The Collectors

Smoke and mirrors

The glowing figure darted around the corner of the old warehouse a girl followed, her blonde hair falling out of a long pony-tail and into her face getting stuck in her mouth. A long trench coat whipped behind her as she turned the next corner to see the last of the glowing light disappear in to a large square opening at the end of a hall.

The opening led to the main foyer of the warehouse. She crept toward the door not rushing, the spirit was trapped inside. Reaching into the pocket of her coat she pulled out a golden flask, it was engraved with symbols so powerful normal mortals couldn't read them. This was the language of the angles commonly referred to as Enochian. As she neared the opening she began to see the light again. She entered the room just in time to see the spirt began to become engulfed in ghostly black smoke,

"Dammit," the girl shouted "I'm getting really tired of that trick".

The smoke returned to its owner, a young man with a black leather jacket and black spiked hair. He clipped the lid back on his obsidian flask and smirked at her.

"Liz, sweetheart, you know the game" he slipped the flask in his jacket pocket "and this soul belongs to hell now."

She glared at him "William, why must you show up to every collection I'm at?" she turned the flask over in her hand running her thumb absent mindedly on the carvings.

As he walked passed her he stopped his shoulder aligned with hers "Because darling, my job would just not be as fun without you" and with that he disappeared into the shadows of the warehouse.

She sulked back to her car, throwing herself in the driver's seat with a groan of despair.

A voice piped up from the back seat "He did it again, didn't he?"

She banged her forehead on the steering wheel "yes," she paused from the self-inflicted headache "what are you doing in the back seat?"

Just then a black and white cat hopped up on the center compartment "you left some fries back there" it said moving into her lap, purring.

She stroked his head "Felix, please don't vomit on my leather seats"

He huffed indignantly and jumped into the passenger's seat "what do you take me for? Some ordinary house cat?" he curled up in a ball "I'm 302, Liz and not in cat years in human years, I know how to ask to go outside"

She patted his head "sure you do." reaching into the back seat she pulled out a state map and looked it over for a minuet "Right, the next dot is right outside Charleston" She folded the map poorly and threw it into the back of the car.

"Lis that's three hours away" Felix complained.

She started the car and pulled out of the dirt parking lot "it's a good thing I'm pissed"

Three hours later they pulled into a school parking lot worried she looked at the map again "Felix do you think-"

He put his paws up on the dash and looked out the wind shield "yes" he said it almost sounded like a kittens meow.

She looked at the school and white knuckled the steering wheel. Liz hated collections like this. Her job was to find lost spirits and send them to heaven but in situations like this at a school or a playground it was almost always a kid's spirit. She stepped out of the car and walked toward the front door her mind whirling with what kind of spirit it was and how they met their end.

Movement caught her eye. Will stepped out of the shadows "Really after 500 years you are getting very predictable my dear" he had a coffee in his left hand "I brought you this" he was walking next to her but she kept her eyes straight forward " its black I know that how you like it"

"No, thank you Will" She said sharply

"Whatever" he said dropping the paper Starbucks cup on the ground "I don't like it black".

She tried to ignore him and walked faster he fell behind. She made it into the building first and frantically looked around for away to keep him out. Then she spotted it, next to the door was a large push broom. Liz grabbed it and quickly jammed the stick between the two handles. She gave a deep sigh and began to recite the spell to summon the spirt. Will reached the door he pushed on the doors to no avail,

"fine! I'll find another way" through the door Liz heard him slip into his welsh accent.

She let go of the handle and finished the chant. A small bluish figure appeared her heart sank the figure was small and had no distinguishable features not uncommon for a young soul after a moment it began to run like all spirits did. She could never figure out why they did this maybe they were scared maybe they didn't want to go, there was no answer because she couldn't just up and ask them.

She chased it but it was much faster than her. She managed to keep it in sight as it crashed it to walls knocking art off the walls it ran into the gym which was part of a hall way that led an outside door. Unfortunately Will had just finished picking the lock on that particular door. they raced each other into the gym but what they saw made them stop dead.

Red smoke was circling the spirit which was making a sound that was so retched that no animal or human could have made it. It was so horrid, a pain stricken screech that made Liz's skin crawl.

"Stop!" she screamed reaching for her flask but it was too late cracks appeared in the spirits aura that enlarged until the soul began to crumble. The smoke engulfed what was left of the spirit's glowing aura. The screaming was replaced with deep evil laughter as smoke rose up and disappeared into the air vents. She spun on her heels tears of anger of fear streamed down her face she couldn't decide on what emotion she felt "what- what did you do!"

Will's face was paler than normal, "I have lived over 700 years and never have I seen anything that could kill a soul" he said it almost to himself.

Liz wasn't listening to him "what spell did you learn" she obviously was freaking out.

"Listen, darling I didn't do this" he grabbed her shoulders to make her hear him "I would never do this I swear"

Liz's eyes widened "if you didn't do this and I didn't do this-"

"Then what did?"