Hell's Gift (2 page)

I got to my feet and quickly scanned my surroundings. The room was dimly lit, but there was no source for the lighting. No fixtures, torches or candles illuminated nearby to give off the glow, but it was there. I didn’t ponder on this much, for Heaven was the same; there was no day or night, week or minute. It simply existed, as did the light.

The memory of Kendra popped into my head.
How could I have done that to her? And worse, leave her in the hands of Josselyn?
I couldn’t feel her presence within me, and I suddenly felt like if I’d had anything in my stomach it would have ended up on the grimy floor beneath my shoes.

“Hello?” I shouted to the dark pit above me, then paused. “Is anybody there?”

“No,” came a reply. I studied the bottom of the deep well in confusion, but couldn’t tell where the voice had come from. It was as if it had started as an echo.

“No? No, you’re not there?” I asked, somewhat baffled, then tried to heighten my hearing, quickly realizing I was only at human strength with my sight and hearing, and that the rest of my abilities and enhanced senses would probably fail me as well. It wouldn’t stop me from trying, though. I tried to transport myself back into Heaven, but nothing happened. So, then I tried traveling to Earth. Nothing. I huffed.

“No,” the echo sounded again, bringing me back to my current reality, or unreality, rather.

Although I hadn’t slept in over three centuries, I was starting to feel like I was stuck in some really crazy dream. And it was beginning to irritate me. “So, if you are not there, where are you?”

“Here,” the echo said, then chuckled lightly.

What?
“Very funny. I’m amused and happy you are able to entertain yourself so easily, but I actually have somewhere to be. So, if you could tell me where the nearest exit is, I’ll be on my way.” I walked to the wall and checked for sturdiness. After patting a few different places, my fears were confirmed; I wasn’t getting out of there without help.

“Why would you want to leave so soon?” the voice asked, and I turned swiftly to find a scrawny old hunchbacked man with bright white eyes and a large curved nose staring up at me. He had a small patch of white hair atop his tiny head, and it was curled like a pigs’ tail. I couldn’t find the words to speak, but he evidently could. “I don’t get many visitors.” His mouth spread into what might have been an attempt at a smile, and I could instantly tell he’d missed his last few appointments with his dental hygienist.”Won’t you stay for a little while?”

I backed up until my heel bumped the wall. I had no reason to be afraid of this man who was nearly two feet shorter than me with his hunch, but there was something in those ice glacier eyes that warned me not to be so trusting, that looks could be deceiving.

“No—no, I think I’m going to go back home.” I laughed nervously. “You see, it’s really a misunderstanding that I’m here at all.” I paused to glance around the room briefly, then looked back to him, trying with all my might to avoid his stare. “Um…by the way, where is here?”

The little man laughed. He slapped his knee and grabbed at his side as the fits of laughter took control of his frail looking body.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “What’s so funny?” I said as I looked down on him, sternly.

“Nobody…knows,” he managed to get out in between breaths.

I ignored the warning and grabbed him by the throat. My nose briefly touched his flamingo-like snout before I growled out my response. “Nobody knows what?”

The laughing came to an abrupt stop as my fingers squeezed his brittle neck. Killing him wouldn’t help me any, if he was even able to die permanently; I would still be stuck in the wooden room without knowing where I was or how to get out. But hurting someone or something after the year I’d had seemed like it might ease some of the tension, and possibly the pain from not being Kendra’s chosen one.

I sighed and released my grip, letting the old man fall to the floor with a thump.

He gasped for breath and got to his hands and knees, sucking in great lungfulls of oxygen through his mouth and nose.

I was just about to be concerned when he stopped the coughing nonsense and shot an evil grin my way.

“Best you not try something like that again, sonny boy,” he said, and I wasn’t positive, but I thought I saw a flash of red in his eyes. “You should be mighty careful who you make your enemy around here.”

I fidgeted under his stare momentarily, then sighed in defeat. He was right. I was in a strange place, and making enemies was the last thing I needed to do.

“Look, I’m sorry,” I said gruffly. “If you can refrain from playing games, I might possibly be able to stop my hands from squeezing your head off your neck. Now, where am I?”

“You are here,” he said with another bright, mischievous grin.

I bit my tongue and forced my anger to subside as my molars ground into one another. The energy would be wasted. I huffed, then finally surrendered. I was only going to win by losing, because I was dealing with a mad man. “Alright, so evidently I’m asking the wrong questions. How about, what is this place called?”

The little guy winked at me. “What do you think this place is called?”

I snapped. “Seriously?” I shouted. “Who are you?”

“I am Pogo. I can help you on your journey if you like,” he said, then snapped his bony fingers, clapped his hands, stomped his tiny feet and ended in a low bow.

I clapped my hands sarcastically as my eyes narrowed into slits. “Help me? You’ve done nothing but annoy me since we met, and you haven’t helped me at all. If anything, I’d say you’ve done more harm than good. I’m better off figuring everything out on my own.”

I turned and began to check the wall for weak places again. I could find a way out myself. I didn’t need the help of a trickster.

Then I heard the sniffling. I hesitantly glanced back at the dwarf. He was sitting in the middle of the dirty floor with his forehead rested on his folded arms over his knees. I’ve always been a sucker for the water works, and the tears of this scrawny twerp weren’t going to affect me any different than Kendra’s salty drops of emotion. It looked as though my journey to figure out a way back into Heaven was just going to take longer.

I sighed. “So, how can we get out of this room?”

Pogo looked up at me with red-rimmed eyes, then wiped at the wetness from his wrinkled cheeks. “You need my help?” he asked, and there was genuine happiness building behind his eyes and the smile that was threatening to spread again.

I nodded once. “Under three conditions.”

Pogo nodded excitedly as he got to his feet. “Anything you want. Just name it.”

“Tell me where I am. Tell me how to get out of here,” I motioned with my hand to insinuate the room we were standing in. “And don’t get in my way. Do you think you can agree to those terms?”

Pogo dropped his head and shuffled his dirty bare feet nervously.

After about five seconds of no response to my strict circumstances, I cleared my throat and raised an eyebrow. “Well?”

“Um…” he said, and there was more shuffling and fidgeting as he began to rub his hands briskly together, all the while being careful not to make eye contact with me.

My eyes gave a slight roll as I turned back to the wall. “Never mind—evidently I can’t count on you to help me with anything. I honestly don’t know what I expected. Obviously you don’t know how to get us out—”

“I do know how to get out of this room,” he said shortly, and stomped his foot.

“Well, I’m waiting,” I said as I turned back around, then froze as I noticed something odd on the wall behind him. It was a door. It blended in so perfectly that I wouldn’t have been able to swear it hadn’t been there before. I didn’t think it had been, but I’ve been wrong on more than one occasion. I’m not too proud to admit that.

He must have noticed my attention wasn’t focused on him any longer, because his frown turned to confusion as he turned to look at the door behind him. He stared at it a moment, then looked back to me like nothing was wrong or out of place.

“What?” he said.

“How long has that door been there? And don’t you dare say always,” I growled.

He chuckled lightly. “It is your door.”

“My door? What’s on the other side of
my door
?” I asked as I studied the new rectangle addition to the room.

Pogo grinned mischievously. “How else do you think you could get out of this room?”

I gave him a hard look, but he only flashed his rotting smile again. “So, what’s beyond the door?”

Pogo snickered. “Your future.”

I sighed in frustration. “Well, it certainly isn’t my past. Let’s go.”

Chapter 3

Josselyn

She blinked a few times. The lines in her brow were becoming all the more evident as the archangel’s words sank through to her very soul. She was fighting an internal battle with denial, but she also knew Isaiah couldn’t lie to her. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you right, Isaiah,” she choked out, and quickly wiped at the tears that were obstructing her vision.

Malcolm lightly touched her arm to remind her he was there, just in case she needed to lean on someone, needed a shoulder to cry on, or needed two arms to hold her tight later, well after they had left the confines of Isaiah’s quarters.

Isaiah cleared his throat and gave a disapproving glance at Malcolm, who swiftly averted his eyes and moved back to stand in front of his seat.

Josselyn took a step closer to Isaiah. “Tell me it isn’t true,” she pleaded. “Tell me that you wouldn’t do something like that to any angel, let alone Rhyan.” Her voice grew louder with each word spoken. “He only needed a little more time!”

“Remember your place, child,” Isaiah said quietly, then touched one of the exotic flowers in the crystal vase on his desk, making it brighten and appear to be full of life and energy.

Josselyn pursed her lips tightly closed, but the steady stream of tears flowing over her cheeks she wouldn’t have been able to stop if God himself demanded it so. It wouldn’t help matters any to shout at the head guardian, but she had to admit that was all she wanted to do at that moment.

Isaiah raised his eyebrows, then motioned for his guests to take a seat in the two chairs in front of his massive desk. Once seated, he laced his fingers together atop the flawless wood of the desk top. “We’ve been watching Rhyan closely for a while now. His depression only seemed to worsen over time instead of getting better.”

“But is that honestly a good enough reason to send him—” Josselyn cut in, but Isaiah held up his hand, instantly silencing her outburst.

“The vote was unanimous. We felt it was the best thing for him.”

Josselyn stared wide-eyed at her superior. She had never heard anything so ridiculous. She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice caught in her throat. She’d never been so angry in all her existence. She tried again, and the adrenaline racing through every limb of her body had her involuntarily on her feet in an instant. She ignored Isaiah’s warning look and opened her mouth. She was going to be heard no matter the consequences. “Hell?” she shouted. “You think Hell is the best place to send an angel who loves with all his heart? He encouraged Kendra to be with her soulmate, to fight for her life and soul as well as Adam’s, because he knew she would be happy someday. He even did this knowing he would be miserable for all of eternity. He loves her! Why can’t angels have a happy ending, too?” she screamed at him.

Malcolm took her hand in his and tugged lightly, guiding her back to the seat. She didn’t resist him. She was too mentally exhausted to fight anymore. She envied humans at that moment. What she would have given to be able to close her eyes and sleep, to not have to think about everything that had happened with Rhyan. Her heart broke a little more for him right then.

Isaiah glared at her sternly. “Are you finished?”

Josselyn wiped at her eyes, swiftly looking away from his glare, but finally nodded after a moment.

Isaiah took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “It is true that this decision of ours may fail horribly, but we have open minds and we pray that this will help instead of hurt him.” He waited to make sure she was paying attention. Repeating himself wasn’t something he enjoyed doing. “Rhyan has a chance to come back to Heaven, but he must complete a task first. I had no doubts that he would have been able to complete a task this extreme before Coen’s incident with Kendra, but now I worry. I can only pray he is strong enough.”

“Is this task something I can help him with?” Josselyn asked, with a little too much excitement in her voice. She was on the edge of her seat, about to jump to her feet again, when Malcolm touched her arm, holding her in place.

“I think not. I would say it is way too dangerous for you to attempt. Rhyan needs to do this on his own anyway. It’s the only thing that will bring him out of his current state of mind.”

“Well, what does he have to do?” Josselyn asked impatiently.

Isaiah smiled, showing his perfect pearly whites. “Kendra was his first love…but his soulmate is in Hell. When they meet up I expect there will be nothing that will keep him from her.”

Josselyn’s eyes grew wide. “His soulmate—she’s in Hell, too?”

Isaiah nodded. “Yes, and we think the two meeting will bring him out of his depression. Of course he will still love Kendra, but it will only be as a guardian angel should love their charge, nothing more. He will be happy for her, and he will get on with his eternity here in Heaven, with his soulmate.”

“That’s impossible!” Josselyn said, aghast. “I’ve never heard of anyone coming back from Hell. How long has she been there?”

“She fell at the beginning of the eighteenth century. And you know as well as I do that an individual needs only to ask God to forgive them of their committed sins and welcome him into their heart and soul to give them a secure place here. Most souls in Hell have no guidance, so they suffer in their own self-pity instead of asking God to help them out.”

Malcolm chuckled. “I thought you were upset because he was sent into Hell, and that you would be happy he has been given a chance to return back into the Heavenly Realm. Am I wrong, or am I not following this conversation very well?”