The Winged Wolf

Written by catsamurai16.

An Idea from TalosLives.

Chapter 7: A Meeting for Lunch and Meaningful Evenings

Stolas had been in many battles before. In his long life he had fought against Mortals, Demons, and Angels. Whether he fought with his rapier, his magic, or his spear, Stolas was a formidable fighter across any battle field. With each battle, he honed skills for engaging enemies and fighting off their attacks. When the time for battles was over, he moved into the arena of politics. He found there was little difference between the two. Diplomacy became his weapon and he found he could wield it with incredible skill. Over the centuries, he had his share of losses and victories. But for each battle, each debate, each negotiation, Stolas knew a greater challenge was always out there. As he sat at his dining room table and listened to the Radio Demon humming away in his kitchen, Stolas wondered if he was ready for this battle. Not a battle of magic or might, but of fineness and conversion. Stolas needed answers from his "guest" and until he had them, he needed to be patient, diplomatic, and subtle. The foremost question on his mind was how he had gotten inside the mansion. Not only had the Radio Demon arrived undetected into his home, but oddly enough, he was also cooking him lunch. Stolas had paid close attention to his safety and the safety of his family. There were magics and enchantments around his mansion no being could penetrate, save for Lucifer and the other Ring leaders. No one could come into his house without being allowed in.

"So, how in the cursed Heavens name did he get inside?!" Stolas thought.

Then, Alastor came out of the kitchen, carrying a small plate. He set it infront of Stolas. On it was a small fluffy looking yellow square cut of what Stolas assumed was a piece of cornbread as Alastor had called it. Stolas had to admit it smelled good.

"Ah, nothing like fresh cornbread before a meal!" Alastor said, " I hope you enjoy it, your highness."

Stolas glanced up as Alastor quickly moved back into the kitchen, then back to the steaming hot cornbread. He then looked around the room.

"And what has he done to the servants?" Stolas thought, "Killed them?"

Normally, Gerald would be serving him lunch. But he was nowhere to be seen. In fact, he hadn't seen a single servant since he had returned.

Alastor popped his head out of the kitchen and asked, "Would you care for anything to drink, your highness? I have a nice vintage chilling as we speak."

Stolas smiled politely and said, "Anything will be fine, thank you."

Suddenly, a portal opened in the air next to Stolas and a small table fell out. On top was an ice bucket with a bottle of white wine. Then, the kitchen door burst open and a shadow carrying two wine glasses flew into the room. It set one glass next to Stolas and the other in the seat next to him. Stolas was stunned. He saw that this wasn't just a random shadow spell, but the Radio Demons own shadow! He watched in awe as the shadow itself lifted the wine, opened it and poured some into his glass and then the other. Then, Alastor came into the room and his shadow handed him the wine bottle. He corked it and set it back into the ice bucket.

"So, that is how he gained access," Stolas thought, "He must have hidden his living shadow in a group of guests as they were invited inside."

"This little drop is called Chateau Ste Michelle, a riesling wine," Alastor said, taking a seat next to Stolas, "I don't normally drink myself, but as I understand it goes well with jambalaya."

Stolas said, "I've had my share of Earthly wines before. I'm sure it will taste… splendid."

Alastor flashed a quick smile at the Prince, then took a sip of the wine. Stolas did the same, slowly. It was good, dry with a semi-sweet aftertaste. He set his glass down and said, "An impressive display of portals and shadow manipulation. May I ask who taught you such spells?"

Alastor set down his own glass and said, "Oh, no one's had to teach me a thing in years! I've always been quite good at teaching myself new things. Once in Hell, my horizons were… expanded, shall we say."

Stolas nodded and took another sip of the wine. Deciding to let the question go and be a little more hospitable, Stolas lifted his piece of cornbread and took a bite. It was very good.

"I trust the cornbread is to your liking, your highness?" Alastor asked, "Or may I call you, Stolas?"

Stolas knew the second question was a tactic to see how much the Prince had lowered his guard.

"It's perfectly delicious," Stolas said, setting the piece down, "And as long as I may call you Alastor, I don't see why not."

Alastor laughed and said, "Why, of course you can. Business associates should be on a first name basis, after all."

Stolas's eyes narrowed, but he didn't lose his smile, "I'm not quite sure what you mean. You say you wish to be my business associate. But I honestly have never heard exactly what your business is."

"Entertainment and news, my dear Stolas," Alastor said, taking his seat next to Stolas, "I was a radio host on Earth and I have continued here in Hell."

Stolas said, "I still don't see what that has to do with m-"

"Now, now, friend Stolas. There will be plenty of time for that after we've eaten," Alastor said, "The collard greens should be ready by now."

Alastor stood and walked towards the kitchen, "Let me go see. Enjoy your cornbread while I check on the rest of lunch. I'd get some new servants if I were you. One look at me and they all tucked themselves away somewhere."

Stolas sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. He had to keep calm. He had done well so far, but he couldn't let his guard down. Even with thousands of years of practice and skill behind him, Stolas felt unprepared for dealing with Alastor. It was true that some arrived in Hell with a knack for spell casting, but Alastor welded his magic like a mage with thousands of years of training. If no one taught him magic, he could overlook a powerful magical book such as his own, but how did he find out about it? Who had told him? What did he want? Until he knew, Stolas needed to stay focused and calm. As Alastor came back with two steaming bowls of jambalaya and his shadow handed two plates of collard greens, Stolas smiled and took his bowl and plate from Alastor.

"Why, this does smell good," Stolas said, "You say your Mother taught you this recipe? She must've been an amazing cook."

Alastor said, "Ah, yes. My dear Mother had many talents. Or so my Grandmother told me. I was an orphan, you see, raised by my Grandmother."

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that, Alastor. I too lost my parents at a young age." Stolas said.

"So the stories I've heard about you go, my dear Stolas. That's why I felt I could share such a thing. We're kindred spirits in that regard." Alator said, taking a spoonful of his jambalaya.

Stolas said, "Indeed. But perhaps we have something more uplifting in common? For instance, what other recipes do you know?"

Stolas took another sip of his wine as Alastor began to talk about something called gumbo.

Stolas thought, "So far, so good. Just keep slowly finding common ground and he may let more slip."

"A-and then, Blitzy runs out of the barn screaming, 'it's not a cow!'"

Both Alastor and Stolas laughed hard as Stolas finished his latest story about him and Blitø going to the human world.

Stolas sighed and said, "My poor little imp does have a talent for getting into trouble."

"And from what you've told me, he has a talent for getting out of trouble too," Alastor said, "I knew there was something about that imp I liked. He really has gumption!"

"Indeed, he does," Stolas said as he ate the last spoonful of his jambalaya.

Alastor reached over and took the bowls back into the kitchen. Stolas took a sip of his wine and watched Alastor leave. He had not gotten as much information as he hoped. Alastor had been very tight-lipped about his life on Earth and in Hell, save that he never knew his father and had only fleeting memories of his mother. After a while, Stolas decided to talk about his relationship with Blitzø since Alastor already knew something about them. It had worked as he did let slip that he had at least two associates named Husk and Niffty who were currently working with him on Princess Charlotte's passion project. Stolas knew about this 'Happy Hotel,' but like most he didn't have high hopes for it. The project was only announced a week or so ago and it had already become a subject of ridicule among the other royals. Stolas set down his wine glass and smiled as Alastor came back and sat down.

He said, "Well, thank you for the fantastic meal, Alastor."

Alastor gave a quick nod and said, "Oh, you're quite welcome, Stolas. It was no trouble at all."

Stolas leaned back in his chair," So, now that we've eaten, we should talk about what you want with me."

Alastor laughed, "Of course, my friend. But before we do, can I ask a favor?"

Stolas nodded and Alastor said, "If you have a question to ask me, please just ask away. A little verbal sparring is good now and then, but my goodness you are bad at it."

Stolas felt his feathers bristle. He took a breath and thought, "Calm down. He's trying to get me mad. In any case, he's more perceptive than I thought."

He said, "Well, perhaps it's because I'm out of practice. It's been years since someone challenged me so… openly. At any rate, why don't we drop the 'pleasantries,'"

Alastor said, "Why not? Now, I know there's one important question knocking around in that owl brain of yours, so let's start there."

"How did you know about my connection with Blitzø?" Stolas asked.

Alastor gave a sly smile, "Blitzø told me."

Stolas's temper flared. He said, slowly, "Blitzø would never betra-"

"Oh, no, no, friend Stolas. I didn't mean he told me outright. I simply meant I found out because of him," Alastor said, "I'd only recently heard about I.M.P. and I admit I became curious as to how a group of puny imps managed to get to the Mortal World. So, when a situation developed up there, instead of taking care of it myself I enlisted their aid."

Alastor stood and turned away from Stolas, "And lo and behold, I found that charming little book of yours. Now, I had no idea where that powerful little tome came from. So, I had someone keep an eye on things after I left."

Stolas looked confused, until Alastor's shadow rose up from the floor smiling.

"And I was not even out the door for five minutes and that charming little Blitzø has you on the phone. It wasn't a long trip to put two and two together," Alastor said looking over his shoulder, "If laying with the imp wasn't scandalous enough, you've given him free reign to go to Earth."

Stolas growled, but tried to calm himself. Alastor turned away from Stolas again and began to walk toward the other side of the table.

He said, "Now, if my understanding of Hell's policies is correct, one cannot get up to Earth without permission. Most know and don't care about you and your little plaything having your little romps here and there, but someone might start to think about those imps and their enterprising trips to Earth. It would be quite a shame if anyone learnt the whole truth about you and your imps."

He placed his hands on the table and gave Stolas a glowing grin, "After all, many would want to keep such a thing a secret."

Stolas felt his blood boiling. The threat was subtle and Stolas knew it was another tactic to make him angry… and it had worked.

In an instant, the dining room was filled with Stolas's red magic aura. The table and chairs splintered as they were tossed aside. And in an instant, Stolas had the Radio Demon pinned to the wall by his throat.

"You dare threaten to blackmail me, sinner?" Stolas said in a voice that seemed to shake the very foundation of his home.

In this situation, any sane demon would plead for their lives, beg forgiveness, or for a quick and painless death. Alastor only smiled wider.

"Oh, dear. You've misunderstood me entirely, " a voice said behind them.

Stolas looked back and saw Alastor standing there as if nothing was wrong. He quickly turned and saw he had his hand clasping the throat of Alastor's shadow. With a dark laugh, the shadow effortlessly slipped from Stolas's grasp. Stolas was dumbfounded.

"What happened?! No one's shadow magic is that strong!" he thought.

Alastor said, "I simply meant you have a problem on your hands, dear Stolas. And I'm here to offer a solution."

Alastor summoned himself two high backed red striped chairs and an end table with a coffee pot, a sugar bowl with spoons, and two cups. He sat in one seat and poured himself a drink.

"I find a strong cup of coffee is just the thing after a fine meal to make the evening complete," Alastor said, "Care to join me, Stolas?"

"No," said Stolas, having gotten tired of his… guest, "Say your piece and get out of my house before I kill you."

Alastor's eyes twitched in deep red and black for a moment, but then he merely smiled and stood. He snapped his fingers and banished the chairs and tables.

He said, " Very well, friend Stolas, very well. It's really quite simple. I've been making some very… discreet movements here and there. Particularly on Earth. The situation is quite delicate, but nearly finished. But then, that noisy little man found my amulet. Now, it's power could be traced back to me and I can't have that."

Stolas scowled, "So instead of risking exposure, you enlisted Blitzø to kill the human and reclaim your amulet for you."

Alastor said, "Exactly!"

Stolas narrowed his eyes, "What sort of 'movements' have you been making in the Mortal World? You know deal making has been banned by Lucifer for the last 30 years."

"Ah, no," Alastor said, turning away from Stolas, "People nowadays have no sense of taste or charm. Hardly worth my time. No, no, no. Nothing so base as that, my dear Stolas. Merely looking into unanswered questions."

"Such as?" Stolas asked.

Alastor only smiled. Stolas scowled. He was getting nowhere.

Stolas said, "Fine. But what is this arrangement you want from me?"

"Well, it's quite simple," Alastor said, "I'll keep your secret safe and make certain no one else comes around trying to sniff it out."

Stolas raised an eyebrow, "And in return?"

Alastor's eyes and smile glowed bright as he said, "All I ask for is a favor."

Stolas asked, "What kind of favor?"

Stolas had been thinking about Alastor's words since he left a few hours ago. It wasn't until he heard Jericho burst into the dining hall and call out for him that Stolas thought about anything else.

"Over here, Jericho," he said.

"Uncle Stolas," Jericho said "What happened here?"

Stolas turned to his nephew and said, "We had an unexpected guest for lunch today. Alastor, the Radio Demon."

Jericho's ears lowered and his eyes grew wide.

"A-Alastor was here?" Jericho asked shakily, "What was he doing here?! Did he cause this?! What happened, Uncle?!"

"Enough, Jericho!" Stolas shouted.

Jericho flinched and took a step back.

After a moment, Stolas sighed and said, "I'm terribly sorry, Jeri. It's just…"

Stolas waved his hand and his magic began to repair the dining room.

Stolas continued, "To come home and find him here… walking around… cooking in the kitchen as if he owned this house… it's upsetting."

"I can understand," Jericho said, "But he was cooking? How did he get in here? And what did he want?"

Stolas sat in one of the chairs and thought. Then he said, "He used shadow magic to spy on Blitzy's call to me earlier this morning. He must've used the same magic to bypass my defensive spells around the mansion. As for what he wanted…"

Stolas sat back and looked at the window. He didn't like lying to Jericho, but he had to come up with something.

"Uncle?" Jericho asked.

After a moment, Stolas said, "He said he wanted to reassure me that he would keep my arrangement and my real relationship with Blitzy a secret."

Jericho asked, "That's it? 'I'll keep your secret. No strings attached.' I don't buy it."

"Neither did I, so when pressed, he said that as long as you and the others can kill his target and get his amulet back then he would swear to keep the secret." Stolas said.

Jericho sighed, "So, our safety hinges on this hit. That's not the worst thing, I guess."

"So, it can be done?" Stolas asked.

Jericho nodded, "Yeah, we can do it. There's a few hurdles to jump over, but we should have it taken care of within a week."

"That's good to hear," Stolas said.

Just then, the dining room door opened and Octavia came inside.

"Hey, Dad. Hey, Jericho. Do either of you know what's going on with the servants? They're all walking around like scared cats," Octavia said.

Jericho opened his mouth to talk, but Stolas beat him to it.

He said, "I had a little accident regarding a new spell I'm working on. No one was hurt, just shaken nerves."

Jericho said, " Wha-"

"In any case, how are you doing, Via?" Stolas quickly asked.

Octavia smiled and said, "Good. I just wanted to see if either of you wanted to get dinner."

Stolas said, "Actually, I think I'll be having a small meal for dinner tonight. I had a rather large lunch. But why don't you and Jericho go out and have some fun. Perhaps you could go to the new Wackdonald's?"

"That sounds good. What about it, Jericho? You wanna come?" Octavia asked.

Jericho looked back at Stolas who was smiling at him. Then, he turned to Octavia and said, "Uh, sure thing."

Octavia smiled, "Awesome. Let me just change my clothes."

After Octavia left, Jericho turned back to Stolas.

"Uncle, why-"

Stolas interrupted, "Because I want to try and reinforce the protection spells on the mansion and the less Via knows about why, the better."

Jericho nodded and said, "Okay. Does that include working with Blitzø?"

"As long as you keep the current client a secret. Again, the less Via knows the better," Stolas said, "Now, you should go and get ready yourself."

Jericho stood and headed towards the door. He didn't really know how to keep such a big secret from Octavia.

"Jericho," Stolas called out.

Jericho turned back to his uncle as he said, "Thank you again for agreeing to help Blitzy and the others. I'm sure you'll fit right in."

Jericho chuckled, "Well, I'll tell you about all that when we get back."

With that, Jericho left the newly repaired dining room. Stolas sat back in his chair and scowled. The situation had spiraled out of control in a single day! He took a breath and reached for his phone. There was a text from Blitzø.

It read, "Aftr I droop Loona of at hume, I'l com by and talk if tat's ok?"

Stolas texted back, "That would be fine, Blitzy. I'll see you soon."

He tucked his phone away. He sighed. He wondered if he had to lie to Blitzø about this "favor" to Alastor. Suddenly, the dining room door opened again and this time Gerald walked in. He was looking a little shook up, but he seemed fine.

"How are all the servants, Gerald?" Stolas asked.

Gerald said, "No worse for the wear, my lord. Aside from a few bruises in the stampede to the various panic rooms, no one is seriously hurt. What about you, sir? Are you alright?"

Stolas said, "I am well, Gerald, if very distressed. Tell the others that I will be reinforcing the protective spells tonight."

Gerald nodded and turned to leave. Before he did, he asked, "My lord?"

"Yes, Gerald?" Stolas asked.

"This… favor of the Radio Demon's… are you sure you should do it?" Gerald asked.

Stolas stood and moved toward the window, "I haven't any choice. Not now, anyway."

Stolas lifted his right hand. He still felt the emerald green flames of the Demon Deal he'd made with Alastor.

Meanwhile, across the Ring in Imp City. Moxxie was searching the internet for more of the amazing music he'd heard today. It took a moment, but he learned it was called, "bluegrass" which came from a band called The Blue Grass Boys. The band leader, Bill Monroe, created the genre of music sometime in the 1940's. Moxxie was amazed at how much of an historic past this genre of music had! He had turned to Voxtube for several music videos and had brought his ukelele to try and learn how to play along. As he practiced with one video, Millie came dancing into the room to the music with a large smile on her face. She came up behind Moxxie and put her arms around his shoulders.

She kissed his cheek and said, "I always love hearing you play, sweetie."

Moxxie said, "I always love playing for you, honey."

Putting down his ukelele, Moxxie turned to Millie and said, "This 'bluegrass' music is amazing! It's a shame that some of it is gospel music though."

"Oh, you find that stuff played in all kinds of music," Millie said, "Anyway, do you think we could squeeze in some time back on Earth for our trip?"

Moxxie smiled, "Any place in particular?"

Millie nuzzled Moxxie's cheek and said, "Maybe back to New Orleans?"

Moxxie chuckled and kissed her, "Of course. Anything for you."

Millie hugged Moxxie tight and sighed.

Moxxie said, "Y'know, for all the dangers of working for Alastor, this is a Satan send. After this hit, all our money problems will be solved."

Millie hummed, "I was thinkin' the same thing. Can you imagine, sweetie? No more debts, a real house, and… maybe we can… "

Moxxie looked into his wife's eyes, "Finally start having a family? I was thinking the same thing."

Millie squealed and kissed Moxxie again.

The Wackdonald's was full when Jericho and Octavia went inside to order their food. Several families, imps, succubi, and hell hounds filled most of the tables. The Ring of Gluttony was usually packed with different restaurants. Fast food of all kinds, haut cuisine of almost every culture on Earth and in hell, and of course cheap knock offs of better restaurants. This Wackdonald's was one of the ten that had opened in the Ring of Pride with five more opening soon. After ordering their food, Octavia and Jericho moved to the side to wait.

Jericho asked, "Do you want to eat out on the patio?"

Octavia said, "Uh-huh."

Jericho asked, "Is something wrong?"

"We'll talk outside," she said.

"Two double BigWack's, one no mayo, no pickles, and one no onion!" a sinner demon waitress called out. Octavia quickly grabbed their food tray and went outside. Jericho followed her and they went to one of the outer tables on the patio. After they sat down, Octavia glared at Jericho who shrunk back on the bench.

"What?" Jericho asked, nervously.

"What the fuck is going on?" Octavia asked.

"W-what do you mean?" he asked.

"Cut the protective bullshit," she huffed, "I've got close to twenty years experience in watching my parents hide shit from me. I know when my Dad is lying to protect me. That shits over now. So spill!"

Jericho ran his paw over his ears. He sighed and asked, "Can we eat fir-"

"No!" she shouted.

"Okay, okay, okay," Jericho said quickly, "Well, I guess it started this morning…"

Octavia took a bit out of her burger as Jericho started telling her about his training session with Stolas. Across the patio, a male hell hound sat and watched them talk. He pulled out his hellphone and began to text.

"Subject A is speaking with Subject C. Too far to hear. Should I move closer?" he texted.

The reply came quickly. "Negative. Continue monitoring Subjects."

"Acknowleged," he texted. He was just about to put the hellphone away when a new message came up.

The message said, "Request. Pick up a twenty piece Wacknugget with hellfire sauce."

The hell hound groaned, but texted, "If you'll pay me back."

After a minute the reply came, "Confirmed."

The hellhound shook his head and put his hellphone away. He noticed the princess was starting to look stunned. Whatever they were talking about must be serious. Suddenly, he got another text. He groaned again and pulled out his phone. He smiled when he saw the message.

It read, "Heya, sweetie! Are we still on for dinner?"

He text back, "I hope so, babe. I'm still doing my job here at the Wackdonald's."

The reply came back, "Oh, I'm so jealous! Think you could grab me a small fry?"

"Of course, babe. I gotta drop off a meal to my coworker after I'm done, but I'll be home soon." he texted.

The reply came, "Okay! I love you so much! I'll see you soon, Texxie!"

Vortex smiled and text, "I love you too, Selene. See you later."

Vortex put his phone way again just in time to watch the princess pass out on the bench. As she did, her hell hound… date… body guard… whater he was, he came over to her side of the bench and started fanning her and calling for some water.

"Damn," Vortex thought, "Must be some heavy shit going on."

End Of Part 7.