11. Cassius

Kushiel had looked totally shocked that it could be a demon responsible. Cass thought that was pretty telling for how he had been treated by angels as opposed to by demons. People didn't tend to think the worst of their own people, yet Kushiel clearly did.

Cass had excused himself at that point to get ready for the day, and Kushiel had seemed to need the time to process, anyway. Cass needed his own time to think, too.

He didn't usually get visions when he was talking to someone, but he was positive he had seen one of the angel's memories when Kushiel had been talking.

Kushiel had a whip in his hand and a man kneeling in front of him, and each time Kushiel swung the whip onto the man's back, the man flinched in pain. However, instead of the marks appearing on the man's back, they appeared on Kushiel's back, which was a bloody, marked-up mess. Yet the angel hadn't flinched once, though his face had been carved in pain.

Kushiel helped souls find forgiveness by taking part of their pain onto himself. It was so damn noble and generous that Cass thought he fell a little in love just knowing about it.

Then Kushiel had said that he was "tainted," and Cass might have gotten a bit passionate. He hoped he hadn't scared his shy, nervous angel, but it had hurt to realize that Kushiel thought that of himself. He was better than every other demon and angel Cass had ever met. Kushiel was beautiful, and Cass would make him see it.

Cass finished getting ready—he'd taken a quick shower and gotten dressed, because he still had a coffee shop to run. He needed to talk to Steph about hiring someone else. She would pick up the slack over the next week or so while he dealt with all of this, and she didn't mind the overtime, but they really needed a better system in case both of them were ever unavailable. She'd opened the shop this morning, and they had a college kid who was competent enough to close later, but Cass still had to do some paperwork and payroll to do today.

He finished trying to tame his hair—maybe time for a haircut?—and headed back downstairs to the kitchen. Cass squinted a little and saw that Kushiel had his human form on for the public. His angel was wearing white, loose pants and a dark gray sweater, which looked totally sexy against the angel's light gray skin. Cass had the urge to run his hands through that dark hair, but he resisted. Barely.

"Very sexy outfit," Cass winked. Kushiel seemed shocked, and then that adorable pink tinge spread over his gray skin.

Fuck. Cass was so in over his head. Everything he learned about Kushiel only made him more attractive.

"You really don't mind coming to the coffee shop? It would be fine if you wanted to stay here and relax. Although I would love to have your company," Cass added. He didn't want Kushiel to think he wasn't welcome.

"I would be glad if I could be of assistance," Kushiel said, and Cass took him at face value, leading the way out of the house.

It was beautiful out—a sunny and warm day, and perfect for a walk to the shop. Kushiel kept pace with him, but he kept looking curiously at Cass.

"What is it?" Cass asked. "You can ask me anything. Something is obviously niggling away at you. I promise you I'm not offended easily, and I'm happy to share."

Cass realized that was true. He wanted Kushiel to know him. The real him, including the things he didn't normally tell others. Perhaps it was only fair if he opened up and shared his own secrets, since Kushiel's secrets were shared with him through his visions.

"Is the lost soul still with us?" Kushiel asked, although Cass felt like he was starting with an easy question.

"Nope. The ghost stayed at my house. Aunt Ro will check on them, I'm sure, and she'll also do some research and fill us in on anything she hears from any other ghosts. So far I haven't seen any other ghosts in that kind of shape, though," Cass answered. "What else are you curious about?"

Kushiel hesitated, but then he asked, "How does it work? You and the whole ghost thing? Could you always see them?"

"Yes, as long as I can remember. It's been passed down in my family for as long as we've had written or word of mouth record. There are always one or two of us each generation who have the vision and who can commune with ghosts and other afterlifers. We generally stick to ghosts, though, since we avoid the attention of afterlife management that way," Cass explained.

"Are they… everywhere?" Kushiel whispered, and Cass had to suppress a laugh when Kushiel looked around suspiciously.

"No, not everywhere. They tend to avoid my home, because most of them know, or hear from other ghosts, that it's my private space. They do flock to the coffee shop, but even then, I probably only see a couple ghosts each day. Of course, there are always some wandering around town and such, but I don't approach them if they don't approach me. They don't always need help. Sometimes they just don't want to leave the mortal plane, maybe because they're waiting for someone else to pass or they just want to watch over their family," Cass answered.

"Ah. Well that's good to know. You mentioned ‘the vision'?" Kushiel questioned.

"Yes. I can see angels and demons in their true forms. I could see you before you revealed yourself," Cass admitted, watching Kushiel's face. He didn't seem upset, though, so Cass continued explaining. "I can see angels and demons when they're cloaked as well."

"So you always saw my angelic form?" Kushiel asked, clearly surprised.

"Yup. It's what I see now, actually. It takes effort for me to see what everyone else sees," Cass admitted. He couldn't help tacking on, "And your angelic form is beautiful."

Kushiel blushed again. Cass was getting kind of addicted to making that happen.

"I also have visions," Cass admitted. He figured he might as well get it all out there. "They can be of the past, present, or future. I also do, on occasion, serve as an oracle and speak directly with afterlifers that are not topside. That's far more complex, though, and not something that happens often."

They made it to the coffee shop entrance as Cass finished, and he turned and looked at Kushiel, who seemed to be taking it all in. Cass couldn't help adding, "I might see things about you. I don't mean to invade your privacy or intrude, but the visions are often outside of my control. I'm sorry about that."

Kushiel looked surprised at the apology. "I do not mind if you see anything about me, Cassius. I would not hide anything from you. You are… kind," he murmured.

Cass smiled and opened the coffee shop door, because otherwise he was gonna give Kushiel a hug, and he didn't know if the angel would welcome it. He wanted to ask about his apparent aversion to touch, but they were at the shop now and that conversation was best left for later.

They walked in, and Cass saw Paz and Trent sitting at a corner table, chatting and drinking their coffees. He waved at them, and Paz waved back cheerily, calling out good morning. Even though it wasn't terribly early, Trent sort of grunted. He must not have had enough coffee yet.

He bypassed the line and waved to Steph and Sam, who were both bustling about. Steph waved him to the back, indicating she didn't need his help. When they entered the back room, Kushiel placed a hand on his arm, stopping him short. His hand was warm and sent tingles running through Cass, but he made sure not to show any indication of surprise. He liked that Kushiel had reached out to him, and he didn't want to startle the angel

Cass looked at Kushiel, who was staring at him with concern. "That was a demon," Kushiel said. He was obviously talking about Paz.

"Yup. That's Paz—he's a possession demon, although I don't know if that's his title anymore. He and Trent are… matched up," Cass stated, not sure how much Kushiel knew of soulmates.

Kushiel's hand fell away and his face looked shocked.

"He's really a very nice demon," Cass assured Kushiel, not sure what had surprised the angel. He had the urge to comfort Kushiel, although he didn't know what had upset him.

"Yes. Yes, I'm sure he is. Most demons are pleasant, although they can cause trouble topside. If he is mated to the human, though, then he wouldn't cause any issues," Kushiel responded.

There was still something off about Kushiel's response, but Cass didn't know what it was. Before he could inquire further, Aunt Ro popped in.

"Well it's about time you got to work," she complained.

Cass sighed. "Kushiel, Aunt Ro is here. Hopefully with some information for us."

"Nothing of much use, I'm afraid," she replied. "No one has seen any ghosts like the lost soul, although everyone agrees that there is some level of disturbance on the astral plane.The further I went from Paradise Falls, the less the disturbance was felt, so they're probably around here somewhere. I cannot fathom where they are, though. They're so lost and confused that they'd just be wondering about," she grumbled.

Cass filled Kushiel in, and the angel looked thoughtful. "Can ghosts be… held? Or trapped?" he asked.

Aunt Ro gasped in outrage, but Cass sent her a look and cut her off before she could start ranting. "Calm down Aunt Ro. He isn't asking because he wants to trap any; he's asking because that would make the most sense for where the souls are. You're right that they would be wandering around lost and confused, unless someone had… stored them somewhere. That would explain the disturbance on the astral plane as well."

"Who would do such a horrible thing?" she gasped.

"I don't know who would do it," Cass answered her. "But Kushiel and I aim to find out, and we'll start looking for the ghosts as well. If the despair and pain I felt from one ghost was so obvious, I'd think we'll be able to feel many ghosts. Paradise Falls isn't huge, but there are plenty of forested areas and buildings in the vicinity to make it a pretty big area to search."

"If they can be trapped, perhaps their despair can also be contained," Kushiel ventured, and Cass nodded his head in response.

"Yes, that is possible, and that will only make things harder," Cass sighed. "Aunt Ro, if you could check on the ghost at my house I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, if you can try to narrow down a specific area for us to search, that would definitely be helpful."

She looked doubtful, but Aunt Ro gave him a nod before she disappeared.

"She's gone," Cass told Kushiel. "This does make our job harder. And in the meantime, I do have a shop to run," he grumbled.

"How may I be of assistance?" Kushiel asked.

Cass almost told him not to worry about it, but he looked at Kushiel, and he knew the angel wouldn't be able to sit and relax while Cass worked. Plus, having the help wouldn't be unwelcome.

"How are you with numbers?" Cass asked, and Kushiel's smile in response was answer enough. Perhaps getting payroll and scheduling done wouldn't be as awful as usual.