Empower

by Ashley Stambaugh

  “Wow,” Dean said when she had finished. “I can only imagine how hard it must’ve been to see the people you love go through that. I’m sorry.”

  She wiped a few tears away from her eyes and nodded. “Yeah. It’s still hard. Lee has no love in his eyes when he looks at me, and Tessa doesn’t even remember me.” She paused for a moment then said, “I’ll do whatever I can to stop the demons and make things right again. I’ll never give up.”

  Dean reached over and gave her hand a quick squeeze. “I’m here to help. And as soon as we find some solid proof, hundreds of warrior angels will be here to help, too.”

  Melina nodded. When they had both finished their coffee and eaten some breakfast, she suggested they head out for the day.

  “Shouldn’t we wait until tonight?” Dean asked. “I thought the demons didn't attack unless it was dark out.”

  She gave him a sheepish grin. “I want to go and check on Lee, Tessa, and Gwen, and I was hoping you’d come with me.”

  “Of course,” he said. “I still need to take a quick shower, then we can go. Is that all right?”

  “Yeah,” she said.

  He turned around and walked off down the hallway and into the guest bathroom.

  Melina started to clean up the kitchen, and only a couple of minutes later there was a light knock on her apartment door. She instantly stopped. Either someone had managed to break into her store downstairs or it was just one of the elders who had teleported in. She began to tiptoe over to the door, hoping it was the latter.

  When she approached the door, she closed one eye and peered through the peephole. It was Helene. She took a step back and opened the door.

  “Helene,” she said.

  “Hi, Melina.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to talk about Adelia.”

  “Come on in,” she said and then gestured toward the kitchen table. “Please, have a seat.”

  “Thank you.” Helene stepped over the threshold and made her way to the table and sat down.

  Melina joined her. “What about Adelia are you wanting to talk about?”

  Helene took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eyes. “Helping her.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Melina sat up in her chair. “Helping her? But, she doesn’t want to be helped.”

  Helene shook her head. “She’s just saying those things to make you, and herself, think that she doesn’t want help.”

  “But you think she does.”

  “Yes,” Helene said. “Otherwise she wouldn’t keep coming to you.”

  Melina was confused. Adelia wasn’t coming to her for help. Was she? “No,” she said, shaking her head. “She’s just doing Maura’s bidding by threatening me and telling me to give up.”

  “Melina,” Helene said. “Think about everything she’s said to you. It hasn’t just been threats.” The elder raised her eyebrows as she gave her a pointed look.

  Melina leaned back as she replayed the encounters she’d had with Adelia in her mind. She had been surprised when Adelia had shown up in her apartment but didn’t attack her. And now that she thought about it, Adelia hadn’t made any threats that time, just asked her why she didn’t hate her. The second time Adelia had threatened her, but not until after she had asked her why she wanted to help people, and why she wanted to help her.

  “You see what I’m getting at now, don’t you?” Helene said.

  Melina looked up at her.

  “I have to apologize,” she said. “I was listening in to your thoughts. But you do see it, don’t you? I think they’re all cries for help.”

  Melina’s forehead wrinkled. “What do the other elders think?”

  “I haven’t said anything about it to them.”

  “Why not?” Melina asked.

  “Because I’m not sure they would see it the way I do.” She paused for a moment then said, “It’s not that they wouldn’t want to help her. I just think that they would say that focusing on the Noxin demons is more important right now. But I believe that helping her is as equally important, and once we’ve helped her, she may be able to help us.”

  Melina nodded. Adelia knew exactly what the demons were doing to the humans when all they had so far was a probable guess. “Is there something you think I can do?”

  “If you happen to encounter her again today while you’re out, try to bring her back to the light. Try to make her remember what she once was.”

  “Um, wouldn't that be more effective coming from one of you elders?” Melina asked.

  Helene smiled. “It’s one thing when your former comrades try to help you, but it’s quite another when someone who you’ve always viewed as an enemy sees the good in you and tries to help you.”

  Melina nodded at her wise words. She certainly wasn’t called a guiding angel for nothing. “Okay. I’ll try my best to make her remember.”

  “Thank you.” Helene stood from her chair and with a flash of white light she was gone.

  When Dean was finally ready, they both put on their coats and headed out to Melina’s Jeep.

  “Where to first?” Dean asked as he put on his seatbelt.

  “That’s a good question,” she said as she started the engine. “They’re all equally important to me, but Tessa seems to be the worst. I think we should go see her first. Well, try to see her, I guess.”

  Dean gave her a confused look.

  “We’ll check her condo, but she could be anywhere. The last time I saw her she was wandering around in the downtown area.”

  He gave her a nod. “All right. Let’s just hope that she’s home then.”

  Melina fastened her own seatbelt and then pulled out of the parking lot in the direction of Tessa’s condo. They had only gone a few blocks when suddenly a young boy who looked to be in his early teens darted out in front of her Jeep. She gasped and slammed her foot down hard on her brakes.

  The boy spun around and let out an angry scream as his fists came crashing down on the hood of her Jeep, causing both Melina and Dean to jump in their seats. “Watch where you’re going!” the boy yelled at Melina. He turned away and took off across the street, barely missing a truck coming from the opposite direction.

  Melina stared after the boy, still somewhat in shock that she had almost hit him.

  “His eyes,” Dean said.

  Melina turned to look at him. The color had drained from his face, and his eyes were wide with fear.

  “They were solid black,” he said, breathing heavily.

  “I know,” Melina said. “Do you not remember—”

  “No, I remember you telling me. I just… I wasn’t quite ready to actually see it, I guess.” He swallowed hard, then looked at her. “So Tessa, Lee, and Gwen… they all look like that, too?”

  Melina slowly nodded.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “I can’t even imagine how hard it must be to see them like that.”

  Melina nodded again as her eyes glossed over with tears. “It is,” she said. “When I first saw Maura a few days ago, there was no doubt in my mind that she was going to try to kill me. But she didn’t. She said that I had to endure some pain first. I guess that’s what she meant.”

  She gently wiped the tears away from her eyes when all of a sudden a car horn blasted out from behind her. Startled, she jumped in her seat and glanced in her rearview mirror. A small black car was waiting behind her. She waved her hand in the air to offer an apology to the driver, then released her foot from the brake and took off down the street.

  Only a few minutes had passed, though, before they saw more affected people along the sidewalk. There was a young couple fighting with each other. The man was screaming at the top of his lungs, and the woman was bawling into her hands. A little farther down, there were three teenage boys laughing at and pushing around another young boy who seemed to be so consumed by sadness that he wasn’t even trying to defend himself. And as far as Melina could tell, all of their eyes were solid bl
ack.

  As they drove farther into town, she saw even more people who were affected. She slowed down as she gazed around at all of them. The area swarmed with them. Some were yelling and fighting, some were moping around and crying, and others were running around like lunatics damaging and breaking everything in sight.

  “Holy cow,” she said.

  “It wasn’t this bad yesterday, was it?” Dean asked.

  “No,” she said, shaking her head. “The Noxin demons must’ve been pretty busy last night.”

  “Do you think that’s because you saw those two demons taking turns sucking out that man’s soul?”

  Melina gave him a questioning look.

  ”They probably think that you know what they’re doing now,” he said, “so they’re rushing around trying to complete their plan before you and the angels can stop them.”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “But that’s a very good possibility.” She narrowed her eyes as she started to look around. “I don’t see any demons anywhere, do you?”

  “Not any in their demonic forms,” Dean said. “But it’s hard to tell if there are any in their human forms.”

  “Other than the usual telltale signs, they would be calm and composed compared to these erratic humans who are being controlled by their emotions.”

  Dean nodded. “Yeah, I don’t think there are any demons here right now. Everyone I see seems to be out of control.”

  Melina shook her head. “This is crazy. If these people have already gotten this bad then I can only imagine how bad Tessa is.” She pushed her foot down hard on the accelerator as her Jeep revved forward. “I hope she’s home.”

  A few minutes later, Melina parked her Jeep in front of Tessa’s condo. She looked over and saw that her Mini Cooper was parked in the driveway.

  “Her car’s here,” Melina said to Dean. “Let’s just hope that she’s here, too.”

  “We’ll find out soon enough.” Dean reached for the door handle, but Melina stopped him.

  “Hey,” she said as she grabbed a hold of his arm.

  He turned back around and looked at her.

  “Thank you for deciding to come and help. Tessa, Lee, and Gwen have always been there to help me, but right now they can’t. Instead they need me to help them.” She paused as she wiped a budding tear away. “I thought I had lost all of my support. But now I know that I also have you for support. So thank you. You being here means more to me than you know.”

  Dean smiled at her. “It means a lot to me that you want me here.” He nodded toward Tessa’s. “Ready to go?”

  “Yeah.”

  They both climbed out of her Jeep and made their way up to Tessa’s front door. Melina knocked loudly, but no one answered. She waited a few seconds and then knocked again. Still no answer.

  “Maybe we should just teleport inside,” she said, turning to Dean.

  “Or…” He reached for the door handle and pushed the door open. “We could just let ourselves in.”

  Melina’s forehead wrinkled together. “How… how did you know it was open?”

  He shrugged. “I had a hunch.”

  She continued to stare at him as he stepped through the doorway. A couple of seconds later she followed him inside. “It's not like Tessa to leave her door unlocked.”

  “Tessa’s not herself right now,” Dean said.

  Melina nodded. He was definitely right there. As she walked through the house, she searched around for any sign of her friend. She thought about calling out to her, but since Tessa didn’t remember who she was, that would probably only scare her, so she decided against it.

  She continued to make her way through each of the rooms. Suddenly she heard a noise coming from upstairs. “Tessa.”

  She took off up the stairs with Dean following close behind. Once she reached the top, she turned to her left and headed straight for Tessa’s room. She peeked around the door frame and saw her friend slumped over on her bed with her head in her hands and her elbows resting on her knees. Tessa’s hair was a tangled, greasy mess, and she had on old gray sweatpants and a tattered pink sweatshirt. She looked like she hadn’t showered in days.

  “Tess,” Melina said in a soft voice.

  Tessa cocked her head to the side and peered at her with one eye, the other one still covered by her hands. “Who are you?” she said in an eerily calm tone.

  Melina’s brow furrowed. She had expected Tessa to be furious or at least somewhat scared that “strangers” were in her house, but she wasn’t. “Um, it’s me. Melina,” she said. “Your best friend.”

  “I don’t have any friends,” Tessa said as she lowered her hands into her lap and sighed.

  Melina gasped. Tessa’s face was pale and sunken in, and the skin around her eyes was almost as black as her eyes themselves.

  “Tessa, are you all right?” Melina asked as she took a step toward her.

  Tessa nodded as she lowered her head down to her pillow and closed her eyes. “I’m just so tired. So very, very tired…” Her voice trailed off, and within a few short seconds she appeared to be asleep.

  Melina continued to stare at her friend for a moment longer and then looked back at Dean. “She’s asleep.”

  “I guess that’s a good thing, right?” Dean said. “I mean, we don’t have to worry now that she’s out on the streets somewhere, possibly in danger.”

  “You’re right,” Melina said as her eyes began to fill with tears. “She just… she doesn’t look good at all.”

  Dean placed his hand on her shoulder and spoke in a gentle tone. “I know this is hard, but we can’t help her until we know exactly what the demons have done to her.”

  “I know,” she said as she wiped her eyes with the palm of her hand. “Let’s go check on Lee.”

  She walked out of the room and made her way down the stairs and out the front door. About halfway to her Jeep, she glanced over her shoulder to make sure Dean was following her, and that’s when she saw him. A man dressed in all black was walking toward the back of Tessa’s place.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Melina stopped and turned around to get a better view. The man wasn’t just wearing all black. He was also surrounded by a black aura. Was he a fallen angel? She narrowed her eyes and took a few steps closer. Adelia’s aura was sort of murky looking and surrounded her more like a haze. This man’s was different. It was a soft yet brilliant black that shone out all around him.

  Just then Dean stepped up next to her. “Do you see him, too?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” Dean said. “But what is he? An angel or a demon?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  She continued to watch the man as he walked farther and farther away. When he reached the back of Tessa’s house, he stopped and gazed up at one of the second-floor windows. A few seconds later he looked back in front of him and then made his way over to the alley behind Tessa’s place and walked away.

  “Huh,” Dean said. “I wonder what he wanted?”

  She shook her head again. “It’s hard to say. Come on. Let’s get to Lee’s.”

  Dean nodded, then they both turned around and headed back to her Jeep. As Melina drove off she took one more glance at the spot where the mysterious man had been standing. She would have to remember to ask Walter about him.

  As they drove along they saw more and more people with haunting black eyes out fighting with each other or running around making a mess, just like they did on the way to Tessa’s. But as they grew closer to the downtown area, the amount of affected people increased substantially. There were people everywhere causing all sorts of mayhem. Several businesses had their signs knocked down or their front windows smashed in, and some of the vehicles had their windows broken.

  Melina’s mouth hung open as she continued to drive through the madness. “This is absolute chaos,” she said.

  Dean nodded. “We’ve got to get Victor and his warriors down here.” He turned to look at her. “And we’ve got to get your confidence bu
ilt up.”

  She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and then returned her focus back to the road. “Let’s not jump the gun with Victor.”

  “Really?” Dean asked.

  Melina looked back over at him and saw that he had an eyebrow cocked at her. “What?”

  “Come on, Melina,” he said. “I understand Victor needing complete proof, but not you. Don’t you think our theory about what the demons are doing makes sense?”

  Yes. She did think that it all made sense. But it also scared her.

  “Yeah, it makes sense,” she said. “But I don’t want to worry about it until I have to.”

  “It’s better to be prepared and have that not be the case than be caught off guard.”

  “Yeah, I know,” she said. “I’m just a little overwhelmed right now.”

  “I know,” he said. “That’s why we need to work on building up your confidence. And mine.”

  Melina gave him a curious look.

  He shrugged. “I know I don’t have the responsibility that you do resting on my shoulders, but I feel inadequate and overwhelmed with my powers, too. That’s why I just wanted to give up instead of try. But not anymore.”

  She gave him an appreciative look. “Thank you.”

  He gave her a small nod. “We can do this. Together.”

  She nodded in agreement and turned her focus back to the road. A few minutes later the Skyrise Apartments came into view. As she pulled into the parking lot she noticed there wasn’t a doorman standing by the front entrance.

  Hmm, that’s strange, she thought.

  She parked her Jeep, then she and Dean both stepped out and made their way up to the front door.