Page 44 of Hellfire & Bowties
Huffing and puffing, he finally reached the pearly gates, blanching at the thought of someone polishing and shining those monstrosities every five seconds. There was absolutely no way they were all glittery and reflective without divine intervention.
He approached the gates, and they slid open in front of him instantly, allowing him to pass into the most magnificent garden. There were colorful flowers wherever the eye could see. Seas of lush green grass and acres of delicious-smelling fruit covered the entire surface in front of Luc.
Birds were chirping, butterflies in every pattern imaginable fluttered around, and the sweetest scent assaulted Luc’s senses the moment he took a breath.
Ugh.
Paradise.
Gross.
He tucked his wings closer, trying his best to avoid touching anything. The last time he’d come up for a team meeting, he’d picked up pollen on his wings and spread some god-awful weed all over Hell. It had taken them a month to get rid of all the… purple bits.
He trudged up another flight of stairs and into the grandiose palace that was the Big Guy’s home. He sure liked to flash his omnipotence around, that was for sure.
The whole kingdom of Heaven was supposed to be a metaphor, not, like, an actual kingdom. But Luc figured you could do whatever you wanted when you were the boss.
He walked into the palace, greeting familiar faces and exchanging glares with the ones who took the Heaven versus Hell dispute literally. They were in the same business. They worked for the same company. Luc just couldn’t wrap his head around some people’s outdated ideas on how it all worked.
Shrugging, he walked down a narrow corridor to his left, his steps echoing against marble floors polished to a shine so bright Luc was willing to bet he’d have a migraine for a week after this.
“Luc!” He heard a voice coming from his right, and he turned to find Peter standing there, a clipboard in hand, white wings spread wide around him. His dirty blond hair was neatly combed over his forehead in a cute choir-boy fringe, and his pale blue eyes were kind when he looked at Luc.
“Pete, my man,” Luc said, coming closer to clasp the man on the shoulder. Peter was probably his favorite member of the Heaven brigade. Dude had too much work to do to engage in petty bullshit.
“You here about Oren?” Peter asked.
Luc nodded, ignoring the heavy pit in his stomach. “I am, yes.”
Peter smiled angelically. “He’s waiting for you in his office. Fair warning, he’s a bit moody.”
“Ice-skating competition didn’t go the way he wanted?” Luc asked.
“His favorite skater retired. It was a whole thing.” Peter gave a small sigh that came out like rainbows. “He actually considered meddling for a split second, but Michael talked him out of it.”
“Phew.” Luc pretended to wipe his forehead. “Crisis averted.”
“For now,” Peter said. “But please, try and be gentle with him. This mix-up is a first, and with how raw he’s feeling atthe moment, anything that sounds like criticism might hurt him more.”
“Got it. I’ll watch my words and tone. And everything else.”
“Good.” Peter gestured him forward with a wing. “Go ahead. Call if you need anything. Michael isn’t in today, but I’ll do my best to help if I can.”
Luc nodded, wondering just how serious the situation was if they were all tiptoeing around, putting out potential fires.
He pushed open the door to a large office and walked in, balking at the sight in front of him.
The Big Man was sprawled on a large ottoman, a burgundy fleece blanket draped over him as he stared at the wall opposite. He looked miserable.
“Hey, G,” Luc said as he walked farther into the room, reaching one of the large chairs next to the ottoman and lowering himself into it. “I hear you’re having quite a day.”
The Big Man looked at him with tear-filled eyes. “He had at least another season in him. I can’t believe he chose to just walk away. We were so close to winning gold this time, too.”
“Aw, I’m sorry to hear that.” Luc tried his best to be sympathetic, but it was very hard when he had absolutely no idea what the issue was.
“He was just such a joy to watch, you know?”
“Sure…” Luc said. “Why is he retiring if he could still compete?”
