Ascend (Celestial Academy Book 1) Read online

  Turn right. Run.

  No matter what.

  Turn right.

  Run.

  I took a deep breath, the tears already pouring down my cheeks like hot reminders that this wasn't a movie. This was real. I opened the door and tried not to look at what was ahead of me, because I was supposed to turn right and run.

  Cages. Rows and rows of cages with angels. Turn right. Run.

  My eyes scanned the sea of cages and Olly's bloodshot blue eyes met mine. I couldn't hear over all the noise but one word came from his mouth. Run.

  I snapped my head to the right and took off, staying close to the wall. The gunfire was behind me now. My feet hurt from unknown debris digging into them, but I ran. There was a metal door straight ahead.

  "Stop her!" Boots pounded on the cement behind me as I flung open the door and ran into the night.

  The lights were on outside, the sky a deep blue color. My eyes scanned quickly, trying to figure out where I was supposed to go. Where I could hide. To my left was dark water, glittering in the artificial lights. Straight ahead were rows and rows of metal shipping containers with cranes towering over them, ready to put them on ships. To the right was chain link fencing, and beyond that, another building.

  Hide. I needed to hide.

  I ran as fast as I could and darted between the first two containers. The containers were arranged in groups of two with two groups in each row. They were stacked four containers high. The spaces between were narrow. I went towards the water and ran straight along the small strip of concrete between the containers and water. I would jump in if I needed to.

  My lungs burned and I felt my airway not wanting to cooperate. I slowed slightly until I heard gunshots and shouts.

  Where was I supposed to go? He said run. Run, run, run. That was what I did but now I was reaching the end of the area I was in and would run straight into the water. I turned at the last row, the chain link fence now in front of me. It went straight to the edge where the port met the water, but maybe I could hold onto the pole and slip around it? I definitely couldn't climb it since there was barbed wire at the top.

  I ran towards the fence and slipped around the edge of it before stopping in my tracks. A black SUV was idling outside the building I was just in, and two large men were ushering a woman wearing a scarf around her head and sunglasses into the backseat. Before she climbed in she looked over at me.

  "Danica! Run!" I heard Asher's yell, but didn't see him. I ran; there was not much cover between the fence and the next building over.

  The sounds of boots on the pavement behind me was a reminder that I was being chased. A bullet hit the ground next to me and in a panic I lost my footing and fell onto the cement, my hands and knees scraping along the rough surface. I scrambled, trying to get up, to get farther away from the men, the bullets, the noise.

  I managed to get up, but then was knocked back by a body tackling me, bullets hitting the ground, a scream of pain. Shouts. Curses. I struggled under the weight, the feel of warm blood seeping into the blue scrubs.

  The body rolled over, the person gasping for air. I rose to my knees to run.

  No.

  The scream left my throat with so much force that I fell back, the world going silent around me before rushing back into my ears all at once.

  No.

  There was so much blood I didn't know where to put my hands to stop the flow of it. I pushed his blond hair out of his eyes and he stared back at me with sad slate blue eyes. Two blinks. A tear slid down his cheek.

  No.

  The gunfire had stopped. No more pounding feet. No more shouts. A ship's horn blew in the distance. The lulling sound of water filled my ears.

  I put my lips against Asher's, his breath shuddering against them as I kissed him. "I love you, Asher." His hand gripped mine. He tried to speak but all that came from his mouth were gurgles.

  Footsteps beside me. Silence.

  Dad. He kneeled on the other side of Asher, his glowing hands hovering over his torso. He shook his head.

  My sobs filled the night, the stars just making their appearance as Asher took a ragged breath. Seconds turned into minutes. No more breaths.

  "Danica... they have to take him. They’re being summoned."

  I looked up at my father. He hadn't left his spot, but glanced to the side. I looked. Tobias. Olly. Tear-stained faces. Wings extended. Glazed eyes.

  "They can't control it. They have to take him."

  No.

  Tobias walked forward, his wings folding back, but not away, and he scooped Asher in his arms. He backed away and they shot into the sky. Shooting stars.

  Chapter Twenty

  Dad took me home and said he was staying a while, taking a vacation. Last time I checked, moping around on the couch with your daughter was not much of a vacation. He said that he left three of his most trusted demons in charge. I couldn't tell if he was serious or joking since he wasn't one to joke around.

  It was the first time in recent memory where he stuck around longer than a day. The first time ever, at least that I could remember, that I had seen him out of a suit. He was a man who would arrive in a suit, go into the bedroom at night in a suit, and then come down the next morning in a suit. I guess it was just his way of expressing himself and showing he was in charge.

  It was also the first time he watched more than the news and business channel. He binged on Netflix to humor his broken-hearted daughter.

  "I find it rather peculiar that this Lucifer not only wears a suit constantly, but bears a striking resemblance to me. I'm going to have to figure out who is involved in making this show," he said, taking a bite out of a slice of pizza. I had talked him into watching Lucifer, curious to see his reaction. "I bet a dream demon planted that in someone's head."

  I picked a piece of sausage off my plate and popped it in my mouth. I held myself back from shoving the entire extra-large pizza we had ordered into my face and devouring it like a pig. My appetite had been non-existent the last few days, but now it greeted me like a greedy child who wanted to take all the Halloween candy in the bowl.

  "Do you think they’re coming back?" I asked absently as I ate my crust, leaving the rest of the pizza. I had this thing with my pizza; I liked to eat my least favorite parts first, starting with the crust and ending with a small pile of sausage I picked off beforehand.

  I had asked my father countless questions over the past few days, including what I was asking him now. Sometimes he didn't know the answer, sometimes he did. He would slip away into his office he never used, and talk on the phone to whoever was on the other end. Sometimes his answers would change the next time I circled back to them.

  He put his plate on the coffee table and turned towards me. I focused on my pizza, folding it and biting into it. I probably shouldn't have been asking questions I didn't want the answers to while I was eating, but it was hard to resist. I needed to know, and if that meant crying into my pizza, then so be it.

  "Ham says they are but there isn't a timeline. He doesn't know what’s going on. No one does."

  I met my father's eyes; he was serious. I let out a shaky breath and continued to eat. His answer meant it could be days, weeks, months, maybe even years. It had been three days since Tobias and Oliver had flown off into the night with Asher's lifeless body. Three days of radio silence from them and three days where I peppered my father with so many questions he probably wished he would have spent more years in my youth explaining celestial life to me.

  The first day, I learned that the soul could only be restored once. Fallen that died, died for good. The second day, I learned that when an angel was summoned to heaven like Tobias and Olly were, that it was forced in dire circumstances, which is why they had glazed-over eyes. At least the third day brought me a little peace of mind, but just barely. They'd be back at some point. Tobias and Olly.

  "Do you think they'll be Fallen?" I asked casually, like it wasn't a big deal. It was a very big deal. Olly might still have his m
ental state intact after, but Tobias would remember his death.

  "Why would they be Fallen? They did nothing wrong." He gave me a serious look, a concerned look. A look you give your child when they say something outlandish.

  I shrugged, trying to show him I wasn't certain in my answer. "Because of me."

  His face softened, a look I wasn't used to seeing often. Especially not with sweatpants and a t-shirt on. He almost looked like a normal dad. Almost.

  "Love is not damning, Danica. It lightens the soul, puts it at ease, destroys the darkness. The souls that end up in hell, they don't love. They destroy it in themselves and those around them. Those that fall, fall because they hate more than they love. I fell because I hated more than loved." He paused and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "But love... love for you and for your mother…" His voice cracked as if he was holding back tears. "That love is what let me be free again."

  "Does that mean your devil days are over?"

  He chuckled and grabbed another slice of pizza, his emotions now tucked tightly away. I wish I could fold up my emotions and tuck them away just as easily.

  "No. I am still going to run hell, at least for now, until this threat of opening another gate to hell is gone. I will be delegating a little more, something I should have done a long time ago."

  "I don't understand how someone can open a gate to hell when you're right there."

  "I only take up a small portion of hell. Heaven and hell both run in infinitely expanding planes of existence. If someone decided to just keep walking straight in heaven or hell they will never find an end, it will continue to expand. There are some demons not under my control but they have always kept to themselves. My blood is the only key to hell so I don't know what they expect to do with all that angel blood they collected. I don't think it can create a gate by itself."

  That was what worried me the most. None of us knew what their endgame was.

  I hadn't realized how much I had missed Ava until she was lying next to me on my queen-sized bed. I had to tell her something about what had happened, but also couldn't tell her everything. She thought I was at an academy for troubled youth and we were being trained to go into the military. That was completely plausible given my track record and my dad's fortune. He could afford to send me to a top-secret military academy.

  The reason for my tears was a little more difficult to explain. When I told her I had three boyfriends, she blinked at me for at least a minute, running it through her head. She was fairly innocent, only having made-out with a boyfriend, so the fact that I was with them all was a shocker for her. An even bigger shocker was that my dad didn't have anything bad to say about three men being in my life. I couldn't explain to her that he had been around so long that me having a harem of men wouldn't faze him. In fact, I think he was happy I had men around to protect me.

  Well, now two men. Or maybe none if heaven didn't send them back to me.

  "Are you sure you want to go back to that school? It sounds like torture. You should punch those bitches."

  "I'm not doing too horribly in the classes. Mostly Cs. Plus, they might get out soon." I had told Ava that Olly and Tobias were taken by the court-martial since it was a military matter and I didn't know when or if they would come back.

  I had decided that I couldn't just stay here and mope for the rest of my life. It had been almost a week. I could very well have moped back at school, where at least I'd have something to do to keep my mind off the overwhelming pain I felt inside.

  Loud voices, one being my father, came from downstairs and we both sat up and looked at each other. Ava was up and out the door before I could stop her. It was so out of character for her that I quickly ran after her and grabbed her arm at the top of the stairs.

  "You can't go down there! What are you doing?" I whisper shouted, yanking on her arm like it was the pull to a lawnmower. My dad had told me to stay upstairs with Ava until he came and got us.

  "That voice..." she said on a sigh, still trying to descend down the steps.

  I couldn't hear what the other voice was saying but it had a very seductive quality to it, like fine wine and dark chocolate if they could talk. I was certain it belonged to a demon, because why else would my best friend be in some kind of weird lust-filled trance trying to run to it.

  The voices cut off and there was silence, except for Ava's deep breathing. She managed to snake her arm away and took the steps two at a time, holding onto the banister. Fuck my life, I couldn't even keep my best friend from throwing herself in harm's way.

  I ran after her and collided into her back at the bottom of the stairs, nearly knocking her over. She was openly ogling a very attractive man who was leaning with his hip propped against the kitchen island. His skin was very tan, military shaved dark hair, and the most striking green eyes I had ever seen.

  "Ricky, you didn't tell me you kept humans here. I would have turned it off had I known," he said, his eyes locked on Ava before glancing at me and then settling back on Ava. "I didn't take you for someone who has pets."

  "I don't," Lucifer said, a slight tremor in his voice that probably only I could detect. Crap, this was bad. Why was there even a demon in our house?

  "And I certainly didn't know you liked them so young."

  "Well, I definitely can't have prostitutes that have been used. Ladies, why don't you head back upstairs? I was just about done." He stepped in between us and gave me a very serious look that told me to go with it.

  Ava shook her head and looked back and forth between me and him. I grabbed her arm and yanked her back upstairs before she could get a word out.

  "You're no fun, Ricky." I could almost imagine the pout on the man's face. It sounded like he was throwing out his bottom lip.

  "Stop calling me that."

  "Fine, you're no fun, Lucy."

  I heard a smack and a laugh as I shut my door and leaned up against it. Ava slowly sank on the bed, still seeming out of it. I had no clue what kind of demon that was but I was certain it couldn't be anything good.

  "Are you okay?" I stayed in front of the door, not sure if she was going to take off out of it again.

  She put her hand over her heart and took several deep breaths. I could see her trembling from my spot against the door. She met my eyes and a huge smile spread across her face. Oh, no. I knew that face. That was the same face she made when her beloved Nick Jonas came on the screen or radio.

  "I know this is crazy, but I think I'm in love with that man." She stood and went to the window.

  Shit, was she going to climb out the window now? I rushed over to her and grabbed her biceps. I sighed in relief when all she did was pull the curtains back and stare outside into the darkness. Although, maybe that should have concerned me even more.

  "What did he do to you?" I still kept my hand on her arm and she turned her head to look at me.

  "Stole my heart, that's what he did."

  I managed to convince Ava that she had been dreaming and that my dad never had business associates over to the house or anyone else for that matter. Crisis averted.

  I decided it was time to attempt to get back to school. I was already behind, but surprisingly not as far behind as I was in human school. Everyone at school knew what happened and instead of looking at me like I would murder them, they looked at me with indifference and maybe a touch of curiosity.

  Rumors of my scream had spread fast since several third-year students were part of the rescue mission. When I screamed with everything that was in my heart and soul, something had happened. Something that I had already tried to replicate countless times once my dad finally spilled the beans about it. At the time it happened, I hadn't even noticed because I was so distraught.

  But when I had screamed, the Fallen dropped to their knees and dropped their weapons. It made no sense to me. It made no sense to anyone. The Fallen hadn't even known what had come over them, but described it as a compulsion to surrender.

  We learned nothing more than we already knew from
the Fallen. Someone wanted to open a gate to hell and needed angel blood to do it. My role in it all was still unclear. Maybe I was the sacrificial lamb or leverage. All we knew was that the mystery woman and John Adamson Sr. were nowhere to be found. John Jr. was back at school; apparently the charges against him and his father for drug trafficking, distribution, and coercion were dropped.

  I spent my nights off campus at Asher's place because I needed to be close to him, to them, and the only place I felt that way was in his bed or on his roof. Since the weather was getting a smidgen warmer, I'd pull his duvet off his bed and sleep on a reclining lounge chair under the stars.

  The stars, the moon, the faint sounds of revelers down the street always relaxed me enough to fall asleep, even though sleep was painful. The scene played on repeat night after night. Me turning right and running, running, running. Until Asher threw himself on me and died.

  My nightmares seemed to suddenly stop and I could finally get decent sleep. In fact, I found myself looking forward to sleeping every night, where I'd get lost in a dream so vivid and enjoyable that it made me feel guilty considering Tobias and Oliver were still missing.

  Two weeks had passed since returning to school, three since my world imploded. It was early for me to sleep, barely nine, but I’d had a long day dealing with the sneers and under-their-breath comments from the Divine 7. They had been so quiet that it surprised and saddened me to hear their demeaning remarks yet again.

  To make the day worse, now Spring had decided to bring a shower with it, the sprinkles hitting the duvet I had just gotten comfortable under. I grumbled curses at the sky and trudged my way to the door, the duvet trailing after me.

  "Danica?" My hand was on the door knob and I froze at the sound of my name on Tobias's lips. My heart sped up and I dropped the duvet as I turned around.

  Tobias and Oliver stood in the middle of the roof, their wings still extended. They were dressed in white cotton pants, no shoes. I stepped forward, over the duvet. Was I dreaming?