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“I’ll let Victoria take that question,” Camille says, motioning to me to go on.
“There needs to be reform. The way reaping works right now doesn’t make sense. Souls who deserve pardon are taken directly to Hell, without their full story being known.”
“Not all who are condemned are truly bad,” Lucifer chimes in. “We’ve all spent enough time on Earth to know that there are forces pressed upon humans that bend them to do things outside of their norms. It’s not right to automatically condemn every soul.”
“How could we manage that?” River asks. “There’s nothing that can be done quickly enough. With souls wandering Earth and not being placed immediately, that puts humans at risk.”
“I have some ideas,” I jump in. My excitement can’t be contained.
I’ve pored over this for the past month, trying to determine a solution. While there is work to be done with it, I do believe I’m on the right path.
“Purgatory needs an overhaul. Its current use is pointless and ill-managed.”
River and Zeke share skeptical glances, but I ignore them.
“Right now, those who don’t choose to go to the light end up in purgatory and lose their minds. This turns into a poltergeist situation, because there’s no one there to guide them. Those souls who run from Heaven ultimately go insane.”
“Yes, but those are not condemned souls,” Leeanna says. “They’re simply wanderers.”
“Correct, and they’re few and far between. Purgatory is too big a place for those souls. It allows too much room, and thus time, for them to go mad. There’s plenty of room for the condemned too.”
“How will that not result in the lost souls being corrupted?” Zeke asks dubiously.
“Come now, Zeke. You and I both know that Purgatory is a vast land. With the proper organization, surely, the two groups can be kept separate,” Luke says.
“We need to fortify the barriers and get the lost souls to Heaven by educating them on what’s to happen,” I cut in. “They’re scared. That’s why they’re running from the light. There’s no explanation. We need counselors of sorts, something like what humans have. Beings to help guide those spirits, as opposed to letting them wander and cause problems.”
“That explains reforms of the current use of Purgatory, but what of the condemned?” Michael asks, seemingly interested.
“The souls who are condemned should be placed in Purgatory while an assessment of their past is carried out to determine whether they are truly worthy of redemption.”
“That’s all well and good, but that would be a large operation. We don’t have the manpower to do something like that,” Michael drones.
“I believe I can help with that.” Luke comes to stand next to me, joining our hands together in solidarity. “I spent centuries here getting to know my subjects. Only the truly vile are tortured. The rest of them, like Azazel, live freely in Hell. I believe they would be on board with serving a sentence in Purgatory, doing the leg work of determining whether the new souls should be condemned or given access to Heaven.”
“What’s in it for them?” Zeke butts in, arms crossing over his chest.
“I wasn’t finished, Ezekiel,” Luke groans. “In exchange, after a certain period of time served, they should be given access to Heaven.”
More murmuring, as they all deliberate. No one outright refuses, which is a good sign.
“How could we ensure there’s not a coup?” Lee asks haughtily.
“What exactly are you implying?” Azazel—my grandfather—grinds his teeth in anger.
I’ve gotten to know him a little over the past month, and I think he’s an amazing ally to Luke. He has Hell’s and Earth’s best interests at heart, which is rare from a high demon, even one who hasn’t truly earned his place in the underworld.
“How do we know that the demons here won’t use the opportunity to turn all the souls to Hell’s cause?” She doesn’t so much as flinch at the glare that Azazel rains down on her.
“Hell’s cause?”
“Enough,” I yell, garnering all of their attention. I soften my tone before addressing Leeanna. We’ve made big strides in rekindling what we once had, and I don’t want to argue with her now. But I need her cooperation. It’s important. “This isn’t helping, Lee. God himself saved Lucifer. Would he have done that if he truly thought him unworthy?”
Lee nods, considering my point, but doesn’t say another word. She doesn’t do it for Luke’s benefit, but her own. It wouldn’t be a good idea to question God’s choices, and she knows it. A part of me believes she remains quiet for me too. We’re both trying.
“I volunteer to lead the experiment in Purgatory,” Zeke says, raising his hand.
I offer a sad smile, because it can’t be him. “No, Zeke. You’re needed on Earth.”
