Chapter 7

It took a minute or two for the gears to turn in Stella's head. Chay, for her part, prided herself on her patience. But when the inevitable conclusion finally surfaced, the Goetian was absolutely furious.

Via, for her part, seemed to shrink behind Chay. More than likely she had been witness to many of her mother's rages.

"I am going to fucking ERASE that bloody roided-out lying shitstain!" she screeched, her feathers bristling like white-hot flames.

Chay gave a light sigh. "I'm going to take that as a yes."

Via was still fearful, but otherwise incredulous. "Mum...why did you hire a random Sinner to guard your valuables?"

"Look whose talking, darling.", Stella answered. "Also: I'm very fucking angry right now!"

Via looked up at Chay, who simply shrugged. She wandered back over to the hole and poked her head up. The red sky was bright with the light of high noon. Lunch would be served soon at the hotel, and she was getting a bit peckish.

She prepared to step out of the hole onto ground outside...and then immediately (and frantically) grabbed one of the old pipes to pull herself back in. There was no ground outside. The hole opened up to a sheer drop, with a black and boiling sea beneath her.

Her eyes whipped over to Octavia. "You didn't tell me this place was built on a cliff."

"It's not built on a cliff.", Stella interrupted. "It is the cliff. This chateau was constructed and sculpted from the cliff's face."

Via sheepishly whispered in Chay's ear. "It's sculpted to look like Mum's head."

-….You know what? I don't even care anymore.

Chay crossed her arms. "Your Highness, was this Sinner able to fly?"

Stella shook her head, annoyed. "No. He was a gigantic idiot with a plebeian accent who was just supposed to stand there and protect the place."

"In that case…", Chay remarked. "It's pretty obvious that we're dealing with a group effort instead of a lone wolf. Probably someone with aircraft at their disposal."

Via raised a feathery eyebrow. "Why just 'probably'?"

Chay shrugged. "Because I know some Sinners who can fly, but they can't exactly carry a lot of weight if they want to stay in the air. Not ruling it out completely as a possibility, but…"

She thought of Husk, hungover behind the bar with his wings limply hanging off of his shoulders.

"...well, it's an exceedingly rare one. In any case, I think I have a good enough foundation to get started. That said, I cannot guarantee that I'll be able to close the case before the Exorcism is underway."

"That's fine.", Stella sniffed. "I wasn't planning on paying you up front anyway."

Via's eyes began shining. "Mum? Does that mean you-"

"Oh, hush.", she replied. "I could care less what happens to that pebble. I just want to know who stole my property."

Stella walked up to Chay and pointed a finger directly in her face. "Now, go find the cunt who robbed me. I don't want to see your rotting face again until then. You'll receive your payment then, and only then. Now…"

She turned around, her gowns harshly rustling. "...Get the fuck out of my house." She stormed out of the vault, her Imp entourage hurrying after her.

Chay turned to Via. "Family reunions must be fun."

Via rolled her eyes, looking like she was trying to disappear into her beanie. "You have no idea."

The Sinner shook her head and looked at her hellphone. "Well, in any case, I should probably go ahead and get started. After lunch, anyway."

"Oh, can I join you?"

"I'll smoke if I bloody want to, ya dags!". The enormous, towering King of Greed shoved away the Imp workers with two of his enormous gloved hands as he shoved a stoagie into his mouth, one almost as big as a log. His two klown girls, both from Envy and the faces of his most recent and successful product line, cuddled up against him. The one on his left held up an enormous lighter that set the cigar aflame.

"No problem, Your Majesty.", Vox replied, barely hiding his annoyance from across the table. "Anything for my customers." He bent down and mouthed 'open a window' to one of the other secretaries nearby. "Now, would you like anything before we get to business?"

"Ah no", the enormous Sin said in his grating bogan english, pronouncing it 'nah-ru' while blowing out smoke. "Business always come first before pleasure. Defo wanna get the hard yakka outta the way as quick as possible so you can enjoy the benefits, right?"

The Sinner shrugged. "If you say so, Your Highness. And again, I do have to thank you for traveling up from the Greed Ring for this meeting. I know it was some work on your part."

"Weren't no drama, mate.", the Sin said as he fondled one of the klown girls. "I got me own ride. Now, about the progress on the chip…"

The enormous Sin leaned forward on the table, itself giving a noticable creak. Mammon, the King of Sin, was like all of his brethren an enormous and intimidating figure. Made up of a mountain of greens and whites, the four-armed behemoth had the face and jingly hat of a medieval court jester, which he often used to off-set his rather...abrasive personality.

Vox's screen brightened up with a grin. "Right, sir. The chip is making remarkable progress. In spite of that setback we had, the tech has managed to advance at a remarkable rate. Our newest neuronet processing technology-"

"Yeah yeah, ya startin' to lose me, mate." the Sin replied. "I just wanna know if it's gonna properly interface with the product."

Vox sighed. "Well, I was getting to that, Mammon, sir. But yes. With this tech, not only will the intelligence of your sex bots increase three-fold, it'll also allow users to control and interact with them from a distance."

"Ya hear that, Sheilas?", Mammon said to the two clown girls at his side. "Yer sex bot copies are gonna be jerkin' those degenerates off from across the bloody world!"

"Sounds fun.", one of the klown girls said.

"Bet the girls will enjoy it to.", said the other. "I've been wanting to improve my finger game."

Vox eyed the two women from across the table. "I don't think I've been introduced to-"

"Ah, right. These two here are Glitz and Glam. You've seen the posters, yeah?"

The Sinner nodded. "Well, I can't really hide from them. Your people plastered their faces all over Hell. I just haven't had the pleasure to meet them in person." He wasn't exaggerating. Mammon's PR team was arguably the best in Hell, and they were nothing if not shamelessly audacious. Posters, holograms, chat bots and Voxbook posts had been notifying (some would argue pestering) pretty much every single figure in Hell about their debut.

If nothing else, they were two pretty faces, and they were popular. Still not quite as popular as their predecessor had been, but Fizzarolli had been an institution all his own.

"Gotcha. Well, we've already got some of the bots out in test markets using the old Fizz tech, but considering the fallout with our old manufacturer, we were looking for a new partnership. My people told me you're the big tech genius up here in the Pride Ring, and so far? I'm pretty bloody impressed. If what you've shown me so far is any indication, I think we're both gonna make a lot of bloody moolah."

'You already print it, but whatever' Vox thought to himself.. "That is the idea, sir. We've also got some other things in R n' D if you're interested. I know you're still in the middle of re-modeling Loo Loo Land."

Mammon sneered. "Don't remind me. I'm already getting bloody fisted junking all of the old Fizz bots, not to mention cleaning up Mr. Williams's mess."

"The Wild West world, yes. Well, we've been thinking of adapting our new tech to some cowboy and native models. The kind that can be used for gun shows, dances, strip shows, you name it."

"Ya had me at 'R and D', ya lovely bloody cunt!", Mammon chuckled. "Tell ya what, I'm gonna go to Wacca's and get me a bite, ya wanna come and talk it over burgies? I'll even let the Sheilas here give ya an ol' fashioned Over Under on the way."

"I'm flattered, but that won't be necessary...although it is almost Lunch…."

"Then I'll have my ride join us outside." The enormous Sin got up from the floor. "See ya in a few, but don't make we wait long."

The Sin and his entourage disappeared in a puff of green smoke.

Vox let out a nervous sigh. He reached for his hellphone and thumbed through his contacts. He'd need to let his contract workers know of the upcoming order.

He got a voicemail message in return. "Leave the message after the tone! I say I say…" BEEP

"Lunch is ready!"

Niffty announced the meal time with her usual chipper and hyper self, vigorously ringing a small silver bell before bouncing away out of the lounge. From the other end of the room, a green portal opened up with Chay and Octavia stepping out.

The Goetian girl sniffed the air. "Oooh, are those croissants I smell?"

"Hot buttery croissants.", Chay answered with a grin. "Charlie hired a damn good chef for this place. They might have to roll you out of here in a wheelbarrow."

Via giggled, blushing a little around the cheeks. Chay couldn't help but finding the girl a little adorable.

"Well, let's hurry.", Chay said as the two began walking towards the dining room. "Food tends to disappear pretty quickly in this place…"

The smells coming from the kitchen became stronger the close they got. The air filled with the scent of Miso soup, spicy Lahmajun, and freshly baked bread.

Via was practically drooling by the time they reached the dining room, only to be greeted by the Felinoid Sinner she had seen before.

"Chay! You're just in time!", Shakie exclaimed as she hugged her friend. "That little kobold guy made Miso soup and it's amazing!"

"I have a name, dammit!", Crol screamed from the kitchen door before Coi dragged him back inside.

The three entered the dining room and were met with a flurry of guests gobbling down the heaping platters of food. At the head of the table was Charlie, with Vaggie at her side, carefully spreading some crisp vegetables on a piece of Lahmajun. Lucius and Viola were spooning soup into their hungry mouths.

And next to those two was a third Imp.

A woman.

With bone white hair.

Slicing off a piece of ham with a blessed-tipped dagger.

The Imp looked up at Chay, and sneered.

"Took you long enough.", The Sigh said irritably.

CHAPTER 7 END