Descended from humans and a vanished race of elemental beings, only the Awakened know the truth about our world. Only they can hold back the fanatic Handmaidens of the Skaath Diurga--shadow creatures born from an ancient betrayal. However, the Circle of Awakened is incomplete without the Child of Heaven: a human destined to Wield the Spirit element. Before she can Awaken, she must die. Heaven has no memory of dying, except the experience of death itself. It's that memory, of a place called 'The Between', that convinces her the man claiming to be her Guardian might not be completely crazy....