by Riley London
I took a step back from the carved letters, and gave the academy a good, long look.
Charlie was right.
It was a beautiful building.
It was all white, with large columns that almost looked like they could touch the sky with just a bit more slab added to them. The windows were plentiful, too, and they were each made of stained glass, giving the building a hauntingly beautiful effect.
A stained-glass image to my right looked like an angel pulling off his wings. Meanwhile, a stained-glass image to my left looked like an angel drowning, with his wings underneath the water.
Hmm.
I wondered if the images on the glass would correspond to different events in the bible, much like they might if the windows were placed at a church.
I then wondered if the images on the glass would correspond to different events in angel history, things that I’d know nothing about, things that Benjamin would have to explain to me with that annoyed look on his face.
I glanced up at the top of the academy. It was in the shape of a sharp spire, and I would’ve sworn that it was piercing the clouds above, as if it was directly connected to heaven itself.
And I suddenly felt like I didn’t belong there, at all.
Even if I was an angel. Even if I had every right to be.
There had to be some kind of mistake.
I was no angel. I was a fighter, sure, but not the kind that had anything to do with anything good.
I fought for myself, and I didn’t know any other way.
How was I supposed to be part of something bigger than that?
Bigger than me?
“Am I allowed to go inside? Without some kind of sin-washing ceremony?” I asked. “I’m just afraid that I’m going to catch on fire, as soon as we step through those doors.”
“Why would you catch on fire, Celeste? There’s nothing demonic about you.”
“Yeah, I don’t know about that.” I looked back at Charlie. “Is he going to be okay, too?”
“Yes. He may feel a bit uncomfortable, at first, as if he’s in a very hot room. But if my suspicions are correct, and there’s something angelic about your friend, then ultimately, he will be fine.”
“Ultimately, huh? Not really inspiring a lot of confidence there, Benjie.”
“My name is Benjamin.” Benjamin corrected Charlie. “And it’s time for us to go inside.”
“After you.” I motioned for Benjamin to open the door. “There’s probably some kind of lock or something, anyway, right? Some kind of secret code—”
In the middle of my sentence, Benjamin opened the door just by pushing on it with his hand.
“Angel security. Top notch.” Charlie chuckled, as he followed Benjamin into the academy’s halls.
“Holy shi—” I stopped myself from finishing the curse word, as I looked down the academy’s hallway.
Again, everything was white. White floors, white walls, white doorknobs.
White, white, white.
The only spots of color came from the stained-glass windows, which reflected beautiful shades of dark purples and greens onto the academy’s floors.
I felt like I needed to hold my breath, like I was standing on hallowed ground and if I got found out, I’d be asked to leave the building ASAP.
Each step we took down the hall only made that feeling worse, as our footsteps created an echoing sound that was so heavy and wrong in my ears.
I wasn’t supposed to be here.
I knew that, deep down in my bones.
So why was Benjamin so insistent on putting me through all of this?
“Why is everything all white?” Charlie asked, as we made our way down the hall. “I’m noticing a bit of a motif here.”
“It takes a lot to make an angel bleed. But for a human? Only a simple touch or two.” Benjamin answered. “You’re probably aware that wearing black is a common tactic to hide the stains of blood. And so, while in the field, we wear black. However, the walls inside of the academy are white, because here we don’t want any blood to be a hidden thing. We want to know if there’s a human in our midst, or if one of our own is in danger. The white also makes it harder to hide one’s carnal sins.”
“Hide one’s carnal sins?”
Benjamin smirked. “Yes, at least that’s what the council says. However, they’re from a different time, really. No one believes that sex is sinful anymore. Not since we learned about the energy that flows between angels, its rejuvenating effects.”
“Oh. Oh God. The white is so you can’t hide the—Jesus.” Charlie seemed put off by Benjamin’s explanation.
“Prepare yourselves. We’re almost to Mrs. Deveraux.” Benjamin whispered under his breath.
But before we could take another step, another young man stepped out right in front of us.
He was blonde, just like me.
And there was a pissed off look in his dark, green eyes.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Benjamin?” The young man spoke through clenched teeth. “What did I tell you about bringing home stray animals off the street?”
“And what did I tell you about trying to control me, Zachary?” Benjamin replied with a confident tone. “What did I tell you about trying to control anything? You have no authority here. Only the angels above us—”
“The angels above instilled us with protecting their legacy, with protecting humankind. And you, by bringing in this unrefined filth, are risking everything to prove a point. Why? Do you really need the council to admit their own oversight? What the hell are you trying to do here?”
“I’m trying to bring a lost angel back into the fold. Why are you so against it?”
“Because I don’t believe in lost angels. If we didn’t know about her, there was probably a reason for it, and now you’ve fucked it up by bringing her right to our door. What if she’s a goddamn trap, Benjie?”
“Oh, so he can call you Benjie...I get it. I get it.” Charlie quietly remarked.
“If she’s a trap, isn’t it better we got to her before she got to us?” Benjamin ignored Charlie,entirely. “You should know better than to be afraid of finding out the truth. We weren’t trained to be cowards.”
“I’m not a coward. I’m just using my head. Something you seem to have forgotten all about.” Zachary scoffed. “What are you doing with her—them, now? Taking them to Deveraux?”
“Yes.”
“Fine. Then I’m coming with you.” Zachary folded his arms across his chest.
“Why?”
“Because, idiot, I’m your friend, that’s why. And if you’re going to get kicked out of the academy, they might as well kick me out, too.”
“You think I’ll be kicked out of the academy for this?”
“I mean, maybe, yeah. But who the hell cares, right? We’re not cowards, you said so yourself.” Zachary then turned his attention towards me. “What’s your deal, anyway? Are you going to ruin our lives or what?”
“I’m not going to ruin your lives. At least, not on purpose.”
“At least, not on purpose.” Zachary grinned. “Perfect. That’s a perfect answer. We’re fucked, Benjie. You know that, right? You’ve fucked us?”
“Whatever. Let’s just go talk to Mrs. Deveraux. Get this over with.” Benjamin continued to walk down the hall, gently pushing Zachary out of his path.
“Yeah. Let’s get this shit over with.” Zachary began to follow behind Benjamin, but not before giving me another quick look.
There was something burning behind his eyes, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.
And by the time I thought that I might have a good enough guess, Zachary had already walked down the hall.
“Zachary Lancaster. Benjamin Nash.” An older woman with salt-and-pepper hair peered over at us from behind an over-sized mahogany desk. “And you, my dear, must be Celeste Venoix.”
She then looked at me with a growing smile. “Comment ça va aujourd'hui?”
“Oh. I don’t speak Fr
ench.” I replied.
“Oh.” She seemed taken aback by that. “I apologize, my dear. It’s just with your last name, I figured that you were from the country itself.”
“Yeah. No. I’m adopted. Well, I actually wasn’t adopted. I was put up for adoption—I’m not French.” I waved a hand in front of my face, like I was waving off my entire train of thought. “Sorry for the confusion.”
“No matter. We can converse in English, all the same.” The woman’s smile only grew warmer. “My name is Mrs. Deveraux.”
“Hi, Mrs. Deveraux.” I returned her happy expression. “I think there’s been some kind of mistake.”
“A mistake? At the Angel Academy? Highly unlikely.”
“Right, it’s just that I’m not an angel or anything. I’m just a regular girl—”
“Do you really believe that to be true?” Mrs. Deveraux quirked an eyebrow. “Or is that something that you’d like to believe?”
“Fine. I’m not regular, exactly. I’ve got a bit of an anger problem, sometimes, and I’m pretty good at beating people up—”
“Sit down, Ms. Venoix.” Mrs. Deveraux nodded towards a padded chair in front of her desk. “Mr. Lancaster? Mr. Nash? You two have seats as well. And you, handsome stranger, you can sit down, too.”
“Thank you.” I heard Charlie’s response, as I took my seat in front of Mrs. Deveraux’s desk.
“Do you know the history of the Angel Academy, Ms. Venoix?” She asked, with a pleasant tinge to her voice.
“I didn’t even know you guys existed until last night. So, no.”
“And I’m guessing you know very little about our ancestors, as well, besides what you can learn in the translated version of the bible. A translation of a translation. If we didn’t think it’d cause nations to crumble, we’d provide humankind with an original copy.” Mrs. Deveraux winked, before she continued. “However, there’s only one story that you must know, before you decide whether or not the academy is or isn’t for you.”
“I’m listening.”
“Good.” She smiled, yet again. “Because I’m going to tell you about Michael.”
“...Michael?”
“Yes. Michael. The angel who made this all possible, the academy, everything.” She took in a breath. “We owe him such a great debt, one that we’ll hopefully be able to repay in heaven. His remaining legacy is part of a bigger question that’s posed, eternally, in the back of all our minds. Are we making Michael proud with our actions or not?”
“For Michael is quick towards forgiveness, but just as quick towards rancor.” Zachary chimed into the conversation.
“Yes. He was.” Mrs. Deveraux nodded. “At least, until he was taken from us, until he sacrificed himself for us. Ms. Venoix, are you familiar with the devil? Lucifer, I believe the humans call him now, although he’s gone by so many different names.”
“Not personally, no, but I’ve heard of him. Sure.”
“Well, after his rebellion failed to yield the results that he so desired, he fled to a new domain. Hell. Where he continues to reign, until this day. However, one man, or rather, one angel, does not a revolution make. There were others, who rebelled by his side. Greed. Pride. Wrath. Lust. Sloth. Envy. Gluttony. They deemed themselves princes, and they joined Lucifer’s cause. And so, they followed him to the ends of Heaven, but when the war was over and they had lost, they wouldn’t take even one step into Hell. They couldn’t admit defeat.”
Mrs. Deveraux’s tone shifted from one of pleasantness to one of gloom. “They came down to Earth, instead. All of them. Every last prince of sin. Before then, this world had been peaceful. And afterwards, it hasn’t known a day of peace since. But Michael...Michael was so strong that he was able to banish the princes to Hell, where they belong. He couldn’t kill their children, of course, because you can never completely kill the sin of this world, can you? But he lessened the princes’ powers, made living on this rock a bit more tolerable. And for that, he paid a heavy price.”
Mrs. Deveraux shifted slightly against the back of her seat. “Michael made a deal with God. He exchanged his place on Earth so that we could have the academy, so that we could have a place to train and learn. He offered God his soul for the ability to protect this world from the princes and their Children of Sin, their daughters and sons. And thus, the Angel Academy was born, and Michael was lost to us forever.”
“But he’s not lost, right? Isn’t he up there?” I pointed towards the ceiling, hoping it was clear that I meant heaven and not the second floor of this building.
“He’s lost to those of us who remember what it was like to have him by our side.” Mrs. Deveraux’s response came out as a low murmur.
And in that moment, I understood.
Oh.
Mrs. Deveraux had known Michael. Maybe she’d even loved him, as a friend or otherwise.
She wasn’t just telling me fun facts about the academy’s history. She was speaking from her soul.
“Our tradition isn’t as perfect as you might imagine. Michael fought hard against having to make that sacrifice. He didn’t want to leave everyone he loved behind, and he never thought that he was much of an angel, either. He loved to fight, which is the same thing I’ve heard about you, Ms. Venoix.”
The sweetness returned to Mrs. Deveraux’s voice. “And God, was he a stubborn man. You couldn’t tell him a damn thing about anything. If it wasn’t his way, it was the wrong way. And if it was somehow the right way, all along, then it was his way, all along, too.”
“Yep. That sounds familiar.” Charlie joined the conversation with a nod.
“What I’m saying to you, Ms. Venoix, is that you don’t have to be perfect to be an angel. All you need is a good heart, and an equally good head on your shoulders. And while I may know next to nothing about you, I do know that Mr. Nash wouldn’t have brought you to our attention if he didn’t think that you were worth the effort—”
“Sorry. Just. I’m sorry. Mrs. Deveraux?” Zachary leaned forward in his chair. “Are you serious right now? Are you really going to accept this imposter into our ranks here? What if she’s just setting us up?”
“Zachary Lancaster, are you really going to question my authority?” Mrs. Deveraux seemed partially amused. “What would you like to happen in this scenario, young man? Would you like for me to retreat into my own ignorance? To pretend as if it’s not possible that the council missed a spot when locating angels at birth? Would you like me to expel you for your insolence?”
“No! I don’t know. I just—”
“You just want permission to handle Ms. Venoix, all by yourself, is that it? You want to keep an ever-watchful eye on your supposed enemy?” Mrs. Deveraux grinned. “Well, consider your deepest wish granted. You are now on full Celeste Venoix patrol.”
“What? What does that mean?” Zachary sounded oh-so-confused.
“It means that, if your suspicions are correct and Ms. Venoix happens to be a spy or some improbable, sneaky, shadowy demonic figure, then you have my full permission to eliminate her.”
“To eliminate me?” I grimaced at the phrase. “Do you mean like, to kill me?”
“If that’s what is necessary, then yes.” Mrs. Deveraux nodded.
“Oh.” I replied, suddenly feeling like I couldn’t breathe.
Zachary was allowed to kill me?
I didn’t want him to kill me.
I didn’t want to die, at all.
“And what happens if I say no to your offer, Mrs. Deveraux?” I asked.
“Then, you can spend the rest of your life as a bartender, wondering what would’ve happened if you'd just taken a chance on something greater than yourself.” She shrugged. “As I said, the choice is up to you. We cannot make you serve, if you do not wish to serve. But I can promise you that, until you do your duty, your world will feel impossible to live in.”
She then reached down underneath her desk, before she pulled out what looked like a perfectly folded, school uniform. She slid it over to me, as she loo
ked me in the eye. “You belong here, Ms. Venoix. Consider embracing the truth of who you are.”
“Yeah, the truth of who we think you are.” Zachary whispered, underneath his breath.
“You can do this, Celeste.” Benjamin nodded, right beside me. “I’ve seen you fight. I know you have what it takes.”
“Charlie?” I glanced over towards him, waiting for his response. “What do you think?”
“I think that it’s about damn time that Celeste Venoix shows everyone what she’s capable of.” Charlie smiled. “Why the hell not? Besides, beating up demons is way better than beating up randos on the street. Less chance of an arrest.”
“Fine.” I turned back towards Mrs. Deveraux. “Okay. I’ll do it. I’ll try it. And if it doesn’t work out—”
“Don’t plan for failure.” Mrs. Deveraux brought her hands back to her side of the desk. “If you plan to fail, then you will fail. It’s what you’ve planned for.”
I looked down at the school uniform, as my thoughts raced through me at a mile per minute.
What the hell was I doing?
Was I really going to sign up to be in some kind of angelic version of the military?
Why? I didn’t have a dog in this fight.
And yet, there was something new still thrumming through my veins.
That same electricity, the one that sparked through me when I’d touched the door last night, the one that sparked through me when I’d brushed against Charlie earlier...
I didn’t want to leave it behind. It’d been in my life for such a short amount of time, but I honestly didn’t know what I’d do without it.
I’d just felt connected, to this academy, to everything, in a way that I hadn’t ever felt before in my life.
I’d had a small taste of what heaven could be like, and I wasn’t willing to turn away from it.
At least, not right now.
“Okay.” My words came out timid, even though excitement pumped through my heart. “Where do I start?”
Chapter 3
“You can’t wear that jacket over your uniform.” Benjamin pointed at my shoulder. “It’s against the rules.”