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of Heaven.”

      He felt nervous and childlike in God’s presence, and he couldn’t stand it. It was like God knew everything he had seen and knew exactly what he came to ask and was actually toying with him. “I am often more comfortable there, alone.”

      “What is it that you seek?”

      “You think I am unworthy of your level. Well, I may think differently. Through the knowledge I have gained, I know that it is impossible that one could be the beginning and the end. How can you claim to be something that is impossible for everything and everyone else?”

      He was surprised that he got to his point so quickly. A pause of silence, which felt like eternal minutes to Lucifer, fell between the two of them, but he was calm and longed for an answer. He stayed still, head down, knee bent, waiting for God’s answer. Maybe He didn’t know.

      “I warn you—be careful, Lucifer. It is so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of philosophy and reason but in the power of your living God. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I have given you free will to make your own decisions, but that is all you need to know.”

      He jumped up and stared directly into God’s light with clenched fists and venom pumping through him. Everything that had been welling up exploded in an instant. “Any fool can have faith! That is not good enough!”

      “Are you challenging my authority, Lucifer?” returned God with a voice like thunder.

      “And if I am? I do not fear you!”

      God’s light intensified, and Lucifer squinted and fell back to a knee. His fists were still clenched as he continued. “Do you not want us to be wise, Father? How can we be wise without questioning and challenging you?”

      “The fear of me, your God, is the beginning of wisdom.”

      “Answer me! Stop toying with me and give me what I want, or I will leave you this time!”

      God did not answer him. Had he lost his fear of God? What was happening? Lucifer felt heat pumping through his body but shoved it back down into the ball he had been holding it in. He needed to gain composure as God was obviously in charge of the conversation, not him. This was not what he wanted. A few seconds that felt like days went by before he finally spoke again. “I apologize, Father. I don’t know what came over me. I have had much going on lately. The announcement of your new Son startled me.” Disgusted me, he thought. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

      He had much more to say and many more questions, but he knew God would not be pleased and that this was not the time. He would never get anything from God. He felt the pain turning to anger and resentment, but he didn’t want to give into it. Not now. He would wait until the time was right for the entire discussion, the entire confrontation, the entire war, so instead he made a huge decision right then and there.

      He would no longer follow God. It broke his heart to think of the many years God loved him and he loved God, but reason was what mattered now. Not childish, ignorant, blind faith and love. God was not what He said He was, and it was time for Lucifer to expose this new truth. Faith was for the weak and ignorant. He was neither, and his faith was gone.

      God never responded.

      “I thank You.” Lucifer did his best to disguise his true feelings. “There is nothing else that I need from You.”

      With that, he got up and started his descent away from God, walking quickly while resisting the urge to fly away at full speed. He was overwhelmed with anger and disappointment, yet these negative feelings birthed a strong sense of power unlike anything he had felt before. He felt as if he could single-handedly change the way things were in Heaven and gain the authority and respect he was seeking. It felt strange, but it also felt good. Great actually. He felt like his own god and had reason to justify it. He had not felt the usual euphoria on his walk to God’s throne; this feeling had replaced it, and he only wanted to feel more of it. He yearned for more power, and he now knew how he would get it.

      He hurried on, putting distance between himself and God. He had suddenly realized the real reason Heaven had warrior angels, guardian angels, and keepers of the laws. Although he tried feverishly to mask all of these new feelings, he knew God sensed them. He was nervous that God was directly behind him and felt he couldn’t go fast enough. Maybe God even knew Lucifer’s plans for what was to come. What would He do if He did? Lucifer kept hurrying away and was careful not to turn around and find out.

      Gabriel parried, deflecting Azrael’s thrusting blade mere inches from his throat. Azrael was brutal and cunning in their fights, holding nothing back. This time Gabriel noticed he was getting better. Gabriel had to focus. Azrael sidestepped before moving inside Gabriel’s next swing to slice down across his chest. Again Gabriel barely jumped back in time.

      “You’re distracted,” Azrael said. He gripped the onyx hilt of his sword, swinging it idly from one hand to another.

      South of the Great Mountain stretched a massive field surrounded by the complexes used by the angels for sport, practice, and competition. The field of immaculate green grass stretched for hundreds of miles across the inner island, but it was marked off for many practice fields, like the one where they now fought. There was only one true field for the actual Ludus Paradisus; it was called the Provender but was often referred to as the lawn. Countless wooden structures such as catapults, trebuchets, benches, buildings, targets, and tall seating platforms surrounded the impressive field.

      Gabriel sparred often, and Azrael was his opponent most days. Gabriel wasn’t sure why Azrael came out to spar with him although Azrael’s looks and fighting skill gave Gabriel an ego boost. Azrael’s black hair and light skin always made Gabriel happy to be the scruffy, dark-skinned brute he was. Azrael was somewhat of a recluse, and he did not seem too interested in the games. Was he training for something? Gabriel was a force to be reckoned with in the lower classes every year, so he was learning from the best. Maybe he just wanted to get better. Azrael always studied Gabriel’s every move with a strange intensity, but Gabriel always let it go. He could practice for eternity and never catch up. Today, though, Gabriel’s thoughts were elsewhere, and both of them knew it.

      “The ceremony for the new Ludus Paradisus community building is happening right now,” Gabriel said. It had been on his mind all morning. He should be the one revealing it, not some virtue angel.

      “I don’t see how you can stand working with Raphael.”

      He sliced again, and Gabriel blocked without thought.

      “I don’t blame you for skipping the ceremony,” Azrael continued. “Maybe a wall will fall on him while he leads the prayer.”

      “He’s not the reason.”

      It was Arrayah. She was the one who had disrupted everything, shown him up in front of his team, and taken away his place of honor at the ceremony. If he could not even handle a construction assignment as Arrayah had made abundantly clear, how could he be trusted with leadership if some terrible event was coming? Why didn’t Michael go ask her to save half the angels?

      Azrael feinted to one side, his blade flashing, and leaped to the other as he flipped the sword around to stab Gabriel in the back. Gabriel was prepared for him, though, and he poured his frustration into the swing of his arm as he spun about to meet the attack. He locked blades with Azrael and used his sword’s cross-guard to twist the other angel’s weapon down and to the side. Releasing the hilt, he backhanded Azrael hard across the jaw. Gabriel grabbed him by the back of the neck and slammed his head into Azrael’s just above the eyes. Azrael staggered a moment, his hand going up to his face, and collapsed onto the ground.

      Gabriel, breathing hard, picked up their dropped swords and carried them over to the weapons rack.

      “Where did that come from?” Azrael asked, still clutching his head.

      “I have somewhere I need to be.” Without a backward glance, Gabriel

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