by Riley London
I turned my face towards the ceiling, my eyes staring up at the room’s bright lights.
Please sound the alarm.
Please sound the alarm.
Please sound the alarm.
I wanted so badly for there to be an emergency, some kind of demon sighting, some reason for me to grab my sword and take to the streets. I just didn’t want to be alone in my dorm room, even though I knew that there was at least one thing worse than being all alone with my thoughts right now.
And that one worse thing just happened to walk through the door.
Shit.
Zachary glanced over at me, before he sat down on the edge of his own bed, too. A few moments passed between us in silence, and then he let out an exasperated sigh.
“Celeste.”
“Yeah?” My tone was lined with irritation, but I couldn’t help myself. It’d been an irritating day.
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” I asked. “Sorry for telling me the truth? Sorry for letting me know that even after all we’ve been through together, you couldn’t even think of anything you like about me besides my body?”
“Celeste—”
“It’s okay, Zach. You wouldn’t be the first guy in the world to only care about how I look on the outside,” I continued. “I guess it just hurt my feelings a little more, because you actually know me, you know? I thought we were closer than that. But I guess we’re not.”
“Stop making me do this,” Zachary said so quietly it was almost underneath his breath. “Why are you making me do this?”
“What am I making you do? Apologize?” I was confused by his response. “I just told you that I don’t care if you say sorry or not. You already told me how you really feel and that’s—”
“For the love of God, Celeste!” Zachary exploded, before crossing the dorm room floor in a few easy strides. Before I knew it, he was on top of me, his hands pinning my wrists down towards the bed.
“Don’t you get that this part is way easier?” Zachary said, his voice almost a growl. “Don’t you get that this part is fun and simple and doesn’t require anything more than us both having a good time? Why the hell do you want things to be complicated?”
“I don’t want things to be complicated.” A familiar electricity began to vibrate right between my legs. “I...um...I just...if we’re going to do this...”
Shit.
I thought I’d gotten better at controlling this shit. I’d barely felt it when Charlie touched me nowadays, that electricity not fogging up my brain or making me forget myself. But for some reason with Zachary, its adverse effects were out in full force.
“Are you okay?” Zachary asked, as he shifted away from my frame. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“No. You didn’t hurt me,” I replied quickly. “Sorry. It’s just...sometimes...when you guys touch me—”
“You guys?”
“Um, yeah. You. Charlie. Benjie.” I kept my voice low. “It’s like a surge of something over my skin. It’s like downing a bunch of shots and riding a rollercoaster, all at once. I can’t really explain it.”
“Hmm.” Zachary stared over at me. “Interesting.”
“I’m getting a little sick of you using that word,” I admitted. “Why can’t you just say how you’re really feeling?”
“I just told you. I don’t want things to be complicated,” Zachary continued. “I want you, Celeste. Plain and simple. I’m not trying to be your boyfriend or whatever Charlie is supposed to be. If you’re not interested in that, I understand. But if you are, just let me know.”
Zachary stood up from my bed, before offering me a playful salute. “I think I’ll head back to the training room. Work on some moves, something like that. I’ll see you around, Celeste.”
“See you around,” I replied, watching Zachary walk out of the room.
What the fuck?
Just a few moments ago, the guy had been ready to jump my bones, and now he left me high and dry?
Well, not exactly high and dry. I scolded myself for how turned on I’d gotten when Zachary had pinned my wrists down towards the bedsheets. It was just the kind of thing that Charlie wouldn’t do and something that I was positive Benjamin wouldn’t try to pull, either.
However, Zachary was a different kind of guy altogether, more confident, more self-assured, more asshole-y.
So, why was I so freakin’ conflicted?
I reached for a nearby pillow, before holding it up to my face.
I screamed directly into it, until all the confusing I-want-Zachary-Lancaster-inside-of-me feelings seemed to fade away.
Chapter 2
“Charlie, you look like hell.” I squinted, before I pulled Charlie closer to my side. “Did you not sleep okay?”
“Ah, I didn’t sleep at all,” Charlie chuckled. “That’s probably part of the problem.”
“You didn’t sleep?” I shot an accusatory look over at Benjamin, who was sitting across from us at the cafeteria table. “What? Did you have Charlie up all night or something?”
“It was necessary for the...project.” Benjamin seemed to be censoring himself. “But I assure you that he’ll be all right. There wasn’t any long-term damage inflicted on your...friend.”
“Benjamin—” I started to speak but was cut off by Zachary’s sudden appearance. Just him showing up in the cafeteria made my heart skip a beat.
Nope.
No.
It was too weird. Since when did I have a goddamn crush on Zachary?
What the hell was happening to me?
“Benjamin.” I returned my focus to the situation at hand. “Why can’t you just tell me what you and Charlie have been up to?”
“You’ll see, once it’s all said and done.” Benjamin nodded. “Until then, we should speak of other matters.”
“Did anyone else hear that thunder crack last night?” Charlie seemed to be trying to steer the conversation in a new direction. “No? Just me?”
“I think the rest of us were getting a good night’s sleep, Charlie. Sorry,” I replied. “Although, I didn’t see any rain on the ground or anything. I guess there wasn’t a storm. Just the noise.”
“I don’t remember hearing any thunder, either, but I wasn’t really listening for it.” Zachary took a seat beside Benjamin, as he started to flex his fingers. “I spent a good part of the night in the training room, messing around with—”
“We don’t need to hear about your exploits,” Benjamin cut into Zachary’s sentence.
Zachary looked at me with a nervous stare, before he replied, “No! No. I wasn’t—I was just practicing with the weapons. I wasn’t seeing anyone.”
“I don’t believe you.” Benjamin grinned. “I remember how you were in high school. Although, granted, we’ve been a bit busy with the arrival of Celeste, but I figured you’d get back to your old ways, soon enough.”
“Your old ways?” Charlie asked, before he leaned in closer to Zachary. “Zachary...were you a manwhore?”
“No,” Zachary answered just a bit too fast.
“Yes,” Benjamin answered this time, the grin still on his face. “I may not have used such a crude term, but yes, indeed, our Zachary was quite popular with the girls in our class. I’m not surprised that his popularity has followed him here, as well.”
“That’s the least surprising thing that I’ve ever heard in my life.” Charlie laughed. “Of course, Zach’s a ladies’ man. What else would make any sense?”
“I’m not a—Stop.” Zachary seemed to be getting frustrated. “I’m not talking to any girls. I’m not doing anything that isn’t related to advancing my standing at the Academy, and maybe if you two focused more on your studies, and less on my sex life, you’d be getting ahead as well.”
Charlie snorted, the noise escaping through his pursed lips. “Getting ahead.”
“Getting ahead...” Benjamin laughed too. “Ha! I think I get it.”
“You two idiots have been hanging out too much,”
Zachary scoffed. “You both are bad influences on each other, you know.”
“Nah. We’re good,” Charlie replied. “Sorry for messing with you, man. It’s just kinda hilarious.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not funny to me. So, can we just stop talking about it?” Zachary suggested. “Anyway, I think we have something else we should be chatting about.”
“Like what?” Benjamin asked.
“Didn’t you guys hear? We have a new transfer. Straight out of France,” Zachary continued. “Today was her first day on campus.”
“Oh, right. I think I may have heard something about that...” Benjamin tilted his head to the side. “What was her name again? I remember it being something quite interesting.”
“Trinity,” Zachary answered.
Trinity.
I tried to keep my composure, suppressing my desire to scream as loudly as I possibly could. “...What? I’m sorry? Did you say that her name was Trinity?”
“Yeah,” Zachary replied. “She seems pretty cool, so far. Although, she’s probably going to take my valedictorian spot away from me. She seems to know everything about everything.”
“You already had a class with her?” Charlie asked.
“No. We crossed paths in Mrs. Deveraux’s office. I was there just for a check-in, and she was there to get her orientation started,” Zachary explained. “We spoke for a moment or two. I told her not to worry about the whole transfer thing, and that she was only the second, newest student that we had.”
“Did you tell her my name?” I managed to keep the question neutral, hiding my fear underneath.
“I don’t remember. Maybe? I didn’t think it was a big deal.”
“It’s not.” I lied. “It’s fine. I’m sure she’s nice.”
“Her niceness wasn’t truly in question, was it?” Benjamin asked. “We’ve only just heard of the girl’s existence.”
“Yeah, Celeste. Don’t judge a book by its title.” Charlie playfully nudged me in my side. “Or are you worried that she’s going to take your place or something?”
“I’m not worried about anything.” I lied again. “Excuse me for just a sec.”
I got up from the cafeteria table and headed towards the nearest restroom.
God.
Oh my God.
What were the odds that the girl named Trinity was genuinely just a transfer student? Someone who’d somehow found the academy a little later in life? Someone just like me?
But if she was just like me, that would mean that she was just like me. A product of a hellish union, now part of a world that they never asked to inherit. I just couldn’t imagine a situation where Trinity wasn’t the same Trinity as my sister, whether or not she knew about our parents.
Wait.
What if she’d forgotten everything? What if our mom had stored Trinity’s memories in some kind of amulet, too, keeping them hidden away from her? For all she knew, maybe she’d just turned up on the streets of France, one day, and someone had spotted her wings and enrolled her at the Angel Academy in France.
I mean, hell. Wasn’t that what basically happened to me, too? Except I’d been on Earth for a while longer than she possibly had.
I turned on the faucet below me, letting a pool of cold water gather in the palm of my right hand. I brought the water to my cheek, splashing it against my skin, reveling in the sting of the moment. I just needed something to ground me, something to bring me back to focus—
“Hello?” There was a knock on the door, followed by a light voice. “Hello? Is anyone in there?”
“Oh. Sorry.” I turned off the faucet, and quickly grabbed a paper towel. “Just one second. I’m coming out now.”
Tossing the paper towel into the trashcan, I ran my fingers through my hair, attempting to make myself look a bit less horrified and crazed.
Although, there was nothing I could do about that terrified look behind my eyes.
I calmly inhaled and exhaled, my hand resting on the doorknob. “Sorry about the wait. I was just—”
My blood ran as cold as the faucet’s water, when my eyes met Trinity’s own. I knew that it had to be Trinity, due to her dark hair and dark eyes, looking just like Lucifer himself.
Abaddon was right. She looked just like our father.
“May I come in now?” Trinity asked, with a smile on her face. “I wasn’t sure how many stalls were in there, but I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“You can come in. It’s fine.” Another lie, as I shifted away from the door. “You’re Trinity, right? The new girl?”
“Oui. La nouvelle fille.” Trinity smiled again. “And you are?”
“Celeste Venoix,” I answered, even though I had a feeling that she already knew my name. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too.” Trinity pushed open the bathroom door behind me, and disappeared inside.
Chapter 3
“Auxilium.”
I held my blade out in front of me before I began to slice it through the air. I’d lucked into having the practice room all to myself, with most of the other students having gone to bed already. I watched as the golden glow of the sword moved in time with my hands, until I couldn’t tell where I came to an end and my weapon began.
It was a dance I’d become accustomed to, one that spoke to my very soul. Typically, angels would practice with the wooden swords, but I’d long since advanced past the need to play pretend. I’d used my summer to do nothing but prepare myself for what I felt was an inevitable battle, whether it’d be between Abaddon and I or between me and the Princes of Hell, all at once.
I wanted to be ready for whatever was coming, which meant that I needed to be the best fighter that I could be.
“Abscondam.” I spoke the words over my sword, and it disappeared in my hands. I could still feel its weight in my palm, as I continued to move it throughout the room. The weapon hadn’t gone anywhere, just concealed itself from sight. It was a new prayer that I’d been trying out, unsure if it would work. It wasn’t one that anyone had taught me, but I’d been working on my Latin, spending my nights reading notes from Mr. Toorin’s linguistic classes, over and over.
I let out a sigh of relief, as the weapon remained hidden even as I slid the hilt into its scabbard.
A loud blaring rang out across the room.
Instinctively, I ran towards the nearest exit, my feet soon rushing down the academy’s halls.
Chapter 4
“Demonic energy. I can feel it in the air.” Zachary looked disgusted, as his eyes swept the city streets. “Keep an eye peeled for anything unusual.”
“And keep your weapons at the ready,” Benjamin directed. “Celeste, are you good to go?”
“I’m fine.” I nodded as I checked out the scene for myself.
“Are you?” Zachary scoffed. “It looks like you left your weapon back at the academy.”
Shit.
The cloaking prayer.
My sword was still in place beside me, but no one could see its blade.
“I’ll be fine.” I shrugged. “Besides, if anything gets too hairy, I can just use my hands, remember?”
I wiggled my fingers for emphasis, staring back at Benjamin and Zachary. “I’m a natural born weapon.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Charlie sounded fierce as he moved to stand at my side. “Don’t worry.”
“You don’t need to keep an eye on me.” I knew that Charlie was just being protective, but there was something annoying about the assumption that I needed anyone’s protection. I’d been practically living and breathing inside of the training room. If anyone was going to be a hero today, it was going to be me.
“Charlie and Celeste, go left, Benjie and I will go right,” Zachary commanded, before he started to head down the street. “If anything gets weird, just scream or something, and we’ll be there ASAP.”
“Got it.” I nodded, before nudging Charlie in his arm. “Let’s go, partner.”
“Right behind you, partner.”
/>
“I’m not seeing anything.” Charlie shook his head, as we rounded yet another corner. “Are we sure we are in the right place for the demonic energy?”
“I’m not seeing anything, either.” I pursed my lips, before looking at a particularly tall apartment building.
As my eyes trailed over its windows, some open, some closed for the night, a thought came to me in an instant. “What if we’re looking in the wrong place?”
“What do you mean?”
“What if the energy isn’t on the streets? What if it’s up there?” I pointed towards the building. “We already know that demons can possess people. What if it just took over someone’s body and is just chilling in their apartment or something?”
“Shit,” Charlie looked up at the building and then over at me. “That would suck for them. No way that demon is going to remember to pay their rent on time.”
“Let’s check it out.” I was already walking towards the entrance of the building, before I’d even finished my sentence.
I could tell that Charlie was behind me, by the sound of his echoing footsteps in my wake. I made my way up the first flight of stairs, the second, and then the third.
On the fourth floor, I could’ve sworn that I felt something vibrating against my skin. It felt sickly and harsh, and it made me so nauseous that I grew unsteady on my feet.
“Celeste?” Charlie panted, as he came to stand beside me in the hall. “What’s wrong?”
“Demonic energy. You can’t feel that?” I brought a hand towards my stomach, as I winced. “Shit. I’ve never felt anything like that before. Not even with Abaddon.”
“That can’t be good.” Charlie grimaced, his eyes taking in the landing around us and the hallway beyond. “Maybe we should turn back? Go get the others?”
“No.” I steadied myself, placing my palm against the wall. “If it’s this bad, we can’t take a chance on letting it go. We need to deal with it right now.”
“Fine. Then, let’s deal with it.” Charlie looked around the hall. “Do we need to break these doors down, one by one, or—”