Free Angelic Avenger by Kaye Chambers

they like you to blend in with the scenery. It wasn’t a bad thing that I usually got to keep the clothes, but this time, it wasn’t a bonus. I stepped into the light and sighed as the world shifted around me.
    I spilled out in an alley somewhere colder than I liked it. That wasn’t saying much considering Georgia winters were considered cold in my book. It didn’t take but a blink to realize why I’d been dropped off.
    In the mouth of the alley was a pair of teenage bodies, gunshots had riddled their chests. My guess was that it was a drive-by shooting based on the position of the bodies. They were young, though, dressed as if they were trying to be tough. Their souls were gone, so they weren’t my problem. The girl beyond them was. I could see her soul huddled between two trashcans, staring at her body, the red stain still spreading across her white oxford skirt. She kept smoothing the skirt of her school uniform down in a frantic gesture. I hesitated by the body to pull the skirt down to cover her. It had flown up when she’d fallen. She raised her eyes up to mine and the shock in them told me that she had missed her ride. They do that, sometimes, when death comes swift and violent.
    People who expect to die always catch the light to their respective fates. Those that don’t see the fatal shot coming sometimes don’t realize they’re supposed to step into the light. Innocent bystanders are by far the most delicate type of removal. Sometimes, it’s easier for me to kill a rogue than to face the trauma of someone whose life has been snatched from them.
    “Hey,” I whispered as I knelt in front of her, “did you see the light, sweetie?”
    “They were yelling. They came running into the alley and yelling at me to get out of the way. I didn’t know…”
    “Hey, everything’s okay.” I smiled as I held out my hand and shifted my body to block the view of hers. “It’s over. Let’s get you out of here.”
    She didn’t put her hand in mine so I gently reached across the space and took it, anyway. She slipped inside me with a shimmering dissolution of her spiritual form as the light flashed next to me. I know the first cop on the scene saw me when he skipped to a halt with an exclamation as the light closed around me. Unlike my angel superiors, I was cursed to corporeal form all the time. I doubted the guy wanted to be in front of the district shrink, so he wouldn’t talk.
    Zachiel was waiting on us in the judgment chamber when we flashed in. We didn’t exchange our normal banter as he held out his hand. I put my hand in his and felt him draw the soul out of me as gently as he could. It left me feeling cold and empty inside when he squeezed my hand, walking away to fade into the background, not bothering with his attempt at normalcy with a door. Neither Peter nor Lucifer stood at their benches. It wasn’t a case of judgment as much as the fact I was just the taxi for Zachiel. In delicate situations, he liked to request me because he knew I’d be gentle with the removal. He had a good heart, but he also did the one thing he was notorious for with me.
    He forgot to send me home.
    For him, his concern was getting the traumatized soul into the loving care of his angels to prepare her for rebirth. Priorities were priorities, after all. If I were the standard Grim Reaper type, I’d be living on this plane, anyway. I didn’t worry about it, though. He’d send down some special gift to apologize when he remembered he’d left me stranded. He always did. Last time, it had been a huge box of Godiva truffles. Being forgotten by Zachiel was better than being remembered by anyone else. I sighed and looked around. After a moment of weighing the chances of getting a fast ride home by yelling for someone, I decided to have a seat and wait it out. Someone was bound to find me, eventually, and I needed the time to think.
    There were other chambers scattered about and I had no doubt Peter and Lucifer were hard at work