Sojourner

08-06-09

FP

Adonis Rep



I'm up at the crack of early, practically vibrating out of my bed with nervous energy, as I make the final preparations for my big reporting debut. My home is a collection of hovering discs and dancing arches suspended about a mile and a half above the surface of Aubrus, my home world. As I slather stubble removing elixir on my ruggedly handsome face, I peer over the edge of my sleeping disc at the wide world below, and this is what I see: Nothing. Typical.


There hasn't been a newsworthy event on Aubrus since the days of the Great Goblin Uprising in the year of Osiris, and even that was more of a civil dispute than an actual war. There is absolutely no excitement on this world anymore. That's why most of my fellow Aubrusians sit at home all day observing other worlds through magic pools and the like. But not me. I'm off to where the news is taking place.


Watching isn't enough anymore. I want to be there--experiencing things first hand--thrilling in the moment, and shaking hands with the interesting people who keep my fellow citizens mesmerized pool-side. From now on Adonis Rep goes where the action is.


And today the action is in a small off-world town called Hauser's Landing--population: 5,321. I meet up with my interview at a cemetery, of all places.


It's a nice enough morning--a little brisk--but I've got a little spell up my sleeve to take the edge off the cold. I try to adopt the customary dress on whatever world I find myself, but these blue jean things are very constricting. I'll be glad to slip back into my robes when this is over.


Lev Walker agrees to the interview and we stroll out together to the center of a small footbridge overlooking an ice-choked river.


I'm not very big--maybe 5' 6", a buck forty--so Lev towers over me. He's about 6' 4" and fairly muscular. He's got rich blue eyes and an understated smile which I'm sure played a part in his recently kindled romance. And his hair (now, I've been blessed with a fine head of hair), but Lev's blonde locks are borderline luminescent. Actually, after spending a few minutes with him, I'm pretty sure that he does have an actual glow about him. Oh, and one more notable physical attribute: Wings. Yep--huge, white, powerful looking wings. And these things seem to be throwing off some serious heat. I take a moment to adjust the effects of my own heat spell, so I don't get the sweats during the interview.


Lev leans out over what he assures me is a brand new hand rail and gives me the nod to start the interview. I keep my distance. The rail looks sturdy enough, but he's got wings as insurance and I'm just not chancing a fall.


Adonis Rep: Hi Lev. Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions. First things first--those wings are pretty impressive; what kind of air speed do you get with those things?



Lev Walker: I don't know. Is that important?



AR: I guess it's not so interesting to you anymore, but for those of us without. . .

Well, anyway, speed isn't everything, I suppose, even for an angel. I'm assuming music is a big part of the angelic life though right? Any musicians/bands that you can't get enough of?



LW: The classics--Mozart, Vivaldi, Linkin Park.



AR: I think I puked in my mouth a little on that last one, but you're the music expert.



Note: Thankfully Lev is easy going and not too annoyed by my jibes. He is, after all, a Sojourner, which is basically an angel of death, so it's a little nerve wracking cracking jokes on the guy's playlist. In any case, I've had my fun, and now it's time for a more serious tack.



AR: Let's talk a little bit about Elizabeth Moon. Now, I'm not one to judge, but have you ever thought that maybe seven hundred years was a bit of a stretch in terms of age gap? Talk about robbing the cradle! What can you two possibly have in common?



LW: It's my Father's fault, really. He knew I didn't like humans. So, he kept putting Elizabeth's life in my hands. For all of those years I watched her live and grow, and saw events take their natural course. When eventually her life was threatened, I had the option to interfere and save her, or I could let her die and then carry her soul to another body and start the process all over. Six times I watched her die, and each time it became harder to look her in the eye knowing how the story would end. Somewhere along the line I fell in love with her. Now, this is the seventh time and I won't let her be murdered again.



AR: That's an incredible history. But even in her current incarnation it's been a tough stretch for Elizabeth. She's got a potentially violent racist stalker, and the body of her estranged father was just discovered last night. How is she holding up?



LW: She's a survivor.



AR: Any thoughts on who her stalker might be? And is there any connection at all to the death of her father?



LW: Oh, there's definitely a connection. I'm not sure what it is yet, but I'm narrowing down the possibilities. She's got the mayor's kid watching her like a hawk. She almost died because of him and his friends. You want to talk wing speed, I probably clocked zero to eighty in two seconds to save her from that fiasco. And then there's the janitor who hates teenagers, a principal who doesn't seem all that worried about Elizabeth's well-being, and a teacher who focuses way too much on Elizabeth's race. Any of them are potential threats.



AR: Wow! Well, I wish you the best. Just a couple more questions. I'm sure you want to get back to Elizabeth, so I won't keep you much longer.

LW: Go ahead.

AR: Okay, not to knock Hauser's Landing or anything--I mean there's been plenty of action here lately at least--but really, how does a guy like you end up in a place like this?

LW: Well, let's see. It's taken me a few centuries to even like humans, let alone love one. Perhaps this is my Father's way of making me deal with them. In a small town everybody knows everybody, so it's hard to remain completely unattached.

AR: One final question for you, Lev. So, Angel of Death has got to rank right up there among the worst summer jobs of all time. Any thoughts on a career change? Maybe join the choir or something?

LW: I might, but do you have any idea about the paper work involved with a change like that?

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Check out the Sojourner series and other books by Maria Rachel Hooley at
http://www.mariarachelhooley.com/

Adonis Rep interviews are created and written by Tim Worsham
If you are an author or fan of genre fiction and would like to see one of your favorite characters interviewed, contact Tim at tcworm@hotmail.com
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