And just like that, I knew what I needed to do to end all of it. No force required. Just quick thinking.

“Do you believe that we have souls?” I asked Her.

She glanced up from her pedicure. “What sort of question is that? Of course we have souls,” She derided, setting aside Her pot and brush and eyeing me with condescension.

“But how can you be sure?” I asked, stepping closer, preparing to give Her a little, tiny truth to keep Her unaware of my intentions. “When I was a child, I thought that perhaps I didn’t have one. Hellen used to tell me I was soulless, and … I was so different to her, to any other demon children I happened upon. I always wondered if that was because I was soulless.”

I swallowed back my emotions, waiting. A tiny part of me held a spark of hope that Her face would soften, that She would reassure me. The way a mother would reassure their child after a nightmare, or during a storm, or any time they felt that bottomless pit in their stomach that I had felt all too often as a child.

Instead, She rolled her eyes. “For My sake, Simeon! You’re the son of the most powerful deity ever to exist! A deity for whom souls are Her sole purpose.” She chuckled at Her little wordplay. “You have a soul. Your soul is stronger than almost every other one out there …” She gave a tittering giggle. “Except mine, I suppose. Perhaps your … father’s, too,” She added with a disdainful sniff.

I bit my lip before it could curl, taking another step closer. “I’ve been thinking … about what you offered earlier. And I can’t quite believe that I have the power to decide the fate of souls. It … forgive me, but everything today has happened so fast, and I honestly cannot comprehend that I can … send souls to their rightful destination.”

She sighed dramatically. “As I just said, you are My son. And your father’s—he’s not without his own … abilities, when it comes to soul judgement. You’ve already reaped one more than deserving soul to Hell. You might have disliked the … questionable ethics of doing it, but the mechanics of the reaping process itself, you didn’t struggle with.”

“So … if I were to take on this responsibility,” I mused, stepping closer again. One more step and my leg would press up against the desk. “I would simply need to … shake their hand, and send them where they belonged?”

God gave a half-shrug. “If that’s what feels right for you, I suppose. Personally, I just go with a gentle pat on the shoulder.”

“Oh?” There was the edge of the desk. She was within reach.

I really bloody hope this works.

“So … just like this?” I asked, reaching out and gripping Her by the shoulder.