CHAPTER 7
The only sound she could hear was the shattering of a champagne glass.
Whatever conversations that had been taking place, and whatever words were being spoken, had come to a screeching halt. Every pair (and otherwise) of eyes that had been focused on an exhibit, the architecture, or just their fellow demons had immediately darted to the center of the room.
And Chay absolutely loved it.
The Colonel's eyes widened. His head slowly turned towards Mr. Williams.
Williams, for his part, was doing his best to show no reaction towards the accusation. "I don't follow, Miss Ong."
Colonel Estes's eyes whipped back around to Chay, his face tightening with indignation. "Miss Ong...I understand your current weakened state, but you cannot just throw out such wild accusations in that manner!"
Sweat poured down here forehead in rivulets. Both Lucius and Viola were trying to keep her steady. She threatened to collapse into a heap at any single moment.
"Heh...I guess since I've figured this out, I can stop bullshitting you guys right?"
Chay slowly steadied herself, just enough so that she could once again stand independently from her two Imp companions. Her legs were still trembling underneath her.
She pointed at the necklace. "That gaudy monstrosity you have there? That belongs to Lord Stolas, and Mr. Williams here just confessed to stealing it."
The room erupted in gasps.
She leaned on a nearby railing. "It confused the crap out of me at first, especially since so much shit wasn't adding up. But then I realized I was looking at this the wrong way…"
The Colonel shook his head. "Miss Ong, I really must insist that you cease this slander unless you can prove these accusations."
"Indeed. I don't take kindly to being accused of having robbed from my friends in the Goetia family. Do you have any proof that this piece even belonged to Lord Stolas in the first place?" Williams's face became stonier, his apparent good-will quickly evaporating.
"Oh, you want proof? I'll give you some fucking proof…" Her voice was becoming dry and hoarse.
Behind Chay, Lucius looked over at Viola. "She's losing it.", he whispered to her. Viola put a finger up to her lips and shook her head.
Chay reached into her shirt and snatched out the polaroids that Blitzo had given her. She picked out the one featuring the necklace and held it up.
"This was taken inside Lord Stolas's own home. As you can see, it's on display in his personal treasure room."
The colonel took a close look at the photograph. "Well tan my hide, that is from Mr. Stolas's treasure room. That bronze pedestal is a dead giveaway!"
Mr. Williams snorted. "Oh please. Who doesn't use those damn pedestals? I'm using bronze pedestals in this very museum!"
Chay rolled her eyes. "That might be, but I doubt you have dozens of bronze pedestals you've custom made with a bunch of moon and star inlays…" She pointed to the various carvings of constellations sculpted into the bronze. "You don't strike me as someone as obsessed with the cosmos as Prince Stolas, Mr. Williams..."
She flicked the photo to the ground and shuffled through the others. "I'd hurry this along, but I'll be honest: right now? I'm fucking loving this shit…"
She picked out the photo of the pamphlet and held it up.
"This is a picture of an antique pamphlet that purported to tell the secrets of the Knights of the Golden Circle. Colonel, do you recognize the emblem?"
Estes took the photo from Chay's hand and squinted at the image. "It is rather small...but yes, I do recognize the symbol. It was used by my fellow members of the Circle as our call sign."
"Right. Now, how many stars do you see in that crescent moon?"
"Well, it's obviously thirteen stars. It had to be, otherwise it would not be our symbol. The stars represented the original thirteen colonies that our forefathers had conquered."
"Exactly. Thirteen stars. Thirteen."
The Colonel's eyes sort of glazed over.
-He's not getting it.
"I...still don't follow, Miss Ong."
She sighed and pointed at the photo on the floor. "The necklace, remember? Look at it again."
Estes motioned for one of the nearby WUL agents to pick the polaroid off of the floor. The agent bent down at the knees and pried the picture off of the carpet, before dusting it off and handing it to the Colonel.
"The silver flakes, Colonel. The ones you thought were especially tacky?"
He cocked one of his scaly eyebrows. "Yes. What about them?"
"Note the shape they are arranged in, and the specific number that are used."
"Hmm…"
Mr. Williams rubbed his eyes, shaking his head. "This is absolutely ridiculous..."
The Colonel turned the photograph in different directions, his eyes scanning every speck of the image. "I must admit that I am still rather confu-…..wait a cotton pickin' minute here!"
His eyes suddenly widened. "The flakes are arranged in a pattern similar to the Northern Crescent Moon! And it has an extra flake on it!"
Chay grinned triumphantly.
-Fucking finally. He gets it.
The Colonel's head whipped back to the necklace in the display. "But this necklace is missing a flake! There's a space right here in the lower center where it's supposed to be!"
He pointed with his cane at the medallion's bare spot. Indeed, for such an ornate piece of jewelry, this small flaw became glaringly obvious.
His head slowly turned towards Mr. Williams. "Suh...what has happened to this medallion?"
"Yeah, Willy…", she sneered. "Why don't you tell us all why you defaced Lord Stolas's property."
He said nothing. Just the same stoney stare.
"Maybe you….oh I don't know…."
She jabbed her thumb behind her, pointing towards the previous room.
"...Ripped it off of the medallion and put it on the grip of your duelist gun?"
Still nothing.
"Maybe placed it….right in the center of that red star inlay?"
Again, Williams betrayed nothing. No emotion, no reaction, no response of any kind.
Except for one thing.
A small, tell-tale twitch in his left eye.
-Got 'em.
"She's right!"
The crowd looked behind them to see one of the other guests, an Incubus in a tuxedo, pointing a claw at the gun on display.
"There's a silver flake on the grip just like the ones on the medallion! Exactly in the area she says it is!"
"And to top it all off…", Chay shouted. "He tried to frame the Colonel for the theft!"
Water splashed onto the ground as Loona dumped a bucket of water over her head. A pink-ish puddle of water spread around her paws.
Behind her was Fyewackett, Coi, and Leeroy... still dripping and damp from their own impromptu baths.
The only ones not dripping with trough water were Blitzo and Moxxie, both of whom were still covered in the goopy viscera of what remained of the WUL agents.
"Well…..That was….", Coi began to say.
"It was sure something.", Leeroy piped up, finishing his thought for him.
"Alright, Loony, make way for dad!".
Blitzo marched right up next to her, still dripping with blood. He dipped his entire horned head into the trough, sloshing around before pulling himself back out. He spat out the water like a whale discharging seawater from its blowhole.
Fyewackett shook his head. "By Satan...you just tore them to pieces. It was like watching a living cuisinart pulsing a tomato."
"Yup! That's why she's my favorite." Blitzo jumped up and gave Loona a moist kiss on the cheek. She stuck her tongue out in disgust.
Moxxie barely emoted. Dripping with gloppy gore, he looked as if he was somewhere between shock, crying, and sheer bewilderment.
But it did actually confirm one thing for him:
"It turns out...your horse was actually real."
The taller Imp raised a questioning eyebrow? "What? Oh, this isn't Daisy. I found this girl at the stables!". He patted the haunches of the hellhorse, who in turn growled.
"How'd you even find us?", Leeroy asked as he wrung the water out of his hat.
Loona shook her head. "He wanted to take the horse to a water trough, so he made her jump the fence."
"Nothing but the best for my baby!", Blitzo said as the horse began lapping at the bloody water.
Loona smacked her forehead. "There was already a water source in the stables, for fuck's sake..."
"Moxxie!"
Everyone's heads whipped around to see Millie running towards her blood-soaked, shell-shocked husband. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.
"Mox, baby! What happened?!"
"I, um….did my job, I guess.", he replied somewhat feebly.
Milie's eyes began to glow red. She looked at the others as she slowly drew a dagger from her pants.
"One of y'all better start talkin', and fast."
Leeroy put up his hands. "It weren't us, darlin'. That's all Loona-girl's handywork he's wearin'."
Moxxie snapped out of his shell-shock for a brief moment. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be with Chay?"
Her eyes widened. "Oh, right! That's what I was trying to find you."
She hopped back and resheathed her knife. "Chay just fingered the culprit, and there's about to be some serious havoc going down and….Moxxie, something is wrong with Chay! We need you there ASAP!"
Moxxie shook himself out of his stupor. He reached behind him and produced his rifle, removing the extender barrel and scope and sliding in a fresh magazine.
He looked over at Blitzo. "Your orders, sir?"
Blitzo began pouring powder and shot into his flintlock. "Depends…."
He turned to Loona. "You still hungry, Loony?"
She grinned. "Always."
"Well then…"
He finished loading his gun and bunny- hopped onto the back of the hellhorse.
"Let's go fuck those guys in the vagina!"
The room erupted in gasps (again). Chay wiped sweat from her forehead.
The Colonel's jaw nearly hit the floor. His cane clattered to the floor.
"That's...that can't be true, Miss…"
"Oh, please. Haven't you noticed the whole motif that Williams has been using for this attraction? The freakin Moon and Stars are all fucking over this place. The entrance sign, the boxes used to ship stuff here, everything!"
She cruelly jabbed a finger towards the Colonel. "He knew about your membership in the Circle, so he used it to make you the suspect!"
Colonel Estes could only look at Williams, shaking his head incredulously, his eyes wide.
"Williams...is this true, suh? Tell me it isn't true!"
"Oh, it's true alright.", Chay continued. "It was quite effective to. So much so that Lord Stolas originally suspected you of the theft!"
She crossed her arms, triumphant. "So...what do you have to say for yourself Williams?"
The Colonel could only stare at his business partner wordlessly, speechless for perhaps the first time in his afterlife.
The tapir-like Sinner only grinned.
He turned to Bodfish. "Mr. Bodfish, what time is it?"
Bodfish fished out his pocket watch and flipped it open. "It's thirty minutes til six, sir. Almost sundown."
"Very good. Could you go and fetch my pistol from its case? I think I need to prove my worth to all of those gathered here."
The ram-demon nodded. "Right away, Mr. Williams."
The Colonel's fangs angrily poked out from under his lips. "Williams! Answer me, you two-faced sack of manure! Tell me that it's all a lie!"
"Oh shut the hell up Estes.", Williams replied. "You're still getting your half of the profits, so stop complaining."
Estes angrily grabbed the inside of his jacket and hissed loudly. "Mr. Williams, suh! Not only have you attempted to frame me for a common low-down thief, but you have also insulted my honor!"
The colonel pulled out a white glove from his jacket. He threw it at Williams's feet.
"I challenge you to a duel, suh! Pistols at dawn!"
Williams rolled his eyes. "Fine, just more profit for me. But first…"
Bodfish returned with the pistol in hand, covered in a light covering of silk. He unfolded the silk and handed the weapon to Williams, who checked to see if it was loaded.
"Hmm...empty. Good think I always carry a few spares."
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a couple of glistening rounds from his jacket.
The bullet heads glowed an ivory/diamond white, meaning they could only be one thing: Heaven exorcist material.
Chay spat on the ground. "You can't really be serious."
"Oh, but I'm quite serious.". He began putting the bullets into the chamber, one by one. "You're not really in any shape to run away, and I highly doubt your Imp companions would be much trouble for my security detail. My patron wasn't really care either way, since he only wants the money flowing in...and well, you know what they say about how they're no such thing as bad publicity, right?"
He slammed the cylinder into the gun and spun it. "Besides...I shot plenty of subhuman trash like you before. You're not the first...and you probably won't be the last." He pulled the hammer back on pistol...
"That's a dueling pistol, right?"
Williams shifted his gaze away from his firearm to female Imp standing next to Chay.
"I mean, that's the reason you had it on display in the first place.", Viola remarked.
"What's your point, little lady?", he answered back.
"Well, shouldn't you be using that firearm for just that purpose?"
He raised a fleshy eyebrow. "A gun is a gun, miss Imp. Bullets don't care about context."
"Perhaps...but wouldn't a duel at sundown be more, I don't know, thematic?"
He looked at his gun again. "You're saying you want me to duel this lady?"
Viola shrugged her shoulders. "Well, think about it: What could be more fitting for a Wild West Town, than an authentic showdown on a dusky street?"
Chay looked down at Viola. "Vi...what the fuck are you…"
Viola looked up at Chay and put her index finger over her lips, giving her a sly wink.
Trust me, I know what I'm doing, she was signaling.
"I hate to admit it, little lady...but you're right. This would be some amazing publicity. Alright, what are your terms?"
Chay opened her mouth to speak, before Lucius stepped forward.
"Here are our terms. We have exactly thirty minutes to choose our weapons and prepare whatever affairs need to be in order. At six o'clock, at the toll of the bell, the duel will commence. We shall have the showdown on the road in front of the museum. Do you agree with these terms?"
Chay shrugged her shoulders. "I'm good with them. How about you, Williams?"
Bodfish ducked down and leaned into Williams's ear. "Sir, are you sure about this?"
"More that sure. Look at her, she's shaking like a leaf. I could take her very easily.", he whispered back.
"You do realize that this might mean some additional fees on your end."
"You'll get your money, Bodfish…"
Williams stepped forward and nodded. "I agree to your terms. I suggest you write your pathetic wills and prepare for oblivion, because I can guarantee you this much Miss Ong: I. Don't. Miss."
Williams and his entourage made their way out of the room, pushing past Chay, the Imps, and the rest of the crowd that had gathered around them.
Chay looked around her. "Hey...where did Millie go?"
"I'm right here!" Millie soon popped around the corner and into the room, followed by a dripping wet Moxxie, Blitzo, Loona, Leeroy, Fyewackett, and…
"Coi? The fuck are you doing here?", Chay asked.
The Sinner shrugged. "I was in the area. You don't look so good."
The two Imps at Chay's side shook their heads. "You're telling us. She hasn't been like this in months.", Lucius said.
"Eat shit, Lu.", Chay growled.
"Whatever. Look, we have some things we need to prepare, and not a lot of time to do it.", Viola said.
"Right.", said Lucius. "We have exactly thirty minutes to get ready for a showdown. We need to get back to the IMP van and get Chay's weapon. We also need to come up with some contingency plans in case-"
"-In case Miss Hot Topic here bites the big wet one, got it.", Blitzo finished for him "No worries, we got that taken care of…"
He turned to Moxxie and Millie. "M&Ms, you got this! Go get Chay's weapon here and bring it back, toot fucking sweet!"
"Yes sir!", the two saluted and ran out of the museum at mach speed.
"Wait a second, do you know what you're even looking for?", Chay asked.
"It's the box labeled 'Open on pain of castration', right?", Blitzo answered back.
"Um...yeah, that's the one.", Chay said, looking down at the ground with a mixture of embarassment and astonishment.
Coi looked Chay over. "Are you sure you're in shape for a fight? You're trembling like a piece of wet tofu."
"That won't be a problem", Viola replied.
Chay looked down at Viola. "Vi...I'm really not sure…"
"Chay…", Viola took her hand and held it. "I promise you, I've got this. I know exactly what I'm doing."
She looked over at Lucius, who simply nodded his head. The rest all gave their smiles of affirmation.
"Well, you're gonna have to explain it to me, Viola, and we don't have a whole lot of time…"
"No problem.", Viola answered with an eager smile.
"So first question is first, Chay: How much do you know about the history of Nicaragua?"
Outside of the museum, the warm air was beginning to cool. The various families and guests were still engaged in revelry, blind to the violence that was soon to fill the street.
Coi stood in an alleyway, leaning on the wall of his restaurant. His face was wracked with concern.
He looked up at the faint image of the pentagram moon, slowly overtaking the sun in the green sky.
He took a deep breath and took his hellphone out of his pocket.
He hit the text feature.
|:MADAM, SHE HAS RELAPSED.
SYMPTOMS ARE CONCERNING.
WHAT DO YOU ADVISE?
-Coi:|
He hit the send button. He hoped that Viola knew what she was talking about.
He watched as the WUL agents began clearing the street. A loud speaker announced the duel. Various barkers and merchants began gathering on the street sides, ready to sell to the curious.
His phone buzzed.
He touched the phone. The response lit up on the screen
|: DON'T PANIC.
I THINK I KNOW WHAT TO DO.
IS YOUR KITCHEN STILL STOCKED?
-Charlie:|
Chapter 7 End