Eden – 1667

 “Who did you tell?”

I close my fingers around Avner’s throat and slam him against the nearest wall. His head cracks against the stone and echoes sickeningly down the hallway. I would care about injuring an innocent on any other day of the year, but not at this moment.

  This moment I’m consumed with anger so strong my vision is blurring red. Avner is sadly in the way.

  “My l-lord?” Avner gasps loudly, grappling at my hands. “I d-d-don’t – “

“Who. Did. You. Tell?” I repeat in an undertone, leaning my face closer to his. “And don’t tell me you said nothing, because that is a lie if I have ever heard one.”

“I-I swear, I – “

“Death, that is quite enough.”

A hand suddenly grips my forearm and yanks me away from Avner. The man is tall and imposing, obviously an Enclave member, but not enough to scare me into behaving.

Never in my entire existence have I ever felt a rage like the one currently coursing through my veins. Had this man not just arrived, Avner would be dead.

 “Go, lad,” the man says to a cowering Avner. “Leave us.”

Avner scampers off without hesitation.

 I wrench my arm out of the man’s grasp and glower at him. “Is there something that you wanted?”

 “Yes,” he answers bluntly. “You’re wanted in the Great Hall.”

The Great Hall, the meeting room for the Enclave. Oh, yes, there’s no doubt about it. I am in trouble.

 I head off down the corridor without waiting for the man. The sooner I get this over with, the better.

I’ve never enjoyed dealing with the Enclave, the people that consider themselves in charge over all of us, the ones that do their bidding.

It’s been hundreds of years since I was last in front of the Enclave for misconduct. There’s only one reason as to why I would be called in front of the Enclave right now.

 “Thank you for coming, Death,” Ezekiel says as I shove open the stone doors and walk into the Great Hall. “It’s been a while.”

“Thank you for reminding me, Ezekiel,” I say briskly.

In front of me are the several old, balding men that consist of the Enclave. They’re probably as old as God himself and I have no desire to listen to anything they have to say – not that it makes much sense to begin with.

I come to a stop in front of the alter the men are seated around and wait.

A life time passes before any one of them actually say something.

“Do you know why you’ve been called here, Death?” one of them says.

“I can imagine.”

“Please spare us the antics, Death.”

“Lucrezia Allegretti.” One of them examines a long scroll in front of them. “It says here that she witnessed a Reaping and you failed to execute her. Well, that’s against the Edict, Death.”

“So is the mindless murdering of innocents,” I point out through gritted teeth.

“That is irrelevant. You know the Edict, Death. The woman was supposed to die and as far as we are concerned, she’s still breathing.”

“Is that all we’re here for?” I ask, walking forward, placing my hands on the alter and leaning up towards them. “Because I believe I have more important things to do than stand here and listen to your mindless ranting.”

“You are out of order, Death,” the man in front of me says, rising to his feet, glaring at me.

“I am always out of order in your eyes.”

“Listen closely, Death, and listen well.” I can practically see the fires of hell roaring in the man’s eyes as he glowers down at me. “You have twenty-four hours to execute Lucrezia Allegretti or you will Fall. Is that what you want?”

No angel wants to Fall. Who in their right mind would want to be tossed out of Eden?

Before I met Lucrezia, I would immediately answer absolutely not to that question. Yet now?

“Find someone else to bend to your will. Not me.”

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I know it's been ages since I've updated this and I'm sorry, to the few that read this!! I WILL finish this story, eventually, but it's a very slow process! Sorry! D: