This is an ongoing story. If it’s your first time reading the novel I suggest you start from Episode 1. If this episode is not where you last left off, then please check the Table of contents of all episodes released so far and find the last episode you read, and continue from there.

Kingdom of the Red Rose
(Episode 9 of 62)
Chapter Four: Suspended Until Further Notice
(Part 1 of 3)

The team of Angels and Seraphim had reached the Barren Stretch, a rocky desert that expanded between the back gate of Heaven and Purgatory. They came to a halt and an Angel approached Griffin. He motioned Griffin to hand over the Seraph he was holding. Griffin looked back puzzled and confused. The Angel replied by pointing down to the ground. Griffin saw all the souls collected from the train wreck. In front of the cage stood Archangels Gabriel and Michael, and across from them stood the biggest crowd in the history of Grim Reapers.

All the Grim Reapers had been called in and assembled at Barren Stretch. Ten teams stood in formation of ten long and ten wide, one hovering above the other. Next to them were four more groups of Grim Reapers, in the exact same formation. Griffin did the math and quickly realized he was witnessing a historic moment. For the first time ever, all five thousand and one Grim Reapers, including himself, were gathered in a single location.

The team of Angels and Seraphim continued their course, disappearing into Heaven. Griffin descended to the cage and added Nathaniel’s soul. As he closed the door everyone erupted into cheers and whistles, yelling random flatteries about Griffin. He turned and took a bow in humour, and the cheering grew louder, filled with laughter this time.

“Good work,” Archangel Gabriel moved next to Griffin, “Go stand by Archangel Michael and wait for me to join you.”

Michael motioned everyone to quiet down and Gabriel addressed them all in a clear and loud voice. “Grim Reapers, you have successfully gathered all the souls from that train, and as you already know, thanks to Griffin, we have even recovered one that was stolen and taken into Hell. However, this means that the real work, the hard work, starts now. We called you in today, some of you from your vacations, because all of us will have to work overtime until we can bring things back to a normal rhythm. As a result of the incident with the stolen soul you will all be placed in teams for your own safety until further notice.

“The Council has assured me that you will all be compensated accordingly, but first we must take care of this mess. Due to the large number of souls that will need an escort, we will temporarily rearrange your duties. The Earth teams will have to pull up to sixteen-hour shifts, but you will have to push through and keep performing at your personal best. We will even recruit some Angels to help you in gathering souls, but that will still not be enough, so we are counting on all of you to be at the top of your game. The Council has already passed down your new orders. Please check your scrolls, divide into your assigned teams and proceed accordingly.”

Controlled chaos arose as the Grim Reapers broke off into smaller groups. The newly formed teams either faded out of the Barren Stretch and into Earth or picked up souls from the cage and set a course for Hell or Heaven accordingly. In a matter of minutes, the Barren Stretch emptied and only the howl of the warm air echoed, constantly battering the rocky land.

Griffin pulled out his scroll and noticed it was empty, and since no other Grim Reaper stayed behind, he deduced he was the only one without orders. He turned and stared at Archangel Michael.

“The Council wants to speak to you,” Michael replied to Griffin’s stare.

“About what?”

“About what happened with Nathaniel’s soul and Lucifer,” Gabriel said as he took flight and motioned Griffin to follow him.

“What about you?” Griffin asked Michael since he didn’t take off with them.

“I was ordered to stay back and look over the Grim Reapers’ operations for now. I can’t join you for the meeting, but I will see you later at the feast.”

“What feast?” 

“Despite the truckload of work we have, the Council managed to squeeze in a late party for all who took part in the train mission.”

“Hey, are you coming or not?” Archangel Gabriel shouted as he kept ascending into the sky. “You shouldn’t keep the Council waiting.” 

“Go, we can talk more at the party tonight,” Michael faded out of Barren Stretch.

No description can do justice to Heaven’s beauty. It is split into three equal parts, the training grounds, the Garden of Eden, and the city, which are built around an enormous mountain filled with an array of trees and plants. As far as everyone knows, God’s throne sits at the top of the mountain, brightly lit by Seraphim; the only source of light this world has. No other soul lives on the mountain in the centre of Heaven. The only exception to that rule is Haron, the teacher of all Grim Reapers.

The city’s buildings are large, with elaborate designs, the dome design being the most dominant, and made mostly of marble with gold and silver embedded in the structures. The rest of Heaven’s colours are reflected off the plethora of colourful glass on all the buildings, and from the array of plants decorating all the mosaic roads.

Griffin followed Gabriel as they crossed the training grounds and into the city for the meeting with the Council of Twelve. They arrived at an enormous white building where only Griffin was allowed to enter. He was escorted down a long corridor, deep within a huge structure that seemed to defy the rest of Heaven’s design. It looked to be a rather large, square building entirely made from white marble; no other colours could be seen. He was taken in front of two massive doors that were just as plain as the rest of the building and was asked to sit down and wait to be summoned. The only light within the building came from the gentle glow of blue mana lamps placed on the walls like torches.

“Great, I rush to get here only to be told to wait in this depressing corridor. Would it kill them to put some colour on these walls? Oh no, look at my robe, and my bones, great, just wonderful, an official meeting with the Council of Twelve and I look like a beggar living on the streets.” Griffin took a whiff of his robe. “Uh, disgusting. It reeks of Demon blood. Can it possibly get any worse?” he immediately jerked his head up to the ceiling and said out loud, “And no! I don’t mean show me how things can get any worse. It was not meant as a challenge. I don’t need a reminder that things can always get worse.”

“You know if you keep doing that others will think there’s something wrong with you,” Emma said.

Griffin grabbed the scythe and held it in front of him, gently spinning the handle on the marble floor. The blade narrowly passed over his head as he was hunched down on the bench and it hissed as he turned it faster and faster.

“Everyone already thinks that Emma, especially after what happened today. They might have cheered me on but in reality they were all wondering what is wrong with me. To disobey direct orders is just unheard of for all of them.”

“And you feel the need to remove all doubt from their mind? You want them to be sure there’s something wrong with you?”

“They’ll never be sure, Emma. They’ll never be sure because I’m not sure.”

“Well, we do know there’s something different about you. Something that makes you unique. Without it you wouldn’t have jumped after that Demon and saved Nathaniel. Had it been any other Grim Reaper out there, we would’ve lost a soul today, a soul meant for Heaven.”

“I know, but for now if you don’t mind Emma, I’ll just lie here. I haven’t been given any mana yet and I’m exhausted. I’ll just rest my head here for a minute and try to recover some. Maybe I can gather enough to rearrange my appearance before the meeting. Make sure you wake me up if anyone comes looking for me,” Griffin lay flat on his back on the white marble bench and placed the scythe on his chest.

“As long as you don’t drop me then I am sure I can vibrate hard enough to wake you.”

Because Griffin has no eyelids to close when he sleeps, his eyes roll back into his skull. And just as an extra precaution he hides his head under his black hood, blocking out any source of light. Sleeping for any Grim Reaper or Angel has no purpose other than recovering mana. If they could be supplied with mana endlessly then they would not need to sleep. They would be able to replenish their reserves and go on. But since mana is precious and should never be squandered, when they have time to recover on their own, they all sleep just as humans do.

And with sleep come dreams and nightmares, sensory triggers that fall through the cracks and escape the decoding process of the brain. Imagery the eye missed, assumptions and conclusions the mind ignored, emotions that overwhelmed the heart, a chance for the subconscious world to surface. An unfiltered world with access to information beyond that of our conscious understanding. This is what Griffin experienced when he fell asleep on that bench.

The story continues in:
Kingdom of the Red Rose
(Episode 10 of 62)
Chapter Four: Suspended Until Further Notice
(Part 2 of 3)