No surprise that once again our winner is Jen DeSantis, @JenD_Author. 😉 She’s an amazing writer, so no wonder. I hope you’re all enjoying the NaNoWriMo editions as much as she is, and getting something out of it for your WIPs as well.

Congrats again, Jen, and see you all next week!

Here’s her entry again for you to enjoy:

“Open it,” Zatiel said, leaning casually against a charred tree.

Leteh eyed him warily. He felt certain that the minute he looked away from him, Zatiel would take the opportunity to fry him. The younger demon with fiery, possessed eyes just shook his head.

“I called a pause in the action,” he said, “and I’m a demon of my word.”

Leteh couldn’t stop himself from snorting. “Yeah … and I’m not wanted dead by everyone and their brother. What are you playing at, Zatiel?”

“Open the fucking box and see, will you?”

With a shake of his head, Leteh pulled at the crude strings surrounding the box. Lifting the lid, Leteh saw a litter of debris in the box. It was most definitely harmless, at least superficially. The effect that the contents had on Leteh however, was both immediate and powerful.

Inside the plain brown box was a charred branch of a tree and three black raven’s feathers burned nearly to their quills.

“You see what this means, don’t you?” Zatiel asked, smiling smarmily at Leteh as he walked closer to the older demon. “You, better than anyone, can see the significance of these feathers. She’s gone, Leteh. And with her death, your reason for fighting dies as well.”

Zatiel, good to his word, dissolved into the underworld, leaving Leteh alone with the innocuous box. Perhaps Zatiel was telling the truth and Selena had been killed. But he was wrong, nonetheless. Leteh’s resolve was even stronger than before. He crushed the box in his hands, feathers fluttering to the ground in his wake as he strode back to camp.