Halloween, of course, is a time for demons.
Tazliel is a passion demon, and certainly no angel. Both had been formed in the Creation when the spirit world and corporeal world were set and determined at the beginning of time. Demon or was what Taz's kind became known as.
There is a lot of nonsense about these immortal beings, especially that angels are good, demons evil, when in fact, both have things to offer, depending on the situation. Both can take corporeal form, both can possess beings and objects, both can store powers like a spiritual battery, and give them to humans they find deserving. Angels like the abstract more, demons like to get down to fun in the real world. They have no gender, but can morph into one when they wish to, depending on what they want to feel, or how they choose to disseminate gifts to their chosen humans.Their physics transcends ours, so they seem magical to us. Each has gifts they can bestow, and each has times when those powers wax or wane.
Halloween is the demons' night. Human mischief, lust, and desire to shed their normal selves lessen the angels' power. People simply do not want to be angels on Halloween. Demons eat this chaotic energy up. Tazliel loves exploiting that.
This is the basis of my tale.
***
Tazliel glided through the night over the city lights of Vancouver. The mountains with early snow-caps were silhouetted in the moonlight. The sound of traffic, music, and revelry guided their movements, piquing their interest.
There were many preparations going on for adult costume parties. Sexy cats, witches, cops, and zombies were among the myriad creatures readying themselves, drinking, getting their party spirits up for lascivious Halloween decadence. This would feed Tazliel's demonic energy as the night wore on. For now, they just wanted some good old Halloween fun.
Tazliel would deal with the energy burst that came to demons from adult Halloween later. They were sure no angel would be fool enough to be about the city tonight: too much mischief confused their energy making them vulnerable.
They glided to a tree-lined street with houses decorated for trick-or-treaters. Most were already off the street, the parents guiding their princesses, devils, witches, and superheroes home to count candies; steeling themselves for the onslaught of the Halloween sugar rush.
A clutch of tweens were sneaking along the street, marking cars with bars of soap, and throwing rolls of toilet paper over hedges and verandahs. Tazliel followed one group of four, poorly costumes youths. The demon thought they could have tried harder and it provoked their disdain.
They need to get more in the spirit,
Taz thought as they drifted closer to a car the tweens had encircled.
The tweens chortled as soaped up the car's windows and door handles. One of them put bags of dog feces under each wheel so they would splatter when the car drove away carrying the stench along with them. None noticed a shimmering of the air over the car as the demon began to take form.
Tazliel quickly materialized as a hideous bat-loke gargoyle on the roof of a car, baring its fangs and hissing at the tweens. Their breath was sulfurous, and a long, forked tongue shot out of their drooling toothy mouth.
A few lights went on in darkened house windows as the terrified tweens ran, shrieking in terror down the street. Arriving home, three of them wisely remained quiet about this and mumbled greetings to their parents before going to their beds where they left the lights on all night, though the "beast" would haunt their dreams.
The fourth, crying and blubbering about "the monster from Hell", was grounded by his worried parents who had warned him about the dangers of drugs. They had had suspicions about one or two of his friends and suggested he stay away from "that crowd".
Tazliel floated over the quieting neighborhood, then they drifted down to a house to spy in the windows.
By one jack-o-lantern lit window, a little witch and devil were quarreling loudly over the pile candies on the dining room table where two empty pillowcases had been emptied of their loot.
"Take the raisins and give the KitKats," the devil ordered.
"But I hate raisins!" The witch whined.
"Settle down, or no candy tonight!" a female voice called from another room. Both children looked in the direction of the voice.
"Sorry, Mom!" the little devil replied as he swiped some of his sister's pile of KitKats before she turned around.
Tazliel grinned, vaporized, and they slipped through the window for a little fun.
The family dog began to whine and bark by the table as soon as Tazliel's invisible presence alerted the small spaniel to things it's owner's could not sense.
To the children's amazement, the pile of candy seemed to grow and move.
The boy and girl, despite their fearsome costumes screamed in terror as Tazliel burst from the candy pile as a slick, black, red-eyed rat, squealing at them on the tabletop.
The parents, alarmed, rushed in from another room to see what the ruckus was about. Tazliel, the rat, squealed and leapt to the floor by the mother's feet. "Ohmigod!" she shrieked and hopped onto a chair. The kids were now on chairs also, crying and screeching.
"Reg! Do something!" She screeched.
"On it, Jill," her husband responded.
Reg snatched up his son's plastic Halloween pitchfork which had a stiff handle, brandishing it at the demon rat. Tazliel bared his teeth and hissed.
"Okay, you little fucker!" Reg snarled.
"Swearing's bad Daddy," the little girl admonished.
