In the past few days, there has been a great deal of time to think. I have had time to settle into my new self, my new role, and it has brought me to a decision. This is going to be the last installment in this record. I have been telling a great story these five years. I thought that I was telling the stories of my charges, and I did, and I hold those stories still in my heart.…
When I touched down at Esther’s this afternoon, all four of my friends were waiting for me on the back porch. I did not receive the usual greeting, though. “Oh, holy fuck,” Kara exclaimed, jumping up from her seat. George flinched, and not just because of the profanity, though he did grimace at his wife. Esther covered her face, unable to breathe for a moment. But Freya got to her feet, staring at me, tears growing in her eyes. “Oh,…
After momentous events, there is a certain expectation that, in time, life will go back to normal. We are all so eager for that illusion of peace and safety in the things that happen the same way each and every day, we forget sometimes that there is no going back. Sometimes, you must just move forward and find a new way of being safe in yourself. I am fortunate, at least, in that all of my peers know exactly what…
I will try to write it, though words could never hold it all. We were celebrating too soon. We knew that it wasn’t over, but Asoharith had been the face of the enemy for so long, and we were all so glad to be rid of her at last. I could feel Ace’s hurt, but I knew that he didn’t grudge us the relief. And I really did feel it. It felt like the end, like all the weight had…
The sun is not yet rising, but it is over now. I can hardly think what to feel now. I am very tired, and still angry, but mostly I am just numb. It is over, and Asoharith is dead, but how close I came to losing everything, indeed! She struck where I did not think to protect. It was too horrible even to consider this loss, so I did not. I thought her safe in heaven, safe in her role…
It will happen today. I have been searching and stretching myself along the thread, trying to find Asoharith. Just as tirelessly, she has been blocking me, but I believe it was just to wait for this day. Four years ago to the day, I came into Shannon Kilkenny’s life. To Asoharith, this day was the beginning of the end for her, the start of all the hell and harm. She believes that the meaning of this day will give her…
I was at training with Freya behind the Seilers’ house when we heard the cry—one quick shout from Anathalie, quickly stifled. But it was enough. I burst into flight, and instantly I felt Orison at my left and Salathiel at my right, with Ruhamah and Ero’an flanking us. We have been waiting for this moment for some time. “We have the heading,” Orison assured me, nudging his wing underneath mine to guide me. “Find the thread, Asa’el.” I closed my…
My training with Freya has been going well. At her insistence, we have been focusing on defense rather than attack, and today we threw up a barrier that Salathiel, Anathalie, and Ruhamah together could not breach. Salathiel was very pleased. All of us were, except for Freya. She was just quiet. She has been quiet for days now. Normally I would not press her, but it is our opinion now that whatever Asoharith is planning, it will happen on the…
Of course Freya was furious with me for accepting Asoharith’s offer. “You’re going to sit there and let her tear you to shreds for the chance that she might let something slip?” she demanded. “Why would you do that when you know something bad is going to come out of it?” “If I can get any information from her that will help us, it will be worth the pain. There is still so much we don’t know—how many allies she…
I am not certain how to feel about this day’s work. For several days now, I have been searching for the Harbinger who has been helping Asoharith. It has not been easy, even with Simmah’s guidance, for the Enemy closely guards those few they possess who can look into the future. But today, I was told precisely where I might find this creature. It was in a moonlit meadow that we waited, not far from Orison’s mountain, in fact. This…