Demon Kissed - Katie May Page 0,82

but then he saw the lightning had changed the atmosphere a bit, and the planet had become a lighter blue. So, he left it, because at his core, God’s a gardener. He’s always cultivating some new form of life. He waited to see what would happen.”

I’m rapt. This is the creation story unlike I’ve ever heard it, but that’s not the only reason I’m captivated. I can picture everything she’s saying perfectly, because I’ve been there in my dreams.

Why the hell am I dreaming about God’s garden? Is it my overactive imagination? Something more? Something…otherworldly?

For some reason, my eyes are drawn to Raz when Arariel pauses to take a drink. His own eyes are bright red, burning with some kind of heat that slithers down my spine and lights my cheeks on fire. He gives a single nod, confirming my unanswered question, Is she telling the truth?

“So, life developed, and God realized that lightning is basically a catalyst, a fertilizer for the planets. So he experimented a bit more with it and ended up creating a golem.”

I raise my hand like I’m in class, then immediately lower my arm.

Arariel smiles but doesn’t mock me. “Yes?”

“What’s a golem?”

“A man made of clay, fueled by fire. They’re the predecessors of humans. And in some ways, superior. They don’t require as much upkeep. Humans…are like orchids. They need to be babied and watched over nearly every moment, or they fail to bloom. They require lots of pruning to grow properly—”

“Pruning? Is that what they’re calling it these days?” Zolroth snarks. “You mean shackling.” He turns slightly on the couch so that his knee touches mine. “Before you go getting all enamored with Heaven because a former angel is telling you about it, let me just put this out there—they throw out the baby with the bathwater in Heaven. There are literally over nine million rules to follow, and the very existence of angels, who help keep up Earth’s garden, is torture. Lucillania knows that better than anyone, and it’s why she rebelled.”

“Who?” I ask.

“Well, you probably know her better under the name Lucifer.”

“The devil’s a woman?”

“Obviously.” Arariel grins. “Do you really think a guy could pull off the level of evil genius necessary to undermine God?”

Good point.

This topic is just fascinating, twice as interesting as learning about the Bolshevik Revolution, which is one of my favorite decathlon topics right now. I lean forward and ask, “So you were an angel?”

Arariel nods. “A long, long time ago.”

“But we freed them,” Zolroth says with a grin. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

Arariel just smiles and wags a finger at him.

Van suddenly appears with a veggie tray—I hadn’t even realized he’d been gone—and announces, “Snacks.” That diverts all attention from my lesson in metaphysics.

The demons all dig in with sounds of delight, and I’m struck by the contrast of Arariel and her unholy enjoyment of celery. It’s like water and a keyboard—vegetables and demons aren’t meant to go together. Weird.

“After this, no more boring history,” one of Arariel’s quadruplets says. “We came for an orgy, don’t get caught up—”

I nearly choke on my carrot. Zolroth has to pat my back really, really hard to help me, and the fear of humiliation is the only thing that keeps me from spraying orange flecks all over Arariel.

They have orgies? With my demons? I mean…with my demon friends?

“Alright, enough with the jokes, you’re gonna kill Katrina,” Zolroth scolds lightly. But then he adds, “And we aren’t done converting her yet.”

I go to whack him in the stomach for that comment, but Van says, “Cool your jets, little lady. They came for karaoke. I’m gonna go get Adam and Akor.”

Demon karaoke turns out to beat the pants off human karaoke, especially because one of Arariel’s quadruplets is an illusion demon and can transform himself into any number of famous singers.

Adam and I end up holding hands, jumping up and down on the couch together and singing along to his performance of “I Love Rock n’ Roll.”

The sleepover at the demon’s house actually turns out to be hella fun.

26

I don’t complain when the guys send Kastros home with me the following morning.

After a surprisingly blissful night of sleep in Raz’s bed—while he slept on the sofa—I’m in a good mood. A really, really good mood. Because, believe it or not, the demons were not bad company last night. I even liked hanging out with Arariel and receiving a break from the pungent testosterone contaminating the air. When she wasn’t flirting incessantly with