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The light was blinding. Golden, pure rays filled the room, glowing through his closed eyelids. Cool breeze whispered upon his skin. Pleasant. Welcoming. Safe.

"Father?"

He struggled to open his eyes, the brightness assaulting him at the tiniest lift of his trembling lid. He instinctively raised a hand for shade. He had come from such a darkened realm. One of secrecy and shadow.

"Father?' the voice repeated. "Is... is it really you?"

"Y-yes," he faltered. Even his voice sounded different here. Lighter, more carefree, as if he could burst into song any moment.

With both arms raised up fully now for protection against the pure surroundings he had manifested in, Peregrin managed to gain enough defence against the bombardment of photons to gaze upon the blurred outline of his son.

Unlike Hell where everyone chose a form and had a certain selection of appropriate work attire, here in the lofty realm of Heaven everybody was equal and presented the same.

Flowing robes, glittering with the finest materials. Fluttering feathered wings, spanning out magnificently in bleached hues. Crowned in the glory of a halo like a small sun.

Edward had a mop of blonde curls, a gift from his mother's fair genetics. His frame was slight and unimposing. His stance almost apologetic as his knees bent and head bowed. He was the lesser child in every way but he had no filthy dangerous magic in him so Peregrin had done the best he could to embrace the boy as his reluctantly chosen favourite.

"I couldn't believe it when I heard the news! I just simply had to greet you personally! This is wonderful! A blessing, indeed!"

His surroundings gained clarity now; the marble towering above, the mist-strewn floor below. A domain in the clouds. Lofty peaks of paradise.

It was awful.

"A blessing. Absolutely. It's... wonderful to be here with you, Edward," he said in gladder tones than he meant.

The young aardvark flushed, "you have been saved! I knew giving you that contract was a wise move on my part. Didn't I say, father, that one day salvation would be yours? The glory of Heaven awaits! Come, come with me to the others..." he stretched out a delicate hand, smiling openly. Clearly overjoyed.

Peregrin stared at it and flexed his fingers. He licked his dry lips. The contract had actually been his idea. Peregrin had a way of making others believe they were in control when in reality they were anything but.

"I would love to meet the others," he said in his new voice, taking his youngest child's hand.

In a flutter of wings, they were surrounded by a heavenly host sighing in awe and admiration at today's miracle; a foul minion of the pit had arisen, shirking the evils of their old ways, embracing the sliver of goodness that had been pushed down into the very depths of their corrupted soul all these years.

"You are one of us now, enlightened and holy, gifted with beauty both outside and within. Feels good, doesn't it?"

"Beauty, yeah, sure. Listen, Edward, I need to get back to the mortal realm. Can you be so kind as to point me in the right direction?"

Sparkling eyes blinked. "You've only just got here, father, there's so much for you to see, surely - surely you can stay a little while?"

"It's kind of important."

"You've... literally converted from being a demon to an angel. This doesn't happen every day! We will have a party! A celebration. Glad tidings and all that. Don't you want to meet... Him?"

Peregrin moved his body uncomfortably into a semi shrug, the heavy wings feeling wrong, the fabulous clothes flowing too much for his liking, "really... really important," he insisted.

Edward straightened up, "you signed the Holy contract so you could ignore all this?' he spread his arms wide, gesturing at the spectacle of Heaven and everything within it. "So you could go back to the mortal realm in a new form?" He raised his head, "what's so important?"

"Your brother..."

"Anar?! You come here, stand in my presence, and not five minutes in you speak about my sibling?! You're obsessed! Let him go, I plead you, let him be!"

"He terrorised you with a magic cat," Peregrin spluttered. "Anar tormented you! Bullied you!"

"And I forgive him! It's what we do, father. We forgive. He's been under your control for too long. It's time for this to stop. All through my childhood it was 'Anar' this, 'Anar' that, even when you neglected and abused him, he was still your sole focus of attention. Well, I'M here, right now, standing before you, and I say NO! You cannot go back to the mortal realm for whatever ridiculous reasons you have that involve my poor brother. He's suffered enough."

Peregrin smiled, "you can't stop me," he laughed, "everyone in Heaven is equal, there's no chain of command, you have no authority over me."

Edward's bottom lip wobbled; his lilting, melodic voice cracking with emotion, "I thought you had come here to be with me... I thought you would be happy to see me... to work with me..."

"You have your uses, Edward, that I will say is true. I'm sure you are an excellent angel... if a little naive."

"Anar said you were using me," he moaned, "he tried to warn me. I thought he was jealous because you didn't hit me. My brother actually did a decent thing after all you put him through. I'm not going to stand by idly any longer!"

"You don't want me as an enemy, Edward," Peregrin growled. His wing tips darkened. Corruption was creeping in; he didn't have long before his façade would fall.

The angel puffed out his weak chest, "I am a soldier in the army of light. Truth is my sword and faith my shield. You may walk in the shape of glory given to you, but you will always be bound to the darkness within and that makes you weak. Remember the scriptures: there is a light in the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it. You cannot defeat me."

Peregrin rolled his eyes. Angels! "I don't have to defeat you, Edward, one call to your mother about your disobedience and you'll be singing a different tune."

Edward blinked. "We will see..."

Peregrin kept himself composed as he flashed false smiles and made his way through a throng of brightly-robed, feathered holy persons, enquiring as to the whereabouts of the gate that would lead him back down to the world below. Being an angel had so many benefits! His brother, Mortimer, would surely welcome him now at Warlock Court? He could play the part of a changed man for just long enough to get what he wanted. Once he had shoved Anar back through the entrance to the Underworld and bound him with a newer, more tightly-bound contract, then his eldest child could answer for his crimes and Peregrin would once more sit upon his executive seat on the Board. Respected. Powerful. A demon who had fooled the enemy, trodden amongst them, he would be legendary!

With every cunning thought he sunk deeper into the misty cloud as his soul tarnished and gained weight. Time was not on his side. He needed to step through the gate between realms and fast.

The Abyssal Gate down in the Underworld was forever crowded with security as you could imagine. Anyone and everyone wanted out but only a few had the correct paperwork. The queue stretched on for a mile, patrolled by mages with itchy fingers.

The Divine Gate here in Heaven was not. They wanted troubled spirits to wander in, ripe for the converting and they were happy for the converted to then freely exit and spread the Message to those in the mortal plane.

Peregrin took deep breaths to keep his thoughts pure as he approached; he had already begun to slip back into old ways and that would not do. If his demonic nature became any stronger in presence in this place then the Gate would not let him leave. He would be trapped here, doomed to join a choir and learn the harp or worse yet memorise all the psalms.

Pure, happy thoughts were key. As Peregrin was a selfish person he thought of his glory ahead. Board lunches were waiting. His favourite club with Fissifer the waiter bringing him his exclusive, expensive drinks.

In a deep robe pocket his Nokia began to ring.

He stepped closer to the portal gate but it's incessant vibrating carried on relentless.

He thrust a hand in and held it up, scowling. Bloody thing! No. No. Pure, happy thoughts. He was so close!

It was his wife. He couldn't ignore it. After all, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. "Yes, dear?"

The screech at the other end took him by surprise and he jumped, swearing under his breath, moving the speaker away from his long, grey ears hurriedly.

She was not happy. Edward had taken his threat and turned it on its head. Edward had told her his crazy antics.

"Our son is out there somewhere, at the Council's mercy and you're playing politics up in Heaven? You had one job, Peregrin! One job! I rang your office and you've been disgraced! On a spree with a chainsaw? What were you thinking? I know you're due a midlife crisis but what the actual fuck, Peregrin?!"

A rush of emotion overcame him; anger at his son's treachery, even more anger at his other son's actions that had set all these events into motion, embarrassment at being chastised by a succubus and shame for his failure in finding Anar and returning him to Hell.

The gate blurred. He felt heavy. Out the corner of his eyes he could see his wings begin to blacken and shrink. He felt the almighty pull of gravity in the pit of his stomach begin to drag him down. Down to the cursed realm where he belonged.

"No! No! I was so close! Curse you, woman!" he raged, hotly, shaking with nausea as he began to freefall, beautiful wings decaying away to reveal bleached bone.

"Oh yes that's right, it's all my fault isn't it? All you had to do was go to Warlock Court and eat some humble pie so your brother would let you in but noooo..."

As he felt himself begin to black out there was a curious flash of bright blue as a swirly whirling circle opened up in the air beneath his plummeting demonic form and he was engulfed in a flash of mysterious energy.

The floor vibrated gently as he lay spread out upon its hard surface. Everything ached. He must have landed with an almighty thump. As he screwed up his long face he could feel the familiar lumps of his great curved horns upon his brow. At his back his old bone wings rattled. At the base of his spine the same bone formed his tail, clattering as it twitched.

He groaned. He moaned. He was back in Hell. He had achieved nothing. His one good idea had been a bust. He was doomed for the basement and eternal disgrace. This was the beginning of the end for Peregrin Warlock. He would have to answer to Lucifer himself for all his shenanigans and there would be no mercy from the Dark Lord. There never was.

Above him, there was the sound of a chair scraping back. A sharp tinkle like crockery rang out and liquid flowed gently with a splash.

"Do you take sugar?"

Peregrin screwed up his snout and began to ugly cry.

"I'll take that as a no then, shall I? There is coffee if you would prefer. That's what your son drinks, I believe. Don't touch the stuff, personally...."

"W-what?" he snorted through a bubble of snot, his cheeks stinging, drool slipping from the corners of his long mouth.

"I'm offering you tea," the patient voice said from the table above. "I can let you carry on falling into Hell if you'd prefer, but there's always time for tea."

Peregrin blinked, furiously, attempting to clear his vision through his self-pitying tears.

Even if his half-delirious state the shape he saw was unmistakable. The horns, the claws, the wings, the jaws, the scales, the fins...

He was in the presence of a creature that had no right to exist. A myth. A fantasy.

A dragon.