Things have been quiet lately for me. There have been several days lately where I have found myself looking around for work to be done. All but one of my charges have been so happy lately that they have little need of me—which is a marvelous problem to have, but it can be a problem.
Hannah and Jack are beginning to plan their wedding—they’ve settled on a date next year, in the fall. Lily has made them promise that they will not visit any potential venues without her. Meanwhile Allen and Megan have a solid plan, as could be expected from Allen. They have a just-in-case contract to protect themselves should the relationship not go well, but I have every reason to believe it will not be needed. They are happier than ever, having begun to set up Allen’s studio in Megan’s house, and Megan has said more than once that she will be lucky to have Allen as a business partner.
And then, with Lewis and Kyle, the search is over. Lewis has enrolled in a psychology program that starts in the spring, and with any luck he will be able to finish in two years. Having a plan and a direction for himself has done wonders for him. He has better energy, and day-to-day he is more hopeful. Even Brid is saying that he may not need her much longer. As for Kyle, he has been talking to Anna’s pastor about the possibility of getting baptized. Anna could not be prouder or more content with him.
There is Freya, of course, who has yet to find such happiness, but after the confusion and struggle with Henry and Archer, she is not in the mood to look for another. She will need a bit of time.
And so I admit, I am a bit at odds. I feel almost guilty to have so much time on my hands when my brothers and sisters have so much to do. Orison was telling me just the other day that their wings are not quite full just now, forcing some of the Guardians to relinquish charges who deserve protection, leaving them vulnerable. “There are never enough Guardians,” he told me with a sigh.
“But how can that be, when it is the Father himself who shapes souls?” I asked him. “Could He not simply make more?”
“He does, Asa’el,” Orison told me. “There are more Guardians in heaven than there are any other kind of angel. But sometimes that is the problem. Guardians become more quickly disillusioned with the long fight, and for better or worse they carry the inclination toward violence in their souls when they are incarnated. It is a delicate balance, having enough warriors to defend our people that they are not stretched too thin, but not too many to overset the balance of peaceful souls in the world.”
I had not considered this. “Is it not possible, though,” I asked him, “for a warrior to have a peaceful soul?”
“Possible, but rare,” Orison said with a smile. “To defend one’s own heart from violence requires a forceful will, which is not given by the Father. It must be learned, and earned.”
I shook my head and told him that I wished that I could help. He gave me a very odd look and departed before I could ask what it meant.
I have spoken to Danit, and I am certain that she will find more work for me to do. It is possible she will remove multiple charges from me at once, and then I may make multiple new beginnings. That would be strange, but I look forward to the challenge of it. And I feel in my spirit that it is time for a change.