Soul exchange

Twenty five ~ Are you gonna tell me what the hell that was about?

Three years later.

"Is that everything?" Selene asked, dragging another cardboard box into the kitchen.

Nyx grunted her confirmation and started unpacking the cutlery and dishware. "We really need to learn how to say no to peoples hand- me-down homewares. This is getting ridiculous."

Selene snickered as she pulled out her grandmother's china tea set. "In case we have guests."

Their new residence was just on the outskirts of town, still close enough to the city comforts but far enough away to have fresh air. The cottage was quaint, with three tidy bedrooms, two bathrooms and a small yard with an apple tree in the centre. The tree was sparse and covered in moss, but Nyx was sure it would fruit when summer finally rolled along.

"We don't even have any friends, Selene. It was hard enough finding another tenant for this damned place."

"Speak of the devil, and she shall appear," a voice trilled from the doorway.

Nyx and Selene secretly rolled their eyes at Medea, who stood with a small bag in hand.

"Will you help us, please? The kitchen won't organise itself," Selene said, placing some knives in the top drawer.

"Of course! I thought I'd do the bathroom first to give you ladies some space, is all." Medea's coy smile left Nyx with a strange feeling in her abdomen.

Her soul was pretty standard, so she wasn't a demon or an angel, but something was weird about her. The light of her soul flashed above her head like a small beacon, as did everyone's after her 'incident'.

"We're good now, Medea. You could do the food if you want," Nyx said, pushing the grocery bags in her direction.

Sometimes Nyx convinced herself it was all a terrible dream, but her new skill of seeing souls without touching a person negated the fact. Medea's blue eyes twinkled as she ducked down and scooped up a stray apple from the bag, taking a large bite.

"Sure thing, X." Medea swept her shoulder-length brown waves over her shoulder and placed her half-eaten apple on the counter with a smirk before unpacking the produce.

They worked silently for a few hours before Nyx excused herself to the bathroom. She stood before the vanity mirror and touched her face lightly. After her resurrection, many things changed. Subtle changes only she seemed to notice. Her steel-coloured eyes now contained flecks of indigo and emerald. Her copper hair had streaks of gold only noticeable in the sunlight, and a small red mark blotched her nape.

Nyx assumed it was a remnant of the liver mortis her body had experienced, and no secret blood tests she conducted resulted in any abnormality. Or at least any human abnormality she could decipher.

Now three years older and wiser, she couldn't help but cringe at her twenty-one-year-old self and the situations she got herself into. She didn't know how she returned to life, but after not seeing another demon or angel in three years, she wondered if Micah had lied to her. Her loved ones remained alive and well despite her existence, and Micah's warnings came to nothing.

Nyx's phone buzzed in her pocket, and she retrieved it, expecting to see her roster, when an unknown number appeared on her home screen. Frowning, she opened her messages and felt all colour drain from her face.

Miss Knight. Come to Demonology, we must speak. N.

Nyx re-read the message over and over until the letters scrambled.

Neo? How did he get my number? Why is he contacting me now? Should I go?

She quickly turned on the faucet and washed her face, cooling the heat that had risen there. Once she had gathered herself, she texted a quick message asking 'when' and his reply was nearly instant.