Page 89 of Death Trap

And terrifying.

As everything Simon and Eli had said in the last few minutes soaked through my skin and settled in, a pleasant warmth began to build in the center of my chest until ever so slowly, it spread throughout my body to every finger and toe.

Suddenly, the white light power I had feared for so long slid up my arms, glowing brighter than ever before. But this time, it didn’t scare me. It empowered me.

And I knew.

Right then, I knew.

After all this time of wondering and guessing, this was who I was.

I, little misguided and overly awkward Jade Blackwell, was an Archangel.

I stared down at the wisps of ghostly light encasing me from my elbows to my fingers.

“And I’m guessing this is part of my new angel powers?” I asked Eli.

He nodded. “Yes. It’s as if you’re shifting between an alive and spirit form. Azrael must have been hoping that making you a reaper would also stunt your gifts, but he underestimated your strength. I’m also assuming the raising of demons also added to its awakening.”

That seemed to check out. It made sense why Azrael wanted Cole to keep me away from all things supernatural when he hired me. He hadn’t expected Xaver to fall into my lap and impregnate my friend.

I was also guessing this whole angel bit also explained why I could see demons, even when they were possessing a person. Why not be a built-in demon detector if I wasmade—still creepy to think about—to fight the things? And it could be the reason Cole could see me, as a half demon himself.

Shaking out my arms, the light faded out. I couldn’t help but smile at that. It might not have been much, but it did seem like I was gaining a bit more control over it.

Better that than nothing, right?

“Did we answer all your questions, Jade?” Simon asked.

I peered up at the ceiling, running through the long,longmental list I had acquired throughout my time as dead.

There had to be more. I was definitely missing something important.

Glancing at Eli, I realized what else I needed to know.

“What about us?” I whispered, my voice shaking with nerves. “What are we?”

Eli’s sweet smile made my heart flutter awake in my chest. “Guardians are assigned an Archangel to protect while they are in their living state on earth. When they die, just before the reincarnation process, they are met again in a place in Heaven called the Holdings.” He paused. “This is where we live. Together. Until it’s your time to visit earth again in a new form. We do this until and only if we are called to fight. Then the reincarnation ends.”

“So, I didn’t have one life before this…” I began.

“You had many. Hundreds. Thousands.”

“We think that’s another of the reasons Azrael wanted you in the reaper cycle,” Simon said. “It halts your reincarnation.”

Of all the things I’d heard so far, this was the thing that made my head light.

Here I was wanting to know who I was before my death, but the truth was, I was many people.

In the back of my mind, all the people I’d seen and lived through after beating Xaver and again in the mirror during Arianna’s charm resurfaced. I’d thought they were all random people. No one in particular. Just a bunch of flashing faces. But they weren’t random. They were my past lives.

All of them.

A soft chuckle escaped my lips.

“You still think this is funny?” Eli asked, frustration in his tone.

“No. Actually I don’t. I’m laughing at how perfectly it all fits.”

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