Azmarin 5

Charlie goes and speaks to her mother, demanding to know why their house is untouched by the devil incursion. She declines to give Charlie any information. They argue, and her mother tells her she is no longer part of the family, and orders her to leave, with her mother's eyes flashing red briefly and fingers turning to claws. Charlie tries to cast Hold Person on her, which fails, but she then quickly turns back to her normal appearance, seeming oblivious to the conversation they just had.

Tarian arrives just then with a bouquet of flowers. He asks Lady Westwood for some tea, and she steps out for a moment, allowing Charlie to quickly fill Tarian in on what just happened. He offers to keep Lady Westwood busy while Charlie goes to find her father. He claims not to have an idea what she's talking about, refusing to answer her questions about her mother.

The group has a month of downtime while waiting to hear about getting Theo into the city. Jude spends his first few weeks working his way through various devils and people trying to find where his mother is. During that time, he also seeks out Briar's help, which she is excited to offer.

We flash back to the evening of the incursion. Briar is running through the streets for her life, death and terror all around her. She comes across a woman, lying in rubble, a pillar jutting through her chest. The woman asks Briar to come nearer, and asks her to take a book, and to keep it from the devils. As Briar reluctantly takes the book, she gets a vision of a formless, genderless creature with a scythe on its back. When her vision comes back to the present, the woman is gone, with only blood and ash remaining where she was. She eventually makes it back to her clocktower, hiding in tears.

Back at the Westwood estate, Lady Westwood asks Tarian about Jude, who tells her that he recently learned how little he knows about Jude. She asks about his intentions toward her daughter, and he assures her they are just friends. She clearly hints at wanting him to be an option as a suitor for Charlie, mentioning that they had hoped the same about young Asher. Charlie comes down about then, and Tarian casts Protection from Evil and Good on her. The two of them make their way quickly out of the house, and he offers for her to stay at his place.

Tarian shows Charlie his childhood home, where his mother died, telling her that he knows what it's like to lose a home, and that he will always be there for her. Their romantic moment is interrupted by a noise in the street, and Charlie finds a dead imp in the street. A single black feather falling from the sky is the only thing she finds of what killed it.

During the downtime, Briar spends some time with Najua, asking her about the names she's seen in the book. Words form, saying "Those who have made bargains". She eventually goes to talk to Tarian about Najua. She flips the book open and asks Najua to show Tarian what she can do. Words form on the page saying "You are not the reaper" which only Tarian sees. He asks her what "the Reaper" means, but she doesn't recognize the name. She flips to another page and sees an image of Tarian, with his eyes bleeding. She flips to another page, seeing an image of herself with her wings and hood, and the words "I'm yours".

She closes the book, and it turns into a cat. She asks the cat about him, and Najua says she can tell "the Aasimar" whatever she wants to, and that he's descended from angels, but doesn't know what he is. Najua goes to where Tarian's banned books are, and paws at it, and the 3 of them all go in there. Najua pulls a book off of a bottom shelf - it's a very old book about magic and different types of casters.

Tarian finds a chapter about more mysterious ways of getting magic, including oracles. It talks about how, except for one exception, they are born with that ability - all except the Oracle. There's a reference to another book which he also has in his collection, which talks about a mythical creature called The Reaper, the embodiment of death. The reaper has incredible powers over death and fear. He asks her about any changes she may have noticed in herself since getting the book, and she mentions that ghosts sometimes keep her company. He tells her that he thinks she may be a form of death, which Najua confirms.

Tarian tries to message the cat, who tells him she is not real. She tells him not to give Briar too much information at once, and that she wishes to restore the reaper to power. She gives him a vision of when the woman gave Briar the book. As Briar puts the book away and leaves, a cat is still left behind. The cat tells Tarian to ask it one question about himself, and he asks it what his purpose is. She tells him that he is not human, he is different. It asks him about the time when he first saw her walking home, and someone was throwing trash out their window, and he kept it from hitting her. He asks if there's anything he can do for her, Najua, and she says that he needs to make peace with the fact that Nekir is Charlie's destiny too.

At that point, Charlie arrives, and she and Tarian catch up a little. He tells her to make sure she's particularly nice to Briar and her cat. He uses Encode Thoughts to form his feelings for her into a woven band, which he then gives her. She ties the ribbon around her wrist, and is flooded with memories and the way that Tarian sees her - loving her with every fiber of his being. She finds herself without words, and instead leans forward and kisses him. She tells him she can't promise him forever, but there's nobody she'd rather face hell with. As she says that, Tarian begins to glow as he sprouts wings and a halo.

Over the rest of their downtime, Charlie spends some time trying to figure out her family's involvement in the incursion, as well as how she might get someone out of the castle. One day, she finds Nekir waiting for her in an alley, and he gives her a letter from Olympia. She asks him about her family, and he tells her that her family is part of a larger coalition that has given resources to the devils. He tells her that the de Clares are part of the coalition, and the most fervent supporters of the devils. Her mother specifically asked for the protection of Charlie and of Asher Bailey. He reveals to her that his own mistakes in his past cost his creator, his father, his life.

He asks to hold the gem one more time, and she allows it. She sees a great battle between Celestial, and a piece of Heaven breaks off and falls. It rains for many years, and the rain forms into a gem, which is dug up by Charles Montcroix, her uncle. On the day Charlie is born, the gem lights up, and is given to her. She sees one victorious angel get his wings stripped and fall to the hells. He thanks her for restoring his memories.

Charlie returns to Tarian's house and reads the letter - a goodbye from Olympia. Tarian finds her sobbing, and comforts her. Two more weeks go by, and they get notice that it will be another 2 weeks before Theo can be brought in. The following day, 3 bells sound the death of another Delaney.