Over Calgary, the sun was warm and bright, and the sky was a clear crystalline blue. The city below buzzed, as people went about their daily activities. No one noticed the pair of legs dangling from the ledge high above them. Celia sat on the fifth-story ledge of an old brick building, enjoying the cool breeze and looking out at the world. Her outward appearance was that of a petite, slender child no more than eleven years old, with bright blue eyes and a creamy complexion. In truth, she was eight hundred years old and a member of Heavens Army.

When an angel comes of age, they are given a choice of becoming a guardian or a warrior. Guardians are assigned to mortals, and watch over them during their life, while the Warriors fight the Demon horde. Upon choosing their job, they go through an arduous training process. Her older sister had been unhappy when Celia chose to be a warrior. Fiona would have preferred that her sister choose the safer job, but Celia was as headstrong as her sister, and determined to be on the "front line". Sometimes her sister’s zealous protectiveness rankled a bit. Celia still felt a fierce pride when she had completed the training with astonishing ease. With their decades of training completed, She had called them together. //Trembling with anticipation, they knelt quietly on their knees, their heads bowed, before the brilliant, shining being that was their leader. Then her sonorous voice filled the hall. "You are my finest warriors. I name you the Guardians of Light, and call upon you to go forth, and protect the people of Earth from the denizens of hell."// When Celia and the rest of the Guardians on Earth caught wind of any machinations they were usually able to quell it in time. They also tried to guide the actions of mortals, coaxing them toward the path of good. Some of the mortals they helped came to be powerful voices in their community, advocating peace and love between men.

But the history books of the mortals were also filled with their failures. The famines, the diseases, corruption, and the bloody wars the demons craftily orchestrated, as the angels desperately fought to stop them. For every good person they influenced, demons managed to corrupt another. The demons had learned over the years and were getting even trickier. Now more than ever, they were escaping from the bowels of hell and infecting innocent souls with their evil. The balance of power was tipping dangerously toward the favor of the demons. The timing couldn’t be more perfect for their current plan.

Spying a nearby clock, she realized that it was time to go. There had been reports of a small group of demons was hiding among the populace of New York, and Celia was going to meet her older sister Fiona and their friend Gabriel to see if they could ferret out the loathsome band. She stood and unfurled her soft, silvery wings, and stepped off the ledge. Free falling for a brief moment, she caught a wind current and the updraft sent her soaring. Oh how she loved to fly! Sometimes she would do loop de loops, diving in and out of the puffy clouds. She lived for the dizzying rush that the crisp air sent through her veins. She wasn’t worried about anyone seeing her; because her magic cloaked her at will. As she was flying over Ontario’s lush forest, her keen sense of hearing picked up a cry for help. *I’m sure my sister doesn’t need me quite yet, so I’ll help whoever it is quickly, and be on my way. * She thought

She swooped down low and scanned through the green trees to see if she could see anyone. Finally she saw an injured young man in a small ravine. Marking his spot, she flew a short distance away and landed behind a dense cluster of trees. With a short murmured spell, her wings receded and disappeared, and her white tunic, which was her uniform, transformed into jeans and a T- shirt. It was a rule among her kind that you were always to approach any mortal and help them as much as you could in human guise, to keep their knowledge of the celestial realm as minimal as possible. She made her way through the prickly green brush toward the young man.

"Help! Can anyone hear me?” he called “ I think I’ve broken my leg!"

"Keep calm sir, I’ll help you!" she called back. She turned to see if she could find something to make a crutch of some sort, when suddenly two slender, dark forms dropped from the trees. They had maroon, snakelike bodies, clawed hands and feet, and two slender horns. They eyed her hungrily as they advanced.

"Demons!" She gasped. She whirled around "Flee! Get Away!" she shouted at the human, but he made no move to get away. Confused, Celia watched in horror as a dark wisp circled around his broken leg, the illusion dropping away, and his eyes turned a dark yellow. A chill ran through her as he smiled and showed an identical set of dripping needle -like teeth the demons behind her had. The dark swirl grew, circled its body once more, and the demon's true form was revealed.

"NO!" she gasped. The demon gave an evil smirk. It gestured to his friends and they both moved to grab her.

"Time to have a little fun." it hissed gleefully

In terror, she unfurled her wings and tried to take flight, but the insidious trio grabbed her ankle and dragged her down. She kicked out at the nearest dark form, and it shrieked in pain. With a growl, another sprang forward to grab her wing, and tore at it with its teeth. With a cry of agony she wretched it out of its grasp, and plowed into the demon in front of her, knocking it over. It grabbed her leg as she tried to run past and she fell again. One of the other demons came and kicked her in the ribs. She heard a popping sound and almost passed out with the pain.

*Come on! Defend yourself! * She thought desperately *Remember your training!*

Desperately, she kicked the demon that had her leg and struggled to get up. The demon that kicked her threw a punch but she blocked it and poked its eye; putrid black blood spurted out. She punched it in the stomach and shoved it down the ravine. She managed to kick one a final time, but the third demon came up behind her, and grabbed her by the neck. He squeezed until little rivulets of blood ran down her neck then he spun, and sent her crashing into a tree. She slid down, and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. The demon walked up, and with a final punch, rendered her unconscious. The others slowly got up as their comrade stood over her.

"Stupid wench." The third demon muttered

"Why’d the Boss want her anyway?" the second one with the injured eye asked. His blue tongue flicked out to lap the blood dripping from the ruined socket.

"Something about getting back at Her." The leader said, gesturing vaguely upwards, and spit on the ground. The other two followed suit. They tensed at a soft shifting sound. They looked down, and saw that the little Angel’s wings were automatically receding. Each watched her closely for signs that she was somehow conscious again, but when there was no further movement, they relaxed. The first demon gave Celia one last kick and a silver chain necklace with a small, aqua colored rod attached, fell out.

"What’s that?"

"Can we eat it?" the second asked, grabbing a beetle that had scurried by, and popping it into his mouth.

"How should I know?" the leader said witheringly

He reached down, intending to investigate closer. There was a maelstrom of wind as blue light exploded from the small rod. It expanded and enveloped the four in an orb. It shrank, and disappeared, along with its inhabitants.

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In the fortress of Hell, the lord of the realm sat meditatively on the opulent throne. When the events above transpired, his ice blue eyes snapped open, and he made a sound of disgust. He reached out and choked the nearest demon.

"Never send Demons to do a Bane’s work." He muttered. Tossing the body, he stood, and with a snap of his fingers, a cloaked figure detached from the shadows on the wall. It bowed briefly, and silently disappeared. With that, The Lord of Hell left the throne room, to make changes to his plan.

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In Central Park, Fiona and Gabriel waited for Celia on a bench. Fiona absently nibbled on her nail, and toyed with a strand of her long hair, stopping frequently to scan through the frenzied masses of people. It was a weekend, and it seemed like everyone was out. She would sit straighter at any glimpse of a blonde haired child, and slump back down when it wasn’t her sister. Gabriel sat next to her, reading the newspaper. Wearing suits, they blended in with all of the other young businessmen out for their lunch. Gabriel’s brown eyes flicked towards Fiona after her fourth sigh. Smiling a little, he reached out and gently stopped her from abusing her nail.

"Don’t worry, she’ll be here soon."

"I know, I know," She said ruefully, dropping her hands to her lap. " But Celia is usually very good at being on time and we were supposed to meet half an hour ago!"

"She probably just got held up somewhere." He said calmly. Fiona frowned

"All the same, I think I’m going to take a quick look around for her." She said, and stood.

A bit worried about Celia’s tardiness himself, although he would never tell Fiona, he nodded agreeably.

"I shouldn’t be gone long."

With a small gesture, she made herself invisible to mortal eyes. Her form shimmered, and the simple tan suit she had been wearing dissolved away and morphed into her tunic. The soft glow surrounding her made her fiery red hair seem even more vibrant than before. Gabriel blushed faintly, and was relieved that she didn’t notice. Fiona unfurled her wings and set off to search the area, leaving Gabriel to wait there in case Celia showed up. As she left, he brushed off his gray suit and went back to the newspaper.

*She was supposed to be coming from a surveillance job in Calgary, so I’ll head in that direction.*Fiona reasoned, and with a beat of her powerful wings, she sped west.

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The three bewildered demons cowered, and hissed as the magic dissipated, their beady eyes darting around to take in their sudden change of surroundings. There was no place for them to hide in shadows, because they had been deposited in a large sunny plain a distressing sign they somehow weren't in Ontario anymore. Other than the small circle of dirt they were standing on, there was nothing but grass. The waist high sea of apple green swayed with a gentle breeze, and puffy clouds drifted by in a pale blue sky.

"Too much sun. It burns." The second muttered, itching at his skin.

"I can't stand this much daylight." The third complained.

"Where the fuck are we? We’re gonna melt if we’re out here much longer." The second whined, itching harder at his leathery skin, till small black flakes came off. The little black cloud of skin drifted down and caught in the hair of the angel at their feet.

"Just give me a minute!" the leader snapped. “Something’s… not right…" He trailed off frowning.

Before he could figure out exactly what it was, he saw something moving slowly towards them on the horizon. Moving smoothly through the grass was the largest tiger they had ever seen, with green fur that made it hard to distinguish from it’s surroundings, and thick silver horns that curved around on the side of its head. As it got closer, they realized it wasn’t alone. As it turned to circle them slowly, they saw a rider sitting easily on it’s back, looked down at them impassively. It was a strange being with emerald color skin and long black hair pulled up in a ponytail. The rider was wearing a white kimono- like robe with red trim, tied with a red sash. Tucked in the sash was a long wicked looking sword. The rider’s hand rested casually on the hilt as it saw Celia’s ragged form.

"Wari nata jihei dara de?" It said in a demanding tone. The three demons looked at each other.

"What’d it say?" the second whispered, and the other two shrugged

"Beats me." The third whispered back

"Is it a girl or a guy?" the second wondered

A flash of irritation flickered in the riders bright yellow eyes, and the rider spoke again.

"So you speak the plain tongue then? I asked what you were doing here."

"Nothing that concerns you." The leader said sharply. The tiger bared its fangs at them. The rider raised a slender eyebrow at them, and replied simply:

"You are on Jihutenmoro land."

"Not for long, so bug off." The leader said impatiently, and nodding to his companions they each extended a claw.

Nothing happened.

More than a bit panicked now, the three immediately huddled, and began conversing rapidly in hushed tones. Unnoticed, the rider slipped lightly down from its mount.

"What’s wrong? Why won’t our magic work?" the third said.

"How are we supposed to get back down below?" the second moaned, and the leader replied

"Stop panicking, we’ll just touch the blue thing again, and I bet we’ll be zapped back to where we were"

"But what if it doesn’t work?" The third demanded

"If you have a better idea, I’d be thrilled to hear it." The leader snapped. At this, his petulant comrades fell silent.

They turned back to the girl, but before they could take out the strange necklace, they were thrown backwards by a wave of magic. The three scrambled up, to see the rider standing with one hand extended.

"I sense evil about you, and that this child was harmed by your hands. She will be coming with me. Leave this place before I decide to destroy you." It stated coolly.

Dismayed, the powerless demons hurriedly ran off, and the warrior knelt down to see to the girl. Briefly running it’s hands over her body; it determined she was in no immediate danger. Cradling her gently with one arm, the rider got back on its mount, and started off toward civilization.

As night fell on the plain, the rider stopped the tiger and dismounted. Setting Celia carefully on the ground, it opened the small pack and extracted a small blanket and a purple shawl. After wrapping the girl in the blanket and the shawl around it’s own shoulders, the rider gestured to the tiger. The beast padded over and lay next to the girl to supply extra warmth. The rider pulled the shawl tighter and settled down for the night.

The first thing Celia was aware of was the warm, heady smell of the earth beneath her. Then the memory of the fight came back and with it, the sharp pain in her head and her side. She let out a soft groan.

*Why hasn’t my magic repaired the damage?*

The sun made her skin prickle and she realized she was wrapped in a blanket. Someone had wiped off the blood. Fully expecting to be in shackles somewhere in the underworld and on her way to a dungeon, she opened her eyes fully. She sat up even though tears sprang into her eyes, stood gingerly, and looked around.

*Where in the world am I?* As she looked around, she felt a sudden heat on her neck and turned slowly to see the largest pair of gray eyes she had ever seen staring curiously at her.

Tbc..

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