Guardian Angel

Chapter 31 - Melody

Melody leaned against the window of the car, but instead of staring at the landscape passing by she had her eyes locked on the reflection of Daniel in the mirror. Her lips were still tingling and she could feel her heart racing in her chest.

Next to the road the signs were counting down the miles to Stonehenge. First it had been five miles, then three and now only one.

She was convinced that the ritual would work, that everything would be fine, that in only half an hour Daniel would be as human as she was, that in half an hour the lovestory between the guardian angel and the girl he was supposed to protect would get it's happy ending.

Daniel didn't seem to be that sure though and the way he kept looking at her as if this would be the last time he would see her scared her more than just a little bit.

"I guess we'll have to find a parking spot somewhere." Max sighed when he entered the overfull parking lot near the monument. "I don't think it'll be that easy." He was more talking to himself than to Daniel or Melody.

Daniel and Melody hadn't said a word during the drive after all.

"If you get a fine for parking somewhere where you're not allowed to park I'll pay it." Melody curled her fingers up and the palms of her hands were sweating. Stonehenge was so near, so close and she didn't have the patience to find a decent spot for the car.

"You've already paid enough, okay?" Max raised his eyebrows, but he did park the car in a spot that wasn't even an official spot. "This one will be on me." He turned the motor off, but Daniel and Melody didn't move.

Melody took a deep breath and her eyes met Daniel's once more through the mirror. She wanted to ask him if he was ready, she wanted to tell him that everything would be fine, but she couldn't. She couldn't open her mouth and say something. She couldn't promise him something she maybe couldn't keep.

"It won't get easier if we keep on waiting here." Max eventually opened his door and rushed to the other side to help Melody out of the car. "The sooner we've got through this, the sooner we know what the rest of this holiday is gonna look like." He forced himself to smile, but even Max seemed to be nervous.

Melody trusted him, believed that he wanted to best for both Daniel and her, but in a way she couldn't help but wonder if there was a part of Max still hoping that everything would go wrong and that Daniel would eventually die.

"Do you need help?" Daniel offered Melody his arm, but Melody raised her eyebrows and shook her head as soon as she could.

"I'm fine." She leaned on her crutch and she stared at the endless grass field stretching out in front of them. She could barely see the stones she knew from pictures and she sighed when she realised that it meant they were further away than she had hoped them to be. She didn't feel like admitting that either though, so she started walking as if this would be the easiest thing she had ever done.

For fifteen minutes they walked in silence. Then they could finally see how huge the stones really were.

Melody held her breath when she could almost touch the holy ground and she turned her face to Daniel to see what he was feeling, to see how he was feeling.

He had his eyes locked on the sacred place and the vein in his neck was visibly beating.

"Are you going to tell us about the ritual or are you simply going to do it?" Melody stood still at only a few metres from the circle.

A couple of people were making pictures with the huge stones and didn't look like they were planning to leave anytime soon.

"I won't be doing it myself." Daniel cleared his throat and he shifted his weight from one leg to the other. "You will be the one doing it." He locked his glance with Melody's and Melody's eyes widened while she felt her heart skipping a beat in her chest.