Author's note: Welcome back readers, sorry for the delay. Writer's block plus life craziness interrupted my writing schedule a bit. Thanks for your patience, on with the story!
Chapter 9: Some proposals
After Taylor spent some time processing, they got up and went to the bathroom to wash up. They carefully walked over to the bed, but suddenly felt stabbing pains all over, like everything was stretching and squeezing at the same time. Their head started to feel like a vise was compressing their skull, causing Taylor to quietly hiss in pain to avoid drawing attention. They painfully got onto the bed and laid on their side, covering their head with the pillow to muffle their groans of pain. 'What's happening? I haven't felt anything like this since I had growing pains! Is this because of the mark?' they thought miserably. They laid there for several hours, riding the waves of pain in a fetal position.
By the time lunch time rolled around, the worst of the pain had subsided to a dull ache and Taylor's hunger could no longer be ignored. They dragged themselves out of bed and noticed stack of money on the nightstand that they swore wasn't there earlier. 'My allowance from my patron' they guessed, quickly storing it in their dresser. Finally, they changed into a simple loose-fitting black dress to spare their tender back, a light blue jacket, and sneakers before heading out the door.
As Taylor was locking up, they heard the trademark static that announced a certain Radio Demon was nearby. Sighing in annoyance, they turned around to face the grinning deer demon.
"Hello Alastor" they said tersely.
"Ah, there you are! We all heard of your little outburst last night and were terribly worried about you!" He said in mock concern.
Rolling their eyes, Taylor moved to walk away but was grasped by the arm by a clawed hand.
"Tut, tut! Now what did I say about disrespect? Do I need to teach you some manners?" he said darkly.
"Unless you want me to tell Charlie you're manhandling guests again, I suggest you let go." Taylor replied in a miffed tone.
He chuckled before replying. "Oh, dear chum. If I fully intended on hurting you" the static got louder as his eyes changed to dials and his voice and the environment distorted, "you wouldn't have the chance."
A shiver ran down Taylor's back as they stared at the distorted field swirling around them. With a shake of his head, Alastor reverted to his normal form as he let go of Taylor's arm.
"As it were, I had another reason for seeking you out. Our dear Charlotte has asked me to make a commercial promoting the hotel, and I want you to help!" they said jovially.
Taylor glared suspiciously "why me?"
Alastor laughed exuberantly. "Why, because misery loves company!" He pulled Taylor close to him by the shoulder. "You see, Charlie has refused my suggestion for a radio promotion and instead insisted on having an inferior ballyhoo on the picture box. I am loathe to dabble in newfangled technology, and since you're new and have yet to contribute to the hotel, I thought you'd be perfect for the job!"
Taylor considered the proposal. 'Knowing Alastor, he'd probably twist it to blast the hotel on purpose, and Charlie is too nice to call him out on it. Maybe I should help to make sure this thing has a chance.'
"Fine, I'll help." they responded.
"Splendid! I'll collect you the morning after the Extermination and we'll get to work!" Alastor pushed Taylor away as he summoned his cane. "Until then, I got some last-minute business outside the hotel that needs my attention! Ta ta!" The deer demon sank into the shadows and disappeared. Taylor sighed and shook their head. 'Never a dull day in Hell, is it?' They made their way to the elevator and went downstairs.
The lobby was mostly empty, with only Charlie and Vaggie in the parlor going over treatment plan details. Taylor waved to the couple as they moved to the kitchen space. The fridge had a few leftover breakfast sandwiches that Taylor helped themselves to, along with some orange juice. They took their food out to the parlor and sat in an armchair near Vaggie.
Charlie stared at Taylor worriedly, but before she could speak, Taylor cut in.
"Charlie, I don't know what Angel told you but I'm fine. I had a nightmare and fell off the bed, that's all." They stared back at Charlie reassuringly. "It actually helped Angel and I bond a little bit, he's surprisingly helpful when he wants to be." Charlie seemed to beam at the comment as Taylor glanced at the stacks of papers on the table. "What are you two working on?" Taylor asked, taking a bite of their sandwich.
"Treatment plans, we hope to start you and Angel's programs formally after the Extermination is over." Vaggie said, holding a glittery piece of paper.
"It's going to be so great, Taylor! We'll do trust exercises, group therapy, arts and crafts, and so much more!" Charlie chimed in excitedly.
Taylor chuckled at her infectious enthusiasm. "Looking forward to it, Charlie."
A knock at the door made all three demons perk up, with Charlie squealing and bounding to the door. Vaggie got up and followed as Taylor stayed to finish their meal. Taylor heard excited chattering and murmurs in response before hearing Charlie call out, "Taylor, it's for you! There's someone here to see you!"
Taylor got up, confused at who would come here to see them. Then they saw a familiar German Shepard demon standing uncomfortably at the door, and Taylor grinned happily. Walking over, the dog demon reached over and hugged Taylor warmly. "New name is Antonio" he whispered. Pulling back, Taylor turned to the others. "Charlie, Vaggie, this is Antonio. He helped me find this place right after I got here! Antonio, this is Vaggie, and this is Char- "
Antonio grabbed Charlie's hand and shook it, "Princess Charlie, it is an honor!" Turning to the other demoness, "Vaggie, it's a pleasure as well. Thank you both for taking care of this firecracker!" he said enthusiastically. "I was in the area and thought I'd check in on this one. Taylor, you got some time to have a quick chat?"
Taylor nodded. "You two mind if we catch up in the music room? I don't want to interrupt your work."
"Sure, go ahead." Vaggie said, leading Charlie away before she could start a recruitment spiel.
Taylor led Antonio to the music room and closed the doors before sitting in one of the armchairs. Antonio took in the room for a moment.
"You seem to have settled in well here. Never thought I'd get to meet the Princess of Hell."
"Yeah, it feels like home despite me being here for less than a week. How are you doing? Is that lion demon giving you any problems?"
"So far so good, everyone believes me when I say the old tenant moved out, so no one's been bothering me. Been a bit of a pain reestablishing my contacts, but it's better than being under that prick's boot." They stopped gawking and sat down on the end of the couch. "But I'd be lying if I said this was just a social call. I have a proposal I want to run by you."
Intrigued and a little worried, Taylor gestured for Antonio to continue.
Antonio lowered his voice. "Firstly, I need to ask if you've broken anymore soul contracts since we parted."
Hesitantly, Taylor nodded slowly.
"Good. You see, I'd like to help you find more folks that want their contracts nullified."
Taylor flinched in their chair, earning a wince from their achy body complaining.
"W-what?" they asked, bewildered. "Didn't you say before you'd keep quiet about this so as not to bring trouble your way? This is a dangerous idea, Antonio."
"That's the thing! Lots of people are under the beck and call of scumbags like I was under, and there isn't anything they can do to get out it, save for throwing themselves to the Exterminators. Shit, Taylor, some contracts are for eternity!" he countered. "But this ability of yours changes everything, you can give people an out! I know you're worried, so we can keep things discreet by making people make a small deal of secrecy beforehand!" He pleaded.
"Making a deal to get out of a deal?" Taylor asked skeptically.
"Hey, no souls would be exchanged in that deal, promise! Think of it as insurance to keep people from blabbing. Just think about it, will ya? Seems a waste to keep this gift under wraps."
Sighing, Taylor closed their eyes and pondered. 'I do need a better way to go about this. I can't keep relying on finding people in alleys by accident. Plus, it'd cut down on dealing with angry dealmakers.' They concluded.
"I'll do it." they said, looking back at Antonio.
"Really?" he asked in disbelief.
Taylor stopped him. "But! On a trial basis to start. Let see how it goes for a month and if we can keep it up without attracting trouble, we can talk about extending it. I won't risk your or the hotel's safety." they said sternly.
Antonio paused before shrugging. "I guess that's fair, didn't think you'd agree in the first place. Okay, I have a few people in mind so we can get started right away!"
"I won't do anything until after the Extermination." Taylor answered, thinking of their patron's restriction.
"Yeah, sure! It's only a day away, so I get it. Let's talk after that and in the meantime, I'll get in contact with folks."
"Also, I need a cover for when I meet up. So, you just offered me a consulting job that I accepted." Taylor added.
"Hmm, makes sense. Anything else?"
Taylor paused and then stared at Antonio before asking, "Why the change in heart?"
The dog demon looked away angrily before answering, "I've seen too many people be taken advantage of down here. You'd think after 30 something years you'd become numb or used to it, but I haven't. I got lucky meeting you, and I think others need that chance to start anew so they can turn things around."
Taylor laughed wryly. "You sound like Charlie. She wants to give people a chance to better themselves too."
Antonio chuckled, then looked up at Taylor. "You think this redemption stuff is possible?"
"I hope so, I'd like to think that if you fall down, you can also pick yourself up, do better, and climb your way back." Taylor said, determined.
"Hmm. I don't know what you did before to deserve landing down here, but if anyone could do it, it's you. You're one of the rare good ones." he said, blushing slightly.
Taylor gave a bittersweet chuckle at that comment. 'If only you knew.'
"Alright, then. Give me your number and we'll talk in a few days when things calm down. I'll use code words to keep any phone surveillance off our trails."
After exchanging numbers, the two demons moved into the parlor. Right after telling Charlie and Vaggie about the job offer, Antonio saw himself out before Charlie could try to recruit him to the hotel. Taylor was both nervous and hopeful. This way could lead to them being able to reach more people. But they still worried about doing this behind Charlie's back. Vaggie noticed Taylor's worried face and put a hand on their shoulder.
"Hey, you alright? He didn't push you into anything like a deal or blackmail you?" she asked protectively.
"What? No, no! He seems like a good guy, plus he got me on my feet right after I got here, so I feel like I owe him." they said reassuringly as they patted Vaggie's hand.
Vaggie stared back with a skeptical look but shrugged. Charlie seemed bummed that Antonio avoided her hotel recruitment attempts, so Vaggie tried to console her by guiding her back to the parlor and getting back to brainstorming program ideas. Taylor took one more glance at the door before heading back to join them.