POV Astral

“I doubt William will want to help you with your research,” Mathias said, flicking the card into his pocket without looking at the password. “It’d demand too much of his time…” An unspoken thought lingered between them. ‘And you know how much he resents you.’

Astral gestured to her desk, indicating the work she’s been doing over the past few weeks. “The preliminary data is handled by better suited candidates. As much as I would have liked to have helped, I’m of little use to them for this stage of their investigation. Still, it’s wise to ensure I have something of an extra set of hands if more is asked of me.”

“I’m more than happy to help,” Mathias offered. Intelligent blues and intuitive purples replaced pink, green, and yellow. He would not be a bad choice in this endeavor. She might well call upon his assistance. Afterall, William’s usefulness was limited at the best of times. For now, Mathias had more important personal training to attend.

“You need to focus on your training as a Death Keeper.” She pointed at him, her long finger like a dagger. “Too many dead. The souls lingering in Clearwater are growing stagnant. My soul catcher will only last so long, and gods help us if a necromancer finds it.” They needed a little less magic in the world as far as Astral was concerned. “I expect that net emptied by the end of Summer. Do I make myself clear?”

Purples flared, dulling the ever-present blues. Mathias understood the significance of Astral’s orders. He nodded. He lowered his head in a bow as he had done habitually for his masters at the monastery when he was an apprentice. Black tendrils clouded the blues of his aura. He’d been avoiding the tasks for years, leaving Astral to manage the fiends that manifested from his neglect. She couldn’t cover for him for much longer.

The problem was that the souls were trapped, which meant all of them would eventually become fiends. Trapping them meant the fatally injured demon that was sealed beneath Clearwater would not have the opportunity to feed. Without a means to feed, the demon could not regenerate. It was critical that Mathias owned up to his role as a Death Keeper.

“Your mother should have logged something in those journals of hers.” It was those same journals that had allowed a much younger Mathias to guide Dezmond into the Valley of the Shadow of Death, a place between realms. They had successfully retrieved her from millennia long slumber, from which she had no intention of waking.

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She regarded Mathias for a moment, watching the turmoil in his aura. He wasn’t ready to resolve the issue between himself and his late-mother. It didn’t matter. Astral’s time in Clearwater was coming to an end, and she needed to make sure that the town had the resources it required for its protection.

“If you have questions, I’ll be back in a few days.” Astral grabbed her overnight bag and a change of neatly pressed dressed clothes draped on a hanger.

She paused at the door, wanting to add: ‘Some days, you’re not unlike William,’ but thought better of it. He was every bit dedicated to the service of the people, and was not shy of the work required of him. “I can’t claim to understand your hesitance...” She was a servant of the people, first and foremost. Their first and last line of defense against things humanity was never meant to endure.

If Mathias couldn’t will himself to embrace the necessity of his supernaturally ordained duties, then she’d have no choice but to motivate him with the consequences of his inaction. Now that a Valkyrie has arrived in Clearwater, she knew the tipping point was near.

Astral had accepted her role a long time ago. She had to trust that Mathias would do the same.

She was tired of carrying the burden by herself.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Mathias called after her. His voice had a hint of humor. An ancient Master she might be, but forever a child in his eyes.

‘Weapon. Clothes. Bag. Bear. Dressed. What am I missing?’

Mathias plucked her glasses case from her end-table and handed them over. “You have to get used to wearing them, even around the house,” he warned. A smile curled the corner of his mouth as he tried to be stern, but in seconds that smile faded.

He lifted her chin to get a better look at the growing stigma in her eyes, a pale blue glow deep in her irises. “We can’t pass you off as blind for too much longer.” He let her go with a shake of his head, and sighed. “The sheen in your eyes is getting to be noticeable. Too much so. If we’re not careful in how we handle this, people will think you’re Enhanced.” Again, he shook his head. “We can’t have that. It’ll make all of our jobs that much more difficult. And the politics…” he sighed.

Astral arched her brow.

He smirked, guessing at what she was thinking. “I know you’d have us all wallow in our own filth over such inane reasonings. I, for one, don’t want to see humanity suffer because of a handful of people.”

Astral shrugged. “Can’t save them all.” She stopped trying to convert people a long time ago. In her mind there were demons, the people who aided them, and the collateral damage. Sometimes humanity’s worst enemy were the people playing at being a hero.

She put on the dark tinted glasses and left for her long drive to the Council’s Academy.