Empower

by Ashley Stambaugh

  She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Lee’s words comforted her. And even though she hadn’t seen Henry in a while, since she did a pretty good job of protecting herself now, she knew that Lee was right about him and that her guardian angel was always watching her. If an incident ever got out of her control, he would be there in an instant to save her. That is, unless he wasn’t meant to save her.

  She shuddered at the thought. She had never liked to think about when her time to go might be, but with the Noxin demons acting the way that they were and Maura and Adelia on the loose, it was a very real possibility. She buried her face in Lee’s shoulder as she hugged him a little tighter.

  It was still dark in the room when Melina was awakened by the faint melody of guitar music. She glanced over at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was one thirty in the morning. Lee was no longer in bed, so he was either up listening to music or playing his guitar. She hoped it was the latter. He had never played his guitar in front of her before. Intrigued, she climbed out of bed and tiptoed her way toward the living room. As she peeked around the doorway, she saw Lee sitting on a barstool in front of one of the large windows, gazing out at the stars while strumming on his guitar.

  She stood in awe as she watched him continue to play. He was really good. She closed her eyes as she started to hum along. The gentle music was very calming to her, and she could’ve listened to him play for hours. She started to gently sway back and forth, when the melody suddenly changed to a different song, and she heard Lee start to sing. As her eyes slowly opened, she saw that Lee had turned to face her. And as she started to listen to the lyrics, she realized it was a song about her.

  Tears began to form in her eyes as she gave him a small grin. He smiled back, and as he continued to sing, she walked into the room and took a seat on the couch. After a few more verses, he stopped singing and gave his guitar one final strum. Melina gazed over at him.

  He gave her a sheepish grin and then shrugged. “So what did you think?”

  Melina opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She didn’t know what to say.

  Lee blushed as he let out a nervous laugh. “Was it that bad?”

  “No, no,” she said, finally finding her voice. “I thought it was wonderful.” She paused for a moment then said, “You’re really good.”

  He shrugged again and shook his head.

  “No really, you are. You play and sing beautifully.”

  His cheeks turned pink again.

  She stood up from the couch and made her way over to him. “You shouldn't be embarrassed. You’re very talented. I just wish I had heard you play before now.”

  “When you heard me play for the first time I wanted it to be the song I wrote for you,” he said. “I just finished it a couple of days ago.”

  A wide grin spread across her lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I told you I’m the lucky one.”

  She leaned in and gave him a light kiss on the lips. He reached up with his right hand and slid it across her cheek and then cupped the back of her head. She curled her fingers in his hair as their kiss intensified. All of her fears and worries seemed to fade into the background when she was with Lee. She wished it could always be that way.

  Chapter Twelve

  The next morning Melina left Lee’s early, not only so she could get back to her apartment to get ready before her store opened, but also because Lee had a busy day at work and had to get an early start, too. He had insisted on going with her to her store to make sure everything was okay, but her persistent fear that her supernatural life was bothersome to her friends made her convince him that she would be all right by herself. Plus, what Lee had said last night was true. She couldn’t live in constant fear of Adelia, Maura, and the Noxin demons.

  As she parked her Jeep behind her bookstore, she gazed around the area, looking for anything suspicious. It was still pretty dark out since the sun wasn’t quite up yet, so there were plenty of places for someone to hide, which made her uneasy. Why couldn’t she sense when Noxin demons were around like Walter and the other angels, and even other Noxin demons could? She possessed both of their powers, and it sure would come in handy right about now.

  I’ll have to make sure to ask Walter about that the next time I see him, she thought.

  She couldn’t sit in her Jeep forever, and the sooner she got it over with the better. A heavy breath escaped her as she threw her bag over her shoulder and opened the door. She slowly climbed out and closed the door as quietly as she could. Still not seeing anything, she rushed over to the back entrance of the building and hurried inside.

  She shut the door behind her and stood perfectly still, waiting to see if someone was going to jump out and attack her. After several seconds passed with nothing happening, she crept up the stairs and carefully entered her apartment. She set her bag down on the floor and hung her coat up and then searched the place from room to room. There wasn’t anyone there but her. Her body relaxed as she let out a sigh of relief and then went into the bathroom to get ready.

  About an hour later, she headed downstairs with a mug of hot chocolate in hand. There was still some time before the bookstore needed to be opened, so instead of going into the front room, she lingered by the back door and looked out the window. A gentle snow had just started to fall, giving everything a light dusting of white. It was peaceful to watch and helped to ease some of her paranoia and anxiety. She continued to gaze at the small flakes spiraling down from the sky when suddenly a bright red object entered her view. Tessa had just pulled up in her cherry red Mini Cooper.

  Melina took a sip of her drink, turned around, and walked into the front room. She flipped on all of the lights and then headed into their shared office and sat down at her desk. After the way Tessa had acted last night, she didn’t want her to think that she was waiting for her or going to bombard her with questions. She turned her computer on just as she heard the back door open and close, followed by footsteps coming down the hall.

  Melina glanced up as her friend came into the room. Tessa walked over to her desk and laid down all of her things without saying a word.

  “Good morning,” Melina said.

  “Morning,” Tessa mumbled.

  “How was your night?” Melina asked.

  Tessa shrugged, her back still turned to Melina. “Not bad, I guess.”

  Melina’s eyes narrowed. She hoped that whatever was bothering Tessa last night wouldn’t be an issue today, but her friend was obviously still upset. She opened her mouth to say something but then thought against it. Maybe Tessa just needed some space right now.

  Tessa briefly turned around and said, “I’m going to go open the front door and then get to work on stuff out on the floor.”

  “Okay,” Melina said as she watched her friend walk out of their office. She put her elbow up on her desk and rested her chin in her hand. What was going on with her?

  For most of the morning, Melina stayed in her office paying bills, going through their inventory log, and busying herself with other tasks on the computer. Gwen and Carl were also there today, so she wasn’t needed much out on the floor. She figured Tessa would come to her when she was ready. But when lunchtime arrived and Tessa still hadn’t come around, she decided it was time to go and talk to her. She stood up from her chair, and as she walked out of the door, she met Gwen.

  “Hey,” Gwen said. “You must be pretty busy to be stuck in your office all morning.”

  Melina shrugged and gave her a slight grin. “I guess. How was the weekend visiting your family?”

  “Wonderful,” beamed Gwen. “It was so good to see my parents, my sisters, and their families.” Her face slackened as a bit of sadness filled her eyes. “I just wish it could’ve lasted longer. I miss them all so much.”

  Melina reached out and gently touched Gwen’s arm. “I know how you feel. I wish I could see my extended family more, too.”

  Gwen nodded.

  “Have you talked to Tessa much this mo
rning?” Melina asked.

  “Yeah, here and there between customers,” Gwen said. “Why?”

  “Has she said anything about what’s bothering her?”

  Gwen’s forehead scrunched together as she shook her head. “Is there something wrong with her?”

  “She was acting a little strange last night and this morning,” Melina said. “But I’ll just go and talk to her. Maybe see if she wants to get a bite to eat for lunch. Do you want anything?”

  “No thank you,” Gwen said. “I brought mine today.”

  “Okay,” she said and then went out onto the floor to find Tessa.

  Melina walked through a few of the aisles of books and found Tessa near the back helping Carl put up a new shelf. She was talking and laughing with him, but when she saw Melina approach, her smile disappeared and she turned away from her.

  She seems to be acting just fine with Gwen and Carl. Is she only being short with me? Melina thought to herself. Did I do something to make her mad?

  She didn’t like to listen in on the thoughts of her friends, but now she was curious to know what was going on with Tessa. She briefly closed her eyes, and as she took down her mental block, her mind instantly filled with the internal chatter of everyone in the store. She focused in on Tessa but didn’t hear anything.

  “Hey, Tess,” she said in a light tone. “Do you want to go get some lunch?”

  Tessa shook her head. “I’m good.”

  Melina sighed. “All right. Um, Carl, do you want me to get you anything?”

  “No thanks,” Carl said. “I’m going to meet my girlfriend in about an hour.”

  “Okay,” Melina said. She was about to walk away when Tessa’s voice popped into her mind.

  Ugh… It seems like everybody has someone except me.

  “Excuse me,” Tessa said. She dropped her screwdriver on the floor and walked off.

  Melina turned and followed Tessa with her gaze. Was she upset about not having a boyfriend? If that was the case, then why did it seem like she was only mad at her? There had to be more to it than that. But what?

  After telling Carl and Gwen that she was going out for lunch, Melina gathered her coat and purse and walked a few blocks down to the local coffee shop. Besides coffee, they also served some very tasty deli-style sandwiches. She thought both sounded good on this cold winter day.

  As she walked through the front door, the thoughts of everyone inside flooded her mind. She was about to block them out like she normally did, but this time something told her not to. Instead of getting her lunch to go, she decided to stay, so she grabbed a newspaper from the stand by the door and made her way up to the front to order. She waited in line for a couple of minutes then was greeted by a plump, red-haired woman.

  “What do you want?” she asked.

  Melina blinked a few times, a bit taken aback by the woman’s tone. This woman had waited on her just yesterday morning, and she had been fine then. “Um, I need the turkey on rye meal with a small cappuccino, please.”

  The woman told Melina how much she owed and then yelled over her shoulder, “Turkey on rye!” She turned back to Melina and just stared at her.

  Melina paid and then took her number slip and stepped over to the side. What is her deal? She tuned out all the other thoughts and focused on the woman. It took a few seconds, but she was finally able to pick out her voice.

  I hate this job. Nobody appreciates me. These people come in here and place their orders like they’re talking to a machine. They don’t even say thank you.

  The woman frowned and then turned to take the order that had just come up. “Turkey on rye!” she called out.

  Melina walked up and took the tray from the woman. “Thank you,” she said and gave the woman a genuine smile.

  The redhead looked at her as if she was surprised then turned away.

  Melina lingered a couple of seconds then walked off to take a seat at a table. As she unwrapped her sandwich, she glanced back up at the woman behind the counter. She still wasn’t smiling and was as rude to the man ordering now as she was to her. Well, Melina had tried to brighten her mood. Maybe she was just having a bad day.

  She unfolded the newspaper then took a bite of her sandwich. As she pretended to read, she tried to focus on all of the voices buzzing around in her head. None of them stood out to her at first, then suddenly a man’s loud voice boomed above all the others. It was as if he was yelling his thoughts. Curious, she looked up from her paper and surveyed the room. After a few seconds, she spotted a dark-haired, middle-aged man sitting in the back corner. He was reading the newspaper, an angry scowl on his flushed face. That had to be him. She tuned everyone else out and focused solely on the man.

  This is so unfair! Why does everyone else always seem to have the luck? Why can’t I ever get what I want? Ugh! And he didn’t even deserve it. What a cheat!

  Melina looked down at her paper and flipped it back to the front page to see what was making the man so upset. All she saw was an article about a young man who was opening a new store downtown. Why did that bother the man so much?

  She took another bite of her sandwich, trying to figure the man out, when she heard the woman from behind the counter start to yell.

  “That’s it!” she cried. “I’ve had it with all of you rude and snobby people.” She slammed the cash register shut and then ripped her nametag off of her shirt and threw it on the floor. “I quit!”

  Right at that moment, Melina saw the woman’s eyes turn to solid black. But then, just as quickly as they had turned, her eyes were back to normal. Melina blinked a few times in confusion. Had she really just seen that? She tried to refocus her attention, but the woman stormed out from behind the counter and rushed out of the shop, the front door banging loudly behind her as she left.

  Her eyes wide, Melina looked around the room at all of the people. Everyone was stunned into silence.

  What was all that about?

  She stared at the front door a few seconds longer then returned her gaze to the man sitting in the back corner. It seemed like Tessa wasn’t the only one displaying strange behavior. Something was definitely going on. She quickly finished her lunch and headed back to the bookstore.

  When Melina arrived back at the store, she searched all over for Tessa but couldn’t find her anywhere. Gwen was out on the floor organizing books, so she went to see if she knew where she was.

  “Do you know where Tessa is?” she asked.

  A confused look came over Gwen’s face. “She said she was going home for the day. Didn’t she tell you?”

  “No,” Melina said as she put her hands on her hips. “She didn’t. But thanks for letting me know.” She turned around and walked off into the office. So much for trying to find out more about what was bothering her friend.

  Later that evening after she had finally closed down the store, Melina headed up to her apartment to make some dinner. She was in the mood for something simple, so she took a pot out from one of the cabinets and got started on making spaghetti. Once she had the noodles boiling, she went and grabbed her phone from her purse. She hadn’t had time to check her e-mail today, so now seemed like the perfect time.

  As she scrolled through her messages, she noticed one from an e-mail address she didn’t recognize. The subject line said, “Dean.” Her brow furrowed as she clicked on the e-mail and started to read.

  “Melina, please don’t try to contact Dean anymore. He doesn’t want to talk to you. Lynn.”

  Melina stared at her phone screen. Lynn had intercepted her e-mail to Dean, too, and now she was trying to tell her that he didn’t want to talk to her? That was absurd. Why wouldn’t Dean want to talk to her? She laid her phone down on the counter and clenched her jaw. If she couldn’t get through to Dean by phone or e-mail then she would just have to go to him in person. She was going to have to make a trip to Canada tomorrow.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The next morning, Melina packed a few extra things in her purse, including her pas
sport. She didn’t think she would need it since she was going to attempt to teleport to Dean’s, but she would rather be on the safe side in case she wasn’t able to do it. The farthest she had ever teleported was to the next town over, so she had no idea how teleporting to an entirely different country would go. But she had to try. With everything going on with the Noxin demons and now with Tessa, she didn’t have the time to drive all the way to Canada and back or make flight preparations. She needed to get there and back in as little time as possible.

  When she was finished gathering all of her things, she made her way downstairs to get the store ready for opening. A few minutes later, Gwen arrived. Gwen usually didn’t come in until noon anymore, but Melina had called her last night to see if she could run the store in her absence since she didn’t know if Tessa would be coming in or not.

  “Good morning,” Gwen said.

  “Good morning,” Melina replied with a smile.

  “So,” Gwen said as she hung up her coat and purse. “You’re really going to try to teleport all the way to Canada?”

  Melina nodded. “Yep.”

  Gwen’s forehead wrinkled in concern. “Do you think it’s necessary?” she asked. “I mean, is it that important that you talk to Dean right now? Can’t you just keep trying to call or e-mail him?”

  Melina shook her head. “It’s a complicated matter.”

  “Is there anything else I can do to help?” Gwen asked.

  “Actually, there is,” Melina said. “I don’t know if Tessa’s going to show up today or not, but if she does, will you keep an eye on her? You know, just to see if she’s acting strange or anything?”

  “Of course,” Gwen said, a worried expression on her face. “Is there something going on with her that I should know about?”

  Melina opened her mouth to say something, but just at that moment she heard the back door open. She turned around and saw Tessa walking in.