"Right," I said, sinking back on my seat.
"Nothing unreasonable," Krista reassured me. "We just feel that before we allow you to hang out with this Soul Trader, we should get to know him too. We're not comfortable with you running all over the world with him, getting tattoos in Shanghai and who knows what else."
Gah, freaking Lynn was going to get a smack the next time I saw her. Shanghai was supposed to be our secret. "What do you have in mind?" I asked, still leery of where the conversation was going.
"We thought, instead of sneaking into your room and bathroom, he could visit you like a normal boy your age would. We'd obviously like to have him over for dinner so we can get to know him, and then from there maybe we can move to double-dating."
"No way are we going on a double date with you guys."
"I'll try not to be offended over your reaction, but no, we weren't thinking of double-dating with us. We figured you wouldn't mind going out with Lynn and Robert," she said dryly.
I exhaled a breath I wasn't even aware I was holding. This was doable. Sure, the idea of a family dinner was cringe-worthy, but I'd been wanting to double date with Lynn and Robert for months. Emrys would probably find the whole idea ludicrous since he was used to coming and going as he pleased, but maybe I could talk him into it. Besides, if he really likes me the way he seems to, he'll at least consider it, and surely after they all saw how fantastic he was we'd eventually be left to our own devices.
"What exactly will the family dinner entail? And won't Haniel crap a brick when he finds out?" I asked, suddenly afraid their plan would be smothered out before it could even begin.
"We've already discussed it with him," Mark answered, sitting back in his chair. "He has grudgingly agreed to trust us on this, although he plans on joining us for the family dinner," he added, smiling almost gleefully at the thought.
"Oh, god. I can just imagine how that's going to go," I griped, not relishing a night of hanging out with Haniel, my aunt and uncle, and Emrys.
"You have to understand his side, Jordyn. Soul Traders have earned their bad reputations for good reasons. More times than not, Soul Traders turn away from helping souls move on to a better place. The Dark One entices them to bring the souls to him instead with promises of power and immortality," Mark said, defending Haniel.
"I thought Soul Traders were immortal?" I asked, confused.
"They are to a certain extent. They can live forever in this realm, guiding souls as they see fit, but they can be destroyed much like you destroy Daemons. Once their earthly forms are snuffed out, they can never return to this realm again. They are forever forsaken to eternity in hell."
"What if they don't align themselves with The Dark One?" I asked, trying to ignore the knot in my stomach.
"They are still condemned to spending eternity in hell. Remember, The Light does not allow Soul Traders in heaven, no matter how many souls they've delivered. By denying him in their time of judgment, they gave up their place in heaven. The Light allows them to stay on Earth and the Between, but he denies them passage through the pearly gates."
"That still just doesn't seem fair at all," I said, finding a hard time grasping the idea of being denied access into heaven. It seemed so barbaric to me.
"Harsh maybe, but The Light believes if you truly wanted to go to heaven, you would never had denied him," Krista said, brushing crumbs off the table into her cupped hand.
"So, all that being said, you're telling me even though he's immortal, Emrys is going to wind up in hell at some point?" I asked, wanting to punch something in a sudden burst of anger.
"Well, his place on Earth is relatively safe as long as he continues to deliver souls to both sides and stays under the radar," Mark said. "Usually, what you see with Traders is that they eventually get too cocky or desire more power, and make alliances. Since The Light isn't exactly a dealmaker, many of them stop delivering any souls to The Light and instead only bring them to The Dark One."
"Emrys is different," I said stubbornly. I didn't want to believe that Emrys would hand-deliver souls that belonged in heaven to The Dark One. He was one of the good ones. He obviously had reasons for staying on Earth.He was a good guy, I repeated to myself.
"I'm sure you're right," Krista said, patting my hands that I didn't even remember clenching. "But we just want to be sure, okay?"
"Okay, but you'll keep Haniel in check, right? You know what a pain he can be."
"Yes, we'll make sure he behaves," she deadpanned.
"And you won't ask any embarrassing questions," I stated, looking more at Mark.
"Define embarrassing?" he asked, smiling wickedly, which just seemed wrong with his angelic background.
"Just be cool, please, and don't act like typical parents," I griped as he grinned broadly. "Remember, revenge is a cold-ass beeyotch," I reminded him.
"Language," Krista chastised. "And I'm pretty sure it breaks some kind of rule to threaten your guardians," she added, raising her eyebrows at me. "Don't worry, Jordyn, I'll watch them both."
I glowered at Mark who shook his head behind her back. Seeing my look, Krista turned toward Mark who was now smiling innocently at her. Using her turned back to my own advantage, I made a slashing motion across my neck. "You'll go down," I mouthed just as Krista turned back around to bust me.
"Can we act our ages?" she said, smacking Mark in the head.
"Sure we can, hon, but we won't," Mark said, scooping her up into his arms. "I think a little swim in the ocean is called for," he added, cradling her in his arms as he strode out the French doors.