Avenging Cupids

Chapter 24: Angel Falls

Willow tore away the chiffon layer of her filthy dress, leaving the satin lining to speak for itself. She cringed, feeling like a terrorist to vintage for degrading one of its pieces. Trying not to think about how demeaning it was to wrinkle chiffon, Willow twisted a length of it and wrapped it around her head like a headband, bringing her hair to the side and braiding the ribbons of chiffon into her hair before tying the ends; she had always loved this universal bangs-out-of-your-eyes hairstyle. Like a floral potpourri, she wrapped the remaining chiffon around a bushel of honeysuckles, dipped it into the river, and scrubbed lightly at her body. Who knew a simple little white dress could be so practical? It wasn't much of a shower, but the fragrant nectar of the blossoms lingered on her skin, and she decided it would have to do.

Finally Willow felt cleansed enough to have appeased her feminine dignity, and turned away from the river. She walked slowly, enjoying--and drooling a little bit--Alden's display of rugged masculinity as he stuffed the last of the cork boxes into his pack. He stood up with a pleased sigh when she reached him, his hair matted to his forehead from perspiration. She tucked a stray golden lock behind his ear, thinking of how shameful it was to hide such stunning eyes. "Is it time to go home?" she asked him.

"Not quite," he said, knotting his fingers with hers, "but you're close."

For a fleeting moment, Willow was wracked with disappointment. This purgatorial place, though humid with clouds of hopelessness, had given her the impression of a safe haven. Dark Cupids couldn't be found here after all. It was an ideal world for the doomed and in love, a world with an endless supply of freedom of speech and displays of affection. She thought they'd stay longer and take advantage of serenity while it was offering.

Willow pouted, and hoped she looked like a brooding supermodel instead of a petulant teenager. "Can't we stay for a little while longer?"

"I wish we could, Willow, but it's out of the question." He lifted his arm to his face and scrutinized a thick silver bracelet as if it were a watch. But when Willow examined it, she realized it was a watch, but not one she'd ever seen before: It was a metallic clockwork device, its bezel set with diamonds and engraved with crossing lines over a grid matrix; the numbers from one to fifty were etched in shimmering gold around its circular margin. Its design wasn't quite sleek enough to give off a modernistic vibe, but it wasn't quite bulky enough to be ancient either. The craftmanship was impeccable and looked as if it were handcrafted, and somehow designed to keep tabs on her. He turned a notch on its side, studied the clock's face for a moment, and said, "You've been here for four purgatic days, which is roughly"--he turned another notch--"twelve earthly hours. We'd better get a move on before we lose our souls."

"Lose our souls?" Willow's voice cracked like a boy's during the awkward stages of adolescence, and she was suddenly very terrified.

"Purgatory is a perilous world based on, and feeding off, false hope. Souls are easily blinded by its deceitful beauty. Stay too long, and a soul will lose its way, never to be found again."

Willow stared at him, unblinking, not quite believing what he'd just told her. And then she looked out across the peaceful river at the majestic mountains, and found it hard to believe Alden's words that much more.

He followed the line of her gaze. "Yes, it's beautiful isn't it? And I imagine many other purgatories to be just as appealing. You've been able to withstand its dangers because you inhabit Purgatory's outermost level. Think of it like a jail: Purgatory is separated into rings, or levels, and which ring a soul inhabits is based on its vice. But there is far more to fear than being lost here; monstrous creatures called 'Leviathans' occupy the last ring, but you won't have to worry about ever meeting them. The last ring is reserved for murderers and rapists who have repented, but haven't quite accepted God."