Torn Read online

  Melina groaned. "I knew you were going to say that.” She slumped back down onto the couch next to Lee. "Then how did one of the demons find me again? Adelia's gone, and so are the three demons who knew I had angel powers."

  "I don't know," Walter said as he shook his head. "But it's not just bad news for you."

  Melina's brow furrowed as she glanced back up at Walter. "What do you mean?"

  "Remember how I said that I also had something to talk to you about?"

  She nodded.

  "Well, I wanted to tell you that we've found another human like you, and he'll soon be here in the city."

  "You've already found someone else like me?" She stared at Walter in astonishment.

  "We were also a little shocked at how quickly it happened, but Adelia's gone," he said. "Humans like you will probably become a lot more common now that she and the Noxin demons won't be trying to kill them shortly after they're discovered."

  "Wow," she said, raising her eyebrows. "And he's coming here?"

  "Yes," Walter said. "He's from Canada, but we've convinced him to come for a while so he can meet you. The other elders and I thought it might help to make him more comfortable with the powers if you shared your experiences. But now that you've seen a Noxin demon in the area, I'm not sure it's a good idea for him to travel here anymore."

  "But I want to meet him. And the demons may not know he has guiding angel powers now, but I'm sure he'll come across them some day. Then wouldn't it be nice for him to have already had some experience with them?"

  "That's true," said Walter. "It probably would be beneficial for him to learn how to deal with Noxin demons."

  "So what's his name?" asked Melina.

  "His name’s Dean, and he's twenty-seven, so not too much older than you," said Walter.

  "When will he be here?" she asked eagerly.

  "Wait a second, wait a second," Lee interjected. "Melina, we need to work on figuring out why your pain has worsened."

  She turned to Lee and gave him a soft smile, appreciating his concern. "I know, but meeting someone else who's like me is a pretty big deal. Besides, a few months down the road he might have the same issue with his powers that I'm having right now. It would be best to figure it out together, right?" She looked up at Walter and waited for a response.

  He looked at her as if he were unsure of what to say.

  "Right?" Melina repeated.

  Walter cleared his throat. "Dean didn't experience as much pain as you did while trying to gain control of his powers. And now that he has full control of them, he's not experiencing any pain at all."

  Melina stared at him for a few seconds and then asked, "Not even a little?"

  Walter shook his head.

  She could feel a tingling sensation start to rise up in her chest, so she quickly looked away from him as she drew her arms in close to her body.

  Lee reached over and placed his hand atop Melina's. "Remember, Phinneas said the powers developed faster and stronger in you since both of your parents also had the ability. That's probably why it's worse for you. You're extra special." He gave Melina a small smile, an obvious attempt to lighten her mood, but she still remained troubled.

  She shook her head as she stared down at the floor. "It still doesn't make sense. I could see where it might take longer for my pain to go away than it did for Dean, but that's not the case.”

  Her eyes rose up from the floor to meet Walter's, and her lips parted to say something, then suddenly she paused. She had been denying a certain possibility for almost two weeks now, but she couldn't keep ignoring it. Her lower lip started to quiver as she began again.

  "If my powers are that strong then do you think that, even though I have control of them now, they're still too much for my body to handle?"

  He held her gaze for a while and then finally shook his head. "I'm not sure what's going on," he said. "But that doesn't mean we can't figure it out. I'll discuss it with the other elders and see what they think."

  Melina took in a deep breath and then slowly nodded. "So, when will Dean be here?"

  “Mid-morning tomorrow, at the latest. Probably around eleven o'clock," Walter said.

  "Great. I want to meet him as soon as possible.”

  "All right," Walter said. "He's staying at the Archway Hotel.”

  "Oh, um, do you think you can bring him by here?" Melina asked. "The Archway is one of the busiest hotels in the busiest part of downtown."

  "Certainly," said Walter. "We don't need you to be distracted by any unnecessary pain."

  "Exactly." She then turned to Lee and asked in a soft voice, "Will you be here with me tomorrow?"

  "Of course," he said. "Whatever you need, I'll be there for you."

  She gave him a small grin and then looked back up at Walter. "So when Dean arrives, you'll bring him by here?"

  He nodded. "We'll be out front tomorrow around noon."

  "Okay," she said. "We'll see you then."

  Walter tipped his hat to both of them and then disappeared.

  Chapter Three

  When Walter reappeared, he was back in his angel form in The Realm, the place all angels called home. Wide cobblestoned roads lead to numerous large, white buildings with strong stone pillars flanking the front. The buildings were surrounded by a soft, glow, each one with its own unique color. Walter headed toward the one surrounded in white light.

  Once he was inside, he ascended the spiral staircase to the second floor where he found the other three elders—Phinneas, Cecil, and Helene—all sitting around a large ornate table. They all stopped talking and turned in his direction as he approached.

  "Walter," said Helene as she flipped her long, black ponytail over her shoulder. "Come join us."

  He walked over to the table and as he took a seat he said, "There's actually something I need to talk to you all about."

  Everyone's eyebrows raised at the same time.

  Walter cleared his throat. "It has to do with Melina."

  "Oh?" said Helene. "Did you tell her about Dean?"

  "Yes," he said. "She's eager to meet him, so there's no problem there."

  ”Then what’s wrong?" Cecil asked in a booming voice, his dark brow creasing with concern.

  "Well, I'm not sure exactly." He sat up straight in his chair and then started to explain to the other elders everything Melina had told him. When he had recited all of the details, he gazed around at the three of them. "Any ideas?”

  They all shook their heads.

  Walter sighed. "Then what can we do to help her?"

  "I think we need more information before we can determine that," said Helene.

  "And more time," added Cecil.

  Walter nodded. "I’m going to take Dean to meet with her tomorrow. Would one of you like to come with me so we can discuss things in more detail with her?"

  Phinneas perked up in his chair. “I should go. I still feel like I owe her and would like to help as a way of making it up to her. And if she’s dealing with Noxin demons again, 'ʹm the best one for the job, right?"

  He glanced over at Cecil and Helene, who nodded their heads in agreement.

  "Okay then," said Helene. "It's settled. Phinneas will go with you tomorrow. Hopefully it'll help if you both talk to Melina in more depth and compare her experiences with Dean's."

  "Yes," Walter said. "Hopefully."

  ****

  That night Melina lay in bed wide awake, her mind racing. What would Dean be like? And what would he think of her? Was he as excited to meet her as she was to meet him? Would they get along? And why was he not having any pain after using his powers when hers was now growing worse? Was it because she might be in danger of dying again? And if so, would there be anything she could do to stop it this time?

  She shook her head, trying to rid her mind of the incessant thoughts, and then turned toward her nightstand to look at the picture of her parents. Until about three months ago, she had kept all the pictures of them in storage. It hurt too much to see them
and be reminded of their deaths. But after Melina had been told the truth about how they had died, after she had survived the demons and her powers, she had dug a few of them out.

  Besides the one on her nightstand, there was one in her living room and one in her office down in the bookstore. And now, instead of being painful, Melina used them as reminders to always see her powers as a gift. Her mom and dad would've wanted that themselves, to use their powers to do some good in this world and she didn't want to disappoint them. But ever since her powers started acting up again, she found herself doubting how much of a gift they really were, so she needed the reminder now more than ever. She continued to gaze at the picture until sleep finally came and overtook her.

  ****

  When she woke the next morning, her anxiety about Dean's arrival returned. She showered and dressed quickly, then sat down on her living room couch with her laptop to try to do some work. She thought it would distract her and help to pass the time, but she caught herself glancing at the clock more and more as time went by. Twelve o'clock seemed like it would never arrive.

  Finally, a little before noon, when Melina's eyes were starting to blur things together from staring at her computer screen for too long, her cell phone beeped with a text from Lee. He was out back, waiting for her to let him in.

  Eager to get things going, she put her laptop away and hurried down to the back door of her bookstore just as Lee was stepping out of his black SUV. He smiled and gave her a short wave as he shut his door and then made his way over to her.

  "Hey there," he said before taking her hands in his and leaning down to greet her with a kiss.

  Melina closed her eyes and kissed him back, her anxieties momentarily pushed aside by his comforting and gentle touch. After a long couple of seconds, she reluctantly pulled away and opened her eyes. "Hello to you, too," she said with a smile as she released his hands and ushered him inside. "Walter said they'd arrive at the front door, so let's wait over there for them."

  As they made their way over to the front of the store, Lee glanced down at her and asked, "So, are you ready to meet this guy?"

  Melina nodded. "I think so. I'm just a bit nervous about how things are going to go."

  Lee turned to face her. "What's there to be nervous about?"

  She raised her eyebrows. "Oh, I can think of a couple of things. Like, what if we don't get along? Or what if he gets scared when we mention the Noxin demons and wants to leave? If either of these happen then I'll have no one to compare things to. He's my one hope right now for possibly figuring out why my pain is growing worse."

  "I'm sure you have nothing to worry about," Lee said as he reached out and gently touched her arm. I just hope I don't either.

  Melina's forehead creased as she gave him a confused look, but he didn't notice as he had averted his eyes toward the floor. She wanted to ask him what he meant, but a rapid knocking pulled her attention to the front door. As she looked over to her right, she saw Walter standing outside. He waved at her, and she hurried over to unlock the door.

  "Hi, Walter."

  "Good afternoon," he said as he stepped inside.

  Melina peered through the front window and looked around before turning back to Walter. "Where's Dean?" she asked.

  "I wanted to talk to you before he arrived," answered Walter. "I had him wait back to come with Phinneas."

  "Phinneas is coming?" Lee asked. "He was the one who was helping Adelia, right?" He glanced at Melina then back to Walter.

  Walter nodded. "Yes, but he can be trusted now. And given his experience, we thought he'd be the best out of all the elders for Melina to talk to.”

  ”He would be the most knowledgeable," said Melina as she turned to Walter. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

  "Nothing serious," he said. "I just wanted to know if you were ready to meet Dean?"

  "I think so," Melina said with a tense smile. She noticed Walter's brow furrow. "I'm a little nervous that things may not go as well as I'm hoping for."

  His face relaxed. "I'm sure everything will go just fine."

  "Yeah, well, I tend to worry more than what's necessary sometimes." She glanced over at Lee. His eyes met hers, but he didn't say anything, verbally or mentally.

  Curiosity filled her mind again as she turned her gaze to look out the front window and tried to figure out why Lee would think he had something to worry about by meeting Dean. She didn't have much time to contemplate it, though, for just at that moment she saw Phinneas appear at the front door; an elderly man with shoulder-length gray hair, dressed in a long black trench coat and matching fedora. Melina glanced behind him and saw that a tall, dark-haired man was following him. Dean was here.

  Chapter Four

  Melina tried to conceal her anxiety and put on a smile as she hurried to open the door and welcome them inside. "Phinneas, hi," she said as she gave him a somewhat awkward hug. She trusted him now, but she wasn't as close to him as she was to Walter. The fact that he had initially helped Adelia send Noxin demons after her to take her soul and kill her was something she wouldn't ever be able to forget.

  She gave Dean a fleeting glance but then quickly turned to shut and lock the door. Her clammy hand slipped on the door handle, and her fingers fumbled clumsily with the chain lock. It took her two attempts to get it properly into place. Taking in a deep breath, she slowly turned around, hoping they hadn't noticed her display of nerves.

  She looked at Dean, who was standing between Walter and Lee. He was taller than the rest of the men in the room, but not by much. His hair was such a dark brown that it almost appeared to be black, and his eyes were a dark yet brilliant blue. She tried to decide what sort of a man he was by deciphering his expression and demeanor, but Walter's voice interrupted her.

  "Melina," said Walter as he took a step forward and nodded toward Dean. "This is Dean Porter. Dean," he said, now motioning in her direction. "Melina Rowe."

  "Nice to meet you," they both said at the same time as they smiled and shook hands.

  She held his gaze for a bit and then suddenly gestured toward Lee. "This is my boyfriend, Lee Atwood." She noticed Dean's brow crease slightly. "Don't worry, he knows all about our special abilities. I wanted him here for support."

  Dean's face relaxed as he turned toward Lee. They smiled at each other and shook hands.

  Melina's eyes shifted between the two men and then came to rest on Lee. She wondered what he was thinking, but his thoughts were silent. In fact, she didn't hear anyone's thoughts. The mind reading power only allowed her to hear the thoughts of humans, so she knew she couldn't hear what was going through the minds of Walter and Phinneas, but what about Dean?

  Normally when she couldn't hear other people's thoughts it was because that's how she wanted it to be. Ever since she had gained these powers, the incessant chatter in her head had been too much, and she had trained herself to constantly block out others' thoughts. Sometimes it was harder to do than others, but she usually only heard them either when she wanted to or when the thoughts were really firm and articulate and couldn't be ignored. So could she not hear his thoughts because he simply wasn't thinking anything, or did having guiding angel powers make him exempt like every other supernatural being?

  Dean started to chuckle a little, causing Melina to turn her attention back to him. "Well, I think I can answer that question for you," he said.

  She gave him a curious look.

  "And don't worry," he added, smiling at her. "I'm nervous, too."

  Great, she thought. He did see me fumble with the lock. She could feel herself starting to blush, so she hastily cleared her throat. "Well, that's good to know that we can hear each other's thoughts. I was wondering how that would work, so that's one less question for these two." She gestured to Walter and Phinneas, trying to take the attention off of her.

  "Yes," said Phinneas. "I'm sure you both will have a lot of questions for us once you start comparing your experiences." He looked directly at Melina. "Do you have a room where
we can all sit to discuss everything?"

  She nodded as she turned and headed toward one of the rooms behind her. "We can all come in here," she said as she stepped through the doorway of the break room and flipped on the lights. "The conference table's big enough for all of us to sit around."

  They all followed her into the room.

  "There's a coat rack over here where you can hang your coats and hats," she said as she pointed to the back right corner of the room.

  "I think I'll keep my coat on for a bit longer," said Dean as he pulled out a chair in the middle of the table and took a seat. "I'm still trying to warm up."

  Melina walked around to the other side of the table and sat down opposite him, a small smile playing across her lips. "I figured the winter weather of northern Illinois would be nothing to a native Canadian."

  "You're right," he said and then looked around at the other three men as they were taking their seats. "I am used to the cold. I was hoping to get a small break from it." He let out a light chuckle.

  Melina gave a short laugh. Dean seemed to be a nice guy so far, but she would have to see how the rest of the conversation went before she could let go of all of her worries.

  She glanced around the table and saw that Lee had taken a seat to her left and Walter was on her right. Across the table from Walter, sitting next to Dean, was Phinneas. Her eyes remained on him, as she expected him to be the first one to speak. He was not only an older elder than Walter, but now with Adelia gone, he was the oldest elder guiding angel in existence. A few seconds later he cleared his throat and addressed her.

  "Walter and I, as well as the other two elders, Cecil and Helene, wanted Dean to come here with hopes that he would become more comfortable with his powers by spending some time with you. But do you think you're going to be up for that now, given the recent developments that Walter told me about?"

  Melina shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I'm not sure what's going on with me, so I don't know. I think I'd still like to try."