The trees creaked. Leaves brushed my face as I made my way past them. The shadows danced around me as the moon shone through the gap in the canopy. William would know what had happened by now. Would he still make it to our meeting?
‘Melissa,’ someone called from behind.
I stopped moving as the shadows merged together. I could see why humans were so easily scared. Fear was powerful.
‘It’s me,’ the voice said again.
The branch above swayed, revealing a stream of moonlight. It landed on Paul as he joined me. Letting my breath out, I smacked him on the arm. ‘You scared me!’
The chuckle that came from him wrapped around my body and chased the fear away. It had been a long day. I hoped the meeting with my fellow angels would help me to get clarity.
‘Where were you?’ I asked, moaning when a branch got caught in my hair.
Paul reached up and untangled me. His hand brushed my arm. ‘You’re shaking.’
He put a hand on my shoulder to stop me from moving deeper into the woods. The simple gesture broke me. Bringing my hands to my face, I let the tears that had been threatening all afternoon come. The sound of my sobs echoed through the forest.
Paul’s arms came around me. Leaning into him, I let him hold me. The light of his energy soaked into me, warming my skin down to the bone. It was exactly what I needed.
‘Melissa?’ The quietened shout came from further in the woods.
It was William. Paul stroked my back and let go. Taking my hand, he led me the rest of the way.
The trees opened up to reveal our clearing. Moonlight streamed down, illuminating my brothers and sisters.
William stood in the centre of the circle. He opened his arms. I rushed forward and wrapped myself around him. He squeezed me tight against his chest.
‘Michael is okay,’ he whispered so that I was the only one that heard.
My heart skipped faster. How did he know that I had grown to care about the Perfect? Pulling away, I smiled up at him, mouthing thank you.
‘Let’s clear our energy,’ he announced.
Moving into a full circle, we looked around at each other. We had grown so much in only a few days. Two of us had managed to get into the government, the rest would follow.
‘Melissa has successfully joined the team. I’ve been appointed leader as you know. It’s not going to be quite as easy for the rest of you. You need to get active. Get jobs within sectors that you will support when you’re able to come and work for me.’
The others nodded. It had been easy for William and myself. Although, we were also shoved in the deep end.
‘How do you keep yourself balanced?’ I asked him.
He chuckled as the others mumbled their agreement. It was hard to argue with our human nature.
‘When I’m struggling, I close my eyes and remember who I am. It’s not hard to be authentically Perfect. Feel with your intuition, instead of letting emotions run you. That’s a very important part of human growth. It doesn’t happen enough anymore.’
My mouth shot open as I yawned. I hadn’t realised how badly the day had taken its toll. The image of the guards on the ground, including Michael, popped into my head. I bit my tongue to stop myself from crying again.
‘Why did that happen today?’
William reached for his jacket button. He stopped when our gaze met. ‘This has been happening for years. You know that. Three guards died today. Many Avoidables are killed almost every day. Don’t forget that.’
He was right. I could no longer see what was happening on the other side of the river. There were two sides to the city war.
‘Now, let’s do this. You’ll feel a lot better when we have.’ He nodded at me.
We stripped our clothes from our bodies. The cold didn’t affect us. Joining hands, we closed our eyes and allowed our true selves to show.
I jerked forward as the skin on my shoulders parted. The wings on my back forced their way out. Rolling my shoulders, I moved the muscles of my wings, smiling when the soft breeze of their flap rushed over my naked skin.
‘Let’s take a minute to energise,’ William said.
His voice sounded like it came from far away. Calm descended on me. A warm feeling, which was very different to the one I experienced with Michael, came over us. Bright light pulsated behind my eyelids. The fear and urge to cry drained into the ground below my feet.
I could do it. Being a human was not easy. In fact, it was the hardest thing I had ever had to do. An angel’s job in comparison was enjoyable. That’s how it felt from my human perspective, anyway.
Michael’s face, before he was injured, popped into my mind again. I shuddered. His cheeky grin brought back that physical feeling. Something unrelated to anything I had ever felt when not in a human body.
‘Melissa, concentrate,’ William said.
The whole of my skin grew hot. I had forgotten that we were all linked. They could feel my emotions if they tuned in. Was my humanness making them uneasy?
A few moments of silence went by. A bolt of heat ran down my body just before the people on either side of me let go of my hands.
Opening my eyes, I started to smile. It instantly dropped from my face when I heard a gasp and turned to see who had made the noise.
‘What the hell is going on here?’ Jason exclaimed as a ray from the moon circled him in bright light.