My whole life, I fantasized about larger-than-life scenarios. Like one day, I''d suddenly be able to fly or develop superpowers. But then I experienced it and realized I was afraid of heights and probably too unstable for bravery.


    I kept trying to appear braver, happier, and far more put together than I felt. To attempt easing some of my anxiety I started to work out. It probably wasn''t the training Uriel had in mind when asking Ellie to teach me, but maybe if I managed to gain some strength then I''d feel more confident in defending myself.


    With two milk gallons filled with water that Dana helped put together for me, I would walk around the house lifting them for as long as I could. I didn''t know what I was doing, but starting anywhere gave me some piece of accomplishment.


    Pacing around with my eyes closed listening to what Dana was watching on the television, I collided with Zeekiel yet again. With frustration mirrored in both our faces as I looked up I could tell we were both getting annoyed.


    "Do you just walk around with a blindfold on?" He asked.


    My embarrassment bit back, "You need to get a bell on you or something, because you may as well be a ghost."


    Annoyance pinched his face. "Unfortunately you need me here because your little workouts aren''t going to help you," he remarked, pointing down at my makeshift weights.


    "Oh you''ll see; I''m going to punch an angel right in the face," I declared.


    He huffed out a mocked chuckle. "Look, you can get as much muscle as you want, but you only need your staff."


    "Because you think I''m uncoordinated?" I assumed.


    He lifted one brow, slighted confusion squishing his face. "What? No. Because you''re human. Let everyone else be strong, because you''re the only one who can use the staff."


    I wouldn''t have admitted it, but his rationality gave me a bit of comfort. Still...."Well, I mean, that would be nice, and all, if I knew how to use it."


    "You stab it."


    "Huh?" I hummed, feeling it was explained to me way more complicated than that.


    "Yeah," he said, making a fist and stabbing it through the air as if he had a spear. "Just like that."


    "Even with no magic?"


    "Don''t worry about all that. Where is it, anyway?" I revealed it was in the closet of Dana''s room and he looked displeased. "You should really keep an eye on it. It''s your job to keep it safe now," he said.


    I didn''t expect Zeekiel to be friendly to me by any means, waiting at any moment for him to treat me the way he treated Raziel, but he wasn''t as bad as I anticipated.


    Ever since Uriel asked him to keep watching over Dana and me, he spent more time inside with us, but barely engaged in conversation with Dana and me. Sometimes I couldn''t help but wonder if he was upset that Uriel stuck him here with me.


    There was one late night he engaged me out of nowhere with a bag under his arm. "Need you to do me a favor," the demon said, coming in from the back door. "Keep this with you."


    It wasn''t a question, but somehow I was taking it from him as he handed it over. "I guess," I replied. "Why?"


    "I''ve been going in and out of form, I just want somewhere to put my clothes. Wouldn''t be the worst if you could throw them in there for."


    I gave him a teasing smirk. "You''re pushing it now."


    "I''ve brought some compensation." He rummaged through the sack in my arms, his face was lit with a self-satisfied smile as he handed me what he was looking for.


    It was a used black sketchbook with a wrinkled bind. I flipped through the pages finding the sketches at the beginning were all portraits of birds drawn on thick medium surface paper. But most importantly a majority of it was blank. Surprised, I looked up at him and asked, "Did you draw these?"


    "Nah, my friend does art; she''s really good at drawing birds. That one is me." He pointed to a curly feathered raven on the following page. "I liked yours too, but it was weird seeing myself next to...myself," he laughed. "You can draw in it. I think she''d like to see them."


    I blushed, feeling embarrassed as he reminded me of the sketch of him that I put on my wall. "I''m sorry," I said


    "Don''t be; I liked it," he said.


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    I reluctantly confessed, "It was for a story idea."


    His eyebrows shot up in genuine interest, intrigued by the thought. I couldn''t help but crack a small smile at his reaction. "Glad I could be an inspiration for good this time," he quipped. "What''s it about?"


    My mind raced to come up with an answer to his next question. "I mean it''s not like it''s fleshed out or anything, but I was thinking about some adventures for this guy and his crow companion."


    He nodded along before saying, "It should be the guy turns into a raven."


    "Was thinking maybe he can summon the crow out of the shadows and control it. It''s my idea, it''s whatever I want it to be."


    "Technically it''s my story. Plus you drew a raven," he taunted.


    "I can change it," I threatened.


    Over the next few days, our interactions became more frequent and cordial. The only thing that would agitate me was his insistence to change the channel while I was trying to watch the news. Despite our newfound friendship, he would get frustratingly heated over it. He didn''t understand and I didn''t want to talk about it, but really, I wanted to see if my mom would be found.


    As far as I knew, it didn''t even seem like anyone knew we were missing. It''s not like I had anyone outside my mom to know I was gone.I thought I had friends until I graduated and no one bothered to reach out to me. And after only working a day, they must have just assumed I was a no call-no show.


    Mom, though, she had friends and work that relied on her. Was none of them concerned?


    The days passed and were quickly turning into weeks and I still had no information on what was going on or what I should be doing. The news stations never revealed anything, Uriel was absent and Ellie never showed up to train me.


    My anxiety and agitation was rising with the summer heat. Dana didn''t own an air conditioner, but it didn''t seem like the weather bothered them. I spent most of the days sleeping and quickly I was back into my night owl routine. It was best, anyway, so neither me or Dana were stuck sleeping on the couch.


    Though my new routine was going to be taken away from me soon when Dana announced I had run out of time to stay with her. Some person named Avery was arranging to get me down to Florida without being noticed so I could go to a barriered area in what they called "The Ring". A realm that veiled Earth where supposedly dragons lived. It was hard to be excited when Dana said Zeekiel was the one who was going to escort me in a few days. It meant she wasn''t coming, and the demon expressed he wasn''t crossing over with me.


    Zeekiel often sat outside on the porch and I was too afraid to go out there while Dana was sleeping, but I didn''t have a lot of time left to ask him about Saniel. As I silently sat beside him, the topic lingered in the back of my mind, tugging at my curiosity. With my heart racing I finally whispered, "Can you tell me about Saniel?"


    Zeekiel''s silence lingered as he gazed up at the meager stars above us. His face was impossible to read and when he finally spoke, he said what I obviously already knew, "She held the Moon Staff," he said.


    "I know that..." I replied. "But what was she like?"


    The demon''s expression hardened as he turned to face me. "What do you think you''re going to gain from knowing?" he asked, his tone a heavy warning.


    "I don''t know. I just wanted to know was she, like, a hero?" I muttered.


    His lips pressed into a thin line, his eyes hardening into cold steel. "I guess it depends on who you''re asking," he retorted with a sharp edge to his voice.


    "I was asking you," I replied, as I rose from my seat to go back inside. I wasn''t going to beg or pry the information out of him.


    But Zeekiel''s words followed me as I opened the back door. "She did what she thought was right and started a war in my name." At his words, I turned and paused in the doorway, sensing his stare upon me.


    His eyes, once dark, turned purple with a distant gaze as if he were looking through me. "She was stubborn. Refusing to compromise on her beliefs, even if it meant sacrificing a flock of others in the process. She destroyed everything. A whole world, the Guard holders and herself."


    I stepped back into the house, the weight of his words hitting me like a punch to the gut.


    "And now we''re both stuck here, thousands of years later because of her actions," he muttered.


    I nodded silently still trying to process the information I asked for. Once I thanked him sheepishly I slipped back inside and poured the last cup of cold coffee from the pot.


    Eventually Zeekiel came back in to relax in the living room with me. At first we were both silent when he dropped himself next to me on the couch, but I relented for once and changed the last run of news to a sitcom rerun.


    As Zeekiel and I broke the uncomfortable silence, laughing together over a show there was a thud.


    I wasn''t alarmed at first, believing it came from the TV, but Zeekiel was quick to slap the remote to turn it off. And then it came again clearly from the kitchen, a loud pounding sound as if someone were knocking, but on the window.


    The demon was already running to the noise when he urged, "Wake up Dana and get your staff."


    I hurried past the kitchen and down the hallway to Dana''s room. The lights flicked on as I entered. She stirred in her sleep, shielding her eyes with her arm. "Something''s wrong," I said, grabbing my staff from the corner.


    "What is it?" Dana jolted out of bed and followed me back into the kitchen.


    Zeekiel was leaning into the sink looking out the window into the backyard. We rushed to his side as the pane echoed with desperate pleas for entry.


    Reluctantly, I stepped closer, my chest pounding. Three creatures reflected behind the glare of the kitchen light in the window. The creatures before me were grotesque and unnatural, their limbs bent at impossible angles and twisted into warped, animalistic forms. A thick layer of dark, shivering goo covered their faces, obscuring their features that seemed to pulsate. As a wave of revulsion washed over me, I instinctively stumbled backwards, my body shuddering at the sight.


    "Damn it," Zeekiel muttered, pulling his gaze away. "Once these fuckers realize how to get in, they will."


    Dana''s voice pinched with anxiety. "Fuck, people are going to see this. There''s more this time."


    "Those holes..." Zeekiel muttered before he snarled in Dana''s direction. "They''ve been underground in your backyard this whole time."


    "How would I know? Acting as if I put them there," she yelled back as her words picked up speed.


    "Seriously? You didn''t notice three body sized piles of dirt out there at some point?" he kept accusing.


    "How about you?" Dana charged back. "You''ve been out there far more than I have. How''d you not notice?"


    My insides coiled as the staff trembled in my hand. Both of them were too distracted in their argument to notice what I had.


    "The knocking stopped," I announced.