Free Soul Crossed by Lisa Gail Green Page A

mildly interested. She’s picking the few bits of grass from under the tree and throwing them to the side.
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    She shrugs. “It depends on when you die, too. If Cam lives a long life and repents before he dies, he can still end up in Heaven.”
    “That’s not fair!” I’m on my feet now. My eyes hurt so bad I’m tempted to pluck them from their sockets.
    “Who said anything about fair?” She leaps to her feet like a cat and puts an arm around my waist. “But how’s he ever going to meet his destiny if he doesn’t commit ultimate sin?” She points to the mounds of freshly dug graves all around. I swallow.
    “You mean Cam really is…” I can’t say it. It’s insane. I’d convinced myself Lucifer had just been exaggerating before, trying to convince me how important the job was.
    “He’s the Antichrist,” she says, and she looks crazed with excitement. “Demons have been searching the Earth for millennia. I’m serious, Josh, I really think this is The One.” She’s looking at me like I ought to be jumping for joy when she’s just told me I’m bringing about the end of the world.
    “He’s a whack-job,” I say, finally. “Maybe a future serial-killer. But the Antichrist? I don’t think so.”
    “He must have known you wouldn’t have the guts,” she says.
    “Would you stop being so cryptic?”
    “Lucifer. He didn’t tell you because he didn’t know if you’d have the balls for this. No wonder he told me to baby-sit you, newbie. I’m here to make sure you fulfill your destiny and push him over the edge.”
    I remember with vivid detail writhing in agony on Cam’s bathroom floor and can’t imagine even Keira doing much worse. Still, I don’t intend to test her.
    “Actually, he did mention the possibility of the End Times. And I’m doing pretty well so far,” I tell her, indicating all the graves. She smiles in agreement.
    “Let’s celebrate!” she says, and I don’t think I have much of a choice. In any of it.

Chapter 24
Grace
    Ms. Alvarez is ecstatic that Mr. Griffith believes I can do it. It’s like our chat never even happened, and to show how much faith she has in me, she lets me go back at night—because I have a plan. I’m going to be at Cam’s house at three in the morning because that’s when his mother gets home from work.
    I’m six hours early, and I don’t intend to wait in the bushes. I’ve always been a night owl. I may have had good grades and been a teacher’s pet, but I still used to love to go out late at night with Emily and my other friends. Of course, for us, it was never about drugs or beer. It was all about hanging out together and dancing to our music.
    I want to dance tonight. I’m still high on confidence from Mr. Griffith, and I want to enjoy every minute of it, so I hop in my little Bug and head for the nearest place, according to my phone. I have no reason to fear the club scene, not when I’m an Angel.
    The bouncer sees me coming, but I cheat.
    “You want to let me by,” I whisper.
    The people waiting in line behind the ropes are upset. But when I turn and smile at them they relax, content to wait their turn. They look so happy, and I made them that way. This is just the fun I need. It’s time I enjoyed my powers for once.
    Inside, the music blares through the speakers, and I let the beat pulse through me, moving my body in time to the rhythm. I slide onto the dance floor and watch the specks of rainbow-colored light float across my arms and the faces all around me. I am free.
    I ignore the overwhelming scent of alcohol and sweat. Instead I will the room to smell like a garden, and the aroma of lavender and roses drifts through the club. No one seems to notice, but I see people smiling all around.
    A man comes to dance with me, and we move together to the song. He reaches for me and pulls me against him, holding me tight around the waist. My hands pulse with light, and I am about to repel him across the