I hadn't been completely honest with Roman.

Yes, I did lie about my Skill to some people. Though I would rather not think of it as a lie, but as a wise move on my part.

What I didn't tell him was that, sometimes, I wished my Skill was Courage.

When I was a child, before I turned, I liked asking adults for stories from their lives and then I took all the elements and made up my own stories, ones that I would tell myself when I was scared or lonely. In the stories, there was never me. But the main character was sometimes a Prophet, other times a Watcher. And when they were a Watcher, their Skill was Courage.

I'd heard that those who had it would never hesitate in battle, that a certain kind of glow seemed to appear around them and it gave confidence to all the other warriors, both during patrol and war. Watchers were generally exempted from military action, but then again it depended on what the leaders of each country decided. A long time ago, there were stories about war generals who had Courage as Skill.

Despite my best attempts to throw off the scent from my real Skill, I still had Knowledge. I recalled being vaguely disappointed when I turned and found out about it, but then told myself it was fitting of the boy who made up stories instead of living them.

It wasn't a concern anymore. I've had lots of adventures since then. Still, sometimes I wished I had a Skill that could give a boost of bravery to me and others.

When Roman, Minx and I joined Aurora and I saw the only Behemoth left up close, it was one of those times.

"Did you know," Roman told me, a little nervously. "That some books claim that humanity will eat Behemoths at the end of times?"

I turned around. "What did you say that for?" I asked. "I won't be able to stop myself from wondering how it tastes now."

Roman shrugged. "I like fun facts. Sometimes something I've read comes back to mind."

"Don't worry, Jonathan," Minx added. "The writers didn't even specify which one of the eighteen thousand worlds will end first, and which one will get to eat the Behemoths. Let's put it back to its dimension."

"Speaking of that," I said, unleashing my orange-y bronze sword. "I've always wondered whether Creatures look like that, in the world they come from, or whether they get lost in translation."

Atticus had already hurried up to Aurora, who looked green in the face. I wasn't close enough to see where the Behemoth had hurt her.

While Minx was using his machete against the Creature, I tried to see its strengths and weaknesses. The loins seemed to be strong, as the belly was muscled. There wasn't a spot in his body where it seemed vulnerable. Except for...

I tried to jump onto the Behemoth's back, which wasn't easy, since it was as tall as a house. Then, my wings finally unfurled and I flew on the monster's hide. I tried to get to its head, but it was thrashing around.

It looked like an elephant, a water buffalo and a hippopotamus mated only to have offspring as hideous as one could imagine. When it thrashed again and tried to shake me off its back, I impaled my sword into the Creature to stay in place.

It was a very bad idea. The flesh of the Creature was so hard it could have been made of iron. My sword bounced back. I fell off before I could figure out how to fly away.

When I landed on the street, I saw black spots blurring my vision. I felt the Behemoth coming towards me. I braced myself for the impact.

But the impact never came. When I looked up, the Behemoth was turning in another direction.

"I threw a knife to distract him," Roman explained. I knew he wished he could do more, but at least there was that.

"Thank you," I replied, getting up. My wings hurt a little, and I imagined with embarrassment that the white feathers might have been in disarray.

"I hardly broke a sweat," Roman shrugged. As he claimed he had perfect aim, it was probably true.

Still, I said, "That was a good shot."

And I tried to charge the distracted Behemoth. I impaled my sword into its right eye, then its left eye, and then in its muzzle.

After a few sounds of agony, more melodious than I could have ever imagined, the Behemoth disappeared as if it'd never been there.

Which was usual, for Creatures. It was about the only normal thing the Behemoth had done.

When everything was over, I ran towards Aurora, Minx and Atticus. She was bleeding from a wound that the Behemoth seemed to have caused her with its paw.

Roman said the words I was thinking. "She wouldn't have been this injured if she hadn't been weak from fighting the other Behemoths. I've never healed a wound that deep," he pointed out.

There was something ominous about the deep, dark gash in Aurora's chest.

"We should call a doctor," I said. "Or if Roman wants, he can use his powers on her."

"I could try to heal her. I've already healed her cousin when he ran into some Creatures."

"No," Atticus' voice was firm. "I understand where you're coming from. But this is too important. This is Aurora, and she looks like she's losing consciousness. Jonathan is right. We should call a doctor."

"I'd like to stay with her," Minx said, with a tenderness that surprised me. "I want to see how far this goes." Now, he sounded more like a scientist ready to examine every single part of the problem.

I understood the urge. I've had it many times myself. But it was hardly ever medical, and certainly Aurora's wounded body reminded me of anything but that.

"I don't want Aurora to be treated poorly," Atticus added. "Jonathan, use Knowledge to see where to find a doctor who can cure her."

Roman looked at me, a certain worry concealed under his usual intimidating stare. He might have known Skills take a toll on the Watcher, and the rarer they are the more important the price to pay is. Knowledge was one of the rarest Skills, if not the rarest. This was why I never disclosed my abilities to strangers. I knew people who would find a way to take advantage of it.

Using Knowledge made me pass out almost every time. I understood Roman's look, and I shared his unspoken opinion. It probably shouldn't be used to look up doctors.

But it wasn't like we had any real alternative.

"I need to concentrate," I said, getting a few steps away from the group and sitting in a meditating position.

When I first used Knowledge, I wondered how it worked. Whether I would have a vision in the literal sense of the word, something that I saw flashing before my eyes. Or if it would have been something that I heard. Deep down, I was hoping to experience it, so that I could live many different lives.

The truth wasn't any of this, and it wasn't close to any other human experiences. When I woke up, after I lost my consciousness, it was more as if the answers I'd been looking for had been with me the whole time. It could be compared to dreaming — one only recalls when one has fallen asleep and the time one lifts their head from the pillow the morning after.

But in the meantime, something happens. And I was there when it happened, just not in any physical or logical way. I couldn't, for example, think during the process. My brain was doing something else, searching the universe for information.

Still, after I'd done it many times, I could easily recognize each part of the process.

It started with focusing on a part of your body — I'd chosen a lower part of my stomach — and imagine all the things you were looking for were stored there. Then I would feel as if I was entering a great stream of light, which represented the primordial energy that connects all things. That was when I would have to think of the question, which then traveled under form of energy into the universe, or maybe, the multiple universes. I could never figure this out.

And then there was the third part of the process. At that time, I should have the answer, and it wasn't as if I was living it. But afterwards, it would be like I'd lived it before.

Then I mostly saw black and passed out. But when I woke up, the times I'd ask why the Creatures were multiplying were the only times in eight years I'd woken up without answers.

When I came to, I had very important information that I couldn't wait to tell my friends.

"Does it always happen?" Roman smirked. "Or was it because you wanted me to catch you?"

I looked down. He had caught me, alright. "You didn't have to," I replied, trying to still sound self-assured in spite of it all. "In fact, it literally always happens. If it helps, I think of it like taking a nap. I'm not very nocturnal anyway as you know."

When Minx and Atticus reached us, I explained what I knew.

"There is a Watcher who is working as a doctor," I started explaining. It wasn't unheard of but it was frowned upon. Our Skills were given to us by the Endless One to save the world. Some legends claimed there was a spark of divinity in our soul, some sort of extra soul.

It might have something to do with the physical differences as well. Harder to kill, we couldn't die of illness either. Our skin was a bit harder and more polished than the humans'. I'd bragged about my nighttime habits many times, but the truth was all of us barely needed sleep, since Creatures often formed during the night.

"This doctor," I added quickly. "She's a friend of Naftali from the Court, and the two often exchange opinions on how to cure the supernatural. She's been specializing in wounds from Creatures."

"It's hard to find a job where you don't have competition nowadays," Roman pointed out.

"It's not as if you were being paid," Atticus replied quickly and sharply. I imagined Aurora's conditions had worsened his moods. Atticus always looked placid, and as happy or sad as the current situation required it.

But I'd noticed the first few days that something was a little off with him. I just couldn't tell what, and it felt impolite to wonder for too long.

"So, how does it work?" Minx asked. "Knowledge."

I didn't want to give away all the secrets of the trade, so I simply said, "There are three phases. I call them Keter, Chokhmah and Binah."

"You named them in the old language," Minx replied appreciatively. "The Paths, Wisdom, and Understanding. Very good names."

He looked impressed, but I didn't give away the real reason I used those names. The first time, when I woke up, I got more answers than I asked for. It was as if the three parts of the process had gifted me with the knowledge of their names.

There was a reason my Skill was so rare and coveted. I wouldn't tell its secrets lightly.

In the end, Minx decided Roman and I would visit Adina, the Doctor, while he and Atticus tried to stop Aurora's bleeding. I still feared the wound was mostly internal, but I saw no point in worrying them further.

"Do you know," Roman asked me while we were walking. "That some texts report that the Behemoth was the first Creature Watchers ever encountered? Then it goes on to say the townsfolk deemed it impossible to kill, unless one was the Endless One. But then, the first Watcher came along and made it disappear with their godly powers."

"This is interesting," I said. "I could get used to your fun facts. Though I've noticed something about the Behemoth that not even your books could cover."

"Which is?" Roman asked with real interest.

"Its singing voice. Oh, here's the house of the doctor!"

Most streets of Solima were shaped in a way that they crossed the various hills around the city, so the road was always a little bumpy. But I didn't mind it. In a way, like many other things I'd come to like about Solima, it made it home. Not to mention the beige brown bricks that made up most of the houses and walls, that took on an orange tint at dawn.

I knocked, and a man went to open the door.

"I try my best not to assume anyone's gender," I said. "But something tells me you're not Adina."

The man grimaced. "Are you here to see the body?"

I exchanged a quick look with Roman. We were both excited. We didn't know that the doctor was healing someone at that exact moment.

Then, the thrill left my body and it was replaced by a dull feeling of horror.

"The body?" I asked. "Can we see the doctor? Or did she leave the house to call the men at the morgue?"

"Did she..." the man huffed, and closed the door halfway on my foot. "You must be kidding me. Please, leave this house at this immediate moment..."

"You're Naftali," I said, looking at the man closely. Athanasios knew all of the remaining people in the Court, it was just that Naftali was never his favorite. Bookish and reserved, he was very judgy with other people's reading tastes. And physically he resembled many people from Solima, especially the more ancient population of Meglenia, with his light brown skin, curly dark hair and dark eyes. Even his name, in the old language, signified that the Cardo family was one of the eldest.

"Of course I'm Naftali," Naftali replied, trying very hard to push my foot outside the door. "And you would be...?"

"Jonathan Loreta," I replied. "You might know me as Athanasios'..."

I was about to say adoptive son, but I wasn't sure the word covered exactly what it meant to be trained and taken in by Athanasios. Luckily, Roman stopped me.

"Let us in," he said unflinchingly. "He's a Watcher and I'm a Prophet."

"Yes, we really need to see..." I added, but Roman stopped me again.

"The body."

"The doctor," I bit back. "Please, Roman, do not make it a habit to interrupt me."

Naftali let us in through the door. Adina's house was modest, though well-kept, with decorative textiles stockpiled to the ceiling and hand-painted beds, tables and walls. Everything was in the tones of brown, russet and copper.

"You see, there's something I need to tell you, too," Naftali said gravely. "The doctor is also the body."

For once, it was hard to keep my cool. I put a foot back, in order not to jerk, and I crashed into Roman who was walking behind me. He didn't look shaken in any way, but his body wasn't steady either.

"Why didn't you call anyone?" Roman asked. "I don't know, the morgue? The police? The other Court members?"

"Yes, write me a list and make it in alphabetical order too," Naftali said, not half as funny as he thought he was. "I've already called Bertha, Chae-Won, Tori and User. They will arrive in a matter of minutes. You see, Adina was not killed by a Creature."

"And," he added, holding up his hands. "Before you two young rascals say anything, she wasn't killed by me either. I went to her house to do some reading after patrol, and I found her this way."

After the last sentence, he led us into the living room.

Even with all my share of adventures and mischief, I'd never seen a dead body and, perhaps, I would have preferred to keep it that way. Adina was a beautiful looking woman with coloring very much like Naftali and she was well dressed with a long dress the color of the decor in her house. There was a clever spark in her eyes, and she looked in her forties.

The most horrid detail was that she was lying on the floor, her throat slashed open. And what was worse was that she wasn't bleeding as much as she should have been — it looked like someone had drained her of her blood after the murder occurred.

Roman looked at her with wide eyes, and a little interest. I tried to remember what I knew about Prophets. I wondered whether he could understand who killed her. I wondered whether he could speak to her ghost.

But what he said, after a beat, was, "Don't you want to know, Naftali, why we needed a doctor?"

"Well," Naftali replied. "You can tell me. I'm part of the Court, after all. And most of Adina's studies were conducted by her and I together."

Typical of many men like Naftali, I thought, to take the credit off the shoulders of the great women. I'd seen my share of it with Athanasios.

He'd wanted to be a member of the Court for a long time, and started losing hope once most of the members were killed in the fire at the royal palace and were not replaced. One of his catchphrases was, "How come they need only five members when three of them are women?"

But the Court, apparently, did just fine without him.

"It's about our friend Aurora," I explained. "She was harmed by a Creature. She must have gotten tired after fighting a couple of Behemoths, so when the third one hurt her, it hurt her badly. I'm afraid she won't have long."

Naftali, now, seemed as puzzled as we were. Then, we heard a knock on the door.

"Oh, here comes the others," he said. "I suggest you leave it in the hands of Bertha — she's the one who decided to take care of the problem with Creatures."

When Bertha opened the door, she wasn't just followed by the other members of the Court, but also by Minx.

"I was about to go after you, and I met them on the way," he explained.

"I've offered to take Aurora home and keep her stable until help comes," Bertha said. "It is possible that I might, at some point, call in the Prophet to help."

"Well, that's great!" Minx exclaimed. "I'm happy for Aurora, and that leaves us free for Friday's birthday party."

"Did you just say..." I inquired.

"Yes, birthday party. On Friday, you're finally meeting my girlfriend."