A chill trickled down my spine. “So you sold your soul to the Devil?”
She laughed. “More like a timeshare,” she said, spreading her hands with a smile. “Look, it’s not like I’m the only one. Scroll up any ten hot women with a brand on Instagram, and nine of them are in the Devil’s employ. We’re a big coven, Luke...and it’s all digital these days.”
I took a step backward. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. So this was all you, the whole time? With that Angel of Darkness shit?”
Christina shook her head. “I had no idea that was going to happen,” she admitted, sounding honest. “But I’m glad it did. Really, this is a huge get for both of us, Luke. This is going to be, like, life-changing…”
Yeah, it’s changing my life, alright, I thought. We’re both in league with Lucifer himself now…
Yet at the same time, the thought sent an illicit thrill through me. Going to college in Hell didn’t sound like the most appealing proposition—but with Lucifer giving me his protection and favor, I’d probably be alright. What would it be like to relive my old college days, but be in charge this time? Instead of the slacker loser who couldn’t even ask Christina out on a date, I’d be the big man on campus—the guy who had an in with the Man Downstairs. Girls would be all over me. Everyone would want to be my friend. Lucifer even said there were parties…
One thing niggled at me, though. “What would have happened if I chose the other angel?” I asked.
Lucifer concealed his shock well, but I could tell the question surprised him. “What other angel?” he asked smoothly.
I charged on heedlessly. The look in Christina’s eyes was begging me to stop, but I wasn’t about to do what she wanted. Lucifer’s smug comments about her had thrown her a little bit off the pedestal I’d put her on, and her story about being a Satanist did the rest of the job. Christina wasn’t some hardworking, diligent woman—she was lucky. She’d taken a Satanic shortcut, using Lucifer’s power to jump ahead of people who’d worked harder than her for less than what she had. And she’d had the nerve to treat me like I wasn’t a serious dating prospect!
“The program offered me two angels,” I said, frowning as I remembered.
“Two pathways? There should have been only one. Darkness.”
“There were two,” I repeated. “The other was the ‘Angel of Light’...”
For a moment, Lucifer’s mouth hung open. Then he began to chortle. “Well now,” he said, a coughing fit cutting off his words for long moments. “That would have been most interesting…”
I didn’t like that tone one bit. “What would?”
“Choosing a human must have made the magic revert to the original pathway,” Lucifer muttered, talking to himself. “Typical, but something of a pity all the same…”
I’d heard more than enough. “If I’d have chosen that other angel—would I be in Heaven right now?” I asked.
Lucifer scoffed. “Of course not. The program is mine—when a suitable candidate activates it, it opens up the opportunity for them to become a Lord of Hell. You would have ended up as my creature one way or the other. But a Lord of Hell with an angel of light’s powers on top of their ordinary ability...well. It would’ve been quite the sight to see.”
I tried to imagine it. A demon lord with a bunch of angels at his command? I couldn’t picture it—not unless Lucifer’s powers corrupted them somehow. Turned them into the kind of angels you’d see on a Black Sabbath album cover taking a smoke break.
“I was an angel myself once,” Lucifer mused. “It’s not an option many take—or are able to, even if they wanted it—but it is there. Ever there.”
Suddenly Lucifer clapped his hands together. The sound startled Christina and I both; shaking us from our reveries. The old man’s chair scraped backward as he rose to his feet, moving around the table with a shuffling step that seemed undignified for a person as powerful as him.
“If you’re going to represent me at the Infernal Academy,” Lucifer said, giving me a quick up-and-down glance, “you’re going to have to look the part. These...rags of yours. They won’t suit you at all. And they will actively impede your quest to master your abilities…”
I looked down at my ragged uniform. You’ve got that right, I thought. Girls aren’t exactly going to be flocking to me when I look like this…
“These gravely digs of mine,” Lucifer intoned, “will surely prove a sight.” He wiggled his fingers, and my uniform unraveled. For a moment, I stood in front of Christina, totally naked and blushing, then tendrils of darkness formed from the air itself to wrap around my lanky frame.
They tugged and squeezed until they were skintight, feeling almost sensual in their embrace. I guess I should get used to pleasures of the flesh, I thought, glancing down to see my new clothing as it began to form. Black pants with matching black boots sheathed my legs, along with a thick leather belt covered in pentagrams and upside-down crosses. A moment later the touch of silk brushed against my chest as a clean white shirt formed, covering my bare torso.
I’d thought that was all Lucifer meant to dress me in. Then he traced a complicated symbol in the air and the remaining strands of darkness formed themselves into a jacket. It was thick, open at the front, with rich crimson coloring inlaid with intricate black patterns across the fabric. Silver buttons studded both sides of the front, should I choose to close it against the weather.
“There we are,” Lucifer said, stepping back and admiring his handiwork. “That is more suitable.”
I
