Page 281 of Castings & Curses

Matthew huffs and nods toward me. “Valory is more than a capable employee. I trust her with the utmost authority. Her error is the first. Unlike you, who has made several errors, mind you.”

Roche snickers as Mercy and Endor take their seats next to her.

“You didn’t complain when those errors were made, if I recall correctly.”

Her implication isn’t lost on me, and my eyes widen in surprise as I gape at Matthew. He looks like he’s going to pop a blood vessel.

“This is not personal, Roche.”

“It’s always personal, Matthew.”

I take my seat next to Matthew, waiting for him to begin. A part of me wants to reach out to Mercy, to tell her I’m sorry and that we’ll fix this, but before I can speak, Matthew breathes out a sigh, signaling the inevitable.

My stomach twists in knots, knowing what is coming. The conference room is just as white and gray as the rest of the interiors, and Endor and Roche look quite out of place.

Mercy swivels back and forth in her chair, taking everything in just as she had in the Annex. She’s seen so much in a short amount of time. I suspect it is quite daunting.

“Then I will not keep you any longer than is necessary. While Valory admits her error, and your demon—”

“My name is Endor,” the demon speaks up, and his voice makes my insides turn to liquid.

I’ve never heard a voice like that.

Deep.

Dark.

Sinful.

I press my legs together and sit up straighter.

Matthew looks annoyed, but he continues. “Since Endor has done the research for us, we know without a doubt, Mercedes here is a lost soul. Given the information in the treaty, lost souls must be reunited with their body. There is a slim chance the body may be still alive, in which case, the soul may reenter and continue its path. In the case the body has been deceased, the soul must reenter the body and answer the immediate call to which the soul is destined to reside.”

Mercy perks up. “So I need to find my body to… find out if I get to live or die?”

The room quiets. My heart aches for her. If only I had gotten the letters right, perhaps we’d already have found her body, perhaps she could be living already…

Matthew nods. “Yes. Although the circumstances being what they are, it is not as simple as letting you go in search of your body.”

“It’s not?” Roche speaks up, looking slightly worried.

Matthew shoots her a glare. “You may have showed up in Heaven, but you have also been to Hell. You are in both systems now, which means both realms must be involved in the process of finding your body.”

We all yell and holler, “What?!” at once, clearly surprised by this notion.

“What the hell do you mean Hell needs to be involved?” Roche spits.

“I do not like this any better than you do, Roche. Believe me. If I had my way, we’d take over this matter and make sure there were no more errors.”

“It is your angel who fucked up in the first place!” Endor growls.

“Language!” Matthew hollers.

Endor has the audacity to flip him off, and I can’t deny that kind of defiance is… intriguing.

“What does this mean, Matthew?” I turn my gaze to him, if only because I’m worried Endor might notice my staring and decide to flip me off, too. But the thought of that doesn’t sound terrible…

“It means, that per the treaty, a demon and an angel must accompany the lost soul in question on the journey to find her body and assist in the final choice.”

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