It was a twenty minute drive to the post office, but through the sewers it only took ten. Still, Angel allowed himself that extra ten minutes to gather up his courage. He stared at white marble that covered the arched doorway and tried to prepare himself for what might be inside. If the room was still empty, then they had misinterpreted the dreams, and they would be back to the beginning. If, however, the Oracles once again met him at the end of the impossibly long corridor, then he had an entirely different fear which he would have to face. A visit to the Oracles had never before been the herald of something pleasant.

He steadied himself and spoke. "I beseech access to the knowing ones."

When the mist had cleared, he was standing before two familiar figures. They had been right about the dreams.

"I have a gift," Angel started.

"Keep your drawing," the man said with a slight wave of his hand.

"But I-"

The woman shook her head. "We received your offering. Your entrance is paid."

"What's happening?" Angel asked. "Why have so many come back to life? Why now?"

"The young demon. She opened a portal to the other realm, but she is only a part of a larger plan."

"A dangerous one," the man added.

"What about the dreams? What do they mean? We dreamed of people and things long gone, yet they seem to be coming back."

"It is an uncertain time," the woman said. "There is a task-"

"An event-" the man continued.

"An action they must each fulfill, or death will reclaim them as his prize."

The man seemed to stare directly into Angel's soul. "But beware the powerful one."

"The powerful one?" Angel asked. "But who-"

The man stopped him by raising his hand. "There is only one more thing. One which we must say."

"During the time when the walls between our world and that of the dead are tenuous," the woman clarified, "many doors will open."

"Bring about that which is written, and your debt will be paid."

"But be wary," the woman cautioned. "If you allow the doors to close, the end may not be as you expect."

"But I don't understand," insisted Angel. "What I expect?"

"Be wary."

The man, ready to fling Angel from the room once again, spoke one last time.

"Our task, is fulfilled."