Asius pondered the slow advance of his progress while he listened with one ear to the conversation going on around the table.

  “. . . it seems,” said Sailo, a Counselor Asius had not managed to talk into supporting him, “they are about to determine the origin of the deterioration of the harmony in the Nest and, consequently, of the evil that is destroying the Minors’ plane . . .”

  After the last meeting of the Council, Diacos had led him to believe he would meet with him to reconsider changing his stance on the proposal to check the Threshold’s defenses. Zaedon, the Hero’s assistant, had stuck to him like glue since then. He only left him occasionally to keep Diacos informed, and only for short periods of time. Asius had asked him to remind his boss that he was totally available to meet with him and exchange ideas but Zaedon always came back with the same answer: Diacos would let him know as soon as he could make some time for him.

  Truth be told, it had been easy enough for Asius to get used to Zaedon’s presence. He was very quiet and, though he was always nearby, he never got in the way. Sometimes Asius would even forget he was there, only to turn and trip over his stealthy companion. His short hair and beard were white, which gave his head the strange appearance of being covered in cotton. His dark brown eyes didn’t fit right with his odd face, and he ended up looking like an elderly Minor. He rarely participated in conversation and, when he did, it wasn’t to add anything of value but rather to emphasize some point which Asius suspected he didn’t actually fully grasp. But the one thing that was starting to grate on his nerves was that he was saddled with him but wasn’t getting any results in return.

  His focus again returned to his main preoccupation, which was to sway the Council just enough to dismantle the powerful influence Ergon had over them.

  “. . . the problem is localized in the Fourth Sphere,” Sailo continued with his explanation. Naela and, of course, Zaedon, were also in the room. “As we all know, that sphere has stopped; it has completely rejected its orbit, thereby destroying the delicate balance of the Nest. What they’ve discovered is that something outside that plane is interfering with its movement and keeping it still.”

  “How is it possible that it’s something from another dimension?” challenged Naela. Zaedon’s eyes moved from speaker to speaker, attentively following the course of the conversation. “The planes have never crossed. The Fog is the only point of intersection.”

  “The theory with the most consensus suggests that the Wave brought about the crossing of planes,” Sailo clarified. “And that’s where we’re now concentrating the investigation.”

  “I don’t deny the importance of those investigations,” Asius intervened, seeing his chance to shift the conversation into the direction he wanted it to go. “Undoubtedly, digging deeper into this and finding out the truth should absolutely be a priority, especially since the Minors are depending on us. But we lose nothing by delaying things a little and verifying we are facing a more immediate danger.”

  “And my understanding is that the danger you’re referring to is the Fallen,” Sailo concluded.

  “Yes, that’s right. I have no proof, as you know. But do you really think a couple months’ delay is such a big deal?”

  “Ergon does not believe we should delay for something that, in all reality, is not a true threat,” responded Sailo, “and at most is a simple annoyance we will easily remedy.”

  “Well, I do believe it’s worth it to check our defenses,” said Naela, openly supporting Asius for the first time in the presence of another Counselor. But Asius had already been counting on her. It was Sailo whom he had to convince right now. Of the seven Counselors, there were three who already agreed with him. One was undecided and two were against; of those two, Sailo was the one he needed most to try to influence Renuin.

  “Sailo, look at it from my point of view for a second,” insisted Asius. “Imagine the Fallen attack us and we aren’t prepared. I know the Citadel is impregnable but if a surprise battle breaks out, many of us will die, and that brings with it serious consequences. The first is that we will then have to invest the time we’re trying to save now to reinforce our defenses. And the second—and more catastrophic—is that the delay will be much greater when we have to rededicate those of us who are now investigating the Wave to covering the posts for those who’ve perished in the battle.”

  Sailo silently contemplated this, his face showing his concentration. “That possibility is terribly remote, don’t you think?”

  Asius savored the doubt in Sailo’s voice. He almost had him; it was only a matter of one more little push.

  “No one knows,” acknowledged Asius. “But I wouldn’t play with our people’s lives to avoid a delay of a few months. If there is a surprise war, I have more than a few doubts. But if you have absolutely no doubt,” Asius hardened the stare he was directing at Sailo, “that such an attack could ever occur, then carry on. Vote against me and keep your two precious months.”

  It was the last trick Asius had to play. If he didn’t score with it, he’d have to think of something that didn’t require the support of the Counselors. The problem was he had no back-up plan.

  “In any case, my help won’t do you any good. Ergon and Diacos will not support your plan and Renuin seems undecided,” said Sailo. Asius knew he was already convinced. The only thing left was to eliminate his fear of Ergon. “Without having at least one of the Justices on your side, the Counselors can’t do anything.”

  “Right you are,” said Asius, trying to mask his enthusiasm. “I’ll take care of the Counselors. You just have to do me one small favor, and then we might be able to get Renuin’s support.”

  “You’ll convince the rest of the Counselors?”

  “Didn’t he just convince you?” Naela asked.

  “I’ll convince them. But I need you to get this to Renuin’s assistant.” Asius took out a crystal and set it on the table.

  “What’s that?” asked Sailo.

  “It’s the complete report on the pursuit of Raven that Diago sent.

  “Doesn’t Renuin already have it?”

  “She has an abbreviated version. And I don’t trust that what they decided to omit wasn’t essential information. If she reads it just as Diago wrote it, I assure you she’ll change her mind.”

  “Why don’t you get it to her yourself?” Sailo asked suspiciously. “I’m laying myself open to a ton of uncomfortable questions if I do it. I can imagine the first one, too: ‘Why are you giving me a report I already have?’ And the second: ‘Are you insinuating someone has tampered with the summary report already in my possession?’”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “That’s precisely why you should do it. They won’t even let me in after the beating I took from Ergon in the Assembly. But you get along really well with her assistant. We need to take advantage of that friendship to make sure Renuin reads the report.”

  “I see what you’re get—”

  Just then. the door of the room flew open, cutting off Sailo mid-sentence. A Runner entered and, from his appearance, he’d apparently rushed there as fast as he could.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt,” he said quickly. “Counselor Asius, you have to go to the Sanctuary in the Citadel right away.”

  “What’s wrong?” asked Asius, his voice full of worry.

  “I don’t know, Counselor. They just told me to deliver the message to you.”

  “Who sent you here?”

  “Vyns,” was his short response.

  Asius immediately stood up and headed for the door. He stopped in the doorway and turned around, bumping into Zaedon who had hurried to followed him.

  “Sailo,” he said as he moved Zaedon to the side with his hand, “do what I asked you to. Please.” He gave a quick, pleading look at Naela and left the room with Zaedon in tow.

  All this was eating him up inside like a powerful, quickly spreading acid. And now he’d been summoned to the Sanctuary. That could only mean that someone was wounded, and it had to be quite serious if they couldn’t heal whoever it was someplace else. But there was one other possibility: someone had died. He didn’t understand why Diago hadn’t been the one who’d sent someone to get him. Perhaps he was busy taking care of the one who was wounded, or maybe he was still on Earth and had just sent Vyns to inform him of something urgent. He knew he was wasting energy trying to guess what had happened since he had no more information than where he was supposed to go, but his mind stubbornly insisted on turning it all over on the way there.

  They got to the Citadel and went straight to the Sanctuary. Asius opened the door and went in, followed by Zaedon.

  “We should know something by now!” Vyns’s voice sounded strangely agitated. He was pacing in front of Lyam, who was seated in a chair with his hands resting on his knees and his eyes staring blankly at the floor.

  “What happened?” Asius asked, walking over to them.

  “Asius!” Vyns spun around as soon as he heard his voice. “It’s Diago . . . we were trying to capture Raven . . . The Fog was . . . that traitor caused a cave-in . . .”

  “Whoa, Vyns.” Asius didn’t understand what he was talking about. He took him by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “I don’t understand. Slow down.”

  “Diago is in a kind of coma,” he managed to respond. “It was Nilia . . .”

  Asius had stopped listening to him. He let go of Vyns and walked to the nearest door. He opened it and went in the room.

  Laro, the Healer, was leaning over a mangled mess of flesh, blood, and broken bones lying on a rectangular piece of marble in the middle of the room. Wings fell over both sides of the stretcher, bent in places where there were no joints. A puddle of blood had formed at the foot of the stretcher, fed by an incessant dripping. Laro had both hands placed delicately on what was once the angel’s chest. He turned his head toward Asius, surprised by the sudden interruption.

  “That’s Diago?” asked a stunned Asius.

  “I can’t do anything for him like this!” he bellowed. “I’m trying to save him but you all keep interrupting me!”

  “I apologize.” Asius was shocked. He simply could not believe Diago was the one who was lying on that stretcher. “Will he make it?”

  “If you keep bothering me, I sincerely doubt it.” Laro walked around his patient and went over to this most recent intruder. He took him by the arm and walked him to the door. “As soon as I can, I’ll tell you what I can,” he added, just before slamming the door shut.

  Asius stood staring at the door for several moments, completely paralyzed. The horrid vision of his friend hung in his mind. He’d never seen anything so gruesome, not even during the War.

  He turned and went over to a chair next to Lyam, the Healer, who looked completely devastated. And Asius saw in Vyns’s eyes a profound sense of guilt.

  “You need to tell me what happened,” he said as he took a seat. “I want to know every detail.”

  Vyns looked like he was about to say something but Lyam spoke first. He told how they’d found Raven again, and how they’d chased him through a subway tunnel. His voice sounded muted and weak, and he was speaking in a monotone. He stopped talking several times, furrowing his brow during each pause and then starting up again with the story. When he got to the part where Nilia struck the wall and caused the cave-in, he paused for a long time. Vyns broke in and finished the story, speaking hurriedly and with a voice full of rage as he told of the fateful, fatal ending.

  “Nilia . . .” snarled Asius. “That’s the second time she’s foiled our plans. Why is she so interested in this Minor?”

  “The next time, I’ll kill her,” vowed Vyns.

  “I don’t know what kind of poison she’s using,” said Lyam, “but it’s really potent. When those daggers of hers turn green like that, you don’t want to be anywhere near her.”

  “So now we know who Diago meant when he mentioned ‘someone very powerful’ in the first encounter you had with her—when he didn’t know who she was,” Asius continued. “Nilia is beyond lethal. She killed so many of us.”

  “She’s not as tough as she thinks she is,” scowled Vyns contemptuously. “I cut her shoulder good. She had to resort to using Diago as leverage to get away. I was about to finish off the so-called great warrior.” Vyns punched the air with his fist, trying to put as much emphasis as possible on that rather bold statement.

  A flash of doubt shot through Asius’s mind. It was hard to believe an Observer like Vyns could defeat Nilia in a one-on-one confrontation. In fact, he didn’t believe it was possible three of them would even have had the slightest chance against this Fallen. She didn’t stand out so much for her physical strength or for her abilities with weapons, though she of course was no slouch in those categories. But what made her one of the worst enemies you could ever come across was her speed and her skill. Asius doubted there was anyone in either of the two clans that was capable of matching her rapid-fire movements and, a thousand times worse than that, her quick thinking. There weren’t many who could have beat her during the War and, according to rumors, those who had tried had, quite frankly, always outnumbered her.

  However, if the story he’d just heard was right, Vyns had been about to finish her off. One possibility was that the Observer was unintentionally exaggerating. If that was the case, Asius would abstain from sharing his doubts with him since he didn’t want to strip him of the satisfaction of having made one of the Fallen flee—especially the one who most deserved her fearsome reputation. He weighed the other possibilities, of which the most interesting was that the demons had been weakened by the Wave in the same way the angels had lost their ability to fly. But that theory wasn’t terribly convincing, and he had to admit that it was really more wishful thinking than a real possibility. The last thing that occurred to him was that Vyns had been lucky. Surely the strike to her shoulder had caught Nilia off guard—that was the most likely scenario.

  A bright red light filtered through the cracks in the door to the room where Laro was attending to Diago, bringing Asius’s attention back to the moment.

  “What is that light, Lyam?” asked the Counselor. “Some kind of healing technology Laro’s using?”

  “No, not that I know of.”

  They heard a crashing sound followed by the sound of breaking glass, then the sound of something heavy falling to the floor followed by footsteps that went up toward the ceiling. Asius was the first to react. He shot to his feet and bolted across the room over to the door. He stormed through it, followed by the others.

  No one was inside. The stretcher was split in two; the blood stains were the only proof that Diago had been lying on it. Two chairs had been smashed to pieces, now nothing more than a pile of wood. The shelves that had been against the walls were pushed over, and a layer of broken glass covered the floor. In the back of the room was a spiral staircase with stone steps that went up to the floor above.

  “That’s where they had to have gone,” said Asius, pointing at the stairs.

  A muffled thump came from above, then another, and another.

  “What the—?” Vyns began.

  “Shhh!” Lyam cut him off.

  They looked toward the staircase and saw something round rolling down the steps that encircled the column. They temporarily lost sight of it when it hit the floor and was hidden by the rest of the stretchers. Then it reappeared a moment later, rolling across the floor. It was Laro’s head.

  When they got closer, their minds reeling with confusion, they discovered the rest of the Healer’s body lying in the middle of a pool of blood.

  One last possibility about how Vyns had managed to chase Nilia off came to Asius’s mind, and it was suddenly all too clear.

  “Diago is alive,” announced the Counselor, breaking the eerie silence that had overtaken them.

  “What do you mean?” challenged Vyns. “Why isn’t he on the stretcher?”

  Asius went up to Vyns and stared at him sternly.

  “Because what you brought into the Nest was not Diago.”