I couldn't help joining in her laughter as Haniel and Mark looked at us like we were nuts. After a few minutes, I finally sobered up and returned to the root of the whole blow up that night.
"If I can't be like you guys, then I at least want to be like humans," I said, sitting back down. "I hate this in-between crap. I just want to belong somewhere," I said as uncharacteristic tears gathered in the corner of my eyes. "Don't you see? I want to fit in somewhere."
"You do, Jordyn," Krista said, kneeling down in front of me. "You fit in with us. You're special. The Light has an important plan for you. You just have to be patient and trust us," she said, reaching up to stroke my newly dyed black hair. I knew the color change bothered her, but it was my big act of defiant protest after Lynn left yet again. "Trust me, okay?" she said, cupping my face in her hands.
I nodded. I said my piece and the rest could wait.
"Now, tell me about what happened on the beach," she said, perching on Mark's leg as he snaked an arm around her waist to anchor her in place.
Haniel moved away from his location by the wall and stood in the center of the room while I filled them in on what had happened. I told them how I had sensed the Daemons and tracked them to where Homeless Joe hung out. I gave the details how I had taken them out swiftly and effortlessly without a single injury. Mark and Haniel peppered me with questions about my strategy and both looked satisfied as they exchanged looks. This was the first time I'd battled Daemons without Haniel on hand to lend assistance if need be. Finally, I got to the part about Emrys.
"What exactly is a Soul Trader?" I asked the now silent room.
After a moment, Krista finally answered. "A Soul Trader takes the souls before The Light or anyone else can."
"Takes them where?" I asked, wondering why I'm just now finding out about this. They needed to seriously work on keeping me in the loop.
"It's loosely called the Between. Some souls are stuck between heaven and hell. Soul Traders find them and deliver them for judgment," Mark said gravely, looking at Haniel for affirmation.
"But how can they do that? I thought it's already been decided before you die."
"For some, yes, but others are considered questionable. After the earthly body has perished, the souls are brought to judgment where the rightful path for afterlife is decided," Haniel answered in his typical no-nonsense way.
"And Soul Traders take them to this judgment? But why? Why bother?" I asked, not totally getting it.
"As it is in the earthly realm, free will govern one's path," Haniel explained.
"What are you saying? They get to choose whether they go to heaven or hell?" I asked, still confused.
"In a way, yes."
"OMG, I still don't get it," I griped.
"Haniel, if I may?" Mark gestured. "Jordyn, it's complicated, but what Haniel means is that some souls are not ready to move on for whatever reason. They're not reborn, but they are given a second chance. Their bodies regenerate into the form they were before."
"Ewwww, that's freaking gross. What if someone got hit by a car or something?" I said, wrinkling my nose up in disgust.
Krista laughed at Mark. "Nice try, babe, but you're not doing much better. Their bodies are restored back to their pre-death condition, but it's not like they are now back on earth like regular people. What Mark and Haniel have not explained is that the soul's choice at judgment is to accept the decision to go on to their afterlife destination or become a Soul Trader."
"What?" I asked, shaking my head in amazement. "You're saying Soul Traders were once these questionable souls who now work for The Light?"
"They work neither for The Light nor The Dark One," Haniel intervened.
"So who's doing the judgment then?" I questioned.
"Like Mark said, it's complicated," Krista answered. "All you really need to understand is that some souls want a second chance to finish something they started when they were human, while others find it a temporary solution to avoiding hell."
"So, you still go to heaven or hell, you just put it off for a while? Sounds weird," I exclaimed. "What about after they get their human form back, do they have powers like you guys do?" I asked, wondering about the green-eyed, rebel-hottie-looking Trader I had left at the Boardwalk. I was relieved that Haniel's and Krista's mind-reading gifts were useless on me.
"They do have special abilities, but at a price," Haniel interjected. "As long as the Soul Trader performs the duty of collecting souls, actual human shape is retained. As for your other question, if the soul's path was for the heavenly realm, the choice to become a Soul Trader forfeits that right."
"Shut up!" I said shocked. "You mean if you become a Soul Trader, you can't go to heaven? How does that make any sense?"
"It is not for us to question," Haniel answered sternly.
My stomach twisted around in knots. These people are screwed either way. My thoughts drifted again to the Soul Trader I met tonight. Had he been hell bound? His very existence could go against everything I believed and fought for.
"Was Emrys hell bound?" I asked, trying to convince myself it didn't matter.