6. Kushiel

Of course it wasn't quite that easy. Cass needed to call someone in to watch the shop, and there was a bit of a wait. Cass occupied himself by tidying up and apparently getting the shop ready for the after work rush. Kushiel offered to help, but Cass shooed him over to sit down, and so Kushiel could only pass the time by watching the man bustle about.

He didn't quite know what to make of Cass. The mortal hadn't even flinched or widened his eyes when Kushiel revealed his true form. Cass had obviously seen angels before, since Gabriel had given him a message, but there were still usually questions when anyone saw Kushiel.

Most angels did not have gray skin, black hair, and black wings, after all. Kushiel knew he defied expectations.

But Cass hadn't seem surprised. Perhaps he was a seer who had seen a vision of Kushiel, which he supposed would explain things. It was only when Kushiel gave his title that he felt disappointment from the mortal, and then the questions followed. Still, Kushiel had the sense that it was more out of a sense of protection for souls than it was because of Kushiel's appearance.

He wasn't used to anyone caring about souls in hell; certainly most of those in heaven looked on his job with a level of disdain—they did not think souls in hell were capable or worthy of redemption. Most demons didn't care one way or the other, and they often didn't see the goodness in the souls in their care.

Cass was different, though. He seemed almost protective over souls he knew nothing about. It was puzzling.

A purple haired woman finally arrived, and Cass thanked her profusely, to which she simply rolled her eyes and winked at him before telling the two of them to be on their way. It occurred to Kushiel that perhaps she thought they were undertaking some sort of romantic liaison. Kushiel blushed as Cass ushered him out the shop door, which only made the woman laugh and caused Cass to smirk.

Cass grew serious as they walked, however, simply commenting that their destination wasn't far. Indeed, it wasn't, and when they arrived at a pretty and well-kept Victorian home, Cass opened the door and ushered Kushiel through it.

Once inside the foyer, Cass stopped to stare at Kushiel, almost as if expecting some type of response, but Kushiel had no idea what he was looking for. There was a hallway ahead with doorways leading off of it and stairs to the right, but Kushiel neither saw nor felt anything of note.

Cass started to walk down the hall and then paused abruptly, but Kushiel saw no reason for the pause. After a moment, Cass resumed walking, and they turned into a nicely decorated living room. The furniture looked older, but in a pleasant, lived-in sort of way, and pictures decorated a fireplace and the walls.

Cass was staring at Kushiel expectantly again, but Kushiel had no idea why. He looked around again, but he saw nothing.

"Fuck," Cass mumbled. "I forgot about that."

Kushiel had no idea what he had forgotten about, but clearly Kushiel was missing something. "What is it?" he asked, looking at Cass.

It was like his voice was some type of trigger, because Cass's eyes widened, and then Kushiel felt something familiar twine around his legs. He bent down, placing his hands upon the ground.

He knew this feeling. He knew the weight and guilt and pain of every soul in his care. Every single one. And here was one his lost ones, somehow in this man's home, unseen but felt.

"Lost one, is that you?" he asked, but there was no answer, only a sort of pressing feeling, like the soul was getting closer to him.

"It is you, isn't it. Oh, little one, I have found you. I had thought you lost, but I have found you," he murmured, and he felt tears spring to his eyes. Here was one of the many that he was searching for.

He stood, and he felt the soul stay with him, like it was wrapped around him for comfort. He placed his hand where he felt like it had settled, gently petting the air where he felt sure the soul resided.

"I am here, lost one," he murmured. He did not know if it could hear or understand him, but he could not help offering comfort. The soul felt disjointed and broken, and no wonder. It had been torn from its home, even if that home had been one in hell. Still, souls in Erebus were left to an existence of quiet contemplation and actions of absolution. They were delicate things. They were not meant for topside. They were like children, babies even, and it was Kushiel's job to nurse them to a path that would lead to redemption.

Instead, someone had stolen them, broken them, and put them here.

It was an abomination.

"Did you do this?" Kushiel growled, looking at Cass.

"Me? What the fuck? How would I do that? Of course I didn't do that," Cass said, and his outrage calmed Kushiel. He looked to his side then for a moment, and then he looked back at Kushiel.

"Are there more here?" Kushiel asked hopefully.

"No. Just this one. I don't know where the other ones are. Have you seen any more?" Cass asked, but he wasn't looking at Kushiel when he asked that question, and before Kushiel had time to respond, Cass looked back and said, "Only the one so far. I don't know where the rest that you're looking for are."

"Can you see it?" Kushiel asked, a question he probably should have asked sooner.

"Yes, I can see it." Cass shuddered then. "And I could feel it—such overwhelming pain and despair. It isn't meant to be here. Although it's… muted, now that you're here. The sense of dread and doom isn't permeating the house anymore."

"No, it isn't meant to be here, and I have no notion of how it came to be here, or how all the souls who could find redemption came to be taken from their home. I am glad if this soul's pain is less now, though. Perhaps my presence is some comfort," Kushiel said. He turned his attention to the soul he felt then. "Little one, I will take you home."

Kushiel looked back at Cass, who was once again turned to look to his side. He blushed, but then he focused back on Kushiel. "So you can just take it back? Then I guess I'm supposed to help you find the rest of them?"

Cass looked to the side again and nodded his head, adding, "Yes, and probably figure out who fucked around with afterlife souls to begin with. That's an issue that will need to be dealt with."

"Who are you talking to?" Kushiel finally asked. He looked where Cass kept looking, but there was nothing there. The man obviously knew things, and he didn't discount the help that Cass could offer him, but he wondered if perhaps there was some type of split personality disorder or hallucinations or something beyond his knowledge going on here. It wasn't unheard of for seers to have visions manifest as hallucinations, and Kushiel wondered if perhaps that was the case. Maybe he shouldn't have drawn attention to the fact that he couldn't see whoever Cass was talking to, but it was too late to worry about that now.

Cass just sighed, though, not seeming at all upset at Kushiel's question or his inability to see whoever he was talking to. "It's my aunt," he replied, as if somehow that explained everything.

Kushiel nodded his head. Ok then. Hallucinations, obviously. At any rate, this hallucination seemed only helpful, so Kushiel wouldn't question Cass about it.

"I'll be back, and we can figure out a plan. Let me take this one home," Kushiel stated.

At Cass's nod, he folded his wings around himself, making sure to leave space where he felt the soul, and he transported to Erebus.

The burning was immediate and sharp, and he grunted a bit at the sudden onslaught. He usually never transported this far into hell—it was always a shock to his system—but he didn't think taking the scenic route through Limbo would be good for the lost soul, so he would deal with the pain.

He took a moment, deeply breathing, until the fire in his bones receded to the level he was used to. His skin felt too hot and tight, but it was discomfort now and not the pain of his arrival.

He also realized, quite belatedly, that the soul was not with him.

He blamed the pain for distracting him, because he should have realized it immediately. It wasn't just that he couldn't see the soul, because he hadn't been able to see it topside, either. He couldn't feel it anymore, either. The weight of it was no longer wrapped around him. He was alone once again on Erebus, the mountain still empty.

Fuck.