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 11 of 62)
Chapter Four: Suspended Until Further Notice
(Part 3 of 3)

Griffin let his legs fall to the side and grabbed onto the bench to stand up when he noticed his scythe under the bench.

“What are you doing down there?” he pulled Emma towards him.

“You dropped me,” Emma complained.

“I’m sorry. It was a very vivid dream.”

“Bet it was,” Valentina added.

“Sorry about that. I hope I didn’t scare or hurt you too much Valentina,” Griffin said as he stood up.

“If that head of yours was filled with anything then maybe it would have felt worse,” Valentina replied with a smile, “As for scaring me, I believe it is evident by your skilful half back flip that you were more scared than I was.”

“Yeah, I guess I was,” Griffin chuckled. “I see you still work here for the Council.”

“Yeah, I prefer it here to be honest,” she looked at Griffin as if she were trying to tell him something.

Griffin immediately knew there was something about her he should have noticed and hadn’t yet, “You look different,” he spluttered, trying to figure out what was different.

“Good different or bad?” Valentina turned sideways and touched her hair, as if she were modelling for Griffin.

“Good, good, definitely good,” Griffin replied, desperately searching for what had changed.

“I knew you would like it. I just hope everyone else at the party likes it too.”

“You look gorgeous … with … that … I am sure they will,” Griffin tried to sound as convincing as possible.

“Thanks, but unfortunately there is no time for flattery, the Council is waiting for you and I have a party I need to get to.”

“Isn’t the party tonight?”

“It’s twenty past ten silly, the party has already started.”

“Twenty past ten? How long have I been asleep?”

“Enough to have replenished a good amount of mana which I suggest you use to get rid of that smell and restore your appearance to proper form,” Emma stepped in.

“Yes mom,” Griffin replied before turning to Valentina. “Thanks for waking me up. I’ll be fine by myself from now on. It’s bad enough I’ll probably miss the party, you shouldn’t miss it too.”

“I’m sure you will finish with plenty of time to spare. See you there,” Valentina waved as she rushed down the corridor.

Griffin transformed his appearance, repairing all the scratches, fixing his robe, and getting rid of that nauseating smell before he stood in front of the huge marble doors, patiently waiting to be invited in. The doors slowly opened, dragging on the marble floor, but they only opened enough for Griffin to squeeze through them sideways. Beyond the doors Griffin could see nothing other than darkness.

“Hello?” Griffin’s voice disappeared without echoing.

The doors closed with a very loud bang despite the slow speed at which they closed. Griffin stood in absolute darkness. He was a little surprised as he never imagined the Council’s chamber to have been this dark. A white beam of light appeared in the distance, shining from high above onto a small circle on the ground. As soon as Griffin stepped into the circle the whole room magically came into view. He found himself standing on what appeared to be crystal clear glass. Below him expanded a majestic view of millions of galaxies; a picture that seemed to have no end, and the longer he stared into it more objects came into view. Griffin realized he was not looking at a stationary picture. It was hard to tell but, just like the clouds in the sky, the objects he was looking at were moving. He looked up towards the light, placing a hand in front of his eyes, expecting to be blinded by the bright light. To his surprise he could see clearly, and above him expanded a very similar image of millions of galaxies, stars, and many other objects he couldn’t name.

“Welcome Griffin,” a female voice pulled Griffin from the mesmerizing view back into the room.

Griffin looked around and realized he could not see the edge of the room. What he could see was twelve white marble statues encircling him, one for each member of the Council. The statues depicted both men and women equally, who shared a wide range of characteristics between them, and each one sat in a uniquely designed chair.

“Hello,” Griffin finally replied as he studied the twelve statues.

“Have you been informed of the reason why we summoned you here today?” a male voice said.

Twelve souls appeared at the chest of each statue.

“You wanted to talk to me regarding my encounter with Lucifer today. And what happened with the soul I collected.”

The souls moved closer to the floor and Griffin quickly realized these were no ordinary souls. They were ten times larger than a normal soul.

“Yes, but first we would like to witness what happened ourselves if you don’t mind,” a third, female voice replied.

“Yes of course,” Griffin responded and pulled out his scythe.

The scythe started glowing yellow, “Searching for corresponding memories. Data found. Duplicating information. Copy complete, waiting for upload,” it turned orange.

The twelve souls had by now moved closer and surrounded Griffin. They looked like bright stars against the pitch black of space. That was when Griffin noticed another strange characteristic about these twelve souls. A normal soul is surrounded with a mist of all colours imaginable, but these twelve only had four colours: blue, white, silver and gold. They all hovered at Griffin’s chest height and expanded four pointy edges, forming a cross. They kept expanding until their horizontal edges linked with the soul next to them.

As soon as the circle was complete Griffin’s scythe started vibrating, “Clearance received, uploading data.”

Within a few seconds Griffin relived everything that had occurred earlier that day, all the way to his weird dream before walking into the Council’s chamber. As soon as it finished the twelve souls detached and moved back to the statues they came from.

“This supports my claims,” a female voice said.

Griffin didn’t know who was talking. He never learned the names of the Council members, and as far as he could tell nobody knew Their names. Everyone just called them the Council of Twelve. Griffin knew that one of them was responsible for all Grim Reapers, because all the official messages he received were always signed by the same member of the Council, Grim Operations Director. But he could not tell who that was.

“I am afraid it does. I must second her opinion,” a male voice replied.

 “Do you not worry about his reactions?” another interrupted.

“As far as we know he has no idea,” a third male voice replied.

“You believe that, even after what we have witnessed?” a female voice stepped in.

“Memories cannot be erased, and a soul is not easy to tamper with. Only God has such power and in God’s infinite wisdom it was decided not to change procedures,” yet another female voice replied.

“Procedures? We changed procedures the moment we introduced him to our world as a permanent solution,” a male voice interjected.

The Council of Twelve continued their discussion, ignoring Griffin’s presence.

“We are not here to discuss past decisions. We have gathered here today to decide upon a course of action after the recent events.”

“There is nothing to decide. No matter the circumstances, the complications, and the uniqueness, we must once again act as we did in the past.”

“If our past has demonstrated anything, it is that we should not rush to this decision. This matter needs further deliberation.”

“We do not have the luxury of time.”

“Then why not create more time? There is a way. We must tread carefully here.”

“I believe she’s right. We need more time.”

“Then we all agree on this temporary course of action?”

A short silence followed before they all replied together like a well-practiced choir. “It is agreed then. Grim Reaper Griffin, you are suspended from all duty until further notice, effective immediately. You are to be confined within the walls of Heaven otherwise your safety cannot be guaranteed.”

“What?” Griffin kept turning around, looking at all the Council members' statues. “What are you talking about? I managed to rescue a stolen soul, one meant for Heaven, and this is the reward I get? I become the first Grim Reaper in all of time and history to be suspended? And confined in Heaven?”

“Griffin,” a female member of the Council spoke, “We are grateful to you for bringing back that soul. Had it not been for you, we would have lost that soul for sure. However, it is now open season for your soul. Lucifer has a personal vendetta against you and there is nothing we can do to guarantee your safety if you leave Heaven’s walls.”

“You have a habit of being the first in many things, Griffin. You should not be surprised by this,” a male member of the Council added.

“So, I’m a prisoner in Heaven.”

“No, you are not a prisoner Griffin. The choice is yours. You can exit if you wish, but we cannot protect you beyond the walls of Heaven. And if you leave, we cannot accept you back. We will not start a war with Hell. This is exactly what Lucifer would want. We have worked hard for countless millennia to avoid a second war with Hell.”

“Also, do not forget that this arrangement is not permanent Griffin. It’s only temporary to give us more time to deliberate the situation we are presented with.”

Griffin was angry, but he knew there wasn’t much he could do. Deep down he knew the Council was right. It wasn’t safe for him to go outside Heaven. But he wanted the Council to know that he was not happy with this decision. Without any notice he stepped out of the light and started heading towards the door. As soon as he stepped out of the light, he realized he could no longer see anything. He was once again standing in absolute darkness. He walked towards what he believed was the exit until he hit a wall. After about two minutes he turned around and, with his head bowed down, walked back into the light.

“Could you please open the door so I can leave?”

No one replied, but Griffin heard the giant doors as they dragged open. He stepped out of the light and this time he could see a small opening at the end of the room. He exited the room and found himself standing in the depressingly white corridor once again.

“That must have been the worst storming out I have ever seen,” Emma said.

“It was, wasn’t it?” Griffin chuckled.

“Pathetic,” Emma replied.

“Thanks Emma. You’re a good weapon, always honest with me.”

“I try. How about we join the feast? We could really use some mana.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Please remind me that I need to talk to Archangel Michael when the feast is over.”

“As you wish,” Emma replied, and Griffin flew towards the Garden of Eden.

The story continues in:
Kingdom of the Red Rose
(Episode 12 of 62)
Chapter Five: A Need to Disobey
(Part 1 of 3)

Click that LIKE button if you've enjoyed this episode and show your support. It really helps me spread the word about my novel and reach more readers.

All comments, feedback, general feelings, notes, or anything else relating to the work are more than welcome. All I ask is that you try and avoid spoilers, so we don’t ruin the story for any future readers.

If you don't want to wait for the next update then you can purchase a digital version of the entire story. The novel is available for sale on Kindle, Apple Books, and the Copper Mouflon online store (visit my website by clicking the logo below) where you can find and buy a digital version of the book.