Messenger (Guardian Trilogy Prequel 1) by Laury Falter Page B

afterlife, I entered the clearing to find that it was not in the midst of chaotic scrimmages, as was typical. Instead, Daniel and Jacob had cleared it and instructed the messengers to form a single line, leading into the brush.
    Hermina, who stood in the middle, found me stepping up to the back of the line and raised her eyebrows. After furtively, backing up to join me, she whispered, “What’s the occasion?”
    “I know, I’ve missed the last few practices.”
    “Only the last few?” she challenged.
    I shrugged. “Who’s counting?”
    A fluttering disturbed the peace around us and Jacob landed beside me, his wings ruffled after his jaunt across the clearing to us. “So nice of you to bless us with your presence,” he said, frowning.
    Hermina leaned in and said, “Someone has…”
    “Will you be missing anymore of our trainings?” Jacob inquired haughtily, making it clear by his tone that it was not recommended.
    “Yes,” I said bluntly. “I’m just stopping in.”
    He scoffed in disgust before admitting defeat and retreating back to his place beside Daniel.
    I leaned toward Hermina. “I need to speak to you.”
    “Of course.”
    “So much has happened that I don’t know where to start.”
    “At the beginning,” she suggested.
    “Right…”
    A scream echoed through the jungle and several yards in a cluster of trees trembled.
    “What kind of practice is this?” I asked, hesitantly.
    “Daniel and Jacob have created a course. They claim that anyone who makes it through is ready to fight Fallen Ones.”
    “Has anyone?”
    “Not without injury,” she muttered, disdainfully.
    The messenger, who had been in the midst of an attempt, appeared in the trees, struggling to stay aloft with only one functioning wing. His name was Stoyan and he was known for maneuvering sinuously in the air. The next messenger stepped forward sheepishly until she had disappeared into the shadows.
    Keeping my voice low, I said, “I know the name of the person who took one of the messenger’s lives.”
    Instantly, I had Hermina’s attention again.
    “His name is Horace. He was in the east to where I’m living now.”
    “To the east of you?” Hermina muttered. “Then that would have been Anna. The first messenger.”
    “Yes, that’s correct. He didn’t like the way he felt around her, so he took her life.”
    “Didn’t like the way he felt?”
    “That’s what we were told.”
    “By who?”
    “That’s the second reason why I came to find you. Have you ever felt…scared? No, terrified? With your heart pounding fast and your hands shaking and sweating suddenly without any exertion?”
    Her eyes briefly rolled skyward in reflection. “No, I can’t say that I have.”
    “Twice I’ve encountered them, the Kohler triplets, and both times I’ve felt that way.”
    “Your reaction was physical?” she asked, curiously.
    “Yes, sick and distracting but most definitely physical.”
    “No,” she said slowly, observing me with curiosity. “I’ve never felt that way and I’ve never known anyone, messengers included, to feel that way around strangers.”
    Another scream rang out and the messenger who had entered the jungle moments earlier fled skyward, shooting from the trees as if they were coming after her. Her upset more likely came from the flames engulfing her appendages. She pumped them ferociously, hard enough to pass the boundary of this painful dual world I had created for training and be healed.
    She took her time returning to us, floating slowly and methodically, without any urge to reach us sooner. When she did, even though her charred feathers were white once again, she sent a cold glare at Daniel and Jacob before joining Stoyan at the edge of the clearing.
    “All right,” Hermina said, turning back to me, “how are the Kohler triplets connected with Anna’s death?”
    “They were there, watching it take place.”
    Despite all that she had seen in her existence that information caused her to