Keir knelt on a cushion surrounded by runes carved into the asphalt. Most of them where fairly ordinary, similar to ones commonly placed on weapons, tools and buildings. Others were far more complicated, done in a pattern that was so detailed and intricate it was nearly impossible to follow.

The barista called to me from inside the sidewalk window, asking whether I liked the scone.

"I think it's more of a concept piece than a breakfast item," I replied.

December 20th 2022
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“Return to base.”
“Are we teleporting or transporter or something?”
“Oh, no, it’s a quick flight. Maybe ten minutes. Just sit back and relax.”
“Relax? I am going to explode.”
“Eventually, maybe. Then again, maybe not. Our specialists can work miracles.”
“Can they heal a broken heart?” I asked as the car levitated off the ground,

Colonel Moreno was at his makeshift desk looking over reports when Keir entered the mostly intact building. The hopelessness and fear that had filled the mans dark eyes when they'd first met had faded. There was a hint of iron and hope when he spoke now. Keir was glad to see it, this was going to be a long war and defeatists could bring it all crashing down.

“Mage Keira, I trust your errand went well,” Colonel Moreno said.

“Holy hand grenade of Antioch!” Janet gasped. “How did we not see that coming?”

I couldn't focus on my classes. The jars I'd stolen sat heavily in my bag, and I was certain that any minute the nurse would come and call me a thief. I wasn't sure what the punishment for stealing from the infirmary was, but it was probably worse than detention.

The road work was moving along nicely. The dead under directions from the living were clearing the streets of debris, slowly but steadily making a path to the granaries, armouries, warehouses, and hospitals. Soldiers in small groups, starting with former inhabitants of the city, were allowed to survey the various neighbourhoods. If they came back with some keepsakes, clothes, blankets or food, it was ignored by their officers, and another group was allowed to head out.

Lyn becomes comfortable in her role as a girl, and experiences new sensations.

Author's note: I am still working on my edits of The Return of Lilith. It has been taking me a lot longer than I planned it too. I hope that these edits will make the story better overall. I decided today that I was going to take a break from editing and knock out the prelude to the next adventure of Lilith and her family. This one will contain some violence against women and some graphic descriptions of rape and abuse. I wanted to warn you up front since this will be a common theme throughout the book. I hope you enjoy the new adventures.

Chapter 35

Despite my misgivings, my time spent at the photography studio that afternoon was enjoyable. In the two hours or so that I spent there before Mum and Aunt Heather returned, I got a really good insight into what goes into creating good photographs.

Diane asked that I assist her in the staging of the photos, especially when she was busy taking shots of Barney. I was nominated to distract him, so he looked in the direction of the lens, which was achieved by me holding up and squeaking a dog toy behind Diane’s shoulder.

Lyn learns a lot about what it means to be a girl and lets out secrets of her past

“Honesty! That’s one hell of a dirty trick, Jessica!”

What was Rachel thinking? She should've just told Jesse she was Randy from the start. Then maybe Jesse wouldn't have agreed to give the speech at Randy's memorial and made it that much more awkward for Rachel to come clean with him. But it was too late now.

The day after the memorial assembly, Jesse seemed pretty down in the dumps when he came into Science. "Hey," said Rachel. "About yesterday, I just..."

"Don't be sorry," Jesse said miserably. "It's not your fault."

So Jesse wasn't mad at her. "Well...okay, I guess," said Rachel.