Chapter Seven: Intentions
Alastor was in his newly refurbished office down the hall from Charlie's. The new furniture had arrived the day prior and with his talent of spacial warping and summoning tentacles, he single handily had gotten the task done in a little under two hours. He originally had planned to let the others lug everything to and from, but he decided to bestow the bit of reprieve as there were more important matters to tend to.
Husk sat in a chair across the mahogany desk from the Radio Demon. In his hand was a large, nameless liquor bottle. Ever so often he took a gulp, waiting for Alastor to respond to the news he gotten from the ancient Hell demon Baphomet.
Alastor leaned back in his high back black Gothic style velvet plush chair, his fingers drumming against one another. He smiled to himself, lost in thought.
The information given to him regarded several mid class Dukes of Hell. With them out of the way, his power and influence would increase to perhaps obtain a complete circle of Hell for himself. It was a game of thrones, so to speak, with the other overlords as they picked off the ancient ones and usher in a new era. The mortal realm that helped fuel their power had changed since the dawn of man, and with it, the ancient ones powers waned too.
They were no longer under Lucifer's protection, who had been wise enough to move with the times and kept himself as King in the process. Their sudden disappearance wouldn't draw much attention from him and that suited Alastor just fine. Since his broadcasted mayhem, the deer demon had discovered that feeding on one of these archaic beasts increased his eldritch power, and under the guise of the turf wars, no body was the wiser of what he was up to. The red clad demon was a patient man, and with an eternity to rot in Hell, he had all the time he needed before he could crown himself King.
"Excellent work," He said, voice unfiltered, "For this, I'll gladly take off, oh let's say, 10 years from your debt?"
"Fine by me. Better than last time." He stood up, raised his bottle as a toast, and drank. "I'm outta here."
Alastor waved him off, "If I need anything, you'll be sure to know."
Once the door clicked shut, he sighed contently and folded his hands on his lap, his legs crossed comfortably at knee. Perhaps he wouldn't have to use Charlie's for his war games and only focus on pleasures of the flesh. He grinned. That was a most excellent idea.
His mind drifted back to the other night and her confession of wanting to play. The idea was exhilarating as he had so many thoughts of what to do with her. Of course, he did agree that her lady friend wouldn't find out, so he had to keep in mind not to inflict to many noticeable markings on her soft, pale flesh. A shame, he did enjoy the art of Japanese bondage and thought she would look breath taking in red. He would have to keep it somewhat tamed until she snapped and hopefully leave that retched plain moth to give him her undivided attention. Vaggie was a hinderance to his fun and Charlie was waiting to playing.
He was brought out of his musing as he heard a knock on his office door. He flicked his wrist and the door opened on its own. Speak of the devil...
Vaggie stood sheepishly in the doorway, scolding herself for even coming this far down the corridor. She hated being alone with him.
"Hello. What can I do you for, my dear?" He said, straightening himself in his seat. He ran a hand through his hair.
"You busy?" She said with a small voice.
He shook his head, "Nothing I can't finish later. Come, sit."
Vaggie stiffly walked over and sat in the seat Husk had previously sat in. She wrung her hands together.
"Hey, Alastor."
"Please my dear. You may call me 'Al', we're partners and dare I even say, friends in this endeavor, are we not?" He snapped his fingers in his right hand and a glass of water appeared before her. She carefully took it and sipped.
"I... guess. I wouldn't consider us friends though. To be honest I don't trust you still." She leaned backed and continued before Alastor could comment, "But, that's why I'm here. Charlie likes you a lot. Sometimes I think it's more than she lets on, but since you came around, you helped her reach a dream that I haven't even come close to in the years we've been together and... I just want to thank you."
Alastor was a little taken aback. "Trust is not an easy thing to bestow on anyone, and I am not offended, I understand my reputation still proceeds me in your eyes."
Vaggie's lips were pressed into a thin line. She took a deep breath, "Yea. Truthfully I wasn't around for that broadcast, but I have seen the destruction you leave behind when someone crosses you. I guess I'm just scared that if you don't find the entertainment you were hoping for here, you'll burn this place to the ground as a last laugh." She turned away from him, "I'm telling you all this because I want to make some kind of effort of making things work around here and I know Charlie would appreciate it if I was nicer to you. After yesterday with you getting everything moved in by yourself, I realized maybe I misjudged you a little. You're doing a lot for so little, and I don't think you're that kind of guy who would do something like that."
Alastor smiles sincerely, "Thank you, sweetheart, I do appreciate the honesty. Rest assure that I do not have any ill intentions should things not turn out as I have hoped. Charlie and I made no deal, and she commanded that I help, so as long as I desired, and as I mentioned when I first came, my old job became mundane and lacked focus. Who am I to deny a wish from our princess without possibly incurring the King's wrath? We are in hell for the rest of eternity. That's a very long time. We've got to pass it somehow or else we end up like those ruffians in their petty turf wars. Why not aim for an entire circle instead of a few blocks of real estate, only for someone else to come make a mess of it the next day? No, instead they stick to childish antics and brute force. I'm not one for fisty cuffs."
Vaggie frowned a little, "I suppose. Well, I'm here with an olive branch. I'll try to be nicer and trust you a little more. By a little, I mean not always thinking you'll murder us in our sleep."
"You are wise not to trust me, or anyone, dear. We human souls did very bad things in our lives to be here, and who is to say that we can or cannot repent for such atrocities. Charlie does not understand this because she is a naturally born denizen. That's what I, and I'm sure you too, enjoy about her. She is uncharacteristically happy, bubbly, charming, and not a lick of malice that I can sense. Were she not the daughter of our dear ruler, she would have been snuffed out like a candle flame many years ago." He rose from his seat and walked toward the bookcase behind him, removing a scotch glass and decanter from one of the shelves to pour himself a glass, "However, I do agree we should definitely be more open and upfront with one another if we wish to work together. A drink?"
"Sure." Vaggie sighed, putting the glass of water on a small coffee table beside her. She had vowed to abstain from alcohol, but she also never thought she'd be alone with the demon before her, let alone be working with him. It was a little overwhelming, and a drink could help take the edge off.
Alastor grabbed another glass and poured a small shot worth as he carefully held both glasses in one hand and brought the glass container to his desk. He extended his hand to her so she could take her glass.
"So... partners then?" She held her glass out.
"I can toast to that." He tapped his glass against hers, a small tink echoed in the room.
Vaggie gulped and grimaced, her throat burning as the liquid slid down. Alastor chuckled and leaned back to rest on the edge of his desk in front of her, sipping from his own glass.
"I trust Charlie, and if she trusts you, I'll cut you some slack then. The patients will be here soon, so help me Satan, if you do something to them..." she gave him a pointed glare.
He raised his hands in defense, "My dearest spit fire, I will not harm them. It's not fun to shoot fish in a barrel and call it a hunt. They'll be safe so long as they follow the rules. I will handle the punishment for any unsavory guests as we know Charlie is too soft and kind and who knows what other responsibilities you'll have when they come. I promise to be just and stick to the guidelines Charlie has given me in terms of discipline." He took Vaggie's empty glass and sat it beside him, "Anything else you wanted to get off your chest?"
"Yes... it's been bugging me, but, what are your feelings regarding Charlie?" She stared at him dead in the eyes.
"I beg your pardon?" He raised a brow and crossed his arms, ears twitching.
She shifted in her seat, knowing full well she was treading into dangerous waters, "Ever since the reception, I noticed that you look at her like you're plotting to eat her. I'm going to trust you that you're not literally going to because I know you're a cannibal, but she doesn't though. I just need to know, how do you feel about her? She's my partner, in more ways than one."
Alastor tilted his head, his hair and large ears flopped to his right. He did his best to smile kindly as he spoke softly, "She's fascinating, isn't she?" he dropped his arms and placed them on the desk behind him, "I haven't been here that long myself, though longer than you, dear, but I've never encountered such a light like the kind she emanates. You can say that I am like a moth drawn to the flame. Forgive me if you misread me. While I'm sure she'd be a delicacy, she does not stir my appetite like that. I prefer things bitter, she's far too sweet. I just wish to know her and be..." he looked toward the ceiling and pouted his lips a little though still maintaining an amused smile, "Friends. She's quite charming."
"Friends?" Vaggie was skeptical.
He nodded, "Again, forgive me. I'm not exactly the most expressive despite always smiling. I know she's quite special to you, most of all, and I know you are to her. She's told me as much. You two have a beautiful love that many can only dream of, myself included. My feelings for her are not what you think. I don't take kindly to most, so my circle of friends happens to be rather small. I'd very much like to be considered one to her." Vaggie blushed, "You have my word that I will not harm anyone... well, almost anyone... Angel, on the other hand." He raised his right hand as if to back hand someone.
Vaggie couldn't help but giggle. She covered her mouth. Alastor's smile twitched.
'Gotcha.' He stood up, "My door is always open if you wish to speak again. This was quite eye opening and delightful, I must say. I do hope we can chit chat about more pleasant things next time."
She stood as well and made her way to the door, "Maybe. I know it's been Almost two months but this is still weird to me. I won't trust you completely, but again... thank you. Thank you for helping us, Al." She gave him a small smile before walking out and closing the door behind her gently.
"My pleasure." He picked up his glass and crossed his arms once more.
He tapped his glass against his lips, thinking to himself. He shrugged and sat back in his seat to look over the paperwork he had to sort through for his sponsors.
"I won't hurt them, but we never said how I would truly discipline the savages. Time outs? Ha, this is no daycare. Hopefully we can get more poor souls to join before they get hungry."
As an early hoorah for my birthday tomorrow, I'd thought I'd share another chapter. This was actually a favorite one to write, but next chapter... oh boy! The fun is about to begin.
