Chapter 1
Selena watched a man pushing his way through the thickening crowd of new souls waiting for their turn to find employment. If they managed it, they could return to earth in some way. However, it wasn't as easy as the higher beings made it out to be. Those poor souls were in for a bad surprise. She'd been in their shoes, day after day for years, eagerly anticipating a chance to go back.
As days and years passed, her hope diminished. One day, she went to stand in line only to realize that even if she had a chance to return, none of her family would be alive. That's when she decided it was time to stop.
A shadow took up position to her right as she stood leaning against the far wall. She cast her gaze in its direction and met Zuriel's turquoise eyes.
He racked a hand through his blonde hair and huffed out a sigh. "That was stressing."
Selena straightened away from the wall, surprise making her speechless for a long minute. At last, she muttered, "What are you doing here?"
Zuriel never left his position. Never, not even in an emergency. He sat behind the counter until the last soul left. Only then, would he make his way out from behind it.
He was one of six higher beings who were in charge of assigning jobs to the souls. Selena never understood how it worked. The reason why some newcomers got jobs as soon as they arrived, while others like her who'd been in the afterlife for ages, always ended up sent back empty-handed.
She glanced to where Zuriel had sat a few minutes ago, to find Belian had taken his place. As though sensing her eyes on him, the other higher being raised his head. His eyes narrowed as they caught hers and his lips pressed together into a tight line. Even from across the room, his annoyance slammed into her, making her flinch. Whatever had caused Zuriel to leave his seat hadn't gone down well with his friend.
Her attention turned back to the celestial entity by her side. A small smile curved his lips as he gazed down at her from his towering height of six feet. All the higher beings were of the same height. A little less or a little more than six feet tall. However, during all the years she spent with them, she'd learned that their height was just for show. To make the poor mortal souls more at ease. Their real dimensions were far, far bigger than what anyone imagined. Once, she'd seen one of them change to his true form and wished she'd never seen such a terrifying sight again.
"I got you a job."
Zuriel's words stunned her. She opened her mouth. Closed it. Then opened it again and shook her head. "That ship has long sailed, Pal."
He frowned. "Ship? No, it's not a sailor's job."
Selena rolled her eyes. She tended to forget idioms were never understood in this realm.
"I meant I'm not interested anymore."
His frown deepened. "But you spent years looking for one."
She nodded. "True, but that was before all the people I knew died. Now I don't have a reason to return to earth anymore."
"You're happy doing nothing?" he asked in an incredulous voice.
Well, put that way, her answer was a big no. Time moved differently in this place. There was no morning or evening. The souls neither ate nor slept. All she did was walk around the place and talk to other souls while they poured their hearts out.
The place was huge and although she'd been here for years, she still hadn't finished exploring around. Doubted she'd ever would. However if she was being honest, as beautiful as the scenery around her was, she'd gotten bored of it a long time ago. All she did now was roam around, waiting until whoever commanded decided to reincarnate her.
"Let's hear it. What's this job? And where? America? Europe? Australia?"
After all the stories told to her by other souls about Europe, she wouldn't mind going there. In her short life, she never set foot out of her small town in Colorado. It would be nice to see another continent. Perhaps she'd be able to visit Switzerland. Someone had told her the scenery was very similar to the US state she grew up in.
Zuriel shook his head. "You won't be going to earth."
Her brows shot up. "Then where?"
A piece of paper materialized out of thin air. "Hell."
"Hell?" she shrieked. "What the heck would I be doing there?"
Hell, the place demons resided in, was very different from what she'd learned about in her life. The place wasn't one large, hot furnace where evil souls were tortured every single second of their eternity. No, hell was a vast mountainous region with two seasons. A blistering summer and a frigid winter. The evil souls who ended up there, paid their sins however the demons saw fit.
Once, she saw a woman dressed as a maid talking to one of the higher beings. When Selena asked why she was dressed like that, the higher being told her the woman was a maid in a demon's mansion. Seems the woman had been rich and famous when she was alive and was now punished for her sins by being a maid. Not a painful punishment, in Selena's opinion but the woman might not agree with her.
Also, the demons themselves couldn't look more different from what she'd learned. No thin red bodies or large twisted horns. No bat-like wings or thin long tails. And definitely, no pitchfork. Instead, half of them liked to wear dark leather pants and a leather vest. The other half went around their business in designer suits. A few of them did have horns. Small ones, which could easily be hidden beneath their hair.
The demons also looked as attractive as the higher beings. Souls often confused them. The new souls especially would swoon after a demon until they discovered their real identity. Afterward, they would give them a wide berth. Selena chuckled as she remembered the male soul following a demon around for months until she at last couldn't take it anymore. The demon just grabbed him by the neck and tossed him to the ground, before turning him to stone. A higher being found him a few days later and changed him back. The poor soul never looked at another woman again.
"So, you'll do it right?" Zuriel's words brought her back to the present.
All amusement left her face. "What's the job?"
His hand shot out and he shoved the paper in front of her face. Three words in bold letters were written in the middle.
Personal Assistant. Hell.
"Personal assistant? What's that?"
Zuriel shrugged as he let his arm fall by his side. "No idea. Whatever the demon needs, I'm guessing." His gaze caught hers, his expression serious. "I need to return to my post. What's your answer?"
What was her answer? No, of course. Who knew what kind of trouble she'd end in if she accepted.
However, somewhere deep down inside her, she wanted to go. Wanted to experience something different. She was bored of this life if one could call it that. She'd only been seventeen when she died and never truly lived. Here in the afterlife, or whatever this place was, she'd done nothing special. She wished she'd met her parents or siblings again. Or any of her other relatives. Just to have someone familiar to spend her existence with. For whatever reason, it never happened and she was mostly by herself.
Yes, she'd accept and see what the job entailed, until they finally called her back to start a new life somewhere. She had nothing to lose after all. If something happened, she'd quit and come back here.
"I'll do it."
"Great. Touch the paper."
He held out the paper again and she touched the tip of her index finger to it. Selena Harris appeared in black, below the other words. A look of relief washed over his face.
Selena frowned. "What's with the look?"
Zuriel's eyes widened. "What look?"
He rolled the paper into a scroll and it disappeared from his hands.
"Come on, spit it out."
He grimaced. "That's disgusting."
"You know what I mean. Tell me what you haven't yet told me," she hissed in annoyance.
"Oh, nothing much."
She crossed her arms and waited for him to spill whatever it was he'd hidden from her.
He sighed. "Nothing important, Selena. I just couldn't find anyone willing to do it. You know how everyone is when you mention the word demons."
She continued to glare at him.
"I swear. That's all there is."
Her gut told her he spoke the truth. Higher beings rarely lied. They preferred to twist the meaning of the words to suit their needs more.
"So, when do I start?" she said, changing the subject.
Zuriel's face broke into a wide smile. "Actually, I'm sending you there now."
"What?"
Before her mind could grasp what was happening, Zuriel touched her shoulder. A loud whooshing sound filled her ears. Startled, Selena closed her eyes and clapped her hands on her ears. Minutes passed. When nothing seemed to happen, she opened her eyes slowly and gasped at her surroundings.
