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…