Then she looked at the four. “Newly arrived souls are like infants, and in their panic about losing their memories, their sense of self, they can imprint on a person. This means they form an attachment that is deep, and very powerful. Here at the Guild we are very careful to prevent that from happening, because that affects the personifate’s precious free will.” She took a silver hand-held mirror from the table and held it before the face of the personifate eagle. “The first thing it sees, must be itself.”

A wing twitched.

The next part of the process took Prue quite by surprise.

In the gentlest voice, Hannah Woolstenbury lay her hand on the chest of the eagle. “Welcome. Do not be alarmed. You are back in the world of the living, but you are something new now.” Its eyes fluttered, then shut again. “You have no memory of what has come before. It is part of the process. Can you open your eyes?”

They waited for several moments before the eyes wavered and blinked. The bird’s talons twitched.

“You were alive once. You were in the world of the dead. We cannot tell you for how long. Take your time, and when you feel ready, use your thoughts and feelings to try and speak.”

After a while, the eagle opened its beak slightly.

Prue was leaning forward, barely on the chair, her heart thumping. What if it was Francis?

“You are in a different form, but the essence of you is the same,” said Master Woolstenbury. “Can you see yourself?”

The eagle personifate gave a slow nod.

“Try to say something. Think, and it will flow.”

Prue gave a little gasp of anticipation.

“He … hello,” came the quiet voice of the eagle, unmistakably older and female.

Grief twisted in Prue’s chest. Stupid, she thought – she was so stupid. How could she have possibly thought it would be Francis? The disappointment bore down on her like a wave, crushing her chest.

Master Woolstenbury bent down to the new personifate. “You bring with you understanding, but not history. You are in the body of a great bird, and in your new life you will work together with the living in a second, different life, striving for the good of all.”

The eagle raised a wing and stretched out a foot, as though trying out her new body.

“We will give you time, but you are free to stay here in this form or return to where you were.”

“Do I have a name? I don’t remember.”

“You may choose your own, or we can choose for you.”

The eagle personifate paused then said, “Choose for me.”

Master White looked to Master Woolstenbury. “Perhaps we should consult the apprentices?”

Master Woolstenbury nodded in agreement, but Prue’s mind whirred with so many emotions she could barely hear what was being said any more. She wiped the sweat beading on her brow, her hands were clammy.