I’m glad I had this little notebook in my pocket, because I know that whatever happens tonight I need to say good-bye to you, my Wanderer. You helped me so much, but I have found myself at last, and I can let you go now. I can let go of all my past, and my future too. The time that was, as well as the time that might have been… I am going back to the Abbey now, to make an end, one way or another. Now I know what to do. It was time to make an end. Dusk had fallen. It was a cold, damp evening by the time I got back to the Abbey. The wind moaned in the leafless trees as I walked down the drive, and the school lay shrouded in soft shadows like an enchanted castle. The Priestess would be back this night. There was no point in trying to hide now. I had to walk straight into whatever was waiting for me. I turned the heavy iron ring on the front door and stepped inside the hallway. Instead of the usual bright fire and stately welcome, the place felt deserted. The flowers in the heavy vase on the table were dead.
