A Little Piece Of Heaven

“It’s that easy ?”
Raven watched a shimmer run across the room and up the walls, lighting the room and window in a blue light before fading away completely. She didn’t feel any different and only now noticed that the book in which she had signed her name had utterly vanished. She glanced up at Jimmy and gaped, seeing him really for the first time.
They were all so beautiful.
Jimmy took her hand and led Raven to the mirror so she could see just what becoming a reaper had done to her. They were fallen angels and she could do nothing but stare at her own pale skin, her hair a deeper blue black than before and every curve and plane of her face magnified into a beauty she never knew she possessed. For a moment she could do nothing but stare at herself, Dani’s blonde hair, Claire’s deep red and Stefanie’s startling blue eyes.
“But…but you didn’t look like this before.”
Jimmy stood beside her, appreciating the change.
“You couldn’t see us properly before. Now the mortals won’t see you as you truly are or at all depending on how you feel. That’s how we can walk in anywhere.”
“It’s worked?”
Lilith appeared beside her, her arm around Raven’s shoulder as she appraised the change and let herself feel the aura of power that the new reaper was giving off. This one would be powerful like her sisters and she wondered to which side Raven would turn.
“It really worked. You should go test it out.”
Raven had a moment of panic before realising that now Zacky and Jimmy were next to her. It was strange how she could feel different things when each of them came close. Claire’s voice echoed in her head, gently explaining that she would now be able to take in the aura of those like her and know when one was nearby. It was why the training would be vital.
Stefanie kissed Raven’s cheek, the waves of calm that she and Johnny used to put a friend at rase sweeping over the room and she found that she could breathe again, looking shyly around the room. Lilith and Syn were wrapped in each other, Claire and Dani encouraging her with smiles as Matt watched from the sidelines. He had known Jimmy would find the right woman and wondered how much input the witches had managed to conjure up.
“We will test it and start showing you how to move around.”
Zacky was still sizing up just how much power this one would have and could feel his blade singing to him. There was something special locked away nearby that he had found with Syn during a trip to South America and had kept, somehow knowing that the right person would come around to need it. He glanced at Jimmy and acknowledged Claire’s warning in his head not to overload Raven just yet.
“You and I right Jimmy ? First lesson ?”
Jimmy grinned and pulled Raven into his arms, always a little relieved when a new reaper was accepted and even more so in this case. Johnny had found a bottle of good whiskey and they toasted Raven and the prospect of the new trials to come before leaving the others to their fun. Raven followed Zacky and Jimmy out into the street and a new rush of experiences and emotion.
“It’s…loud.”
Thoughts and emotions seemed to rush into her head as people went past and it took her a minute for concentration to reduce it all down to a hum, unconsciously knowing that this was vital if she was going to make this work. The two men watched her closely, Zacky directing them through the narrow streets from their base and out into the more general nightlife of the capital. The lights were brighter, people milling and flocking about from restaurants and bars. Sights and smells seemed heightened but Raven realised that all these people were not seeing them, strolling around and past but never making eye contact. She clung a little tighter to Jimmy’s arm, taking everything in as Zacky led them down to a tiny warehouse squeezed into the beginning of the business district. He produced a key from a chain around his neck and unlocked it, allowing his friends inside before closing the door behind them.
“Seems Raven here woke something up in my favourite toy.”
They both stared quizzically after him as Zacky crossed the dusty floorboards to a small safe mounted into the wall. Jimmy could feel the energy shooting from the damn thing and looked a little concerned. He knew what was in there just from the twinned hum that shook in his head.
“Are you sure ?”
“Absolutely.”
Raven was puzzled by the exchange until the thing came into view, this second blade smaller and more ornate but clearly made by the same hands. Zacky handed it to her carefully and both men watched as she turned it over in her hands, the connection almost instant. Her eyes shone, somehow the final piece had slotted into place and she looked up at them.
“For me ?”
“It’s been waiting for you, the twin blade to mine but you will have to learn to use it carefully. Dani will show you how to control what it tells you. They were powerful weapons and beings in their own right and will backfire if you don’t learn to wield it.”
Zacky looked serious, her earlier fear of him had gone and Raven found that she trusted his judgement and needed to learn a whole new skill set. She carefully held the blade up to the light and studied it, soaking in the feel of it in her hand.
“It wants to kill, like the other one.”
“They were made to kill. Not everyone will deserve the kiss of this steel, they may not be worthy and it will tell you so. Trust it, listen to it.”
He smiled, Jimmy realising that Raven was already mastering the ancient magic by merely hearing his words. More proof that he had done the right thing. He picked up an axe, remembering wielding it on a battlefield somewhere in Spain a few years before and wondering just what other old friends were hidden here.
“Nice collection Zack.”
“Some of it we can use again. Just don’t tell Syn I have that old crossbow of his. We will be picking bolts out of Johnny for a week.”
Jimmy laughed, slinging the axe down and picking up his old revolver. He had kept it for years after winning it from Billy the Kid in a bet and now slipped it back into his pocket. They would need all the luck they could get. Raven followed him around the place, listening to the two men explain and reminisce about former battles.
“Can I kill with a kiss ? Like Lilith ? Can I actually die at all ?”
“A touch yes, you would have to ask Lilith to teach you how to kill with a kiss. You can only die again by black magic.”
Raven blinked, Jimmy’s words sinking in.
“I’m dead now ?”
“Officially yes, we lost about a week and a half so your mortal body is probably buried by now.”
Raven giggled, the ridiculous notion of visiting her own grave hitting her as she sat down on the sofa in the middle of the room. Jimmy sat next to her, Zacky lovingly cleaning a rifle as he smirked at her.
“You should see our graves, Syn insisted on being memorialised like the princess he is until Lilith insisted on a crypt. Me and Claire are there too. Matt and Johnny drew up their own design and moved them and the girls bodies there later.”
Her smile froze a little but she relaxed when Jimmy suggested they head back into the streets so that he could show her how to spot a soul that needed to be reaped. Zacky excused himself, wanting to get home to Claire and knowing that it would be a better thing for Jimmy to show his woman.
“The colours….”
Raven stared at the subtle shades that seemed to shimmer around people as they strolled, Jimmy’s arm tight around her waist. Some were brighter, others dark and some hardly there at all. Everyone had one, even the tiny babe in arms that a woman carried past them on the street. It was eerie and yet hauntingly fascinating. Jimmy let her take it all in, keeping his mind focussed on finding a suitable candidate.
“Auras. You will soon learn to differentiate between them. Claire can tune into minds too which helps if you are ever out with her and one of the other witches.”
“What about that one ?”
Raven pointed to a man wreathed in a dark swirling black aura that screamed out to him. Jimmy would have loved to go after that but it would take a strong mind and stomach, not suitable for a first time out. He would send Lilith and Syn after the man, a killer on the run that needed to die a violent and painful death such as he had inflicted on others.
“That’s evil, quite pure. You would be better to leave that to Syn if he’s around.”
They let the man move on and kept walking, the crowd thinning a little as the clock ticked towards midnight. Finally he spotted someone in a doorway and motioned to her to come to the side of the path and look at the old vagrant huddled on the floor. The man was smelly and wrapped in rags, his aura pale and ringed in silver.
“His name is Arthur. He’s riddled with cancer and in pain, can you feel it ?”
Raven concentrated and started to pick up a pain in her side and a feeling of exhaustion. Jimmy knew she could feel it and nodded, looking sadly down at the old man. He could see into his mind, how a once proud and successful man had fallen on hard times during the depression and never recovered. He was tired and needed that final rest.
“A quiet death.”
Jimmy knelt down and it was only now that the man saw him, his eyes at first frightened. The old guy had been mugged and abused many times and thought the tall man would hurt him until he saw the kind blue eyes and sweet smile, comfort radiating from Jimmy as he stared at the man. The old man realised in some way that this was a release and although he had no believe in heaven he was no longer scared.
“Is it time sir ?”
“It is Arthur, nothing to be worried about. You have been a good man, you will sleep deeply and well. Good deeds always count in the end.”
Arthur nodded, believing he was seeing an angel and closed his eyes. All it took was for Jimmy to touch his cheek and the old heart ceased to beat. Raven found she had tears on her cheeks, the aura sparking out as the man passed over into the next realm. After seeing the violence of how Lilith had accomplished the same task she started to understand the complexities and new choices that would have to be confronted.
They left the man in the doorway and headed back towards Jimmy’s house that they now shared. Although neither were tired or actually needed to sleep, both were mentally exhausted and now Raven needed time to deal with what a war situation might mean. The idea of training with Dani before going out with the other reapers appealed more than ever and as she settled into bed with Jimmy, his chest warm against her cheek, she still had one question.
“How do you reap an army ?”

Notes