If it's magic, it's unlike any he's ever seen. It doesn't feel like magic and Gabriel doesn't feel like a mage. It could be he pulls things from the Fade and puts them here, but to pull so perfectly and present with such precision, it doesn't seem possible. People believe that only the Maker can create. Cole can't feel it now, but he remembers feeling Gabriel's loneliness, the last of the Maker's first children. Maybe Cassandra would know better what he is.

"I don't think so," he says. "We have spirits, and demons, and gods, but the gods might also be spirits. I thought you were a spirit, but now I'm not sure. I'm a spirit, or part of me is, but I can't make anything new. I heal hurts. I help people. It was easier before."

Before being human, before coming here. Both are true, but Cole keeps them close for now. Being human has taught him care, and not being able to feel Gabriel makes him think he should be quieter, to make balance in how much they reveal. Being a person is complicated.