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Author's Note: Here's the new chapter of Raven's Blood. This marks the end of rewritten material, everything from here on out will be new material that wasn't written in the original, unfinished version. Thanks to my readers and to BCTS for giving their support of Transgendered authors and fiction. ~Amethyst.
 

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Chapter 11: Revelations

Janus escorted me upstairs to the offices for the policing division and then through the hallways until we reached a large wooden door with a window that had the words, Policing Division Chief: Edward Little stenciled on the glass. He opened the door without knocking and led the way inside. The room was a small and comfortable-looking office, where a woman with pale blue eyes and long white hair that seemed to defy gravity sat at a desk between us and the door to the inner office. “Hi, Cathy,” he greeted the receptionist before going on to ask, “Is Ed busy? Miss Demarco and I need to talk to him.”

“He’s just going over some reports, so he should be able to see you. I can check if you’d like.” She beamed at me as I entered the room, and my wings became fully visible. “Oh! Hello, cousin, I had been hoping I might get to meet you.”

“Cousin?” I asked, more than a little confused.

“Please check if you would, Cathy.” Turning back to me he quickly explained. “Cathy is a Sylph, one of the Air elementals. She’s one of the few here who uses a human form while working since in her natural state she’s invisible and intangible. Like your mother’s kind, her people are more at home in the sky. I don’t know what it is with all you Air and flying types, but you all treat each other like some big extended family. Other elements don’t seem to have that little quirk among their types unless you count the Fey and their fierce protectiveness of all forest creatures and elementals.”

I nodded and remembered my talk with Joey the Gryphon. “I think I get it; I met another of my sky-kin already. It’s nice to meet you as well, cousin.” I thought it strange though that she had called me cousin, rather than sky-sister as Joey had.

The Sylph had whispered something, and I figured that she was using Air magic since I hadn’t seen her press any buttons on the phone. She seemed to be listening carefully for a response before turning her attention back toward us. “Ed says to come on in, Janus.”

“Thanks, Cathy, and could you send for Bob and Joanne as well?” he asked as he guided me past the desk to the door. “We might need them for this.”

“Of course, Janus, I’ll call them down,” the Sylph replied as Janus opened the door, and we headed inside to a simply decorated office with a large pine desk and several comfortable-looking leather chairs.

The person behind that desk got out of his seat and I was a bit surprised. He was a muscular man with reading glasses, a full head of grey hair, and a well-kempt beard, but what was most surprising was that he was only four feet tall. He walked over to shake my hand. “Miss Demarco, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Your parents were wonderful people, and two of the best Hunters that we have ever had.” I shook his hand, still slightly stunned, and the Dwarf gave me a friendly wink. “Best get the short jokes out of your system now, not many can resist it when confronted with a Dwarf with the last name of ‘Little’. Don’t worry, I won’t take offense.”

I did laugh, but only at his good humor about the whole thing. “I’m living in a glass house, Sir,” I replied. “I’m a girl named Raven with black wings, so I’ll try not to throw stones.”

“You do take after your mother,” the Chief said with a sad sigh. “In more ways than the obvious; she had a fine sense of both humor and diplomacy as well.” He gestured to the chairs in front of his desk as he took his place behind it once more. “Please, sit down and tell me why you’ve come to visit me today.”

“Well, Sir,” I began as I settled into a chair. “My aunt has agreed to teach me to control my abilities, but we will need a place for her to train me.”

“And I take it that you are here because our training facilities downstairs are not suitable?” he prodded.

I tried to get comfortable in my chair, which wasn’t easy with my wings out. “Yes, Sir, the training will take months most likely, and we need a place outdoors where we can train privately for all that time. Valkyries don’t like to share anything about their training methods with outsiders; I am learning that our culture is very secretive about our ways.”

The grey-haired Dwarf nodded. “Yes, I remember that your mother was very private about her background, and we try to respect that, as we try to respect the cultures of all Paranormals in our jurisdiction. We can certainly check with our lands manager and see if we have anything suitable where you can train undisturbed.”

Janus leaned back in the chair beside me. “I thought the same. I asked Cathy to call Bob and Joanne in so they can help.”

“Good thinking, Janus, we’ll want Bob here so he can put it in the records,” the Chief agreed. “Then our other managers will know that the land is being used and that Raven here isn’t to be disturbed unless it’s an emergency.”

Soon the office door opened once more, and two relatively average-looking humans walked in. Joanne was a short, plump woman in her twenties with mahogany-colored hair, green eyes, and a look of stunned disbelief when she caught sight of my wings. Bob was a little on the tall side and of African descent with deep brown eyes, and his short, black hair was speckled with grey. He didn’t seem all that surprised at seeing a girl with wings, so I assumed that the Paranormal stuff was old hat to him.

“This is Joanne Smith, our lands manager, and our records keeper, Bob Johnson,” the Chief said, introducing the pair. “Joanne is fairly new with us, she only Manifested last month. She was a bit of a late bloomer as Mages go, and she’s learning to use Wood magic while she uses her experience with land management and environmental issues to help us in a more official capacity. Bob is our IT expert and records keeper, and he probably knows more about what’s going on around here than I do.”

I stood and shook both their hands, offering a smile to the other woman. “If you think seeing these is something, try having a pair sometime,” I said with a wink, causing her to blush. I was quick to try to reassure her. “Don’t worry about it; I haven’t been part of this much longer than you have, I got saddled with these about a month and a half ago. I still find myself staring when I see something I haven’t encountered before too. I guess we’ll both get used to it all in time.”

She breathed a relieved sigh. “Thank you, it is all a bit overwhelming still. One minute I was a normal person at an environmental protest in the forest facing down loggers, and the next minute the tree I was chained to seemed to come alive and attack the logging equipment.” She turned to the Dwarf behind the desk and asked, “So what can we do for you, Chief?”

“Miss Demarco here needs a place out of the way to learn to use her abilities. What do we have that’s large and isolated?” he asked.

She thought for a moment before referring to the tablet in her hands. She flicked through several screens before she finally came up with something she thought suitable. “How about this? Larren Island is an island north of Vancouver Island measuring roughly thirty-six hectares. It’s almost entirely forested, and we bought it in hopes of relocating some forest and ocean-dwelling Paranormals who have been impacted by the mining, logging, and oil industries and using it as a Paranormal wilderness preserve. We decided to use another larger island instead and we’re considering selling this one as a private island for a profit or using it for something else.”

She handed me the tablet which displayed an aerial view of the island in question. It was mainly forested with some high hills and a large sandy beach at the tip. I looked it over and nodded. “That could be just what we need.”

“We can wait a while before selling it,” Joanne offered. “The only people who have the kind of money to buy it are developers or the idle rich, and I would rather not see it torn up to make room for some sort of resort.”

I decided that it probably wasn’t the best time to mention that technically, now I probably was one of the idle rich, so I just nodded. “Give us a few months there and hopefully I’ll be fully trained. I’ll just need to write down these details.” Joanne offered me a notepad and a pen and I quickly copied the details and coordinates before tearing out the sheet I wrote it on and putting it in my purse.

“I’ll put it in the records then,” Bob said, making a note in his digital assistant. “Just let us know when you’re finished there and we can put it on the sales block or find some other use for it.” He turned to the Chief, “Was there anything else you needed from us, Ed? I should be getting back to the computer lab; we’ve been having some issues with our servers the last few days and I want to see if I can nail down whatever the problem is before it becomes a security issue.”

“I think that should be all,” the Dwarf replied before turning to me, “unless you need us to help you with transport to the island for you and the supplies you’ll need?”

“No, I believe we can handle that on our own, Sir,” I replied as I stood up to excuse myself. “Thank you for the use of the island, and all your help, everyone. I’ll let you all get back to your work now.”

When I returned to the training center Alice was taking a break, while Lissia showed Erin some complicated acrobatic kick and had her try to copy it. “Hey, Alice, how goes the training?” I asked as I took a seat beside her.

-Those two are impossible to keep up with,- she complained. -I can’t do those complicated jumps and rolls and such that they can. She’s teaching me to use my upper body strength to my advantage. We Merfolk might not be the steadiest on our feet, but swimming so much does give us a small strength advantage. Did you find a place to train?-

“Yeah, the PDA has an island we can use,” I answered. “I think I’m going to get some flying in and maybe check in with my aunt while you two are doing your thing here, I’ll meet you at home. Here, take my keys so you can drive my car before Erin calls dibs.”

-Sweet!- she replied, grinning as she took my keys and then planted a kiss on me that made my toes curl and my heart flutter. -I love driving your car, just remember that Lydia said dinner should be ready around six.-

“I won’t be late,” I assured her once I could breathe and speak properly again. “I just want to see if there’s any help I can give my aunt with the preparations and then I’ll head home. I might even be home before the two of you.”

-Okay, have fun, Raven. I’ll see you at home.- She gave me another, slightly more chaste, kiss in parting and then went to put my keys in her purse while I left the training room and then made my way through the maze of the warehouse for some fresh air. The wind outside was cool and there was a light rain coming down, but I refused to let it dampen my spirits as it did my clothing and hair. After I was sure there were no prying eyes, I placed the silver ring on my finger and, tightening my grip on my purse, beat my wings hard until I was airborne and made my way to the clouds above.

Once again, it hit me just how liberating flying could be. All my cares and worries were far below while I rose above it all, even the rain. I circled for a time, just losing myself in the feeling of the wind on my face and through my wings. A quick look at my watch showed it to be just before five o’clock, so I made my way down to the Nordic to land on the terrace of the penthouse I had slept in the night before. I let myself in through the living room screen door and, after drying my shoes on the mat, I sat on the sofa and dialed my aunt’s cell number.

She answered on the third ring. “Hello.”

“Hi,” I started uncertainly, “it’s… ummm… Raven. I’m calling to let you know that I got a place for us to train. It’s an island north of Vancouver Island, and there will be nobody there but us.”

“That’s great, I can get a helicopter to get us and our supplies there,” her voice responded. “I’m working on getting everything we’ll need now. Some of these things will take a day or two to get but we should be ready to go by Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning.”

“Is there anything I can help with?” I asked. “I’m at the hotel right now.”

“I’ve got almost everything we’ll need, though tomorrow we will need to go see my lawyer about getting your mother’s name on all our property, accounts, and investments switched over to yours,” she answered pensively. “Siv must have gotten a new lawyer when she left, or I would have known about you, and her death. This law firm has been handling our affairs for quite some time now. He’ll make the changes with no questions asked.”

“You trust normies to handle your legal and financial affairs?” It wasn’t something I expected from her. I had thought that she would handle everything herself, as secretive as she was about everything else regarding our heritage.

“No, Raven, they’re lawyers, so they don’t really qualify as human,” she joked. “Our lawyer, in particular, is a Revenant; a century ago he was killed and brought back from the dead to terrorize the living. He feeds on human despair, suffering, and fear, and what better way to do all that than as a lawyer?” I sat there speechless until I heard her laughing on the other end. “I’m joking, kiddo, though our law firm is made up of Paranormals. They handle affairs like these, which people of our long lifespans find troublesome, as well as other more mundane issues. I wish I could have seen the look on your face just now.”

“That was awful,” I said with a growl, “you had me believing you there.”

She was still chuckling as she got back to business. “We’ll meet up tomorrow so we can discuss some of the supplies we’ll be bringing, and so we can go to the lawyer’s office. I’ll be too busy tonight with some of the preparations. Are you planning on staying at the hotel tonight?”

“No, I’m heading back to my house for dinner once we’re done here. I’m thinking of spending a night in with my roomies since we’ll be gone for a while,” I explained. I did plan on doing just that since I felt bad about skipping out on them while they were at their lesson earlier so I could have more flying time. Also, if we were going to be leaving as soon as she thought, I wanted to get some time in with Alice, and maybe our first date, before we left.

“I’ve got your number in my call display, so I’ll call you first thing in the morning to work out the details then,” my aunt replied. “Have a good night, and I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

“Sounds good, I’ll talk to you in the morning,” I agreed and disconnected the call.

I made my way back out onto the terrace and closed the door before stuffing my phone back into my purse. It was getting cool outside, but I couldn’t wear a jacket while flying, so I resolved to just grin and bear it until I got home. I briefly wondered how my aunt managed to let her wings out with that heavy leather jacket before I shrugged, extracted the ring once again, and ran across the terrace to leap over the railing and into the open air beyond. As I flew home, I began to compile a mental list of things I would need if I was going to spend a lot of time in the air: Something to place my belongings in and keep them firmly in place, a watch with built-in GPS, and something to ward off the cold were at the top of the list.

-Dinner is ready, Raven,- Alice’s voice sang in my mind as I sat in my bedroom, changing into some dry clothes. I had arrived home shortly before Alice and Erin, but I was soaked to the bone from the rain that was now pouring outside. I could have stayed above the clouds, but without a GPS I would have had trouble navigating without landmarks so I had to fly through the rain to find my house. Once inside, I quickly shed what I was wearing, and I felt much better after getting out of the wet garments and patting myself dry with a towel. My hair and wings refused to get dry even with a blow-dryer though.

-I’ll be right down; I just needed to get out of those wet clothes,- I replied. -I would have been down by now, but I’m having trouble drying my hair and wings.-

-Hurry down and I can help you with that,- she offered. -Water is my specialty, after all.-

I quickly got into a pair of panties, a comfortable black halter top that left my midriff bare, and a pair of low-rise jeans. Then, properly dressed, I made my way down to the kitchen for dinner. Everyone else was already seated at the table when I arrived except for Alice, who was placing plates in front of everyone. “I hope you made a lot, Lydia, I’m as hungry as a bear. Flying is doing a number on my metabolism,” I said as I greeted everyone with a smile and moved toward my seat.

Before I could sit down, Alice pulled me aside and literally pulled all of the excess water from my thick hair and my wings, leaving them dry, a lot lighter, and more manageable. -There you go, Raven,- she said with a grin as she displayed a large sphere of water in her hand.

“Why didn’t you tell me could do that like a month ago?” I complained, frowning at her as she made the ball of water move toward the sink and deposit itself inside.

She just giggled and motioned for me to take a seat at the table. -You didn’t ask,- she responded with another musical giggle.

I took my seat beside Erin, and Alice took her own across from me, while Lydia started to serve dinner, looking like a child wanting to be a big girl and help her mother. I had to stifle a giggle at the thought when she swore. “Shit! That’s still hot. I hope there’s enough for you, Raven. I’m sorry, but I didn’t think about flying making you so hungry. If it’s not enough, we can order some take-out for you later.”

I looked at the plate in front of me and shrugged. “Well, at the very least it will put a dent in my appetite until we can get something more. You should have seen the size of the lunch I ate. It looks great, Lydia, you always make the best home-cooked meals, thank you for making it for us.”

Erin nodded her agreement after swallowing a mouthful. “This is great, Lydia, as usual, and there is no need to apologize. I’m sure that Raven understands. Hell, she probably isn’t used to the appetite herself yet, since she just started flying today. I guess we’ll all have to take that into account now whenever we do the shopping and cooking.”

I started to eat my own meal and found that it tasted as good as it looked. Lydia meanwhile was nodding thoughtfully. “I’ll make a mental note to buy more when I go shopping tomorrow. If anyone asks, I’ll just tell them that I’m playing hostess to a hockey team or something,” she joked.

“Oh, very funny,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Can you hear me laughing?”

The Imp didn’t reply other than looking at me sadly. When she decided to speak, it was about another matter. “I wish you would wait until after Christmas before going off to train with your aunt, I had a big dinner planned.”

I sighed at that, which caused me to almost choke on my food. Lydia always went all out for Christmas dinner, and I had always been with her during the holidays before. “Worried we’ll be eating a relative?” Erin asked while I tried to swallow and get control of myself.

“No, the only turkey at the table would be you,” I quickly retorted once my coughing fit was done. “Lydia was planning on a ham this year, I think. It’s just that I’m going to miss you all while I’m gone.”

Lydia nodded. “The holidays just won’t be the same without you here. I’ll bake some Christmas sweets for you to take with you once I’m done shopping tomorrow.”

Dinner was quiet after that and we spent the rest of the evening in quiet companionship, curled up on the couch together watching movies. I had finished everything on the table once the others had had their fill, and we still needed to order two large deluxe pizzas so that my stomach wasn’t complaining loud enough to be heard over the movies. I had to pull my wings in so that I could be comfortable on the couch with the others while Alice and I snuggled, but right then I needed the closeness of the people I cared about more than I needed to have my wings free.

It was almost midnight when I felt someone shaking me. “Raven, you should go to bed, you’ve had a long day,” Lydia’s voice suggested in a concerned tone.

“Mmmm fine,” I mumbled back sleepily.

-Don’t give us that,- Alice’s soothing voice sang in my mind. -You just fell asleep.-

“Did not,” I argued back. I was tired, but I didn’t think I was that tired.

“Then how come your wings suddenly popped out and wrapped around us?” Erin asked with a chuckle.

Well, that certainly explained why I was leaning forward, and why I could feel my wings brushing against something. “I guess I’m more tired than I thought,” I admitted with a blush.

-Yes, you are, now get up so Erin and I can walk you to your room. You’re too heavy for us to carry, even if those wings wouldn’t make it difficult on their own.- Alice’s voice was like a lullaby in my mind at that moment, but I managed to get to my feet and both of them took one of my arms and started to guide me to my room. -Speaking of your wings, try to pull them closer to your body so you don’t bang them on any door frames.- I was barely aware of the trip to my room, being put in my bed, and covered up and kissed goodnight by Alice.

I awoke to the sound of music. The sound was distant, and it was hard to place just what it was in my sleepy state. When I finally realized that it was the ringtone for my cell phone, I crawled across the bed and started searching for it. It didn’t take long to find, since it was in the front pocket of the jeans I was still wearing and was currently digging uncomfortably into my hip. As I reached into my pocket for the offending device I looked toward the alarm clock to check the time. “It’s not even six o’clock yet,” I grumbled. “Who in hell phones somebody this early in the morning?”

When I hit the button to take the call, my aunt’s far too cheerful voice answered that question. “Good morning, Raven. This is your wake-up call. Now, get showered and ready for the day, we have a lot to do today.”

“I thought you said that we only had to go see our lawyer. How is that a lot to do?” I asked as I attempted to rub the sleep from my eyes.

“Yes, our appointment with him is at eight o’clock sharp, and afterward I thought that we should go to the bank and do some shopping. It occurred to me last night that you might need a few things before our trip,” she replied.

“Damn, lawyers really are evil, making an appointment for that time on a Monday morning,” I groaned. Then the rest of what she said hit me. “I thought you said you had all the supplies handled, and all that I needed to get was some suitable clothes.”

“I did,” she agreed, “but we’ll need to go to the bank as well, and it occurred to me that you’ll need some good quality clothes made for your body type. I know all the best shops for Paranormals in town.”

“If they can make nice clothes that can accommodate my body and the wings that come with it, then they deserve my money,” I grouched. “Now, let me go take a shower so we can talk about this when I’m awake. Am I coming to meet you at the hotel for breakfast or do you want me to meet you somewhere?”

“Fly here and I’ll have breakfast ready out on my terrace,” she responded. “We’ll drive to the law firm’s office since we’ll need the car if we’re going shopping afterward.”

“Okay, I’ll see you soon,” I replied before disconnecting the call and placing the phone in my purse. Then I peeled off my clothes, pulled in my wings, and hopped into my shower to get clean as quickly as possible. Once I finished my shower, I sent my thoughts to Alice, hoping that she was already awake. I probably could have walked to her room, but I was dripping wet, and I didn’t want to wake anyone else. -Alice, are you awake?-

Alice was indeed awake, and in a good mood if the tinkling bells of her mind voice were any indication. -My goodness aren’t you up early this morning,- she answered cheerfully.

"Yeah, I am," I mentally grumbled. "Apparently, my aunt was serious when she said that I would have to start keeping a warrior’s hours. I just got out of the shower, and I have to go to meet her for breakfast before we meet with our lawyer at eight. Do you think you can come in here and do the water trick? I don’t have time to fool around with the hairdryer.”

-Anything for you, I’ll be right there,- she replied with a merry laugh. A moment later she came into my bathroom, wearing nothing but a silk bathrobe that clung to her in a way that did terrible things to my poor gay heart. She quickly pulled all the water from my hair, and even what was left on my towel-clad body, and when she was done, she looked over my near-naked body with a needy expression that further stoked the fire in me. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time so she quickly deposited the water in the shower and smiled at me as she asked, -Anything else I can do for you this morning?- Part offer and part teasing innuendo.

“Help me get ready?” I suggested when I could think again. “Oh, and let Lydia and Erin know that I’ve got an appointment with my aunt, and then she’s taking me shopping. I don’t want them worrying because I’m not in the house’s wards,” I added as we walked into my bedroom, and I looked for something to wear.

-I’ll let them know. If you can’t be here at the house then what place is safer than in the company of a thousand-year-old Valkyrie?- she said as she tossed me a pair of black dress slacks from my closet.

“True,” I replied as I pulled on a pair of panties and tried not to flush under her appreciative glances, “but you know how much Lydia worries about me.” I caught the slacks and quickly pulled them over top of the panties.

-Wear this top, it will look nice with your eyes, and it’s wrinkle-resistant like the slacks.- The top she threw at me was a cerulean backless tunic in satin and I put it on before sitting in front of my vanity to put on some light makeup. While I was doing that, Alice found me a pair of black leather ankle boots with a moderate heel, which I quickly fastened before putting on my ring, grabbing my purse, and giving my aquatic crush a big hug. She walked with me to the front door, holding my hand, and then watched with a smile as I took to the skies. -You’re getting good at that, just keep an eye out for airplanes,- she teased as I blew her a kiss and flew in the direction of the Nordic Hotel.

The flight to the hotel was far too short, despite the cold morning air, and soon I was landing on the terrace of my aunt’s apartment. She was sitting at the patio table with another massive breakfast set out before her, and as soon as my feet were on the ground and I had removed my ring she smiled and motioned for me to join her at the table. “You look very nice, Raven, what’s the occasion?” she asked with a grin. I noticed that she was dressed in her usual leather jacket, but with the table between us, I couldn’t see much more than that.

“I thought I should look nice since I’m meeting the person who handles our legal affairs,” I answered as I sat down. “Usually, people dress nicely to meet their lawyer, don’t they?”

“You don’t say,” she teased. “Eat up so we can get a move on. For future reference though, our lawyer doesn’t stand much on formality, but that could just be with me. I’ve known David since your mom and I came to Vancouver, after the war in the forties. Our paths crossed for other reasons, and once I found out that he was a lawyer who handled the legal and financial affairs of immortal Paranormals, I asked him to take me and Siv on as his clients.”

I started eating as I listened to her speak, but paused between mouthfuls to inquire, “You met him in the forties? Is he immortal like us then?”

She shook her head. “No, he could grow old and die if he stopped feeding regularly.”

“Feeding? Is he, like, a Vampire then?” I asked as I returned to some feeding of my own.

My aunt shook her head once again and laughed. “If you must know, he’s an Incubus. He feeds on sexual energy, desire, and lust. That’s actually how we met.” A distant smile appeared on her face as said the last.

“Okay, that was way too much information.” The dramatic shudder that shook my body was only partially exaggerated as I downed another forkful of sausage. Not only did I have negative interest in guys that way but picturing my aunt doing so had me mentally cringing.

“I’ll have you know that other than drinking, fighting, and driving too fast, good sex is one of the few things that I enjoy about being perpetually young. If I’m really lucky I’ll get to do all four in one night, sometimes in that order,” she stated.

“But…” I stared at her in shock as I thought about her doing it in that order. The thought made me cringe visibly this time.

At the shocked look on my face, she rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry about me driving drunk. Our metabolism makes getting drunk practically impossible. We can get a good buzz, but it fades quickly unless we keep drinking.” I breathed a sigh of relief and returned to eating when she asked, “Now, where was I?”

“You… like good sex?” I answered uncertainly between swallows of juice.

“Right,” she replied. “My point is that if you’re going to be young and not likely to die by normal means you might as well enjoy the great things that life has to offer. Have fun, experiment; find out what you really enjoy doing, and do it. David was the one who helped me discover that… several times if I recall correctly.”

“Thank you for even more information that I didn’t need while eating,” I said, trying to dislodge the picture from my head. “So, besides being our lawyer, which I thought was the topic here, is this David anything else to you? Should I be learning about Valkyrie marriage rituals?”

“Nah, he’s just a good friend that I had some involvement with in the past,” she admitted. “Last I knew, he was in a steady relationship with an Undine. They’re an odd couple, but they make it work somehow.”

“An Undine?” I wondered aloud as I helped myself to more breakfast.

“Undines are Water elementals,” she clarified. “Each of the ten base elements has one. Basically, they are the embodiment of their element, and their abilities and appearances usually reflect that.”

“I think I’ve met an Air elemental, they’re Sylphs, right? So, what are the other eight?” I started to clear off my plate again as I waited for her answer.

She took a moment to think about it before answering, a frown forming on her face as she looked away. “Sylphs are for Air, Gnomes are for Earth, Undines for Water, Salamanders for Fire, Wisps for Lightning, Dryads for Wood, Dragons for Metal, Frostkin for Ice, and Reapers for Death.”

“What about the Divine?” I asked with a frown of my own, my breakfast nearly forgotten. “Aren’t there any Divine elementals?”

“The Divine elementals are Angels. When I was growing up my mother told me that over three thousand years ago there was a schism amongst the Angels, and they split into two different clans and went their separate ways. Both the male and female Angels were warriors, scholars, and mages but that was where their similarities ended. The males thought that there was one God, a male one. They were arrogant, self-righteous, and sure of their own superiority over just about every other living creature,” she replied before letting out a heavy sigh.

Her expression as she continued to explain, “In their arrogance, they felt that they should guide mankind with their ‘knowledge’. The females of the species felt that if there truly was an all-powerful and all-knowing being it, or even they, would be creatures of pure Divine energy, not limited by such things as gender, and that to worship a being based on one’s own biases was foolish. They felt that the early humans should be protected, but that they should keep themselves apart from them and let them find their own path.”

“We’re elementals?” I asked, putting all the pieces together. That explained why Cathy had called me cousin, and what Lissia had said. “What happened to the males?”

“I can’t be sure,” she said with a shrug. “When the schism occurred our ancestors, led by our matriarch Locifeiðr, left the males of our race behind, built a village in the most remote place that they could find, and severed all contact with them. That was when our people met the Aesir and established a loose alliance with them. I assume that they attempted to do what they felt was right. You can see the influence of them in several organized religions. They probably still live among mankind today, but I haven’t encountered any.”

“Okay, I think I get the whole war of the sexes causing the Angels to split back then, but why were there no male Valkyries since then?” I asked. “Like, before the battle with the Frost Giants.”

“To be honest, I don’t know,” she admitted. “There were only five hundred of us back then and there weren’t a lot of children being born, and to be fair you’re the first of our kind who’s been born in over a thousand years, so it could just be that the ratio of males born is really low. It’s like our genes, including gender, are all dominant when we mate with humans or other Paranormals. My grandmother said that back when we still lived with the other Angels, we gave birth to as many boys as we did girls.”

Guessing that there wasn’t any more I could get out of my aunt on that subject, I asked the other question she had raised in my mind. “So, how are we the embodiment of the Divine?”

She took a moment to think before replying, “The Divine is the very essence of life, creation, and purity. For the life aspect, we’re eternally young, fast, strong, and durable, and for purity, we’re all beautiful with golden hair, blue eyes, and white skin and wings unless some demon gets thrown into the mix, it seems. All those colors are generally thought to be connected to the side of all that’s good and pure.”

“I guess I can see that,” I agreed, “but how about creation? How do we reflect that?”

Aunt Lin took a long sip of her juice as she collected her thoughts. “That is one of our most closely guarded secrets. All Angels can create an extension of themselves and summon it when needed. It’s a reflection of who we are as a person, our very essence. Grandmother said that in the days we still lived with male Angels, our people all had halos, an aura of light or energy that enhanced some part of them. The halo’s appearance and the effect were supposedly different for each individual.”

“We had halos? So, we don’t anymore?” I prodded, my curiosity piqued.

My aunt shook her head. “Since we separated, formed our own culture and traditions, and grew as a people, we went beyond mere auras. We took that light, that extension of our souls, and forged the andivapn. They are very like the halo but given physical form; the form is different for each of us, as are their effects, and each is composed of the purest Divine magic.”

I listened carefully to her reply as I finished the last of my breakfast. Once she had finished and I had absorbed it all, I asked, “So I have one of these andivapn too?”

“You should, or rather you will once we forge it from your halo. That’s probably what that guy who assessed you at PDA headquarters sensed. I sensed something familiar about you when you first got into my car, but it wasn’t until you told me who you were and gave me that note that I figured out what it might be. I probably would have figured it out sooner, but your hair was the wrong color, and it’s been a thousand years since I’ve been around any untrained Valkyries. Now that you can fly, the first part of your training will be to forge and summon it.”

“So, we need to summon my halo first then? Before we can forge it into my andivapn?” I asked to ensure that I was thinking along the same lines as she was.

The other Valkyrie nodded and then glanced at her watch and stood up. “We will get to that once we’re away from the city and have some privacy. We had better get going. I’ll call housekeeping to come to get these dishes, and then we’ll head off.” She led the way through the apartment, and after a quick call to the front desk, we were on our way to our meeting.