Twenty-Seven
Xin
It had been two weeks since I delivered Kevin's letter to Gabriel, and he'd written back to his brother, which I'd also delivered to Reece to hand over to Kevin.
All my things were now in Gabriel's apartment, our apartment, and I hadn't returned to mine since then after ending the lease.
I'd also managed to find an internship for Gabriel, then made sure he had all the right paperwork, though he got the job with his own merit. It was a paid internship, though of course the salary was nowhere near what he had made working for AmazeAI, not that he cared.
It was his first day today, and after I'd spent an hour watching him in incognito mode, I'd decided to patrol around town, something I'd neglected in the last few weeks.
The human world was messy, noisy, and full of chaos. People ignored each other, preferring to talk through screens even as they walked down the streets in a crowd. Violence was still most humans' preferred mode of resolving issues even after hundreds of years of knowing better.
Yet there were things about the human world that made it worth saving. People like Gabriel, for example. Good people who deserved better than what they got. People who helped others even when they themselves needed help.
Something caught my attention, and I paused, glancing up at the skyscraper I'd stopped in front of. It was similar to the building Gabriel had worked in, with a few less floors. There was something up there...
Deciding to check, I teleported into the tenth floor, finding people hurrying every which way with files, tablets, and Bluetooth earpieces.
The wrongness I'd sensed was higher still, so I jumped another ten floors, then to the top floor, discovering that was where it originated.
Like most office buildings, the top floor belonged to the big boss, and I strolled down the hallway, peering into the rooms I passed.
A crash at the end of the hallway had me teleporting over, and I appeared right on top of a puddle of coffee and broken china, not that it could touch my incorporeal form.
"You call that coffee? Fix it!" A man in his late thirties scowled at a young woman, probably his assistant.
At first, I'd thought it was just a dark human since the signal—so to speak—had been so weak. A human who would end up in the Burning Chasm the moment he died. But now that I was looking at him, I realized that wasn't right. That soul did not belong in that body.
Eshim and the others had encountered this before, when they'd captured the dark soul named Stuart, who'd possessed a human. But while he'd left that human's soul intact, this dark soul had ripped the poor human's soul out of his body to take his place.
While even dark souls couldn't see me in this form unless I wanted them to, I couldn't risk alerting this soul, so I quickly teleported a safe distance away and made myself corporeal so I could get some backup.
Me: Anyone free to help me capture a dark soul?
Lazlo: Kenji and I will be there in a sec.
Then I sent a short update to Gabriel, telling him not to worry and that I'd see him soon. I was sure he'd still worry, but I wouldn't have felt right keeping it from him.
I'd just hit send when the air beside me stirred and the duo appeared.
Lazlo's short hair looked windswept, a tight t-shirt clinging to his thick muscles, while Kenji wore a cardigan and smart dress pants.
In human terms, they looked like a jock and a nerd respectively, though their personalities might very well be the opposite.
"So where are they?" Lazlo asked, rubbing his palms together, blue eyes bright with eagerness.
"Follow me."
They grabbed my arms, and I teleported us back to the top floor, leading them to the office I'd found the dark soul in as I flicked the fire alarm with a wave of my hand, not wanting to risk a human getting caught in the middle.
The assistant he'd screamed at earlier was still there, and I glanced at Kenji. "Get her and anyone on this floor out of here."
He nodded and got to work while Lazlo and I continued to the room, making ourselves visible as we went.
The dark soul glanced up in the middle of grabbing his laptop bag, his brows furrowing.
"Who the fuck are you?"
Our interrogation of Stuart had told us two of the three other souls simply wanted to live a human life again, and maybe if that had been true, this guy could've escaped our notice.
But dark souls were greedy, empathy-less bastards, and they would always end up in places like these, amassing power and abusing those less powerful.
"Who the fuck are you?" he demanded, reaching for the phone as if he was going to call security. Huh. He couldn't see what we were. He must've really settled into that body.
"Huh," Lazlo said, glancing over at me. "He doesn't recognize us."
The dark soul's eyes narrowed, but I wasn't in the mood to fight. I'd promised Gabriel I would come back to him, and that meant taking as few risks as possible.
Since the human he was possessing was already dead, saving this body wasn't a priority. That would make things easier.
With a snap of my fingers, thick rope coiled around the man from head to toe, wisps of white fire clinging to it. It was a 'containment weapon' the warlocks in Otherworld had designed, and it used the purifying fire of the Burning Chasm to keep the dark soul in check.
The man screamed as he tried to get out, but there was no escape for him. I moved my fingers, sliding one of the coils of the rope over his mouth so it acted like a gag and muted his voice a bit.
"Can you call Maximus?" I asked, my eyes still on the dark soul, not wanting him to find a way to get out of the binds.
"Sure thing."
Lazlo called Maximus, and he was there within minutes with a few soul collectors from his team, who quickly grabbed the dark soul and took him away, leaving just the three of us in the room.
Maximus was the very image of a knight, back straight, brown hair cut short, his dark eyes sharp and assessing everything around him all the time. Even though the rulers of Otherworld had summoned us for this job, Maximus was the person we reported to.
Kenji joined us at that moment, giving me a nod. Glad everyone was safe, I turned back to Maximus. He hadn't checked in since letting us know the grimoire Pythor and I had discovered hadn't revealed much.
"Any new intel from the spellbook?" I asked anyway, but Maximus shook his head.
"All we know is that the spells are dangerous and involve the manipulation of dark energy. Whatever Mammon is up to, it's nothing good."
"Fuck." I'd really wanted it all to be a misunderstanding, for Mammon to have decided to 'escape' to stop the dark souls from the inside, but it seemed like a pipe dream now. Mammon was very clearly involved, and I hated it.
"We're bound to get some new information from this soul, though. I'll let everyone know as soon as we have something," Maximus said, and I nodded. "Good work, you three. That was a clean capture."
When Maximus left, Lazlo turned to me with a raised brow.
"He's right about that. You took out all the fun.
" He cracked his knuckles for show, and I rolled my eyes, knowing his bravado was all for show.
Not that he would've run from a fight, but Lazlo was not a violent person.
Neither was I. Out of the three of us, Kenji was most likely to win in an actual fight.
Or to start one, which was why I'd sent him away.
"I promised Gabriel I'd be careful," I said as I pulled up my mate's text chain, finding more than a few texts waiting from him.
"Aww, you're such a sap," Lazlo said, but I barely paid him any mind as I read Gabriel's messages.
Gabriel: Please be careful.
Gabriel: These kids are adorable. Their voices, though...
Gabriel: I'm trying not to worry, but it's hard.
Gabriel: Text me as soon as you're free.
Gabriel: Please.
"I'll see you guys later," I said, and Lazlo chuckled as I hurried away. Teleporting to the roof of the building next door, I sat down at the edge, legs dangling over it as I called Gabriel.
"Xin," he answered, air whooshing out of him with my name, as if he'd been holding his breath.
"I'm okay," I said, and he exhaled again.
"You're okay."
"I'm okay. We captured a dark soul, and he's now being interrogated. I'm on my way home. Do you want me to come to pick you up, so to speak?" Gabriel had driven there, but I could teleport there and join him on the drive home.
"I'd like that. We could grab some late lunch to celebrate my first day and your capture."
"That would be lovely," I said just as someone called his name.
"I have to go. I'll see you later?"
"I'll be there. I love you."
"Love you too. Bye."
For a few minutes, I just sat there and watched the world go by as I breathed air I didn't need. One more soul down, two to go. And Mammon.
Gabriel
"Bye, Mr. Lawson!" Cindi said, waving her hand rapidly, and I waved back.
"Bye, Cindi."
The little girl grinned before walking away with her mom, leaving me with a smile on my face. Teaching the kids had been everything I'd hoped for and more.
Their main teacher and my advisor, Miss Maggie, reminded me of Miss Lily. She was in her early forties, and loved her job in a way very few teachers did in my experience. I wanted to be just like her.
"So, how was your first day?" she asked as she sidled up to me, and I grinned, which made her laugh. "That good, huh?"
"I loved it."
"Today was a good day. Just remember not all days will be like this," she cautioned, and I nodded, knowing she was right.
"Sometimes the kids have a bad day, and they take it out on us.
Or they're sick, and we have to clean up after them.
Or we have a bad day, and we have to work hard not to take it out on them. "
"I know it won't always be like today," I agreed, glancing out the window and watching the kids walk to the gate hand in hand with their parents. "But I'm ready for it. I think."
"Yes, I believe you are," she said with a soft smile, then tapped the desk in front of me. "Off you go now. It's the end of class for you too."
I laughed, but did as she said, gathering up my stuff and making my way out of the music room.
It was a small, private school, but perfect for my internship because of Miss Maggie. She was exactly the kind of teacher I needed to learn this the right way.
When I reached the gates, Xin straightened up from where they'd been leaning against my car, a wide grin spreading across their face as I approached.
I hugged them as soon as I was close enough, breathing in their familiar scent as my heart finally settled.
Even after they'd texted to let me know the danger had passed and they were okay, a part of me had still been worried.
I'd checked the looking glass they'd given me more than once, and it still hadn't been enough.
"Congratulations on your first day," Xin murmured, and I hummed, soaking in his heat for one more moment before pulling back.
"Congrats on capturing a dark soul," I replied, making them chuckle. "Now, I believe I was promised a late lunch."
"Shall I drive?"
"You know how to drive?"
"How hard could it be?" they asked, and I wasn't sure if they were joking or serious. I did not give them my keys.