Volare con gli Angeli | ••Selever•• Book Two

Cardinal

"You have a wife?" I was in disbelief. He opened the door for me to walk through. "I do. Well I did." He said, his wings sprouted from his back. "But that can be all heard in due time. I need to show you what we will do on a day to day basis." He said spreading his wings and dropping a watch into my hands before he dropped down to earth. I followed him finding myself curious about who the archangel of death's wife could be.

We stopped in the center of Rome, the sun was starting to rise. I watched as Azrael checked his watch before walking over to a house and opening the door slowly. He made his way in motioning for me to follow him. I filed in noticing my silent footfalls as I followed Azrael into a bedroom. There staring up at the sky was an old lady. Azrael sat down on a chair near her bed and removed his glove taking the woman's hand in his, his hand glowed a light purple and then it faded slowly. The woman turned to him and smiled before her eyes shut close and she fell back against the pillows. I felt my heart sink.

"First we chart which souls are dying around a specific place and whether or not they need help passing on. If so, we hold their hands and then the comfort should be enough of a push to get them going on their eternal journey." Azrael turned to face me. I stared at the old woman, she probably had a family who were going to be so heartbroken when they found out.

"If you are sad go cry over there." He said, I noticed the concentrated look on his face as if he was holding back tears as well. "It truly never gets easier. But her time has come." He placed his hand back into his glove before he opened it. Inside it the universe bended and formed a beautiful violin bow glowing a bright purple. In his other hand appeared the instrument. He handed them both to me. "Don't tell me you don't know how to play." He said, I looked at the instrument but before I could pluck one of the stings a roll of film started rising from the old woman's head.

"After death, we push the soul from the body and send them up to Alyssum for judgement. Usually souls will do that themselves, otherwise we give them a little push by playing a few notes. I find it is more effective than whipping the soul out of the body."

"Right on time. We'll have to find you something more suitable than your whip." I looked at the violin and slid the bow on the strings when the instrument shrieked Azrael shot me a glare. "You must be the first saint I've ever met who doesn't know how to play an instrument. Saint Bao Gao can play four." Azrael said, he took the violin bow from my hand and I watched as he grabbed the film. I watched closely. Every piece of film that made it out of her head was colored and filled with a happy feeling, they were memories, filling up a small reel in the sky. Azrael waited for the film to start playing white, when the film turned white Azrael's bow glowed a bright purple and he cut the film with the bows string and the memories gathered together shooting into the sky.

"Then we cut off the memory reel so now they can peacefully be welcomed into heaven. In cases of crashes or shootings, I try and make their deaths as painless as possible by granting them mercy and healing their spiritual pains as they travel to the realm in the sky." He pointed to the memory reel as it traveled like spirit up into the sky.

"Those memories will go to Jerahmeel and he will handle helping her into Alyssum." He said. He reached up to his eyes and wiped them gently. "She is in a better place now, with her mother and her father. Bless her." I turned to Azrael. "That bow." Azrael held it up. "It's not just a violin bow. Is it?" Azrael huffed at me. "When has it ever been?" Azrael and I walked out of the door behind us it shut close locked. "Our goal in this principality is to guide the spirit into the light. There will be moments where the soul refuses to leave, or moments when the soul is chained down to someone or something, in those cases its up to the spirits, we can't make them leave if they don't truly want to." He checked his watch and looked at me.