Chapter 42: I Have No Place

I sat in a room behind the altar of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, my wings dissolved into shadows and a warm fleece blanket wrapped tightly around my now-human body. Michael’s arms were wrapped tightly around me, too.

I leaned into him, like we’d never been apart, as I listened to the introductions Knowles made.

“Father Cornelius.” He gestured to the priest - a small man with a tidy gray beard and a face lined with kindness. The father stood and bowed his head - a gesture of honor I hardly thought I deserved.

“We have waited a long time for you, child.”

What did that mean? I frowned.

“And Longinus,” Knowles said, indicating the man who stood against the far wall, tall and stiff like a tree. He lowered his chin, and I figured it was probably about as much feeling as he could muster.

I listened as Knowles and Cornelius told me about the group of whose secret combinations I was now, apparently, a part.