On the way he will contact and collect more Kin, and they will reach Mallian as a small army ready to fight. Others will prepare to rise and reveal themselves where they are, all in concert with Mallian and his plans. Some, he knows, have already jumped the gun and let their enthusiasm get the better of them. He cannot be angry with them, because he has made that same mistake. It has been so long coming that Ascent feels like a giant lake behind the flimsiest of dams. The leaks have already begun.

Thorn has made some calls, left messages on social media, and used more arcane methods of spreading his word. The seed of Ascent was planted many years ago, and over the past two years he has made it his duty to ensure it is nurtured and ready to bloom. He has been Mallian’s silent general, a commander in the shadows travelling the country and ensuring that those already committed to the cause will be ready should the time come. He’s also been recruiting, and Mallian will be surprised at how many more Kin he has found and talked around to their ideas. Thorn spent most of the past few centuries in Britain, and this larger, wider world came as something of a shock to him. The Kin here are different too, more independent and less reliant on support networks to survive.

But Thorn is nothing if not adaptable, and he has come to understand the American Kin. Their independence does not gloss over their past, nor their origins. If anything it makes them better placed to rise up and fight.

He has also met Kin who do not believe in Ascent, and he left them on their own. They will all have a second chance. When they witness the rise, some of them will change their minds. The others will find themselves more lonely and isolated than ever before.

What a glorious time.

Thorn looks forward to being reunited with his old friend.

24

24

Sammi had always wondered what it would be like to die. Now, she thought she was finding out.