The wind outside was violently lashing about the treetops to the point where the Hellborne conifers almost threatened to topple onto the cabin. What had started out as bead-sized drops of hail had quickly become ping pong ball-sized chunks of ice. Charlie and Vaggie had opted to stay in the sitting room rather than the room they designated for their own peace of mind if anything. The ease between the two girls would be interrupted by the occasional pain-filled groans from downstairs or complaints in Italian that were likely best untranslated.

"Okay," Vaggie groused in irritation. "How long is he going to keep this up."

"Give it time," Charlie suggested. "We don't have storms like this in the city, if anything I'm the one who didn't plan ahead for the possibility of something like this happening. You are sensitive to the weather as well."

"But not like that," Vaggie stated.

"Not like what," Cherri asked? She tiredly rolled her shoulders as arrived on the main floor.

"Cherri," Charlie immediately changed the subject. "How is Angel doing?"

"He's asleep finally," Cherri said. "I've never seen him have storm fatigue this bad before."

"We usually don't get level four storms in Pentagram," Vaggie stated. "So, I don't imagine he would have reactions to the weather like this before."

"At least we don't have to worry about Valentino," Cherri sighed. "He's free thanks to you."

"He is free for now," Charlie said. "Valentino will make his attempt sooner or later. All we can really hope for is that Angel is able to get the rest he needs. He was going for days with very little sleep or food. He would have needed that in order for his body to have the energy to heal. I'm worried about how badly his wounds will actually heal...when they do."

"I've concerned about that as well," Cherri admitted as she eyed the downstairs landing with concern. "I don't know what Val was thinking in doing that to him and not expecting that anyone at the hotel would do something about it. That is unless Angie's fan base is interested in seeing him with massive scars."

"Or perhaps there is more than we believe," Vaggie suggested. "Angel has been rebellious and attempted to escape before...maybe more than once. So why not erase him if he's a problem...unless money isn't the reason, he is keeping Angel in existence."

"Well obviously," Cherri snorted at how pointless the answer was. "Angie is one of the top porn stars around. He's so popular sales on his merch are through the roof in the Lust Ring supposedly. You don't find guys like him every day, and even if someone with the potential of gaining his fanbase like his could be found. Wouldn't it take time to train them to be anything like him? And ironically...it's actually the rebellious side of him that is popular. People actually like his no-holds-barred attitude in his films, so what's bad business-wise for Val is actually turning more of a profit than those other two chicks he has as coworkers. They are just too submissive and compliant; it really annoys people. Shit, even the people they are entertaining in their films sound bored with them because they are just too obedient."

"Maybe…" Charlie said. "But something just seems too convenient, Angel just happens to be spotted by Valentino at some point and decides he's someone he wants to market. Or did someone tell him where to find Angel?"

"But who would do that," Cherri asked, as though in thought. "Angie actively avoids his family members and doesn't want anything to do with them. There is some serious bad blood going around in that family, so I don't blame him for that. The only person Angie has at least some contact with is his brother, but neither of them is on the best of terms. I've never seen or met him, however, before I moved to the hotel, I mention to Angie there had been a group of demons snooping around my old turf. What I didn't tell him is that they are spider demons, because I didn't know if any of them were people Angie knew. The guy leading them, he's this really creepy looking character that has this perpetual look in his eyes that suggests he'd have no problems slitting his own mother's throat, and then impassively smoke a cigarette while he watches her bleed out on the floor."

"That sounds like the demon that Husk thought could be Angel's brother," Vaggie pointed out as she pulled up her phone and started to look through the internet.

"Yeah," Cherri said. "Angie mentions his brother, but there are occasions where he has let on that there were three kids in his family. So that means there could be a third brother running around."

"Perhaps" Vaggie pointed out. "You said he would tell you there were three kids in the family...did he ever say there were three boys."

"So...what," Cherri asked? "Your suggesting Angie...has a sister somewhere?"

"It's possible," Charlie said. "Has he mentioned or implied anything like that?"

"No," Cherri answered. "Though there have been times when I have been with Angie when he was distressed. Some of these times I have heard him calling out for someone named Molly in his sleep."

"Molly…" Charlie whispered the name thoughtfully. "Does he say anything else?"

"He sometimes said things such as Sorella or Sorellina," Cherri said. "I don't really know Italian, though Angel does use the word Fratello when talking about his brother, so Sorella could mean sister."

"This demon you were seeing," Vaggie said she held out her phone. "Did he look like this?" On the phone was an image of a dark-furred spider demon. His eight visible red eyes bored murderously cold holes into the camera lens."

"Ooo, yeah that's him," Cherri winced. "You usually don't forget greasy thugs like that."

"You are fortunate you moved to the hotel," Vaggie said. "He's known by the name of Arackniss, and he's a high official in the...I'm not sure but I think it's the Rag-No Family Mafia. He holds notoriety in the underworld of Pentagram City as being someone you don't want to encounter because if you are brought into a meeting with him, someone winds up erased. Valentino or anyone could have hired him to take you out for who knows what reason."

"Hang on," Charlie said. She could feel a chill run down her spine that told her he was every bit the monster he was presenting himself to be. But she couldn't shake the feeling there was something familiar about him as well. "Cherri, do you have any pictures of Angel on your phone?"

"Excuse me," Cherri responded with a mockingly offended snark as handed her phone to Charlie. "It's not like he's been my best friend for the past few decades, I naturally have at least some photos of him? Take your pick." Charlie opened the photo gallery on the phone and scrolled through the various selfies, or images the other girl had taken of Angel. There were a lot, but most didn't really capture Angel well. He would be there, but the image would often be him looking away from the camera or he would be captured in a way that made him look like he was trying to block his face. The ones where he was actually facing the camera at all he would be wearing a wig something that made him look unrecognizable. Both habits seemed an almost odd behavior for someone who liked attention drawn to him. Others were shots that captured Angel from behind or in a side view during more introspective moments but didn't really offer anything she felt confirmed her suspicions. Finally, she came across one that worked. It was one where Angel was wearing what looked like men's attire, an unusual choice since she was so used to seeing him wear feminine styled if not unisex clothing. He was posing for the camera in what looked like a three-piece Italian suit and holding a Tommy gun under one arm like he couldn't resist taking a selfie before robbing a bank. Still, it gave Charlie the view of Angel's face that she needed, and it confirmed her suspicions.

"Oh that one," Cherri said. "He was raised in the Italian Mafia lifestyle when he was alive, so I asked him to send me a photo of him dressed as a mobster. He actually looks good that way, don't you think?"

"There related…" Charlie said as she put the phone with the picture of Angel next to Vaggie's phone with the picture of Arackniss.

"Please tell me you're kidding," Vaggie gave a complaint of frustration.

"Really," Cherri asked? "Aside from the two of them being spiders, I don't see any sort of resemblance."

"The similarities are subtle," Charlie pointed out. "But they're there...Arackniss could be Angel's brother."

"Arackniss may be the older of the two from the looks of things," Vaggie said.

"Angie has said his brother is pretty bad," Cherri cringed. "But he also said his Dad was even worse. If 'Nissy' here is the mob's equivalent to an executioner what could be worse than that?"

"The guy who he gets orders from," Vaggie stated with an anxious growl in her voice. "The Ragno family is headed by Spider Demon known as Henroin. He's monstrously sadistic and runs several operations on both the southern and western sides of the pentagram, drug trading, racketeering, exploitation, money laundering, weapons trades on the black market..." Charlie immediately looked up the name Henroin on her own phone and let out an almost horrified gasp. On the screen was a large spider demon, his fur was dark like Arackniss's but it was more of a dark shade of gray rather than grayish black. He was obviously used to throwing his weight around, a being who thrived on bullying and tormenting everyone around him. A man who had long since forgotten what it meant to love or care for another person. This man...this monstrosity was Angel's father? Silently she placed her phone with that image above the two phones featuring Angel and Arackniss. Charlie didn't even dare to think of Angel or Arackniss as this man's children. They were nothing more than his trained soldiers, weapons he could use and dispose of when he no longer needed them. If Angel was able to run from that life that obviously meant he saw his father for who and what he was.

"Angie…" Cherri whimpered the Spider's pet name.

"FUUUCCCKKK!" A complaint was heard from downstairs.

"Sounds like he's awake," Cherri sighed as she began to head downstairs again.

"I'll go look after him," Charlie volunteered as she stood up. "It's nearly dinner time, can you two get something started?"

"Sure," Vaggie said. She had wanted to object and point out that Cherri was capable of tending to Angel, but the look her girlfriend threw her brooked no argument.

"I'm fine with…" Cherri started to say.

"Cherri please," Charlie said. "Let me look after him for the time being."

"You can help me in the kitchen," Vaggie strongly encouraged. Cherri sighed bitterly and followed as the Princess descended the stairs.

A red smoke cigarette glowed in the darkened office as its owner gazed out of his penthouse window at the city. The Moth Overlord inwardly seethed at everything that had transpired today. King Luci's little bitch of a daughter had the nerve to dictate that his property no longer belonged to him.

The number she had called him from was a secure line, but there were some scattered pings from outside the city. Meaning she had been gone to where she knew he couldn't reach her. Hell's Royal Family had other property outside the city that was a known fact. He didn't know or care why she would have gone to one of her family's private retreats. And while she had not said Angel was with her, the protective tone she used as she spoke made it sound like he was. Wherever the Spider had managed to scurry off to if he was out of the city was somewhere associated with the Princess of Hell, there were no doubts on that.

It had been a bitch to inform his directors that the other shoots with Angel on the docket would now have Summer, Dia, or both girls instead. The money had been lost just to scrap those productions or have the story augmented to fit those two lesbian hoes into roles that were meant for Angel alone. The two girls were popular, but they didn't bring the crowds or the money that Angel did which would deeply hurt Valentino's bottom line.

How or why Angel even managed to land on Princess Magne's radar was beyond imagining. Still despite her authority, she wasn't a very powerful figure in the Seven Circles of Hell as far as he knew. She ranked highly in Hell's power structure, but she was more of a born pacifist if anything. How someone like King Luci and Queen Lilith managed to produce something like her Val had no clue. Yet, even if she wasn't all that influential, she still was rather wealthy. That was one of the assets that Valentino had always liked best about Angel, he was always able to attract the rich and the influential. Even Luci Morningstar himself had selected Angel Dust as a particular companion when he just couldn't get the satisfaction he needed with wife or when Queen Lilith was on her music tour and he just needed something fuck so he could let off some steam.

Reaching into his desk Valentino took out a Hellphone that he used for his own listing of secret contacts. Scrolling through the contact list he landed on the name Henroin. While any sort of associations with the Ragno Crime family or any of the criminal underbelly of the city would not be surprising. It still would look poorly on him if such alliances were to become public knowledge.

Flashback-1982

"I have a second son that exists here in Hell," Henroin's deep grating voice answered. "Even though he's my kid...he's a worthless queer, a drug addict, and don't want nothen' to do with the family business, which makes him useless to me... but maybe he might be a greater use to you. That brat is a whore and takes after his mama, so I'm offering him to you in exchange for some territory on the Western side of the Pentagram. You can find the slut offering his services in entertainin' the crowds at the "Stygian Dream" Casino. He goes by the name 'Angel Dust'"

The Overlord had agreed to take a look at the boy since the "Stygian Dream" Casino was a high-end facility. They didn't put just any demon under their employ into servicing or entertaining the clientele. Most often when other demons were won by the house, if you weren't something they could offer to entertain the guests. You became part of something that was fed to the guests. Valentino was glad he had decided to check out the boy that Henroin had been offering to see what sort of use he could be. The Spider was quite attractive and made full use of his gaunt effeminate frame. His face was one of his best features from what the Moth could see. If Henroin hadn't told him that this was his son, Valentino never would have believed it. Almost everything about him was the complete opposition to the Mafioso's darker appearance and nature.

The boy had a well-thought-out tactic of offering his services to the patrons who had the most influence or wealth. The ones he knew would be of great if not a useful benefit to him. Though that didn't mean he was going to easily offer himself to just anyone as he did show he was open to scrapping with a few drunk patrons who decided to get a bit too handsy with him. Valentino could feel his loins harden at the thought of breaking such a spirited whore.

"See something you like on our Angel Dust?" The Casino Manager asked as he approached the Overlord.

"Yes," Valentino said. "How much is he?"

"For the night?" The manager asked.

"No…" Valentino purred. "I'd like to buy him from you, how much is he worth?"

"Oh, he's about 350K$" The Manager replied. "He's one of our prized entertainers. I must warn you that he can be problematic as a number of his clients have suffered injuries from him and he can be rather mouthy as well. He has been known to pull some rather expensive tantrums. He also adamantly refuses to do any sort of fetishes involving his feet."

"I'm familiar with whores like him," Valentino smiled. "I've broken in my share of them in my lifetime, and in Hell I can do so much more. I'm starting a studio and I need a face to really sell my business. An associate of mine told me about him and said he might be worth something. And he was right, I see so much potential in that child...so much potential."

The Spider Demon had attracted the attention of what looked like one of the Goetia Demons. The come-hither smirk on his face became a smile of triumph as he was handed a few souls in advance by his client before leading him away to perform his pleasures.

"I'll summon him to my office once he's done entertaining his current customer." The manager said.

"I'll be waiting for him in my limo." Valentino said, "Yes... that boy will be perfect for what I have in store."

An hour ticked by before the Casino's manager came out dragging Angel Dust by the arm.

"I got ya the souls ya wanted," The Spider protested. "I should be free now, right?"

"You should have gotten me the money before I sold you to this gentleman, here," The manager said as he took the envelope of money that Angel had in his hand. "But all this should cover any damages and expenses that putting up with you has cost this establishment. If you weren't so highly valued, you would be fortunate to have not found your scrawny carcass served during the evening buffet for the shit you have pulled. I'm just glad I don't have you as a problem anymore. Now be a good little slut and do what your "new" master tells you."

Putting the phone down the Moth took a couple more drags of his cigarette as he considered the situation. Angel had always been the most difficult of his whores. He had plied him enough over the years for the Slutty Spider to instinctively cower in fear and become submissive. But that didn't mean he didn't resist him at every available turn.

It simply didn't do well for his credibility to know a whore had escaped. All it took was one, and then sooner or later another would get it into their heads that escaping would be a good idea. Then another...and eventually all the whores under his control would begin to believe that they could escape too. Angel wouldn't be able to hide out wherever he was forever though. The Princess would need to return to her project and Angel would doubtlessly return with her. Even if he chooses to hide at the hotel, he will need to leave it at some point, the boy didn't take being cooped up well. He would go stir crazy in a matter of days, if he didn't his girly friends certainly would.

There was also the matter of Angel's drug use. According to what Val knew about this hotel, the people who were involved had to give up their addictions as part of their agreement when they joined. Angel was too much of an addict to effectively remain clean for very long. Even if he was able to keep up the pretense of sobriety, he had ways of hiding drugs or accessing them in places his caretakers couldn't catch him. He just needed to make sure they didn't catch him while he was high.

Val supposed the last time Angel had been able to use drugs at all had to have been a few days ago. Which would mean he'd be entering a withdrawal period fairly soon if he wasn't already. He'd practically be crying out for the need for drugs as the cravings set in. The boy wouldn't last, he'd be back to doing drugs before long. Even if the craving had to be forced upon him. All Angel would need is some excuse to leave the Happy Hotel. A coffee run, a visit to the clubs, anything...and he would find himself in that "Special Room" until he was broken for good.

"Enjoy your taste of freedom while you have it, Angel Dust." Val smirked, "I'll have you back soon enough, and I'll make you an example of what happens when whores forget their place."