Possession

Chapter Thirty

"She's a Goddess," He remarked with a chuckle, shrugging his shoulders with a roll of his eyes, "Gatekeeper of Realms."

"I told her I never wanted to be in Limbo or to die. I wanted to come home. She suddenly had a gold cup with liquid and I was about to drink it...," I picked up another rock as we went to the next street, tapping it lightly with another stone, "but then I remembered what Jax had told me about his mother and the afterlife. I couldn't leave without asking about her or Mr. Lincoln's family. She showed me them on this snowglobe thing. They had their places of life. They were very happy and safe, living as if they hadn't even died but were immortal. She told me what they were wishing to tell Jax and Mr. Lincoln. Then she and the place disappeared and I woke up."

"When you choose death in the Limbo," Castian explained, rubbing the side of his arm uncomfortably, "You get the desire you want most. You get the life you consider to be perfect. At least if you're Pure. Those considered Impure is another story."

"What was your experience?" I asked, tilting my head toward him, "You seem to know from experience... Y-You don't have to answer if you're uncomfortable."

"I woke up in a metal room chained to the floor by my throat, shackled with magic to keep from breaking free," He rubbed his neck, muttering with a foul voice, "That woman was there, only she wore a black dress and red jewelry. Her wings were beautiful but the feathers singed like they were burning. The room was hot, like the outside of it was burning. She told me if I wanted to be given the proper death and not the one that was awaiting me, I needed to prove my case...fix my act."

"Is that what your scars are from?" I hesitated with a raised brow. I didn't motion to the self-harm, just the parts of his body that looked like burns or torture, "That room?"

"Purities that choose to live get the Gift of Healing, their bodies heal from all wounds from what caused them to enter the Limbo," Castian explained dryly, "Impurities who choose life wake up with the wounds they gained from being in the Limbo, it's a reminder to come back to the Limbo as a Purity. Each time an Impurity enters the Limbo, they leave with more wounds and end up in a worse room than the last. I've been in the Limbo six times."

"I think we might actually have to bait," I chuckled, changing the subject to settle him down. His fist was clenching and unclenching like he was ready to grow hostile and I didn't want to cross that line, "These rocks don't seem to do shit."

"Take that house, I'll take the one at the end of the street. We'll work our way to each other to find these bastards," Castian pointed at a house, a grateful tone for the topic change. I watched him jog away before entering the house, only to hear him scoff and joke through the earpiece, "Goddamn, my house is 'beautiful.' What do ya say? Wanna elope and have a honeymoon here? This place is stunning, even comes with the scent of rotting flesh to 'liven' up the place!"

"Hot damn," I chortled quietly, "Maybe buy my place and adopt? They could have a playground in the backyard while we fuck on these egg sacks. I bet they feel like a waterbed."

He let out a genuine laugh. I could tell he wasn't the best at this type of thing and was trying his best at making conversation. I related in a comforting way, it felt nice to have somebody like me. All my friends were easy to make friends with whereas I couldn't tell social cues and often misread the room... or got anxious and preferred being alone.

"I'm not the best at making conversations or friends, either," I whispered to him reassuringly after not hearing from him for a minute or two, "Mostly because of anxiety and fear."

"The last time I made friends...," He murmured, daring himself to say the words, "I got them killed... Hoping to not let it happen again."