Page 282 of Castings & Curses

The final choice.

The choice of deciding where to spend your afterlife.

I understand the words, but I’d always thought there was no choice. You either went to Heaven or Hell. Your soul was sorted for you based upon your life, your decisions, your faith…

The words trouble me, but I have no time to dwell on them right now.

“You mean to say Endor and Valerian Root over here are to accompany the lost soul… on Earth? Between the realms!” Roche looked as if she was going to have a heart attack. “No demons or angels walk among Earth except the Contractor Demons, the Reapers, and the Guardian Angels…”

“I have looked over the treaty with a fine-tooth comb. That is what must happen. And it must happen quickly. Time is of the essence. A soul is at stake.”

Roche scoffs. “And how do you propose they locate her body? Do you have an idea of where it is?” she bites.

Matthew turns to Mercy. “We do not. That is where your help will come in, Miss James,” he says softly.

“Me?” Mercy looks worried.

Matthew nods and continues. “It is not uncommon for lost souls to experience partial loss of memory due to the event in which their soul was disconnected from their body. You need to try and remember whatever you can to assist your chaperones in finding your body. Your body will be trying to communicate with you, all you need to do is listen to it. Endor and Valory will guide your visions, your body’s call.”

“Oh, okay. That sounds like a piece of cake,” Mercy grumbles.

“How long do we have?” I ask quietly and everyone turns to look at me. I can feel Endor’s gaze like fire on my skin and my stomach flips with anxiety and promise.

“If the body is alive… a few days, tops. If you cannot find her body and return the soul so it can right its journey, she will become a lost soul forever. She will become a ghost.”

Matthew’s words hit me in the chest like a brick, and I feel a sense of urgency, of responsibility. This is all my fault. If I would have paid more attention, if I— I shake my head. No, I can’t think like that. I have to focus on the present and what I can do to make this right, because Ineedto make this right.

I can do this. Iwilldo this. If not for myself, then for Mercy. Because if there is a chance her body is still alive and waiting for her… we have to do something about it.

Not all of us are given a second chance, and I will be damned if I let hers go to waste.

CHAPTER13

Endor

Roche leansagainst the marble bureau, crossing her arms.

“So that is it, then? You’re just going to… agree with this?” I ask as I focus on Mercy who is still talking to Matthew and the angel supposedly responsible for this mess in the first place.

Valory.

“I don’t like it any better than you, but Matthew is right. The treaty specifically states—”

“I do not like this,” I say plainly.

“Well, you do not have a say in the matter. You are my demon, and you will do as I command.” Roche’s eyes catch mine, and in them I see the hint of mischief. She’s toying with me, enjoying lording her command over me here in this bright-as-shit popsicle stand.

Because she knows back in Hell it’s a different story.

I shift my stance and move toward her, effectively encasing her against the wall.

A slow smile spreads across her crimson lips.

“You may be my boss, Roche, but you do not own me.”

Her tongue darts out along her lips and a dark chuckle escapes. “Oh, what I could do to you, Endor, if you weren’t such a pain in my ass,” she says with a wicked grin as she sets her hand on my forearm. She leans close to my ear and whispers, “If you know what is good for you, you will listen closely.”

My lips tighten, but I know from the tone, the edge in her voice, that what she’s about to say is much more important than my disdain for her.

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