Chapter 2

Lailah

I was running late, as usual. I always seemed to be late. No matter what I did or how early I started to prepare there never seemed to be a single day when I wasn't late. Today, however, I wasn't late for something simple like school. I was late for a meeting with my father, and my two best friends' fathers. They had asked to see us. None of us knew why, but when all three of our fathers asked to see us it was usually important. My best guess would be that they were going to give us new assignments to guard or a new mission. They were always giving us new human beings to guard or new missions to complete. Our job as half angels was to serve as guardian angels and protectors of the human race. It had been that way from the moment my friends and I were about eleven. That is the customary age a half angel can train for missions and become a guardian.

All half angels carried a gift from their angel parent. Mine was the gift of foresight. My father was Gabriel, the archangel messenger of Heaven. It was only natural that my gift should deal with news and tidings. Whether it was good or bad news I saw it. My father often came to me in dreams. He sent me messages and warnings. Many of the missions my friends and I received came from my gift. However, whatever this meeting was, I had not envisioned it. My two friends also had powers gifts given from their angel parents. Micah has the ability to heal with the touch of his hand, as long as the wound is not mortal or poisoned. His father is Raphael, the archangel known for healing. Elijah's gift is better used in battle. He is able to control the four major elements of earth, wind, water and fire. His father is Michael, the archangel of war.

I sighed and stared at my reflection in the mirror. The reason I was late this time was my inability to choose an outfit. When it came time to see my father I was always very picky with what I wore. Through the years he had brought me many dresses, all with holes in the back for my wings. They were all made by Heaven's finest dressmakers. As such, they were all quite beautiful and I always found it hard to choose one. I had finally chosen a simple white sundress he had brought me the last time he'd visited. The thing I loved the most about it was the glitter. It was perfectly placed so that when the sun hit it at the right angle it made the dress shimmer. That was what I loved.

I slipped on some white ballet flats and ran out the door. I didn't tell my mother where I was going. If I told her she would only argue with me and try to stop me. My mother and I had a very strained relationship. We loved each other, and yet we were always getting on each other's nerves. We argued more than we got along. So, it was always best for me to leave her in the dark. She would never understand. She never had. When I was a little girl it had bothered me, but my father had been there and helped me to get over it. I simply accepted it for what it was now. I knew she loved me, she just didn't know how to show it.

I loved running almost as much as I loved flying. I loved the feeling of the wind rushing around me and blowing wildly through my hair. I loved the feeling of the ground under my feet. I loved the sound of my footfalls with every touch of the ground. However, flying was what I loved the most. I loved the feeling of the wind against my wings and the rush that touching off the ground left me with. So, I quickly took a running jump and spread my small, white and feathery wings. The wind caught them easily and within moments I was flying through the air, escalating toward my destination.

We were meeting at what Elijah, Micah and I liked to call out playhouse. It had been our favorite place growing up. Whenever one of our fathers visited they would take us to this particular cloud. It was often called the cloud of dreams by my father. As children this cloud had served as our playground, and now it served as a conference room. It was called the cloud of dreams because it became whatever the users of the cloud needed. As children we had needed a playground. Now, we needed a safe meeting place away from Heaven and Earth.

As I landed on the cloud I saw my friends, Micah and Elijah, sitting across from our fathers at the long conference table. I couldn't help but smile. I was always glad to see my friends. The closer we got to Heaven the more their blond hair seemed to glow. Their hair seemed to shine on top, almost forming a halo, but not quite. Our fathers had that halo. However, we were only half angel and as such we would not gain that. I quickly slid into the chair next to Micah and across from my father. I couldn't help but blush as all eyes turned to look at me.

"Better late than never." Elijah teased, smirking.

"Elijah, leave her be." my father stated, smiling at me from across the table.

Even if my father knew that Elijah was teasing he would still defend me. He always had and probably always would. That was something I loved about him. Unlike Elijah's father, Michael, my father showed how much he cared and admired me. Even when I was late he would flash me a smile to let me know he didn't mind and it was okay. No one was ever allowed to insult me when my father was around. If no one knew I was his daughter by how he defended me, they would know with a simple glance. We had the same curly red hair and deep blue eyes. Of course, my hair was to my mid-back and long, where my father's was short. I also had freckles across my nose and all over my face, where my father had none. Yet, the family resemblance was striking.

"I was only teasing her." Elijah argued, making a face. I knew that Elijah was stubborn. He didn't like to be corrected and believed he was always right. It was obvious he didn't like that my father had defended me. We all knew he was teasing, but my father wasn't one for joking around in serious situations. It was obvious to me by the look on everyone's faces that this meeting was serious.

"Well, enough son. We have important matters to discuss." Michael scolded, giving Elijah a warning glance.

Michael was nothing like my father or Micah's dad, Raphael. Where our fathers were gentle and kind souls by nature, Michael was strict and often times a bit cold. Raphael and Michael shared similar looks in some ways. They both had blond hair and the same gray eyes. Yet, while Raphael was kindly, Michael was rough. He had many scars and he had a bulky frame compared to Raphael's small frame. Elijah shared that bulkiness. However, the most shocking difference between my father, Raphael and Michael were their wings. Where my father and Raphael had the soft, feathery and white wings that most angels had, Michael's were different. His were covered in a hard, metal, retractable armor. He retracted the armor to fly, but otherwise he left it coating his wings.

"What important matters?" Micah questioned. His voice was barely above a whisper. Micah was the laid back and quiet one of the three of us. He could be a bit shy when he was uncomfortable. I knew that Michael made Micah uncomfortable. Hell, Michael made all of us uncomfortable, even his own son. He was an intimidating presence and he was not the nicest person known to man.

"Lucifer is planning something." my father told us, running a hand through his hair.

"What does that have to do with us?" Elijah asked, rolling his eyes.

"I think what Elijah means is what can we do to help?" I rephrased. Elijah was impatient and he could be outright rude sometimes. I usually tried to rephrase things and keep balance when he snapped.

"Well, alone you three can't do much. He's teamed up with someone powerful on Olympus. We don't know their exact plans, but we do know that they're plotting against Earth, and as guardians it's your job to protect Earth. The three of you will need help from Olympus, if you want to succeed." Michael informed us.

"Whose help do we need?" Micah inquired, pushing his glasses up on his nose. Micah looked a lot like Raphael. He had the same blond hair and the same gray eyes. Yet, Micah's hair was usually a messy mop on his head and he also wore thick black glasses. Plus, he was much shorter and skinnier than his father. I often teased him and called him a stick.

"There should be demigods coming to meet you. They'll help you. This plan affects them just as much as you three." My father replied.

"Do they know about us?" I asked, baffled by all of this.

"Yes, Apollo should have told them about you, at least somewhat. I asked him for assistance and told him where the three of you could be found. They should arrive sometime today or tomorrow." Raphael responded.

I simply nodded and looked at my friends. All of this was a lot to take in and none of it truly made sense to me. I had always thought that demigods were only myths and legends. That's what I had always learned in school. After all, it was all categorized under Greek mythology nowadays. After all, angels were obviously real, so how could Greek gods and goddesses be real too? How was that possible? Yet, Raphael was telling us we were going to be working with demigods and that he had spoken to the god Apollo, so they must be real. I just wasn't sure how.

"Dad, if there are demigods….then the Greek gods and goddesses are all real? It isn't just myths and legends?" I asked, needing some kind of answer and knowing my father would answer if he could.

"Yes, all of it is real. Lailah, every single religion that exists has it right. Every one of them exists. When a human dies, we take the souls that are ours, that believed in us. We take the souls who believe in our father and all of us, the angels. Hades gains the souls who believed, and even the few who still believe, in him and the Olympians. I'm not going to get into the other religions, but all of them exist. The easiest way to look at it is that each religion is like a different country. The biggest difference is they are only visible to humans after death and the mortals can only see the country that houses the religion they believed in. I don't know how helpful that is to you, but it is the best explanation I can give." My father explained, sighing.

"Oh…wow, I guess that makes sense." I voiced, totally astonished. He did put it into perspective, but it was still a lot to take in. I had lived knowing about angels and fallen angels my whole life. Yet, knowing all the other religions, including Greek mythology, were real was a bit shocking to me.

"Yes, but the three of you don't have to worry about any of it. You belong to two worlds and as such you will always be able to see all the worlds as long as you believe. When you die, you will come to us regardless of your choices. You were born of this world and the human world and this world is where you will return." Raphael explained.

"Thank you!" I said, smiling at both of them. I jumped up and ran to the other side of the table to hug my father.

"You're welcome, honey. Now, the three of you should go. The demigods should be arriving soon and you don't want to miss them." He said, returning my hug and running a hand through my hair.

"Where are we meeting them?" Elijah questioned, his arms crossed.

"At your house, I gave them your address." Raphael stated.

Elijah and Micah lived together. Micah's mother had died when he was very young and he had lived with Elijah ever since. It made sense that Raphael would give his son's address. Besides, Elijah's mother would not be at a complete loss to what was occurring. Elijah's mother was a half angel herself. She would understand what was going on, even if she wasn't involved. She would be much more welcoming than my mother. My mother would only argue.

"Thanks, we'll see you all soon I'm sure." I said, pulling away from the hug and leading my friends back to Micah and Elijah's house to wait for the arrival of the demigods.