Page 67 of The Angel's Kiss
“We’re not,” I countered.
Azazel nodded and I pushed him off my lap. His head hit the floor with a thump.
“Ow!” he groused, then rubbed the sore spot.
Monique half snorted, half laughed.
I huffed and climbed up to sit down on the opposite sofa. “We’re not boyfriends,” I said for clarification.
“Doesn’t matter to me,” she said with a shrug.
“You’re the only one uptight about it, Rai,” Azazel said as he sat up and climbed onto the sofa beside me.
“Look, enough about this. We need to get serious. You don’t have any friends or family?” I asked her.
“Not anyone that really cares about me. I sleep in shelters and get my necessities from charities and sometimes churches,” Monique said.
“Damn, okay. The good thing about that is you’re the only person we need to protect.”
She looked around my home. “Your place is really nice. Are you rich?”
“Okay, why are you so laid back right now? You should be freaking out,” I said. I couldn’t help myself. No teenager could be this damn cool.
Monique shrugged. “Living on the streets, I’ve seen some shit. I’ve had to survive all kinds of fuckery. Men who wanted to rape me, murder me...This one motherfucker wanted to piss on me. And let me not get on all the bitch ass motherfuckers who stole my shit. This night was just as fucked up as any of those. At least this time, someone helped me.”
Living a hard life would make a warrior out of you if you survived it. This girl was living proof. “I’m sorry you had to go through all of that. And you don’t know your biological parents?” I asked.
Monique shook her head. “I’ve been in the system my entire life, bouncing from one foster home to another. To me, I’ve always been surrounded by demons.” She shrugged again. “The fact that actual demons are real was a mindfuck, but considering humans took me to them, they’re all one and the same.”
“Oh, I like this girl,” Azazel beamed. “She’s a realist.”
“Oh, shut up,” I told him.
“Why? Because she’s telling the truth about human nature? Do you think demons had anything to do with her upbringing?” Azazel asked me.
I knew that they hadn’t, or they would have had her blood ages ago. I shook my head. “But let’s not pretend that demons don’t play a part in why there’s so much evil in the world.”
Azazel shook his head. “You know, Rai, you keep calling demons evil. But we’re not responsible for human nature. God made that flaw when he gave you free will. Humans createdthe systems throughout time that have been the backbone of their society and only the rich control it. Humans designed the concept of bartering, be it with spices, services, people, or money. The quid pro quo if you will. ‘What am I going to get out of it’ mentality. That’s how demons can make deals so easily.”
“I know that. But that’s not all humans,” I said. “People have made huge strides in growth. When things happen in the world, there is always an outpouring of support. No one is ever alone in this world.” I pointed at Monique. “Even she had places she could go for help.”
“It’s all humans who follow a system that is always against them.”
“It’s how we have order. without it, there would be chaos.”
Azazel smiled, a hint of fang showing. “There’s already chaos, but it’s organized, so you don’t see it. And when humans get angry, they don’t do anything other than complain and half the time, it’s misguided or not fully informed.”
“People have challenged and even overthrown their governments,” I stated.
“And replaced it with more of the same under a different name. Take your political and social systems. Humans vote against their best interests all of the time. Because for some of you, it's in your instinct to court chaos. Demons... we don't even have to try to seduce you. You come to us.” Azazel snorted with his arrogant smirk before continuing. “I mean, every country is a capitalistic society as long as money fuels their government. Doesn’t matter if it's democratic, republic, communist, socialist, libertarian—whatever.” He waved his hand. “It’s all based on the greed of the few that dominate the many.”
This time I remained quiet, because Azazel wasn’t being cruel, just honest based on his observation and I felt it was wise for me to listen. “Go on.”
“For instance, take today’s society in this country. The cycle. Your government allows corporations to give you shit products—let’s take food—for this example. You buy it, even at prices that are too high already for what you’re getting. Down the road, it makes you sick. So, if you’re lucky enough to have the means to change your diet, they charge you even more for the food that’s supposed to be better for you. If you don’t eat it and get sicker, well, now you’ll need medicine and surgery and that’s when they can milk you. And then when you die, here comes another industry that gets to take more money from you. And while you’re being a good little cog in the machine, those who created the machine are laughing all the way to the banks they control.”
“I can’t deny that. It’s fucked up.”
“Demons didn’t do that. It’s human nature. Why anyone would continue to bring innocent life into this world is a mystery to demons.” Azazel shrugged. “But hey, it keeps us entertained.”
