7. Cassius

"Well that didn't work," Aunt Ro commented, hands on her hips, staring at the soul who had retreated back to the corner once Kushiel had disappeared. "I'm not sure why an angel is expected to help, anyway," she sniffed.

Aunt Ro was not a fan of angels or demons. Ghosts could see angels and demons, but they tended to steer clear of them. There was a general distrust of them that seemed to be built into ghosts. Angels and demons could not see ghosts, however, although they seemed unaware of that fact. It wasn't his job to fill them in on it, either.

Usually Cass didn't mind the separation, because there was no reason for interaction between ghosts and other afterlifers. Up until Gabriel's visit, he had very little to do with afterlife politics, although he knew quite a bit about angels, demons, and the afterlife in general from his family's teachings. Sure, demons and angels were always about, and they seemed drawn to him, even if they didn't know why, but Cass didn't share his abilities or get involved with their drama. Mostly, anyway.

Of course, things had been changing lately. Demons were tied to mortal souls, which had never occurred. He'd asked Aunt Ro about it, and he'd even summoned his great-grandfather to ask him about the threads he'd seen tying demons and mortal souls together, and even Grandpa had never heard of nor seen such a thing. So clearly the afterlife was shaking things up a bit.

Cass sighed, staring at the darkness that had slithered back to the corner. There was a ghost in his living room that he was pretty sure was one of Kushiel's lost souls, only Kushiel couldn't see it. Of course things couldn't be even remotely simple.

"Are you even listening to me, Cassius?" Aunt Ro grumped.

"Clearly he's helped already," Cass replied. "The doom and despair are no longer wafting through the house, so whatever he did fixed that at least. It eased the soul somewhat. I'm afraid you're going to have to put aside your prejudice for now, Aunt, because I'm supposed to help Kushiel, and these souls obviously belong to him somehow."

"It doesn't hurt that he's easy on the eyes. Just your type, I bet," Aunt Ro commented, causing him to blush again. He just rolled his eyes at his aunt in response. Leave it to her to both grump about an angel and try to set him up with the being in the same conversation.

He stared at the soul more closely. It looked… different? Maybe?

"Does it look the same to you?" Cass asked his aunt.

"You're just trying to change the subject," she murmured, but then she stared at the corner. "Hmm. Perhaps. It looks almost like it's a little more formed. I think I can see a bit of a human shape now. It was just a whirling mess before." Aunt Ro paused before she whispered, "It's so sad, Cassius. How could anyone do that to a ghost?"

"I don't think it was supposed to be a ghost. I think that's part of the problem. If Kushiel is right, then these souls were dragged out of hell and somehow forced into being ghosts," Kushiel answered.

"But… why?" Aunt Ro asked. "Why would someone want souls from hell here on Earth? It isn't like it's in any shape to influence others or cause problems."

At that moment Kushiel appeared back in his living room looking pale and drawn. Yes, his skin was gray, but it seemed to have lost a bit of its vibrance.

"That did not go as planned," he stated stiffly.

"No, we could see that. The soul is still here. It seems to look slightly better, though," Cass assured him.

"Perhaps it has unfinished business on Earth, and taking care of that will enable it to move on?" Aunt Ro suggested.

Cass hummed thoughtfully. "I don't think so," he answered. Kushiel was looking at him strangely, and he remembered that he'd need to be a ghost translator for now. "My aunt wondered if perhaps the soul has unfinished business here on Earth that it could take care of and thus let it move on, but I'm not sure how we would even communicate with it to find that out. It isn't coherent at all."

"No, most of the souls in Erebus have been there for many decades or even centuries. No one would be left on Earth that they knew. They have lost all sense of who they were in life, but they are still able to speak and communicate. They are truly like children who need guidance," Kushiel stated.

"Well that explains the lack of form and ability to communicate then," Cass reasoned.

Kushiel tilted his head. "How so?"

"Ghosts are here to finish unresolved business, or watch over loved ones, or simply because they aren't ready to leave the mortal realm. They are exactly who they were in life. If these souls have somehow lost the sense of who they were, then they wouldn't be able to take on a full ghostly form. They would be confused at best, and panicked and broken at worst. Still, I wouldn't expect them to be quite as fragmented as this one is," Cass mused.

"Ghosts?" Kushiel asked, startled.

"THIS!" Aunt Ro ground out. "This right here is why we don't like angels and demons. I swear, it's like we aren't even afterlifers. They just forget about our very existence, like ghosts aren't mortal souls too," she fumed.

"Well, to be fair, they can't see you, Aunt Ro," Cass reminded her.

Kushiel was looking about the room confusedly. "Are there ghosts here?" he asked.

"Not the sharpest crayon in the box, is he?" she grumped. She got right up in the angel's space then, poking him in the chest. "Keep up, gray boy. Your lost soul is a ghost." She looked at Cass then. "You told him I'm here. Who does he think you're talking to?"

Cass tried not to get frustrated. "Aunt Ro, maybe you could take the soul into the guest room, yeah? It seems to have a bit more form now, and you were able to guide it before," Cass asked. He and Kushiel needed to talk, and he didn't need the distraction of his aunt and a lost soul.

She humphed at him, but she walked over and gently reached out toward the darkness, and then the two of them were gone.

Cass breathed a sigh of relief and sank onto the couch. He motioned for Kushiel to sit as well, and the angel perched on the ottoman in front of Cass, looking at him. He looked a little more lively now, his skin still gray but not so washed out, and the lines had faded from around his mouth. Cass felt better for it. Apparently the trip to hell had taken a lot out of him, and Cass was relieved to see him looking better.

They stared at each other for a minute, and Cass supposed he'd have to go first. He also supposed his usual mode of not sharing any details wasn't going to work here. He did, after all, receive a divine message to help Kushiel.

Even if he hadn't gotten the message, he still would have helped. He trusted Kushiel. The angel was beautiful, and Cass didn't mean outwardly. (Well, not just outwardly. Who knew he'd have a thing for gray skin?) Kushiel shone inside, and Cass could see the goodness and the softness in him. He had the urge to wrap up Kushiel and protect him, which was sort of ridiculous. Cass was, after all, merely mortal, and Kushiel was an angel.

He'd also help him because there was something horribly wrong with what someone had done to that soul, and Kushiel was obviously trying to set things right, even if he didn't know how.

Well, that made two of them, because Cass had no idea what to do either. Hopefully they could muddle through together.

"Who did you think I was talking to?" Cass finally asked.

Kushiel actually blushed, which was kind of adorable. "Ugh, well, you seem to have visions or be an oracle, so…" he started, then he rubbed the back of his neck in an uncomfortable gesture. "I guess I thought perhaps it was a hallucination? Or a form of vision for you?"

Kushiel looked at him and actually seemed to shrink back a bit, as if waiting for Cass to mock him or kick him out.

Cass laughed instead. "Oh, Aunt Ro would have gone bonkers if she heard that. I'm so glad I sent her upstairs with your lost soul," he chuckled. "Most ghosts aren't overly fond of angels or demons."

"Your aunt is a ghost? And my lost soul is a ghost?" Kushiel asked, almost as if he was checking to be sure.

"Yes," Cass explained patiently.

"But I can't see them," Kushiel stated.

"Nope. Angels and demons cannot see ghosts," Cass answered. Poor Kushiel looked so utterly startled and unsure that Cass had the urge to pat his knee in reassurance.

"But of course we can," he countered.

"Really? Can you? When have you seen one, then?" Cass asked. And then he waited, watching Kushiel puzzle it out.

Cass didn't blame Kushiel. All angels and demons thought they could see ghosts, yet they never questioned why they never actually saw any ghosts. It was a weird paradox that Cass couldn't quite figure out.

"Well, I don't suppose… I'm not sure, actually," Kushiel admitted, looking at Cass in shock. "None of us can see them?"

"Nope," Cass answered again, letting it sink in.

"But… why not?" Kushiel asked.

"I have no idea, but that's the way it's always been. You all know there's an afterlife ghost department, but you all forget about it all the time. It's like a mental block for angels and demons. Honestly, it isn't really my problem. I can see ghosts, and my job is to help them if I can. Of course I'll help any afterlifer that needs assistance, but the ghosthood department is really my specialty." Cass shrugged in response, while Kushiel just sat there looking rather stunned.

"We can't see ghosts," he muttered.

"Nope," Cass confirmed yet again.

"So someone was really and truly trying to hide them from me. But why?" Kushiel asked, looking at Cass like he might have the answers.

"I don't know. But together we'll find out," Cass promised.