When We Were Still Human by Vaughn Foster

Author:Vaughn Foster [Foster, Vaughn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Your Favorite Uncle
Published: 2021-03-15T22:00:00+00:00

The door distantly slammed behind Avia as she stared wide-eyed down the corridor. The stonework that made up the walls and floor was completely transparent.

A river as clear as crystal ran several hundred feet below. It was breathtaking; the orange glow of the rising sun made the surface shimmer in its light. Mountains rose on either side of the river. The foliage twisted itself to become a part of the stone in a picturesque frame. As the rocks ascended, she could see stone blocks begin to take shape. The base of the castle was built into the mountain itself.

Tearing herself away from the scenery, she started down the hall, boots clicking on the brick. She now had a decent idea of what was going on. An angel named Zadkiel, who also happened to be the Sin of Pride, had pulled her from the nothing and brought her to Le Ciel—Heaven. She remembered from their conversation in the void that they had talked about burning the world alive. Everything else was hazy. She supposed that Vladimir would have filled her in had she stayed but leaving was the best call. She hated criers. Dealing with that girl, right when she woke up, no less, would have ended in disaster. It sucked even more because she had actually been excited when she first saw Val. The word Gluttony had appeared in her mind, along with a portrait of a terrifying monster with claws and fangs and purple-black eyes. Maybe one day, she’d get to meet the monster.

I guess even heaven has its disappointments.

But she still needed to know what had happened. If not within, perhaps the answers were on the other side.

Avia closed her eyes and tried to focus on the nothing. But as she half-expected, the nothing didn’t open its arms to her. Something else came instead.

She opened her eyes to find herself standing on a stone circle. Darkness stretched as far as she could see. It wasn’t the nothing, but something else. A veil. A bright flash blinded her and she shielded her eyes. When she opened them again, a giant door loomed several feet ahead. Flaming vines decorated the trim, the door itself made of swirling silver. Giant molten chains stretched across in an x pattern. The chains came together in a gigantic flaming lock that hung at the door’s center.

Avia stepped closer and could instantly feel the true nothing on the other side. The aether was past that. She reached out to touch the lock and a memory trickled out of its vault.

Alcohol, drugs. Loud music. Dancing. She was at a party. She had tried crossing to the aether but it didn’t work. Something went wrong and—

She froze. The house had burned down. Her fires scorched the aether and Earth Proper. Nothing made it out of the house alive.

“Cheshire!”

Tears broke the dam and cut down her cheeks. She threw herself against door, slamming her fist on the chains until a heat wave sent her stumbling back. The Mark on her shoulder burned.

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