Chapter 13
After reviewing the plan of attack for Trey’s Day of Judgment for the hundredth time, Quintz’s team spent some time working on a disguise for Kinzer. As a fallen wanted for the same crime as Treycore, he couldn’t be seen prancing around the Colosseum of Parasonia. And as Kelley had noted, her powers were too limited to offer him protection for very long.
Unfortunately, since Brock was their expert in disguises, Kinzer had had to sit with him for hours as he applied various prosthetics to his face, ones that wouldn’t be noticeable by immortal gazes. Kinzer had to admit, despite Brock being an ass, he was meticulous with his craft, working like a true artist for hours to make sure Kinzer’s face was convincing. Immortals had a good eye for details, better than mortals, so the fact he was able to mask his craftsmanship from Kinzer’s own gaze suggested his talents. Although, Quintz had been far more critical of his efforts in the process, asking various other members of their team to inspect his handiwork to ensure that some passerby immortal would not catch on to their deceit and expose their ruse.
When they were finished with his makeup, they went through a room of clothes, picking out the team’s costumes for their operation. Most of the males wore a frader, a sort of loincloth—a familiar piece for heavenly beings. It would be necessary to wear as little as possible to blend in with the immortals of Heaven.
And even though Kinzer had once worn them all the time, he found it strange since he had become so accustomed to wearing the apparel of Earth. Strange how such a short time in another world had transformed him so much. Of course, if anyone understood how much a short stretch of time could change a creature, it was Kinzer.
Once they were all properly dressed, they headed back to the lower layers of the facility, to the room where Quintz’s PTD was located. He keyed in the coordinates to their destination before a translucent film rushed across the ceiling over the steps leading up to it.
“This’ll lead us to a portal right outside the colosseum,” Quintz explained to the room packed with all his officers. “We’ll head up in groups of three and four, as planned. Keeps them from seeing us all coming at once. Kinzer, Kelley, Brock, with me. Everyone has their stations and knows the timing and the signals.”
“Sir,” they chanted together before Quintz took a breath and looked to Kinzer. “You ready for this?”
“Ready to see it all go to shit,” Kinzer said, brushing past him and heading up the steps. He stopped and turned back to Quintz. “This thing ready, or is it going to blow me to pieces when I step through it?”
“It’s ready.”
“Then what the fuck are you sissies waiting for?”
Kelley, Brock, and Quintz tailed behind him as he pushed through the portal.
The fluid felt like pressure around him as he pushed his way through to the other side. It’d been a while since he’d crossed between realms…at least consciously. He enjoyed the feelings that rushed through him, savored them because they reminded him of a time when he was his old self—not the shell of an immortal he’d become.
As he ascended the steps into Heaven, it took his eyes a moment to adjust to the bright light—much harsher to the eye than even the brightest days of Earth.
When his vision recovered, he beheld the majestic cityscape around them. They stood atop a building beside the colosseum, overlooking the city of Parasonia, the pride of His great empire. White stone roads stretched out between the extraordinary constructions, packed with immortals making their way to the colosseum—a magnificent structure positioned near the Great Library, part of the Divine University of Thought and Aesthetics. An immortal such as Kinzer would never have had the privilege of attending the university, as it was reserved for the most beautiful or superiorly talented of creations.
Though the Colosseum of Parasonia had been restored from the War, some of the buildings around it remained dilapidated and were clearly still being reconstructed, likely by the work of flits, the new underdogs of Heaven, those who, since the War, had replaced Kinzer’s kind as the lowest class.
Immortals soared over the streets as they entered through the main arc into the colosseum, arriving for Treycore’s Day of Judgment. They wore very little, only enough to cover their genitals—something done because of their hypersensitivity and tendency to become aroused from as little as a gust of wind, let alone the sight of one of the Almighty’s more beautiful of creations. This was in stark contrast to mortals, who covered up out of modesty. Had they seen the creatures of Heaven moving about, they would have found the sight obscene, maybe even offensive to the Lord they believed in. But that was the way of Heaven, for what a great sin it was to conceal the beauty the Almighty had created. To show shame about what the Almighty had given one was to insult Him. Kinzer reflected on what Heaven had been like when all inhabited it. It had been a long time since he’d witnessed such a sight. Although, so brief within the scope of his existence.
Kinzer stepped to the edge of the building, gazing down at the streets paved with the same stone as the rest of the city. Because the Almighty preferred a homogenous, clean look.
“Of all the things the humans got right about Heaven, it had to be all the goddamn white,” Kinzer grunted.
“Got old real fast, didn’t it?” Quintz added. “You ready?”
Kinzer nodded.
Quintz wrapped his arms under Kinzer’s before pushing him off the building and stretching his wings out at his sides. They caught a gust of wind before Quintz began gliding toward the ground, as no higherlings were permitted to enter the colosseum through the open roof. They had to file in through the gates to pass through security.
Kinzer glanced over his shoulder, seeing Kelley and Brock easing their way down. A few straps of fabric in a crisscross design barely covered Kelley, whose chest was on full display, her nipples erect. She stretched her arms out, her cape attached to her wrists so that it fanned out around her as she soared through the air majestically, clearly taking pleasure in her flight. Brock dive-bombed beside her, catching her off-guard, so she had to move out of his way. He turned back to her, and she muttered, “Fucking asshole.” But Kinzer could tell by the playful gleam in her eyes she enjoyed his teasing.
He reflected on the days when he could enjoy a bit of in-flight play, taking for granted his ability to catch the wind beneath his wings and travel across the sky.
When they landed, they joined the crowd approaching the main entry archway, guarded by twenty higherling watchmen.
Kinzer’s disguise made him uneasy about being among immortals—right beside them. All it would take was one of them noticing some imperfection in Brock’s work, some slight defect, and it was over.
If he was discovered, he would wind up with a fate far worse than Treycore’s. For a pathetic creature such as himself, a death sentence would be certain for such a great crime against fellow immortals, especially considering he was wanted for conspiracy against the Council and the Almighty.
Kinzer relaxed a little as they started through the two rows of watchmen flanking the entry, who were identified by the necklaces they wore with the Council’s emblem across them—three circles joined together to represent the three realms, united for all eternity.
The promise of such a truce seemed a lie to Kinzer at that point, one they kept telling themselves, much in the same way as the mortals told themselves the stories of gods who cared for their souls. Such a lovely idea…if only there could be any truth in it.
Inside the arena, on the side farthest from Kinzer and his companions, a rectangular box with a podium was where the councilmembers would stand in judgment. Two square boxes were placed before it. One would be for Trey and Kid, the accused. The other was reserved for the Common Voice, one who would stand up and speak on behalf of the heavens, presenting the common concerns about the accused to help the councilmembers weigh the evidence and determine a suitable punishment.
