Dawn was creeping over the horizon as the makeshift family arrived outside their destination. Charlie yawned and stretched as she noticed they had stopped.
"Vaggie...Vaggie," Charlie said as she lightly shook her girlfriend's shoulder.
"Are we there," Vaggie asked?
"Yes, we've finally arrived," Charlie said. "Let's get inside and set up. Then we can see what would be good for breakfast."
"Alright," Vaggie said. "Cherri, Angel time to wake up."
"Are we there," Cherri asked tiredly? Angel sat up one hand rubbing at his forehead as though he was suffering from a headache.
"Yep," Charlie said happily, though she eyed Angel with concern. "How are you doing, Angel?" She suspected what could have happened, even though she couldn't confirm this to be the case. All Angel had said regarding the other night was Vox and Valentino were having one of their breakups. Though the way he had flinched away from Cherri...from someone he knew and trusted more than anyone. That was proof whatever happened the night he hadn't returned to the hotel had been horrible. Even during their evacuation from the city when she had overheard him crying. He had been rather distressed to have been caught in a position where he was emotionally vulnerable. A state that he only allowed himself to show when he knew he was alone or with someone like Cherri. Someone who knew and had some understanding of what he was experiencing.
"I'll be better when that approaching storm passes,'' Angel groaned as he continued to rub his forehead like he was suffering from a headache. "I've been feeling one in the distance for the past twenty minutes."
"Wait...a storm," Charlie questioned. Pulling out her phone and looking up the weather forecast, sure enough, there was a 'level 4' storm detected. "According to the weather report there is one about a mile out, it won't hit the area for at least an hour."
"Angie has a strong sensitivity to bad weather," Cherri commented, as she moved closer to the Spider. She looked as though she had wanted to soothingly place an arm around his shoulders, but refrained from doing so though it did cause her some emotional pain that she couldn't offer any sort of physical comfort to him without the risk of causing his distress. "When he feels one in the air, it always hits him hard."
"Maybe it's best we get inside and settled," Vaggie suggested.
"Right," Charlie said as they all piled out of the town car to find themselves standing before a three-story luxury cabin. "Welcome to my family's private estate!" The Blond Princess threw open the door allowing the travelers inside. Much like the hotel, there were lots of snake and apple motifs with framed images of the Morningstar Family on the walls and other surfaces. Though it did have more of an air of comfortable rustic charm or as close to rustic that a luxury cabin set in the Hellish mountains could get. Surrounding the cabin were massive dred pines and mosquito ivy overlooking a creek of blood-red water that fed a vast lake a short distance away. Much of the roadways and paths around the estate were paved over allowing for easy walks or drives around the surrounding area.
The first floor had a sizable fully equipped open kitchen with blood-quartz countertops, a large cooking range, double oven, refrigerator, and wine fridge. A dark wood table outside the kitchen had fourteen chairs sitting around it indicating the capacity the lavish cabin could house comfortably. The sitting area had a collection of couches and armchairs set around an inviting fireplace home theater tv. The deck beyond had other tables and chairs and what looked like an outdoor dining setup.
"There are two downstairs master suites," Charlie explained the room arrangement. "There is also a bunk room with two full-sized bunk beds and two twin-sized beds over there if you two feel more comfortable being together. Vaggie and I will be sharing the master bedroom in the loft area." Cherri wasted no time in heading downstairs to explore what each of the rooms had to offer.
"Oh fuck yeah," She crowed from downstairs. "Hot tub party!"
"I'm guessin' if more people join the hotel, that bunk room will be pretty convenient," Angel commented.
"It will," Charlie agreed."This place is able to hold fourteen people and there are some tuck-away beds with some of the couches. There are also a couple of additional cabins that aren't far from here that could be a comfortable living space for six people each. I thought of this place for group retreats during the summer months. Given the way things are currently, I hope it can be a place that could help you relax and not feel you have to worry about the studio for a while."
"Thanks, Char," Angel said as he started to make his way downstairs. "I'm going to unpack and get settled in."
"Um Angel," Charlie hesitantly asked. The Spider paused, though he had a sneaking feeling he wouldn't like what she had to say or ask. He still turned his head towards her to show she had his attention. "Can I have your boss's phone number? I would like to have a word with him over what has been happening."
"So you're really going to do this," Angel asked? Charlie had mentioned she wanted to have a word with Valentino once they arrived at the cabin. He certainly felt a little more at ease just being somewhere he couldn't feel the Moth breathing down his neck. But this place wasn't home, it was just a temporary shelter. Once they returned to the City, it wouldn't take long for Valentino to come to the hotel in order to reclaim his property. The moth would be livid upon learning the Spider had escaped his clutches. Something he would probably use as an excuse to punish Summer and Dia. Those two girls were also top stars at the Studio, but they didn't bring in the crowds or the money that Angel did. Already he could hear Valentino cursing about the clients and money he was losing and what he intended to do once he got his hands on him.
"I know he's dangerous," Charlie tried to show she had some understanding of what she was getting into. "But he is still a denizen of Hell. Even as an Overlord, he does need to obey the commands of Hell's royal family. Since you are a resident of my hotel, I want to give Valentino a chance to at least willingly come to some sort of understanding. I also would like to have a word with him, because things are going on…and these are things that should not be happening to you or anyone."
Angel closed his eyes as he digested this explanation. Being the Princess of Hell, Charlie did hold more power than most demons gave her credit. Just because she preferred to approach things diplomatically didn't mean she wasn't capable of using force when the situation called for it.
"Angel...Angel...Angel, how naive you are, did you think I wouldn't notice that you seemed to gain some friends in rather high places?"
Val knew enough about her to understand what sort of threat she could be. Though he may not have fully understood what sort of threat she actually was to him.
Angel knew from his own experience that people learned the hard way that underestimating him and what he was capable of could be a fatal mistake. Charlie's appearance and demeanor were also misleading. While he personally had never actually witnessed Charlie go off on anyone, he did get the feeling that underestimating her could have its own set of consequences. Possibly more than even King Luci himself could fathom.
"Alright," Angel said as he opened his eyes. "Can I write it down for you?"
"Sure," Charlie said as she walked to the kitchen. Opening a drawer she pulled out a notepad with a pen which she handed to him as she returned. Angel scribbled down the Pimps phone number and reluctantly handed the pen and pad back.
"I hope you know what you are doing," Angel said. "Val doesn't take losing credibility lightly." The blond girl calmly took the notepad from him. If Valentino could prevent Angel from returning to the hotel and do whatever he wanted because Vox broke off their relationship. How could he possibly react to or regarding Angel being out of the city? She was aware that she would have to put her foot down on some of the things that were happening. But, that didn't mean there wouldn't be backlash later on in some form. They would have to prepare for anything Valentino and his associations had in store.
"This has to end," Charlie stated. "The other night...that was too far and worse yet..."
"I get it," Angel snapped."The studio's toxic and I can't be redeemed if I stay there." The Blond Princess was taken aback by the hostility in Angel's voice. It wasn't directed towards her...not consciously in any case. It was more of a conclusion he had already been aware of.
"Angel…," Vaggie growled. She stepped protectively close to the blond girl to make it clear she wouldn't allow the Porn Star to take his anger out on the Hellborn Princess.
"No," Charlie chided her girlfriend. "He has the right to be upset. Angel, you don't need to stay close, I don't want you to cause you unneeded distress."
"I want to listen in," Cherri said as she came upstairs. "I need to hear what that bastard has to say."
"I take it," Angel responded. He sounded tired and stressed like he would rather just go lie down. Massaged his forehead like he was suffering from a mild headache. "This call will mean my career as a Porn Star is over."
"It is likely," Charlie started. "For a time at least. If that…"
"Good," Angel interrupted. "I'll go let Nugg's out of his carrier and rejoin you." Without a further word, he went downstairs to check out the bedrooms. He knew he was risking a lot in permitting this, but it was something that needed to be done. It was better Valentino was already aware Angel was unavailable so that way he didn't show up at the hotel looking for him. Still, Charlie needed to offer her olive branch first before she came to a conclusive decision.
"Charlie, please tell me you aren't seriously going to call Valentino," Vaggie hissed as soon as Angel was out of earshot.
"I have to," Charlie said, as she dialed the number Angel had given her into her Hellphone. "One of the first things when dealing with an Overlord is diplomacy. He crossed a line the other night when he kept Angel behind at the studio. I can't ignore that because the next time it happens may not be a night...it may be so much worse."
"You got that right," Cherri said as she settled expectantly on one of the couches.
"I don't know if you being here would be a good idea," Charlie said cautiously.
"Hey, if this concerns Angie," Cherri said defensively. "It concerns me, so I have the right."
"You're right," Charlie responded. "It is your right to be here in regards to Angel. You are a loyal and caring friend to him, and that is admirable. I'm not disputing that, but I feel you are too wound up about what has taken place, so it might not be a good idea if you are present during this call. Angel is free to be included in this if he wishes, but as we would like to use this as potential evidence for any issues Valentino wants to raise against our hotel." Cherri seethed in anger at the fact Angel's new friends were treating her like she didn't matter. She had been Angel's friend longer than they had, she had seen how he suffered because of Valentino. And Princess 'Sweet Stuff' felt like she could dictate whether or not she could sit in on a call regarding her favorite guy to party with.
"Angie, you agree with me, right," Cherri asked when Angel returned from downstairs. "I'm your best mate, shouldn't I be present for this."
"Cherri I," Angel said. "I think it'd be better if you were downstairs."
"Oh," Cherri groused, not bothering to hide her disappointment as she sauntered downstairs to her chosen room. "It's going to be like that. I guess I wasn't even needed on this trip after all." Both Angel and Charlie winced they heard a door slam shut.
"Sorry about that," Angel sighed.
"I don't blame her," Charlie responded. "She cares, but she is looking for a fight right now. That's not the sort of thing we need."
"She'll get over it," Angel replied, glancing once more down the stairs before moving to sit on the couch Cherri had previously been sitting on.
"You don't have to be here for this, Angel," Charlie started. "Vaggie and I can handle things from here."
"Val is a manipulator," Angel pointed out. "He will try to gaslight you into believing what happened was blown up, even if he does tell you what happened himself he could still make it sound like I'm the one playing the victim card for sympathy."
"And given your career," Vaggie dryly stated. "That would hinder all credibility you would have in any arguments against him."
"VAGGIE…" Charlie was aghast her girlfriend would even say something like that.
"No, she's right," Angel responded, his voice taking a more disheartened tone. His lower arms had noticeably wrapped around his middle. "To a majority of Hell, I am just a hoe. So most people would assume that I am only claiming assault on a job I was paid to do."
"Angel…" Charlie whispered as she felt her heart beginning to break at what she was hearing. It was like it was something he rehearsed to himself time and time again. Possibly because it was something he would hear over and over again. Charlie was about to reconsider the idea of not having Cherri in for the call. Perhaps the Punky Girl could be trusted as a support figure.
"So are ya going to go through with this shit," Angel asked? His unbandaged dark eye regarding her questioningly.
"Right," Charlie said. Pressing the call button on her Hellphone she let it ring but pressed the speaker-phone mode so Vaggie could record the conversation.
"Valentino here," Val's voice tiredly snarled into the phone, once he picked up after several rings. "I don't know how you got my private number, so you better have a good reason for waking me up this early in the morning." Charlie already could feel a chill run down her spine. When Vox arrived at the hotel she could tell his intentions weren't good, but this...this was someone who was maliciously evil.
"This is Princess Charlie Morningstar," Charlie answered with a business-like tone. She spared Angel a glance and noticed he had stiffened board-straight at the sound of Valentino's voice. He was massaging his forehead like his headache was becoming worse, but there was a set to his shoulders that she had seen at times before. And that was what worried her.
"Oh…" Val's tone seemed to change at the unexpected voice on the phone. "Why hello Princess, always happy to offer my services to Hell's royal family. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Yes, I'm calling in regards to one of your employees," Charlie answered, maintaining the business tone in her voice. "I believe you are aware Angel Dust lives at my hotel."
"Of course," Val responded. Charlie noted there was an edge to the Moth's voice at the mention of Angel. "Has he done something? I'll be more than obliged to make sure he receives the proper discipline if he's being a problem."
"No," Charlie replied. She was feeling the urge to throw up at the way he had said "Proper Discipline". Glancing at Vaggie, she could tell the female Moth demon was also disgusted by what she was hearing. Angel's hands were clutching the sides of his head, his teeth clenched as though just hearing this demon's voice was torment. "He hasn't been a problem. I am only calling to make sure you are aware that he will be unavailable for a few weeks."
"He what," Valentino asked? The way phrased the question sounded like he had misheard, but there was an unmistakable chilled tone in his voice.
"I'm informing you that Angel will be unavailable," Charlie stated. "He will not be at the studio for at least the next couple of weeks."
"You're putting me in a bind here, Princess," Valentino said with a casual sigh. Though the word 'Princess' came out as a menacing hiss. "You are aware I do run an essential entertainment business here in Pentagram City. And I do have a number of film shoots scheduled for this month alone. Five of which need to be shot today. Angel is one of my star performers and has to be on set. Care to reconsider?"
"There is nothing to reconsider," Charlie resolutely stated. "There are some things that have come to the attention that I am finding concerning enough for me to feel he needs more than two days off. For the past few weeks, Angel has been returning to the hotel completely exhausted."
"Well," Valentino commented. He was brushing aside the concern as though it didn't matter to him in one way or another. "Pornography does require a lot out of the performers. I do, make sure Angel Cakes does have time to recover in the green room between each shoot." Charlie noticed Angel was shaking his head back and forth to try to indicate this wasn't true. His lower arms hugged around his body. Even if he wasn't doing this, she could feel it in the core of her being that Valentino was disguising what was the truth.
"He also hasn't been sleeping very well," Charlie stated matter of factly. "And he hasn't been eating either."
"As I've said," Val smugly replied. As though believing that Charlie held no argument in how he treated his employees. "I do assure you I do take proper care of Angel, though I do require that my stars maintain a certain body figure. I'm sure you understand how demanding this sort of business is. The camera adds pounds so I can't allow my performers to look like they have too much meat on their bones."
"And a couple of nights ago," Charlie continued, the sclera of her eyes turned red at the memory. "Angel didn't return to the hotel at all. When he finally returned last night, he collapsed in a heap on the lobby floor."
"Well...unfortunately he is a user," Valentino pointed out like that explained everything. "He was paid that night, so he likely went to a local drug den." Again Angel shook his head to indicate this wasn't so.
"Really," Charlie said, not really believing the explanation. "I don't see how that would prevent him from returning to the hotel. I understand that...Vox broke up with you recently."
"Oh...right," Val said, trying to incorporate that into his explanation. "Angel would have called you to let you know he would be saying at the studio, but his phone battery died before he left for the drug den. When he came back he wanted to spend time comforting his 'Daddy'. My heart has just been aching since Voxy left me."
"When he arrived at the hotel," Charlie continued to probe. She needed to see what prepared story Valentino had for the injuries. "I noticed he had a number of injuries. Do you know anything about that?"
"Oh yeah," Val said. "I'm afraid a couple of my other performers got a little too carried away in the film shoots we were holding yesterday. I have made sure they are no longer part of my studio. It's really nothing more than a few bruises, the worst stuff is part of my studio's make-up team. Angel does have a bad habit of playing up a victim act, it's all for attention."
"You're lying," Charlie said in an angered whisper.
"Pardon," Valentino asked? He knew Charlie had spoken, but he hadn't caught the words she had said.
"You're lying," Charlie said. "The way Angel looked when he arrived home was worse than just a few bruises. And they looked like they were deliberate, not something that was staged or unintended. Those marks were all caused by physical torture...hours of it."
"Angel Cakes likes his fucks on the rough side," Valentino said as a means to turn the conversation in his favor. "So what you believe you saw, it was all consensual. He does have a masochistic streak he loves to indulge. And if that slutty spider told you I had raped him, don't believe it. He's manipulative and he'll create a whole sympathy act to get his way. I saw him do this when I originally acquired him from the Stygian Dream Casino years ago."
"So you were just punishing him for Vox leaving you," Charlie probed.
"Exactly…" Val responded. "Wait, I mean...how did...what made you think...I would never hurt my sweet little, Angel Cakes."
"As a resident of my hotel," Charlie said, fighting the urge to burst into her full demon form out of sheer rage. She had already made up her mind about what she felt needed to be done but she didn't want to make any hasty decisions. Charlie felt a tear slowly drift down her cheek at Valentino's words, how he jokingly talked about what he had done and was pushing all blame onto Angel. The Blond Princess didn't delude or convince herself otherwise. She already knew what happened, and suspected what had occurred. Valentino's words just confirmed what she feared to have been the case. "Angel is under my protection. As such I am responsible for him. Everything I know and have seen proves to me that his employment at your studio should be terminated."
"Excuse...me," A growling-buzz filled Valentino's voice. "On what authority…?"
"Angel never said anything about being raped," Charlie wanted to scream in anger at the moth demon. Red dragon-like horns sprouted from her scalp and her eyes blazed almost crimson with anger and hate for this demon, this...this monster. "When he regained consciousness at the hotel he only said that you were having one of your breakups with Vox. Even though he didn't say it, it doesn't take much to figure out what sort of things may have occurred. So, if anyone...if anyone has said anything about sexualized assault...it was you."
"I didn't…" Val stammered, trying to save face. "It's all consensual...I swear."
"And I gather all the previous beatings, starvation, isolation, violence threats, and anything else are all consensual too," Charlie asked?
"Of course…" Val responded, "Wait...what?! Hang on...is Angel there? If he is with you put that asshole on this phone right now!"
"I won't" Charlie stated, anger thick in her voice. "If this is how you treat those that work for you, then as Princess of Hell and Heir to the throne..."
"Now hold on Princess," Valentino said defensively. "I don't know what Angel Dust has told you, but you should know...he is a criminal. Oh yes, Angel Cakes was a member of a notorious mafia family. He was doing a drug run for me with a cartel of shark demons. Shot every single one of 'em, I lost a lot of money and high-end product in that job alone."
"As Princess of Hell," Charlie stated, not letting Val's words get to her.
"You seriously believe this silly hotel of yours will make Angel Dust redeemable," Val snarked. "He's as much of an innocent little cherub as I am. What makes you believe a whore like him can ever be worth something?"
"I may not have known him the years you have," Charlie said firmly. "But I do know one thing, unlike you...he doesn't bully or brutally torment others into submission for the sake of power or for sick entertainment. As Princess of Hell…and Heir to the throne, I hereby order that as long as Angel Dust is a part of my hotel, he is under my protective custody. All debts he owes you have been paid and he is free from your service." She hung up the call before Valentino could say anything in objection. Charlie slumped into a nearby chair, her horns retreated back into her skull as she closed her eyes trying to soothe herself into a state of calm. Vaggie ended the recording and saved it on her phone. Already the first drops of rain from the arriving storm were beginning to fall from the sky. There was also a subtle plink of hail against the window.
"You okay, Hun," Vaggie asked?
"I…" Charlie replied. Her voice was a combination of stressed and tired. "I don't know." Vaggie watched her girlfriend in concern. While she had her own doubts regarding redemption or Charlie's idealistic views towards it. And she deeply feared how Charlie would react if it turned out redemption was impossible. She only was part of this because it was something Charlie believed in, and even if redemption was impossible it enabled Charlie to encounter and learn about her subjects. And potentially they could come to see her not as someone who wanted to rule over them through fear and subjugation such as a number of the Overlords and the Ars Goetia, but as someone they can believe was worth following.
Cautiously Vaggie turned her attention to Angel. He was being so quiet, she had nearly forgotten he was in the room as well. Much like Charlie he looked drained after everything that had transpired over the call. His head was faced towards the ground. Both sets of arms were wrapped around his body and he shivered as if cold. Vaggie had a feeling that this was more of a mild form of shock as the Spider tried to wrap his head around the concept that he was actually free from his life as a sex worker. A role he had served for much of his existence in Hell.
Remembering from previous visits to the cabin how storms in this area of the Pride Ring could be devastating events, she pressed a button on the wall. Immediately metal blinds were lowered over the windows to prevent any windows from being damaged. Metal shielding covered the roof and doors. What were pea-sized drops of frozen rain now, would be golfball if not baseball-sized chunks of ice before long. Moving into the kitchen she got some breakfast started, more for the sake of giving herself something to do than anything else. Figuring oatmeal would be the best choice she filled a pot with some water and set it on the stove to boil. Opening a lower cabinet, Vaggie pulled out a first aid kit to find some aspirin or ibuprofen. Shaking two small red pills from the bottle into her hand before returning the medkit to its place. Grabbing a small glass tumbler and filling it with water she walked over to where Angel was sitting.
Angel glanced up as he noted Vaggie was standing close by him. He didn't regard her with any sort of snide expression nor did he throw any resentful glares. He was more indifferent to her presence at the moment.
"Here," Vaggie said as she offered the pills to him. "For your headache."
"Thanks, Vags," He responded as he took the pills, swallowed them, and chased them with the glass of water.
"Breakfast will be soon," Vaggie said as she returned to the kitchen. Cherri had returned to the main floor of the cabin. While she had stayed on the lower level of the cabin, she had obviously been listening to the entire thing. Cautiously she moved to sit beside Angel looking like she was trying hard not to burst into a fit over everything during the call with Valentino. Vaggie could only fight back silent tears as horrors from her own past came to mind.
Visions of male voices laughing at her as she cried in humiliation over what they were doing to her. Thick Spanish voices telling her that she was their whore. Large male hands holding her down as her clothes were torn open and away, pulling her hair, smacking her across the face. The monsters used her over and over again as the bodies of her family lay around her. Her body was broken and worn through when they were finally done with her. But...it wasn't over...it was never over.
Much of the morning passed quietly for the small group of companions. There was little talk through much of breakfast as the storm passed overhead. After everyone had eaten as much as they wanted, both Charlie and Angel went to lie down in their respective rooms. This left Cherri and Vaggie with clean-up. Cherri looked towards one of the panel-covered windows from a dish she was hand drying before placing it into the dishwasher.
"It sounds pretty bad out there," the punky cyclops commented.
"It gets worse than this," Vaggie said where she was watching dishes. "I found the fact that Angel was able to sense it and be affected by it as early as he was rather strange."
"Why's that," Cherri asked?
"I've met demons who have sensitivity to changes in the weather," Vaggie explained. "And...at best they wouldn't feel a storm like this before it was a quarter-mile away. But at that point, it would already be looming over the horizon. Angel had said in the car he had been noticing it for twenty minutes when it was at least an hour out."
"Maybe Spider Demons have stronger senses than most demons," Cherri said. "From what I remember of the spiders I saw when I was alive could get rather antsy when the weather was bad."
"Possibly," Vaggie agreed. Though she wasn't completely certain as to how accurate that was. "It just feels like an unusually wide range, he doesn't strike me as someone who would be a psychic."
"Ever since that phone call he has been acting rather weird," Cherri said in concern. "I mean, I know when he's suffering from storm fatigue he's more interested in being flat out on the floor. But this is like he's completely zoning out."
"Wait," Vaggie asked? She nearly dropped the dish she was hand rinsing in the sink. Her single remaining eye turned to Cherri. "Flat out on the floor?"
"Well yeah," Cherri said. "I told you when Angie senses a storm in the air it hits him really hard. The only real times Angie would be allowed to take an early day was when there was a storm in the air. Val would try to come up with excuses for it because, of course, he would. Ultimately, he would be forced to send Angie home because it looked like he was going puke onset or shit like that. There were occasions he would be practically crawling into his own apartment because he felt so gross. It was only after he returned to the studio-once the storm was over-that shit would happen. I could understand Val not wanting to let Angie go because of the money and time lost, but I wouldn't be surprised if he secretly looked forward to them. Just because they gave him an excuse to hurt him. What's even stranger is ever since I first met him, there have been times I just feel drawn to wherever he is. With every storm, I just get a feeling that someone is telling me to be there. Silly, huh?"
"Yeah," Vaggie responded absently. She remembered a conversation she had with Charlie just before Angel moved into the Hotel.
"Because, I can sense it, Vaggie. It's like something associated with him had been calling out to me. Well not me...but certainly seeking out someone...I just happened to hear it."
"But why him? I haven't seen anything worth redemption."
"I don't know what it is, but I know there is something about him that is different from every demon we tried to talk to. Something that feels...I don't know how to describe it. It just feels in-between. It's like he's done things that perhaps led to being in Hell, but for whatever reason, he is in this world by mistake."
"I guess we're done here," Cherri said as the last dish was put into the dishwasher and shut the door. "I'm going to check up on, Angie."
"Right," Vaggie said. There was something going on that just felt strange. Not strange in an Alastor strange sort of way. It wasn't something that made her feel threatened, but it did make her feel uncomfortable. Drying her hands on a dishtowel, she made her way ups the loft room she shared with Charlie. Her remaining eye turned to one of the portraits of King Luci standing proudly with his self-righteous smile. A man with the face of an angel and the soul of a demon.
When King Luci had said he trusted her as Charlie's consort, he told that she was tasked with making sure that his daughter was safe at all costs. One of those safety measures was to be sure that Charlie never learned about his origin. It would only upset her and cause too many questions.
Even now with the hotel, with Charlie's fantasies of what Heaven was like, learning her own father had once led a brutal rebellion against his own brethren in Heaven. That he was struck down and banished to Hell by his younger siblings and father for his pride. Charlie would have to learn the truth in order for this hotel and her plan of redemption to succeed. She had tried to warn her as subtly as possible that Heaven may not be the place she thinks it is. It may in fact be just as corrupt as Hell, the only difference is that they go out of their way to hide their own corruption while punishing the Souls of Hell for theirs.
Mio Gemello will require your guidance. An unknown voice spoke. Vaggie immediately looked about her seeking out the source of the voice, but there was no one. She couldn't place how, or why, but for some reason, the voice sounded familiar. Like it was something she had heard before.
"Oh wonderful," Vaggie grumbled to herself as she continued up the stairs to the loft room she shared with Charlie. "The weather is bothering me so much, I'm actually starting to hear things. This day just keeps getting worse."