killed the other men in his gang and taught his children the story of the snake and their responsibilities as demons. He counseled them to keep their powers secret and expand their numbers.
Clifford’s family’s criminal activities allowed them to continue to prosper, but they remained on the move and did not flaunt their power. Most of their activities resulted in unsolved crimes and murders.
Eventually Clifford died at an average age, but his children followed his teachings and continued to build up their numbers and secretly infiltrate all aspects of human society.
Four generations and about 100 years later, two of Clifford’s great, great grandchildren from opposite branches of the family tree began a torrid love affair that resulted in the birth of a child. It was the first time that two demons had produced offspring together.
The result was a creature with a deformed face and batlike wings that sprouted from its upper back. While the creature was hideous in appearance, it was relatively intelligent in mind. Although it lacked the power of speech, its demon parents were able to teach it their history and ways. The creature grew to full-size in mere months.
Full-size was a behemoth twelve feet tall with massive hind legs, short arms, and razor sharp claws. While not as powerful as its parents, it used fire as its primary weapon, breathing flames from its mouth in explosions of force. Once the demon clan had seen what the “child” could do, they produced dozens of similar creatures, although each looked as different from each other as a cat from a dog.
Chapter Fifteen
G abriel had been talking for a long time, with Taylor captivated by every word. She had many questions, but had held them in, assuming that they would be answered over the course of the story. Eventually she could no longer contain her biggest question.
“Why do I see the red-eyed black snakes in my dreams?” she interrupted.
Gabriel stopped his monologue, a look of surprise crossing his face. He shook his head, like he had almost forgotten that he had an audience for his story.
“What do you mean?” Gabriel said.
Taylor realized that there was no way that Gabriel could know about the snakes. She opened up to him. “Since I was a little girl, I’ve had nightmares about the snakes from your story. I used to fear them, but have learned to live with their constant presence. I no longer fear them, but I still hate them.” Taylor didn’t mention that her most recent snake dreams had included Gabriel in them, it was too embarrassing.
Gabriel said, “I’ve wanted to ask you about your tattoo.”
“It’s just my way of coping with the nightmares,” Taylor said.
Gabriel nodded. “It suits you.”
“Thanks,” Taylor said, smiling slightly.
“To be honest, I have no idea why you see the snakes in your dreams. It might have just been fate’s sadistic sense of humor preparing you for what I am telling you.”
Taylor nodded; she was unsatisfied by the response, but it was as good a guess as any.
“Shall I continue?” Gabriel asked.
“Yeah, but first I have one more question. You’ve talked a lot about demons, but you’re an angel. What does all of this have to do with you?”
“A fair question, I was actually just getting to that,” he said. He continued carefully, pausing to think before almost every word, as if he was afraid of misrepresenting some key fact or anecdote. He said, “While most of the demons were of similar mind and wanted to realize the ultimate goal of destroying humankind and inheriting the earth as the superior race, there was one who disagreed. His name was Dionysus.”
“That’s a strange name for the 1950s,” Taylor said.
“Nevertheless, that was the name he had been given when he was born into demonhood,” Gabriel replied. “You see, Dionysus thought that demons and humans could co-exist on the earth and actually help each other. He constantly argued with the leaders of the
Clifford’s family’s criminal activities allowed them to continue to prosper, but they remained on the move and did not flaunt their power. Most of their activities resulted in unsolved crimes and murders.
Eventually Clifford died at an average age, but his children followed his teachings and continued to build up their numbers and secretly infiltrate all aspects of human society.
Four generations and about 100 years later, two of Clifford’s great, great grandchildren from opposite branches of the family tree began a torrid love affair that resulted in the birth of a child. It was the first time that two demons had produced offspring together.
The result was a creature with a deformed face and batlike wings that sprouted from its upper back. While the creature was hideous in appearance, it was relatively intelligent in mind. Although it lacked the power of speech, its demon parents were able to teach it their history and ways. The creature grew to full-size in mere months.
Full-size was a behemoth twelve feet tall with massive hind legs, short arms, and razor sharp claws. While not as powerful as its parents, it used fire as its primary weapon, breathing flames from its mouth in explosions of force. Once the demon clan had seen what the “child” could do, they produced dozens of similar creatures, although each looked as different from each other as a cat from a dog.
Chapter Fifteen
G abriel had been talking for a long time, with Taylor captivated by every word. She had many questions, but had held them in, assuming that they would be answered over the course of the story. Eventually she could no longer contain her biggest question.
“Why do I see the red-eyed black snakes in my dreams?” she interrupted.
Gabriel stopped his monologue, a look of surprise crossing his face. He shook his head, like he had almost forgotten that he had an audience for his story.
“What do you mean?” Gabriel said.
Taylor realized that there was no way that Gabriel could know about the snakes. She opened up to him. “Since I was a little girl, I’ve had nightmares about the snakes from your story. I used to fear them, but have learned to live with their constant presence. I no longer fear them, but I still hate them.” Taylor didn’t mention that her most recent snake dreams had included Gabriel in them, it was too embarrassing.
Gabriel said, “I’ve wanted to ask you about your tattoo.”
“It’s just my way of coping with the nightmares,” Taylor said.
Gabriel nodded. “It suits you.”
“Thanks,” Taylor said, smiling slightly.
“To be honest, I have no idea why you see the snakes in your dreams. It might have just been fate’s sadistic sense of humor preparing you for what I am telling you.”
Taylor nodded; she was unsatisfied by the response, but it was as good a guess as any.
“Shall I continue?” Gabriel asked.
“Yeah, but first I have one more question. You’ve talked a lot about demons, but you’re an angel. What does all of this have to do with you?”
“A fair question, I was actually just getting to that,” he said. He continued carefully, pausing to think before almost every word, as if he was afraid of misrepresenting some key fact or anecdote. He said, “While most of the demons were of similar mind and wanted to realize the ultimate goal of destroying humankind and inheriting the earth as the superior race, there was one who disagreed. His name was Dionysus.”
“That’s a strange name for the 1950s,” Taylor said.
“Nevertheless, that was the name he had been given when he was born into demonhood,” Gabriel replied. “You see, Dionysus thought that demons and humans could co-exist on the earth and actually help each other. He constantly argued with the leaders of the
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