Guarding the Angel

Chapter 9

My expectation was that Cloud would swoop into the air and prevent me from slamming into the ground. I didn't realize this was my expectation until I felt the impact of the pavement on my face. The pelicans only dropped me from a height of about 10 feet and my entire body screams. 

"Why did you release her? You fools!" Latif yells, "Now she can come after me again."

I try to stand up, but shooting pain prevents me from returning to my feet. The pelicans swoop towards me, probably intent on dropping me again. I don't think I'll survive another fall. If I am going to gain any magical powers, now would be the time. Pat runs up to me, batting away pelicans. The pelicans are not deterred.

They swarm me and I'm flying again. The pelicans are so focused on ascending into the sky that they don't bother pecking at me. They raise me higher into the air. Soon, the buildings lining the street down below look like specks. Last time I fell, it nearly killed me. This time, there is no way I'll survive!

"Cloud, my death is on you," I shout as loud as I can.

The effort of shouting causes black spots to form in my vision. Maybe I'll pass out before I slam into the ground. At least the end will be swift. I try to think back on regrets. Aside from the regret of staying an hour later than usual at my card-board box making job the night I found Cloud, I can't think of anything. It's not like I was satisfied with my life as it was, but I also wasn't dissatisfied. 

The pelicans start snapping their bills together, producing loud popping noises that resonate throughout their throat pockets. Normally, the noise would be annoying, not terrifying. However, these are not normal circumstances. These haven't been normal circumstances for quite some time. 

Since I have nothing to lose beyond my life, I decide to try to mimic the pelicans. I snap my lips together and swallow the air in my mouth. It doesn't sound anything like the pelicans. The pelicans increase the pace at which they are making their death-call. This has got to be one of the stupidest ways to die.

 The pelicans scatter in various directions. I try to grab one or two of them in the vain hope that the rest will return to save their friends. Unfortunately, I'm not good at catching pelicans while falling through the air. All of the pelicans easily fly out of reach. All sorts of thoughts race through my head in the final moments. At least I won't have to listen to my mother yelling at me for letting the house get turned into fine ash particles.

I close my eyes and try to enjoy the sensation of free-fall, knowing that it will be my last experience on this Earth. When it feels like I've been falling forever, the speed of my fall starts to descend. I open my eyes to find Cloud lowering me to the ground. "Why didn't you do that the first time?" I ask him.

He stares down at me with an impassive look on his face. If I were less frazzled, I would roll my eyes at the predictability of his response. For the moment, I'm too relieved to do much of anything. I let myself lean into Cloud and let my breathing go back to normal. For this moment, I am safe. I'm never taking the safety of being on the ground for granted again.

When we land, Pat comes running up to us. His face is covered in blood and his hair sticks straight up. "You should've saved her sooner!" Pat yells at Cloud, "She almost died."

He sounds close to hysterics. The way Pat has handled the whole situation makes me worried for his long-term sanity. If he can't deal with a little bit of change in a calm and reasonable manner, how is he going to make it in the world? "I'm fine," I tell Pat, "Also, I'm supposed to be protecting Cloud, not the other way around."

Pat is stunned into silence for a moment. The corners of my mouth pull upwards for a moment, then pain shoots through my body and I'm reminded of the consequences of Cloud not helping me sooner. 

"Harimanne, you are almost as much a danger to yourself as this lunatic is!" Pat speaks at last.

I roll my eyes. Life is a danger to me more than anything else. It's called being mortal. I look up at Cloud, realizing he is staring down at me with a blank expression. "What?" I ask, slightly peeved.

"Aren't you going to demand to be set down?" he asks.

I blink a couple of times and stare up at him. "I would if I was confident I could stand on my own," I answer, "However, I think I took too much damage from the first fall to move much. Talking hurts. Maybe Pat was onto something after all, although he certainly over-reacted.

"It was such a short drop!" Cloud exclaims, "Why didn't you activate your super-strength?"

I clench my jaw and don't respond for a few moments. When I do respond, my voice comes out quiet and strained. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a killing machine, I don't follow your orders and I don't have super strength." 

This seems like a true revelation to Cloud. "You mean you are in the exact same physical state as before you became my sword protector?" he asks.

"No. Now I'm in a much worse physical state because a bunch of pelicans tried to kill me! It's crows that are supposed to fly in murders." 

My vision narrows to a single point and then everything goes black.