Skipping through the wide, highly decorated lobby that led to her father's study, Tiara Inerio slightly wondered why this part of the building felt eerily cold.

She rubbed her shoulders, shivering, and guessed perhaps one of the servants had forgotten to put off the central air conditioning system. But it wasn't this cold downstairs.

Well, she reasoned, the body heat of all the guests downstairs could have cancelled the chilly effect.
She looked down at her after-party gown, a simple silvery gown made of layers of silk and satin, and was satisfied that she was neatly  covered.

She had escaped out of the boisterous noise and partying with her faux friends and stinking rich business moguls who had all brought their respective sons to vie for her hand, and gone for a stroll in the garden with Dave, her trusted bodyguard.
Then, it happened.
Her father had to know what had transpired tonight.

Her father, Mr Bennett Inerio, was the billionaire CEO of Injel Corporation and she was his heiress. Ever since he divorced her mother, Tiara had been the pampered girl of her father, though he barely had time to spend alone with her.

She had all the luxuries in the world. Being just a teenage girl crossing over to womanhood, her father threw her a flamboyant sweet sixteen party upon her request. 

Tiara always felt people used her and wanted to get close to her because of her net worth and her captivating beauty.

Secretly, she suffered from anorexia nervosa, always starving herself to maintain her lithe shape, because of an inherent fear that men would leave her just like her dad left her mom.

That was until she met Dave.
Her Dad had hired Dave Badmus as her bodyguard after a frightening incident at her former school when some gunmen held all the students hostage until an insanely huge ransom was paid.
Dave was a part-time employee of her father who took time off his college holidays to earn some cool cash since he had a solid background in martial arts. At first, Tiara wasn't happy to be so closely monitored, but as she got to know Dave inch by inch, it wasn't so bad anymore.

He was masculine and well-built such that his presence made all the girls in her school constantly drool after them, but there was something else about him that was attractive. This otherworldly glow and gentle spirit, when he wasn't kicking bad guys' asses of course.

Up for the new and fascinating challenge, she promptly ignored all her truckload of admirers and began to use all the tactics in her sleeves to try to seduce him to fall for her.

However, it was as though Dave's heart was carved out of steel and stone. He was either always fleeing or unmoved by her many seductive antics. Instead, his thoughtful and caring nature won her over. He restrained himself from taking advantage of her on many occasions.

When she found out he was a Christian, it all began to make sense. Though she detested religion, she didn't flinch when Dave began to talk to her about God. Soon, her attention shifted from Dave to the God he always talked about in glowing terms. She began her quest for truth, with Dave eager to guide her on the way. And she found what she'd been looking for in God.

Alone with Dave in the lush garden, she announced to him her decision to accept Jesus. His normally stoic face had lit up in delight and he had led her in the sinner's prayer, keeping his distance of course.

Feeling so free and loved, she had excused herself from him to go upstairs. Her aim was to tell her Dad. He had to know this liberation too.

She unlocked the door of her father's gigantic study.

"Dad! Dad, I have the most amazing news to share with you!" she gushed as she pushed the door in. 

The swivel chair slowly turned to reveal her father.
But, wait, something was wrong. His head was bent downward at an awkward angle and he was oddly quiet. Hadn't he excused himself from the party to attend to some important business?

She frowned and stepped one foot closer. "Dad? Is everything alright?"

Her father raised his head and looked straight at her with cold bloodshot eyes. A dangerous smirk pulled his lips and his voice came out in a disembodied snarl.

"Welcome, Tiara. You're just in time for stage two of your party."

No! This was not her father. She had stepped right into a trap.

She wanted to scream to call for help but her lips were glued shut. Her fingers began a heavy shaking and her heart thudded so hard she felt it would explode in a splash of red inside her chest. 

Somewhere in the back of her head, she could hear Dave's voice speaking scripture to her on the nights when her nightmares disturbed her sleep: Remember, He promised, I am with you even till the end of the world.

She aligned her heart to the words and began to breathe them in by faith.

'I am now a child of God, I will not be oppressed for God has not given me the spirit of fear.'

This angered the demon out of the depths of Hades. It let out a guttural growl.

Tiara sucked in a sharp breath as she watched the abysmal transformation happening before her.

The faux skin of her father melted away like wax before fire and a hideous, phantom-like being in a black hoodie emerged, cackling maliciously. A thick stench rose and assaulted her nostrils.

"You think you can ever get free from me, you cowardly worm? Nah. I've got you in my palms here. You're bound to me forever!" The demon let out an echoing cackle.

Tiara spun on her heels as fast as she could and stumble-ran out of the office. Her mind was entangled. Where was her father? Why was this happening now? She had never believed in speculative creatures but without a doubt, she was being confronted by one.

The lobby seemed dimmer than normal and stretched without end. She ran and ran, down the lobby while the creature effortlessly gained on her.

As the putrid smell grew stronger, choking her, Tiara lost her balance and tripped on a kink on the floor. Oh no! This was bad, really bad. She turned on her back—her ankle was sprained and hurt so bad that she could not stand—and began to wiggle away using her elbows as support.

On seeing her state, the demonic entity slowed its pace to a triumphant stroll.

It brought out a scythe from a black puff that appeared over its fore appendages and began brandishing it.

"You think you're good enough to be accepted by the One Up High now? Have you forgotten all your atrocities and sins? Wanna give them up all so easily? The porn dates, the drugs and alcohol, the wild partying? I, dear, sponsored all of that. No one turns her back on me and goes unscathed!

Dave's words spring in her mind and dislodged the lie immediately. "I'm a child of God, forgiven and bought by the blood of His precious Son. I am redeemed. I am no longer the same old me. That me is dead forever."

The creature narrowed its eyes to laser-piercing slits and leaned into her face. Tiara could see the scaly wrinkles and its soulless bloodred eyes and decided that it would be preferable to faint than to have to look into this grotesque face any longer.

"Well, dear, bye-bye it is... Hope to see you on the other side."

Tiara shut her eyes tight and prayed a quick desperate prayer. 'Oh, Jesus please save me from whatever this is.'

At that moment, things happened so fast that she barely had time to breathe.

She knew when the tentacles of that monster hit her. The damn demon was out to kill her, no doubt. She felt the pain as slices of glass cut her body as she was flung out the glazed windows that lined the edge of the lobby. She felt weightless as gravity pulled her for a bloody embrace on the garage floor below.

Before impact could happen, strong hands scooped her up just in time. However, she heard and felt the crunch of metal against metal.
Dad wasn't going to be happy about this at all. This gold-coated Lamborghini was one of his favourite and most expensive vehicles.

"Hang on," a warm strong voice whispered into her ears.

Without thinking, Tiara placed her hands over her rescuer's neck to anchor herself and buried her face in his chest. He had an exotic scent around him that calmed her nerves.

In the next second, she knew whoever this was had taken off upwards. How? Wings! She could hear them flapping and could feel the breeze weaving its way through her lilac-tinted locs.
She peeked an eye open to have a glimpse of what was happening.

Her rescuer was a huge man with unusual glittering silvery hair. Tiara sensed he was ancient and agile as a youth at the same time. He wore a white regalia that was so chic she wondered what designer had gone through the painstaking process of embroidering those intricate silver patterns on the hem of his overall.
His arms and legs were covered in silver-plated armour-like shin protectors. A silver sword was hidden in the folds of his overall. He was immaculate and had an aura of authority about him that gave her an unusual confidence.

He swivelled back with her still in his hands. Tiara watched as he stretched his hand towards the pursuing monster.
Boom! A streak of white lightning zapped at the monster and exploded. The demon recoiled, shrieked and let out a string of cuss words as it gathered itself together.

"Pray," the same voice came again.

Pray? How was she supposed to focus on prayer amid this chaotic action-packed scene? She didn't even know the proper procedure to talk to God. Quickly, he sent a frantic plea for help up to Heaven.

With one quick swing of his arms, the man strapped her securely to his back. Tiara was in such proximity to his working wings that she was momentarily distracted by their grandeur.

The winged man rose higher and higher in the atmosphere and Tiara had to stifle the urge to squeal in delight.

The feeling was surreal, 'twas like she was travelling through time and space, safe with this strange friend.

Looking back, she noticed that the monster looking very annoyed, apparently held back by an invisible net.

Her winged companion turned to face the wiggling monster and, speaking in a tongue she didn't understand and began to conjure up lightning from his now-unsheathed silver sword. A continuous current of powerful lightning flowed with a cackle and sizzle at the demon who roared so fearfully. The monster was blown to smithereens within the next second. Black gooey blood spilled all over and disappeared to nothingness.

Finally, her winged rescuer changed flight direction and alighted on her room's balcony upstairs. Her breathing was heavy and her legs shaky when she got down but he watched her wordlessly, seemingly unaffected by that exhilarating battle. When he was sure that her breathing had settled, he turned, making to leave.

"Wait!" she said. The man in white paused but didn't turn.
"Thank you for saving me, from that... Whatever that was. May I please know your name?"

"Give all glory to the One who now owns your life. He has snatched you once and for all from the oppression of the taskmaster. As for my name and identity, only the One who commissioned you as my charge is authorised to let you know."

His voice was firm yet silky and the small smile he gave her erased all her fears.
Tiara couldn't deny the fact that he had a stronger degree of the aura that she always felt around Dave oozing from him too. Peace unspeakable.

She smiled gratefully at him, and knowing what to do as though on cue by his nod, she clasped her hands and closed her eyes.

"Thank you, God, for saving me."
Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. This was what true freedom tasted like.

As if a stamp of revelation was impressed on her mind, she heard the clear whisper: 'This is your guardian angel, activated by the intercession of your friend Dave, and your newfound faith in Christ. For He will give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands lest you dash your feet against the stone.'

As soon as the knowledge dropped into her head and she snapped her eyes open, the winged man took off in a run and bounded upward in flight before disappearing in a bright flash of light that almost blinded her.

She jerked up from her bed, sweating all over, her heart racing like a speedometer gone haywire.

It was all a dream. She had gone to her father's office indeed, but he wasn't there so she retired to her room early to sleep, exhausted from the events of the day.

Her mind spun as the images from the vivid dream replayed in her mind. She could almost hear the powerful flapping of wings outside her window. Or was she imagining it?

She wore her muffled slip-ons and moved out of her room. She had to find Dave. She needed to talk to him and tell him what had happened. He could have a deeper insight on what to do about it.

Dave was not at his usual sentinel post by her door, which was quite unusual.
She went downstairs to the kitchen where everything was now quiet.

She pulled out yoghurt from the fridge and a cup to drink it. As she drank, she could hear a soft groaning sound coming from the balcony of the kitchen. Startled, she paused to listen carefully. It came again, softer and clearer this time.

Quietly, she slipped out into the chilly moonlit night and saw Dave bent over, his muscular arms gripping the poor railing as he prayed. His lips moved soundlessly and occasionally sounds of groaning would come out.

Her heart warmed. She just knew he was praying for her. She had met her guardian angel in her dream, resplendent in glory. But standing before her, in the night's cold, was the angel in human form that had and would continue to rescue her and make her soar on eagle's wings.

Silently, she knelt beside him and joined his prayers, happy that this man had been instrumental in her freedom. She hoped she would be granted the privilege of soaring with Him.

~~~

Author's note: As you probably already know, I am very fascinated by the concept of every believer having a guardian angel who has been commissioned to watch over that person. 😇

I've wondered things like, when do they come to action—from birth or from the moment one accepts Christ? Or is there a level of authority they wield at each level?🤔🤔

Now, I know most people may have not experienced anything so dramatic to commemorate their born-again experience.
But wouldn't it be epic if so? 😋😋

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did writing it. Thanks so much to everyone who voted that this story be written from the image prompt I posted on my WhatsApp status.
I would appreciate your votes, comments and shares. God bless you all. 💖💖💖