Happy New Year, everybody! Hope you all had wonderful times with family and friends over the holidays, and best of luck in 2016!
Get caught up at the story hub. Enjoy!
A flicker of recognition passed through Seraph as Peri and Gemini guided young Cade closer to the group. The others had rejoined Seraph and were all watching the returning twins and their charge as they approached.
When the young boy noticed Seraph he broke away from the other two and ran the rest of the way, stopping only when he was standing in front of his angel. Seraph went down on one knee so the lad didn’t need to crane his neck to look up at him.
“It’s Cade, right?” Seraph asked, hoping he remembered the boy’s name properly.
The child nodded, unshed tears still clinging to the corners of his eyes despite the excitement of meeting Seraph again. Tear-streaked dirt covered the boy’s face and he had more than a few scrapes and bruises from his harrowing day.
Seraph tried his best to put on a warm smile, to make Cade feel safe in his presence. “You’ve been very brave today. I’m glad you were able to find me and my friends. Can you tell me what happened?”
The lad nodded and began to tell him of the attack on Windy Vale in halting sentences. The tale was interrupted every few moments by a sniffle or a deep breath as the brave young boy held back his tears. Seraph, for his part, tried to keep a kind expression on his face even as he heard Cade recount the atrocious nature in which the people of Windy Vale had been treated. When the story got to Old Bill tripping over and being pounced on, Seraph’s fist clenched angrily as he remembered passing the gore-stained earth further back.
Rather than dwelling on Old Bill’s death, however, Seraph forced himself to continue listening to the boy from Windy Vale.
“They stopped us after making us run for so long and then Nephil started walking around everybody. He pointed at me and the monsters grabbed me and took me away from everyone.” Cade paused a moment as his fear threatened to overwhelm him again. Seraph waited patiently and the boy started in again, “And they dropped me in front of a tree and I think they were going to eat me but then the Dancing Lady came and-”
“Dancing Lady?” Seraph interrupted the young boy. He had a feeling that he knew who it was.”
Cade nodded, looking calmer now that most of his story had been told and he had been given time to settle down, “Yes. She was at the village once too, with you. She killed the monsters and told me to run home.”
“Did she have a big spear?” the agent asked.
The boy nodded and leaned in conspiratorially, adding in a whisper, “She was kind of scary too.”
The agent nodded sagely, thinking of Kat’s fiery side, “Yes, she can be.”