The Lost Saint Cover

Third Letter

Oh, Katharine, what have I done?

I do not know why I write to thee now. Thou wilt never see this letter. Not unless the angels themselves were to light it to thee on their wings. Alas, no angel would dare to come near a demon as horrible as I.

Why did I not stay away?

When I heard Miguel had returned to our village, that he was living like a fatted pig on the hill overlooking the cottage I once shared with Marie, I should never have gone after him there. I should have fled as far from home as possible, stayed away from even the thought of seeing thee.

I should have known I wasn’t...

Fifth Letter

Katharine,

I found him! I found Father Miguel without even seeking him out. Sirhan and I encountered a band of travelers on our way back to the village where I met the slave woman. Many soldiers guarded a carriage in the party so ornate it looked fit for a king. Our curiosity got the better of us, and we followed it for some time—only to discover that it was no king borne upon those gilded wheels but that murderous hypocrite, Miguel.

He is old now, but still just as vile. He threatens peasant girls unless they join him in his carriage, even though he still claims to be a man of...

Fourth Letter

My Dearest Katharine,

I do not know why I write to thee again now, for I know thou art still gone. Yet I do so, for I hope it will help me feel human. That is the reason I still sketch thy and Marie’s faces in the dust each morning—so I don’t forget who I am.

I am not sure how many years have passed since I wrote thee last, for I do not age anymore, and time feels ambiguous to me now. I have lived in seclusion in the hills for all these years, as far from humans as possible. I forage for food, and have sworn off all acts of violence—even hunting game—and try to force myself...

Second Letter

Katharine,

Doest thou remember the promise I made to my beloved Marie?

That night the baby would not come, and the midwife said there was nothing more she could do, I held Marie in my arms as she cried out for the Lord to come take her and our child so the devil’s spirits would not claim them before the angels could. I brushed her wet hair from her face and reassured her that heaven awaited her soul. She smiled up at me for the briefest moment and told me she could see a light, and her mama, waiting for her. Then she tried to squeeze my hand and made me promise I would come find...

First letter

Katharine! Oh, Katharine!

I write to thee now because I do not know when, or if, I will ever have the opportunity again. I do not even know how much time has passed since I last wrote to thee—since I was last human.

I tried to run from the Urbat curse after I was infected. I tried to flee this wretched place before the curse could take me over. I left my other letters and a dagger for you in my tent, then packed a knapsack and headed for the forest. Alas, before I got too far, the most horrible noise filled my ears. I’d heard nothing like it before. It was high-pitched and ethereal,...