Harbinger

I  perched on the branch nearest the entrance to the interior of the great  oak. The first part of the storm was passing and the eye would soon be  here. I could already sense fear growing throughout the area. Souls  disturbed by the storm and needing guidance. We would have to move  swiftly during the relative calm of the eye to find them all.

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Other  members of the clan began exiting the oak, stretching their wings and  waiting. Most of us had taken shelter in the ancient oak growing in the  center of the oldest section of the cemetery. The magic that was part of  this place protected the oak and it protected us.

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The  winds slowed, light filtered through the clouds, and I saw others  coming to join us. I trilled, calling everyone together, and the others,  here at the oak, joined the call. Any humans who saw us would probably  panic at the sight of so many of us in one place. They would be right to  do so; but not for the reasons they believed.

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Humans  have long associated us with death—believing if they heard us call  three times it meant we were calling their soul and they would soon die.  The truth is, when we issue the spirit call it is because the soul has  told us they will be leaving the mortal body and we are binding  ourselves to the soul so we can locate and guide them across the veil to  their next existence. We are not the harbingers of death; we are the  guides to the next life. For those who are not ready to pass through the  veil, we guide the souls to safe and protected places until they are  finally ready to pass through or fade away.

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The  storm finally broke and the eye was on us. As one we took to the air  beginning our search. This storm was one of the strongest to hit the  area in many life times and we all felt the pain and fear in the spirits  who had been disturbed. On silent wings we split apart and begin our  search of the cemetery. We would first find and assist those already in  our charge. Then we would begin our search for the lost ones—souls who  died suddenly and were not bound to a guardian or guide. Souls unable to  pass beyond the veil because of the circumstances of their death. These  were the ones we, and others like us, would be searching for during the  days after the storm passed.

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Soon  the air filled with the spirit call as members of the clan located  wandering spirits and lost ones then guided them to safety. I found  myself drawn toward the main building of the Eternal Escapes cemetery.  The pain and fear I felt almost overwhelmed me. I beat my wings  furiously, fighting against the strengthening storm winds desperate to  reach the building. I soon had several other members of the clan flying  with me.

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I  could sense a deep darkness, radiating from the building. Unseen by  normal eyes. it was something created from the depths of despair, anger,  pain and loneliness. But, in the midst of the darkness there was also a  bright soul: Lieke, the current director of Eternal Escapes. To mortal  eyes it only appeared she might have fainted or only laid down on the  carpeted floor of her office. But, to my eyes and sense, her soul was  being drawn from her body toward a shifting smoking form made of  darkness. Her soul called out to me. As soon as the spirit call flowed  from my throat I felt the magic shift slightly. Where the song normally  wove a thread of power between myself and the spirit this was more like a  net being cast. A blanket, warm and protective to surround the soul and  guard it. A shield to prevent the darkness from continuing to drain  Lieke’s soul from her.