The light illuminated their faces in a soft, angel-white glow. Even if the light looked like their angelic counterparts, it never made them cower.

"A new soul is heading our way. Are you ready to receive it?"

The two figures stared at the ball of light as it shifted to a mirror. The mirror glimmered and then showed a reflection of two girls hiking in the woods. The girls stopped near a river and sat down on a pile of rocks.

"Which girl?" one of the figures asked.

"The girl on the left," the other figure said. "She's ready to meet us and get her soul judged."

"What about the girl on the right?"

"Leave her. Scare her a bit, but she's not ready. She'll meet us when we're all ready."

The two figures returned their gaze back to the mirror. The scene changed and showed the girl on the left lean over and push the other girl into the river. The girl screamed and fell in. The girl that pushed her in; however, laughed and walked away.

"I've seen worse things, but that seemed a little harsh," figure one said.

"It was, and now it's our job to judge her," figure two said. "Zarek, it's your time to shine. Figuratively of course."

Zarek gave a small smile and unfurled his wings. His wings were black, tall, and had small rips near the edges. The other demon unfurled his wings and looked up. A small portal opened and bathed the two in a hazy, amber glow. Muffled screams escaped and the faint smell of sulfur wafted in their noses.

"Take all the time you need, Zarek," the other demon said. "But don't fuck this up. You remember what happened last time."

The demon flapped his wings and flew into the portal. The portal closed and left Zarek in darkness. Zarek sighed and thought about a plan to judge this newly appointed soul. Last time, his human conscience interfered and he lost a valuable one. He made sure that this wouldn't happen again.

Zarek looked at the portal one more time to memorize the girl's features. The girl who pushed walked through the forest alone and wore dark clothes and a hat. The girl who fell into the water wore light colors and a hat.

Feeling confident, Zarek prepared to take flight. He was about to push himself off the ground when he looked at the mirror one last time. The mirror showed the girl who fell in the water and Zarek got a full view of her face. She looked beautiful, but her hat hid her hair and forehead.

There was something enchanting about that girl, and Zarek couldn't pull his gaze away from her. He's been judging souls for thousands of years, and nothing could distract him. But this time, it was like God himself was fiddling the strings.

It would be something if God was involved.

Zarek shrugged the thoughts about the girl away. A portal formed above him and Zarek took flight. While flying, he tried to scrub the girl away but she was glued to his thoughts. Demons can't have thoughts nor positive feelings. It goes against the Fall those thousands of years ago.

The portal spit Zarek out into the forest. The scene around him was now different than the scene he saw in the mirror. The forest was now covered in darkness and the only light was from the moon and stars.

Zarek sheathed his wings and began to walk. The forest was quiet and the only sounds were from the animals singing their nightly songs. Zarek saw the glow of a town in the distance and smiled. Hundreds of souls were there.

He began his walk to the town, ready for his job.

But not ready for what's next.

Word count: 630/2,000