Death & the Banshee

Part 2

It has been about two weeks since Phoenix offered Compass a job. A week of police asking her the same question and receiving the same answers. It is possible that the police find her story to be insane, it is also possible that they believe her to be crazy.

She remained lying down twirling the onyx feather in between her index finger and their thumb. She watched as it twirled back and forth as if it was dancing in her fingers. With a lighter in her right hand, she contemplated whether or not to burn the dark feather. Compass knew that once it was burned he would show up.

His offer replayed in her head and she wanted to say yes, but this was the Angel of Death. Once you make a deal with him, can you back out? With enough courage she lit the lighter and hovered the feather over the flame.

"I didn't think you'd light it." Phoenix said startling her.

Compass gasped as she felt his hand touch the fingers that held his dark feather. She quickly smothered the flame and sat up on her bed. He was sitting on the corner at the edge of her full size bed. She retreated towards her grey headboard in order to keep a safe distance.

"You don't have to be scared. I won't hurt you, well I won't kill you." He calmly spoke.

That gave her no reassurance what so ever. She lifted the feather in between them as a peace offering. He stared at her curiously as well as wishing what was going on in her cute little head. Phoenix has been alive for many years now and has never met someone like her. With or without powers she intrigued him like no other.

"This belongs to you." She murmured as he took the feather from her.

"So, do you have an answer for me?" He asked when he noticed the change in topic.

Compass remained quiet and as still as she possibly could stay. She wanted space and the answers to her questions. No one seemed to have them, well no one besides Phoenix. She found it were to call him by two names. At times it felt normal to call him Phoenix, but in other situations she referred to him as Death. She couldn't make up her mind on what to call him. Throughout all her thinking and questioning of herself, he sat there watching her. He noticed how her jaw muscles would move while she thought.

"If and I do mean if, I accept your offer. What do I call you?" She finally spoke.

He was taken back by the question. She has always called him Phoenix. It was an odd thing to ask, but seeing as he has revealed his true identity, he should have seen this question on her mind.

"Well you can keep calling me Phoenix if you want to. But when I'm in action you can't call me that. No one knows my real name anymore. Only my partner knows it and I'd like to keep it that way."

"So if I decline your offer, what happens with the information I know?"

"I would make you forget it. Compass no one can know my real name, it causes too many problems and it can be dangerous."

Her eyes widened at this new information. He would take away any memory of him or even relating to him. She read an article similar to what he was describing. The person from the article was said to have holes and missing time from his memories. It essentially drove the man mad to the point where he hand to be housed in a sanitorium. This made her think back to the question that bugged her all day yesterday, could she leave once she said yes?

"What if one day I were to let's say, want out of the deal after I had already said yes?" She threw the question out there to see what could happen.

"Compass this would be a binding contract. I'm talking about soul binding." He answered with the straightest face.

"You throw things out of proportion you know that right?" She spoke as calmly as she could.

She felt as if it was worth a try to even ask the question. She needed to try. She sat there on her bed not knowing what to feel or say. All she could do was stare at her fingers. She felt as though she wasn't even there, like she was watching from the outside.

"You clearly aren't sure of this." Phoenix acknowledged and nodded to himself.

She remained quiet and that was surprisingly annoying to him. He needed an answer and he wanted it tonight. He could tell something wasn't right and it seemed to take a toll on her.

"Compass, I'm not giving you anymore time. Clearly you aren't ready for this line of work. I'll make sure you won't have to worry about remembering anything about who I am." He informed her as he stood up.

He took three long steps and was now in front of her. He didn't want to erase her mind of him, but he had to. It would be too dangerous for her to know or remember him. His long fingers snaked around her dark brown curls as the tips of his fingers came in contact with her warm skin. She inhaled a quick breath as he held onto her face. She was staring Death in the face and wasn't fazed. She was perfect for the job, no fear, no regrets, or second thoughts. He knew she wasn't scared to die. No, she was curious.

"Wait." She breathed.

Phoenix stopped every movement as she reached for his wrists. He was frozen in time and savored the moment. He was going to make a decision that could change so much, but it all depended on what she was going to say. He was going to either have a banshee at his side or he was going to have to steal her memories and continue his search for a guide. He watched as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Once she opened her pecan brown eyes, she searched his face one last time.

"I'll do it. I'll take the deal." She stated with determination in her eyes.

Phoenix had a smirk on his devilish lips. He slowly lowered his hands from her face. He stepped back giving her space which caused her to release his wrists and place her hands in her lap. Phoenix shoved his hands into the front pockets of his dark jeans to keep the warmth from her face a little longer.

"Now about this soul binding contract of yours." She inquired from where she sat.

"You do realize you're pretty much signing your soul away right?"

"I don't think there is much of it left anyways. I just want to help."

Phoenix got his wish, he has a banshee on his side. He took his hands out of his pockets and held up the feather. With the tip facing his left palm he wrote her name in elegant cursive.

"Now all you have to do is write my name on your palm and the contract is set." He explained to her as he handed her the black feather.

Compass did as she was told and wrote 'Phoenix' on the palm of her left hand. It burned her skin, but as soon as the pain came it vanished. Her skin was perfect as if it was never burned. She looked up at him and there was an expression she didn't understand.

"The deal has been made princess. We're partners now which means you'll be seeing a lot of me. I will come to you when it is time to collect a soul." He informed her and when she looked towards him again he was gone.

Compass had made a deal with the devil, one that she couldn't go back on. She twirled the feather in her fingers once more before she placed it back in her journal. All she had to do now was wait for the angel of Death to call her up and find him a soul to take. She laid back down and rested her head on the mountain of pillows. She didn't bother to cover herself with a blanket. The double doors of her balcony were open and she just stared out into the night. A wave of numbness came over her, one she always welcomed right before her nightmares returned. 

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Hope you all enjoyed, next part coming soon. Vote, comment, share; it's up to you.
-Jenn