"The child needs to be captured and nullified," Archon Simeon declared. "Killing it will have unforeseen consequences."

"We will need to pin the boy down in order to remove The Essence," Archon Gideon added. "A proper vessel will be needed as a host for The Divine once Its Essence is extracted."

Silence ensued for several moments after this, though I suspected the archons were communicating telepathically. Finally, Archon Simeon broke it.

"I will be the vessel for The Divine Essence," he said. "I have served It for more than half a century. Let this be my final sacrifice to our people and to see order restored in the world."

Neither Adah nor Gideon seemed to have any objections to his statement, which further confirmed my suspicion that they had already discussed it telepathically. None of us said anything either. We had absolutely no clue what kind of spell would be needed to perform the extraction of a deity's essence from a mortal, much less from one who had attained half of its god-like powers.

"The only way to get to the boy will be to give him what he wants the most," Gideon started sharing his thoughts. "Which, of course, means we will need to use Adel as bait."

"That is absolutely out of the question," Man protested. "If you have enough power to pin him down and extract his powers, you most certainly have the power to flush him out."

"Man, I think he's right," I said, trying to calm him down.

"We hope our power will be enough," the archon continued, "but we need every advantage we can get."

"Then find a way to use Adel as bait without him being in danger. Have Kai think he's somewhere he isn't," Man said, in an effort to get around the limitations of the archon's plan. "Then you will have him exactly where you want him, and Adel will still be safe if the plan fails."

"If the child has unlocked half of The Divine's powers," Adah said, all around us, "he will see through that right away and know we are planning something. This is not a request, Prince."

"I don't like it either, " my sister said, as she grabbed Man's hand and turned around to look at me with determination in her eyes. "But you heard what Kai's angels did to your father's troops, Man, when they traveled south. He won't stop destroying and killing until he finds Adel. This may be the only way to end it."

Man was still seething with anger at Archon Adah stating that it was an order rather than a request, but eventually he gave in to logic, especially with Seika supporting the plan. He didn't agree to it verbally, but he nodded, and only at that moment did I realize I was holding my breath as the tension between him and the archons rose.

"One thing I noticed while reading your report of the events is that you refer to Myriam as a saint." Archon Simeon eased the tension only slightly by changing the subject.

I nodded, ready even to object to the whole plan if this request was denied.

"You want her to be sanctified and her story told to the world?" he asked me.

I stepped closer to the table in front of me and prepared to express all the reasons why she deserved this. But before I was even able to open my mouth, the archon raised his hand to halt me.

"It will be done," the old man said. "Her story will be heard throughout Elysia, and she will be considered a saint, effective immediately."

"Thank you," was all I could mutter, unable to believe I had just ensured that her memory will be kept alive through the ages.

"Now, we are going to need something from you as well," Archon Gideon said, grabbing the chance to negotiate. "Archon Haad and his paragon are to be transferred to us on the morrow."

"I'm sorry," Man confessed, "but that isn't for us to decide. I would be happy to take this request to my father though, the King of Leka An."

"That is most troubling, Prince Manal Im," Archon Gideon replied. "I thought we were on better terms by now."

"We are, Archon," Man said, in the same tone the archon used. "But I truly cannot decide this on my own."

"We already lost contact with the monastery at the End of the World," Gideon said, keeping his calm demeanor. "We are going to need all the fighting power we can possibly get."

"I will inform my father—" Man began to say.

"I am coming with you," the archon interrupted him. "This needs to be resolved as soon as possible. Do you have a means of teleportation back to Zakara?"

"No, we don't," Seika lied. Of course, we had the cauldrons, but she—and the rest of us—wanted to avoid having an archon teleport directly inside our tower.

"Then we will travel on a sea vessel of the Order," he replied. "It will take us less than a day to cross the Endless Sea."

"Less than a day?!" Krysha couldn't help but ask, in her usual awed tone. "Really?"

"Meet me at the south docks tomorrow at sunrise," Archon Gideon said and started to walk away, his bluebird flying ahead of him.

"Thank you," Archon Simeon said, "for your trust. We will make this right and restore order."

We each nodded and watched him leave the way he'd arrived. Once he was out of sight, we realized Archon Adah was not going to leave. She just stood there, unmoving, so that we had to take our leave instead. As I was turning my back to her, she snapped her head toward me.

"You are not alone, Adel," her voiced echoed in my head. I turned to find that she was pointing at the shield strapped on my back.

Archon Adah was most definitely able to tell the item had Myriam's mana infused in it. Perhaps she could even see the protective spells she had enchanted in it to protect me.

"I know," I replied, and smiled a bitter smile. "I will never be alone."

I turned away from her again and walked to catch up with the others.