The darkness around them seemed to stretch on into eternity. Sheila found that, despite the dark shadow that seemed to be wrapped around her and her strange companion, she could see. Her vision was as clear as if she were in a brightly light room. All there was to see, however, was the woman. Spade.
Sheila was trying to come to grips with what had happened to her. She was dead. Her life was over and done with, but she was not going to heaven or hell. She wasn’t even disappearing into nothingness, though the darkness did make it seem like that. Still, if she was going to fade away into the oblivion of death, then why was Spade with her?
The woman’s
words plagued her. ‘
“E-excuse me . . . miss?”
Spade turned to look at her, onyx black eyes glittering in comparison to the almost palatable darkness.
“You have questions, don’t you?”
“Um, yes. What did you mean when you called me chosen?”
The black haired woman’s face went serious once again, that almost mischievous light gone from her eyes.
“You are one of the chosen, that means you’re soul was marked ages ago. You are special. Your soul has been reincarnated many times until you were ready to become what you are meant to be.”
“And what is that?”
“A judger of souls. One who caries out the work of Fate in the mortal realm. One like me and the rest of my kind. You are to go to Fate, that which commands us, and be remade.”
“Wait a second! Remade? How?”
“Your soul will be restored to it’s true form. You will forget nearly all of your life, even your name.”
Spade couldn’t help but notice the distressed look in the girl’s eyes.
“It’s not that bad, really. It’s just something that happens when a person is changed and it does rid you of unnecessary heartache. There are some that remember more than others. Those few have more problems adjusting and are often very sad. Those that have forgotten are happier.”
“I hope that I at least remember the happy times in my life.” She said in a small voice.
“If those times are the most important to you, then you probably will. In any case, you will be able to do a lot more than you ever could when you were alive.”
“Like what?”
“Like stop time in the mortal world, just as I did when you were judged. You will also have the power of illusions and rule over the tools you will need for your job.”
“What are those?”
“Don’t you remember what I used?”
“Wait . . . you mean cards?”
“Yes. Cards, dice, games of chance, they’re all used in this job.”
“But why? Why not something more . . . I don’t know . . . serious?”
“These are appropriate tools for our jobs and for our selves, or have you forgotten who I am?”
Sheila thought for a moment before realizing what she meant. Spade. This woman seemed to embody the ace of spades; the symbol of cards and games everywhere.
“Sorry, I’d forgotten that you’re . . . “
“The Ace of Spades. It’s not just a name, it’s a title. I am my symbol.”
“Sorry to say, but that doesn’t make any sense. How can you be a card?
“I was created as I am from one of the first symbols.”
“W-what?”
“You see, I was never alive like you. At the time of my creation there were six symbols that represented luck, chance, destiny, and all things undecided; four cards and two dice. These symbols were used to create six beings; myself and the others like me. We take orders from Fate.”
“What is Fate?”
“A being. It is not what created us or the other souls, but it is who we answer to. Fate determines the uncertain as it pertains to mortals. The choices the living make in every day life.”
“So that’s all planned out? What about free will?”
“It’s not planned, just accounted for. Fate knows all possibilities, but can not act upon that knowledge. That’s were we come in. There are reprocusions to each decision ever made. They effect how you will think later on in life. It also effects what happens to you.”
“Like what happened when I died?”
“Exactly. Fate itself can not come to the mortal realm but I, as one of Fates agents, can. You’re choices in life effected the choice you made when picking a card. With that card as a guide I enforced the proper outcome for your life which was to let it end and take you with me.”
Sheila paused, absorbing the information as best she could.
“Can you answer me one more question?”
“Why not? Shoot.”
“What are you? You and the others that you said were made from cards and dice . . . what are you really?”
“We are a unique presence in this world.” She said, her voice distant as if lost in memory.
“How?”
“We are neither living nor dead. We six have existed for quite some time, though we are not old enough to have witnessed the beginning of all things. We have always been as we are now and we shall never change. We do not age and any wounds we may receive heal within a few days. Since we do not live, we can not die. We interact with the world of the living and often send those souls to the world of the dead, yet neither is our home. We lie in-between those two, never to be accepted into either. You and those like you were once at home in the realm of the living, but you were marked. Because of this, you would not be welcomed into the realm of the dead. Beyond all realms that we can access are other realms; the Realm of the Sacred and the Realm of the Damned.”
“Wait, how do those fit into all this?”
“I’ll explain it this way. The Realm of the Living is the center of all other realms. At one side of it is our realm, the Realm of Judges, and at the other is the Realm of Demons. Beyond our realm is the Realm of the Sacred where the chosen creations reside. Souls decreed as worth are sent there when they die. If the soul is not worth it is sent to the realm beyond the Realm of Demons, a place called the Realm of the Damned. Now, if you think of all of this as a map, you’d have a straight line of realms with the Realm of the Damned at the bottom, the Realm of the Sacred at the top, and the Realm of the Living in the middle.”
“Alright, I guess that makes sense, but I do have one question. You said that the chosen souls were reincarnated. Where did they go in-between lives? And you had mentioned a Realm of the Dead. What’s that?”
“Aah, you are a sharp one. Let’s use the map analogy again, shall we? To one side of the Realm of the Living there is the Realm of Death. This is where souls waiting to go to either the Realm of the Sacred or the Realm of the Damned go. If a soul is judged not good enough to be with the Sacred but not bad enough to be with the Damned, it will stay in the Realm of Death.”
“So it’s like Purgatory? Or Nirvana?”
“Yes. Now, to the other side of the Realm of the Living lies the Realm of the Souls. In this place lie all souls that have not yet lived or that have been marked to live again. The chosen souls were reincarnated many times and after each life they went to the Realm of Souls to await their next incarnation. Do you understand now?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Good. Are you ready?”
“Yes. After all, it seems that I have no other choice.”
“I guess that’s true. Don’t worry, everything will work out. You’ll see.”
“Okay. What do I do?”
“Just step forward and wait.”
She nodded, her eyes showing the anxious feelings that she was trying so hard to keep in check. One hand rose reflexively to twist a piece of her hair like she always did when she was nervous. She suddenly realize what she was doing and quickly brought her hand back to her side. Spade smiled a knowing smile and she blushed slightly in embarrassment. She took a deep breath to steady herself and started forward. Her steps were jerky and her body ridged, but she went with her head held high. She was ready.
Pure, brilliant light surrounded her in an instant. There was no figure this time, nor was there a voice. There was only a feeling. Old things were stripped away and replaced with something new. She was different and she knew it. Memories of her life slowly passed away. She tried for an instant to hold on to them, unwilling to let the person she used to be pass away entirely, but they slipped from her grasp. And then, Sheila Relen was no more.
The light faded as quickly as it had come. Spade smiled as she looked at her new comrade. The young woman was dressed all in dark green velvet, a color that complemented her natural coloration quite well. Her shirt was cut high enough to show her waist and the collar, a pattern of red and black squares, fell across her collar bones and onto her shoulders. The sleeves were a combination of short velvet pieces that ended with the same red and black pattern and long, pale green see through sleeves that ended just beyond her wrists, trimmed in velvet. Her skirt, slit up one side, almost touched the ground and tall green boots could be seen beneath it. A red and black square choaker was around her neck and a matching belt was slung loosely around her waist, dipping down further on one side than the other. Red poker chips hung on long chains that connected into red stud earrings. Her once brown eyes had turned a dazzling emerald green but her long, dirty blond hair had been left unchanged.
She looked up, a warm smile on her lips.
“I am Roulette.”
