The dreamscape is a realm between consiousness and the primal workings of the mind when one sleeps. What can happen on this dreamscape can leave the dreamer soaring high in fantasy or fall screaming into a night of terror. Some say the dreamscape is tethered to the otherside of the veil and creates a pocket for each dream on the otherside. If this is the case then each dream may get a visitor that is no longer a figment of the minds imagination nor the creation of imagery spawned by working out problems few express during the waking hours.

Lahan found herself walking the misty streets of a town that felt familiar to her. Shifting some in her black cloak, mahogany eyes casting about the mists, she caught the sights of shops familiar to her from the days she was with the Sisters of Even Glade coven. Her eyes narrowed at this revelation. Why was the dream scape taking her through the streets that lead to a coven that was burned to the ground" Lahan stopped on the misty streets and turned about in a complete circle looking for any answers; only silence and darkness answered her unspoken question.

"Well then, I suppose that if this is one of my dreams then I should follow the streets to the coven. Do I really want to though?" she said allowed.

Speaking seemed to give her a bit of sanity to settle the unease she felt in this dream. Lahan took up walking the misty streets once again. The path soon left the feel of a city, bright with lamps and shops with life in them to meander out into a well worn path through the Even Glade. Her boots crunched through snow and ice as she walked. This dream was taking more and more reality as she walked. The smell of golden bells blooming in the night sky lingered in the wind caressing her cheeks. Upon that wind she caught the scent of smoke, the charred burnt smell of wood, charred flesh and the the sounds of an angry mob.

Lahan froze, refusing to take any more steps up to her old coven. What had seemed like a dream of fond memory was swirling into one of pain and sorrow if she kept walking. Turning around, she stumbled for the path back to the little town of Eden. The path was gone, replaced with a black void. In the middle of that void, floated a being that she had forgotten for a long time.

The figure was humanoid in shape and may have had a gender long given up by the ravages of time and death. It was wrapped in burial robes and funeral bindings. From empty eye sockets glowed a sickly green corpse light illuminating it's ragged clothing more. Scraggly strands of molding hair erupted around it's head. With a sickening pop it moved its head and focused on Lahan.

You look frightened, Lahan Freya. Do you not remember your servant of death" The voice was hollow, deep and carried the scent of wet earth from a grave.

Lahan gave out a shuddering scream and stumbled backward falling onto the snow. Eyes wide with terror, she looked on the death spirit that she never forgot put made every point of trying to forget. How was it in her dreams"

"You are hard to forget, Morith of the Dead." her voice creaked with fear.

Yet, you pointedly ignore my presence in your waking world. Let fall your talents of writing death upon the mortal fools of this world. I begin to wonder if you are not going back on your vows as a Death Writer to fill my book. You are not breaking your vows to me are you? Morith of the Dead boomed, then loomed forward. It stopped within inches of Lahan.

She trembled and the smell of death make her choke. Lahan closed her eyes and kept from looking at the death spirit. "I have not broken the vows to fill your book with the death of mortals to grant you eternal freedom. I have not found any worthy of dying by my powers." her voice trembled.

None worthy of dying you say' I will have to make you painfully aware that you line of thinking is naive and too innocent for a Death Writer. You've written only one name in your book and that is paltry sacrifice to me for several years. Familiars do not equate to livings souls of the mortals. Now come, stand up girl and I will show you who are worthy of dying. Morith moved a dessicated limb, dried tendons and bones creaking as it did so.

Lahan slowly stood up, fear gripping her heart and her mind screaming for her to wake up, to flee from this spirit. She didn't flee though. Those thoughts were quieted, stilled and then drowned by Morith's influence. She didn't know why she started following the death spirit up that trail until she felt the buzzing hum of Ley line energy coiling around her. She raised her Ley Sight and looked down at her body and gasped. A coil of violet Ley energy had wrapped around her body ending in the Death Note within the pouch on her hip. She was bound to this death spirit, something Head Sister never told her would happen as a child eager to please and be noticed.

They walked further up the trail where the scents of fire, smoke, death and destruction grew stronger. Angry voices floated on the wind increasing in volume as they drew closer to the Sisters of Even Glade coven. Lahan raised her head and looked upon a sight that made her eyes tear. The coven was a blazing bonfire, black smoke from wood and flesh caught in the fire billowed from the large four story mansion. She heard the screams of trapped sisters on the fourth floor and could see through the soot smudged window panes, faces twisted with horror watching the flames grow higher.

Lahan wrenched her eyes from the sight and focused on the covens grounds, seeking solace from the frightened looks. They fell upon the beaten and bloodied body of the Head Sister. A mob of forty towns people, all men who held blazing torches, maces, sharp farming tools and some held the leathery black book of the Holy Order of Michael in their hands. A very old looking man, garbed in priestly robes and holding a large staff fashioned in the style of a war angel ready to strike with a holy sword of flame, watched the coven burning. A few more screams were heard as a few sisters leaped from the fourth floor to their death of a long fall or a deadly beating. Lahan wept and sank to her knees.

Do you still think there is no one worthy of dying by your powers, Lahan Freya" I see forty lives here tonight that would warm the cold fires of my heart. Forty I would embrace as they enter screaming to the cold embrace of the grave. I also see ten of your fellow sisters, trapped and running out of mortal time. You could spare them a painful death of fire or beating.

Lahan shook her head violently. "No! I will not kill anyone. I will not use my power to harm anyone!"

Harm' Is it really considered harming to take the life of those who kill with a fanatic zeal those who they do not understand or know" Is it harming to offer those who face a painful death, a swift merciful end to existence" Is it, child" Morith stared at her with those green orbs of death.

She shook as she thought on the death spirits questioning. Was it wrong to kill these men" They cast the first stone against her sisters, would she not be in the right to cast those stone back at them' More screams and cries of help from the windows of the coven spilled down to her and she shook more. God, was it wrong to end the suffering with death? Was it all wrong" Was it"

Morith floated there above her and lifted a wrapped, withered hand. The Death Note in her hip pouch floated out and hung in front of Lahan. A ghostly feather that dripped blood appeared by the book as well, an ethereal quill of power.

You know you want to do this. Simply open the book, write the names, frame their faces in your mind and write their sweet, sweet death.

Lahan took the book and quill with her trembling light skinned hands. She opened the book and Morith's mouth opened in a gaping, rotten maw of delight. She went know further, the screaming making her shake more and the angry mob making anger swell within her heart.

"I do not know their names, nor the faces." she said in a plea to stop this madness.

Have faith, my child. Your sorrow for your sisters I sweet to my soul. I'll grant you the names and faces of your burning sisters freely this night. But the murderers you will have to pay me in vengance and mallice to get their names. Their faces you are free to study and etch into your heart this night.

Morith laid it's withered hand onto Lahan's fore head and she saw with pure clarity the faces of her sisters on the fourth floor. Their names burned in bloody, crimson letters above their heads. The death spirit removed its withered hand and the vision was ripped away. Morith fastened her with a dead stare that begged her for action. The book open, it's dead gray pages, blank and pristine lay open to her. One name written, a childhood pet and familiar, gone the way of drowning in the river. More names could easily fill that page.

Her fingers trembled as she held the ghostly quill, blood dripping from it and spattering her robes. Death was going to come tonight whether swift or slow, it was set in motion. Do I let them suffer" Do I take their lives in mercy' Do I lose myself slowly to this madness" What do I do' Her eyes blurred from tears, her head lowered and she began writing the names of her sisters.

Lilly Serus - Dies in her sleep Amber Bell - Dies in her sleep Bella Rainhold - Dies in her sleep Angela Morden - Dies in her sleep Rachel Farmer - Dies in her sleep Gwyndilin Harris - Dies in her sleep Susan Carpenter - Dies in her sleep Cassandra Drew - Dies in her sleep Meryl Whitethorn - Dies in her sleep Ella Freya, Dear Sister - Dies in her sleep

The ghostly quill fell out of her hand and Morith hissed in pleasure. It gave her the vision of her sisters once more then faded from sight. The screaming girls stopped screaming. They all fell into a calm stupor, then one by one, closed their eyes and were still. Fire had reached the hall and greedily consumed the floor. The vision faded, thankfully before their bodies started to burn. A deathly chill went through Lahans soul as the death sentences were completed. She dropped the Death Note screaming in sorrow and loss. She had killed them. Saved them from a burning death, but she had killed them all the same.

A small voice within whispered to her. Yes, you killed them, but you wouldn't of had to kill them if those men didn't burn the coven. They forced your hand in this, they are the guilty ones. Strike, strike, strike them all down. The voice vanished.

Lahan looked at the men. Most of their faces were darkened by the deep shadows cast by the fire, save one; the priest. His bald head, worry lined face, button nose, gray eyebrows, clear blue eyes that sat behind wire framed glasses and the fanatical sneer set on his face burned into her mind. Anger ignited within her as she watched him. Her mind started sifting through all of the immagined and unimagined deaths she could inflict on the man. Her vision blurred though and she felt herself feeling heavier. The burning coven melted away like chalk paintings in the rain, replaced with darkness.

Basket in hand with a pair of clippers, Miranda wandered the green house. Knowing a few vases that could use a bit of color till spring came around fully, she smiled and savored the rich aroma. Perhaps some lilies and rose, she mused.

Lahan was out getting some fresh air and taking time to mull things over in her mind. Spying a greenhouse, she wandered over to it, to see what beauties were inside to distract her mind.

Hearing the soft click of the door closing behind someone, Miranda smiled. So someone else had the same idea today. Not one to intrude she continued clipping various flowers for arrangements.

Lahan's mahogany eyes caught the sight of Lillies and Roses, their scent making her sigh and forget about her troubles for a while. She wasn't aware Miranda was inside as well. She started sniffing them.

It was good to see one of the newest members of mage house relaxing. After their brief conversation at the Snow Moon Festival, Miranda was a bit worried about her. To lose those closest to you was hard and harder still when you wish to seek vengeance. Clipping the last red rose she would need, she wandered close to Lahan. "It is good to see you out and about."

Lahan was startled, hearing Miranda, but soon relaxed. "It is good to be out too. Being alone has been, trying."

"I can imagine so. One can only stand the sound of their own voice for so long." Chuckling as she set the basket of flowers aside on the stone.

"Well, it's not been my voice that has been around me much. It has been thoughts that are bleaker, dark. I keep feeling stretched tight on what is right and wrong these days."

"I am all ears if you wish to talk. Consider me a sounding wall if you trust me enough." Pulling off her gloves, Miranda made sure the basket would not trip anyone if they left it there. Free to walk about the many rooms of the green house.

"Very well." she gathered her thought calmly, and spoke. "When one has lost everything dear to them that is living flesh, not objects, not material possession, is it a vile thing to seek retribution upon those who caused the loss?"

"I wouldn't say it is vile. Natural in order to grieve for what you have lost. Long ago Morgan and I fought for what we believed was right. Helping those the church wished to kill like my mother. In turn they tried to kill us on our wedding day no less. I woke to find myself here and thought I had lost everything. I was lucky to have found Morgan again. For him 700 years had past. For me it was a matter of months. I was angry for a long time." Miranda slowly started their stroll through the green house.

Lahan put a hand to her mouth to cover the gasp she let out hearing Miranda. "That's horrible." She walked a bit thinking. "So, then it is right to seek revenge then?"

"It might be, but we can't change what has happened. Only what we do in response. If you wish to honor those you lost then do so. If you wish to be the best so that if the day comes were you can face the one who did such unspeakable acts to your coven I am more than willing to help. Just don't lose you in the process. It is then that you are truly left with nothing." Rounding the corner a simple stream with koy fish wandered to a waterfall through a tropical garden. "It is all up to you and what you wish for your life."

Those words vibrated in Lahan's mind, like a clearing breeze to the fog she was in, but another question surfaced. This one was a question that was close to a confession as well. "Is using my craft for revenge and killing considered a vile thing" Well, actually not my lay line craft, but the one I was taught at a young age. The art of Death Writing."

"Death writing is strange to me as far as magic goes. Vile is up to the person using it. I used my gift of molding metal against the church. Would I do it again, yes. But.." Biting her lower lip to choose her words carefully. "We both understood that ultimately the church is what a lot of people wanted. It offered safety, right or wrong as to how. In the end Morgan continued to our work and created the coven. A safe house for any who need it. It is a hard weight to bare killing. Something I will one day have to explain to my daughter."

Lahan nodded hearing Miranda. "The Death Writing is not so much magic as a pact with a death spirit, bound to a special book until the wielders death." she was hesitant to say more given the ability and knowledge was rare and guarded to her coven, but then, they were dead and she remained. "Death Writing allows the writer to write a persons true name in the book and if they have a picture or memory of what that person looks like, they then can write how that person dies. Then the death spirit see to it. It is a very scary thing to do. I've don't it once, when trained. It was against an animal, but still, I felt a piece of my soul grow cold. Now, with my coven gone, my loved ones lost, the book seems to cry to me for use and I find myself awake in the late hours, just staring at it."

"That is a very special gift to wield. Holding life in a book...I don't think I could do it." Miranda rubbed her arms even thought the room was warm and misty. Eye brow rising at the last of her words. "It calls to you? As in the death spirit' That makes me nervous. I would lock it away from myself until I no longer heard it. Just to be sure my judgement was my own."

Lahan bowed her head. "My thoughts run along yours, yet there is one problem. The death spirit is not locked inside the book. I ignore it often and with little need of the book the spirit is barely visible. However, now it follows me and is very visible to me, just waiting for me to send it on it's way, killing." Lahan started to visibly shake.

Gesturing to the bench sitting just in front of the waterfall, Miranda took Lahan's arm and guided her to sit. "If you do not wish this death spirit to bother you then I will have the other members of the house help me find a way to keep it silent. You don't need that right now. Your head feels like it is swimming in a fog. Heart racing at every little thought that feels strange and foreign to you. Always debating if it is really what you want." Shaking her head firmly. "You do not need something to add to the mess you already feel."

Lahan nodded quietly, as she sat, staring at the form of the spirit she could see. "I could," she swallowed, "find a way to destroy the book. As you say, holding the power of life and death is a rare gift not to be taken lightly."

"I would not ask you to do such a thing. I simply want to help you get through this. If that means you keep the book and it takes longer, then so be it. One day Lahan, you will feel yourself smile again and mean it." Offering her hand only as a leader of the house, but as a friend.

Lahan took it with a trembling hand. The offer made her feel better. The spirit wavered a bit and she was a bit less frightened of it. "I do hope so. Perhaps tasks of distraction would help?"

"I am sure we can find something. Your room I am sure still needs to be personalized not to mention a place for you to continue your work." Miranda laughed at her own thought. "We could always place you with Jack. You will be so busy trying to get her to eat or not be blown up you won't have the slightest amount of time to feel upset. She is the leader of Alchemy house."

"Alchemy?" she looked puzzled. "What is Alchemy?"

"Alchemy house is a new age magic and science. It deals more with chemistry as I understand it. Jack herself is half human half fairy well....absinthe fairy to be more specific. Explains her eyes. Anyway, her house is rather interesting, but due to her experiments going wrong from time to time her lab is in a bunker. For all our safety." Miranda hoped it wouldn't scare Lahan too much, but honesty for her was best.

"I see." she swallowed hard for a moment. "Guess I can try out my new Lay Line shield for durability." she said nervously, trying to stay positive and not show her fear.

"It is up to you. You don't have to do a thing. To be honest I wouldn't mind that Lay Line Shield to be tried around Mage house. We are not that far from Alchemy house." Offering a smile to Lahan.

"I can see what lines run here." she settled down quite a bit. "So, I can come to you with anymore questions or thoughts I have before I do something drastic?"

"Of course. That is what I am here for. Any problem at all come talk to me. I am normally at Mage house till dinner time and then go home, but my house is on the coven grounds so it isn't that hard to find me."

"I will do my best not to bother you too much." she smiled. "I think I can rest better tonight. The spirit seems to have gone off to do something else."

"Don't worry about it. Unless I am naked with my soon to be husband you are fine." Waving a hand while chuckling. "Besides, my daughter would try to drag you off to play."

Lahan gave a light chuckle as well and then stood. "I shall see you later then, Miranda."

"Of course." Nodding her head. "Enjoy the greenhouse. I myself have some floral arrangements to get back to."

Lahan found no peace in the following nights and days. Days stretched to weeks, weeks into months. Members of Bristle Crios' coven may have noticed the new witch was making herself very scarce on the grounds. She had taken to staying inside her chambers during the day time, barely taking meals and at night either researching feverishly various combinations of Ley Line magic in her room or out in the Covens grounds searching for particular colored Ley lines. The whole time Morith watched her with those corpse light eyes, mocking her quietly.

Lahan tried desperately to forget the image and name of the priest that haunted her dreams every night and her every straying thought. Any time she felt she had best Morith in the battle of wills to not use the Death Note, she would find the little black book by her hand when not looking, the page open and that quill in her fingers, dripping blood slowly. She was finding her grip on what was left of sanity going.

She could right the mans name and be done with it. Yes, kill the instigator of the purge of her own coven. But then who would be next' Where would she draw the line" Would she start to target those here in this coven" Would Morith drive her to insanity to do such' Lahan shivered at each thought when they came to her at night when her heart hammered as lay awake from hearing the screams of her burning sisters.

After two months of this torture Lahan no longer slept. She simply roamed the grounds now of Bristle Crio's Coven. She was questing for a way to break the purple Ley Line Morith had bound her with to the Death Note. Maybe then she'd could be sane. Maybe then she could be sleep? She saw a few of the coven members talking and she ducked into the deep shadows of a rose bush and let them pass by.

Lahan bowed her head. Until she could break Morith's hold she couldn't risk being around others much. She might snap, losing her sanity and harm someone, but she needed to talk to someone. Truly she did. Quietly, with her mind swirling in a storm of memories, pain and hallucinations she tread deeper into the shadows to seek out someone who might help her. She went to find Miranda.

Back to her room in the Coven she was taken. Laid to rest in a bed meant for comfort and ease. Covered and kept warm, watched over through the night both by a guardian witch, Miranda, and unseen by the Morith that night. Restless was her sleep, cries in the night, memories of flames burning bright. The screams of her sisters burning in her old coven sound tracked her nightmares. Morith flogged her mind with the image of Father Daniel O"Brian lit garishly in her mind's eye.

A sleeping potion to try for the next night, then the following night, soon two, three, or four potions and Lahan couldn't sleep. Attempts to leave the Death Note behind, lock it away, seal it in a bound box even offered only a brief hour of respite. It came back to her, morning, midday and every bloody night. Morith hovered with his ghastly visage of death and rot over her shoulder, an unseen companion and tormentor as Lahan began losing her mind more and more.

One man is all I ask for you to kill. Just one man. The source of all your grief. A simple request, why must you rail against what your heart wants" Child, do this and I will let you rest for a time.

It was always the same keening, crooning chant from Morith. Kill. Just kill, and you get to rest. But then he'll just ask for another death when he grows discontent with the soul he's absorbed. Lahan's shattered and ragged mind thought. Oh Head Sister, why did you ever thrust such an evil thing upon an innocent child" She wept, drawing herself up on the bed.

Lifting pale, haunted mahogany eyes, she looked about the room she was in. Morith was there of course, but she cared little now, so seared and broken she felt to his presence now. A table by her bed held a plate of food long cold. When was that brought here" Who brought it" Weary eyes glanced to the windows and noticed the changing of the season was now fall.

How long has she been in herself imposed prison of nightmares" Mind dully buzzing, she couldn't think upon it. To do so would just surface the nightmares, the torment, that man's face. Lahan's thin, neglected body shuddered with fright now. She wasn't going to give in. She wasn't. Morith may be a demon of death, and immortal, but she could be stubborn until she died herself.

That thought struck her addled, exhausted mind as humorous. She glanced at Morith and started to laugh. A thin cackle that was eerie in the empty room. "What would you do if I died" You'd be bound to a corpse. No souls to steal. Your precious Death Note locked with me in its grave. I can win this yet and just die and you couldn't stop me!" she laughed more, her sanity finally gone.

Something shifted in the intensity of those corpse fire lights of Morith's eyes. They seemed to narrow. The girl had a point that he had never bothered with in his long career as a death demon. Few humans willing sought death, or were this recalcitrant and stubborn! He was not, though going to let his torment continue for eternity. He wanted his contractual freedom as much as she and if Lahan was going to default by cheating him with death, he would not brook that one bit.

"You will not be laughing long, girl. Before the end of the week, you will kill that man and you will be very much alive." Rasping dead voice of the tomb echoed in the room for her to hear.

Lahan's laughter began to die as she saw Morith grinning with wicked malice, rotten teeth in that corpse head of his. Seething violet ley line energy soon swam to her vision, wrapping around the death demons mummified hands, barbed with cruel blue ley energy as well. Lahan began to shake again and tremble.

Morith tugged on the violet lay line sending it to coalesce into existent fiery life, flowing from death demon to wrap around Lahan like a coil snake, biting deep into the girls flesh, snaking into her heart, mind, and soul.

Lahan screamed in agony as he reminded her that they were bound by a contract the dead Head Sister had bound them both to. A contract not to be trifled with or denied with promises of suicidal death. Morith elicited more screams from Lahan, punishing the tiresome and insolent young woman.

"I will have my Death Note filled and I will be freed from this realm of death and elevated to my full station. Write his name and end his life Lahan!" Morith snarled and the Death Note appeared in front of Lahan, open, feathered quill dripping black oozing blood on the bed covers.

Lahan felt her mind withdraw from her body and soon felt as if she was watching this scene as someone else. Who was she" How had she come so far down this dark road" Bound to such a vile creature" Isolated, lost and alone in torment and misery' No one could help her. How could they' They could not see Morith, he was of an entirely deep and dark realm, were even the worst nightmares flee in horror. She watched her body writhe in pain as Morith tormented the young woman, trying to physically force her to write the name of a man who had caused much suffering and pain by the actions of stupidity and belief. She watched the barbed violet ley energy twine around the arms of the young woman, watch it pulse and pour pain into the body she felt muffled and muted. Perhaps she was dying now" Perhaps that is why she was watching calmly now, detached"

A glimmer, a spark of twitching ley line energy caught her eyes as she left watching her body resist in vain against the death demon. How long she would last before she died" Not long perhaps, but the spark that caught her eyes was centered at the core of Morith. The bonds of violet lay energy holding him to her was a bit frayed" A closer look showed her that what kept that bond woven tight had loosened and the strands were coming undone.

Lahan felt a sharp prick of hope deep within. Had she finally done it' Finally found a way to end this torment' Where a line frayed, a complete unraveling, reweaving and binding could be done. Hope shimmered more and she looked at the young woman, shaky fingers reaching for that quill oozing black blood.

No! If she wrote now, the unraveling will twine again! Determined not to lose, set upon the course and weave she now thought was her goal, Lahan was no longer spectator but alive with pain once more, raggedly screaming, her hands inching for that book and quill. Morith may have driven her insane, robbed her body of health, but her soul was now on fire seeing hope. Lahan reached into her soul's fiery depths and mustered her will, and began to pick up her shattered courage and hope.

The tapestry flashed brilliantly. A shimmering glory of magical fabric meshing the book forever holding it tight. The violet ley lines around Lahan vanished, severed as the death demon was destroyed by its own Death Note, a book rewoven by a Ley Line witch taken to her limits. The book fell to the bed, thumping closed and sealing permanently, taking with it the names of her sisters, the mystical tapestry locked around it.

Crying from the sudden relief of being freed from years of torment and haunting, Lahan slumped to her bed in crumpled disarray. She couldn't remember when she was moved to the Coven's infirmary, or how long she had slept, her body resting from the ravages of her months of fighting the death demon off. All she knew was that she was peacefully left alone. No longer whispered to, cajoled or ordered to write a name. A name of a man who had wronged her, but why' Why did he wrong her and burn the Coven down"

Clear to think now, that was her next task, and she had asked for a nurse to come and write a letter for her. She could feel bandages upon her face and was told there would be little scarring, but something had ruined carved up her eyes. Lahan took the news stolidly and without crying. So this was her penance then" Blindness for life" She could live with that. The nurse tending to her wrote up a very odd letter to a Father Daniel O"Brien asking for a polite meeting in a coffee shop in Rhydin.

A few days later, she was sitting in the Teas n" Tomes sipping mint tea. A waitress was complimenting her on her wonderful choice of charcoal gray and navy blue travel coat and travel gown. Lahan nodded and smiled. So that is what Miranda had helped her pick out today' Well I guess I can't wear black all the time can I" She smiled in silent amusement. Her Mithril staff leaned against her chair, her constant companion now and a joy to have.

Someone sat at her table and made the sounds of moving around to get comfortable. "Pardon me, but I am waiting for someone to meet me. Would you by any chance be Father O"Brien?" she asked openly.

A solemn, kind voice answered. "Yes, I am Father O"Brien. I gather you must be Miss Freya" I received your letter and was wondering how I could help you with your burdened soul?"

Lahan smiled a little. "You can help my soul by answering just a few questions Father. A Coven was burned downed near a village of Even Glade. Could you possibly tell me why it was burned down" I have heard rumors your establishment was seen at the fire."

She could hear the man clear his throat and maybe a quickening of a heart beat. Ah, he was a little nervous" "Miss Freya, it is regrettable that you hear about that news. Sadly a Coven was burnt down to the ground near Even Glade, but it was for sound reasons." The Father said in reasoning tones.

For sound reasons" What sound reasons would let a church burn people to death" Sipping more mint tea to keep her calm and gentle she nodded a bit. "And those reasons being?"

Father O"Brien cleared his throat again. "Miss Freya, you cannot sit there and believe I do not know who you are. The last living member of the Even Glade Coven. I must tell you it does my heart good to hope that you were spared the vileness that had plagued that Coven. Even Glade had a long tradition of trading with your former Coven for medicinal and healings until the former Head Sister came along. Things were not right since then. My church was fine to let the village trade and deal with your sisters, but rumors of demon use was brought to my door. A practice I cannot sit idly by and brook without setting it out hard and fast to flee from the village."

Lahan's breath caught for a moment, and her tea cup trembled. "How can you believe such allegations or rumors of dealings with demons in the Coven?" Her voice was harsh, close to anger now. She felt her dead sisters were now being slandered, even though she was guilty of this charge if he ever knew.

She heard Father O"Brien shift and resettle again. A deep breath taken. "Miss Freya, or should I say, Lahan, it pains me to tell you this, but we had a member of the church within your Coven. Your sister Ella, your own sister Lahan was reporting to us, and even granted grace to practice magic and witchcraft. But her reports were disturbing when she mentioned the Head Sister cloistering off the other sisters and seeing them all with strange black books. She was even more frightened when you yourself came into possession of one of these books. Ella was close to discovering something about the books and a series of deaths around the Even Glade territory but her reports soon stopped for several months. I was deeply concerned until I received a scrawled message in her own writing barely legible. It told us to burn the Coven to the ground. Demons were among the sisters and singing death among them."

Lahan bit down on her lip to still the urge to cry hearing this. Her own sister, Ella was watching the Coven" How could she not of seen it' She couldn't have, she was too young then, Ella being the eldest. Sipping more mint tea, trying to quell her grief and dipped her head. So, the Coven was ordered to burn not out of hate, but out of necessity and urgency. Her own sisters had endured what she had. Snuffing them out with her Death Note was not murder now, but a saving mercy to them.

Calmly, finding her grief fading to understanding and closure she found her voice and spoke softly. "I can understand, Father O"Brien. It pains me to hear that the other sisters" shared a fate I thought only the Head Sister had placed on me."

She heard his gasp. "Rest with ease, Father O"Brien, I have sealed the book away and destroyed the demon. If you doubt me, look upon my face and eyes and see the price I paid, but that demoning practice that crept into our Coven is now gone, for good. Hearing that you are a man looking out to protect Even Glade, I wish to gift you with the last Death Note of Even Glade Coven." Lahan withdrew the bound book, to her ruined blind eyes, she still saw her masterwork bindings glowing brightly upon the book still and laid it on the table.

"Lahan' your admission and act of control and bravery' is touching. Yes, I will take the Death Note back to the Order and have it enshrined and sealed away from all eyes for eternity. Though, may I ask to do you a favor, Miss Freya?" Father O"Brien asked gently taking the book from table and placing it into a blessed bag.

Lahan tilted her head for a moment in puzzled expression. "What favor could you possibly want from an admitted, former demon serving witch of Even Glade Coven?"

She heard Father O"Brien stand, the chair moving back a bit on the ground. "A list of all the names of your sisters in that Coven except for the Head Sister. I wish to have our Order establish into our records, and herald you whenever you visit Even Glade once more as honored Sisters of St. Michael for the Sacrifices that were made. It was not your fault evil was bestowed upon you and your sisters. They should be remembered for the kindness they performed for the village and area, not the travesty one woman caused to the Coven. Will you allow this, Saint Freya?" He asked with a determined tone.

Lahan bowed her head. His words moved her. More than anything she wanted her sisters remembered. Truly she did. But she couldn't accept a part in this. She felt too tainted for it. A fallen angel per say to be lifted that high' She found a middle ground and spoke. "Father O"Brien, I am no saint. The true saint was my sister, Ella Freya who watched over us all and warned you of the foulness the Coven ran aground. Lift her to Sainthood if you wish. I care not for that title, for in that book you hold, are their names. I saw that fire burn with my own eyes that night, the demon brought me there. I heard their screams as the heat was coming for them. I became their angel of death, Father O"Brien. I would rather not feel the sting of being called a Saint with blood on my hand, mercifully shed or not. All I ask, that the Coven be remembered gracefully, and honorably."

She heard the falling sigh of Father O"Brien. "As you wish, Miss Freya. Your sister will receive the status of Saint instead. But know this, you are always welcome back in Even Glade anytime, and Lahan, anytime you feel you can leave your conscience behind and take up a challenge, we would be happy to see a new Coven rise again. Now, I must be off to get this Death Note entombed properly. You rest well, Miss Freya. You look like you've seen hell, the gates close and beat them open again."

Lahan listened to the Father walk away, down the busy streets of Rhydin. Revive the Coven" Her" No, some things should just be left buried in the ashes of history and old memories. For I cannot revive the Even Glade Coven, not when I know every secret of that Death Note. Every incant, rite and spell seared into my mind and soul. A talent I will bind away until my death, a talent never given a chance to be taught. No, I will remain the last Sister of Even Glade Coven. A watcher in these times, and I will be looking for anymore Death Notes that come, and I will destroy any that I find. This I Will Do!

Finishing her tea, Lahan stood, leaned on her mithril staff and walked slowly back to the Bristle Crios Coven. Back to her new home, a new life, and a new future.