Shadow shook his head. “No. Their big-picture role is like my mother’s with the Nexus. To keep the balance. To do that, they must travel between all places, holding evil at bay and protecting those who are destined to do great things. They sense where they are needed to be through meditation and their own personal psychic abilities.” He stood taller, the light here casting a perfect tint of gold over him, turning a god into something greater. “There aren’t many transcendents left now. Maybe a few hundred thousand, and as you can imagine, they’re stretched thin.”

Maintaining balance would be a thankless fuck of a job, and with all the worlds, a few hundred thousand wouldn’t go far. “Why are they dying out? I thought they were immortal.”

Shadow’s expression didn’t give a lot away, but his eyes were as brilliantly gold as the light around him. “As the worlds’ evils grow stronger, it weakens them. Then there are the wars. Dannie is not the first we’ve had to go up against when it comes to those who believe they deserve more than their share of the power. This might be the worst, but there have been many before. Angel’s entire family was killed in such a battle, and it’s only her pure strength, tenacity, and the inherited power she got from each member that allowed her to break free and return to the Honor Meadows before she, too, was claimed.”

“She told me that saving their family power is the most important part of their culture.”

He nodded. “Yes, nothing else stands above it. Each family here has a unique power. It’s why the balance is growing further and further off-kilter, as more of the family lines and abilities are lost.”

Poor Angel. My heart still ached for her tragic story, and knowing she was out there alone again, thinking she had no family left, was a weight pressing me into the ground. “We have to find her,” I said, spinning on the spot, like she would appear with that movement. “Can you feel her here?”

Shadow breathed in deeply, the mist tattoos on his arms moving, as they often did when he channeled his power. “This land is so imbued with her energy, it’s impossible for me to tell her specific location. We’re going to have to push through the magic, peel off the layers, and see if an Angel falls out.”

I gulped. “That kind of seems like a great way to get attacked. I mean, have you seen her curved blades? I really like my insides to stay inside. For aesthetic reasons.”