Ethereal

Chapter 22

Jasmine's expression was stern as she stood on my left, her dark eyes narrowed. Noah was on my right, with a far friendlier expression. We were stood in front of the portal, it's vertical water completely still, though light shined through the other side as though it were a window.

When the two of them had arrived, Jasmine was immediately in what Noah called 'task-mode', she took her job very seriously. So did Noah, although he was a bit more relaxed.

"Emilia, you must not be separated from Noah or Jasmine at any time, except under extreme circumstance." The Reed took a step to stand in front of me, her white robes swishing as she came to a stop. "Make sure that no human sees you using your abilities. If for some reason they do, report it to us immediately so we can correct the situation. However you should strive not to use your powers except for in a private location, like your home."

I nodded. "Okay."

"Searchers, do not let her out of your sight." She finished, moving out of our way. "May you have a safe passage."

I breathed deeply, a little nervous. I shouldn't have been, I had lived on Earth my whole life. Yet things were different now.

Noah seemed to sense my turmoil, as he reached down and took my hand in his. The warmth instantly soothing me. I smiled up at him in thanks.

"I'll open it." Jasmine stated, and promptly unfurled her wings (although she didn't expand them fully, they were hunched in at her sides since the room was still fairly busy). I stared at them in awe, of course I had seen them before, but I wasn't sure I'd ever get used to seeing an angel's wings. It was a magnificent sight.

She ran her fingers steadily across the smooth feathers before she rested them on one in particular. Before I could say anything to stop her, she grabbed it in her fist and plucked it from her wing.

"Jasmine, no!" I gasped, but it was too late.

She looked up at me in surprise. "We need to place angel blood in the sacred water to open the portal. It'll grow back in a few minutes. It's the only way to draw an angels blood without killing them."

True to her word, the tip of the feather was coated in a strange silvery substance, it reminded me of some sort of liquid mirror.

"I'm surprised you figured out how to open the portal." She commented, as she brought her wings back into her shoulders, hidden completely as though they were never even there to begin with.

"I didn't." I told her, shrugging. "I cut my hands on the rocks, I was just trying to clean them in the pool. It was just luck."

"That's how it feels whenever I find someone that's in danger. Luck." Noah told me, giving my hand a squeeze.

I looked up at him in surprise. "You mean...?"

He nodded. "Maybe you have a knack for figuring things out. Like a Knower."

I was taken aback, was it possible? Did I have a talent, like the angels did? Maybe I fit in better than I thought I did.

As we spoke, Jasmine was reaching forward with the feather, gently dipping the end in the water. The water began to glow, and I watched as all the angels including myself shivered in unison. Jasmine touched the portal, and a ripple crossed it's surface.

She placed the now clean feather onto a platter beside the portal, already covered in a couple of other feathers. Each feather looked different, some more plump than others, thicker.

Noticing my gaze, Jasmine explained "The feathers have healing properties, so the Guardians use them to help humans."

It was nice to see that all the angels did their part to help humans, it was what they were here for, I suppose.