Elizabeth, David, and I are sitting in their home library. David is pacing around the back of the library concentrating, and Elizabeth is sitting across from me in a recliner. "Mother, why did you have to scare me so bad? Do you know how hard it was on us when you left us the last time? It destroyed our family, and I just got you back."

"My darling Elizabeth, I am so sorry that I put you through that again, but I couldn't think of any other way to get out of the situation without exposing magic." I lean forward to grab her hand and comfort her.

After a long discussion with General Ajani, Keir had been feeling quite happy with the day. It had been productive, a little terrifying at the thought of facing hundreds of thousands of demons, but there was reason to hope they'd survive and even push back the monsters in the coming year. And now his good mood was rapidly being ruined by stupidity, arrogance, and shortsightedness. 

Part 1 can be found HERE.

Doyle, Whateley
Early Evening
November 10th, 2007

I reached into my purse and flipped him my drivers’ license. “That’s me,” I said. “Or was, up until a month ago. I have sixty years of memories to go with the photo. If I was scammed, the scammers are the functional equivalent of an advanced species. And there’s no way that I could ‘delude’ myself into a working knowledge of Old English, Norman French, Greek, Classical Latin, Church Latin and Hochdeutch, with a smattering of other languages besides.”

Tulsa, Oklahoma
1992

John looked down at the sleeping woman, teeth clenched, his shoulders tight. He didn't say or do anything for a long time, just watched her sleep, longing to reach out and hold her, hating what he was about to do, struggling to hold it off for just a little longer.

He couldn't wait anymore, he had to do it now or he never would.

I headed back to the school after a lengthy discussion with Elizabeth on the passage in the book. I was excited, but I was also trying to stay calm since it just wasn't enough information to take action. Elizabeth and I both agreed that we would look through the library and try to find more information on Shar'li.

“As a matter of fact, they aren’t staring at you because they are impressed by your academic credentials.”

Putting the old priestess and her words out of his mind, Keir turned his attention to the children and teenagers who were coming to a stop before him. They were looking at him with wide eyes, some bowed their heads when they saw him looking. The oldest boy hobbled up on a crutch, then fell to his knees, his lame leg stretched awkwardly behind him, and looked at the ground.

“That girl juice IS scramblin’ your brains. You’re nuts!”

“That’s one small step for a woman – pretty much just another Saturday, really. But sure as hell, it’s one giant leap for mankind.”

After a dinner where no one bothered me and kept their distance from me. I was able to walk leisurely back to my dorm room. It was time to meet my roommate. I was not excited about this, I thought that a roommate would interfere with my training of James. Walking up to Morgana Hall looking at the water motif that was covering the walls of the main foyer.

The city of Limani was dying around Keir.

Smoke and gunfire filled the air, women and children screamed in terror, while men pleaded for their live. The undead marched through the streets looking for any signs of resistance, while soldiers roamed the city looking for treasure, drink and pleasure.

The day has finally come, and it is off to school I go. I don't know how I feel about this. My mind is jumping between worry and anticipation. I am worried because I don't know what to expect when I get there. I am also anticipating that there I will cause trouble for James. I have been told that James has been bullied by many of the other students at school because his magic doesn't manifest in the same way that theirs does.

“Holy macaroni, you’ve got lady parts?”

Allie - The teenage years of Alexander Horten

March 13-19, 2016

I was starting to think that a Distinguished Professor of Linguistics ought to be able to come up with something more penetrating, more insightful, or at very least more likely to generate an informative response from others. Not that my use of “what” as an interrogative pronoun was in any way improper, of course. I was just surrounded by idiots.

This was insane.

Floria dove into a shell hole, trying to keep her shotgun out of the muck as a Dark Hound came charging out of the smoke. Rolling onto her back, she fired into the chest of the demon a second before it landed on her.

"First, we go shopping," Shri'la exclaimed as I returned from the bathroom. "We need to get you some new clothes and common teenage things. "You'll need a cell phone, laptop, beauty products, and shoes. Ohh how I love to shop for shoes." I could tell she was excited.

He took the step anyway, and my finger went down on the bear spray. Which, it turns out, is a bad idea around a campfire. Who knew?

Chapter 2

My head is throbbing and I can't focus on anything. It feels like I've been put through a wringer. My memory is fuzzy, I seem to have conflicting memories that I can't get straight. I don't know what's going on, I remember being in a fight using a sword but also being blown up in a HUMVVEE. The fog is starting to clear and I can and I can start to piece things together.

Keir leaned against the invisible body of Hanina, letting her hold his leaden body in place. His limbs were numb and nearly useless, the reins barely stayed in his hands. Without the leg straps and his servant, he wouldn't have been able to stay on the horse. That would have been embarrassing.