“They’re not the most reliable of sources.” Wick pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ears and looked down at the table. “I suppose Iris planned on waiting until you were old enough to explain all of this, but she died before she had the chance. I can’t fault her for that, but she’s left you so unprepared.”

“Unprepared for what?” Lily asked.

“Our world.” Wick smiled thinly at her. “Before the Earth belonged to man, good and evil lived openly, locked in an eternal battle with each other. Their immortality made them weary of the same fights, so they devised a wager to settle it forever. Whoever won would have complete reign over the Earth, and whoever lost would be banished for all of eternity.”

“So they created man to settle a bet?” Lily raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“So the story goes,” Wick nodded. “The most cunning daemon was chosen on the side of evil, and the most valiant irin was chosen on the side of good. They were granted powers and privileges to help them, and while one of them was immortality, it came at a price. They had to make sacrifices to stay alive. For the irin, that meant a chaste life, free of any human pleasures, but for the daemon, that meant something far more deviant.”

“What do you mean?” Lily rested her arms on the table, leaning in closer to Wick. She hung on every word. “I don’t even really understand what an ‘irin’ is.”

“They’re angels meant to watch over the Earth, to help mankind in the pursuit of good.”

“Each of the irin and the daemon were allowed seven minions to help them on their conquests,” Wick continued. “While the minions were essentially created equal, so each side would be matched perfectly, they had one difference; daemon minions were turned from men, but irin minions were born.”

“So the irin minions are children of angels?” Lily asked.

“Yes, originally,” Wick nodded. “In order for them to be pure of heart, they had to be descended from an irin. Daniel, the leader of the irins, had seven offspring, called virtus. The virtus are here to serve him and help him in his quest to save the Earth.”

“So the virtus are immortal, too?”

“Yes, and no,” Wick said. “They can give up their divinity if they choose, rescinding their immortality and servitude for a human life, but to do so, they must bear a child to take their place.”

“Why? Why can’t Daniel conceive more children?” Lily asked.

“He can’t partake in Earthly pleasures,” Wick explained. “That is his sacrifice. He can’t have any more children, and there must be seven virtus on Earth at all times.”

“Why seven?” Lily shook her head, unable to understand.

“Each of the seven represent a virtue; castimonia, humilitas, caritas, humanitas, sophrosyne, patientia, and industria,” Wick said, and Lily stared at her. “Its Latin, the language of old, but it means chastity, humility, charity, kindness, temperance, patience, and diligence. Virtus go by their Latin names.”

“They don’t have real names?” Lily asked.

“No. When you are under the service of an irin or even a daemon, you don’t have your own name or an identity. Your only wants and needs are that of your master. Your purpose in life is singular – serve and spread the meaning of your title.” Wick watched Lily intently, and Lily stared thoughtfully at the table.

“So, if you’re the patience virtus, what do you do? You go around and wait for things?” Lily asked.

“No, you try to teach patience,” Wick said. “You give people the opportunity to be patient, and help them through their strife. While your strength is your own virtue, your mission above all is to help people stay good and true,” Wick said.

“And for every irin there is a daemon counterpart?” Lily asked. “Does that mean for every virtu there is an equal and opposite daemon minion?”

“Yes, unfortunately it does, although they are not offspring of a daemon the way virtus are offspring of an irin,” Wick said. “Evil doesn’t need to be pure to work effectively. Daemons wish only to corrupt, so their minions are humans who have given their allegiance to them. They choose to serve the daemons in exchange for immortality, but like the virtus, it can be given up or taken away.”

“I don’t understand the point of all of this,” Lily shook her head and leaned back in her seat. “The concept of angels and demons and their minions running about the Earth. All for what?”

“For the Earth itself. They have two sides, evenly matched in every way, to see whether good or evil will conquer mankind,” Wick said.

“How will they decide a winner?”

“At the end of time, man will stand and be counted, his allegiance tallied, his sins weighed against his virtues,” Wick explained. “No one knows when it will all end, not even the daemons or the irins. It’s those left in the heavens watching that make that decision.”

“What does this all have to do with me?” Lily realized that there had to be a reason Wick had brought all this up. She didn’t seem the type to go on an existential tangent without merit.

Wick thought for a moment, deciding how to answer her. Suddenly, she felt something – a tremor in the air, almost imperceptible, and she might have ignored it completely if the apple hadn’t begun to move. The violet apple that Lily had taken a bite out of sat discarded on the dining table, and it started spinning, gaining momentum.

“What’s going on?” Lily asked, her eyes widening as she watched the fruit.

“Shh!” Wick held up her hand to silence her, and the apple stopped moving.

Wick didn’t get up, but she stared out the mottled glass windows, straining to see something in the dark. The apples and the tree were the source of the protective spell around her cottage, and when something tried to enter, they reacted. Usually a small rustling of the branches would signify a charun trying to get through, but the spell itself usually deterred them.

This time, it felt different. Something slightly more powerful, more sinister, had tried getting in.

7

Jinn had actually succeeded in making it past the edge of the clearing. Scelestus had given him an enchanted cloak before sending him into the Necrosilvam, and that had been the only thing that allowed him to get past. His own power rated lower than a charun’s, and he never would’ve stood a chance against Wick’s spell.