Academy of the Wretched

Prologue

Lucifer was God's most precious and powerful angel, until one day, he decided to raise a little hell. He was stripped of his wings and banished from Heaven.

All alone on Earth's cold surface, he suddenly saw a silhouette in the shape of a woman. He was mesmerized by her beauty, for he had never seen anything quite as divine. 

Nervously, he approached her.

"My oh my, never have I seen anything so magnificent in my entire being," he said. 

She could tell that he lusted after her.

"Why, never have I met any man so charming and exquisite," she said. "My name is Lilith."

He couldn't tell what Lilith thought about him, and it made him even more nervous.

"Pleased to meet you, madam," he spit out. "My name is Lucifer."

There was a silent pause before Lilith spoke up.

"Come. Walk with me," she said.

He obeyed and started walking with her.

They walked alongside a quiet and tranquil river. The air was fresh and crisp. The sky was dark and the moonlight was like a spotlight for them. 

"So," she said, "where do you come from? Never have I seen you in these parts before."

He didn't quite know how to tell her that he was cast out of Heaven, a so-called "paradise" for those who serve the False God. He didn't know if she would believe him or not. Ultimately, he succumbed and just spit it out.

"I was cast out of Heaven and I know that sounds a bit peculiar but-" she interrupted.

"Do not even get me started on that hellish place. This arrogant god put me down here with this other treacherous man, Adam."

Lucifer instantly grew jealous and angry that Lilith had been with another man, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

"So," he said, "what of this man is there to tell?"

"He expects me to be subservient to him. He expects me to do as he commands. He expects me to make love with him as he commands," she continued. "I do not know how much more I can bear of his narcissism and his condescending speech."

At this point, Lucifer was infuriated. He wanted to unleash wrath upon Adam. 

"I am my own person, not a servant. I bow down to no one," she said.

Instead of releasing his anger for her misfortune, Lucifer proposed something to her.

"Let us leave this heavenly paradise and escape that tyrant of a god," he proposed.

Lilith looked baffled. She felt like she had a duty to stay and serve Adam, but she desired nothing more than to escape.

Before she responded, Lucifer added on to his proposal.

"Once we find a home for ourselves, I will be a king, and I will make you my queen," he went on. "We rule over those who rebel against the False God. A day will come when we will have our chance to destroy him and wreak havoc on this wretched place. Does that sound like a tempting offer?"

She bit her lip and smirked. She took a deep breath before she gave her answer.

"I would love nothing more," she said.

Lucifer embraced her with a kiss, their naked bodies pressed up against one another.

"This is only just the beginning," Lucifer promised.

After what seemed like an eternity of looking after demons and ruling over Hell, a place where dark souls are condemned to for eternal damnation and torture, Lilith suggested an idea.

"Remember all those years ago when we talked about putting an end to Christ if he were to ever return?"

Interested, Lucifer glanced at her.

"Continue," he said.

"I have an idea. What if we were to send a mortal to do our bidding?"

He looked at her, confused.

She asked, "what if, under our influence, we were to command a mortal to oppose Christ and let us wreak havoc on this planet's wretched surface? We are trapped down here. If we use a mortal, then they will be doing all of our work for us."

Lucifer looked intrigued by her request.

"Consider me interested," he said. "However, which mortal would we even choose to take advantage of?"

She smirked.

"I have the perfect mortal in mind," she said. "A girl, Nicolette Maddox, is to be born to Rosalind Maddox in due time. I can sense the darkness in her. I can tell that if we invest in her, she will successfully bring on the apocalypse. She will help to release our hordes of demons into the world and we will finally be free of this damned place."

Lucifer thought through the plan, carefully.

After thinking it through, he agreed.

"This is a marvelous plan," he exclaimed. "You are such an intelligent being. The brightest one have I ever laid my eyes on."

Lucifer handed her a goblet of blood and grabbed one for himself.

They drowned themselves in the blood. It was like a drug to them.

"To raising hell," he shouted.

"To raising hell," Lilith shouted.

Before long, Nicolette Maddox was born. 

She has dark, wavy brown hair. She has hazel eyes and perfectly arched brows. It's as if her face was sculpted by the gods. She's the essence of beauty.

She oozes with charisma and charm.

She shuts down anyone who opposes her.

She is who every little girl wants to be when they grow up.

There is also something else to her. What Lucifer and Lilith didn't know was that she has certain abilities.

Magical abilities.

She can control fire. 

This works in Lucifer's favor. He has not only invested in someone with darkness and hatred carved deep into their soul, but someone with abilities that could burn cities to the ground.

This is about to be a hell of a ride.