May approached, finals drew close, and so did my nineteenth birthday. Samael was temporarily allied with Michael's armies in joint pursuit of Raziel. There were several run-ins with lower-ranked Watchers – Kokabiel, Turiel, Zaqiel – but they led nowhere. Raziel and the escaped angels proved elusive. I tried not to think about them and focused on my spiders, who were sacrificed each day to the altar of experimentation. More and more of the gentle males were being eaten by the aggressive females. The aggressive males fared much better, spreading their genes via the sixteen-legged frolic.
I was no closer to understanding the potter's wheel and kept confusing transcription with translation in genetics. But in ecology, I shined. I met Dr. Crane for tea the first day of May, a week before finals, three days before my birthday.
Dr. Crane stirred sugar into her Earl Gray. "How would you like to come with me and Arietta on a fully-funded research trip to the Amazon this summer?"
