Page 3 of Inbetweeners
“Wrong time of day to rise from the ashes?” Emmett asked.
Tar’s slight smile made Emmett feel a little better, though being pinned by eyes the colour of the heart of a glacier didn’t. He felt himself judged and found wanting, and he hadn’t even done anything yet. So who was Phoenix?
“It might take Phoenix days to get here, though he will get here. You came very promptly.”
It hadn’t occurred to him to delay. What could he have done without money or memory? “So, I’m not working on my own?” Emmett really didn’t want to work with anyone.
“No.”
“Oh.” Emmett tried not to sigh. Tar looked as if he was expecting another question, but Emmett kept quiet.
“Paranormal Resolutions acts as an interface between humans andotherswhen there are issues to be solved. We settle disputes among species and also between them, whether they’re vampires, werewolves, shifters, gargoyles, witches, demons, angels, etcetera. We have less interaction with faeries who live on the other side of the Divide. They tend to handle their own problems, but there are faeries on my team. Most of the serious issues are handled by Eyria’s angels and archangels. But at lower levels, PR is involved.”
Has my jaw dropped? Is it on the floor? Am I dreaming?At least it was an interesting dream. Possibly part of the whole being dead thing. Emmett pressed his lips together. It didn’t take long before his mouth opened. Then closed again. He had so many questions he couldn’t decide which to ask first. But Tar was waiting as if he was expecting a question.
“They all exist?” Emmett finally mumbled. “Werewolves, faeries, Santa Claus… All those different…species?”
“You’re one of them now. An angel.” Tar raised his eyebrows.
If Tar was telling him that vampires and the rest existed, maybe he just needed to believe. He hadn’t believed in angels until he became one. And to be honest, he was still struggling to get his head around it. He was partly holding out for being in a coma, not that he’d ever tell anyone.
“Still with me?” Tar asked.
Emmett nodded.
“For reasons as yet unclear, some humans who die are not moving on to Heaven or Hell, but lingering as ghosts. That’s not in itself entirely unusual. There have always been some who cling to this plane, sometimes for centuries, but only a handful. Now the numbers of those not moving on are increasing to the point that it’s causing concern. Someone is keeping them here. The dead need to be persuaded to go where they’re supposed to go. You and Phoenix will work together to make that happen.”
You want us to be ghostbusters?Emmett struggled to remember what had happened in the film. The ghost-busting trio had sucked up bad things into a machine. Were he and Phoenix going to have to deal with good and bad people?
“How are we supposed to actually get them to move on?” Sucking the good people up into a machine felt a bit cruel.
“You’ll work it out between you.” Tar put a set of keys on the desk. “The top flat. 18 Rosemary Gardens. The property is yours while you do your work.”
That wasn’t far from where he used to live. Emmett swallowed. How had he remembered that? Though his old address didn’t flash into his mind.
“Everything you’ll need is in the flat.”
“What if I meet someone who recognises me?”
“They won’t recognise you. But you won’t know who they are anyway, will you?”
Emmett caught the censure in Tar’s tone. “If you wanted someone who remembered everything, why didn’t you request that?”
“You weren’t chosen by me.”
Emmett felt the chill of those words.Thank you for making me feel wanted.He had the sneaking suspicion that no one had ever wanted him in his entire life.Welcome to my pity party for one.
“Choosing was not my responsibility,” Tar added.
Which made Emmett feel a little better.
“Only friends, family and acquaintances were erased from your memory. Knowledge of the world, current affairs, awareness of your own abilities and preferences remains intact. Some other memories may return.”
Emmett chewed his lip as he searched for the right questions. “I can…eat and drink and do all the things I did before?”
“Yes.”
“I suppose juggling with three balls while riding a unicycle might come in handy.”
