Page 9 of Azriel

Why was he asking like he cared?

“I-I don’t have anywhere to go.”

The human squinted. “Why can’t you go live in Heaven?”

This poor, gullible human. How could he think Azriel came from beyond the pearly gates?

“Er, do you want to come downstairs? My Mother’s at work.”

“I-I-” Azriel blinked at him before the words came pouring out. “I’m sorry about coming into your room and tying you up. I was hungry-I needed it.”

“Oh, that.” The human scratched his head. “You did scare me at first, but…erm…it’s okay."

How could it be okay? The energy hadn’t been blood red, but Azriel didn’t see how he’d want it. That sounded ridiculous.

“I’m sorry,” he blurted out again even though it was so inadequate. He had no idea what else he could say.

“It’s not a big deal,” said the human. “Is the pearls like food for angels? Do you need that to eat?”

“Uh…kinda.”

“Well…” The human glanced around the gloomy space. “Do you want to hide out in my room? If you’re stuck or something, you don’t have to hide in my attic. It’s all dusty and dark up here. My Mother can’t see you, but my room’s a lot nicer.”

Why was he being so nice and calm about this like he found angels in his attic all of the time?

Azriel narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

“If you’re stuck, I don’t see what’s wrong with helping you. I didn’t think angels had horns, but what do we know? Come on.”

Azriel hesitated as the human stood and started toward the hatch. Why would he help? Azriel didn’t deserve anything after using him.

He waited until the human was down, and he heard some scraping noises before he grabbed his pack from the opposite corner and peeked over the edge of the hatch. If he didn't come out, would the human get mad at him?

“It’s okay. You can come down. I’m not going to tell anyone you’re here either, so it’s not like anyone is going to bother you. I have regular food too if that helps.”

“I don’t need to eat like that.” For now, anyway.

“It’s less dusty here.” The human smiled up at him.

Azriel finally climbed down. The human had put a chair below the hatch, but the angel hadn’t needed that to get up and down. With his strength, it had been easy to get up. He’d only had to be worried about being quiet.

Now, he wasn’t sure what he should be worried about. The human seemed pretty nice, but plenty had been nice to Azriel before so they could get what they wanted.

The human picked up the chair and started down the hall. “By the way, I’m Vali.”

“I-I’m Azriel.”

Vali set the chair down by a table and pushed it in. “That’s a nice name. It seems very angelic. You look just like one too for the most part.”

Azriel came forward to hover in the doorway. “Huh?”

Vali leaned on the edge of the table. “Have you ever seen our paintings of angels? They often have white wings and blond hair. Erm, most don’t have gold horns, but it’s not like we get to see angels every day.”

Azriel didn’t know humans could have orange hair like him. It looked quite soft and shiny, but it was something he’d expect back home, not here. He’d seen artwork of humans before, and they always had varying shades of brown, black, and blond hair. Some had red hair. Older people usually had grey or white.

The human didn’t seem ready to hurt him, but it was still a struggle to relax.

Vali shifted. “You said you don’t need to eat, but if you wanted something like tea, I’ve got that. Wait, do you need water?”

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