Let Me Sleep

Empty

Iggy

What's more dangerous than a vessel with a soul? A vessel without one.

Kendra is gone. Obvious. Anabiel and Gabriel are unsympathic. Obvious. Michael and Castiel are probably dead. Obvious. I am seething on the inside. Not nearly so clear.

Time passes differently in the kingdom of Heaven. One second could be equal to a millennium, and a millennium equal to a second. A year to a day, a week to an hour. It's very confusing. We've been in Kendra's personal heaven for the equivalent of a week. She doesn't - didn't - know that.

I'm angry at all of them. Gabriel because he didn't stop her. Anabiel because she even encouraged her. And Kendra because she didn't stop.

And I'm angry at myself. I was stupid. I shouldn't have tried to cast the spell. I may have been able to beat Michael without it.

I'm damn close to mass homicide, but I keep it in and keep silent. I kneel down next to Kendra. Her eyes are half closed, and I can see her pupils dilating and shrinking to a pinpoint. Just as I've found a glimmer of hope, she falls silent and still. Two pairs of eyes, one shining a brilliant sky blue, and the other like sunlight through a glass of whiskey.

Something in the darker pair goes out, and her soul is gone.

I slide her eyelids shut and stand, breathing in the ashen air. Anabiel and Gabriel are quiet, watching for my reaction.

"Ig - " Gabriel starts, but I wave a hand to silence him. His mouth continues to flap, but no words emerge. Anna glares down at Kendra's body, still, I can tell, internally blaming her for all that's gone wrong.

I divert my inner energy, which is at the point of overflowing, to my hands. My palms grow warm quickly, and then hot, and finally scorching.

"Iggy." Gabriel says, approaching me as I approached Michael earlier. "Let's go."

Anna snorts. Her laughter shatters the eternal silence that had fallen over the field. Shrieks of birds and growls of other unidentifiable animals rebound ethereally.

"Why are you so worked up?" She gestures vaguely to Kendra. "I mean, come on. She's a human. Just an average, hum-drum mortal. You knew her for eight days."

"Just because I didn't know much about her doesn't mean she wasn't my friend." I breathe, letting the air out as steam.

Anna's eyes widen slightly in surprise.

"Somebody's fired up." She laughs at her own joke.

"Shut up, Anna." Gabriel says, grabbing her arm and digging his nails in. She yanks away and glares daggers at him. After a moment, her expression smoothes out, and she purses her lips.

"It's hard to take either of you seriously when you both look like prepubescent teenagers." She says with a half smile. "Ugh, whatever. She was important to you and the fate of the world, blah blah blah. I get it."

"What is your problem?" Gabriel asks her. "I mean, less than an hour ago, you two were buddy buddy with each other. Now you're glad she's dead."

"Well, yeah, I'm glad." She leaves the 'duh' unsaid. "Michael was right on one point. She was dangerous, and I'm glad she's gone because now no one can hurt either of you."

"It wasn't her that was causing the trouble." I say. "It wasn't her fault." I stoop down and pick Kendra up bridal style.

"You're defending her before siding with your family?" Anna asks, awestruck.

"Yeah." I say brusquely. "Yeah, because she didn't ask to be dragged into out messed up lives. She's just a kid. She didn't ask to die."

"Actually, she did." Gabriel says. "She, er, she was ready to die. She wanted to bring you back."