Soul Searcher Book 1

I have been referred to as a Dark Angel, but I am not one of the Fallen Ones... I’m sure my parents had quite a laugh when naming me Rimmon because it is the name of an actual Fallen Angel who became a demon. I am an oddity just the same though for I am a Halfling. My mother Dracaena is a demon, and my father Lucian is an angel. In my youth I bounced back and forth between Heaven and Hell, that is until I turned eighteen. On my 18th birthday I was cast out of Heaven and banned from entering Hell. I am an anomaly and viewed as unfit to dwell in either realm.

For the last three years I have struggled to make a living on earth and have just recently conceded to Samael, a.k.a., The Grim Reaper and have taken on a job for him. For some strange reason he no longer wants to be the Angel of Death but rather a human! Samael has found a way to achieve this goal too. If he were to find a ‘Pure Soul’ and convince the human soul to willingly give him their soul, he can absorb/consume the spirit, transform and become a human himself, moon knows why...

In accepting this task, Samael has bestowed upon me the title Soul Searcher...

~~

I laugh, “you’re a jackass dude! Why in the world would you want to be one of those retched entities Samael?” I scoff, “a human, blah.” I cringe at the thought of mingling with them, and a shiver runs over my body.

Samael turns iced blue eyes on me. “Seriously, I’m just tired of being the Angel of Death, man. I want something different; I need a change. An eternity of death is not all it’s cracked up to be, man.” He runs a hand through his chin length raven black hair and shrugs before propping his feet upon the coffee table which I had centered perfectly to balance the view of my furniture in my living room.

“You’re mental bro, but whatever. If you’re going to pay me to search for something that will be impossible to find, I’m all yours!” I swat my hands against the sides of Samael’s big black military style boots to get him to remove his shoes from off the now dirty glass.

Samael gives a toothy grin which doesn’t seem befitting his pale ivory complexion and then chuckles to himself as he looks up from his phone, “alright Rim, I’ve just sent you the funds. When will you start looking for the ‘Pure Soul’?”

“Well, uh, do you have any idea where I should even begin to start searching for this magical being of yours?” I look at Samael skeptically, not really expecting him to give me a definitive answer.

To my surprise, Samael does though! “Yeah, a witch suggested to start in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.”

I raise my eyebrows in shock, “that’s a bit precise... isn’t?”

Samael shrugs, “meh, I’ve known the witch for a century or so. I’ve learned not to question, just to accept her words as true. I mean, why do you think I’ve allowed her to live so long? She hasn’t steered me wrong nor crossed me yet...” Samael trails off as though that is explanation enough.

Hitting the tops of my thighs with my open palms, my stoned washed jeans absorbing the sound as I do so, I stand up, “Ok-a-y then,” I draw out the ‘A’. “I guess I will go pack and head out first thing in the morning.”

With a nod of his head, Samael stands up too, causing his long black trench coat to make a swooshing sound. If I were an outsider looking at Samael, I would undoubtedly assume he was a vampire as his looming 6’7 height, pale skin, raven black, chin-length wavy hair, and being dressed in all black from head to toe screams the ‘undead’ but I mean, he is death… “Cool,” I hear him say. “Thanks friend.” Placing his hand in mine, we quickly shake and then bump fists. “And if you need anything don’t hesitate, give me a ring. I got you!”

“Right, got it dude. I’ll be in contact with you as soon as I find this soul of yours.” I walk with Samael to the front door. After he leaves, I shut the door behind him before leaning against the grey painted wood as I allow a sigh to escape my lips. Moon in the sky, what have I got myself into? Running a hand down my face, feeling the day-old stubble rub against my open palm like sandpaper, I shake my head causing strands of my shaggy white-blond hair to fall into my eyes. With another sigh I push myself away from the white painted door and padding across the beige carpeted floor, walk into my bedroom in search of a duffle bag to pack what little clothing I own for this crazy ass trip down south.

Cassie lets a moan fall from her lips as she sluggishly rolls herself out of her king-size bed, the telltale signs of an atrocious migraine pinging against the sides of her temple, (that she wasn’t quite sure if it was due to the aftereffects of the car crash she had been in two years prior that had left her in a coma for nearly a month leaving her to suffer from amnesia for the last two years or because she knowingly drank way too damned much the night before). She hadn’t meant to stay out so late after work last night nor had she meant to consume the insanely large amount of alcohol that she did, but the band that had played at the bar she worked for had been so entertaining that after the show, Jason, the boss locked the doors, the few employees and the band members hung out and partied until almost 4 o’clock in the morning.

Reaching her hand out to the nightstand, she grabs a black hair-tie and pulls her long raven-black hair back into a messy bun. Pushing herself off her bed, she groans and then makes a mad dash to the bathroom. Praying to the porcelain gods to end her torture, she slowly gets up off her knees. Once she is confident that she isn’t going to throw up anymore, she turns the knob to start the shower. The effort to strip off her clothes is nearly too much to bear, and she is highly tempted to not shower and just crawl back into the comforts of her bed.

Ugh, why do I do this to myself, she thought. Maybe I should find a new job... The thought was fleeting because she knew she would never leave the Star-Sky venue. Why would I even think of doing that when I get to watch concerts for free and the boss lets me live in the apartment above for cheap. Shutting the water off, Cassie steps out of the shower and quickly pulls a towel from off a hook, wrapping it around her body.

Banging can suddenly be heard from her apartment door. Flinging the bathroom door open, Cassie shouts out, “just a minute! Just got out of the shower, let me throw some clothes on.”

“Well hurry up,” Ginny shouts from the other side. “I need to talk to you asap!”

Wiggling into some skinny jeans, Cassie pulls an over-sized, light-blue tee-shirt from out of a dresser drawer and quickly throws it over her head as she heads to her door to open it. “Hey Gin. What’s going on? Why do you look so cheerful at nine in the morning?”

Ginny pushes past Cassie barging into her one-bedroom apartment and makes her way over to Cassie’s extra-large, foe-suede, grey couch, her strawberry-blonde ringlets bouncing along her shoulders and back as she flops not so lady-like onto it. “Do you remember that band from last night? What am I talking about, of course you remember them! Anyway, they have asked me to go out on tour with them as their merch chick, can you believe that?”

“Wait, what? For real?” Cassie asks excitedly as she comes to stand in front of Ginny before reality hits her, “but what about your job? Aren’t you supposed to work tonight? Who’s going to cover your shifts while you’re gone?” Ginny turns her puppy dog brown eyes up to Cassie’s sapphire blue eyes pleadingly.

“Um, well...”

“No! You want me to take your shifts? You can’t find anyone else to cover? How long will you be gone?” Cassie looks at her friend and crosses her arms over her chest with a slightly angry expression upon her face as she waits for Ginny to reply.

“Just two weeks. Please. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Please Cassie. I’ll owe you big time. I’ll never ask you for any favors again if you do this for me.”

“Yeah, yeah. You already knew I was going to say yes or else you wouldn’t have asked me. However, I’m holding you to your word. No more favors Ginny, got it!” Cassie wags her index finger at Ginny. Hearing Cassie say yes, she jumps up from the couch squealing with glee.

Wrapping her arms around Cassie, Ginny pulls her close in a tight hug as she gushes thank you. Stepping back, she says, “I’ll swing by the club before I leave and say goodbye to you, okay?” With a roll of her eyes and a nod of her head, Cassie smiles at Ginny before she skips out of Cassie’s apartment, leaving Cassie shaking her head with a smile on her face.