Excerpt: Broken (Tenative Title)

Fog filtered through, the grass dampened by the misty morning. Low hanging branches of old oaks draped with moss reached for the soft bed of green, broken only by the marble gray of markers, tombs, crypts, and statuary.
Jacob walked slowly, the slow turn of his head this way and then that led only by the confused blue stare gave him the appearance of a stalking animal. It did not escape him that his feet were bare, but he was dressed in what he might have worn on stage one night. He was cold though. The grass was wet blades that tickled his feet, protesting with each step. The crowd just beyond the mausoleum drew his eye. Familiar faces, voices, and the sound of his name.
“It won’t do any good to go to them.” Jacob looked to his left and met the gaze of a young man dressed in black. His black hair was in disarray, but his eyes were gentle. “They won’t know you’re there.”
“I don’t understand,” Jacob said, “I didn’t…”
“Yes, actually you did,” the man said, “you passed over.” He approached Jacob, extending his hand. “Gabriel.”
“Jacob.” He took Gabriel’s hand. “But if I died, then that means I’m damned.” Gabriel cocked his head, a curious smile on his lips.
“Strange that you’re not writhing in the great pit of flame isn’t it?”
“You could say that sort of crossed my mind, yes,” Jacob said, “Why am I here?” Gabriel motioned for him to follow.
“That last wish, that last decision that you really wanted mortality instead of death made the difference,” Gabriel explained, “your soul was already crossing, and while it would have made sense to just let it return, it made more sense to let you exist on another plane of existence.”
“I’m not quite following you.” Jacob’s eyes fell on his mother, and he wanted to run to her and comfort her.
“You’ll have a chance,” Gabriel said, “to go to her. But right now, you need to pay attention.” Jacob tore his eyes away, dropping them to the ground.
“I disappointed her,” he whispered.
“She understands more than you think,” Gabriel said, “But look, you need to know why you’re here. You’ve been given a chance to make a difference to someone else. Someone just as lost as you were.”
“By who?”
“Whom,” Gabriel corrected, “And I didn’t think you’d need to ask.” He gazed up towards the mist-shrouded sun, and then back at Jacob. “It was more an arrangement really. Because the other side wanted you pretty badly.”
“The other side?” Jacob whispered, “You mean?”
“Lucifer and his bunch, yeah,” Gabriel scoffed, “but you don’t need to worry about that. You have work to do.”
“What kind of?”
“I can’t tell you all the details,” Gabriel said, “at least not right now. A kindred. You’ll know when you cross paths. Just know they’ll try to sway as well. That’s all you have to know for now.”
“Wait, Gabriel!” But Gabriel gave no sign that he heard, only turned away and walked into the mists. The fog swirled like fingers and it seemed to spread from behind Gabriel like wings and he was no longer visible.