Empower

by Ashley Stambaugh

  When they all reappeared, they were still several feet away from the stone. Walter glanced over at all of the other angels, their differing auras making a beautiful display of colors. Besides the shiny white light from Cecil and Helene, there was bright blue from the angels of inspiration, golden-yellow from the guardian angels, vibrant green from the angels of life, soft black from the angels of death, and a light purple from the angels of concealment. Walter smiled, pleased that everyone had agreed to help.

  As they all walked toward the stone, the other elders turned around and stared at Victor. Not too many of them had ever had any experiences with him, but again, his reputation preceded him. Walter grinned. He was sure they were all just as curious about him as he had been.

  Once they approached the others, it didn’t take long before Victor took charge like the general he was. “Hello everyone,” he said in a stern tone. “My name’s Victor. I’m the elder of the warrior angels. And this is Byron,” he said, gesturing to his right. “He’s the elder of the defender angels.”

  Byron nodded at everyone.

  They all smiled and nodded back but remained silent as they waited for Victor’s instruction.

  “I take it Cecil and Helene have filled you all in on what’s going on with the Noxin demons and why they’ve asked you all here?” Victor said.

  They all nodded again.

  “Good,” he said as he stood up a little straighter. “Now how many angels can you all spare?”

  All of the different elders took turns in telling how many of their angels could help. Most of them said they could spare the majority of their angels, with the exception of the guardian angels, whose jobs were a little more demanding than the others. They each were responsible for the constant watch of their individual charges, and leaving could actually cost a human his life, so there were only a handful of guardians who were able to help.

  Victor then turned to Walter and Phinneas. “You have the assistance of all of the warrior angels.”

  “And of the defender angels,” Byron said. “At least most of them, that is. We can’t leave The Realm completely unprotected, so some will have to stay behind.”

  Walter and Phinneas looked at each other and smiled.

  “Thank you. Everyone,” Walter said. “The fact that we angels band together like this is what gives me the confidence that we can stop the Noxin demons, whatever their plan may be.”

  Phinneas nodded. “Unity is what separates good from evil, and I’d say we have that in abundance.”

  All of the elders voiced their agreement, and then Victor spoke up again.

  “Now, the old divide and conquer plan will be the most efficient,” he said. “So let’s decide who is going to cover which countries, and then we can be on our way.”

  As everyone started to talk about where they were going, Walter stood back as he thought about the possible outcomes. He didn’t want it to be that the Noxin demons were a global threat, but he also didn’t want them to solely be congregating in Melina’s town. Because if that were the case, they were in more trouble than they thought.

  Melina awoke the next morning with a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She thought a nice, hot shower would make it go away, but by the time she had gotten herself ready for the day and eaten breakfast, the feeling had only grown worse. The bookstore didn’t open for another half hour, so she went to grab a cappuccino from the coffee shop down the street and then came back to do a little work to help distract herself.

  She made her way into her office and flipped on the lights. Boxes of unopened books lined the front of her desk. They looked like a good place to start. She took a box cutter from one of her desk drawers and got to work.

  Once she had the boxes opened and unpacked, she gazed around at all of the books. They were all children’s books. Now she remembered why she had procrastinated on putting them away. The children’s section was located in the very back corner of her store, and her book cart was currently out of commission. Maybe she should just wait for Tessa to get there to help her.

  Wait. Where was Tessa? Melina glanced up at the clock on the wall and saw that it was almost eight o’clock. The store needed to open in a few minutes, and Tessa was usually there by now.

  She walked out of her office and, after turning on the rest of the lights in the store, made her way to the back door and glanced outside. Tessa’s car was nowhere in sight. Where could she be?

  She walked back to her office and picked up her phone to call Tessa. It rang a few times and then went to voice mail. As she ended the call, panic started to rise up within her. She reached for her keys, but then stopped herself.

  “No,” she said out loud to herself. “She’s fine, just like she was last night. No need to rush off to her place. I’m sure she’ll be here soon enough.”

  Melina dropped her keys back onto her desk and went to open the store. The minutes seemed to tick by slowly as she kept glancing over at the back door, hoping for Tessa to arrive. But each time she checked, she was disappointed. It was almost an hour later when she finally saw Tessa walk in from the back.

  “Tessa!” she said as she hurried over to her. “Is everything okay?”

  Tessa’s brow furrowed as she raised her hand up to her temple. “Um, I’m not sure. I think I blacked out or something.”

  “Blacked out?” Melina took her friend by the arm and led her into their office. “What do you mean?”

  Tessa laid her purse and coat down on her chair and turned back to Melina. “I stopped to get coffee this morning, and I remember leaving the place, but after that it’s a total blank. The next thing I know, I’m in my car, not sure of how I got there.”

  Melina’s forehead creased. She had blacked out once after a Noxin had tried to take her soul, but she had clearly seen and felt what he had been trying to do to her. Plus, the demon would’ve had to be in his demonic form to steal her soul, so Tessa would’ve seen that it was a demon, right?

  “You don’t remember seeing any Noxin demons, do you?” Melina asked.

  Tessa shook her head. “No, why? Do you think one of them has something to do with me blacking out?”

  Melina crossed one arm over her stomach and raised her other hand up to her chin. “No,” Melina said. “I mean, I did at first, but you said you didn’t see one so I don’t think so.”

  Tessa’s face relaxed a little, but Melina could see that she was still worried.

  “Why don’t you take it easy this morning,” Melina said. “Do you want to go up to my apartment to lay down for a bit?”

  “No, I’m fine,” Tessa said.

  Melina folded both arms in front of her and raised her eyebrows.

  “Really,” Tessa said. “There’s nothing wrong with me, other than that I’m confused.” She gave a small shrug. “Maybe I’ll remember something as the day goes on. Do you need help with anything?”

  “Um, yeah, actually I do. Carl won’t be in until noon, and I haven’t had time to fix our book cart yet, so would you mind helping me carry all of these books back to the children’s section?” Melina gestured to all of the books stacked up in front of her desk.

  “No, not at all,” Tessa said. “Let’s get to work.”

  The rest of the day seemed to drag on for Melina. Maybe it was because there weren’t enough customers to keep her busy, and she kept finding herself watching Tessa. She seemed to be all right, but Melina was still on edge about the whole blacking out incident.

  Closing time finally came, and after they had shut everything off, Melina followed Tessa to the back door. “Do you want me to come with you back to your place? You know, just in case.”

  “No, I’ll be fine,” Tessa said as she opened the door.

  “Are you sure,” Melina asked. “I could—”

  Tessa whirled around and looked back at Melina. “I don’t need your help.”

  Melina leaned back a bit, surprised by her friend’s curt comment.

  Tessa’s expression softened a little. “I
’m just… I’m pretty tired, so I’ll probably just go to bed when I get home.”

  “Okay,” Melina said reluctantly. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

  Tessa gave her a quick nod and left without another word.

  Melina’s eyebrows scrunched together as she watched Tessa drive away. Tessa had never been that snippy with her before, even when she’d had good reason to be. Sure, she could be blunt and to the point sometimes, but she was never rude.

  Without bothering to grab her coat, Melina quickly locked up and then ran over to her Jeep and climbed in. She wanted to make sure that Tessa got home safely.

  She pulled out onto the street and took off toward Tessa’s. About ten minutes later, Tessa’s condo came into view. Her bright red Mini Cooper was parked out front.

  Melina let out a small sigh of relief. “Good,” she said out loud to herself. “She made it home all right.”

  As she glanced over at her condo, she noticed that none of the lights were on inside. Maybe Tessa actually did go straight to bed when she got home. She was tempted to stay to watch the place for any peculiar activity, but she knew she was probably just being paranoid. After a couple of minutes had passed, she finally pulled away from the curb and drove back to her apartment.

  By the time she arrived back home, the sun had completely set, and it was dark outside. She parked her Jeep behind the building and hopped out. As she started to walk toward the back door, she saw something move over in the shadows on her left. She froze mid-step and turned in that direction, but the dim light above the back door wasn’t enough for her to see anything. Had she imagined it?

  She looked around for a few more seconds and was about to turn and finish making her way toward the door, when she saw something move again. It was a dark figure that blended in with the shadows. It moved slowly at first, but she could tell that it was coming in her direction. She swallowed hard and took a step back. Was it a Noxin demon? If so, then why couldn’t she see his glowing red eyes?

  As the figure moved closer and closer, Melina’s panic grew and her instincts took over. Her protective light shield came bursting out around her, illuminating the immediate area in a bright white light. Melina looked over in the direction of the figure, hoping to see who or what it was, but all she saw was a black mist-like matter hanging in the air.

  Melina sucked in a sharp breath. She had seen that mist before, and it wasn’t left behind by a Noxin demon. It was from Adelia.

  Chapter Eleven

  Melina stared at the black matter, unable to move. Adelia had been there, waiting for her. Her eyes flicked back and forth, scanning the area one last time. She didn’t see anything, but Adelia could come back at any moment. Not wanting to take that chance, Melina finally broke out of her paralyzed state and ran over to the back door of her store. Once inside, she hurried up to her apartment, taking the stairs two at a time, then locked the door behind her. Breathing heavily, she plopped down onto her couch and stared over at the wall as she tried to process the incident.

  She was sure it had been Adelia. It had to be. When Noxin demons teleported away, they left behind a smoky haze, not a dark mist. And the last time she had seen Adelia, the former elder had been surrounded by an inky black aura that consisted of the same mist-like matter she had just seen.

  Her body gave an involuntary shudder. The way Adelia looked in her Fallen form, all dark and ragged, was almost as scary as the Noxin demons in their demonic forms. She briefly shook her head to clear the image from her mind.

  What had Adelia wanted, though? Every other time Melina had encountered her, she had lunged at her and attacked her. She hadn’t done that this time, which was odd. Walter and Phinneas did say that the former elder still had some good in her, so maybe… No. Adelia had always wanted to kill her, and Melina didn’t think that would ever change.

  She stood from the couch and walked into the kitchen to make some tea, still thinking about why Adelia hadn’t attacked her. Then suddenly she had a terrifying realization. Adelia had been in her apartment before when she came to talk to her after she had first absorbed Walter’s powers. Adelia knew that she lived above her bookstore.

  Melina placed her hands on the countertop and took in a long, shaky breath then exhaled loudly. She thought she might be sick. Would Adelia tell Maura and the other Noxin demons where she lived? Had Maura been out there, too? Her eyes shut tight as she shook her head. She wasn’t safe anywhere anymore. She needed to get out of there.

  As she rushed around her apartment, gathering up a few things to throw in an overnight bag, she tried to think of where she could spend the night. Usually she would just head over to Tessa’s, but after how Tessa had acted earlier, she thought it might be best if she gave her some space. The next person she thought of was Lee. She had stayed at his place before, so she knew he wouldn’t mind, but she didn’t like to invite herself over. She sighed. There was a first time for everything.

  She thought about just teleporting over to his place, but if Adelia or Maura were still down there watching then she needed them to see her leave. She finished packing her bag then threw on her coat and grabbed her keys. When she approached her apartment door, she stopped, took in a deep breath, and exhaled loudly.

  “You can do this,” she said out loud to herself. “You just need to bring up your shield and then run to your Jeep.”

  She tried to push back the fear and anxiety that was steadily growing within her, but just as she was about to open the door, the fiery internal sensation flared up inside of her again, causing her to pause and close her eyes.

  Not now. Not now. She gritted her teeth together and let out a frustrated groan. Why does this keep happening?

  Her irritation was only making it worse. She needed to calm herself down, but it was difficult with her nerves being so on edge. She inhaled a long, deep breath and then let it out slowly. The intense burning that was coursing through her gradually started to fade away. She opened her eyes and headed down the stairs to the back door of her store.

  As she reached for the handle, she brought up her protective light shield. There was a slim chance that someone might see her, but right now she was willing to take that risk. Even a mere second of being unprotected could be her downfall. She yanked the door open and then slammed it shut behind her as she took off toward her Jeep. Luckily she hadn’t parked too far away from the building, so she reached her vehicle in just a few short seconds. She flung the door open, tossed in her bag, and scrambled inside. After she shut and locked the door, she surveyed the area with wide eyes. Nothing.

  At first, Melina felt relieved. Then she remembered the time when Maura had teleported into her Jeep and waited for her in stealth mode. She glanced around one more time. If Maura was out there stealthed somewhere, Melina would’ve been able to see her, but there was still no sign of anyone. That didn’t mean that Melina felt any less nervous. She started up her Jeep and sped off toward Lee’s.

  About fifteen minutes later, Melina pulled up in front of the Skyrise Apartments. She glanced at the front door and saw a tall man with a light brown buzz cut standing outside. It was Barry, the doorman. But as nice as Barry was, Melina wasn’t in the mood to talk to him right then. Not when her nerves were still a jumbled mess. She grabbed a hold of her bag and closed her eyes as she brought up an image of the hallway out in front of Lee’s door. A couple of seconds later, she was there.

  She stepped over to his apartment door and lightly knocked on it. A moment later she heard footsteps coming toward her, and then the door clicked open.

  “Melina,” Lee said as he opened the door. “This is a nice surprise. Barry didn’t tell me you were here.”

  “Oh, I just teleported up here.”

  His smile faded as he glanced down at the small duffle bag she had clutched to her side. “Going somewhere?”

  She bit down on her lip as she readjusted the bag’s strap on her shoulder.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, his brow creasing.


  She glanced down at the floor then slowly looked back up at him. “I need a place to stay for the night.”

  “Yeah,” he said as he took a step back and opened the door wider. “Of course you can stay here.”

  She stepped over the threshold as he took hold of her hand and led her into the living room. They both sat down on the couch together.

  “You’re scared,” he said, still holding her hand. “What’s going on?”

  She sat her bag down on the floor as both of her hands started to shake. Lee grabbed the other one in his hands and gave them a light squeeze.

  “I saw Adelia,” she said.

  His eyes widened. “Are you sure?”

  She nodded. “I mean, I’m pretty sure. I saw this figure out behind my bookstore. It started coming toward me and as a reflex my light shield came out and scared it off. But when it disappeared, it left behind what looked like a black mist. The last time I saw Adelia, she was surrounded by the same mist.” She closed her eyes as an involuntary shudder took over her body. “I’m not even safe in my own apartment anymore.”

  “Adelia knows that you live above your store?”

  “Yeah.” She explained how Adelia had come to her apartment to talk to her after she had first absorbed the angel powers from Walter. “What if she tells Maura and the other demons where I live?” Tears started to build up in her eyes as she looked over at Lee.

  He slowly shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  Melina pulled her hands back and wiped the tears from her eyes. “They know where you live, and if the demons have been following Tessa around then they probably know where she lives, too. None of us are safe.”

  Lee scooted closer to her on the couch and pulled her into him, wrapping his arms tightly around her. “Melina, you can’t let yourself live in constant fear of them. You can't let them have that kind of control over you.”

  “I know,” she said as she slowly nodded.

  “We’ll all do our best to keep you safe. And Henry’s always watching you, so I’m sure he knows what’s going on and is keeping a close eye on you.”