Chapter 38: The Tower
Indigo started to understand criminals better now.
The moment Alastor parked the car into the hotel's garage, Indigo could see things happening from the driveway.
Tenants chatting in the garden. Scurrying sounds echoed from the hallways. Alastor and Angel had opted to go through the backdoor, but with demons moving about, they had to opt for Alastor's teleportation powers to go into Charlie's office.
To her luck, there were just the original Hazbins and Kyle Ketamine. To her mixed feelings, Scrunchy and Vanessa, her creations, were there.
"Indigo! Oh thank Satan!" Charlie was the first to hug her. "We were so scared!"
"I…"
"What were you thinking, going to Bootleg Borough? Ya could have fucking died!" Vaggie quickly checked her. Indigo tensed when Vaggie squished her cheeks. "What the? Where did you get that scar?"
"I… G… I'm sorry…" Caterpillar eggs trailed out of Indigo's eyes. "I should have learned my place…"
"Indigo, whatever that snake bitch said, forget it!" Angel Dust pulled Indigo closer to him. "We… found her drunk, and unfortunately, we got delayed. Ran into my fam."
"Your biological family? Angel, tell me Indigo wasn't in your dad's house!" Charlie pulled a chair for Indigo to sit. "You told me how awful he was to you!"
"An encounter was inevitable, but that was after the Prince of Greed made a surprise visit. Awfully unpleasant, he pulls quite a façade at the Seventeenth Brunch. Apparently, the greed polls boosted in the borough and was irritated about the prospect of investing in his uncle's desire for gentrification." Alastor stood by Indigo's chair. Husk quietly gave Indigo a cup of tea. "To appease Prince Addison's irritation, his minions lashed out at Angel. And his paramour struck Indigo."
"What?" Charlie's eyes glowed red.
"He said that if I didn't learn my place… I should just go on a stroll during Extermination Day…"
A vase broke. Everyone stared at Husk. He tiptoed over the debris and wielded the vase's remains by the handle.
"Husker." Alastor's warning tone prevent the cat demon from exiting the office with his makeshift weapon.
"What?"
"Husky, Al doesn't like it when you go all glassing on people you don't like," Nifty reminded.
"Yeah, Husk… No." Charlie took the broken vase away from the cat.
"Can we at least nuke his limo with a Molotov cocktail?" Husk hissed.
"Ooh, I can ask my friend Cherri!" Angel Dust offered.
"No." Charlie dumped the vase in the trash can.
"Can I breathe on him?" Kyle offered.
"No."
Indigo's stomach secretly growled. Almost as if she'd swallowed a storming ocean. She kept squinting. The purple glows kept turning on and off at each blink.
Habushu and Octavia's tea aside, Indigo hadn't eaten anything for a day. Even the breakfast served a few hours ago back at Stolas' palace didn't have an ounce of envy. And the shower products only lasted for a bit. An hour after her morning shower was how long the envy refreshment lasted until the hunger kicked in.
I need to eat. Indigo bit her lips.
I need to eat.
I need to eat.
She couldn't hear the others. She could only hear her stomach grumbling.
"Indy?" Angel pressed his head against her forehead. "Fuck… she's cold!"
"That crap she drank must have made her sick!" Vaggie said.
Indigo tried drinking the tea, only to puke it right in the mug.
"Indigo's sick! She needs to lie down!" Kyle said.
"But can we take her back to her room?" Charlie asked. "She can't just be cooped in her room and the new patrons might overwhelm her."
"But what can we do, hon?" Vaggie asked. "She's puking dead insects. Quarantining her to her room might be a bad idea, but if we don't quarantine her, she might freak out the new patrons!"
"I'm sorry…" Indigo groaned.
"Al's tower."
Angel Dust's words stunned everyone. Indigo coughed from her vomiting.
"What do you mean, my tower?" Despite his smile, Alastor sounded like he was hiding a hiss.
"Your radio tower, Al! And I ain't talking about the puny one upstairs… What if we took Indigo there?"
"No, no, no!" Vaggie pointed at Angel Dust. "Not in that shitlord's place. NO way! We're not letting her into an Overlord's turf!"
"Uh… she's already on the turf of Old Scratch's daughter," Kyle pointed out.
"Not the same!"
"And that week with the Goetia?" Scrunchy asked. "And the Seventeenth Brunch? And her association with Rosie? And didn't she just survive Bootleg Borough?"
"Not now, idiot!" Vanessa tried slapping him.
"What? I'm just saying!"
"As knowing as he is, he's right." Angel looked at Alastor. "Think about it. Your tower is just over your house, OUTSIDE of Cannibal Colony. We can easily commute…"
"We?" Alastor tilted his head.
"What, I ain't leaving her alone with you!" Angel Dust smooshed Indigo's face against his fluffy chest. "You'll be busy with the hotel!"
"And you? Don't you have a redemption going on?"
"Redemption's not the priority now! I'm more worried about the kid getting better!"
On her side, Charlie's eyes started to fill with tears. "AAAAAAWWWW… You put yourself before others." The princess took a big sniff. "I'm sorry… I'm just very moved!"
"Yeah, and I don't care about this weird shit sitcom tiff." Kyle raised his hand in dismissal. "Look, the spider's not wrong. And I guess he'll probably kill the Radio Demon if something bad happens. In the end, it should still be Indigo's choice."
"But it's still gonna be Extermination Day in two weeks from now," Vaggie insisted. "We'll be initiating the protective shields as the date approaches. By the time they're fully activated, no one will go in and out of the hotel until the cleanse is over. The shields might repel you."
Indigo felt she was supposed to remember something about Extermination Day…
She couldn't focus on that detail.
The dehydration was kicking in…
"So we wait until the cleanse's done. We come back the day after…" Angel clasped all six hands pleadingly. "Come on, Alastor… I'm already scared for Indigo. It's her first Extermination…"
"You it be easier for you all if I just died on that day?" Indigo weakly whimpered.
They all gasped.
Vaggie pinched her nose. "I'm about to lose my shit…"
In her seat, Indigo curled up. "Probably would have been easier if I was dead the moment I got to Hell…"
Kyle inhaled nervously behind his mask. "SOOO… Who thinks she's too delirious to decide and we should just let these weirdos quarantine her in the Radio Tower until next year?"
Even Vaggie couldn't resist the unanimous hand raise.
Much later in the day
Alastor's residence beneath the radio tower only had two bedrooms: the master's and the guest's. They didn't have to debate once to decide on which room would go for Indigo.
Alastor always kept the room barren. Aside from the walnut antique bed and desk, no other furniture was present. Angel made the bed with bedsheets he'd taken from Indigo's room. They didn't have a curtain yet to hang over the window.
Alastor was summoning the last of the boxes when a portal randomly opened and Octavia stepped out of it.
"Fuck! Why are you here?" Angel hissed. "We have a door!"
"I don't want my grandpa to find out that Indy's sick and crashing here… He'll get ideas. Loona, help me with the bags!"
Using the portal, the Ars Goetia and the Hellhound Indigo was acquainted with stepped inside with several plastic bags. Alastor wasn't pleased with the presence of a Hellhound within his domain, but he toned down when he saw the necessities the girls had brought over.
"OK… Fish broth." Loona started putting things on the counter.
"Stomach medication." Octavia organized a couple of pink-colored pill bottles.
"Saltines. Greek yogurt."
"Sleep medication."
"Carbohydrate drinks."
"A potted plant from my Dad."
"Backup cleaning products."
"Pads."
"Asthma breather."
"Whose credit card did you max?" Angel Dust asked.
"I extracted a ton of money from my mom's credit card." Octavia shrugged.
"I stole my dad's credit card." Loona equally shrugged.
"Oh…"
"You gathered plenty of utilities, my dears!" Alastor nodded his head.
The girls nodded.
On their way out of the kitchen, Octavia noticed the wall where Alastor had his knives piercing pictures. She immediately ripped her grandfather's picture, crunched it into a ball, and threw it at Loona. The Hellhound ate the paper. To Alastor's bafflement, she went on to claw off the pictures of Alastor's wall of hatred.
"Young lady, what kind of barn were you raised in? Vandalizing other people's property?"
Loona stapled a poster onto the wall. On it was a horse standing at the very end of the cliff by the sunset… while cracks grew on the cliff, forming the black words MARE IN THERE.
"You totally stole that from your dad…" Octavia sighed.
"Yep." Loona checked her phone. "Got more errands to run. Come on, Via."
"Right." She turned to Alastor and Angel Dust. "I can't visit that often. I DON'T want Paimon to know shit, and my dad will want me home as we prep the lockdown for Extermination Day. I'll call, but if you need anything, I'll have it dropped off at the hotel."
"Rest assured, my tower comes with protection. She'll be well shielded…"
Octavia grabbed both sinners by the bowties, pulling them downward and forcing them on their knees to stare back at the right level. "No pressure," Octavia's eyes glowed. "But if ANYTHING happens to Indigo while she's here… I will have both of you killed."
"Already planning of killing myself if I fail."
Meanwhile
Where there is envy, eyes were everywhere for the Great Underdweller.
The stupid Goetia princess knew his granddaughter's diet. Everything she had purchased, she had used the NV app to track items with plenty of envy. He wanted to roll his eyes at the simplicity.
"Ugh!" He exclaimed, forcing a pound of envious hearts into his mouth from his snack bowl. "With this speed, Ines won't be ready by the eclipse! She can't just eat things WITH envy, SHE NEEDS TO DEVOUR ACTUAL! FUCKING! ENVIOUS HEARTS!"
The oceans in Hell began to freeze. Any unlucky demon caught in the currents, the Great Underdweller could sense their essence merging with the environment… and most of those essences weren't filled with envy!
Leviathan threw his empty bowl at a wall!
The door knocked.
"WHHAAAT?"
"Hi, Father! It's your favorite daughter!" Grand Duchess Oizys Ornithoptera Von Ouroboros kicked the door open. Her mask did nothing to muffle her squeals. "Good news, medium news, and awful news?"
"What, did you have more offspring?" Leviathan snarked. "I already ate what was left of them."
The Great Underdweller burped.
"Eh, I forgot about them!" Oizys said. "Good news, I managed to catch all of the remaining Hardystonite Hydracus… Lizzie and I are working on a development test for them."
"What kind of development?"
"The kind where I enjoy watching them drain the envy out of demons in all the rings except Pride and Envy. No one really notices the deaths of imps and Hellborns in the lower rings. Makes more room AND more envy for us."
"Ooh!" Her father clapped his hand. "That is a GOOD development!"
"Medium news, I have a suggestion. Might cause us to be involved with the Exterminations in the Pride Ring… You were upset that Ines doesn't eat enough envy, right?"
"More like she doesn't suck it out of demons. Why?"
"Well… I was talking about it with my wife… Perhaps if we were to sacrifice three-quarters of our sin polls... We starve her."
"Pardon?" Leviathan crouched. Compared to his second daughter, he had a mountain's height.
"STARVE her! Ines now gets weak just for not eating envy on a daily basis. Eventually, she'll no longer be energized by envy-filled foods and beverages." Oizys summoned purple smoke from her horns. The smoke coiled into an ouroboros, revealing the sickly cambion in her room. The Radio Demon was giving her a homemade soup, envy glowing from the dish's fish broth. A spoonful in her mouth barely energized her. "Just one spoon isn't doing its function anymore… And that's after one day of not eating any! Perhaps… if we were to sacrifice the businesses that provided the most envied resources in the Pride Ring… Her only option to calm her hunger would be to rip out an envious demon's heart."
Behind his mask, Leviathan giggled. "A sacrifice for the greatness I have in store… And Lucifer would care less if the envy sin polls dropped during the cleanse… I like this idea, Oizys! And the bad news?"
"Yeah, you know that manuscript on Earth you had your cultists steal from Salem? The one with the prophecies? We lost it."
Bubbles began to appear in the air surrounding the Great Underdweller. Oizys summoned the smoke away and inhaled.
"Now, YES, how can we lose such a book? Especially the ONE book that can give out your plans! Well… your cultists had a mole… Who got some of them killed by a human mafia…"
The bubbles grew as they sizzled. Oizys took a precautionary step back.
"Which… happens to be the modern legacy of the Ruggiero clan. You know… The same mafia that whore clinging onto Ines comes from?"
In their sizzling, the bubbles echoed out the screams of Leviathan's past victims, their envy still being digested in his stomach.
"And… Orias and Stolas are going after the grimoire in the Mortal Realm after the purge ends… You know what? Rotten timing!" Oizys chuckled nervously. "But hey, at least Nemesis is your favorite daughter now! And… I'll be back! Like next year!"
Oizys ran out the room.
The squid demon guards quickly closed the chamber doors.
Around everyone, the palace walls shook. Leviathan's wrath was creating a titanic storm in the ocean surrounding the palace.
Oizys stiffened when her brother's sarcastic clapping began to echo in the hallway. "And here I thought we'd have a tsunami!" Phthonus laughed.
"Oh, ha, ha!" Oizys coldly laughed. "Remind me again, how many of YOUR offspring is left? You know, after you told Father that Lucille couldn't penetrate the hotel?"
Phthonus unfolded his swallowtail wings, hissing at her. "Shut the fuck up, Oozy!"
"After you, Piss-On-Us!" Oizys mocked, showing off her birdwing wings.
"Oh Christ on a stick, what are you two doing?"
Down the staircase of whale bones, Nemesis Nymphalid Von Ouroboros, the Grand Duchess of Resentment, flew to reach her siblings. Her flapping Nymphalid wings scared the guards and imp slaves out of the hallway.
"Oh, it's the new favorite!" Oizys rolled her eyes.
"Always was, I'm the first daughter." Nemesis flicked Oizys' nose.
"We aren't equals!" Phthonus pointed at Nemesis. She nearly bit him, scaring him into folding his wings.
"You guys make me miss Invidia… Which is pathetic, because we never had to compete with her for anything. WE!" Nemesis slapped her siblings' heads. "ARE enough competition! She was just the loser!"
"Loser who got exiled from the Envy Ring until further notice!" Oizys snickered, folding her wings. "Having imps kill her daughter? She's basically letting Father marinate that filth until the eclipse!"
"Still feel like MY children could have been better candidates… if Father hadn't eaten them!" Phthonus spat. "Lucille described the brat to me. Extreme filth! Unwilling to be envied!"
"I know! And unwilling to eat envious hearts! Father agreed with my suggestion to cull our envious resources in Pride during the Extermination! To starve her!"
"I bet it'll take her two months to cave in." Nemesis waved a pouch filled with diamonds.
"Two months only? She won't last the rest of the week!" Oizys cackled.
"Invidia's filth is so weak, she'll probably become the Radio Demon's dinner!" Phthonus agreed. "And I thought August was weak!"
The next morning, in Envy-Carlo
Cain got out of the elevator, stepping inside August's penthouse. Snickering, he tiptoed towards the kitchen. A pajama-clad August had his back turned, reading a cookbook.
Cain snuck quietly towards August…
"Hi, Dad." August didn't even look up from his book.
"What the?" Cain groaned. "Trixie squealed?"
"And Trixie is sleeping in today. I asked her to. She works hard." August took a break from his book to hug his father. Cain sighed.
Something about gently hugging his son gave him reassurances of his work as a parent. If only he could have done differently with…
"You want me to cook breakfast? Or do you wanna? We can mix."
"Tell you what… I'll take of the avocado toasts and you take care of the coffee." Cain ruffled August's hair. August gently pushed his father's hand off his hair. Cain snorted.
Last time August smacked his hand away, the teen had both arms in casts.
Cain opened the fridge and pulled out the avocados while his son got the water kettle. "So how are things business-wise? New envious trends I should be aware of unless I'm not hip enough?" He joked.
"Dad, what did we say about dad jokes?" The water in the machine quickly boiled. August got the mugs out.
"OK, OK!" Cain chuckled. "But still… What's new with NV?"
"Well, there's a new trend of 90s apparel… Probably because the newest sinners grew up in the 90s… Charcuterie… Velvetok videos… And humans are making a new sport trending on Earth right now!"
"Which one?" Cain chopped up the avocados.
"Pickleball. Stats predict they will increase the envy polls by 30% in 2024. Got to keep a close eye on that." August distributed even amounts of decaf ground coffee into the mugs just as the water was ready. "Dad… Have you heard back from Mother?"
Cain nearly dropped the toast slices. August quickly caught them and put them in the toaster.
"Why do you ask?"
"Oh, usual call-shaming from Aunt Nemesis. Is it true Mother was exiled from the Envy Ring?"
Cain tensed. Fuck…
"So I've been informed." Cain turned on the toaster. August finished prepping the coffee mugs.
"But exiled from the whole ring? Are you managing the islands of the Evil Eye just fine?" August placed a mug for his father on the counter. Cain was mixing the avocado slices in a bowl with some sesame seeds.
"Don't worry about the islands. I've already managed them since the Great Flood. While I was still engaged to your mother. Are your worried about her?"
"I know, right?" August rolled his eyes. "Normally, I wouldn't. But Extermination Day is coming soon. She didn't even call me. Or popped up here. I'm just hoping she's somewhere safe… I don't like her, but I don't want her to get hurt."
Some days, Cain really wanted to strangle Invidia. So obsessed with competing with her siblings for the attention of Leviathan, she could care less by how a good son August was. For her neglect of August, she ruined Ines' life even more.
Come to think of it, I should make sure Ines is safe for Extermination.
The toaster machine dinged. Toasted slices flew out. August threw two plates, catching the slices and landing on the counter without a scratch. Cain spread the avocado on the toast.
A ringtone came from August's phone. He quickly grabbed it, only to scowl six seconds later. "What the fuck? No more vitamins at the clinics until January 2nd? Is this a riot Circe's making because she's divorcing Belphegor?"
Cain drank his coffee. Invidia always said that Circe was a bitch. "What do you need vitamins for?"
"Oh, it's for a new friend."
Cain barely frowned. Probably a new imp working in the tech department of NV…
"You ever heard of Indigo Caligo? We met at Rosie's place for that business dinner."
Cain managed to hide his tensed move. His son took a joyful bite of his avocado toast. "I heard… she's quite popular with the Ars Goetia?"
"Yeah. Paimon seems to favor her. He made A LITTLE too clear to Charlotte that he wants Indigo to join the Goetia family… if the hotel doesn't work for her." August accidentally coughed on his next bite. "Paimon's creepy. He acts like Indigo's obviously going to his granddaughter-in-law or some shit."
"Mh." Cain drank his coffee. Paimon's foolish trust in Leviathan barely amused Cain. "The Goetia nobles aren't usually that ecstatic about adding sinners to their ranks. She'd have to be an Overlord to satisfy them. Want my opinion? He should have stuck his granddaughter with a Goetia. Wouldn't have changed anything, but it would cause less trouble."
"I guessed… until Trixie told me that this party imp told her that Bee-Lzebub told them that her boyfriend told her that his friend Loona told him that Paimon ended his initial arrangement of Octavia with Naberius." August drank some coffee. "Was Grandfather like that when he gave Mother to you?"
Cain spat his coffee out. August gave him a napkin to wipe his mouth. "Sorry. I didn't mean…"
"No! It's just… You know…" Cain gripped the napkin. "Your grandfather let me pick which of his offspring… And…" He chuckled nervously. "I had to pick based on their most envious… Well… Your mother claimed she had the most envious… riding…"
August stopped eating his avocado toast.
"And, frankly… Compared to her siblings…"
"Dad… Not…"
"And to be fair, she was on top of me during the Great Flood…"
"Dad!"
"I mean, I was caught up in giving a waterfall to her well, she literally slipped the engagement ring on me! And I'm not talking about a condom! Those didn't exist back then!"
August forced his hands against his father's mouth. The ONE harmful thing he could do to Cain that wasn't going to break August's teeth. "Satan's balls, Dad! How did I go from talking about my friend to you talking about sex with Mother?"
"It's probably the only positive thing I can think of regarding our relationship… That isn't your birthday. Or our honeymoon. Or how I helped her ruin her sister's honeymoon." Cain shook his head. "I don't want to talk about your mother anymore."
"Yeah, let's not. Otherwise I'll lose my appetite." August returned to finishing his avocado toast. "And I don't like wasting a good avocado toast."
Cain nodded in agreement.
By now, however, the avocado toast was tasting sour.
Thousands of years ago, besides the whole riding thing, Invidia used to be nicer than her siblings towards Cain. She didn't even care back then that being the First Murderer's wife made her Leviathan's favorite. Centuries passing, and her attitude towards Cain was cold compared to her fiery envy for her siblings as they surpassed her in their fields. The coldness worsened as she got nieces and nephews.
Sixteen years ago, Cain's remaining fondness of Invidia had shattered. And August's hybrid twin wasn't the cause.
Invidia had purposely assaulted the mortal descendant of an Exterminator. Purposely bred a set of twins through superfecundation. She didn't even consider her act as cheating on her husband if the mortal was unaware of her married status or her true demon form. Her first act when Ines hatched was to drag the blood-soaked crying baby to Leviathan. Cain was the only one in the family who held his children.
Cain didn't want to separate the twins as infants, but Ines' safety was a priority.
The arguing had worsened over the past sixteen years. Invidia was furious that her own offspring stripped any chance of favoritism she had from Leviathan.
That was the first time Cain actually slapped Invidia.
Open your nazars for once, Invidia! Once the Celestial Eclipse comes, the Great Underdweller won't need any of us! Especially since he has the twins!
Then a couple months ago…
Invidia's filthy girl is turning sixteen.
You think she'll choose her demon heritage? Even for a stupid hybrid, she should know better.
Are you stupid? You think Father will let her decide?
Leviathan would have never let Ines pick her path.
Cain eventually found out about Invidia's purchase.
"Dad?"
August brought Cain back to reality. "Uh?"
"Are you OK?"
"Sorry… I've been exhausted lately," Cain lied.
"Hey, why don't you stay here until Extermination? With Mother literally MIA, I'd feel less crazy if you hung around." August cleared the dishes, washing them by hand in the shell-shaped sink. "You think you can give me some tips on how you cooked your Colchis kelp soup when I sick?"
Cain frowned. "Are you sick?" He got worried. "Is that why you were looking for vitamins?"
"No. That girl, Indigo Caligo? We've been chatting on text for a while. She's kinda sick right now… Taking time off until the new year…"
"Is she alright?" Cain didn't realize that in his worry, he asked a stupid question.
"Because vomiting, dehydration, and constant hunger sounds alright to you?" August shook his head. "She went through a lot literally right after the hotel's garden party. Gustav hit her! Telling shit about how she should just die in the Extermination unless she learns her place. Drove her to skip a whole day of eating… And she just had a bowl of homemade fish noodle soup last night, and she's still hungry!"
Worry filled Cain.
It wasn't really a thing in Leviathan's family, but it was for sin-devourers in general. If they ate nothing… Nothing that had at least ONE dash of envy… An envious heart would calm the hunger and bring it to its usual diet. The longer they waited, sin-devourers would actually start hunting after envious folk. The problem was that if Ines ate an envious heart…
Then he remembered how the sin-devourers in Mesoamerican calmed down THEIR hunger while not performing ritualistic cleanses.
"I think that making a Colchis kelp soup for your friend sounds like a very good idea." Cain looked through the drawers. "Although… Just in case she isn't a vegan, I might add some protein in a to-go container." He triumphantly pulled out a pair of purple rubber gloves. "You still have that aquarium of fugu?"
"Yeah, but don't you get rashes?"
"How many fishes do you have?"
"Unfortunately, what used to be 333 is now 666. Remind me to never accept pet food from Uncle Ozzie… Wait, Dad!"
"Don't worry, I'll just cut up 5!" Cain grabbed a bucket and put on the gloves.
"Dad…"
"You never know! Your friend might like the ventricles, you can just give her more! Nothing says friendship like dead fish hearts! Be right back!"
Cain dashed to the elevator.
Rolling his eyes, August finished cleaning the dishes. Just as the elevator took Cain down, Trixie yawned her way in.
"Trixie, can you call the St. Ann's Hospital in Sloth? My dad's gonna end up with fugu rash."
Trixie started calling the hospital. "Anything else?"
"Yeah. Today, I need you to bring one Colchis kelp soup and a container of dead fish hearts to the Radio Demon's place."