Cynus

Thank you, Steve. And unfortunately my relationship with Jesse, the muse of this poem, was indeed fleeting. I love him still, and he loves me, but our relationship was not meant to be the way it was. Thankfully, as difficult as it was to hold, we remain close friends.

Out of the ashes The burnt remains of the fear, the worry The hesitation Rises my champion, in radiant splendor. Magnificent and regal Enshrouded in chaotic flame Dancing among the clouds of ash and air The rarest bird of all My phoenix.

A very merry existence day to you, Daddy Dave K.

Thank you for the compliments. Most of the Mormon missionaries are just young men trying to do some good in the world the best way they know how. I've liked talking to a significant number of Mormon missionaries, especially ones I served with, but the religion part didn't work too well for me, either.

I can't help but view this as a Taoist, and so I apologize if I let my spirituality bleed too much onto the page. I see this profound balance here of two conflicting perspectives. On one side, you have this need to escape how you feel in the moment, yet then you describe this very deep feeling in the words, "Do you see me? I am your child, we are everyone's". It makes me wonder if the drugs brought you to such a thought, or if this was something you thought when the drugs wore off. It's amazing how people can distance themselves so easily from the suffering of others. I saw a qupte earlier today that spoke of how humanity has forgotten that we are all connected; that we are all family, and yet fight over such petty things as arbitrary lines on a map, or whose God created whom... As I read your poem I am reminded once again of the need to see those I interact with as human, not the uniform, the name tag, the lack thereof... All people deserve our respect and love, and for it to be given freely. Perhaps that wasn't what your poem meant to you. I hardly ever know how close I am to the mark on what was intended, but I believe if a poem speaks to the soul of the poet, it will speak to the soul of those who receive it. Thank you for the lesson.

I tried to do my research when I was writing The Navigator. I read story after story of homeless youth, especially homeless LGBT youth so I could try and play Silas Drake's personality properly. It's amazing how, when life seems to do its best at reducing you to nothing, you find this sense of pride in your trials. I'm particularly drawn to those last three lines: "Showed me how a rent boy behaved I honed those skills. I am only seventeen. But I am a master." When life puts you in such a position, you have to become stronger than you ever were before. I appreciate what you were forced to go through, Tim, and that you became a master at how to survive. I'm glad you're free of the life, and I'm sure the strength to endure has stayed with you.

I'm glad you liked the battle, even if it was incredibly short. My editor at the time warned me about that, saying it needed to be extended a lot further. I was pushing the deadline though, and I knew if I waited I wouldn't make it. I sure wish I would have listened to him. Good to know someone caught on to Lucifel before she acted. She's a wily one. Thank you for all of your reviews.

There's certainly a lot of maturing for both of them to do, I think. Thank you for the review.

And the storm came.

Thank you. I'm happy to hear it.

Gotta love it when the inspiration for the name "Satan" is offering to teach you to be a more effective killer. Thank you for the review!

I always try to keep a hidden hero in my longer stories. In this case, it was Alan. He's there to surprise you every now and then. Thank you for the review.

Thanks. I certainly try.

My chapters were even smaller before I submitted them to GA. I consolidated a lot. Could you believe War of Hell used to be 16 chapters? Thanks for the review.

Well, you now know the answer to that last question, of course. I certainly was no expert at the time of writing this, and there's a lot I'd do differently if I were to go back and rewrite it. Maybe someday I will, and I'll be able to convey Damien's age more convincingly. Thank you for the review.

I'm glad to see someone siding with Damien. Sorry it took so long to respond to this review. I finally figured out what I was doing in March. It was a crazy busy month as I prepared to submit a different novel to a published. I submitted it on March 18th, so you can imagine how busy those last few days were... Anyway, thank you for your review, even if my reply is a tad (a lot) later than it should be. There's really no good excuse.

Indeed it was... damn, I still missed a few of these reviews. You're going to get a lot of notifications from me today. Sorry it took so long.

Yep, Chris definitely has a lot to think about, and not a lot of time to think about it. If only they'd paid a bit closer attention to the clock.

It almost was Jason, too. Good thing he had to use the toilet. Thanks for the review.

Thanks for the review, Drew.

Sorry about the cliffhanger. Okay, not really, because it will be resolved next week! At least there won't be a band chapter between them. And see? Luke isn't all bad. He really just wants to do some good. Thanks for the review, Dr.

Don't underestimate the power of the cult mindset. I know it's been said a number of times now, and I agree that the supervisor's reaction was weird/crazy. I say this for the benefit of everyone who read this chapter. The thing to understand here is that I watched this very scenario(and others similar to it) occur while I was there. A missionary was injured, his companion left him to go find the supervisor, and the first thing the supervisor did was chew the companion out for abandoning the other missionary. If you feel it's ridiculous reading it, then good, because that's how I felt while holding a bottle of cleaner and a rag while a missionary was getting yelled at for trying to take care of his companion. And all in the name of obeying the rules, because in the Mormon Church, obedience is everything. If you don't follow the rules you are first chastised, then outcast, and then extreme cases(like being gay )you're told you need therapy. And that's just for a standard everyday member. Missionaries are held to an even higher standard. They take an oath to uphold the rules and live in accordance to the missionary lifestyle, and they are expected to do so at all times. For some of those in charge, they interpret the law as being the ultimate decision maker, even in the face of personal health/safety. They, like the Pharisees of Biblical time, believe the law to be absolute. The scary thing is that the Church itself more often sides with them than not. Thank you for the review, and sorry for getting riled up there. I'm not upset at any of you who pointed it out, I'm upset at the church which creates such situations as this. I'm upset that because I grew up in the church this situation felt completely normal to me . . . Ugh, still some demons from my past to exorcise, I suppose. Thank you, Puppilull.

And they are glad you've given them those wishes. This is only the current ending to their tale. It may go on, and I don't know in what ways the nature of their relationship may change. It's possible they'll stay together, and it's possible one or all of them will decide to break up with the others. These characters surprise me all the time, and they surprised me by staying together here.(Actually there is a reason for that, but I'll only explain it in private, if you're interested feel free to PM me.)

Thank you, Dathi. I hope I'll continue to deliver chapters you enjoy. I tried to create a world in which anything was possible, allowing me the flexibility to play with a variety of monsters. I'd be lying if I said that shows such as Supernatural hadn't been inspiring me at the time. Of course, that was a year ago, so who knows for sure what I was thinking then!

My thought process on this chapter was to get the reader intrigued to know more about the characters so that they'll want to keep turning pages. Hopefully at least that much will be accomplished as seek for these answers, which, will show up in time. Thanks for the review!