To human eyes, there was nothing particularly special about last night. Colleen Calhoun is a woman in her mid-thirties whose name is unknown to most of the world, a mother of two who works at a small-town newspaper. But Colleen also volunteers for a women’s shelter three nights a week, and her counsel and comfort have saved many women from despair, thereby snatching them out of the Enemy’s grasp. This is what made her a target for vengeance and put…
I admit that I am uneasy leaving Alex without my protection tomorrow night. But Taralom’s sharp gaze is fixed on this situation, and Inca, Anatole, and Tyisha have all promised to look in on him for me. He will be safe while I go on my very first scouting mission. The objective is simple: one of Ananiah’s charges is going on a journey alone, and Ananiah believes that her solitude will leave her vulnerable to attack. She and another Cherub,…
What is right is not always clear. Even an angel can be uncertain of the right course to take, and I have been more confused than most these past few days. What does it mean when helping one of my own means leading him around the edges of the law? If I myself did not take part in this tentative lawbreaking, am I still complicit if I do not stop him? And am I right to believe that what is…
I was at training with Ophell and Ruhamah when the urgent call came. There was enough fear in Taralom’s voice that despite the insult to my partner and my teacher, I left without a word. I arrived on Earth in the hall just outside Miranda’s apartment. There was such an air of tranquility all around me as families of all different shapes settled down for the evening. Against this, the blaze of fear from a familiar heart was striking and…
Confusion is contagious. Watching over so many people who don’t know what to think, I myself do not know what to feel. I knew, of course, of the spread of a new virus—Brid has been worrying about it for some months now. But even in my sympathy for her I did not give the threat much thought. She, like me, works with charges in North America, and so it has not been our direct concern until very recently. And I…
Money has continued to trickle through Alex’s careful management into Miranda’s account. Every week, he comes up to their door—usually choosing a time that they’re not there or asleep—and slides another receipt under their door. This week, Miranda finally managed to catch him. He was already on the steps when she threw open the door and came running after him. “Wait!” she called. “Alex?” He stopped on the steps, though it was raining quite hard, and glanced up at her. …
If someone had told me that there would come a day that I found Freya’s company to be restful, I may have laughed aloud. And yet between my training, patrols, and the nervous tension which is Alex’s constant companion, it is true that my quietest time is the time I spend with Freya. I confess this with a certain level of guilt, because I should be working with her, as well. She is my charge as much as Alex is,…
Taralom called me down this afternoon, with sufficient urgency that I left a training session with Orison and Ophell. I arrived just in time to see Alex slamming back against a wall, his collar clutched in the fists of a man much larger than he is. I didn’t bother at first trying to understand the situation. Landing directly behind the man, I spread my wings to their full extent. “Let him go,” I growled. The man did so, taking a…
This afternoon Alex was on duty outside the Spiller’s apartment building. “Miranda” has already made three payments at regular intervals, which should have won her enough trust to no longer be watched, but Hill is suspicious by nature. Still, she and Evan are not watched full-time, and so it has been a while since Alex was given this particular duty. As before, he stayed in the car, but one sharp-eyed young man was paying attention, and only half an hour…
I have been very busy in the past few days—when I was not in training, I was on patrol, and when I was not on patrol I was watching over Alex. I have hardly seen Freya, though I make a point of visiting her at least for a few moments every day. I do not want her to feel alone as she was while I was gone. Training to be a scout is an interesting endeavor. There is less concern…