Radiance 7 - Blessings of heaven above

From Arthur Koopmans -
http://arthurk87.deviantart.com/

    “Wow,” was all Asher could say, reduced to near-meaninglessness in the face of what he could not comprehend.
    “Wow?” Virgo said, raising an eyebrow and twitching a faint smile.
    “Definitely. Wow.”
    “Well if you’ve wowed yourself out, perhaps you’d like me to show you around.”
    Virgo gestured down the crystal hall and up the spiralling staircases that snaked around the walls.
    “So where are we exactly?”
    “Further up, deeper in,” Virgo answered. “The Palace of Understanding isn’t really a place, not in any normal sense of the word, but it is a space, a safe space for the Seven to meet, recoup and plan our next steps. Once you are one of us, you too will be able to bring yourself here, as I did.”
    “Uh huh,” Asher nodded, barely listening as he tried to absorb the wonders around him. The castle seemed to have been designed by M. C. Escher in one of his more psychedelic moods, all shining light and twisting stairways.
    “This represents the third of the ten sefirot, the realm of Binah, pure understanding. The light that shines is the light of Chochmah, wisdom itself, shedding its impenetrable sparks on reality.”

Radiance 3 - My head is drenched with dew

So we've reached the third chapter of Radiance, in which we meet our second main character - Virgo. 


Do you like the first three chapters? Have they grabbed your attention? Do they do a good job of introducing the characters? What could I have done instead/as well to improve them?


All comments gratefully received!


9th Av 5775

    It was a fitting night to be in Jerusalem.
    Five thousand, seven hundred and five years ago to the day, Roman soldiers had been standing on this very spot, while the blood of Jewish zealots had stained the ground red. The sky turned a shade of crimson as the holy temple, God’s seat on earth, was consumed by flame.
    Still we mourn, thought Virgo, as she hurried through the winding streets of the Old City. But for how much longer?
    It was heavy, hot and dry in Jerusalem, though that was nothing strange in the heart of the summer. Still, there was something unusual in the air, an electricity, a strange sort of energy. In New York, Virgo might have said that a storm was coming - but this was Jerusalem, and the rainy season, if you could really call it that, was still two months away. No, this was something else. This was the reason why Virgo had come, why she had persuaded the Seven to leave Asher where he was and deal with a more imminent situation.
    And so Virgo was in Jerusalem on the ninth of Av, observing the strictures of the fast day, and hunting a creature of the Other Side.