Liam

Smokes was a noisy place, it was always so noisy and always so full, most especially during the evening times and all through the night. It was such a place for demons and night creatures, a place where they came to unwind and sort of relax but then there was almost nothing relaxing about Smokes. The over crowded and noisy place brought in the heat which contrasted sharply with the cool weather just outside the doors but the heat was welcoming for the demons, to them it was relaxing, even the awful smell emanating from the scaly and hideous bodies of these demons, they considered that relaxing too.

Situated by the edge of the southern forest, Smokes was a place which welcomed all creatures into its overly warm abode, but it was not a place which all the creatures welcomed and asides from the demons who trooped in every night for the ironically relaxing atmosphere, no other creature came here to relax, it was either for business or... actually only for business. It was so for all the other creatures, all other creatures except for one.

Of all creatures to come here - or not - Angels were the least expected. Those heavenly creatures had more pride in them than the beach had sands in them. Even if it was for business, they still would not show up but rather have their demon allies come in for them or send their human slaves in here but sending humans in here was like putting a fresh bloody kill into a shark infested water. It almost never went well.

But one Angel broke that unspoken rule and frequented Smokes. Heck, he broke all the rules as was his desire. He was the one Angel who was bold enough to make himself a force to be reckoned with in both worlds, the other Angels knew him and the demons respected him enough to know when to stay away, but this night like many other nights passed, the renegade Angel was washed in guilt and misery as the memories of his past and once glorious life and position visited him again.

 Liam slurred in his speech as he tried to narrate his sad sad story to the bartender who was in no way pitiful towards him but kind of liked the way he kept the other listeners, his ever loyal customers, laughing and eager to buy more drinks for both the renegade and for themselves as well, as long as money was leaving their pockets and entering into his, drinks were being bought and his customers enjoyed free entertainment, then Liam was very much welcomed. He smiled as he took more orders and watched as the door opened and shut, more and more demons pooled in, the bar was full tonight and it looked like it would soon be over crowded. He grinned.

The place was called Smokes and it was a place where one would come to seek demons to do dirty jobs or where the demons would come to narrate and brag about the dirty jobs they had done or they would just come to relax and have fun. It was like a not so hidden, mini black market of a sort in an open bar and it was welcomed to all dark things and creatures. It was also opened to angels too but because the proud and pompous beings of higher intellect, power and all their fancy status would never be caught in this place, it was kind of an unspoken and an unwritten rule that no Angels came in here. But no one could ever tell Liam how to behave. It was just his thing.

Angels also did dirty jobs. Ohh yes, in every good, there had to be a bad egg to spoil the crate but even the bad Angels never came here. Instead they sent their slaves - humans - or better still, if they had demon allies, they sent them to do their dirty works for them, because sending a human in here was only asking for death, their blood was intoxicating and they could be easily identified, demons and Angels could easily smell out a human. 

Humans were now believed to be going extinct or totally extinct by now so any human found was as good as a mountain heap of gold. The demons needed them, their bodies served as a good vessel to transfer or summon another demonic spirits into. If not that, then the bloods of humans could be used to conjure a pretty powerful potion, or their flesh could be on the food menu for a ridiculously higher price. But they were better off used than eaten, but anyhow you looked at it, having humans in the hands of a demon could only mean one thing and one thing alone - death was the only thing sure for them.

The only human who could walk in here quite freely was Ben, a man servant to Renard, the most powerful Arch Angel who ruled the world as it was, or at least, he ruled his part of the world. Renard was a bad egg, a rotten egg, you could say the baddest egg. He dealt with powerful demons but never had one for a friend, Angels and demons could never be friends because demons were once Angels too who betrayed their master. Renard was shrewd, but wise enough to know that demons were never faithful, reasons why he settled for the human servant, fear had been his tool of control and it worked extremely well in his favor. Who would dare to refuse the powerful Arch Angel like Renard.

Ben couldn't be killed by a demon or by any other Angel loyal to Renard, his service to the ruling Angel provided him with much needed protection, it would mean war on the demon who would hurt him or try to and they knew they didn't stand a chance against the Arch angel. That piece of information rested heavily on Ben's shoulder like an extra shoulder pad and puffed up his pride. In this bar, he was a mini god of some sort and he flaunted his power proudly at any given chance except when Liam was also in the bar.

But tonight, Ben wasn't here, tonight wasn't going to be about Ben, tonight was about the only person who didn't fear Renard, the only person who would willingly and so often, stomp on Ben's protection and pride. Tonight was about the renegade Angel, Liam and his sad sad stories. 

The demons gathered round Liam, enjoying his sorry story, buying him more drinks and laughing at his predicament. In all, Liam had downed five bottles and was on his sixth. He laughed and hiccuped and could not be stable, the stool he sat on wobbled everytime he laughed and hiccuped but Liam was not drunk on the alcohol, he could not get drunk on alcohol but he was drunk on his emotions, it made him high, lifting him up and then crashing down on him with every memory. It made him ache terribly and he hated feeling this way but still he could not help it. 

The waitress who passed by made eye contact with him and winked, her forked tongue slithered out of her mouth to lick her lips seductively. The dangerous colour of red on her lips glimmered in the dull light when her saliva rubbed on it and she giggled, the most seductive voice you would ever hear rolling right out of her mouth.

Liam narrowed his eyes and smiled too, he stretched out a hand to grab a hold of her. She giggled more and whipped out a tail, caressing him from his cheek down to his neck and bare chest with it before blowing him a kiss and cat walking away, her pronounced hips swinging with the music. Liam groaned.

"I think I'm in love." He clutched at his chest and laid his head on the bar table, smiling. 

"Haha, Liam Reid." A demon sitting close to him spoke, tapping him on the shoulder. "That is a rather strong word."

"And a stronger confesssion." Another chipped in.

"Who are you in love with? Found yourself an angel now? In here?" They roared with laughter.

Liam lifted his head and brought a finger to the disfigured lips of the demon who had spoken but without touching his fingers to it, and shushed him. He shook his head and grinned.

"You have no sense of reasoning." Liam said and turned his head to the waitress who now stood at the far end of the bar, her attention was away from him and she was attending to the others. Liam turned back to the demon, bringing his finger down, he pressed his finger to the demon's lips now and slid his finger down, wiping the sticky slime off on his own cloak.

"No sense of reasoning what so ever." He repeated.

The demon traced his gaze to the waitress and then back at Liam. "Her? You are in love with her?" He questioned in utter disbelief and laughed out.

"You cannot be in love, not with Phidian at least." The other demons joined in the laughter.

Liam rose his body from the table, still seated on the bar stool and frowned. "And why not? Why can't I?" He hiccuped.

"Because she is a demon Liam." The bartender replied him, slamming another bottle on the counter in front of him.

"Demon? Yeah." He snatched the bottle and took a gulp, he swallowed. "And what am I?" He smirked.

"What are you, Liam Reid?"

"What do you think I am?" He beamed.

"Why don't you tell us yourself. What exactly are you liam Reid?"

"What am I?" He repeated getting up. He staggered a bit before standing still. Taking a hold of the thick brown cloak he had on, he unfastened it.

"I am...." He pulled off the cloak, letting it fall to the ground. On his back were two mighty wings which spread out wide and shone with such powerful light that it immediately incinerated the two demons standing close behind him. Liam smiled, unaware of the two demons he had just burnt. He placed his arms on either side of his hip, his toned muscles, washed in alcohol, stood out powerfully and intimidatingly. He stood a good seven feet and eleven inches tall, taller than any other person in the bar.

"I am an Angel." He smiled widely.

A roar of laughter rose from the bar and someone threw a bottle at Liam shouting, "sit down Liam!", which caught him in the temple. He staggered and fell to the ground and his once vibrant wings folded back, loosing their brightness and heat. He folded up on the floor and laughed with them, then slowly, his laugher turned into sobs. He stayed on the cold floor and wrapped himself up in his cloak, his past life came rushing to him, cascading over him like a waterfall over a small rock. He laid on the floor and little by little, drifted into unconsciousness as the demons emptied drinks all over him. 

The bartender laughed, tonight had been rewarding and sales had gone up thanks to the fallen angel who now laid on the bar floor, Liam was always a welcomed guest at Smokes, he made the business boom on nights he was in. He laughed continuously as he sold more bottles, nothing would make a demon feel more powerful than stepping over an Angel and Liam, when drunk with emotions, made that an easy thing.

Liam had accepted his fate, that he would never be able to rise to the pinnacle of power which he once held. Liam Reid, the lost Arch Angel, defeated and humiliated and now laid wasted as the only Angel in this bar full of demons. He slid away slowly into sleep, the laughter, chants and hoots of the demons registered in his brain as the last noise he heard but before he totally passed out, he saw her yet again, he saw her lips part open and he saw her breathe in through those lips and her eyes shot open as his consciousness totally faded away. He slept now.