Her balance had been good, and she had fought to remain as a ghost; now her balance had shifted bad, and she no longer fought. But Jolie refused to let her go, not until she had consulted with Gaea. Once firmly in conventional Purgatory, Jolie was able to make the jump directly to the Treehouse. She laid the limp soul on the bed, but the moment she let go, it began to sink through the bed, starting its journey toward Hell. She had to grab it again and maintain her hold. How could this have happened? Souls weren’t supposed to change their balance in the Afterlife! Not suddenly, like this! They could have their evil ground out slowly in Hell, or leached out gently in Heaven, but that took centuries. It seemed that Nox had done more than merely tease the woman! Soon Gaea returned. “You seem to have a problem,” she remarked, noting the flaccid soul. “Nox teased us cruelly,” Jolie explained.
