Unnatural Souls by Linda Foster Read Free Book Online Page A

nothing, and I would take
any help I could get.
    I nodded.
    “ Good choice.”
    Now the moment of truth: finding out
what I’d just signed up for.
    “ So what do you need help
with?” I asked quietly. “What do I have to do for you to teach me
how to use my powers?”
    “ Grace, there’s a war
brewing between Heaven and Hell,” he said. “Each side has been
building their armies since the fall of Adrian, the king of Hell.
He’s going to try to overthrow Heaven. The terms are simple: any
human soul that goes in either direction tips the scales in favor
of either Heaven or Hell. Too many in one direction and the other
side could be easily overpowered. And recently, the scales have
been tipping in their favor. We don’t know how they’ve collected so
many more souls, but we know that the repercussions could be
extremely serious. Should Hell win this war between our nation and
theirs … it would be very bad.
    “ I’ve been charged with
finding a solution. Adrian’s demons seem to be working overtime,
and we’re losing souls fast. There’s no telling when Adrian plans
to launch his attack, but if he were to do it soon, when we are at
such a serious disadvantage, we could lose, and Adrian could take
our home. We have to turn the scales in our favor—as soon as
possible.”
    He paused and glanced at me, and I
abruptly realized that my mouth was hanging open. I snapped it
shut, overwhelmed by what he was telling me. And I still didn’t
understand. Say I believed all of this, about angels and demons and
Heaven and Hell and a war coming down—what could I possibly do to
help him with a war between Heaven and Hell? I couldn’t even
control a craznado.
    “ What does this have to do
with me?” I asked, feeling like I was missing something.
    “ We must find a way to
recover our losses. And I’ve come up with a new plan to gain an
advantage.” He paused, as if he was either very proud of this idea
or just waiting for me to catch on to what he was saying. Then, in
a booming voice that told me he was giving me the mission
statement: “I’ve decided to rehabilitate lost souls.”
    I stared at him, even more confused
than I had been before. “Am I a lost soul?” I asked. Was that what
he meant? Was I the first project for him? I had no idea what
exactly a lost soul was, or how he expected to rehabilitate them,
but he’d said I was stuck on Earth. Maybe I needed rehabilitating
to get back into Heaven? To be saved and help him with this crazy
war thing?
    He laughed earnestly, but shook his
head. “In a sense, but not like the ones I’m hoping to save. I’m
trying to get demons to earn their way back into
Heaven.”
    “ Are you insane?” I
laughed. Oh goodness, I didn’t mean to, but it came out and I felt
bad. Come on, though. This was like watching some evangelist on
TV—only cheesier. “You want to put demons back in Heaven? Monsters
like the one who—only minutes ago—tried to gut me from head to toe?
How is that a viable plan on any level?”
    “ My brothers and sisters
had that same reaction,” he told me with a small smile. It had pain
behind it, though, and I doubted a being like him showed emotions
often. He was too intense for that. Suddenly I was sad for him, and
it made me want to help him. Human instinct to help someone in
pain, maybe.
    “ Desperate times call for
desperate measures,” he continued. “I know mistakes have been made
by the demons—things for which they were removed from Heaven in the
first place. But I have faith in a select group. I have faith that
they can make amends for their sins, that they deserve a chance to
earn redemption. If other demons know it can be done, then those
who are worthy could follow as well. There are many who are not
happy with their situations. Many who long for Heaven. And the
amount of change that even one demon might make could mean winning
the war. It’s a move that could tip the scales back in our
favor—and deliver a devastating blow to