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She wore a white sundress and had a golden halo around her head. Keenan hid a smile
seeing his handler in the guise of a woman. It was very disconcerting because he
normally came to him in his male persona. When Keenan first saw Vangelis behind the
desk at the Denizen as a woman, he couldn’t be completely sure it was his handler.
Cindy had to blend in to throw Sebastian off. He appeared to be a woman. Van had
been scoping out the dungeon for several years working as Cindy. Keenan hadn’t been
brought into the mission until a year ago. They had to be sure that Sebastian was really
a high ranking lord and taking souls.
“You? But how in the world did you know? Sebastian knocked you out cold.”
Emera was flabbergasted. Keenan watched as the female persona melted away to reveal
the true male form of the angel.
“Cindy’s real name is Vangelis, Van for short, he was undercover. Van infiltrated
the den to get close to you and to get intel on Sebastian. He was the one who first told
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me about you. At first I didn’t believe it.”
The light around Van got brighter. The halo around the angel ballooned. Keenan
covered his eyes from the illumination. He stepped away from Emera. Her distress was
apparent at seeing the angel. He knew this was the first time she had been confronted
by an angel in a long time. He wanted nothing more at this time than to reach out and
protect her, but he wasn’t able to. Whatever judgment she had to face was one that only
she could go through. She glanced back at him. He saw the trouble in her eyes. Van
stared at him.
You promised that you wouldn’t take her from me.
The angel didn’t answer. “Come before me, dearest.”
Emera took a step forward and then dropped to her knees. She stared at the floor
not able to look upon the angel anymore. He watched and had to grit his teeth to keep
from butting in. His hand ran over the small box that was in his pocket. The one that
held his most precious possession. Knowing what was inside of it, he knew that his
angel would be with him again. He had to believe that.
“Oh, Emera. It was a sad day when you fell from the garden. Not to hear your voice
among the choir broke my heart. As it is with all angels who fall, they have to be
recycled. To rid the evil in your soul, you will have to go through the fires.”
“You promised,” Keenan butted in.
The angel glared at him. “Am I allowed to finish?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry.”
Van sighed. “As I was saying, you will have to go through the fires only to cleanse
the evil from your soul. You will not be recycled like other angels have been. You’re
being given another chance. Though hope may have dimmed in your heart, you never
lost it. Before you can gain entrance to Heaven you must redeem yourself. When all
your feathers are white again, you will be able to ascend if you wish. The terms of your
redemption are this. Join the ranks of the Demon Catchers and eradicate those who
pilfer souls the way that you once did. Or become human and do your penance through
lifetimes of reincarnation until you have regained the balance for all those innocents
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who you helped send to Lucifer’s pits.”
Keenan felt and saw her shock. He mirrored that surprise. He had no idea that
Vangelis was going to offer her a chance to become a Demon Catcher. That was beyond
all of his wildest dreams. If she became human, he could lose her to reincarnation. He
would never see her again and her memories of their time together would be wiped
clean. He couldn’t lose her after so many centuries of searching. Please don’t choose
humanity. Holding his breath, he waited to hear her decision.
He locked his gaze with his handler. Thank you.
He smiled. I told you I would try. Now it’s up to her.
He nodded.
She drew in a deep breath. “I-I’ll become a Demon Catcher, but I have one request.”
Keenan winced at her statement. She wasn’t in a position to be making demands. It
wasn’t good to ask things of the angel even when he was in one of his good moods. He
took a step toward Emera to take her into his arms. He stopped and waited for fire and
lightning to rain down from Heaven and wipe her out. Nothing happened.
Van crossed his arms over his chest. “Do not try our friendship. If I had not seen
into your soul for all these years, then I would not be giving you this opportunity. My
superiors are not at all happy with this arrangement, but they’re willing to give it a try.
What is your request?”
“I know and I appreciate all that you’re doing for me. I was thinking. If you want
me to infiltrate other demon nests, then I need to keep my powers. That’s all I meant.”
“She has a point. And I’ll keep an eye on her,” Keenan chimed in. He wasn’t exactly
sure what all of her powers were.
“Alright. But the demonic part of your soul must be put through the fire. You have
to be purified. One feather out of order and—”
“It won’t happen. I promise.”
Van stepped forward and placed a hand over her right breast. Keenan held her
shoulders. What she felt, he felt. A searing pain shot down her back. He bit his tongue
and squeezed her shoulders to help her through this. He remembered his own
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branding, but this was worse. The fires of Heaven were searing the demon from her
soul. She began to shake, but she didn’t cry out. The light which surrounded her was
nearly as bright as the halo around Vangelis. When it cleared, he felt the difference in
her. The darkness which had weighed on her spirit was no more. She was free of the
evil seed that Sebastian had planted in her long ago.
“I have faith in you, chicha. I’ll give you a little bit of shore leave so you can get
acquainted with the rules and regulations and such. Don’t get her too exhausted,
Keenan. I know the workout regimen you put yourself on to stay in shape. Oh, before I
go, I found this sitting on the calendar. I don’t know why it wasn’t with the other mail.
Now have fun you two. Right now, I have some other fish to fry.” Van handed Emera
an envelope. Then in a blinding flash of light, the angel vanished.
When they were able to see again they were outside in a beautiful garden. Keenan
plucked a white rose from a bush and held it out to her. He wondered what his handler
was going to do. Even if he asked the angel he wouldn’t get an answer. He glanced at
the envelope. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]