Shattered Innocence Ch. 09

As soon as the three were in the car, Clara turned to the angel. "Em! Please tell me you didn't sign anything or shook hands with that Vee."

"I didn't," Emily is honestly concerned with how much the puffy haired Carmine is freaking out over this. "You stopped me before I could."

Both sisters let out a sigh of relief.

"Look," Clara gains a serious look that appears foreign to the fun-loving Carmine. "It's important that you be careful when making deals in Hell. Especially with an Overlord."

"Why? I mean, it sounded like such a good offer."

"It's what we do, Emily," Odette explains. "As Overlords we make deals with other demons. Offering something that they want and in return they give us something. Usually something that most sinners that end up here no longer see value in."

That scared the seraphim a little. "What's that?"

Odette and Clara glance at one another before the spectacled Carmine answers. "Their soul."

Emily places a hand over her chest. "I, I almost traded away my soul?" she then looks down at her hand before turning back to the sisters. "How bad is that? I've heard things but I'm not sure how much is actually true."

"It often depends on the demon it's sold it to," the puffy-haired one tells her. "You can end up with exactly what you want. But your freedom will no longer belong to you. There are limitations as no one can go against the contract. Not even the one who now owns the soul. And it will remain like that until the demon forfeits the contract or the deal has been fulfilled completely. But know this," her eyes narrowed. "Unless it's stated in the contract, they can make you do things that you do not want to do."

Now that truly scared the seraphim. If she had signed, who knows what that Overlord would have made her do.

"But…" Emily looks back at the Carmine's. "You're Overlords. You own souls?"

The sisters glance at one another and Clara tells the angel. "That's complicated."

"We don't own any souls directly," Odette informs. "Any souls we have is through our mother. The contracts she receives, however, state specifically that the souls belong to the Carmine Family. So, we're only Overlords by extension. But rather than abuse the souls she owns; Mom treats them more like loyal employees. Most contracts even have an end date and demons can renew if they so choose. One thing about us Overlords is that many of us are quite respectful. With exceptions anyway." The spectacled girl then looks down. "I won't lie, Emily. We deserve to be here in Hell. And as far as we're concerned, they got what they deserved."

Emily looks between the two sisters. "But doing something bad shouldn't mean you're bad people." That caught the demons off guard. "If you were, then you'd have left me in that alley."

The Carmine's looked at one another, baffled by the angel's statement before turning back to her with a sad smile.

.oOo.

Carmilla starts setting the table while constantly checking the time. She's not worried about Clara and Odette. The woman made sure that they were capable of taking care of themselves. But Emily with what she's been through. This is Hell. It's too much for anyone who do truly belongs here. The Arms Dealer fears what it would be for someone who doesn't.

She lets out a sigh of relief hearing the front door open and Clara shouting, "We're home!"

The matriarch had just finished preparing the last plate as the three entered the dining room. "Welcome back," she smiles at them. "How was your first time out, Emily? Did you enjoy it?"

"It was pretty fun actually," the angel smiles while she and the Carmines take their seats. "Despite everything looking a bit unsettling on the outside, Hell's actually not that bad compared to what I've been told."

"That's great to here."

"And…" Clara speaks up. "You'll be glad to know that Em here worked up enough courage to walk up to a sub shop to order a sandwich from the male employee. One with a lot of pickles at that."

Carmilla brows raised a little before nodding in approval. "Well, that's great to hear. Hopefully you didn't ruin your appetite."

Odette then comments. "By how much she eats, I'm convinced that nothing can ruin her appetite."

The matriarch shouts. "Odette!?"

There was silence as everyone stared at the usually reserved Carmine who had only talked like that to her sister.

"That was rather personal, wasn't it?" the spectacled Carmine turns to the angel. "Sorry, Emily."

The seraphim blinked before letting out a small giggle. "That's all right, Odette. I know that's how you two show affection. I'm just used to only getting that from Clara. Not you."

Odette blushes a bit being called out for that but soon everyone started eating.

The matriarch then asks, "Anything else interesting happened today?"

"We tried getting something called a mani pedi. But there was a slight problem and had to leave."

Clara sighs. "The current manager, a guy, used his status to force the other employees to let him tend to Emily despite asking for girls only. My guess is that he decided that she was attractive and probably wanted to take his chance to flirt with her or something."

At that, Carmilla's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps I should have word with him?"

"Already taken care of," Odette informs. "We know the owner personally and contacted them. Needless to say. That man no longer works there."

"Serves him right. No one should abuse their power in such a way."

They continued eating before Emily started again. "Oh? And I did get a job offer. Apparently I'm pretty enough to be a model."

The sisters tried getting the angel to keep quiet.

"You truly are lovely, Emily," Carmilla compliments. "But being a model will most likely bring you the kind of attention that you do not want. This would be your choice though. I just want you to have an idea of what you may get into. Who gave you this offer any?" the woman takes a sip of her drink.

The sisters continue, desperately wanting the seraphim to not say anything. But they went unheard.

Emily looks up to recall. "I think her name was Velvette."

As soon as that name was spoken, Carmilla did a spit take while Clara and Odette face palmed.

"Aside from modeling, she also wanted me to promote some devices for a Vox and star in a movie by this guy called Val."

All three Carmine's eyes widened, especially at the last part as not even the sisters were aware of that and are certain that the angel was not given the full detail of the kind of movies that they make.

Carmilla's hand clenches around her glass until it breaks. "Emily! Please tell me you did not make a deal with the Vee!"

At that, the seraphim shook her head. "No. Clara and Odette swooped in just in time," she turns to smile at the sisters who done so in return.

The woman lets out a sigh of relief. "Emily, I need you to promise me something. No matter how good the offer is, please refrain from accepting any deals. Especially with one of those Vees!"

"Are they really that bad?" the angel looks at the Carmine's.

"They are inane, uninformed, and…" the matriarch lists off and the last item is joined in by Odette and Clara.

"Respectless!"

Noticing that the sisters tone sounded as if they were mocking, Carmilla turned to them, and they flinched under her gaze.

With that being said, the group remained in silence for the rest of the meal.

.oOo.

Carmilla sits at her office desk and rubs her temples before picking up the phone to make a call.

"Hello, Zestial."

"Greetings, Old Friend. How may I be of service?"

The Ancient Overlord's voice makes the woman smile. "I just needed to talk to someone for a moment," she then sighs. "It seems Emily had a run in with Velvette."

"Now that is concerning…" a hum can be heard from the other end. "Has a deal been structed?"

"Thankfully, no! Clara and Odette intervened," she then rests her head in her free hand. "But the thought of losing her to the Vees scares me." Silence from the phone disturbed her.

Zestial finally speaks. "The pact could protect her."

Carmilla sighs. "The pact only extends to…" her eyes then widen as she gets what her fellow Overlord is suggestion. "You cannot be serious, Zestial? That's asking for too much."

"To much for you? Or the angel?"

That causes the woman to pause as she doesn't have an answer to that.

"It is not often thou lets someone in. It was I who you let in last time many years ago. I shall not pretend to know thou's past as you also do not know mine. But if you truly value Emily, thou must act before it is too late."

The Arms Dealer closes her eyes and takes a slow deep breath. "Thank you, Zestial. I'll think about it. I would also like to go over it with her first."

"That is all thy asks, Carmilla. Perhaps I shall stop by your office tomorrow for a… meeting."

Carmilla smirks. "I would love that, Zestial. But it cannot be a long… meeting. Aside from trying to obtain this new business deal, Emily has a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon."

"Is she unwell?"

"She says she's fine, but I know that Emily hasn't been feeling well. The poor girl just doesn't wish to be a bother. So…"

The Spider Demon can be heard chuckling. "You have yet to inform her?"

"I am going to tell her," she smirks. "At least sometime before the appointment."

NOTE: This and the last two Chapters actually started as a single Chapter. But after a while, I realized that it was getting way too long. So, I split them into three parts.

NOTE 2: It's most likely that updates are going to slow down for some time. With Summer practically here, things are going to be picking up at work leaving even less time to write. This is one of the reasons why I've decided to go on ahead and add this chapter on the weekend despite usually trying to avoid doing so.