Page 7 of Asmodel

What he said.Both he and Azazel said that at the same time with a nod. No doubt their smirks matched.

Well, fruk.Abalim tugged on his earlobe with a sheepish grin.

After some teasing and complaining back and forth, Abalim agreed to tell them what bothered him. “While I was on Hiigar searching for Althea MacGregor, I came across this.” He shrugged his right shoulder where a small silver-and-green spider-shaped robot named JR15 sat.

Asmodel admired the small AI given to Abalim when he went to that small planetoid to find the human woman. He’d love to have a companion like that.

“Go ahead, show them.” Abalim encouraged his bot in a soft voice.

The tiny bot shivered before wagging his bulbous butt. In the center of his forehead, a round lens opened, and a video displayed on the center of the table.

Watching the interaction between Abalim and the blue crystal creature was mind-numbing. The threat the creature presented made the invasion from the Akurns look like child’s play.

When the scene ended, Abalim’s tiny companion scuttled back under his dreadlocks.

“Damn.Frukme sideways.”

As usual, his elder brother Adapa summed it up best.

“Come on, youmulla xuls.” Adapa announced. “I’ve a surprise for you.”

“I’ve got your evil devil right here.” Arakiba hopped away from his seat and cupped himself with a lopsided grin.

Adapa ignored Arakiba and stood.

His mate, Queen Inanna, put her arm through his elbow and headed out the door with him.

The rest of them followed.

Asmodel gripped his hand into a fist to stop from slapping Arakiba upside his head. What a thing to say in front of the queen.

“Where in the world did you learn to act like that?” He hissed in a quiet tone to his unrepentant brother. His face heated when Inanna looked over her shoulder at them with her eyes narrowed and her nose wrinkled.

As usual, Arakiba was oblivious.

“You know all those movies we watched?”

At Asmodel’s nod, he continued. “You can learn a lot about modern culture in those American and British television shows. It’s a great way for me to hear the colorful language used today.” His grin turned into a laugh. “I can’t think of a better way to learn about modern life.” He shrugged. “Except maybe social media.”

Inanna smiled at them before she turned to whisper something to Adapa, making him throw his head back and laugh.

Asmodel relaxed. Thank the goddess, the queen wasn’t offended. “I doubt they reflect real life, Arakiba.”

“Of course they do!” His blond brother exclaimed. “Especially things posted on the internet. No one would dare put lies there. They’d be kicked off like that.” He snapped his fingers.

Asmodel opened his mouth to argue when Azazel patted his shoulder.

“Remember, never argue with delusional people. They’ll drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”

Asmodel raised his left eyebrow and glanced at his shorter brother. “Did you just make that up?”

Their quiet brother chuckled with a soft smile and shook his head. “No. Unlike the rest of you, I’ve immersed myself in human literature. That’s a portion of a quote from the great American writer Mark Twain.”

Asmodel chuckled. “Well, Arakiba is far from stupid, but he has a lot to learn about the modern world. I guess I’ll follow your lead about the so-called entertainment business. I find sitting around watching all that boring.” He eyed the back of Arakiba. “But it has given me some ideas on how to teach that fool a lesson.”

“If you needed any help with that, just ask.” The twinkle in Azazel’s eyes matched his slight smile. “You know I’d love to help.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I can handle Arakiba.”

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