… solipsubmissive …

This is a continuation.  You might want to begin here:  one

 “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”

***

Olivia slept a while, but woke with an odd sense of disquiet.  She knew the third Commandment, would have thought it one she’d certainly violated.  Memories danced through her head ceaselessly, recollections of the times she’d called out to God in pleasure and in pain, especially at Jason’s hand.

Jason.

Missing someone after her own death had never occurred to Olivia, and it really didn’t seem fair.  She closed her eyes.  She thought back to the night of the charity dinner, conjured up the feeling of serene happiness, of belonging she’d had while they were both getting ready.

“Olivia?  Have you seen my cuff links?  The gold ones with my initial on …”  His voice trailed off when he saw her, standing on tiptoe, already rummaging in the top drawer of his dresser.

“Yes, Sir … i moved them and all my jewelry when we had to fire that maid.  i meant to put them back, but i was waiting for the locks to be changed and i’m really, really sorry i didn’t tell you.”  She pulled out the box and turned to face him, then yelped when she discovered him standing right behind her.

“Settle down, pet.”  His voice was warm.  “I’m not angry.  You look beautiful.”

And really, that was all it took.  She opened her eyes, wistful.  Every tiny ounce of happiness could wash out gallons of unhappiness.  She heard the door open and looked at Sera.  “You’re wrong about Jason,” she said quietly.  “Your research turns up only the damning evidence, but there’s so much more you haven’t seen.”

Sera looked dubious.  Her research had included footage of Olivia, broken and bleeding while Jason sneered at her; Olivia, pleading for mercy over and over, while none seemed forthcoming.  She couldn’t wrap her mind around Olivia actually caring for someone like that, so she simply ignored the statement.

“I figured you might have questions about why you’re not being tried for the third Commandment.”  Her tone was brisk, almost irritable.  “People are really stupid about this commandment.  They tend to think that every uttered “Oh my God” is taking the Lord’s name in vain, but if that were the case, saying “God bless you” when someone sneezes would also be a violation.  It’s a little more complicated than that, and you’ve never even come close.”

Olivia just looked at her steadily. 

Sera scowled.  “Okay, then.  I’ll explain it to you.  For one thing, the Lord’s name is not “God.”  It’s “Yahweh.”  And it’s really only bad if you use it with false authority.  Like … say … if you were to charge into battle with the claim that you’re fighting to win this land in the name of Yahweh.  Or if you were to tell someone they are required to wear two different color socks because God said so.”  She waited for some sort of response from Olivia, then threw up her hands in exasperation.  “Why are you staring at me?”

“Because you won’t listen.  i’m telling you, you’re wrong.  And you’re not going to be able to properly defend me if you don’t understand.”

“Ohfergawdsake!  Fine.” 

Olivia stifled a giggle at the irony of Sera’s outburst, given her new perspective on taking the Lord’s name in vain.  “Do i seem like an unreasonable person, Sera?  Like a person who would willingly remain with someone who only ever hurt me?”

Sera sighed.  “No.  And there must be something to what you have said, because Jason’s case is being heard in claims court.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well.  There’s a difference between defending your life, which is what I’m doing for you, and earning the right to defend your life.  Jason’s soul wasn’t even up for selection by a Life Defense Counselor until almost a year ago.  Around Christmas.”

Olivia paled.  “Christmas?”

Sera nodded.

“Christmas is when Jason asked me to move in with him.”

“Hmm.”  Sera tilted her head, gave Oliva a long, assessing look, then plunked down on the end of the bed and crossed her legs.  “Okay.  Here’s how it works.  Some souls go straight to Heaven.  Your children, people who have lived an exemplary life, most nuns, a few priests.  You get the idea.  And then there are souls that go straight to Hell.  Your standard hypocrites, criminals, televangelists, and a good cross section of politicians.  The vast majority of souls end up here, defending their lives with the help of people like me.”

“And Jason?”

“Apparently earmarked for either Heaven or Hell before you came along.  i think it’s safe to assume, given the fact that he’s in claims court, that it wasn’t an impending ascent to sitteth at the right hand that kept his name off the soul defense docket.”

Olivia looked stricken.  “If only i’d had more time,” she murmured, then met Sera’s eyes.  “i should have worked harder.  i could have saved him.”

“Oh, Olivia.”  The younger girl shook her head.  “At what cost?  You weren’t on the list, either, before last Christmas.  Had it not been for Jason, you’d have no need for me.”

Olivia heard her, absorbed that, and smiled.  “i can fight for myself.  He needed me to fight for him, too.  i think he still does.”

“Well, if it will make you feel better, I can assure you he’s in the best hands.  Micah’s got him, and he doesn’t lose.  He has more experience than any other Life Defense Counselor, and he’s passionate about his work.”  She smiled encouragingly.  “Would you like to go see?”

“See Jason?”  Olivia bit her lip, hardly daring to hope.  “Right now?”

Sera nodded and stood.  “You’ll have to keep quiet, of course.  We’ll sit at the back, and I’ll try to explain things as they go along.  It’s a little different from your experiences.”  She took Olivia’s hand and they left the room, walking down the long, white corridor just as they did every time they went to trial.

This time, however, when they entered the courtroom, it was packed.  There was a steady buzzing from the spectators whispering in the stands.  Both tables on the courtroom floor were covered with papers, the chairs behind them completely occupied.  At the table to the right were three large men in black suits.  And at the table to the left, Olivia saw Jason, seated next to a man dressed in the same sort of flowing white gown as Sera.  She sat quickly, holding her breath, until Sera squeezed her hand.  Slowly, she exhaled and closed her eyes, then opened them again. 

Jason hadn’t moved.  He sat in that way he had, legs stretched before him, crossed at the ankles, one arm across his chest.  He held his chin in the other hand, one finger idly stroking across his lower lip, his eyes hooded, but not closed, taking it all in.  It was a pose, she knew, intended to disarm, to lull one into believing him complacent.  Olivia had seen it often, both in his dealings with her, and on the rare occasion he had a business dinner and drinks at home.

Just then, the four familiar angels filed in and everyone stood.  Sera took the opportunity to explain the proceedings.  “That was Micah.”  Her voice was reverent, and Olivia looked at her in surprise.   She’d hardly glanced at the Life Defense Counselor, had only a brief impression of longish dark curly hair, and glasses.  Small, wire rimmed glasses.  “When Jason died, Micah snatched up his soul, said it was exactly the sort of case for which he’d been waiting.  But the second he filed suit, Lucifer and his crew countered, claiming prior ownership.”  She pointed at the table on the right.  “That’s Lucifer in the middle.”

Everyone was sitting down again, and Olivia did her best to see what the fallen angel looked like.  But he was almost directly below them and had his back completely turned, so she gave up, and decided to wait until he stood to address the dias.  She looked again at Sera, and saw her eyes were fixed on the defense table, a rapt, adoring expression on her face.  With a smile, she followed the direction of the girl’s gaze.  Micah scribbled something on the pad in front of him, then leaned over to whisper something to Jason.  While he was listening, Jason’s eyes lifted to the gallery and skipped over the rows of faces without really seeing them.

And then, they collided with Olivia’s.

four