to her, and she told him about the encounter she’d had with the demon in the alley. Then she told him about all the demons she had seen in the club just last night.

  “What do you think they meant?” she asked as she turned to face him. “The demon in the alley said he needed to get to work and didn’t have much time, and then the ones in the club said that they wanted to finish what they had started.”

  Walter rubbed his chin. “Well, something has been started, but the what is still unclear. One thing’s for sure, though, is that they seem to be expecting other Noxins to be around. That’s why they’re not paying attention to you when they sense you. They just think you’re another demon.”

  “Well that’s not good,” Melina said.

  “No,” Walter said. “I also think that’s why they seem scared when they finally notice you. They know who you are and that you have the power to take their guiding angel powers away by releasing the human souls from them. So when they realize it’s you and not another Noxin demon, they flee.”