I frowned. "How? I mean, hell is hell. You know, a place filled with suffering, pain, and all that. How would they even have time to gather such power?”
"As I've already said, hell is a human term and not truly accurate. The dark path is more a place where the sins of a soul's lifetime must be atoned for before he or she can move on, and that does not always involve suffering.”
But sometimes did, obviously. "So all the souls who walk the dark path are redeemable?”
"Yes.” He hesitated. "Those who are not are killed. That is another reason for the existence of the Mijai.”
A chill crawled down my spine. It was a stark reminder that I was sitting in front of a man who could end not only this life, but every one of my lives, for all eternity. I rubbed my arms and said, "Once the souls are redeemed, are they reborn?” When he nodded, I added, "How?”
"There is only one way in and out of the dark path, and that is back through the portals.”
"Meaning the gates are two-way?”
"Yes. Once souls are allowed back through the portal, we escort them across the fields to the light path.”
"Are they instantly reborn there?”
"Sometimes. Sometimes not.” He shrugged. "It depends on demand and how many souls are already waiting.”
So what did the souls do if they weren't reborn instantly? Float around playing harps? The thought made me smile, even though I recognized the foolishness of it. "So how does this relate to my father?”
"Your father is a former priest. As such, he has some power over the gates and their locks.”
My frown deepened. "I'm still not seeing the problem here.”
"Your father,” he said, slowly and somewhat heavily, "is thought to be working on a device to permanently close the gates to all things that come through.”
Confusion swirled through me. "But that would be a good thing, wouldn't it? It would save you the hassle of hunting down the bad things that break through, at the very least.”