Steal My Soul

One Week Later

I was lying on my bed gazing into the electric blue light that glowed from the center of the stone around my neck. I brushed my fingers across the lukewarm orb knowing that the blue of the stone that burned brightly was the borrowed soul Luc had given to me. I vaguely wondered how long the soul would hold up. Months? Years? Another matter of days? Thinking back on it, I guess I had never asked Luc what would happen to my soul once it was returned to my body. Would I still be the same person; would I feel the same as before? Or would things become different or darker? How would my life end up?

“Knock, knock,” Natalie’s voice rang out as she swung open the door to my bedroom. I sat up, leaning my back against the headboard as I turned to look at her.

“Oh, hey, I didn’t know you had returned home from classes,” I said tucking the pendant back underneath my shirt. The light shining from my ceiling reflected off the Mexican fire opal of my engagement ring. Natalie’s eyes shifted down to stare at the jewel.

The day after my run in with Michael and after receiving my new car, I went ahead and told her everything about the engagement. Even if she hadn’t wanted to hear the entire story, I also mentioned running into an archangel of God. Afterwards I recounted the fight Luc and I had had shortly before receiving my new ’67 Chevy Impala. When I had told her about the model of my car all she could do was sit and roll her eyes mumbling something about how spoiled I was for being soulless.

Once I had described to her everything that had happened I started wearing my engagement ring. That way, in case Luc ever saw me again, he would know I was not afraid to admit I was engaged to him; that I was not ashamed to call him my fiancé. If anything I was proud to be able to call myself the fiancée of such a wonderful, caring demon.

“So when are you going to tell your parents?” she asked jerking her chin in the direction of the ring.

“I don’t know. Soon,” I assured her as I twisted the object of our discussion around my finger nervously.

“You need to talk to him. Get him to understand that you don’t want anything he has to offer,” Natalie reminded me as she leaned a shoulder against the frame of the door.

“I know, I just…I wish I could pretend he wasn’t here and he’d just go away on his own,” I mumbled tucking my knees up under my chin.

“You’re not a opossum,” Natalie said with a roll of her eyes. “And whether you like it or not, he’s here to stay. Up until the moment you talk to him and let him know of your intentions which should be done sooner than later.”

“And I will talk to him…eventually.”

“I swear you put the ‘pro’ in procrastination,” she scoffed walking away from the doorframe to head in the direction of the kitchen. Most likely to fix herself something to eat.

I released a long, slow breath knowing Natalie, unfortunately, was right. I did need to talk to Michael about things sooner than later. So why not talk to him now while I had the time and the patience? Except I didn’t want to discuss anything here with Natalie around. She’d only poke her nose where it didn’t belong and probably end up screwing things up for me just because she knew it would piss me off.

So I’d definitely talk to him somewhere else. I knew the perfect place.

************************************************************************

I sat on the hood of the Impala as I waited for Michael to appear. I had chosen for us to meet at the drive-in site that was closed for the fall season. Whether it was closed or open, the place was known for being a make-out spot for couples. Although typically no one ever drove out here until later at night and considering it was almost three in the afternoon? I just can’t see any young couples coming out here to make-out in broad daylight.

“Absolutely beautiful,” Michael breathed as he suddenly appeared beside me. I jumped, startled at his sudden appearance. I eyed him carefully before gazing back out at the scene. It was your typical meadow that had rows of gravel across the land as makeshift driveways so you could easily drive to a parking spot in the grass. Surrounding us were tall trees that no doubt went on for miles so that no outside noise such as traffic would disturb the movie during the open season. A small building stood off to the left center of the meadow where you could buy concessions that were half the price of those in theatres. On either side of the building was an attached bathroom. I’m not sure where he saw the beauty, but to each his own I suppose.

“I guess,” I shrugged leaning back on my hands.

“I was talking about you,” he quietly admitted. I stamped down the blush that still crept its way into the center of my cheeks as I met the bright cerulean eyes of the archangel. It was then that I decided to cut straight to the point.

“Why do you want to save my soul so badly? What’s so special about it?” I inquired cocking my head to the side. His gaze shifted away from mine as he leaned a hip against the side of the hood. The archangel wore stonewashed jeans and a plain white t-shirt that stretched tight across his broad shoulders. He folded his arms across his chest causing the muscles in his biceps to bulge.

“I’m sure Luc has told you about how your soul called out to him for help and that is what made him choose you, yes?” Michael began glancing over at me from the corner of his eyes.

I slowly nodded attempting to remember back to the first conversation Luc and I had ever had over the subject back when we had been in the club. God that felt like so long ago, but in reality it had probably only been a couple months.

“Then surely you remember him telling you about how it was not his job to help you, but ours. He just got to you first before we could hear you silently crying out for help,” he mumbled begrudgingly.

“He also told me that I might be his chosen soul,” I happily reminded the archangel. Those deep blue eyes met mine.

“How do you know he is not lying to you? How can you be so sure he isn’t just keeping your soul so that I cannot take it and cleanse it of its sins?” he retorted quietly.

I opened my mouth to answer his questions when I realized…I couldn’t. There was no way for sure to know I was Luc’s chosen soul. It’s not like there was a test to see if it was a lie or not. I could only take the word of a demon that it was true. Yet if it weren’t true then why go through the act of meeting his parents and getting engaged? Was it all a ploy because he knew Michael would be coming for me and he couldn’t let the archangel win over him once more? He had said so himself last week that Michael had stolen souls back from him, so who was to say I wasn’t just another one of those souls? What if Luc had known from the start that Michael would appear to cleanse my soul of its sins and impurities?

“Leighra.” I turned my head at the sound of the soothing voice; I felt completely dazed from all the thoughts swirling around in my head.

Michael had moved around the vehicle to stand in front of me where I sat sitting on the edge of the hood. He had nudged his way between my legs to become closer to me so that he could gently cup my face in his hands. These were different from the hands I was used to. I had become accustomed to the slightly calloused hands that belonged to Luc. Hands that brought warmth to my entire being whenever they came into contact with my skin. Michael’s hands, however, were smooth and soft like he had never worked a day in his life. Those hands radiated a comforting warmth that surrounded my body like a thick blanket on a cold winter’s eve.

“Just accept the fact that everything Luc has told you up until this point has all just been a lie. He doesn’t care for you like he says he does, if he does at all. He can’t give you the things you need in life like I can. Just allow me to take your soul and cleanse it as your Guardian,” he softly persuaded.

“You’re my Guardian?”

Michael nodded. “I am. It’s my job to make sure nothing like this happens to you or your soul. Unfortunately I was much too late and for that I apologize. I didn’t hear you crying for help until you had already been ripped from my grasp. Allow me to help you now.”

“I-I don’t know,” I stuttered gently pushing him away from me. His hands dropped from my face to instead rest on the hood on either side of my legs.

“I can guarantee you a pathway to Heaven. Not only that, but beneath my chest lies a heart that beats for you and your very existence. I can give you the love your soul was crying out for,” Michael told me. He grasped my hand in his and placed it over his chest so that I could feel the subtle beating of his heart. I closed my eyes feeling that staccato rhythm beating healthily beneath his chest. A sound that had long left Luc. My eyes snapped open at the sudden realization at what he’d said.

“What do you mean my soul was crying out for love?” I softly asked meeting Michael’s gaze. “And that your heart beats for my existence?”

“For every person that lives on this planet exists a Guardian to guide them and protect them. Sometimes it can end up being a loved one that has long since perished from this world, but other times it can be an angel that was created specifically for that person. For centuries I have lived among my brethren and sisters watching as they fulfilled their duties as Guardians while I stood idly by running the errands of God, but never protecting over someone myself. Until the moment He created you. He told me that it would be my job to care for you, to protect you, love you. I was to become your Guardian.

“So I did just that as you grew up to become the beautiful, intelligent woman that sits before me now. Only I was too late to realize what it was that your soul was crying out for: love. While it was true that your soul needed to be cleansed of its sins and impurities, there was a louder cry coming from deep within. You were crying out for someone to love you and cherish you the way you deserved only you yourself didn’t know how desperately you were seeking out for that love. In your mind you were willing to settle with anyone who would be willing to give you that attention, but in reality you deserve so much better.”

“I did meet Luc at a speed dating event…” I quietly admitted feeling myself drown in those endless pools of cobalt.

“You don’t find that to be coincidence do you? That during the time your soul was yelling out the loudest, he found you? The one thing he himself lacks and the one thing you so greatly want to give is what he claims to connect you as his chosen soul. He only needs your soul because it overflows with the love he can’t ever feel. It’s that undying love you possess that he wants from you,” Michael insisted keeping my gaze locked with his.

“I can return the love you so frantically seek. I can give you anything you could ever imagine. All I need from you is one simple word.”

I couldn’t help but imagine what my life might be like if, instead of living eternally damned in Hell, I could reside among the soft clouds of heaven with the most powerful archangel by my side to love me for the rest of eternity. What would it be like to receive the love Luc had told me from the start he would never give? What if Michael was right about Luc? What if he only felt strongly connected with my soul because my soul was crying out to impart love upon anyone who was willing to receive it and cherish it?

Maybe that was the reason he felt like he needed me. Not because I was his possible chosen soul, but because I had the love he lacked. Michael was able to guarantee my safety; he could protect me from all harm the way Luc probably wasn’t able to. Who was to say that just because I was the wife of Satan, a demon wouldn’t attack me while I was alone? I’m not a born demon or an angel turned demon. I’m just a human. How could I survive amongst all those demons in Hell? Not only that, but Luc had vehemently assured me at the start of all of this he would never love me. So, what if because of that…he ended up bedding other women besides me? I wasn’t the kind of person to share something I considered mine. When he had proposed to me, he had asked for me to be his one and only bride. There had been nothing about the fact that he might not take any mistresses. What if all this time…he had been lying to me just so that I wouldn’t leave him and that’s why he had given me the car as I gift? I mean it was pretty convenient that he had given it to me on the exact same day Michael showed up. Had it just been his way of bribing me to continue being his fiancée?

My head swam with dizziness from all the thoughts that had never before crossed my mind until Michael had made point of them. I touched a hand to my temple as a headache began to pound between my eyes. What was becoming of me? Why was I becoming so doubtful of Luc all of a sudden? Why did Michael have to come into my life now when I had just started settling into the thought of becoming Lucifer’s wife? Why couldn’t things ever just be simple? WHY?

I pushed the archangel away from me and touched my feet to the ground as I slid off the hood of my car. I wrenched my gaze away from those numbing blue eyes to stare at the soft green of the grass.

“Thank you, Michael, for explaining all that to me, but I think I should be going,” I mumbled to him before quickly heading for the driver’s side door.

“Leighra wait!” he desperately called out reaching out to grab my hand. I paused in my steps to listen to what more he had to say, but I refused to look into his eyes.

“I know you are just going to go discuss all these things with him and find out if they are true or not, but we both know he’ll only lie to you. He’ll just tell you what you want to hear,” Michael informed me. I slipped my hand out of his and reached for the handle of the door.

“Then I guess I’ll just have to put my trust in him that he won’t,” I replied wrenching open the door.

“You honestly think he will come to love you? His heart forgot how to beat a long time ago, Leighra.”

Every time he opened his mouth to further say something against Luc, it only angered me more. Before, he had had a point and he’d had me locked into those mesmerizing, innocent blue gaze of his, but not any longer. I knew for a fact Luc was different from the way Michael was depicting him as. I had witnessed firsthand the kindness Luc could offer. He didn’t need a beating heart in order for me to know he cared for me.

“Then I’ll just have to teach him how to love again,” I snapped sliding behind the wheel of the Impala and slamming the door shut.

The engine roared to life as I switched on the ignition and tore out of the drive-in. By the time I looked back in my rear-view mirror, Michael was already gone.