Page 42 of The Angel's Kiss
Azazel smirked. “Yes, you do. I thought Guardians were all supposed to be pure of heart and not tell foolish lies.”
“That’s your demonic arrogance talking, not your intuition. Getting back to the issue at hand. Tell me more about this plan toresurrect the Old One,” I said. It was best I derailed his flirtation. I mean, yes, he was my wet dream walking and talking, but he was also unworthy. A filthy demon. No way I wanted him... I was sure... right?
Azazel shrugged. “Very well,” he said. “There are Three Empresses of Hades, each one has four Knights that make up the Round Table—”
“Yeah, I know all of that already. Fast-forward to the shit I don’t know,” I said, cutting him off.
“Rude,” he commented.
“Azazel.”
He chuckled and leaned forward, licking his lip, and I could tell he was trying to seduce me. I felt the heat rise in my body and had to take a deep breath to fan out the flames. “You’ve spent months trying to keep me at bay. But I’ve kept my eyes on you, watching over you, because I knew you’d need me.”
I rolled my eyes. “What? You want a cookie for being a stalker?”
Azazel scoffed with a sneer. "What is it with you righteous religious types? You think you're so much better than the next person because of whatever God you believe in."
"Because you're evil and you know God is real," I said, looking Azazel directly in his beautiful indigo eyes.
Azazel nodded. "Yes, God is real. But it is humans who have used God to harm each other. They know nothing of God, Heaven, or even of Hades. They even made God a male simply to elevate the male species over the female when God is no gender. All religion is distorted in order to suit the needs of men."
"Guardians do not go by the Bible or any religious doctrine. We know the truth because of our Champions," I said. My education inside of the Guild came directly from Angelic doctrine.
"And yet, you look down on me from your perch."
"You're a demon from Hell. Why shouldn't I see you as the immoral trash that you are?"
Azazel laughed. "Demons didn't create evil, humans did. Your rage is misguided and misdirected. And your angelic doctrine was bias.”
I scoffed. “So, I’m to believe you’re just victims of circumstance?”
“We just are. Understand, where humans are concerned, there is good and evil among them. Humans in their feeble attempts to put reason to the unknown created in their own minds a way to separate themselves from people they wanted to hate. So, even those who think they are good are in fact evil when they harm their fellow man in the name of their gods. I've witnessed their delusion for thousands of years."
I decided to remain silent and allowed Azazel to give me his point of view.
Azazel arched an eyebrow. "Oh, nothing to say?”
“I’m just giving you the chance to get that chip off your shoulder.”
He snorted. “Fine. I'll continue, because I think you need another perspective." He rose from the table and walked over to my large floor-to-ceiling windows and looked down. "Humans are told through their religion that there will always be rich and the poor. How when all were created equal? When did humans stop being equal? The moment religion was introduced into the world, more blood flowed. Demons had nothing to do with that. It's humans who say 'if you don't believe in my God, you're wrong and blasphemous.’ An infidel, heathen, a sinner. Sooo many insults given to each other to support your superiority complexes. And once you feel like you're better than those you hate, it extends out to misogyny, racism, bigotry, and everything that keeps humans oppressing each other." He turned to faceme. "Every religious doctrine man has created in the name of God has created a set of rules that keep men in power.”
“Their doctrine gives them hope and guidance,” I pointed out.
Azazel smirked. “They don’t need it. Not really. And do you want to know why?”
“Tell me.”
“Because every human already knows what’s right and wrong. It comes at a time in their growth when, even as children, they know what doesn’t feel right and what feels good. It’s innate and only when that sense is ignored, do they choose to be wicked. You don’t need a book to know that killing or raping someone is wrong. You don’t need a piece of parchment to tell you to treat your fellow humans with dignity and kindness. But every day, humans choose their paths, because they are flawed creatures.”
Okay, I didn’t like that he was making points I often asked while at the Guild.
“You know that I’m right,” Azazel said.
“Say that you are... where do demons come in, then?” I asked. “Why do what you do?”
“Because there needs to be a balance. We don’t force humans to do what they ultimately already want to do. Even the ones you think are good want to be bad.” He cocked his head to the side and smiled at me. “Isn’t that why you and your friend snuck out of the Guild that night? Why you both indulged in depravity? A Guardian-in-Training and a Guard—also in training.”
I rolled my eyes. “We were just dumb teenagers.”
