Lucifer told me there was an Academy up here, too, I realized. But I hadn’t expected the ‘college town’ surrounding it to literally be Heaven. This was incredible.
The longer I stared at it, the more time seemed to fade away. A deep, peaceful sensation of contentment filled me, as if the rest of my life was a long journey and my weary bones were finally home at last. Something inside me longed to step through those gates, to discard the worries and cares I’d been burdened with in the mortal world and enter a realm where none of those things mattered any longer.
My gaze traveled up and up, to the single blazing star overlooking the Celestial City. A miniature sun, bathing this realm in a permanent summer’s day. The perfect weather…
The sun moved. For a moment I became certain it was looking right at me. A sudden urge to drop to my knees before it coursed through my veins, nearly unbearable. Then the great sun shimmered, going still, and the sensation passed.
“Luke?” Maddie’s hand gripped my shoulder. “Are you alright?”
It couldn’t have been, I told myself. I refused to believe it—admitting it would have been like blowing my conception of the universe wide open. That had to be some big Angel, some major authority checking in on me. It couldn’t have been HIM, right?
The Almighty? God?
Had He just taken note of me for a brief moment? And if so—did he like what he saw?
“Fuck,” I said, a little blasphemy steadying my thoughts, “are we really on the other side?”
“I think so,” Maddie said with an excited smile. “Which means you need a new look, Master…”
Maddie ran one hand down her naked body, raking the nails of the other down my chest. A shimmer filled the air, and suddenly both of us were fully dressed. These weren’t the robes I wore at the Infernal Academy—instead of the black and red of demonic investiture, these finely spun uniforms were white and gold. Mine was light and comfortable, like a karate master’s outfit, while Maddie’s looked like nothing so much as a sheath of silk wrapped skintight around her flawless curves.
She might be an angel, I thought, looking my newest girl up and down, but she’s definitely got a naughty side…
Just then, a man flew from the top of the gates. He blew a golden trumpet, and the gates opened a crack as he landed a few feet away. Holy shit. This guy had a halo.
An angel.
He had a kindly face, like the grandpa in a family movie. “Hello, Madeline,” he said, holding out his arms. “I am Myles Featherfinger, official member of the welcoming committee. It is my duty and pleasure to welcome you to the Celestial Academy. We are so glad you finally managed to join us…”
“Hold up,” I said, stepping out from behind Maddie’s wings. “Celestial Academy? Shit, so this is where angels get their lessons!”
“Where they earn their halos,” the man said, pointing at his own. His kindly look evaporated as he did a double-take, no doubt recognizing me. “You!?”
I laughed. “Yeah,” I said, putting my arm around Maddie’s waist. “‘Madeleine’ here is my girl. So you’re going to let her go to school here?”
“It looks so cool,” Maddie said, gazing up at the heavenly gates. Her eyes were as big as saucers. “Please tell me I can, Luke! I want to learn to be a good angel so I can serve you like Christina and Mareth…”
The angel who’d welcomed us was no longer listening. “What are you doing here!?” he demanded, blowing three angry bursts on his trumpet. “Your kind are forbidden from approaching the Celestial Academy! Do not think your heavenly garb hides your true nature. You are hellspawn. Your presence here. . . this is an assault against the heavens!”
“Woah, calm down,” I said, holding out a hand. “I was just teleported here, my guy. I had no choice in the matter…”
He looked like he was about to send for reinforcements. Then the cloud next to him erupted with a puff of smoke, and the poor angel looked like he was about to shit himself.
I couldn’t really blame him, though. When Lucifer stepped out of that cloud, a stone’s throw from the Pearly Gates, I could’ve done the same thing, too.
The decrepit old man I’d met inside of subspace was gone. I wasn’t sure if Lucifer had truly regained his previous form or if this was some sort of illusion to intimidate the angels—either way, it didn’t really matter. He was back to the way I’d seen him briefly during our first meeting: a devastatingly handsome man with dark hair and piercing eyes, wearing a tailored black suit. Like Christopher Lee in his prime, back when he played Count Dracula. I understood why a demoness like Lilith would throw everything away to serve a man like that.
“Luke is correct,” the Prince of Darkness said with a smirk. “I teleported Luke and Maddie here, you see. Relax—I’m not trying to get inside your precious school.” He gestured at the Pearly Gates with a toothy grin. “I just wanted to give my protege a blessing on his first day at the Celestial Academy.”
More angels appeared at the top of the gates. The first guy’s trumpet must have summoned them. They took one look at Lucifer and dived, covering the distance to our cloud in a matter of moments. Each of them wore golden armor that matched the gates behind them, jeweled tridents clutched in their fists. Unlike the guy who’d greeted us at the gate, these angels looked like they’d seen combat—those weapons clearly weren’t just for
