“Well… Elder Divine said something about him being a Death Angel.” We all gasp, hands to our mouths like we have just committed blasphemy. We all know Death Angels are from the place no one wants to go. “Her exact words were ‘Oh dear. Our sweet innocent girl. Who would have expected her to be destined for someone from below.’”
“That’s just dumb. None of this explains anything.” Or does it?
“I know. Some other man I didn’t recognize said something about the lore. Apparently if your paths cross and your soul recognizes one another, you will begin to fade, perish, dull, until you consummate your love.” The word consummate makes something inside of me light up. My heart begins to beat faster, and I can’t help picturing what it would be like, to be loved, touched, worshiped like that. “Seems he, whoever he is, is also fading.” Oh God. My hand flies to my heart, the slight breaking thinking about him also suffering. It’s nuts. I have never met him, but I don’t want him to be in pain.
“So… what do I do?” I ask them all, looking for answers. They each shrug and look at me like somehow it is going to come to me. Upset and confused, I hang my head, my heart shattering more and my head pounding, beating with the thumping of my blood. I walk to my solo chambers, tears falling. I swear I can hear the wails of the Angel chorus at my sadness. It doesn’t happen in Heaven. There is no sadness.
Walking back and forth, I am trying to figure out what it all means. Why would I be mated to a Death Angel? What does it mean? Why didn’t I see him when we crossed? Oh, maybe it was during a collection.
I am trying so hard to recollect any missions. “Oh, my goodness.” I remember about a year ago I went to the scene of an accident. I was there to collect a soul and bring him here. There was another person in the car. Well, I didn’t collect him. “Could it be then? Was he in front of me and I didn’t see him?” I whisper into the air.
Like a breeze of chamomile, a warmth flows over me and wraps me in cotton. I close my eyes and inhale. “Fire and Cinnamon.” The hairs on the back of my neck begin to stand up. Suddenly, my skin is tingling, and my body is humming. My halo begins flickering. Glowing brighter than it has been in a while. I gasp, the humming from between my legs sending a zing straight through me. I am suddenly so happy I don’t currently have my wings on. They would be too heavy against the drowsy, labored breathing I am experiencing. Something is happening. Someone is here. I swear I hear breathing and growling, not next to me, but somewhere in this room and I know it is him.
“Who's there?” I ask quietly not to alert the others. There is no answer, but as my nipples begin to bead and other parts of me start pulsing, I know I am not wrong. “Is it you? Will you show yourself to me?” Not scared, but not sure what I am going to see, I can barely contain the gasp that leaves my lips. Standing before me is certainly not a Death Angel. No, this tall, wide, gruff Viking, body the color of fire and love, standing before me is…simply put, perfect. “Sweet Heavens.” I could climb him and still not run out of room.
Three
CRANE
If there is ever more evidence that I have lost my mind it is right now. Here I am, having snuck up to the forbidden place for people like me, wrapping my eternally hot body in their white, soft, pillowy robe like I earned it, and walking the halls, trying to figure out where she is. When I told Gherkin I was coming up here, he smiled and then sobered up. “Be careful, Crane. If they catch you, you will be banished to roam the underworld, alone and without purpose for Eternity.
So, I took the elevator. You know, the one people like me are not allowed to take. The fast one that leads only from the down there to up here, and usually with only a card that gives you access. It is normally reserved for the elders of each side to come and go when something arises. Well as you can imagine I don’t have a card. But, as one of the elders from above was leaving, I swiped one of their cards as it was hanging from their pocket. Now, here I am, skulking through their halls, looking for a sign, a light, a flag, or something to lead me in the right direction.