Yet more screams battered my ringing ears, and I knew the horror that had visited my home was but a pale shade of that which awaited me outside. I drew a deep breath and stared at the portal that separated me from the chaos beyond. Despite Valore’s words, the choir was my family. No matter what I might face, they needed me. If I were to die today, I would do so protecting those I love. God could ask nothing more of me; no one could.

I stepped from my home to find that Hell had come to my beloved Heaven. Angels battled angels in the roiling white skies. The air was filled with the sounds of war, the smell of charred flesh and blood. Brilliant bursts of energy illuminated the angels who fell to the ground as a rain of corpses. The fury that had overtaken me as I struck down Valore faltered in my breast. All around me were the remains of my family, the dead and dying littering the holy courtyard and filling my ears with their wails of pain and sorrow. The Choir was dying.

“Scarlett! Come to me,” a strong voice cried out from behind me.

I spun to see Duke Forcalor waving to me with his free hand, his other holding his midnight blade at the ready. The twisted spikes that adorned his reddened plate mail were covered in the dark shimmer of blood, his long white hair, wild and free of its usual binds, was streaked with crimson. He had not been spared a part in the revolt. I ran to his side as he struck down a young angel that dared to attack him. The boy died with a snarl on his lips.

There was sadness in Forcalor’s eyes as he turned to look at me. “Gabriel has set us against each other, and I fear I am the cause.” He was gracious not to mention my own bloodlines as he stared out across the plains. A tear spilled down his cheek, mixing with the claret that clung thick to it. “We are losing Heaven, child, but we must fight on.”