The Guardian

Chapter Four: The Other Angel

"Ivy. I'm sorry. Please, let me in. I didn't mean... I didn't think you'd loose it like you did.."
The bedroom door flew open, and Zethos was greeted by Ivy's blazing eyes. They were puffy and red from crying. Seeing Ivy this upset was like plucking the feathers from his wings. And the worst thing was is that HE had made her cry.
He'd seen Ivy cry many times, and for so long he just wanted to wrap his arms around her and comfort her. But he knew Ivy better than anyone on earth, and she probably wouldn't appreciate the close contact. Especially by someone she only just met. And that's what frustrated Zethos. He had always known Ivy from the day he had first laid eyes on her. He knew what she was like. And yet Ivy had literally only known of his existence for a day.
"What do you want?" She snapped.
"I didn't mean to make you upset Ivy."
"Are you sure about that? Because you did SUCH a good job at it!"
Zethos smiled gently, but Ivy's heart remained stony.
"Why did you come here? Why did you just suddenly decided to follow me around? And don't say it's just because you 'had a fight with your Dad' because I think that's a load of bull!"
Zethos sighed.
"I came here to protect you."
Ivy blinked. "What?"
Zethos stepped forward, and Ivy let him in. She shut the door as he walked over to her bed and sat down.
"I came to Earth to protect you. Physically." He looked up at her. "The demons that you've been seeing.. they never really hurt you, right?"
Ivy swallowed and nodded. She thought about the black feathery figure.
"Now, for some reason, demons are becoming restless, and the chances are since you can see them they'll likely attack you."
"Demons attack humans?"
Zethos nodded.
"Then what's to stop them from wiping out the human race?"
Zethos smiled and patted a spot on the bed next to him, inviting Ivy to sit down next to him. She hesitated, but reluctantly sat down.
"Have you ever heard of the Three Triads of Heaven?" Zethos asked softly.
Ivy shook her head.
"In Heaven, us angels are each given ranks, and each rank belongs to a Triad. Each Triad is a little closer to God than the other."
"What rank are you?"
Zethos looked down, and frowned. "I'm just a regular angel, belonging to the 3rd Triad. I'm a Guardian, and Guardians are the closest angels to earth and humanity. I'm the lowest ranking angel, therefore further away from God."
Both of them went quiet. Ivy knew how he was feeling; Zethos was always looked down upon because of his ranking. He felt weak and insignificant. He fiddled with his hands, and Ivy caught a glance of a single, white line across the veins on his skin. Ivy frowned, and Zethos tugged the sleeves of his hoodie down to cover the scars.
'Can angels have scars?' Ivy thought.
"What about the other angels?" She asked quietly.
Zethos looked up at her, and gazed at her face. He was happy to see that she wasn't mad at him anymore. But talking about the other angels and heaven made his chest feel heavy. He shook his head and sighed a laugh.
"Never mind. Don't worry about them. Back to your question."
Ivy tilted her head and wondered why he had changed the subject.
"Demons could wipe out humanity, except there are a class of angel that fight and send them back to hell. They are the Powers. They're sought of like Gods soldiers and they assist in governing the natural order."
"Then why are you here to protect me if the Powers are the ones who slay the demons?"
Zethos face darkened, and shuddered.
"The Powers haven't been able to get back to Heaven when they come down to Earths to fight. For some reason, their wings crumble away, and they become human."
Ivy's eyes became wide.
"So God has commanded that only a few Powers come down to earth, only to destroy the demons that really need destroying. The demons that can and will physically harm humans."
A sudden realisation came over Ivy. She thought that she understood why Zethos was here. He came to protect her, even though he wasn't a Power. Ivy's heart softened, and touched Zethos' hand with her own.
"Thank you." She said. "For protecting me, even though it's not your job to do so."
Zethos smiled, and he lifted Ivy's hand up to his mouth. His lips were soft as he hissed the skin of her hand.
"I have to protect you. I'm nothing without you."
Ivy blushed, and she looked away.
"Don't be stupid. You're an angel. How can you be nothing?"
Zethos' smile faded, and he yawned and stretched out his arms.
"It's getting dark. How about I cook you some dinner?"
Ivy looked up at the clock. It was already 6.00. And she had left school early. She must of been crying for a long time. She wiped her eyes and nodded, and followed Zethos out to the kitchen.
He began preparing dinner, coconut curry chicken, and Ivy sat on the couch, staring at the heater. Hundreds of thoughts swirled around her mind. She was beginning to like Zethos a little. She was touched that he had left heaven just to protect her. Ivy had never been attacked by a demon before, but she didn't want to take the chances.
Zethos hummed away in the kitchen, and Ivy smiled as she recognised the song. It was another one of her favourite songs: The Diary Of Jane by Breaking Benjamin.
Ivy sat up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen bench.
"Do you need any help?" She asked.
Zethos shrugged.
"I'm sure I'll be fine but if you want.."
Ivy grabbed a knife and a capsicum and began chopping it up on the chopping board.
"Is this your favourite food, or mine?" Ivy asked.
Zethos smiled as he cut away at some chicken.
"Pretty sure it's yours. I've never tried it before."
Ivy frowned and put the chopped capsicum in the wok on the stove.
"Do angels even eat?"
Zethos shrugged again. "We don't need to. We can though. I've eaten things before, and I quiet enjoy food. However I've never tried this particular curry before."
"What else should I learn about my Guardian Angel?"
Zethos looked at Ivy and laughed.
"You've suddenly become inquisitive."
Ivy smiled and added the cut up chicken to the wok.
"I've had a sudden stroke of curiosity. So? Spit it all out."
Zethos huffed a laugh and opened up a can of coconut cream. Before giving it to Ivy, he dipped a finger in and licked it. Ivy scowled at him.
"Well, I am exactly five centuries and twenty two years old."
Ivy whistled.
"Yup. I'm quiet the attractive grandpa."
Ivy laughed. "You're not THAT attractive."
Zethos raised an eyebrow, and Ivy couched while stirring in the cream to the chicken, capsicum and various other stir fry vegetables.
"You can't say that I'm NOT the most attractive being you've ever seen."
Ivy swallowed, and her blush depend. Zethos laughed and playful elbowed Ivy in the ribs.
"Can we drop this topic?" She grumbled.
Zethos smiled.
"Sure. I love rock music, especially Greenday and AC/DC and I don't mind dubstep. I really dislike spiders and I've never been surfing before."
Ivy added in a few spoonfuls of curry, and checked up on the rice.
"Can angels actually fly with their wings?" She asked. "Or do you just teleport to heaven and earth?"
"No. We actually fly, like birds."
"Huh."
Suddenly, there was a thump at the front door. Ivy and Zethos froze, and Ivy looked up at Zethos. He was frowning.
"I.. I'll go and check that."
Ivy turned and walked to the front door. Cautiously, she turned the knob and slowly opened it. Lying on the ground was a winged girl, her huge sandy coloured wings twisted and bloody.
"Help." The girl whimpered.
Ivy stood there in shock, not knowing what to do.
"Z-Zethos." She stuttered.
Out on the road, just outside her house, were three people. Ivy froze when she saw them, and their eyes flashed red. They began walking towards her.
"Zethos!" She yelled.
Zethos appeared beside her, and he looked down at the female angel below them. He stared at her, stunned too, and then he cursed when he looked up and saw the three red eyed men.
"Shit. Ivy, help me pick her up."
Ivy obeyed, and picked up the girls left arm. Zethos grabbed her right, and they lifted her up. The girl got to her feet, and leaned against them for support. They both had to bend down, as the girl was shorter than Ivy. Her huge broken wings were too big for the girls body. Ivy and Zethos dragged her inside, and the door automatically shut behind them. Zethos sat the girl on the couch as Ivy rushed to get water.
The girls face was pale and smudged with dirt and blood. Her clothes were dirty and torn, and her wings.... they were a mess. Clumps of feathers were torn from the bone, they were twisted and shaking and bleeding. The girl had short, shoulder length blond hair and striking electric blue eyes.
Ivy rushed back with water and a towel and began cleaning the girls face. Zethos stood back and watched her in grimacing silence. When the girl looked up at him, he turned his attention to the door. When Ivy cleaned the dirt and blood from the girls face, she spoke.
"Thank you."
Her voice was small and had an English accent. Ivy was rather surprised.
"Are you ok?" Ivy asked quietly.
The girl nodded.
"I am now, thank you."
"Who are you? What happened?"
The girl winced as she shifted on the couch, trying to move her wings into a more comfortable position.
"My name is Emmanuel."
Emmanuel looked up at Zethos again. Her lightning blue eyes suddenly became cold and her top lip curled up.
"I am Emmanuel of the 2nd Triad. And HE did this to me."

"W-what?"
Ivy looked up at Zethos, whose face showed an equal amount of hate towards Emmanuel.
She stood up, and tried to move her wings. She whimpered, and shot a look of pure hatred towards the male angel. "Look at my wings!" She shouted. "This is all your fault!"
Zethos' lip curled.
"How is that MY fault?" He snarled.
"Guys, please!" Ivy yelled.
They both looked at her.
"We need to talk about this. We can't just be pointing fingers, OK? Emmanuel, I'm pretty sure Zethos couldn't of done this. He was with me for the whole day."
Emmanuel sniffed, looking Ivy up and down.
"So this is the human that you left everything for?"
Ivy frowned, and looked at Zethos. His face was still stony. Emmanuel looked at Ivy again.
"I was sent down to collect this imbecile when I was attacked and beaten by those demons. It never would of happened if it wasn't for him!"
"I'm not going back." Zethos growled. "I might have to thank those demons later for messing up your wings. Now you can't force me to come with you."
Emmanuel hissed and lurched forwards, then whimpered at her wings.
"Do.. do you want me to help  clean you up?" Ivy asked, unsure what to do.
Emmanuel gave a sharp nod, and sniffed the air.
"Your kitchen bitch should get back to making your meal. It's burning."
Zethos growled, but went back to the kitchen anyway.
Ivy lead Emmanuel to the bathroom, and sat her on the closed toilet seat.
"Can you spread your wings out?" She asked.
"No, I can't spread my wings." Emmanuel snapped. "They hurt like hell!"
Ivy frowned, her temper with the angel growing thin. She ran the sink with water and poured in some tea tree oil. She dipped a flannel into the solution, grabbing a sandy wing. Emmanuel yelled, but Ivy continued to clean it with the wet flannel.
"That stings like a bitch!" Emmanuel yelled.
Ivy threw the flannel in the sink, splashing water everywhere.
"Listen. I know that you're a high ranked angel, and I know that I'm only a human."
"Dam right you are!"
Ivy glared her.
"However," she continued, "I chose to help you after you were attacked by those demons. Now, I'm pretty sure they're still out there so unless you wanna play with them again I suggest you shut your little mouth and let me clean you up."
She picked the flannel up and continued to wipe and clean Emmanuels wings, ignoring her yelps and insults.
"How did those demons attack you anyway?" Ivy asked as she began running a bath for the girl. Emmanuel stared at the running water.
"Why are you doing that?" She said. "I don't need a bath!"
Ivy turned around with a hand on her hip.
"Look at yourself. You're filthy, and your other wounds need to be cleaned."
"They'll heal on their own." Emmanuel snapped.
Ivy raised an eyebrow, and decided to ignore her. Emmanuel huffed, and picked a leaf off of her arm.
"As I said before, I came here to find Zethos and then those demons shot Hell Fire at me. I fell down onto the road and they continued to beat me until I used the last of my powers to created some Holy Light to blast them away. I began running and the Lord told me to come to this house."
Ivy sat on the edge of the bath and swirled her hand around in the water.
"Why would God send you here?"
"I don't question My Father." Emmanuel said.
"Couldn't you destroy the demons or send them back to hell?"
"I'm not a bloody Power!" Emmanuel huffed.
She added under her breath "ignorant humans," which caused Ivy to splash hot water into Emmanuels wings, making the girl scream.
Zethos came in and smirked at tiny, injured Emmanuel.
"Your dinner is ready, Ivy." He said.
Ivy stood up from the bath and nodded.
"Undress, bath and clean yourself. If you need any clothes just ask me."
"I won't need any of your clothes." Emmanuel growled.
She stood up from the toilet seat and began slowly peeling off her own. Zethos shut the bathroom door and clicked his fingers. Emmanuel's surprised yells sounded from inside the bathroom as her clothes vanished from her body.
"You're welcome." Zethos barked at the door.
They went back to the kitchen, where two bowels of curry were waiting at the bench.
"I hope you don't mind that I try some."
Ivy shook her head and sat down.
"It's fine. I don't care."
She took a mouthful of the curry. It was really good.
"What I do care about is why that angel is here."
Ivy paused.
"You know each other, don't you?"
Zethos nodded. "It's a long story."