17
Alastor woke with a start. He could never get used to that sudden shock of being thrown out of the black and into existence. It was early, only the faintest of light cast inky shadows around the room. Instinctively he reached behind himself and felt an empty space. She was gone.
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he stood. He hadn't bothered with pajamas that night and instead just slept in his shirt and trousers. His suspenders hung lazily by his sides. He grabbed one and was about to pull it over his shoulder, but as he did he turned to face the window and stopped.
Silhouetted in the dim morning light, Isobel's figure sat on the window seat braiding her dark hair.
"You're awake early," he said, walking around the bed to meet her.
"Couldn't sleep," she answered without turning. She sounded thoughtful, maybe even sad.
"Understandable. It is, after all, a big day for you. You must be positively brimming with excitement."
At this she looked back at him with an expression that said, cut the bullshit. She stood and he could see that she was back to wearing her old clothes complete with hooded jacket and boots. She looked the same as the first time he saw her.
Her green eyes somehow penetrated the dark. They always seem to have a light of their own. Two glistening jewels. He would have really liked to have those eyes. He would have kept them in a little jar on his mantle and only take them out to show the finest of company. Oh well.
"You and I will make amends before I leave," she said. It seemed she was still agonizing over their clash from the day before. "I don't want to go and leave you thinking that I am ungrateful."
She took a step closer to him and continued.
"I really do appreciate whatever this is. Friendship? Convenient comfort? I don't know, but it has meant something to me, and I want to thank you. But I hesitate because I'm afraid any real act of gratitude and affection might actually destroy you."
He shrugged his shoulders. "If those are the stakes then why risk it?"
She shook her head wearily. She was far too tired for his shitty little games. She stood before him, feet planted and hands on her hips.
"Here's what's going to happen," she spoke in an adamant voice. "I'm going to kiss your stupid, fucking face. Are you going to stand there and let it happen or not?"
He sighed loudly and crossed his arms over his chest, then begrudgingly said, "Very well. Proceed."
She softened and stepped closer again. Her hands reached up to touch his face and pull him closer to her. He expected her to kiss him like she had done at the club when her emotions had gotten the better of her. He admitted to himself that it hadn't been completely unenjoyable, though this time she didn't have a split lip, so that would be disappointing.
However, she surprised him by reaching up and grabbing him behind his long, deer ears. She pulled him gently down and kissed him in the middle of his forehead. A strange nostalgia came over him that he couldn't quite place.
As she pulled away, she locked eyes with him, green on red, just inches apart.
"Goodbye, Radio Demon."
She released him and then without another word or even a glance over her shoulder she crossed to the door and was gone. He watched the door for a long moment before turning away, grabbed his suspenders, and pulled them onto his shoulders.
Alastor did not make relationships with people. He made plans. Sometimes those plans were elaborate and required time and effort, sometimes those plans were as simple as marking someone to kill later when they had become useless. It was a pity that he would not be able to see his plans for Isobel grow to fruition. But you win some and you lose some. Best not to dwell.
She had been a very interesting distraction, but now he must concentrate on more important matters. He had other things to think about. Other plans in action that needed his attention. He also had other worries, including the chains around his own neck. He swallowed and pulled at his collar.
Maybe he would visit with Rosie today. He could use a good meal.
Isobel left the hotel quickly, there was no point in lingering. Everyone else would be asleep at that hour, she was counting on it. Good-byes were annoying. Everyone was expected to get sentimental and emotional. There would be hugs and, God forbid, tears. There was even talk of Charlie throwing a little going away party.
Isobel hated good-byes. She was bad at them, so better to avoid them all together. She had spent up all of her emotional energy in her farewell to Alastor, and now that she was sure she was in good standing with him, simply disappeared into the morning.
She walked the streets of Pentagram City, taking her time, making her way steadily toward the center and the gleaming tower of Heaven's embassy. She had never been this far from the hotel on her own, and she kept stopping to look back in some effort to see how far she had gone. Or maybe it was to make sure she still knew the way back.
She stopped just outside the embassy and sighed. Below the golden clock and massive hourglass, the embassy itself, as expected, looked like a church. Its golden spires and stained glass windows seemed to tower over her. Isobel hadn't been to church in years. She rolled her eyes and pushed through the double doors.
Her footsteps echoed off the high ceiling and across the empty walls. She was early for her appointment, but she didn't expect to be all alone. She wandered the building finding all the doors locked except one. It opened to a large conference room with a massive oval table and strange celestial trinkets hanging from the ceiling.
Isobel took a seat in the nearest chair and waited. She waited for an hour and then two. It was now past the time of her appointment. Is Heaven not punctual? She started to nod off in the chair until a bright light practically blinded her from above. She put her hand up to block the glare and as it dissipated realized there were now three others in the room.
Isobel assumed these must be angels. Two stood guard over a third who was sitting in a chair across the table. They were all women, which Isobel found surprising. The one sitting in the chair was obviously in charge. She was shorter than the others, slightly plump with a round, joyful face. Her hair was a nest of silvery curls pinned up just so, no lock out of place. On the tip on her nose rested a pair of golden cat eyed glasses.
Why would an angel need glasses? Isobel wondered to herself.
The woman rose, her luxurious white and golden robes fluttering as she did so, and gave a little polite bow.
"Greetings," she said with a voice like everyone's favorite elementary school teacher. "I am Enki, a Principality of the Divine Realm of Heaven. I assume I am in the presence of Isobel."
The grandness of this being left Isobel feeling woefully lacking. She briefly thought she should have dressed better.
"Uh, yeah, that's me. I'm sorry I'm not sure of the decorum. Should we, like, shake hands or something?"
"Alas, we are but illusions in this place. Angels can't simply fly down to Hell on a moment's notice, you know. But please, stand up. Let's get a look at you."
Isobel did as she was bade and stood, surprised that she was a few inches taller than this all important angel. Enki waggled her finger as though to say, come closer. The angel looked her up and down carefully and then twirled her finger in the air, obviously wanting Isobel to spin around slowly. She did. Next, Enki wanted to examine her face, ears, and eyes.
Isobel laughed nervously. She felt like a show pony. "Do you want to see my teeth next?"
"As a matter of fact," Enki said. "If you don't mind."
Awkwardly, Isobel opened her mouth, to which the angel got far too close for comfort. Isobel considered reaching out and testing if she was really just an illusion, but then thought better of it.
Enki stepped back, a look of pity and deep empathy on her face.
"You poor thing," she began. "To think, a living soul in its mortal form, stuck in Hell all this time. It truly is a miracle you were not squashed like a bug."
"Well, I was fortunate to meet some good people who helped me out."
Enki laughed as if Isobel had told a very clever joke.
"Yes, yes I'm sure." She gestured to a chair and they both sat.
"Has this kind of thing ever happened before? No one seemed to know how it was possible."
"It is quite unprecedented," Enki said as she conjured up a big, thick book. It magically opened on its own and she began to write feverishly. "And it's our doing I am afraid."
"What? Heaven sent me to Hell by accident or something?"
"Well, yes and no. It seems you arrived just after an extermination, and so I have a theory." She seemed very impressed with herself. "It takes quite a bit of energy to traverse the veil between worlds. Oh, you can make small portals with certain magic and jewels, but for an extermination, we need to deliver an army."
She continued to write, never looking at Isobel, just lecturing out to no one like everyone's least favorite elementary school teacher.
"We require much more energy, and we can't sacrifice what we have in Heaven, that simply would not do, so we must find it from other means. And one of the greatest sources of divine energy is living souls. It seems like in this case one just fell through the cracks."
Isobel's face fell. She wasn't sure she was understanding right. She must have missed something. Did this angel just describe mass murder in such a casual manner? Surely not.
"How do you use the souls? I mean, you zap them of their energy and then everyone, like, sleeps it off the next day or something?"
Enki laughed again, "oh, wouldn't that be something."
"Do you, uh," Isobel smiled trying to match Enki's energy. "Do you just kill everyone?"
She stopped writing and placed the end of her pencil to her chin trying to think of the proper way to explain.
"Not kill, exactly. It's more like erasing their existence all together." She went back to writing.
"You just get rid of a bunch of people for transportation reasons?"
"Yes, among other things. Not like there is a shortage. Human souls are like… oh what are those things?" She turned to Isobel for help. "You know, those domed insects, they're gross, crawl in the walls."
Isobel gritted her teeth. "Cockroaches?"
"That's it," she clapped her hands in delight and laughed. "Humans are just like cockroaches. Just everywhere, breeding and crawling all over the Earth. I tell you, I will never understand why you all are God's favorite."
Isobel imagined punching Enki in her round, angelic face. But she just balled up her fist, digging her nails into her palm, and smiled.
"Ok, I just want to be clear." Isobel said slowly. "This whole erasing of existence was supposed to happen to me, but somehow instead of being snuffed out, I was transported to Hell alongside the extermination army?"
"Yes! Very good! And what a happy accident for you it was." Enki reached out to pat Isobel on her clenched fist, but she was only an illusion and her hand just passed through. "And now we can get to fixing this situation."
"Can you send me back?" Finally down to the real matter at hand.
"Back? Oh, no no no, I'm sorry. That's not an option." Isobel's heart broke, she barely heard anything Enki said after. She was yammering on about how they couldn't just send her back to the living world after what she had seen and experienced, but it all sounded like a voice behind several panes of glass, until, "but we can remove you from this terrible place, don't you worry."
"Oh, are you going to take me to Heaven?"
Enki laughed uproariously at the absurdity of the question.
"No, absolutely not, but we can put you in a nice little place in purgatory. There you can live out your life, three meals a day and peaceful solitude. And then, if you've been good, maybe you can come to Heaven." She smiled like she had just laid out the best deal anyone ever heard. Isobel wrinkled her nose. Not even Alastor would be able to sell that deal and spin it to make it sound appealing.
"Solitude? I would be alone?"
"Yes, quite. You have a very unusual circumstance so we would have to keep you separated from the general population."
"Hey, I like alone time as much, if not more, than the next guy, but alone for the rest of my life? What am I going to do?"
"Oh," Enki's eyebrows furrowed and she looked away. "Never really thought about what your kind actually do." She took a moment thinking. "Well, I find self reflection very beneficial. I'm sure we can get you a Bible to read, and then there is always praying."
"What you're describing is solitary confinement. For the rest of my life. I would lose my mind."
Enki gasped, obviously insulted, hand flying to her chest. "What I am describing is a way out of the den of sin and debauchery. You should be thanking me."
"Thanking you?" Isobel's control had reached its limit. That little voice inside saying, stop talking, don't pick a fight, was being railroaded by an even louder voice saying, fuck this bitch up. "It's your fault I'm here, because you didn't kill me properly in the first place. Which there is no way God is down with that practice. And now the best you can do for me is shutting me away in purgatory until I die and then maybe I'll go to Heaven?"
Enki closed her book and adjusted her glasses. "I think your time here has warped your mind, the sooner we save you the better."
"Oh, now you're saving me."
"Understand, we are doing you a favor. Who knows what would happen if you went back to the living world, you would probably damn yourself and end up here on your own merit. I am giving you a chance to live a truly pious life and secure your place among the angels."
Isobel could positively smell the gaslighting. In a rare act of restraint, she took a deep breath and placed both hands flat on the table before her.
"This was a mistake," she said standing.
"No mistake," Enki replied. "You don't belong here." Those words rang in Isobel's head. It was like the universe, or karma, or even God, himself, was throwing them back in her face. She swallowed hard.
"I really appreciate your time," Isobel said with difficulty. "But I will find a different solution. You do not need to trouble yourself."
"Listen to yourself. Are you honestly going to slap the hand of Heaven away and choose to stay in this disgusting pit of eternal damnation?"
"You say that, but it's just a place. Granted it smells weird, the food's not great, and it's always too hot… ok, it's not the best place, but I feel like I've been in worse, certainly with worse people. Here people are still kind. They've found love and friendship. And yeah, there are a lot of shitty people around and everyone is massively flawed, but how is it any different than Earth? "
Enki rose. Somehow her demeanor was different. She seemed taller and more gaunt.
"I don't think you understand." She said, all sense of her jovial nature was gone. "You do not have a choice. We can't leave a living soul in Hell for some demon, or worse, Lucifer himself to get a hold of."
"What? Are you afraid they're going to use my soul to punch a hole into Heaven like you all have been doing to them all this time?" Enki stared at her over her gold rims and Isobel suddenly understood. This was the real reason for this meeting, the reason she was so adamant to remove Isobel. Enki could give two shits about where Isobel went, but there were secrets here. And those secrets had to be hidden. Isobel nodded slowly. "So, you are afraid of that."
"The repercussions could mean more death and destruction. For those in Hell, of course, not us. Also, it would mean more human souls used for, as you said, transportation, and you wouldn't want that."
"And if I refuse this offer?"
"You are an unsoiled soul, thus far. You do not have the mark on you, so I can take you kicking and screaming if I have to." She took a sharp inhale, adjusted her glasses, and returned to her lovable smiling self. "And I will. We will come for you soon. Take the day or so to prepare."
She picked up her book, held it to her chest, and smiled as the bright light returned. Isobel had to turn away to save her eyes. Then they were gone.
The anger boiled inside. She kicked a chair over before storming out. Isobel would not allow this. She may be nothing more than an insect to Enki, but she wasn't going without a fight.