> The inexplicable disappearance of the Iah virus that has plagued this land since time immemorial is evidence of the divine. What else could it be but the goddess Iah taking back her curse on mankind?

>

> —Inga Fisker, “Iah Manifest” speech at the 25th Annual Iah Society Symposium

Israfel

Life’s been good and I can’t complain.

Freja finished her mission, but her cover was blown so she got a job as one of Magnus Kraej’s bodyguards. I thought she’d join the military since she was a monster hunter, but Kraej offered her a great salary and benefits package. She looked smashing in the Lifer uniform.

Doctor Greve is dead. I didn’t ask for details, and there was no funeral.

Alfred is also dead. He was a Lifer who’d served the family for decades so they allowed him to “retire” to his house in Naestved under heavy guard. He died in his bed after “accidentally” taking an overdose of sleeping pills.

Good riddance to him. I still had nightmares of Asteria’s brains spattering on the girls.

Yes, things have been going great. I have a job I like, a girlfriend who’s a knockout, and peers who respect me.

The other ELs called out after us as we walked past their cubicles.

“Hey, Freja, what do you see in that knucklehead, anyway?”

“Look, it’s Israfel and that hot babe!”

“How in hell did he ever get a woman like that?”

“Maybe her eyesight isn't too good?”

“She’s a sniper, you moron!”

I ignored the other EL’s chatter as I walked back to my office with Freja. They were just envious of me.

“I have the papers right here,” I said. I opened the door to my tiny office, then I closed it again. I rubbed my eyes. “Uh, Freja, can you look inside the office for me?”

Freja opened the door with a bang, slamming it against the wall. She pointed her gun at the person inside. “Hands up!”

“No, don’t shoot!” I said. “That’s not what I meant. You see her, too?”

“Of course, I can see her.” Freja lowered her gun.

“But she’s in the Kraej’s private hospital!” I couldn’t believe my eyes. Asteria was in my office!

Asteria had somehow been badly injured yet again. We’d even gone off to get another Crimson Pearl Flower for her, but even that hadn’t been enough to cure her.

Sofia and Ravn had hinted darkly at Kraej conspiracies when we were told that she’d been hurt while on a trip with Magnus Kraej, Seraph, Uriel, and Sariel. It was hard to believe that there was anything that could get past those four.

Sofia had theorized that yet another Kraej mad scientist had done something to Asteria because they wanted to harvest her organs, but they’d been foiled by Asteria’s crystal healing skill. Apparently, the crystal around her body was impossible to puncture.

Now Asteria was somehow in my office.

“I didn’t figure you for the hysterical type,” said Asteria. She didn’t look sick.

“How did you get inside my office?” I asked.

I had one of the crappiest offices in headquarters, a tiny, windowless closet-like room in the basement where no one ever went. Anyone who visited me had to go through three floors filled with military personnel.

I exchange a mystified glance with Freja.

“Never you mind,” said Asteria. “Listen, can you do me a favor?”

“Sure.” I felt like I owed her a favor because I’d been too vocal in my suspicion of her before.

“Don’t say yes right away. Ask her what the favor is first,” said Freja.

“Oh, it’s nothing much,” said Asteria. “I just want to surprise Seraph and the others. Where are they?”

The S-class ELs were on a mission on Aeroskobing and weren’t expected to return until two days later. Asteria decided to surprise them there. Using my phone, she called someone to arrange a helicopter flight to the best hotel in Aeroskobing, a pretty coastal town with a small sea monster problem.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

I was at a loss about how to smuggle Asteria out of my office without the other ELs seeing her and asking how she’d gone past security, but the matter was taken out of my hands when Magnus Kraej arrived.

“Why didn’t you tell me where you were? The hospital staff has been frantically looking for you everywhere!” said Kraej.

Freja, the other Lifers, and I were staying outside since my office was too small for all of us, but I could hear them talking inside.

“You know I came from…” Asteria said nothing more, but Magnus Kraej must have understood, because he didn’t ask her about it again.

The Lifers sent me and Freja back up to meet them at the helicopter pad. They must have had a secret way out of the basement because they arrived soon after we did.

Magnus Kraej’s helicopter was big enough for all of us with room to spare. The interior was made of rich leather and fine goldenwood. It was a far cry from the military helicopters that smelled of farts and rust that I was used to.

I couldn’t believe how casual Asteria was with the Kraej heir. Magnus Kraej, the richest, most eligible bachelor in the continent, was hanging on to her every word. Asteria was throwing her head back and tossing her hair while Kraej ate it up with eyes. I remembered the first time I’d seen her. I thought she’d been seducing Oren, but I've figured out that Asteria was always like that. She never turned off the charm.

Suddenly, I realized that Freja was glaring at me. Had I been looking at Asteria too long? My girlfriend had only one flaw - she was a jealous woman. She had no cause to be since I wasn’t interested in any woman who wasn’t my Freja, but I looked out the window at the passing scenery just to be safe.

Asteria and Kraej made small talk while I pretended not to listen.

“Oh dear, I’ve missed so much!” said Asteria.

“The priestess had a cutout figure of you at her wedding,” said Kraej.

“She did not!”

“She did. I wasn’t invited to the wedding, but Israfel was. Tell her.”

I cleared my throat nervously. “Ahaha, yes she did.”

“See? Too bad you couldn’t make it to Uriel’s wedding. It was the event of the year,” said Kraej.

“Yes, it’s too bad. What’s the next big event then? I don’t want to miss that.”

“Olivia Ramstedt of Wanted magazine is launching the first-ever Costume Institute Gala for charity.”

“When?”

“Next week. You can come with me.”

Asteria sighed dejectedly. “I’m gonna have to miss it, too. That’s not enough time to have a gown made.”

“Nonsense. Ivan, see to it.”

A thin, nervous-looking man looked up from the stack of papers he was reading and said, “Yes, sir.”

“See? You don’t have to worry about the details.”

Asteria shrugged. “Okay, if you say so.”

Magnus Kraej smirked at her.

Unbelievable. That woman was trouble, alright! Seraph was not going to be pleased. It was a long helicopter ride with Kraej and Asteria flirting with each other, and Freja glaring at me whenever I happened to accidentally look in Asteria’s direction.

When we arrived at the charming little hotel in Aeroskobing, Asteria asked me and Freja to train with the cameras she’d asked the Lifers to bring. She wanted me to take pictures of her reunion with Seraph, Uriel, and Sariel. Kraej offered to have his professional photographer do it, but Asteria refused since the commanders wouldn’t want some stranger taking pictures of them.

“They won’t want us to take pictures either,” I said.

“I’ll just tell them it’s my idea,” said Asteria.

Well, okay...It was her funeral.

Asteria disappeared into the hotel’s beauty salon to do whatever it was women did to prettify themselves. The hotel staff bustled about arranging flowers in vases and setting up tables and chairs on a terrace overlooking the sea. The commanders were expected to arrive in the late afternoon. Oren, Sofia, Katja, and Ravn were on their way from Kraej City on helicopters and should be here by dinner time. We were going to have a big party to celebrate Asteria’s return.

The sun was going down by the time we got word that the three commanders were arriving. Asteria stood facing the hotel, her back to the sea, as she waited for them. I could hear the trampling of feet inside the hotel as the monster-hunting team entered. Then the door opened and Seraph strode out into the terrace. He froze when he caught sight of Asteria.

Behind him, Uriel and Sariel pushed their way forward.

“Asteria!” Uriel was the first to react. He ran towards the girl and lifted her up. “You’re back!”

“Finally! It took you long enough,” said Sariel.

Uriel put Asteria down and the three of them hugged. They were so engrossed in their reunion that they didn’t even notice me and Freja clicking away on our cameras.

Seraph was still motionless with shock, eyes fixed on Asteria. I’m not sure he was even breathing. I took several shots of him for posterity.

“Go to him,” said Uriel to Asteria.

“I’ll wait here,” she said. “Give him time, his brain is rebooting.”

“Rebooting? What do boots have to do with it?” asked Sariel.

Asteria glanced at her wristwatch. “He should hurry a bit. The others will be here soon.”

Sariel walked back to the hotel door and gave a Seraph little push. “Go to her.”

Seraph slowly unfroze and moved forward jerkily, quite unlike his usual graceful movements. Asteria held her arms out to him, and he fell into them like a lost child. Burying his face in her neck, he held on to her as though his life depended on it. Was he crying?

I got a lot of great shots of them. Uriel was the first to notice what Freja and I were doing.

“Stop taking pictures!” he said.

“Asteria’s orders,” I said.

Seraph and Asteria’s embrace lasted for so long that I ran out of film and had to reload. It wasn’t until Oren and the others arrived that they separated. Asteria wiped Seraph’s face with a handkerchief before Sofia and Katja came running into the terrace.

The three girls started screaming and jumping up and down.

“You’re back! You look amazing!” Katja lifted Asteria up and spun her around.

“Welcome back!” This was the first time I saw Sofia screaming.

“Congrats on your wedding!” said Asteria.

Then Oren and Ravn came up to them. Ravn shook Asteria’s hand.

“Glad to see you’ve recovered,” said Ravn.

Asteria and Oren hugged until Seraph scowled and pushed them apart.

Freja and I kept taking pictures of all of them until Magnus Kraej joined us. The party lasted until midnight, and the men and I gorged ourselves on the fine food and expensive booze. Asteria and the girls never shut up. Oren was almost as bad, but Seraph spent most of the time silently gazing down at Asteria. When Sariel, Uriel, and I tried to drink each other under the table, my girlfriend dragged me away.

After the party had ended and everyone had left, I sat on the terrace wall, facing the ocean. I had one arm around Freja and a bottle of beer in my other hand. She was drinking a fruit cocktail. I raised my mug and said, “To love and life!”

Freja and I toasted to that.