Page 79 of The Storm
They waited for what could have been minutes or hours. Renata had lost all sense of time and space as she stared at Death in corporeal form. “You took them all,” she said quietly.
He nodded.It is my purpose.
“Did it hurt?”
This earthly realm offers pain, but my touch is gentle. Do not fear me. When I come for you, I will be a welcome friend.
“I may have sung the song,” she said. “But I’m not ready. Not nearly ready. So don’t remember where I live, do you hear me?”
Azril smiled, and a laughing voice echoed in her mind.I never forget anything, but I’ll do my best to misplace you. Will that do?
Max grabbed her hand. “That will do.”
In the distance, Renata heard footsteps rustling through the forest. Leo’s voice was the first thing she recognized.
“…don’t like it when he just shows up like this.”
“I didn’t call him this time.”
“Thistime? You mean the other times youdidcall him?”
“Leo, he’s young! I think he gets lonely.”
“That’s not true.” A clear voice rang through the woods. “I don’t get lonely.”
Leo, Kyra, and a very sullen-looking Vasu stepped into the clearing in the middle of the pines.
Max immediately tried to stand, but Renata kept him next to her.
Vasu walked into the clearing and pointed at Azril. “He called me.”
There are stories that need to be told, little brother.
“Why?” Vasu leaned on a tree, his arms crossed. That day, the fallen angel appeared to be little more than a teenager and entirely deserving of the sullen label Kyra had given him. His hair was thick and black with gold streaks woven through it. He was dressed entirely in black and looked far more like an angel of death than the wild creature in the middle of the wood.
Tell them.
“Does it matter now?”
That is not for you to decide. Tell them because they want to know.Azril looked at Kyra.And she needs to hear it.
Vasu huffed out a breath. “I don’t know where to start.”
Then I will start and you will finish.Azril stared directly at Max.Picture a forest very much like this one.
Max closed his eyes, and Azril’s voice flowed over them, lulling Renata into a kind of trance.
She hid you in the forest while her mate fought them back. They had already killed her twin. She felt her soul tear in half, but she was determined. Though she called out for my mercy, she was adamant. They could not have the children too.
Max said, “My mother. You’re talking about my mother in the forest.”
I was there to take their hands, son of Leoc. If you reach very far, you might find their last moments. Your blood would allow it, but do not look for them; remember their bravery. Your father fought so your mother could escape with the babes. She heard them in the woods. I saw them run after her.
“But you did nothing?” Leo said.
Azril cocked his head.It is not for me to intervene. That is not my purpose.
“But you did intervene!” Vasu shouted. “You and Barak both. You called him and he came, and was that His will? Was it, Azril?”
