#azarel : point taken

[high-key-satan-low-key-satanic]

Azarel : Priest kink is definitely a thing and I am afflicted by it.

Yuri : Eww Aza, Go to church.

Yuri : NO WAIT—

[accountantblues]

Chapter 3 Help is on the way Boys

“ok I went through so much ot put this together I pulled in favors and spent a small fortune to get us tables at Marcos.”

Hera said “marcos you don’t mean Valhalla marcos do you?”

“yes.”

“wow.”

“it was perfect roses his favorite mead music everything.”

“oh please you do too much it was just dinner.”

Kalabhiti threw things off the desk as he screamed “it was our anniversary. the first night I fell in love with you the first night we met when you became a collector but you spent it in a human bar with a bitch name misty instead of me.”

“Kal come down I didn’t know im sorry I forgot.”

“don’t tell me to calm down you will not make me feel like crap anymore for loving you hear me no more I’m over it over us im sick of it hear me sick of it im bored of this!”

”no no you aren’t Kal wait Athen a can you fix us please?”

“there may be a fighting chance but first lets talk about why you missed dinner. an anniversary is important.”

“hmm girl I wish Zeus remembered our damn anniversary not to mention celebrate it.”

“ girl ain’t that the truth you are luck azarel.”

“ I know ok I know.”

“ so whats the problem?”

“ Kal I never had a guy like you I love you you have me wrapped around your finger I do anything for you.”

“ so why did you miss dinner then?” Hera said

Athena said “girl shut up this is getting good poof us some popcorn .”

suddenly Kalabhititook his shirt off “do you not find me attractive anymore ? are you seeing someone else is it hades, Hermes l-oki?”

“ Are you kidding me Kal you are damn near considered a sex god and you are human well as close as you can be anyway.”

“ so then why? because you killed boys all through Malaysia. you burn whole villages to just to watch people die slow so I cant believe it. I cant believe that you refuse to kill some little girl just because she welcomes you. so why her uh why whats the real reason.”

“ you will never understand Kal.”

“You are right.” Kalabhiti stood up dried his tears walked in the room with the girl pulled out a gun and pointed at the girl as he said “I’ll never undsterand.” and pulled the trigger as Azrael screamed in horror “no Kal stop don’t you are wicked Kal truly wicked.”

“ its done we’re done. I’ll have you transferred to another place tomorrow you wont ever see me again .”

suddenly Azrael screamed bloody murder before tackling Kalabhiti back into the office and down to the floor “Hera freeze time now. Athena sit down because you are going to fixthis understand I don’t know your failure rate but this is one relationship you are going to fix Kal sit down and shut up while I tell her what’s going on.”

then he stood up and started to block and bolt the door before he turned over to Athena “so it started like this Kal he he came to me looking wicked at the office he said sweetheart you look good enough to eat and I just might dinner at 7 then he put a folder on my desk. he had already given me 12 earlier that day so this was lucky 13 or unlucky I guess either way I went to my appointments and it was a sinch I arranged for Mr. jasper to take a swan dive off the bridge for Jeffries to choke on a banana and it was simply beautiful when I went to the hospital and she said who are you I said death she said Mr. death I welcome you. a 9 year old welcome me. Will my son welcome death too I thought and I just couldn’t so I burned the paperwork and left.”

“ yeah he left me waiting at the restaurant looking dumb.”

“so what happened Kalabhiti?”

“I got a call from upper management.”

the girls gasped “no you didn’t.”

“ yes they wanted to know why I did‘nt turn in my report yet. I told them my best man was not done yet and it must have taken a few extra hours is all.I waited at the restaurant until the fucking waiter said I don’t think hes coming . do you know how fucked up it feels to hear cupid tell you the love of your life isnt coming to your anniversary dinner to celebrate your happiness so I left the place and begin to track him down and I found him telling his sorrows to a bottle and some damn girl. my heart broke in two.”

“ girl you got that popcorn this is finna to be good ?”

“ your heart broke in two you are full of shit Kal.”

“ excuse me I was only telling her how I felt I wasn’t cheating on you.”

“no you were doing worse.”

“ what did you want from me I had a hard day at work what did you expect?”

“ you are my worker you are my lover what do I expect? I expect my boyfriend to come home home to me to tell me your sorrows you cheated on me emotionally and that’s fucking worse than sleeping with her.”

[dfroza]

A birthing.

this is what earth will experience in its rebirth.

there will be an end and a new beginning.

(A grand end of time)

and we need to believe that all will be well at some point.

Today’s reading from the Scriptures of the New Testament is the 24th chapter in the book of Matthew that points to birth pains before (Anew, genesis)

Jesus left the temple. As He was walking away, His disciples came up to Him and asked what He thought about the temple buildings.

Jesus: Look around you. All of it will become rubble. I tell you this: not one stone will be left standing.

Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately.

Disciples: We don’t understand Your predictions. Tell us, when will these things happen: When will the temple be destroyed? What will be the sign that You are returning? How will we know that the end of the age is upon us?

Jesus: Take care that you are not deceived. For many will come in My name claiming they are the Anointed One, and many poor souls will be taken in. You will hear of wars, and you will hear rumors of wars, but you should not panic. It is inevitable, this violent breaking apart of the sinful world, but remember, the wars are not the end. The end is still unfolding. Nations will do battle with nations, and kingdoms will fight neighboring kingdoms, and there will be famines and earthquakes. But these are not the end. These are the birth pangs, the beginning. The end is still unfolding.

They will hand you over to your enemies, who will torture you and then kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of Me. And many who have followed Me and claimed to love Me and sought God’s kingdom will turn away—they will abandon the faith and betray and hate one another. The love that they had for one another will grow cold because few will obey the law. False prophets will appear, many will be taken in by them, and the only thing that will grow is wickedness. There will be no end to the increase of wickedness. But those who do not waver from our path and do not follow those false prophets—those among you will be saved. And this good news of God’s kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, a testimony to all people and all nations. Then, beloved, the end, the consummation of all things, will come.

You will remember that the prophet Daniel predicted this—predicted the abomination that causes desolation—when you see the prophesied desolation of the holy place. (Reader, take notice; it is important that you understand this.) When you see this, let those in Judea flee to the mountains. If you are relaxing on your rooftop one evening and the signs of the temple’s destructions come, don’t return to your house to rescue a book or a pet or a scrap of clothing. If you are in the field when the great destruction begins, don’t return home for a cloak. Pregnant women and nursing mothers will have the worst of it. And as for you, pray that your flight to the hills will not come on the Sabbath or in the cold of winter. For the tribulation will be unparalleled—hardships of a magnitude that has not been seen since creation and that will not be seen again. Indeed the Lord God your merciful judge will cut this time of trial short, and this will be done for the benefit of the elect that some might indeed be saved—for no one could survive the depravity for very long.

I cannot say this clearly enough: during this time, someone will say to you, “Look, here is the Anointed One!” or “Aren’t you relieved? Haven’t you seen the Savior down there, around the bend, over the hill and dale?” Do not believe them. False liberators and false prophets will appear, and they will know a few tricks—they will perform great miracles, and they will make great promises. If it were possible, they would even deceive God’s elect. But I am warning you ahead of time: remember—do not fall for their lies or lines or promises. If someone says, “He’s out there in the desert”—do not go. And if someone says, “He’s here at our house, at our table”—do not believe him. When the Son of Man comes, He will be as visible as lightning in the East is visible even in the West. And where the carcass is, there will always be vultures.

And as the prophets have foretold it: after the distress of those days,

The sun will grow dark,

and the moon will be hidden.

The stars will fall from the sky,

and all the powers in the heavens will be dislodged and shaken from their places.

That is when the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. All the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming; they will see Him powerful and glorious, riding on chariots of clouds in the sky. With a loud trumpet call, He will send out battalions of heavenly messengers; and they will gather His beloved faithful elect from the four corners of creation, from one end of heaven to the other.

Now think of the fig tree. As soon as its twigs get tender and greenish, as soon as it begins to sprout leaves, you know to expect summer. In the same way, when you see the wars and the suffering and the false liberators and the desolations, you will know the Son of Man is near—right at the door. I tell you this: this generation will see all these things take place before it passes away. My words are always true and always here with you. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

No one knows the hour or the day, not even the messengers in heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows. As it was at the time of Noah, so it will be with the coming of the Son of Man. In the days before the flood, people were busy making lives for themselves: they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, making plans and having children and growing old, until the day Noah entered the ark. Those people had no idea what was coming; they knew nothing about the floods until the floods were upon them, sweeping them all away. That is how it will be with the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be plowing a field: one will be taken, and the other will be left in the field. Two women will be somewhere grinding at a mill: one will be taken, and the other will be left at the mill.

So keep watch. You don’t know when your Lord will come. But you should know this: If the owner of a house had known his house was about to be broken into, he would have stayed up all night, vigilantly. He would have kept watch, and he would have thwarted the thief. So you must be ready because you know the Son of Man will come, but you can’t know precisely when.

The trustworthy servant is the one whom the master puts in charge of all the servants of his household; it is the trustworthy servant who not only oversees all the work, but also ensures the servants are properly fed and cared for. And it is, of course, crucial that a servant who is given such responsibility performs his responsibility to his master’s standards—so when the master returns he finds his trust has been rewarded. For then the master will put that good servant in charge of all his possessions. But imagine that the master’s trust was misplaced, that the supposedly responsible servant is actually a thief who says to himself, “My master has been gone so long, he is not possibly coming back.” Then he beats his fellow servants and dines and drinks with drunkards. Well, when the master returns—as certainly he will—the servant will be caught unawares. The master will return on a day and at an hour when he isn’t expected. 51 And he will cut his worthless servant into pieces and throw him out into darkness with the hypocrites, where there is weeping and grinding of teeth.

The Book of Matthew, Chapter 24 (The Voice)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 11th chapter of Nehemiah that documents where people were living amongst those who returned to the land of Israel after the exile:

The leaders of the people were already living in Jerusalem, so the rest of the people drew lots to get one out of ten to move to Jerusalem, the holy city, while the other nine remained in their towns. The people applauded those who voluntarily offered to live in Jerusalem.

These are the leaders in the province who resided in Jerusalem (some Israelites, priests, Levites, Temple staff, and descendants of Solomon’s slaves lived in the towns of Judah on their own property in various towns; others from both Judah and Benjamin lived in Jerusalem):

From the family of Judah:

Athaiah son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, from the family line of Perez; Maaseiah son of Baruch, the son of Col-Hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of the Shilonite. The descendants of Perez who lived in Jerusalem numbered 468 valiant men.

From the family of Benjamin:

Sallu son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah, and his brothers Gabbai and Sallai: 928 men. Joel son of Zicri was their chief and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in command over the city.

From the priests:

Jedaiah son of Joiarib; Jakin; Seraiah son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, supervisor of The Temple of God, along with their associates responsible for work in The Temple: 822 men. Also Adaiah son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malkijah, and his associates who were heads of families: 242 men; Amashsai son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, and his associates, all valiant men: 128 men. Their commander was Zabdiel son of Haggedolim.

From the Levites:

Shemaiah son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni; Shabbethai and Jozabad, two of the leaders of the Levites who were in charge of the outside work of The Temple of God; Mattaniah son of Mica, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, the director who led in thanksgiving and prayer; Bakbukiah, second among his associates; and Abda son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. The Levites in the holy city totaled 284.

From the security guards:

Akkub, Talmon, and their associates who kept watch over the gates: 172 men.

The rest of the Israelites, priests, and Levites were in all the towns of Judah, each on his own family property.

The Temple staff lived on the hill Ophel. Ziha and Gishpa were responsible for them.

The chief officer over the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica. Uzzi was one of Asaph’s descendants, singers who led worship in The Temple of God. The singers got their orders from the king, who drew up their daily schedule.

Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, a descendant of Zerah son of Judah, represented the people’s concerns at the royal court.

Some of the Judeans lived in the villages near their farms:

Kiriath Arba (Hebron) and suburbs

Dibon and suburbs

Jekabzeel and suburbs

Jeshua

Moladah

Beth Pelet

Hazar Shual

Beersheba and suburbs

Ziklag

Meconah and suburbs

En Rimmon

Zorah

Jarmuth

Zanoah

Adullam and their towns

Lachish and its fields

Azekah and suburbs.

They were living all the way from Beersheba to the Valley of Hinnom.

The Benjaminites from Geba lived in:

Micmash

Aijah

Bethel and its suburbs

Anathoth

Nob and Ananiah

Hazor

Ramah and Gittaim

Hadid, Zeboim, and Neballat

Lod and Ono and the Valley of the Craftsmen.

Also some of the Levitical groups of Judah were assigned to Benjamin.

The Book of Nehemiah, Chapter 11 (The Message)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for friday, march 26 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible, along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

A post by John Parsons about standing in truth:

Ultimately we are living in the midst of a great spiritual war -- the war for truth. This has been the battle from the very beginning of creation. The very first recorded words of Satan (הַנָּחָשׁ) questioned God’s truth: “Did God really say...?” (Gen. 3:1). In the end there will be found two types of people: those who love the truth and those who love the lie. These are the children of light (בְּנֵי הָאוֹר) and the children of darkness (בְּנֵי הַחשֶׁךְ), respectively. Followers of Yeshua the Messiah are told to “walk as children of light” / ὡς τέκνα φωτὸς περιπατεῖτε (Eph. 5:8). The children of light are called to be am kadosh - a holy people - separate from the evil engendered by the fallen world and its forces, just as the very first creative expression of God was the separation of light from darkness (Gen. 1:3-4). The children of light "hate evil and love the good," and conversely, the children of darkness "hate the good and love evil" (Psalm 34:21, Prov. 8:13, Amos 5:15, John 3:20-21). Regarding the heavenly Zion to come, it is written: “nothing ritually unclean will ever enter into it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or practices falsehood (lit. “makes a lie”), but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life” (Rev. 21:27).

We have to stand for the truth, because the truth is what sets us free (John 8:32). As Yeshua said, “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world -- to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice" (John 18:37). We must turn away from the lie to embrace the truth. One day all that is hidden will become manifest. “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; His throne was ablaze with fire and its wheels were all aflame. A river of fire was streaming forth and proceeding from his presence; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened....” (Dan. 7:8-9).

If the devil can't kill you, he will try to make you insane... He will lie to you about who you really are... He he will attempt to harass you and vex your soul. He will whisper fearful things in your ear... He will make what is small seem big and what is big seem small. He will raise dark suspicion within your soul, causing you to walk in mistrust. He will remind you of your sins to make you feel ashamed and dirty. He will hiss that you are unlovable and unworthy. He will argue on behalf of your flesh that you deserve better than this... He will tempt you to seek relief in cisterns of emptiness and futility. Most of all, he will try to cast a spell to make you forget that you are truly a prince or princess of God Almighty... The devil seeks to drive you into the exile of loneliness and despair. Resist him in the Name of the LORD! [Hebrew for Christians]

3.25.21 • Facebook

Today’s message from the Institute for Creation Research

March 26, 2021

Reporting on the Parables

“And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.” (Mark 12:1)

This parable of the vineyard had an obvious meaning, for even “the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders” to whom He was speaking (Mark 11:27) “knew that he had spoken the parable against them” (Mark 12:12). The same parable and the events surrounding it are reported in Matthew 21:33-46 and Luke 20:9-16.

But there is another question that has been raised about this parable, as well as all the other parables that have been reported in two or more different gospels. That is, if the Bible is inerrant in its very words as Jesus taught (e.g., Matthew 5:18; John 10:35), then why did the writers often vary in their reporting of the words of the parable?

It should be remembered, however, that Jesus probably spoke in Aramaic, whereas the written accounts were in Greek. Furthermore, two of the writers (Mark and Luke) were not present at the time so would have to obtain their accounts from someone who was there (e.g., Luke 1:1-2). Flexibility in translation and reporting is always possible with different translators and different reporters.

The doctrine of divine inspiration of the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16), however, applies not to the process but to the result. The Spirit of God was free to use the writer’s own research, vocabulary, and style in reporting an event so long as there were no factual errors or irrelevancies in the final result. In fact, such minor differences often give greater depth and credence to the reported event since they help in proving that the different writers were not in collusion but simply telling of a real event from different perspectives. HMM

[headfulloffantasies]

Absent Destiny (chapter 12)

**Spoilers: Warnings for mild torture in this chapter***

Duke suddenly realised he hadn’t seen Azarel in a very long time. There had been a high dose of anxiety coming from the tether all night, but that was to be expected. If Duke concentrated, he could feel a good deal of panic from Azarel. The angel was probably hiding in his room, miserable at having to spend time among so many demons, Duke thought with a roll of his eyes. He set his drink aside and went to go fetch his party favor.

The angel was not in his room. Nor was he in the bathroom trying to rid himself of the sushi. Or being cornered any of the groups of demons huddled here and there about the spacious apartment. It was luck that he happened to walk past Gerard when he did.

“…Having a bit of private fun with the winged bastard.” Duke overheard Gerard laugh with a lesser demon. Duke wheeled on Gerard immediately.

He grabbed him by the collar and growled in his ugly flat face. “Did I just hear you correctly saying that someone has taken the liberty of playing with my pet without my permission?”

“Y-Yes.” Gerard stammered.

Duke shook him roughly. “Where?”

Duke took the steps to the basement two at a time. He would have preferred to teleport, but his own protection wards made it impossible down here. A blinding pain suddenly stabbed Duke in the gut. He skidded to a halt, panting and grabbing for the handrail. Someone was hurting the angel. And Hell below, it was awful. Duke hurtled down the dark basement corridor, the knife in his stomach twisting with every scream coming from behind the reinforced steel door. He didn’t need the electricity and stabbing of the tether to know it was Azarel screaming.

At last he threw the doors to his personal torture chamber open and was greeted with the sight of Azrael. The angel was propped up in a chair, his shirt gone, his hands bound to the armrests, and his head lolling. The room was as clinical as a dentist’s office, but the instruments on the steel table and the wall racks were much more sinister. Three demons stood over Azarel with various instruments in their hands. They looked up in surprise as Duke swept in like a hurricane. A charred, crisp smell permeated the air. Duke’s black heart almost beat when he realised the demon looming behind Azarel was holding a blowtorch in one hand and several black, burned carcasses of feathers in the other.

Azarel lifted his head weakly. “Duke.” He croaked. “What are you doing?”

“Hush, darling, daddy’s working.” Duke said. The ice in his voice was directed at the demons, though, not the angel.

He addressed them. “Who gave you the authority to desecrate my property?”

“Yours?” The she-devil on the right scoffed. “An angel is too pretty a prize for you to have captured with your sorcery, Duke.” She waved a bloody scalpel at him lazily and tossed her dark hair over her shoulder. “You’re not smart enough to have caught a rat, much less an angel.”

Fury boiled in Duke. “That may have been true a millennium ago, Kate.” He answered. “But now I dare say I could take on Heaven itself.” All of the demons in the room laughed a hideous, grating hiss.

“But,” Duke said dangerously. “That isn’t the point. The point is that I did indeed capture this angel for my own pleasure. If you don’t believe me, check the spell-work I did to render him useless.”

Kate snarled. The demon who had been plucking Azarel’s feathers prodded the angel’s ribs curiously. “He’s right.” The demon looked up at Duke in surprise. “This is excellent craftsmanship.”

Duke growled, insulted at their low esteem of him. He was barely able to keep from swaying on the spot as another wave of pain came at him from the tether. “Get out. All of you.”

They scuttled away under Duke’s disdainful glare. At last the door clanged shut and Duke scrambled to Azarel’s side. The angel was barely clinging to consciousness. Duke wrestled with the ropes around his wrists, wincing at the red, raw marks left behind. Once he was free, Azarel slumped forward, unable to support himself. Duke wrapped his arms around him, intending to pick him up, but Azarel cried out. There was so much pain already flooding through the tether Duke wasn’t sure what had caused Azarel’s distress. Duke hurriedly settled him back down and inspected him for further injury. There were scrapes and bruises, a few deep cuts oozing blood, but the angel would live. When he got around to his back Duke cursed vehemently. Azarel’s wings, finally on the mend, were desecrated. Whole swaths had been burned down to a crisp. Duke’s earlier fantasies of plucking the angel to the bone had been brought to partial reality by someone else.

Duke cursed again. “I’m going to flay them alive.”

His stomach suddenly dropped, and Duke realised Azarel had passed out. That was good, for the moment. It meant that Duke didn’t have to deal with the pain shooting across the tether. Instead, he scooped up the angel carefully and marched them up the stairs until they were free of Duke’s supernatural wards. Then he teleported them to Azarel’s bedroom.

Two demons were going at it in Azarel’s bed, but they scurried away with one glance at Duke’s enraged face. Duke changed the sheets with a blink and settled the limp angel on his side as comfortably as possible. He inspected Azarel’s wounds again. His blood looked so human, red and viscous. Duke had half hoped the angel would bleed golden ichor. Duke wished he could save the blood, bottle it up for later. But time was of the essence. Such a waste, Duke lamented as he pressed his fingers against the injuries to heal them instantly. The wings were beyond his skills. Even if Duke knew where to start, his unholy power would be rejected by the angelic appendages. They would have to heal on their own. Duke scrubbed a hand over his face. It was going to be a long recovery time for both of them, especially if Duke was going to be feeling the phantom pains through the tether.

Thank you for reading! If you like what you read, consider buying me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/X8X57CMS

I am having so much fun writing this, i really hope y’all love reading it.

Chapter 1:https://headfulloffantasies.tumblr.com/post/168737965761/absent-destiny-part-1

Chapter 2: https://headfulloffantasies.tumblr.com/post/168738505686/absent-destiny-chapter-2

Chapter 3: https://headfulloffantasies.tumblr.com/post/168768948806/absent-destiny-chapter-3

Chapter 4: https://headfulloffantasies.tumblr.com/post/168999971505/absent-destiny-chapter-4

Chapter 5: https://headfulloffantasies.tumblr.com/post/169285437763/absent-destiny-chapter-5

Chapter 6: https://headfulloffantasies.tumblr.com/post/169560617300/absent-destiny-chapter-6

Chapter 7: https://headfulloffantasies.tumblr.com/post/169834066614/absent-destiny-chapter-7

Chapter 8: https://headfulloffantasies.tumblr.com/post/170098887585/absent-destiny-chapter-8

Chapter 9: https://headfulloffantasies.tumblr.com/post/170365382031/absent-destiny-chapter-9

Chapter 10: https://headfulloffantasies.tumblr.com/post/170637086212/absent-destiny-chapter-10

https://headfulloffantasies.tumblr.com/post/170888363788/absent-destiny-chapter-11

Chapter 12 you are here

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

[headfulloffantasies]

Absent Destiny (chapter 2)

Chapter 2

They appeared inside Duke’s New York penthouse just as the sun was rising over Manhattan Island. The angel groaned on the floor. Duke ignored his guest and strode to his fridge. He poured himself a glass of bourbon and downed it in one go. He poured a second and came back to the angel. A paradigm of angelic features this one was not. The angel appeared male, with messy brown hair and striking blue eyes which were now closed. His shirt must have once been white, but it was torn and bloody. There was blood caked across the entire left side of the angel’s face. He had taken quite the beating. Duke watched for a moment as the angel twitched on his expensive floorboards and then tossed the drink over the angel’s face. Duke crouched next to the holy warrior as the angel jerked into a sitting position and spluttered.

“How does drunkenness suit you as your first sin?” Duke mocked.

“How does being grounded feel, demon?” The angel croaked back. Duke felt it like a slap. He had been trying to ignore the angel’s wings up until that moment but he couldn’t now. They were beautiful, stretching high above the angel’s head. Where the perfect white plumage wasn’t burned black it was edged with gold, shimmering and sharp. Duke flexed his shoulders in envy. His wings had burned right off his back as he’d plummeted from heaven. Duke reached out and grabbed a fistful of feathers and twisted roughly. The angel groaned, pawing weakly at Duke’s hand. Duke realised just how weak the angel was. Duke should have been ashes by now. This one was broken to the point of death. Even the un-scorched sections of his beautiful wings, Duke noted, were wilted and messy, feathers sticking in all directions. There must have been quite the dust-up upstairs.

“Who were you fighting?” Duke asked absently.

“None of your business.” The angel growled. Duke gave his feathers another good yank. The angel’s eyes almost rolled back in his head. Duke let go and the angel sank to the floor again. Duke considered the pathetic excuse for holiness and made a decision.

He hurried quickly down the hall to his library and started yanking books off shelves. Finally he found what he was looking for. He muttered the ancient words and waited. He felt nothing. He looked back at the instructions and puzzled over them a moment. Finding what he had missed he returned swiftly to the angel’s side.

He laid a hand on top of the angel’s head and repeated the incantation. The angel’s eyes widened as the ancient words tripped off Duke’s tongue.

“No.” He whispered feebly. He shoved at Duke, scrambling to get away. Duke gripped a handful of messy brown hair, pulling the angel up to his knees. The spell finished and a deep tug yanked somewhere in the pit of Duke’s stomach. The angel must have felt the same because he groaned and wrapped his arms around his middle. Duke released him and the angel writhed, folding himself in half. He kept on moaning even as Duke wandered back to the fridge and filled another bourbon.

“You can stop crying, it’s done” Duke said without looking away from his reflection in the stainless steel fridge.

The angel hissed something. “What was that?” Duke turned to face him

“How could you?” The angel growled again. His arms were still loosely encircling himself, as if he was trying to hold himself together.

Duke scoffed. “You’re very self-righteous, aren’t you? As if you haven’t ever done anything wrong. Oh wait.”

“I will kill you.” The angel promised.

“Ah ah.” Duke waved a finger at him as he approached. The angel watched warily as Duke crouched next to him again. “That pretty little incantation was a binding spell, darling. Your life force is tied to mine now. You can’t kill me without killing yourself.”

“So be it, demon.” The angel growled.

“That’s a bit dark.” Duke pointed out.

“Release me from this spell.” The angel demanded.

“Nope.” Duke shook his head. “You’re not at full power. You could break this spell like that.” He snapped his fingers in front of the angel’s face. “If you weren’t in such bad shape. But in the meantime I could use you, so…” Duke reached down into his demonic strength and tapped the angel’s forehead. The angel’s eyes rolled back and he slumped over unconscious. Duke heaved him up and carried him across the polished floor boards to a bedroom. He dumped the angel unceremoniously on the white sheets and left him there, locking the door unnecessarily behind him. Now for the second step of the plan forming in his diabolical mind.

The library was a wealth of occult and arcane knowledge. With dozens of books spread feverishly across the table Duke finally found what he was looking for. Scanning the intricate spell work detailed on the brittle page he sighed in relief that he had restocked the pantry with virgin blood just yesterday.

The spell was difficult and finicky. It took longer than expected and the angel was pounding on the door by the time Duke had finished.

“Hold your holy horses.” Duke joked as he unlocked the door with one hand and balanced the bowl containing the spell in the other. The door swung open to reveal the angel, out of breath from fighting the door, leaning against the wall.

“Hello, lovely.” Duke grinned. “This will make you feel better.” He lifted the bowl and whispered the incantation. The grisly contents erupted into flame and the angel convulsed, falling to his knees.

It stopped as suddenly as it started. Duke tossed the bowl aside, not caring that it shattered somewhere behind him. It was disappointingly less blinding and awe inspiring than Duke expected to strip the angel’s powers away.

Said angel remained kneeling, a terrified shaking overcoming him. “I can’t feel my wings.” He whispered. The appendages fluttered restlessly, brushing the angel’s arms. He reached up and drew two fingers across the feathers. “I can’t… They’re numb.” He whispered to himself again. Duke was getting very bored with this.

“You done with the pity party?” He asked.

The powerless angel’s stomach growled. His eyes widened in startled horror. “What did you do?”

“You’re effectively human now.” Duke purred. “Except for the wings, of course.”

The un-angel sucked in a shocked breath. “You can’t. It isn’t possible.” He stuttered.

Duke shrugged, leaning against the door jam. “Can and did. You aren’t truly human, mind you. All your nasty holiness is in there somewhere, you just won’t be able to access it to, you know, kill me.”

“Go back to hell!” The angel yelled. His incredibly blue eyes burned.

Duke gave him an exaggerated puppy dog pout. “That’s not very nice, dear. We’re going to be roomies now, so you’d better get used to it.” He tapped the angel on the nose. “That reminds me, I don’t know what to call you.”

The name the angel spoke shuddered nauseatingly through Duke.

“Very good.” Duke scowled. “But I can’t speak Enochian, angel. So try something a little less… angelic.”

The angel glared silently, his eyes still burning with righteous fury.

Duke shrugged. “If you don’t tell me I’ll make something up. You won’t like what I come up with.”

The angel remained thunderously silent.

“Look,” Duke said charitably. “It’s not hard. You can call me Duke. Your turn.”

“I think I’d rather call you-“ Duke slapped the angel hard across the face before he could utter Duke’s angelic name again.

“I’d prefer if you call me Duke.” The demon grinned. “Now what do you say to dinner, Fergus?” He stood and turned back to the kitchen. He was halfway across the floor when the small voice said.

“Azarel.”

“Azarel. ’God provides’. Not here, I’m afraid.” Duke grinned as the angel scowled.

Thank you for reading! If you enjoy this story and want to see more, let me know. Follow the tag ‘Absent Destiny’ for more chapters as they are posted.