“Daru the Red, fourth of the Alukah, marched to battle. His cloak was made of souls, his armor made of bone. A thousand score Wights at his back. But he faced brave Acklion and bold Ocari on the fields of Golgido. Eyes alight with holy wrath, and lances tipped with starlight. The Seraphblood Champions brought fire and doom to Daru and his kin”- The Book of Miracles, Lamentations 14:10

  Coughing and spluttering, Natalie dragged herself out of a blood-stained river. Naked, shaky, and disoriented, she collapsed onto the riverbank. Staring up at the impossibly bright constellations above her, she let her fingers play with the red lilies surrounding her. Natalie was back in her internal world, and she didn’t know how she’d gotten here.

  Sitting up, Natalie looked to the river bank and found the Angler standing there. A large net draped over one shoulder. Groaning slightly, Natalie got to her feet and looked down at herself. You were supposed to bare your soul to a God, but she didn’t think that meant nudity was required. Shutting her eyes, Natalie imagined her favorite dress and felt its fabric enfold her. This was her own bloody dream; she had some control over it.

  Walking over to the Angler, Natalie let out a pained sigh. “We have to stop meeting like this.”

  The Angler chuckled. “I wouldn’t wish that Ms. Striga; most mortals seem to prefer dreams to the other way they meet me.”

  Accepting that, Natalie looked at the large net the Angler was repairing. It was a new addition to the persona Master Time wore when meeting with her. “What's with the net?”

  The Angler looked down at the pile of woven rope as if he was only just noticing it. “Nothing good, Natalie, nothing good at all.”

  Dropping the net onto the ground next to him, he faced Natalie and spoke. “I need to apologize to you.”

  Confused and more than a little worried, Natalie crossed her arms and asked. “For manipulating my life and undeath to help Cole and the ‘greater good’ or something else?”

  Giving her a sad smile, the Angler shrugged. “Yes, and yes. What is the last thing you remember?”

  Memories came flooding back, and Natalie’s knees nearly buckled. As pleasure, and heady lust came with the memories. She’d been in bed with Cole; they’d just been about to… well, ‘have fun’ when she felt a bitter cold hit her, and everything went black.

  Eyes wide with fury and cheeks crimson, Natalie sputtered. “Wh-What did you do?!”

  Holding up his hands in a placating gesture, the Angler explained. “My followers in Vindabon invoked my power to track and bind the most powerful unmarked Undead in the city. They did this in the hunt for a murderer and caught you by accident. The binding is wearing off, and you should be conscious soon, but I felt the need to apologize for the discomfort.”

  Slightly relieved that she didn’t have an actual God preventing her and Cole from making love, Natalie asked. “This murderer? It’s related to that alley Cole was sniffing around earlier?”

  The Angler nodded. “My hands are tied in how much help I can give. The Oath of the Final Gates keeps me and my kin from directly intervening. But I can point Cole in the right direction through… various means.”

  Sighing, Natalie grimaced. “Meaning me.”

  The God nodded. “Meaning you.”

  Glaring at the cosmic avatar of Death and Entropy, Natalie snapped. “I’m not a tool for you to use.”

  The Angler let out a sad little laugh. “Oh Natalie, you and every other thing in your world are far more to me than a tool. You are also far less. I will be here when everything you’ve ever known is less than dust. But I still choose to help where I can.”

  Chewing on that, Natalie asked, “So the Temple magically tracked me and found Cole. Cole being Cole, will find himself helping the Guards. What about me? Do I have any more role to play in this other than being Cole’s motivation?”

  Shrugging, the Angler looked down at the net. “You will be in one of my largest Temples with a lot of time to spare. A place with millennia of records, holy texts, and more are stored. There are things buried in the Temple archive you might find very interesting.”

  Rolling her eyes, Natalie asked. “Are you intentionally being obtuse?”

  A snort of laughter escaped the Angler. “You are quite brazen for one speaking to a God, Natalie. But yes, I must be… rather opaque in this matter. The Gates must be balanced.”

  Frowning, Natalie asked. “Surely telling me where to look and what I’m looking for isn’t a violation of some cosmic order?”

  The amused expression of the God faded away. “Three hundred and ninety-two years and forty-two days ago, the Lector of Woes, a Fell God, pointed one of its cultists in the direction of a certain magical text with as much detail as I’m using. That cultist found part of the text and used it to kill an entire city. Forty-nine thousand six hundred and two lives lost just from a few words to the wrong person.”

  Looking up at the distant shimmering stars, The Angler continued. “Imagine what the Cultist could have done if he’d been told exactly how to find the text and use it. I’m using the imbalance the Lector created to help you. Don’t ask me to swing the pendulum in the opposite direction Natalie. A debt would be incurred, and you’d shudder to imagine what sort of things might collect on that debt.”

  Strange fog started to boil up from the river and cover the field of lilies. The dream was ending. Reaching down, the Angler gripped the net and held it up. “I’ll leave you with this final thought, Natalie. Wonder why this mask would appear with a net instead of a pole.”

  As the fog started to envelop Natalie, she understood. The Angler was the form a long-dead culture thought Death took. Viewing death as him fishing for souls. A fisherman catches fish one at a time with a pole. He catches dozens or hundreds with a net.

  Natalie bolted upright with a gasp of pointless breath. A nervous scream filled her ears, and Natalie briefly wondered if it was her own. Drinking in her surroundings, she quickly realized it was not. Natalie was in a cell of some kind. A small stone room with dim lighting. Filled with a small bed she currently laid on. A desk in one corner and a number of chairs scattered about. In one of those chairs was a panicked-looking woman with short blond hair and bags under her eyes. The woman was scrabbling for an hourglass medallion, her chest heaving from the effort of screaming.

  Holding up the medallion the woman’s eyes were wide in shock. “How are you awake? The binding should hold for another ten hours?”

  Trying to sort through her memories, Natalie asked in an unnaturally dry voice. “W-where am I?”

  Recovering herself somewhat, the woman said. “You are in the custody of the Tenth Temple of Vindabon. Under the watch and ward of Master Time and his clerics.”

  Confirming what she suspected, Natalie asked the next important question. “Where’s Cole?”

  The Priestess (Natalie assumed) looked to the chamber's door. “He’s with Heirophant Morri and the Anchorite discussing… uh, discussing you.”

  Looking down, Natalie realized she was clad in a loose oversized tunic. The thing was massively baggy on her. It lacked any smell, but Natalie knew who it belonged to; Cole had probably not even tried to get her into a dress while unconscious. Smiling at that, she looked to the Priestess. “So what can I call you?”

  The Priestess narrowed her eyes and seemed to consider her options before answering. “Mina, I am Priestess Mina Vrock”

  Getting up from the bed, Natalie held out a hand. “I’m Natalie.”

  Mina didn’t respond automatically; keeping her talisman close, she carefully took Natalie’s hand. Half expecting the Vampire to attack her. Rolling her eyes, Natalie let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m not going to bite Mina. I’m a Vampire, not some wild animal.”

  A cool expression covered Mina’s face. “I am very much aware.” a hint of venom in the words told Natalie Mina would prefer a wild animal’s company.

  Sitting on the bed, Natalie wrapped herself up in a blanket. If she was to be stuck here with a paranoid Priestess, she might as well get comfortable. Mina watched this and, after a moment, said. “You are a Vampire”

  Burrowing into the covers, thin as they were, Natalie gave Mina a droll stare. “We’ve established that.”

  Chewing on her lip, Mina asked. “Then why are you using the blanket? Surely you aren’t cold?”

  Shrugging, sending a sheet fluttering, Natalie said. “It's comfortable. I’ve spent too long on the road, and if I’m going to be stuck here, I might as well get cozy.”

  A little put off by the very human answer, Mina asked. “The binding I cast, it should have held for hours more. How did you break free?”

  Grunting in annoyance, Natalie thought back to the cold pain and her interrupted fun with Cole. “Oh, so I have you to thank for that?”

  Mina froze for a second but quickly recovered. “We were hunting a Monster; we just caught the wrong one.”

  Sighing, Natalie wrapped the blankets tighter. “And now you have Cole to help find the right one.”

  Frowning, Mina replied. “Yes, how did you know that?”

  Flopping against the wall, feeling the cold stone even through the blankets, Natalie chuckled to herself. “Your Master told me.”

  Befuddled, Mina asked. “Morri? But how? You’ve been bound all night?”

  Amused at the Priestess’s confusion, Natalie chuckled. “Not your superior, I mean your Master. He talks to me sometimes in my dreams.”

  All color drained from Mina’s face, and she scooted her chair back a little. Surprise turned to anger and incredulity. “Master Time would never speak to a Vampire! You are lying!”

  Enjoying getting a rise out of Mina, Natalie cocked an eyebrow. “A Vampire would never normally travel with a Paladin. This entire situation isn't normal.”

  Mina was about to object when the room’s door opened. A weary-looking Cole came in first. Behind him was an older man with a thick mustache and beard. The Priest Morri, Natalie guessed. The old Priest kept cold hard eyes on Natalie. Cole by contrast brightened in surprised joy on seeing Natalie. In three long strides, Cole reached Natalie and took her up in his arms. An undignified squeak escaped Natalie as Cole practically crushed her in an embrace. Letting go, Cole looked into her eyes and seemed visibly relieved.

  “You awoke early. I’m sorry if I knew I’d never have left your bedside,” he apologized before loosening his hug and asking “How are you?”

  Shrugging, Natalie gave a weak smile. “Decent. The magic they used wasn’t fun, but the Angler was in my dreams. He seems to think your help in solving the Murders will be crucial.”

  Morri visibly twitched at the mention of ‘The Angler,’ something Natalie caught out of the corner of her eye. Cole made a pensive noise in his throat and considered Natalie’s words. “Is that so? I thought as much. You seem to be up to date on matters; did Master Time have anything else to say?”

  Natalie’s eyes flicked to the two priests, and Cole got her meaning. “They are trustworthy. I’ve known Morri for close to a decade, and Mina is one of his former acolytes.”

  Willing to take Cole’s word, Natalie said. “Something about these killings is going to lead to a lot of deaths. I don’t know what, but that was what he implied.”

  Cole shut his eyes for a moment as he digested that information. “Tell us everything”

  So Natalie did, with Cole occasionally interrupting to ask for details while Morri and Mina sat in silence. Morri seemed pensive while Mina toed the line between stunned and horrified. When she finished, Natalie asked. “Alright, your turn. What’s going on? Also, what's an Anchorite?”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Cole seemed momentarily uncomfortable with the question. He knew Natalie wasn’t going to like the answers. “We’ve reached an agreement with the other Temples and the City Court. You are to be sequestered in the Tenth Temple until your worth and word can be obtained. Their words, not mine.”

  Scratching at one of his scars, Cole continued. “The Temples aren’t pleased with this arrangement, but they are willing to trust me for now. The City is interested in having me help with the Murders, and some of the acting leadership like the idea of a Paladin calling their city home. Hopefully, we can make this work.”

  Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, Natalie asked. “What do you mean by ‘my worth and my word”

  Morri spoke then. “We need to regularly give us some of your blood and make an oath to aid the city of Vindabon to the best of your abilities.”

  Cole looked surprised by the older Priest’s words. “Hold on, the Watcher Ritual just needs a vial of her blood to work.”

  Morri gave Cole a hard look. “She is perhaps one of the most dangerous beings on the continent. We need to learn everything we can from her. Not just to protect the city but to discover everything we can about the first Vampires. Her blood could help us cripple the curse of Vampirism”

  Expression hardening, Cole retorted. “She’s a person, not a resource. I brought her here to keep her safe. I will honor that pledge Morri; you know I will.”

  The cold intensity of the Paladin’s words made the old Priest recoil somewhat. Glancing at Natalie, he regained some of his resolve. “In any other situation, I’d agree with you, Cole. But she’s not simply some woman who was infected by accident. The power inside of her is not something the Temple or even the entire City is equipped to handle. We let the other Refugees stay because you and the other Rest-Bringers can keep them in line. No such guarantee exists for your Vampire. If she lets us study her to craft one, it will do much to ease tensions.”

  Sinking down into the covers, Natalie let out a sigh. “So, to stay in the city, I need to let you poke and prod me? With the explicit goal of finding out how to kill or capture me?”

  Morri nodded. “That puts it succinctly.” stepping towards her, the Priest continued. “Natalie, do you mind if I call you Natalie?”

  Nodding in tacit consent, Natalie let the Priest speak. “You were raised in the Blood Duchies. You know the threat of Vampires better than perhaps anyone here but Cole. Your protector insists the Curse hasn’t corrupted or altered you. That your mind is not warped beyond recognition. But he is also obviously biased. We cannot take his word as law. Actions must speak in the Paladin’s place.”

  For a few long seconds, Natalie didn’t move. Her body was unnaturally still as she thought over the Priest’s words. When she found her answer, Natalie slipped out from under the blankets and stepped close to the Senior Priest. “I’ll give you more than my blood. I’ll go along with whatever needs to be done with one condition.”

  Raising a bushy eyebrow, Morri remarked. “You aren’t exactly in the position to make demands, Natalie. But I am listening.”

  Meeting the Priest’s eyes, living brown to cursed red, Natalie smiled, making sure her fangs were on display. “You can’t risk killing me, and if Mina’s binding wore off early, you don’t have many guarantees any stronger spell you might cast wouldn’t eventually break. So instead of making me an enemy. How about you agree to work with the Vampire who is receiving visions from your God and is very much willing to cooperate?”

  Morri blinked first, a disadvantage of the living. “Lay out your terms then. But don't be so arrogant, Vampire. You are young and untested. Cole is the only reason I’ve not driven a stake through your heart, bound you in silver chains, and dumped you into the ocean.”

  Natalie’s confidence cracked a little bit. She saw the same cold strength in Morri she associated with Cole but tempered with none of the affection for her. Still, she kept up the appearance of self-assurance. “Trust needs to flow both ways. I need to be informed of everything and anything you discover. I know less about my power than you probably do. Any discovery might help me keep control easier.”

  Chewing on that idea, Morri was about to answer when Natalie held up a hand. “One last thing, I’d like total access to the Temple archives. I need to know more about the Curse and its origin.”

  Glaring at her, Morri snapped. “You can’t be serious? The deepest sections of the library aren’t for outsiders. Let alone one like yourself. That’s out of the question.”

  Returning his glare, Natalie snapped. “Did you listen to anything I told you? Master Time said there's something valuable in the archive. I need to find it.”

  Morri ground his teeth together in annoyance. “I’m not deaf yet, Vampire, we will comb the archives for anything relevant. You need not be present.” calming slightly, the Priest adopted a conciliatory tone. “But I can agree to share our findings with you. Anything we learn from you or the archives related to the Alukah, I will share.”

  Hesitating, Natalie made her choice. It wasn’t everything she wanted, but that was the point of compromises, right? “Fine, I accept.”

  The Priest and Vampire shook hands, and only then did they notice Mina was plastered against the far wall, her eyes wide in fright. “Alukah?” she whispered.

  Gently, Morri went over to his student and peeled her off the wall. “Deep breaths, child. Let us give the Paladin and the Alukah some privacy.”

  Mina started to babble. “Alukah? That-that can’t be?” Morri took her by the shoulder, and the two Priests left the chamber.

  A worried Cole went over to Natalie. “That might not have been the best idea, Love,” he whispered.

  Confused, Natalie looked up at his scar-etched face. “Why? You think Morri won’t keep his word?”

  Shaking his head in the negative, Cole looked to the door. “No, he will, and so will the Temple. That’s not what concerns me.”

  “Then what does?” Natalie asked.

  Cole chose his words carefully. “Knowledge is power, valuable knowledge especially. I worry any secrets they might uncover won’t stay within the Temple.”

  “You make a good point… perhaps I was foolish?” Natalie asked.

  Taking her in his arms and guiding them both towards the bed. A sad chuckle escaped Cole’s lips. “It might not have been the best choice, but I fail to see an alternative. Sometimes a bad choice is the only one available. We can only take it and live with the consequences.”

  Snuggling into Cole’s side as they sat on the bed, Natalie let out an exhausted huff. “How are you so bloody wise sometimes?”

  Snorting in amusement, the Paladin just hugged her close. “When you are on the road for months at a time without a beautiful and clever woman to keep you distracted, you have lots of time to think.”

  Reaching up to trace his face, Natalie smiled. “Flattery will get you everywhere with me, Sir Cole. Would you like to continue where we left off?”

  The stoic Paladin, slayer of monsters and horrors, audibly gulped. “I’d love to, but I’m utterly exhausted. I’ve not slept at all and spent nearly all night pleading with crotchety old Priests.” pausing for a second, Cole looked away from Natalie, a slight blush on his cheeks. “Let me sleep, and I’ll gladly resume our fun. Till then… I would enjoy resting in your arms. If you don’t mind, that is.”

  If her heart still beat, it would have skipped one at those words. Arms slithering around him, Natalie pounced on Cole. Knocked onto his back, he let out a surprised ‘Ooof’ and found smiling red eyes looking into his. After kissing him for a few wonderful seconds, Natalie said. “Gladly.”

  Soon the weary Knight found sleep as Natalie nestled into him. As his breathing slowed, Natalie let out her own pointless breath. Cole trusted her; something about that made her heart melt. Even after everything, the silly, wonderful man got embarrassed asking for a little comfort from her. It almost danced the line between frustrating and endearing. Cole would oscillate from being bizarrely unsure of himself to unflappably confident. While the nervous Cole could be cute, Natalie wanted to draw the confident one out. Listening to his heartbeat, Natalie looked around the dim cell they occupied. She much preferred the Inn room. Maybe they’d let them stay there instead? This place doesn't even have any windows, and she couldn’t tell the time.

  No sooner had she thought that than a sudden terrible wave of exhaustion hit her. Dawn had come. Looking at Cole, Natalie wrapped his hand in her own and let the torpor take her. She was safe and loved. The past few months had done much to enforce the value of those things. So she would bloody well enjoy them.

  For the second time, Natalie found herself in the Lily Field of her soul. Thankfully this time, she wasn’t naked, nor did she need to haul herself from the river. Instead, she was seated in a familiar wrought iron chair. A small table in front of her and a furious Isabelle sitting across it.

  Bloody red eyes were narrowed in anger as the half-dead Vampress glared at Natalie. Returning the glare with an innocent smile, Natalie asked. “So contacting Cole really took that much out of you?”

  Isabelle said nothing, just continuing to stare at Natalie. Sighing in annoyance, Natalie leaned forward and put her elbows on the table, propping her head up on her hands. “Did you enter my dreams just to glare at me, or is there anything more to this?”

  Words smooth and cold as steel broke Isabelle’s silence. “You slept with him.”

  Shrugging, Natalie remarked. “Kind of, we were sort of interrupted.”

  Natalie could see the older Vampire's hands flexing with contained rage as they gripped the chair. Isabelle had forced her way into Natalie’s dream, and Natalie was having none of this. “He’s moving on,” Natalie said with a shrug. “Try and scrounge up what little bit of compassion you have left and accept that.”

  Imaginary metal snapped, and Isabelle bolted up from her chair, its armrests still in her fingers. Leaning away from the furious phantom, Natalie could watch lunatic-anger and cold intellect war behind Isabelle’s eyes. Tense and preparing to leave the dream if the anger won, Natalie was surprised to see a third contender arise and beat the original two. Guilt and grief. Emotions Natalie recognized all too well.

  A strange noise came from Isabelle as she slowly sat back down in the chair. As the noise repeated, Natalie recognized it. The dry sobs of a Vampire trying to cry. Covering her face, Isabelle shook in silent grief. Leaving Natalie stunned and uncertain. After maybe a minute, Isabelle recovered herself and looked at Natalie. No flushed skin or watery eyes marked her grief, another small price paid for Vampirism.

  Recovering herself, Isabelle let out a shuddering useless breath. “I know, I jagging know. He should move on and have a life with you. I’m just a shadow who can’t let go of him. But I’m still here!”

  The last sentence had an almost pleading tone to it that shocked Natalie. Events had more than cracked Isabelle’s cool veneer; they’d shattered it into dust. Leaving Natalie completely uncertain of what to do. She was torn between wanting to apologize and just running away. Before Natalie could do either, Isabelle seemed to find herself.

  “Cole… he has a kind heart. More so than even he knows. Maybe… it has room for both of us in it?” shrugging, Isabelle let out a weak laugh. “Listen to me, squabbling with you over a man like a stupid village girl.”

  As a former ‘stupid village girl' Natalie took some offense to that statement. But she let it roll off her like raindrops. Instead, she could perhaps take this opportunity to change the dynamic between them. Natalie had thought of Isabelle as an enemy, and she bet the feeling was reciprocated. But maybe that didn’t have to be the case. Isabelle had shown weakness to Natalie. A true Monster would seize on that. So Natalie did the opposite. “He still loves you,” she whispered.

  Isabelle’s face snapped up in surprise at Natalie’s words. “I think he feels guilty for our relationship. Which I guess makes sense. You might be dead, but you aren’t completely gone. Maybe it was wrong of us to fall in love, but that doesn’t change the fact we have.”

  Getting up from the chair, feeling the damp, warm soil of the lily field beneath her bare feet, Natalie approached Isabelle. “It also doesn’t change the fact you love him. So…so maybe we can agree to share him?”

  Sudden embarrassment flared through Natalie. This whole thing felt like some saucy bard’s song, not a serious possibility. Still, she’d long past any threshold of normality. Perhaps the idea of some form of… mutual affection was possible. Maybe even something between her and Isabelle…? Shaking her head at that idea, Natalie rapidly retreated from those thoughts before her eros made a tricky situation even more complicated.

  Isabelle reached out and took Natalie’s hand then. Startling the jittery younger Vampire from her thoughts. “Perhaps. But I need a body before we start thinking along those lines. Which is why I’ve brought you here, Natalie.”

  Standing up, Isabelle adopted some of her old confidence. “It’s time for you to continue your training.”

  Glad for the change of topic and the implied truce between them, Natalie nodded. “What’s next?”

  Isabelle actually smiled. “We are going to jump a few steps into something more complicated. Your performance with the two familiars was… competent. I question the names, but I’ve heard worse. But that is neither here nor there. My goal with previous lessons was to simply keep you alive. Now I have a more specific goal.”

  Cocking an eyebrow, Natalie asked. “And what would that be?”

  A glint of avarice shone in Isabelle’s eyes. “The temple archive. I’m going to help you break into them.”

  Returning to her chair, Isabelle tapped her fingers on the metal table. “I’ve caught enough of what is happening to know getting into those archives is key to understanding the true power of the Alukah.”

  Interested but apprehensive, Natalie asked. “The Priests will tell me anything they find. Is breaking in necessary?”

  Isabelle scoffed. “Do you think they will actually share their secrets with you? Even if they do, chances are the dottering dogmatic fools won’t know what information is valuable.” Smiling with all the warmth of a hungry wolf, Isabelle continued. “But I do. With my knowledge, you will be able to sift through the records and find the important information.”

  Frowning, Natalie rejoined Isabelle at the table. “That seems risky. If they caught me, any chance of the Temple trusting me would disappear.”

  Isabelle shrugged. “That’s assuming they’d ever trust you to begin with. You are a Vampire, Natalie, don’t forget that fact. The Temple certainly won’t.”

  Natalie was torn. She’d received literal divine assistance telling her to seek out the Archive. But doing so would endanger her tenuous position in Vindabon. Mulling this over, she asked. “Is there any reason Master Time can’t just order the Priests to let me into the Archive?”

  Isabelle visibly flinched at mention of Master Time but recovered quickly. “I suppose it's a matter of Balance. The Tenth God tends to be less proactive than its fellows. It fears opening a crack in the Gates, letting the Opposition influence things. Or maybe that God already has sent a message, and it's been misinterpreted or redirected.”

  Shrugging, Isabelle continued. “The matters of Gods are complicated and curious things. Those beings dance on the knife-edge between omnipotence and uselessness. Wondering at their actions and motivations will drive you mad. The Anchorite my darling mentioned is plenty evidence of that.”

  Making a mental note to ask Cole again about this ‘Anchorite’ and not let him change the subject again. Natalie made her choice. “Why don’t you teach me whatever you were going to teach me, and we keep our options open? The Temple might surprise you or disappoint me. Either way, I’ll have more tools to survive and honor our deal.”

  Isabelle seemed to accept that. Offering her hand to Natalie, she said. “A… pragmatic choice fitting the current spirit of compromise.”

  The two Vampires shook hands, and Natalie felt something had really changed between them. Isabelle had cracked and opened up to her. A shocking turn of events that left Natalie more than a little off-kilter.

  Settling back into her chair, Isabelle asked. “Before we begin the lesson, one question.” Natalie raised her eyebrows in unspoken assent, which Isabelle took. “How was he?”

  Natalie suddenly had the urge to dig a hole in the lily field and hide. Instead, she forced herself to keep a straight face. “Good, very good.”

  Isabelle’s lips quivered for a split second. Her face undecided between smiling or frowning. “Well then, let us start the lesson. Cats, Bats, Rats, or Owls, what do you prefer?”

  A little confused and off-put by the rapidly shifting conversation, Natalie cautiously replied. “Cat?”