He knew that Armond had done it for personal and professional reasons. One was to protect his spouse, and the other was to get the world to believe in the existence of magic. Although, powerful angels and gods like himself were slowly losing their powers because humanity had lost its love for magic. Humans no longer believed or feared the unknown, but referred to it as hearsay, conspiracy, or rubbish talk. If humans had believed in Azazel's kind so many years ago, maybe his bearer, Kristoph, wouldn't have been killed.
Which was why Azazel was doing his part to help the cause by bringing magic right into human homes. It was the reason Fang’s script interested him. The title was calledThe Traveller, and it was about a man who died tragically and was reincarnated and traveled different worlds, changing the lives he touched with his own brand of magic. As an angel who’s dealt with life and death, Azazel knew that reincarnation happens for certain souls who were given a second chance at life.
Most of the studio executives wouldn't get so involved in a television production other than putting their stamp of approval on the idea, along with money, but Azazel was different and wanted the show to succeed. After reading the script, he had requested a few changes, such as adding an artificial intelligence system that represented the universe to help the main character navigate between worlds he visited. He and Fang agreed to get the best actor for Atlas, the lead character of the show.
As for the universal system, Azazel saw a child playing that role and wanted an unknown child actor. Azazel’s vision was that as the child grew so did the universe as it got better. They had yet to find the perfect candidate. It was fortunate that they still had two months before they started rehearsals and shooting the pilot. The show would air with the new season line-up.
Although Azazel was not there for the auditions, he knew Fang had found the actor in the major lead, by the name of Blue Lennox. Azazel knew little to nothing about the man, only that he was a former pop idol singer turned actor. He still hadn’t met the man but knew Lennox wanted to be a producer and investor, adding stipulations to allow him that opportunity before signing the contract. Azazel had no problem with it, and agreed with the offer.
They were all supposed to meet up for dinner, along with the producers, directors, scriptwriters, and set designers, to discuss things in more detail, but it seemed his plans had been changed. It just meant he had to wait a couple more days to talk business with Fang. He wanted to pick the man’s brain on a couple of things he had in mind.
No more hiding.
Azazel wanted a cast filled with all kinds of supernaturals and would need to do a few outdoor in-the-woods type shots, so they’d need to find the perfect place to shoot them, and he had one in mind that was two hours away from Valleywood.
The previous studio owner knew about supernaturals but was too afraid to let it be known and used special effects to keep the secret from getting out. Azazel disliked seeing someone like a werewolf having to hide who and what his nature behind make-up or special effects instead of shifting into his real form, shocking the viewing public. That was what they did in Hollywood, and he wouldn’t let it happen in Valleywood.
If the human public interpreted things differently, he didn’t care. He was going to bring out the potential of his actors. But it also didn’t mean he was going to put his actors at risk either. Not everyone could do the crazy stunts if they were not properly trained. Azazel wanted to keep the agreement the previous studio owner had with Vale’s Bodyguard & Training Services.
Azazel knew that they did more than bodyguard protection. The company employed stunt doubles, private investigators, and had a highly recommended cyber security department. Azazel hadn’t met with the owners yet, though he knew that Fang’s series would need stunt doubles.
“Tann—” Azazel was about to yell for his assistant, but paused when he looked up and saw that Tanner was still standing in front of his desk.
“Is there something else, sir?” he whispered.
“Yes, set up a meeting with Vale’s Bodyguard & Training Services,” he ordered. “Make it as soon as possible. And um...get in touch with Director Anubis and tell him that I have a script I want him to read.”
Like Azazel, his friend Anubis grew tired of his life in the underworld and wanted to explore the human realm. Anubis had a love of making things happen and like making movies. Azazel was surprised that Anubis had been using a pseudonym, Nicholas Schultz, and made online shorts that were nominated but never won an award. When Azazel found out he offered Anubis a contract to work for Valleywood Entertainment Studios to make whatever he wanted, as long as it brought a lot of money into the company.
“Yes, sir.” Tanner nodded but didn’t leave right away.
“Do you need something, Tanner?”
“I...uh....” he stuttered, then stopped and shook his head, then hurried out of Azazel’s office.
Azazel stayed seated and said nothing. He knew Tanner had a crush on him, but he did not and would not encourage the man’s feelings. Other than Uriel, no one would ever capture his eye or interest. Azazel planned on finding Uriel and working things out with him and putting their family back together. A light chuckle caught his attention, and Azazel looked behind him and saw Loki leaning against the window.
“It seems you have an admirer,” he teased.
“It’s just a crush, nothing else. It will fade.”
Loki smiled. “Maybe he should be more than your assistant, if you know what I mean.”
Azazel rolled his eyes, ignoring Loki’s comment. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at some charity banquet?”
Loki rolled his eyes and walked over to the bar Azazel had in his office and poured them both a drink. “I’m so fucking sick of this shit. If I have to smile and pretend I care about these things, I’m going to throw up.”
Azazel chuckled and took the drink he was offered and took a sip, listening to his friend complain.
“Why did I agree to do this shit?”
“Because you want to get your full powers back,” Azazel easily answered.
“Bah! My father certainly knows how to trap me.” He sighed and sat down, slouching in his chair. “I can’t keep living like this.”
“Yes, you can. In a sense this town belongs to you, Loki. When you get your power back you’ll be able to do what you want with this big ass city,” Azazel comforted. “Listen, he didn’t ban you from causing mischief, you just can’t go overboard like you did with Scott and his mate.”
"Maybe, but you and I know that Scott was not going to kill his mate. I was only trying to test him. See how good he was since he's going to replace Odin one day."
