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Melina looked up and saw that, even though he appeared to be in a significant amount of pain, he was hobbling his way toward her again. Her light shield was fading, and she didn’t have the strength to keep it up. Before she had time to think of what she was going to do next, the demon was on her. And to her surprise, he didn’t wait for her shield to completely go away before he grabbed her by the arm.

They both shouted out at the same time as both of their arms began to burn. Melina tried to yank her arm free, but the demon had a firm grasp on it. Her shield was gone now, and the burning sensation was becoming more intense. Just as she thought she could bear no more, the demon released her arm as he flung her across the room.

The pain in her arm was joined by pain in her entire body as she slammed into one of the end tables. The table and lamp went crashing down, adding more glass to the floor. Melina landed on top of the mess, and as she tried to push herself back up, she cut her right hand on a large shard of glass. The blood started to seep out quickly, so she grabbed for her scarf to tie around the wound. The room was already trashed. She didn’t need there to be blood everywhere as well.

She wrapped the scarf around her hand and secured it the best she could when she saw the other two demons appear in the room. “Oh no.”

All three of the demons darted at her and instantly snatched her up. The two regular Noxin had her arms, and the leader had her feet. She tried to twist her way free from their burning embraces, but her squirming immediately stopped when she heard the shattering sound of a breaking window. Her eyes grew huge at the sight of the city below, and she let out an ear-piercing scream.

Chapter Nineteen

They can fly! Why didn’t Walter mention that? And where are they taking me?

Melina’s thoughts were frantic as she tried to think of a way out of her predicament. Tears started to trickle down her face as an overwhelming amount of fear erupted inside of her. What were they going to do with her? Was her life about to come to an end? She could feel herself start to panic. It wasn’t her time yet. She had to get her shield to work.

The cold, gusting wind and the burning sensation from the demons’ tight grips on her arms and ankles were difficult to ignore, but she knew that was her only option, especially if Henry didn’t show up again. Melina quickly shut her eyes and tried to concentrate on her shield. Seconds later, a bright white light burst out all around her, causing the demons to scream out in protest and release their iron-grip hold. They instantly fled from her, raising their arms to shelter their eyes as they went.

Melina was miraculously still suspended in the air, but she soon lost her focus. The light around her vanished, causing her to plummet down toward the ground. She let out a terrified scream as she closed her eyes and braced herself for the incoming impact. She thought for sure that was it, that she was falling to her death, when suddenly something swooped down from the sky and caught her.

At first she thought one of the demons had come back for her, but then she heard a loud yet gentle whooshing sound that made her think otherwise. It sounded like wings. None of the demons had wings. So what was it?

As she slowly opened her eyes, she was shocked to see that the
what
that had a hold of her was a
who
. It was a young man who couldn’t have been much older than she was, but then he wasn’t exactly a man. As she glanced behind him, she saw that he was flying with a massive pair of pearl-white wings. He was an angel.

She gazed up at him in awe as he landed them back down on the ground. He walked over to one of the nearby trees and gently sat Melina down underneath it. He smiled at her and seemed about to say something when a loud shriek made Melina jump. She peered around the angel and immediately saw what had made the shrill noise. “The demons,” she said out loud, her eyes full of fear again. They looked meaner and angrier than before and were heading straight for them.

The angel turned toward the demons and then raised his arms above his head as his enormous wings spread out around him. Melina saw him flex, and not even a second later, he was surrounded by a pulsing, bright yellow light. She saw the instant fear in the demons’ eyes as all three of them collided with it. They cried out in agony as they ricocheted off, like the light was some kind of pain-inducing shield. All three of the demons landed hard on the ground as the angel lowered his arms and wings and immediately took off after them.

He ran with unnatural speed, a look of determination in his eyes. Melina assumed that once the demons saw him coming they would flee away in terror, but to her surprise all three of them raised up from the ground and waited for the angel. Their eyes deepened to a dark, fiery-red as they began to snarl and hiss. As the angel approached, the demons pounced on him, tackling him to the ground.

Melina screamed, fearing that the demons were going to tear him to pieces. They were still snarling and hissing as they furiously thrashed about, slashing at the angel with their sharp claws. What was she to do? She felt so helpless. Tears started to form in her eyes again as panic and fear overwhelmed her. If only she knew how to properly use her powers.

She shook her head, ashamed at herself, and was about to bury her face in her hands, when she heard one of the demons shriek. Her head jerked back up just in time to see it go flying backward and slam into the ground. Not a second later, a bright yellow flash that looked like a lightning bolt shot up from where the angel was and hit the remaining two demons square in their chests, causing them to shriek and fly back as well. Melina watched in awe as the angel jumped up from the ground and started to shoot at the demons with bright yellow streaks of light from his hands.

The demons screeched and yelped in pain as they all fled from the angel. Melina watched as he chased after them until eventually she could no longer see him. She waited anxiously, hoping for him to return. Several seconds later she saw him running back to her, and she sighed in relief. He slowed his pace as he approached her and gave her a comforting smile.

She slowly stood up from the ground. “Are you…”

He nodded. “My name’s Henry. I’m your guardian angel.”

Melina continued to stare at him. Although she knew he wouldn’t harm her, she couldn’t help but notice how intimidating he looked. He towered over her, standing well above six feet. His shoulders were broad and menacing, and his arms and chest rippled with bulky muscles. She could definitely see why he'd been chosen to be a guardian. But his authoritative demeanor was softened by his boyish features. He had short, light brown, wavy hair, and his big, brown eyes only accentuated his smooth and radiant face. He looked so young to be an angel.

After studying him for several seconds, Melina finally found her voice. “So you’re my guardian angel?”

Henry nodded again.

“Then how come I’ve never seen you before?”

“You weren’t able to see me before. And, you’ve never been in danger like that before.” He took a step forward and gestured to her coat as well as the scarf around her hand. “Why don’t you slip those off so I can examine your wounds from the demons.”

“Oh I’ll be fine, really,” Melina said as she waved him off.

“Please,” Henry insisted.

Melina hesitated but then slowly unwrapped her hand and slid off her coat. She wadded up the bloody scarf and shoved it into her coat pocket.

“May I?” he asked as he reached his hand out toward her cut.

Melina nodded. Even though she had no idea what he was going to do to her, she knew she trusted him. She stepped forward a bit and extended her hand out to meet his. He hovered his hand above her wound, and a few seconds later, she felt a sudden warmth on her palm, like the sun was beaming down right on that spot. The pain slowly eased to a dull throb, then eventually to a slight ache. When he removed his hand about a minute later, there was no pain at all.

She glanced down at her hand and saw that the gash was gone. He had healed her. Her eyes raised back up to meet his, a look of fascination on her face. “You can heal?”

Henry nodded. “Sometimes.”

“Sometimes?”

“It’s complicated.” He reached for her arms and gently pushed her sleeves up. After he finished healing the burn marks on her arms and wrist, he took care of the one on her neck and then her ankles.

Melina stared at him, her fascination turning into confusion. Then, after contemplating his answer, she finally spoke. “Are you being vague with me for a reason?”

Henry smiled at her. “I’m sorry. I’m not used to this. Normally my charges can’t see me unless they’re in extreme danger. And those who have seen me because of the gravity of their situations, well, they were under so much traumatic stress and in so much shock that they never quite comprehended what I was. You’re the first one I’ve ever really talked to.”

“So I can see you because of my angel powers?” she asked while slipping her coat back on.

“Yes,” he replied.

“But, I was able to see Walter before I had my powers.”

“Guiding angels are different,” Henry said. “Because of the nature of their work, they can change into a human form, thus allowing all other humans to see them. The rest of us angels can only be seen by those who are meant to see us.”

“So the battle you just had with the demons went unseen by every other human?” Melina asked.

He nodded. “The demons were moving too fast for normal human beings to see them, and you were the only human who could see me. But as I was saying, because of your new powers you can see all angels now.”

“There are several different types?”

Henry chuckled. “Oh yes. The most well-known to humans are the angels like me, guardian angels, and angels of inspiration, whom you refer to as muses. Then there are the guiding angels, angels of life, angels of death, and the list goes on and on. We all have our own unique abilities, but for now let me tell you a little about myself. I have a feeling we’re going to be seeing a lot more of each other, and it will help for you to understand me.

“As your guardian angel I am, as you know, your protector. I’ve been with you your whole life. But, like I said earlier, you’ve never been able to see me before. Even if you didn’t have your angel powers, though, you could still see me right now because of the danger you were in.”

Melina looked down at the ground and wrapped her arms protectively around herself. “Yes, those demons are relentless. Did you know they could fly?”

Henry’s brow creased in confusion. “No. They’ve never been able to before. It certainly makes them even more dangerous now.”

She sighed. “Even though you’re here now they’re not going to give up, are they?”

He shook his head. “No, I’m afraid not.”

She rubbed her arms and then looked back up at Henry. “What made you change your mind and decide to help me?”

He gave her a curious look. “What do you mean?”

“I know what Phinneas told you, about how you weren’t supposed to help me.”

“Ah yes,” he said as he nodded. “That.”

“So, what changed your mind?” Melina gazed at him expectantly.

“You’ve almost died twice now. It’s my job to ensure that you don’t do that before it’s your time.” A soft sigh escaped his lips. “I’ve never disregarded what an elder has ordered me to do before, but that order got in the way of me doing my job, and I can’t follow an order like that.” He gave her a small smile.

Melina returned his smile, but she was still confused. “Walter told you that my life was in danger, but you ignored him and refused to come to my aid. I had to almost die, twice, for you to decide to help me?”

Henry hung his head. “I know. I should’ve listened to Walter, but that’s the first time I’ve ever been told to ignore a command from an elder. I didn’t know what to believe, so yes, I needed some proof first.”

“I see.”

“Melina, you have to understand that disobeying an elder is not something we normally do. Those who have done it have gotten into some major trouble.”

His last word suddenly made Melina recall what the demon had said. “I think you’re already in trouble.” She gave him a worried look.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the demon who attacked me said that I shouldn’t have involved you, and that now you were in a lot of trouble.”

Henry leaned back against the tree and crossed his arms in front of him. “Interesting.”

Melina looked confused. “Interesting? You’re not worried or scared?”

An amused smile played across his face. “Those demons don’t scare me. And yes, I think it’s interesting that a demon is saying I’m in trouble. I’d like to know what he’s talking about.”

“I’m not following.”

He leaned back up from the tree and relaxed his arms at his sides. “When I said that I’d be in trouble for disobeying an elder, I meant that I’d be in trouble with my own elders. No matter which elder gave me the order, if I disregard it, it’s my own elders who reprimand me. My elders don’t talk to demons. In fact, the only reason they would even go near one was to fight it. So how would the demons know that I was in trouble?”

“Well,” said Melina. “Phinneas was the one who gave you the order, and if the demons told him that you ignored him and came to my aid, then he probably told them that you were in a lot of trouble.”

Henry shook his head. “It’s hard to ignore what you and Walter are saying about Phinneas, but I can’t believe that an elder would be working with demons. It’s simply unheard of.”

Melina looked up at the tree, swaying in the wind, and then back down to Henry. “What would happen to Phinneas if the allegations were found to be true?”

Henry sighed. “An angel working with demons is not something that’s ever happened, but there have been other angels who have lost their way before. And based on what happened to those angels, he would become a Fallen.”

“A Fallen? You mean a fallen angel?”

“Yes. He would be stripped of his wings and essentially become a demon.”

“Wow, that’s…” Melina’s voice trailed off as she was at a loss for words.