Phoenix

Chapter Six

Reapers: the only beings alive, besides the Angel of Death, that have the capabilities to detach a human's soul from their body. They were basically ferrymen, these reapers, guiding these souls towards their destined destination, whether it be to Heaven, Hell...or in rare cases, Purgatory. Reapers were supposed to be taking souls, not...not leaving them behind in mortals destined to die.

So what the hell were they planning? What exactly were they doing? Why were they not taking souls? Were they doing it on their own terms? Or were they being threatened by a higher, stronger force? Were they just going rogue?

These were the thoughts that plagued my mind as I laid in bed that night, my eyes glued to the ceiling above me as my mind raced with questions. Pepper was lounging lazily on my chest, purring quietly as I absentmindedly pet him right behind his little ears.

Did Father know what was happening? I mean, surely, he had to, right? Reapers were of his creation, after all, and there was no way he could miss the fact that souls were not returning like they were supposed to. Right?

I frowned, stilling my hand and causing Pepper to let out an annoyed mewl. What if he didn't know? What if there was another god at play here, pulling the strings? Maybe he was still incredibly weakened still, after that whole war with Adam, and that's why he hasn't sent anyone to fix this. And if he didn't know...surely someone would need to tell him, before something catastrophic happened. After all, if souls weren't being ferried to their intended destination when they were destined to part the world of the living, then the whole universe could rupture, or cease to exist. Someone needed to tell him...and right now, I knew what was going on. Or well, the party responsible for what was happening.

I shivered at the very thought and shifted onto my side, ignoring the annoyed mew of Pepper as he slid off of my chest.

I had no doubt Father knew I was alive, after all, he would have felt my soul return to the Lake of Creation, had I passed. I just...Heaven didn't really hold a lot of...happy memories for me. Which some would probably see as weird, considering that Heaven was supposed to be a kind, loving place. And for the most part, it was. The thing was, though, like with all places, there was corruption. Angels who were cruel and didn't care if they hurt anyone's feelings.

The first angel I saw was cruel to me. After I was created, they had been there, waiting for me when I opened my eyes for the very first time. Axium had greeted me with a smile, putting me under the illusion that he was happy to meet me. But that had been a lie. He had degraded me with every chance he got and made me feel so inadequate compared to the other angels around me. He wasn't physical, no. But words were just as hurtful as fists, and I found myself often wondering why I had ever been created in the first place if I had been so doomed to fail.

I had to deal with that for millennia, and when the murders began, and we found the culprit...I had been sent to keep Adam at bay when Michael came to haul his lover away. When Adam killed me...I took that as freedom; a way out if you will. I felt free despite the betrayal I felt, and when I revived myself some time later, I left to live amongst the humans.

I wasn't sure what happened to Adam after that, but if he was still amongst the world of the living...I doubt he knew I was still alive.

So even with something as catastrophically serious as this...I was hesitant to go back to Heaven to bring this information to Father. But I knew someone had to go to him about this, and as far as I knew, I was the only one who knew that Reapers weren't taking souls.

God, what I would give to have been born as a human. Life would be so much simpler.

Embarrassingly enough, I jumped when my phone buzzed, my heart racing in my chest as I reached over and picked it up, seeing a text from none other than Jack. Raising a brow, I glanced at the time before I unlocked my phone and stared at his invitation for breakfast tomorrow, wondering what he was even doing up at this hour. I mean, it was nearly four in the morning, the sky still black as obsidian. Shouldn't he be asleep already?

I felt an amused smirk pull at my lips as I clicked the text to respond. -Starbucks at 7? Also, what are you even doing up right now? Its like...4am.

I hit send and nibbled at my bottom lip, waiting for his response as butterflies fluttered around in my stomach. Gosh, why the hell did I feel like some teenage girl waiting for her crush to respond? Jack was just a friend, and I had no romantic or sexual interest in men, so why the hell was I so anxiously waiting for his reply?

What confused me even more was the way my heart began racing when my phone buzzed once more, informing me that the man in question had replied.

-Couldn't sleep. Mind's running a bit too much. And gooooood, you're such a morning person! Why so earlyyyyyy?

I snorted to myself and shook my head, making a move to respond to him. -7 isn't early, normal people are usually up at 6. Besides, I have an early shift tomorrow. And what could possibly be on your mind @4 in the morning?

-Meh, a lot of things. Work, mostly. Lots of infestations popping up everywhere, and it's getting exhausting trying to clear everything up. We're short staffed as hell too, so that's not making anything any easier. Also, you're a psychopath if you think its normal to wake up at 6am.

I frowned a bit, feeling bad for my friend. He already had told me a little bit about how heavy his workload was as an exterminator, and how some of his clients called him at obscene times of night, and how he would have to go, even if he was sleeping, to avoid losing a client. He told me it was exhausting work, so I sympathized with him.

-I'm sorry.

-Why're you apologizing? Its fine, its my job lol. I'm just being grouchy as always, you know me lol. Oh hey, you know what would totally cheer me up and bring an obscenely wide smile to my face?

-What? A million dollars and a mansion?

-...Well yeah, but I wanna know what your cat's doing.

I snorted at his reply and raised my brows, glancing over to where Pepper was, the feline currently cleaning himself on my unused pillow.

-He's currently cleaning his balls next to my head; why do you ask?

-idk, your cat always cheers me up. I love those fuzzy little bastards lol.

-Whatever you weirdo. Anyway, I've got to get to bed. If I have any hope of getting to sleep, I need to do so soon, or else I'll go to work as the living dead. So, I'll see you @7.

-Looking forward to it ;)

I don't understand why, but after I read his text, I felt my face warm significantly as a blush spread across my cheeks, my chest growing tight with anticipation. For what, I couldn't understand, and it was confusing as hell, but I plugged my phone in anyway and snuggled deeper into the warmth of my blankets.

Surprisingly enough, despite my thoughts on the reapers, worries of returning to Heaven, and the way Jack was making me feel, I managed to fall asleep with a small smile on my face.