She sighed, “I’m not serving his punishment. If you want to, go ahead; reject the reclamation of his soul.” The portal opened and she disappeared right through it.
I was left shaking, my fists balled up tight as the anxiety soared to new heights within me. I was done. Done feeling like shit because I had to take souls back that, in all honesty, didn’t deserve to be taken. I felt like I had become a murderer and I just couldn’t live with myself doing it.
I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly before I looked up at the man who was shedding tears while on his knees in front of me. “I won’t do it.”
He glanced up at me, “Ma’am, I can’t ask you to serve a punishment you don’t need to.”
“Neither can I. Someone else might come for you, but it won’t be me. I’m done playing this game of His. If I were you, I’d run to a church and beg a priest for a cleansing or something. I doubt anything will help but it’s worth a shot.” The portal sucked me up and I sped back, skyward.
“Devalynn Rose!” the voice boomed out, louder than I had ever heard it. I had to cover my ears as my head felt like it would explode.
“I’m coming. No need to yell like that, jeez,” I muttered beneath my breath. I walked into the building his voice came from and stood in front of a great chair that was adorned with gold and silver. The Creator walked out and sat in it, staring down at me.
He shook his head, “What am I supposed to do with you?”
“Am I allowed to speak freely or do I have to censor myself?” I asked.
“Speak your mind,” he replied waving his hand at me.
“I think it’s bull-” He raised an eyebrow, interrupting me. “Umm, I think it’s crap what’s going on with the soul collecting side of things here.”
“Meaning...”
“Meaning, I think the rules are a little outdated and unfair. You give everyone individual judgments once they get here but one little error, and they’re in misery, forever alone. For example, the guy I was sent after today; he was defending himself from an attacker! How is it fair that he is punished for trying to survive!?” My voice raised a few octaves as I squinted my eyes at him, putting him on the spot; giving him his own judgment.
He sat in silence, clasped his hands and rested his chin on them. Minutes passed…a lot of minutes. I was starting to get nervous I had overstepped my boundaries.
Finally, he spoke. “I can see how you’d be upset with that.”
“It’s not so much that I’m upset but rather, I’m sick of myself. I literally hate myself for having to take people who shouldn’t be coming back yet. I’d rather serve someone’s punishment and be forever in solitude than take back innocent souls.” I looked him in the eyes, never taking them off of him.
“I see.” He grew silent again before standing to his feet. “Follow me.” His voice was even and steady.
I swallowed the lump that had formed and followed without a word.
We walked through the great halls and down to the Tombs of the Forsaken. The sealed ones caught my attention.
“You see these, the ones glowing; they belong to the Collectors who refused their jobs.” I stared nervously at them then let my eyes flutter down to the ground in shame and fear. I knew what was coming. “They fought against the rules I have set in place. There is a difference between you and them.”
“What’s that, sir?” I mustered enough courage to look up at him again.
“You’re so much stronger and I see so much potential in your inner light. You could make the changes you want, if you want it bad enough.”
“I don’t think I understand.” I was confused. Why wasn’t he throwing me in one and sealing it shut forever?
He laughed gently, “I’m saying there is a need for some modifications to the system and you should do them. It’s not going to be an easy job, so get that out of your mind right now. I need an updated system put in place that would make it run more smoothly.”
I was stunned. Why me? “I have a question that has been eating at me that I’d like to ask you.”
“Okay.”
“Why do you even give people a second chance when so many are taken back here?”
“Because I decided long ago to serve mercy. Sending them back will awaken the so called monsters that you all have labeled them but no one knows who’s is going to be awakened before they get back. Something triggers it in them once they cross back over. You are right, there needs to be changes.”
“So...you’re not going to stuff me into one of those tombs and lock me away for eternity?” I asked a stupid question. I knew it was but it still came out of my mouth. I needed the verbal confirmation.
It made him laugh, “No, but you’re lucky though. There is a catch, so to speak, with this deal I’m offering you.”
Oh no. “What is it?”
“I will have to do a memory wipe on you for you to see everything with new eyes and not be biased based off some of the cases you worked before.”
My dead heart slipped and fell beneath my feet. I felt like I couldn’t move, frozen to the spot. “I’ll have to forget everything?” I whispered.
“Isn’t that what you wanted, anyways?” He asked me, with his eyes furrowed in confusion.
“That was before-” I stopped myself; realizing what it was that was holding me back from the opportunity that was sitting on a silver platter in front of me, “before I fell in love,” I whispered.
“I’m afraid it would all go away. You won’t remember Lexie, Jackson, Kale,” he paused, looking sympathetically down into my eyes with his big loving ones, “and Kellin.” His voice was so calm and soothing. I wanted to scream. How could he be so damn calm and collected!?
“Do I have to answer right now?” My voice was hoarse and shaking.
“You have until tomorrow to answer. If not, everything will stay the same as it always has been. I’m afraid I trust no one else with the job at hand. You have to decide what’s more important to you; your memories or protecting the souls of the innocent. I’ll be waiting for you in the morning.” He walked off, leaving me to contemplate my fate alone.
Chapter Seven
“Devalynn? You home?” A soft woman’s voice rang through my head.
“Yeah, I’m home,” I called out from under the blanket on the couch.
“Dev, I’m so sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to take it all out on you.” Lexie burst through the door and sat on the floor below me.
“It’s okay, I’m not mad at you.” I rolled over and pulled the blanket back up over my head.
“What’s wrong? Did you and Kellin or Kale get in a fight or something?”
I snorted, “Nope, nothing like that.”
“So tell me. What’s going on?” Her hand reached up and yanked the blanket off of me, sending it to the floor.
“I really don’t want to talk about it. It’s my problem, not yours to deal with.”
“You haven’t learned yet...if something bothers you, it bothers me. You’re the closest thing I have to family around here and you should know you can talk to me.”
“I feel like the weight of everything is on my shoulders right now and I don’t know what to do. Inside, the answer for one thing is screaming at me but my heart it telling me otherwise. I’m so damn confused! Ahhh!!!” I screamed into the cushion and kicked my legs down into the one underneath them as my frustration mounted higher and higher.
“What are you conflicted about?”
“Do you really want to know or are you just trying to be nosey?”
She sat back; hurt written across her face as she looked down, her beautiful smile was sitting in a frown.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.” I sat up and patted the cushion next to me.
She rose to her feet and sat by me, crossed her legs and pulled them to her chest in a tight hug. “It’s okay, I guess I kind of deserve that, huh?” she smirked.
I closed my eyes, trying to think of how to tell her. “Well, my dilemma is this
...the Creator has given me a choice. I can lose my memories, all of them, and fix the broken reclamation system or I can keep my memories and nothing gets fixed.”
She was silent for a few minutes. “So what do you want to do?”
“I don’t know. That’s where my problem is. I don’t want to forget you or anyone but I want to change the destinies of people who shouldn’t be coming back yet.”
“You don’t want to lose Kellin. That’s your biggest problem, isn’t it?” she asked with a grin from ear to ear.
I shrugged, trying to keep my face from turning colors that would give me away. “That’s a big part of it. When I was told my options, that’s when it hit me...I think I love him.”
“EEEEEKKK!!!” She squealed before lunging into a hug around my neck. “I freakin knew it!!” she exclaimed.
I fell backwards. “Easy! Damn, girl,” I pushed her off of m and looked out of the window past her.
“So, you’re not saying much now. Do you know which one you’re going to pick?” She leaned in, anxious for my reply.
“If I lose my memories of everything, of everyone...you’ll try hard to know me again, right? You won’t give up on me?” My eyes flew back to her.
“Of course I wouldn’t give up on you. If saving those peoples souls means this much to you, I will support you however I can, even when you can’t remember me.” Her lips trembled while she tried to hold a steady face.
“What about Kellin? Do you think he’ll forgive me? Do you think he’ll try to get me to love him again and Kale! What if they go into competition to see who can get my love first? What if-“
“Stop it! Jeez, you’re going crazy with this, aren’t you? Look, go talk to Kellin first then go talk to Kale. Tell them you’ve made up your mind and you need them to support you and be there AS A FRIEND when your memory is turned into mush and swept away.”
“That’s a great way to put it.” I raised an eyebrow to her comment. “Guess I better go talk to them. I only have until morning to decide. He’ll be waiting for my answer. I’ll see you in a little bit. You should keep me company tonight; maybe help me write little sticky notes to plant around the house so I can kind of remember some things afterwards.”
“You know I’ll be here. Heck, I won’t even leave,” she grinned.
“That’s fine with me. I’ll be back in a few.” I waved as I walked out and headed towards Kellin’s house first.
***
“Kellin? You here?” I walked inside and looked around. The lights were off and there weren’t any sounds of movement. I walked to his bedroom and knocked on the door. “Kellin? You in there?” Still nothing.
I shrugged and decided to go wait on his front porch when his door swung open and he stared at me. “Hey! You’re, um, early.” He put his hand behind his back.
“Sorry, I wanted to, no, needed to talk to you about something important. Do you want me to leave?” His eyes were locked with mine.
“No, you’re fine, just go sit on the front porch and I’ll be out there in a minute.”
“Okay,” I looked him up and down, studying his awkward sideways stance. “What are you hiding?”
“Dev, just go outside,” he nodded his head for the door. As I walked around him, he turned so his back was never to me.
While watching the setting sun, I absorbed the sounds and recalled memories because it was going to be my last day as, well, myself.
The door shut loudly, pulling me out of my dream state. “What are you up to?”
“Not much, wasn’t expecting you so soon. How were your jobs today?” He sat down next to me and draped his arm around my shoulders.
“I didn’t get any done.”
“Why not!? What trouble did you cause this time?” His eyes narrowed at me.
“I didn’t do anything. That’s the problem, well not the problem; I mean it could be a problem.” I started rambling. I was nervous to tell him what I had decided.
“Dev, what happened?” He grabbed my face and held it steady in his hands.
“The Creator brought me back and offered me a job to fix the system so the souls that don’t deserve to come back well, don’t,” I blurted out in a frenzied voice.
“That’s great! It’s needed to be fixed bad.”
“That’s not all,” I whispered, barely audible as my lips trembled.
“What?”
“I have to lose my memories of everything to be able to do it. If I don’t, the system will stay the same and good people will still be condemned.”
I tried to turn my head away but he stopped me and moved his face in front of mine. “Is that what has you so worked up? You have the chance of an after-lifetime! You should be happy.” He always knew how to make me feel better with his devilishly sexy smile.
“I won’t remember Lexie, Jackson, the others, and, well-” I paused to look into his eyes, -”you.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll still be around and we can make new memories together. You gotta think, Dev, you won’t remember your death and all the horrible events involved. You need to do this for you. Let’s go sit inside and talk. Dinner should be ready by now.” He stood and held the front door open for me.
“It’s not that I don’t-” I stopped what I was saying. He had put rose petals everywhere and there were candles flickering throughout the room. A bottle of wine sat in a bucket of ice next to his table. “Oh, my God. Wow, I’m speechless. No one has ever done this for me...that I can remember anyways.”
“Seems we have some celebrating to do now but this was a just because dinner, just so you know.” His hands were resting on his hips and he beamed with a look of pride.
I turned and embraced him as tightly as I could. He stumbled a foot or two before catching himself then wrapped his arms around my waist. “Thank you,” I whispered, “I love it...almost as much as I love you.”
“What!?” He pulled back and stared at me. “Don’t say that if you don’t mean it just because tomorrow you won’t remember you said it to me.”
Shaking my head, I replied, “I’m not just saying it. I mean it. I guess I just didn’t realize what was in front of me since I’ve been here. If you don’t feel the same way, I totally understand.”
He pulled me to him, embracing my face as our lips touched and sent chills down my spine. He moved his hands to the back of my head and grabbed a handful of my hair. I jumped on his waist and wrapped my legs around him while he slammed me against a wall; his lips trailing down my neck.
“I want you to be mine; no one else’s. I tried to stay away. Not very long, but I tried and I couldn’t,” he spoke between the touch of his lips against my skin.
“I want to be yours,” I responded; my breath unsteady as the words came out.
He stood me to the ground; his hands on the wall blocking me from moving. “Forever.”
“Forever?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Say yes,” he smiled.
“Or what?”
“Does it matter? You won’t remember tomorrow.”
“Even if that wasn’t the case, I was going to say yes, anyways.”
“Good. No one else can have you.” Sliding one hand into his pocket, he fished around until he pulled out a very small wrapped item. He undid it and pulled out a small, intricate rose gold ring. He opened my hand and spread my fingers as he slipped the ring on. “You. Are. Mine,” he whispered.
“About time!” I jumped on him and he carried me into his bedroom and laid me on the bed with the weight of his body on top of mine. His lips started at the crests of my chest and make their way up to my neck as he pushed my hair out of the way with his hand then to me ear where he bit down playfully and finally to my lips. His heavenly lips against mine were mind blowingly amazing.
Just as quickly as he started, he stopped and rolled over next to me. “We can’t do this. Not until after we are united. I don’t want to seduce you and then have to start wooing you all over again tomorrow and you not remember how I touched you, ho
w I made your body explode with pleasure.”
I smiled weakly, “Okay, we can wait,” I replied, bringing his face down to mine for a soft kiss. “You won’t give up on me, right? You’ll keep trying even though I won’t remember and will probably call you a psycho stalker, right?” There was a need in my voice; a need to be reassured that he wouldn’t abandon me after I had forgotten him.
“I will never stop, never give up, never tire to win you back over,” he whispered, a gentle voice into my ear.
“Okay. I’m kind of scared. I’ll have to start all over again and I’m not sure I can do it.”
“You’re an extremely strong person, I know you can do it and I support you even if I think you’re just trying to forget me,” he teased.
“Jerk.”
“That hurts.”
“Oh I’m sure it does,” I laughed.
He scooped me up and carried me back out to the living room. “Let’s eat some dinner, spend some time together, then I’ll walk you back over to your place and see you in the morning.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I stood to my feet and helped him carry the food over to the table where the candles had all melted down because of our prolonged absence.
“Do you want to stay here tonight?” He sat down across from me and shoveled food in his mouth.
“I can’t. I already asked Lexie to stay the night with me so I wasn’t alone. I thought you would be upset with me when you found out what I am going to do tomorrow.” I really wasn’t hungry. I mostly pushed the food around on the plate; my appetite kept fading.
“You’re not eating?” He eyed me curiously.
“I was really hungry and now I’m not. I think I’m too nervous to eat. I feel like I’m going to puke if I try. I’m sorry; this really is a beautiful meal. I didn’t mean to spoil it for you.”
“It’s fine.” He placed a hand over mine, making me drop my fork. “Dev, it’s okay, really. It’s getting late and we’re all going to have an emotional day tomorrow. Only, you will be the only one who won’t remember how emotional for yourself.” He scooted his chair back across the floor, stood, and waited for me to get my things. We walked outside where there was a gentle breeze and the smell of his neighbors cooking dinner and the sounds of their laughter filled my ears.
Reclaiming Souls Page 7