Apprentice Angel

During my book tour, I've shared several excerpts from Really Angelic. I'm going to share some of them here in the next few weeks. Here is the first one:

“What do you want now?” Elizabeth demanded with some annoyance. She reclined on the bed, not bothering to raise and greet the angel properly.

“I want to make sure you have been learning your way with the angelic quill,” Mihaela said.

“Well, I have learned a fair bit about Himins and my jobs from it. But I know not how I am to protect my ward, nor have I developed any angelic skills.”

“Then I will teach you some, now.”

“But I am tired and I have a headache,” she said with a sigh. “Can we not leave it for another day?”

“There is no skirting of your duties, young thing.” Mihaela said, turning into Michael and speaking in a deep, serious voice.

She recoiled, still uneasy over having a man in her room, even if he was an angel.
“Very well then, sir.” She put on a robe and said, “But can you change back to Mihaela?”

“You are an impertinent low-level angel.” He scowled but complied with her request, returning to his female form. “Nevertheless, I shall now teach you how to fly.”

She asked in awe, “So I have wings?”

“Yes, they are embedded inside your bone but you can only use them when you come to your ward’s rescue or request,” Mihaela said. “Simply roll your shoulders, left, right and left, then chant ‘Crosswind and Whirlwind, I trust Ventara, the God of Wind.’ Wings will then spring out from the back of your neck.”

She wanted to laugh at the silly chant but she could see that the Commissioner was losing patience. She did as she was told and to her complete astonishment, she felt a strong tickling at the base of her neck and suddenly her skin seemed to burst. She turned and saw the wings, at her back!

“You have but to concentrate on where you want to go, Lizzybell,” Mihaela said.
“Perhaps you would like to try flying out of the window?”

“I could not possibly!” She exclaimed.

“Just fly across the bed then, if your faith is so frail.”

She focused on the other side of the bed and felt her feet lift off the floor. Startled, she looked down at the ground, losing her focus, which made her drop back to the floor with a loud thud.

From below, her mother’s voice screeched, “My dear husband, what was that sound? Are the French coming? I’m certain that it came from my daughter’s room! Oh my, have they come to kidnap her?”

Then a succession of rapid footfalls was heard, ascending the stairs.