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Days passed. Some I saw Jake, others I didn't. Hanna and Tucker were my constant companions. I assumed that by now, not only my family and friends, but the reapers and Heaven as well would have noticed my absence and would be looking for me. I could only hope that someone had seen what had happened and knew where I was. My biggest enemy here was time. Every day it got harder and harder to hope that I would get out. I knew that I had to stay strong strong and keep my faith. If I gave up, Jake would win and I refused to let that happen.
Tuck, Hanna, and I were in my room one night as usual. We sat in comfortable silence. I was brushing out out my curls as they dried from from my bath. Hanna was clearing my dishes from dinner, humming softly, and Tucker was tending the fire. The calm moment was interrupted when we heard the buzz of a key card in the door and Jake let himself in.
"Just let yourself in why don't you?" I rolled my eyes and put the brush down on the vanity my hair falling against the gray silk blouse I wore, just reaching the waist of the black, calf length skirt I wore. I found that when I wore things that were similar to what I had worn in the 40s, Hanna seemed more at ease and talked more because of the sense of familiarity.
"What? Not happy to see me?"
"No."
"And why is that?"
"Where do I start?" I stood up and crossed my arms. "Maybe with the way you treat people?"
"Why should I treat them any other way? They eat, they breed, they sleep, they fight-they're nothing but basic organisms. Look at what billions have done to the planet; their very existence is killing your precious earth and you blame us for it."
"If evil had never entered Eden, mankind would still be there, perfectly safe and happy."
"That was eons ago."
"And man is still suffering for it."
"It gave you a purpose didn't it? A job?"
"Yes, a job which, thanks to you, I'm not doing right now."
"Life and death are irrelevant here. We simply are."
We would have kept on like this but a woman walked into the room in a golden halter top, a leather skirt, and a strappy pair of heels. Her lips were shiny from a sticky red gloss and her eye make up was on the brink of making her look like a raccoon. It took me a minute but I realized that it was the barmaid from club Pride. She gave me a fleeting glance and sashayed over to Jake.
"So this is where you've been hiding." She pouted.
"I wondered how long it'd be before you showed up." He said lazily, "You know you're getting yourself a reputation as a stalker."
"Shame a bad reputation don't mean jack here."
Jake rolled his eyes, "Azrael, meet Asia, my...very personal...personal assistant. She gets stressed if she doesn't know exactly where I am at any given time."
I gave her a once over. She was tall, but part of that was because of the fawn colored strapped heels she wore. She caught me looking at them and smirked with pride.
"Jimmy Choo. Divine aren't they? Jake has them specially made for me every season. What are you...Wearing..." She paused, looking down, anger flashing across her face at the Christian Louboutin, red sole, pumps i wore, hand embroidered with silver threads and small diamonds. It was obvious which pair cost more.
A look of jealousy shone in her eyes, a smoldering look that was extremely threatening. As someone used to having Jake's attention, I was a threat to her. She pressed her self against him possessively, obviously trying to wordlessly tell me that he was off limits. He sighed, bored and leaned against the wardrobe. "So this is the little bitch that everyone's talking about? Straight-laced, isn't she?"
"Asia-play nice."
"I can't see what all the fuss is about." She said circling me like a vulture. "If you ask me, baby, I think you're downgrading."
Jake glared at her, making her stop in her tracks, clearly never having received that look from him, "Well nobody asked you. And we've talked about this. Azrael is different than anyone else; she is special. The one I've been looking for remember?"
"Are you saying I'm not special?" Asia put her hands on her hips.
"In a very different way. Don't think your talents haven't been appreciated."
"So what's with the Mary Sue outfit?" She tugged on the smooth sleeve of my blouse.
"It makes Hanna more comfortable. I wore similar things when I was her teacher."
"Who?" Hanna was standing by the wall with tucker, her head bowed with a few loose blond strands falling into her face. Asia looked over at her with disgust. "Don't tell me you've actually befriended the help." I glared at her, my lip curling into a sneer.
"I was just explaining to Azrael about how life has no meaning here. Would you mind helping me with a demonstration?" Jake cut in.
"With pleasure." She purred.
Jake moved over to the fire place and took the poker, still warm from tucker tending the fire. Asia took off her halter top, leaving her only in a black strapless bra. He spun around and before I could do a thing, he'd plunged the tip of it into her torso, making me flinch. There was no blood or howls of pain. She just closed her eyes with a gasp and a laugh, shuddering with delight. There wasn't even a trace of a wound; it was as if the poker was apart of her body, another appendage that had always been there.
She took the poker with both hands an pulled it out, making a sickening sucking sound as it was wretched free. Smooth creamy skin was over where the poker had been, leaving no trace it had been there. "See?" She smirked, "You reapers can't touch us."
"I'm no reaper. I'm the Angel of death."
"Why don't we test that out?" She sprang at me with the poker, and without thinking, my scythe materialized in my hands. It was instinct by this point. I blocked the blow and twisted my scythe so that the blade wretched the poker from her grasp and sent it across the room, hitting her with the handle and sending her sprawled back on the couch with the sharp point centimeters from her jugular.
"Don't ever try to kill me again." I growled, "Or we'll see if Death has meaning with me here."
I stepped away, twirling my scythe in my hand making it disappear. It was comforting to know that I could still use it here. I expected her to to get up but when she started to, Jake picked her up by her throat and held her off of the ground, his eyes burning angrily. It was the same look he'd given Yeats, Diego, and Nash. She seemed excited at first as if it were some kind of foreplay, but that look soon changed. "Azrael is not a toy. You will show her as much respect as you do me. Understand?"
Even from where I stood, I could see his grip getting tighter with every sentence. Asia's face was now fearful and pained. She'd clearly realized that he wasn't playing a game and held up her hands in surrender. She couldn't breath; her face was so red it looked like she was going to pop. He dropped her and she fell to the ground, gasping for breath. He rolled his eyes and walked over to me, gently rubbing my arms, as if trying to comfort me.
"Ignore her. She'll get used to you in time."
"How do you torture souls if no one could feel pain?"
"I never said they couldn't feel pain. on the contrary, they feel everything acutely. Only higher up demons are immune. Other than that it depends on the intent of the afflictor's intent. That's the beauty of it, once it's over you regenerate to go through it again."
"The cycle is set on repeat." Asia said, standing up, "We hack 'em up and by sundown they'll be whole again. The poor suckers look so relieved to know their close to the end. You should see their faces when they wake up without a scratch and it starts all over again."
The thought of such torture to people and me being the main one that brought them here made me feel lightheaded and I sank onto the couch, gripping the armrest. Jake's face was suddenly concerned and he knelt next to me, lifting my chin with his fingers, cupping my face gently. "Tell me what's wrong."
"I don't feel well."
"Ooh... Poor baby's sick," Asia cooed sarcastically .
"What can I do?" Jake asked, his eyes searching mine for answers.
My eyes flicked over to where Asia stood with her arms crossed, clearly bored now that Jake's attention wasn't focused on her. "Get out." Jake told her without a moment of hesitation, never looking away from me.
"What?" She looked around, as if he must have been talking to someone she hadn't realized was there.
"NOW!" He stood and snarled at her, making her eyes go wide. She gave me a venomous look and stormed out of the room, slamming the door so hard behind her that it made the logs in the fire crackle and the bell on my vanity (Which I refused to use since it was supposed to demand someone do something for me) make a muffled dinging sound. I let out a relieved breath when she left, which seemed to satisfy Jake to the point where he calmed down and sat beside me.
"Tucker, pour us a drink." He ordered.
Tuck wasted no time, going to the bar and pouring whiskey into a crystal tumbler with a silver rim. He handed it to Jake, who immediately gave it to me. "Drink this. You need to keep your strength up."
I've never been one for drinking but I took a few sips of the alcohol, warming my insides. Jake draped his arm casually around me and took the glass, putting it on the coffee table. I narrowed my eyes at him warily, and he sighed seeing the look on my face. "There's no need to be defensive." he moved closer to me and rested his forehead against mine. Though he was filled with unnatural darkness, he was beautiful and I hate to admit it made my face soften a bit. His pale lips parted into a smile and I could feel his heart beating fast.
'Huh...I didn't know he had one of those...'
"You must make an effort to be happy." He whispered, rubbing the side of my neck with his thumb on his free hand. "I hate seeing you so miserable..."
"I can't. I'm not supposed to be here. Angels don't belong in Hell, and I refuse to turn on my Father like you did." I stood up, despite slightly enjoying the rare pleasant moment and went to look out the window. I would have loved to break it open and fly...I had been so long... I stood there lost in thought, unmoving, unresponsive until Jake left. A moment like that could not be allowed to happen again.