Chapter 4
"My dad thinks pretty highly of you, you know."
Octavia sipped at her mug of coffee. Chay and Shakie did the same as they nibbled on the youtiao Coi had made for breakfast that morning.
"Really? I only did one job for him.", Chay said with a mouth full of pastry. "I usually have to do three dozen before I get that kind of work review."
"He has this network of informants." Via replied. "People who usually give him info about possible employees. But his boyfriend recommended you specifically."
Chay raised a curious eyebrow. "Blitzo recommended me?"
Octavia stopped sipping her coffee.
"...Yeah, actually. How did you…?"
Chay snorted. "I worked with Blitzo. Your father isn't exactly subtle about it."
"Point taken. But he'd heard about the work you'd done for Valentino, and after he heard that your...organization...had worked with IMP in the past, he decided to recommend you for that specific case. Connections are everything to a Goetia."
"Which brings you here.", Shakie replied.
"Yes, which brings me here…"
Octavia put her mug down on the table and took a deep breath. "Last week, someone broke into my mother's chateau and stole the moon rock."
Chay's head nearly clapped against the back of her chair.
"You're fucking kidding me.", she replied, astonished. "After all of the shit I went through to get that thing back."
"It gets worse.", Via continued. "They also stole one of my father's grimoires as well. One that used teleportation adhesives."
Chay's eyes narrowed. "The stickers?"
Via nodded. "You would think that my mother would keep such a thing closely guarded...but considering they're my father's possessions that my mother received in the divorce…"
She shook her head irritably. "Let's just say that she probably had a neon sign custom made that said 'Hey Thieves! Steal this!' in bright flashing lights."
She picked up her coffee and took another sip. "I mean, not literally of course. But you get the idea."
Shakie looked between the two of them, sensing some awkwardness. "Soooo…you said something about your father's boyfriend?"
"Blitzo", Chay interjected.
"Yeah, him." Shakie continued. "Is he the reason that your mother and father-"
She shook her head. "No. I mean, he's sort of the trigger, but it was a long time coming. It was an arranged marriage that was decided when they were both really young. I'm pretty sure my father doesn't even like women…."
She put the mug back on the table. "But my point: the moon rock has been stolen, as has the grimoire, and my mother is absolutely livid. My father wanted to give me that rock after I turned 18, and that's why I've come to you."
Chay nodded. "I think I see the picture here…"
-And I think I may have an idea of who is responsible. Maybe.
"...but I'm not going to get very far until I get a chance to see the crime scene."
Octavia reached down to her lap and pulled out her grimoire.
"That won't be a problem. I can show you right now."
A few miles east of the Hotel, another Imp was working her way through her contacts.
There were very few survivors.
Not like any Sinners would notice, right?
If you keep doing this, we're going to run out of informants.
"I can get more, Jude.", she whispered to herself. "These are Sinners we're talking about."
You do realize that-
"Shut it. I'm almost…"
She threw her head back as the orgasm rocked through her, her bone-white hair whipping around her. Her face was flushed and covered in sweat.
The Sinner underneath her was also quite fulfilled.
Minus the knife to his throat, of course. That was just the cherry on top.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Satisfied?"
He nodded vigorously. "Y-yeah...fuck, I needed that."
She took the knife away from his throat. "Good, now it's your turn."
His head fell back onto the pavement, exhausted. "You said you're looking for a girl who looks like a ghoul, right? Yellow eyes, skull-like face?"
She slipped her top over her torso, pressing her breasts into her bra. "Yes, exactly."
He wiped a bit of snot from his beak. "There's somebody like that over at the Happy Hotel. She's got some Imps with her over there. It's over on the West Side."
She pulled up her jeans. "Anything I should look out for?"
He lazily shook his head. "Nah. Just make sure you don't piss off their security. They don't play around."
She zipped up her fly. "Fine. If you're lying to me…"
She held up Jude. "...I will find you."
He rolled his eyes. "Won't be a problem."
"Hmph."
She sheathed the knife and ran out of the alley, disappearing into the crowded streets.
Travis got up from the concrete and pulled up his pants, but found it difficult. In spite of his recent release, he was hard as a rock.
He was still ready to go.
Maybe he could track down Angel Dust and get another handy…
"You know, I expected posh, but this…"
Chay and Octavia stepped out of the velvet-colored portal into the ritziest guest house she had ever seen in her life.
She had worked for wealthy clients before. Excess was something she was used to.
But there was no decadence like Goetian decadence.
The 'chateau' was more like a Victorian mansion, at least as far as the interior was concerned. The floor was squeaky clean hardwood, so well polished it was practically reflective like a mirror. On the nearby wall was a large mirror, held in an elaborate gold-plated frame that depicted birds and satyrs cavorting like a Rococo fever dream. Next to it was a large Meiping vase, painted in a traditional Chinese style and holding what appeared to be plum blossoms.
Well...plum blossoms if they had hungry flesh-eating bulbs, at least.
"We're in my mom's boudoir.", Via replied. "This is pretty mild compared to my grandparent's houses."
"You grew up here?", Chay asked.
"No, I only came here on holidays. I grew up in my dad's house...well, it used to be my parents house until the divorce. And before that it was my grandfather's."
Chay looked around the room. "Is your mother here, by any chance?"
Via didn't immediately answer. She simply eyed the room and the doors, before shivering.
"I really hope not.", she finally answered through her beak. "But we should hurry regardless. Follow me."
Via motioned them to follow her down a nearby hallway, past more mirrors and gauche paintings. Chay eyed a few of what appeared to be portraits of family members; a frumpy white peacock with a pink beak and long flowing feather hair, a frumpy Goetian with a turquoises crown and white gown, etc.
Yet no pictures of Octavia or her father. The later was understandable considering their marital woes, but no pictures of Via? Interesting.
They stopped at a large, utilitarian door that was locked with a combination of padlocks, rotary locks, and a keypad security device. Via reached into her shit and pulled out a set of keys.
"You might want to watch your step. It's a mess in here."
The pad locks all clicked open. Her fingers began spinning the rotary locks before moving to the keypad.
"And I'd also recommend keeping your wits about you. Some of the security features might malfunction."
With a final button press, the door began to move. A whiff of air and dust shot out from underneath as it slowly opened. Bright, fluorescent lights flickered on, revealing an exceptionally large treasure room filled with gold bars, safes, jewelry and antiquities: antique swords, suits of armor, artifacts from Egypt, China, Greece and other ancient civilizations. More than likely gifts from Stolas's business associates from the human realm. She noticed an enormous amount of Chinese-related antiquities in particular.
But she could also notice something else: several Antebellum and Civil War era artifacts as well. Confederate uniforms, sabers, rare daguerreotypes, manuscripts, all of which were more than likely gifts from Colonel Estes himself.
Speaking of which…
"And there it is.", Chay said with an annoyed sigh. "The fucking jeweled flower."
The so-called 'Confederate Rose' that the Colonel had gifted Stolas's wife was sitting on a glass-encased podium, surrounded by what looked like an electrified wire cage.
"I take it that the moonstone hasn't been in the flower for some time?"
"Not since you recovered it, no.", Via answered. "My dad was supposed to give it to me when I turned Eighteen, which is why he hid it in the flower. It's from a particular place in the solar system he used to take me when I was a hatchling."
Chay looked over at the young Goetian. "You really care a lot about your father, don't you?"
Via closed her eyes, her beak lightly shuddering. "He annoys the fuck out of me sometimes, but…"
She opened her eyes back up and looked at Chay. "When I was a little girl, he would sometimes take me out into space to watch stars or black holes form. He'd tell me how, when I came of age, I'd be able to do all of these things that he could do, and that one day I'd be able to take my own children to see the galaxies."
A little tear started to form in her eye. "He'd sing me this little song about how everything would be OK, no matter what happened…"
She sniffled as she wiped it away, regaining her composure. "The whole separation issue has not been easy, and living on my own has been a challenge but...he's still my dad, you know? And he got that little rock for me. It's important."
"And your mother has it because…?"
The Owl girl grimaced. "Because she got it in the divorce."
A light bulb went off in Chay's head.
"So when the flower was first stolen…"
"...It was originally in here, yes."
-Huh. Funny that Stolas failed to mention it.
Chay nodded. "Alright then, so where was the moonstone actually stored?"
Via smirked. "Over this way. You'll recognize it by the giant hole."
"Come again?"
CHAPTER 4 END