Author note: welcome back, readers! Thanks for staying on as I keep this train rolling. Sending a spotlight to my latest reviewer, your kind words meant the world to me, thank you! Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 23: Reality check
Taylor's mind raced as they peered shakily at the beaming Niffty in front of them.
'How much did she see? Shit, what if she tells Alastor? Even with Charlie's protection, I doubt I'll get out unscathed. Even if I do, the hotel will be in danger! What do I do?'
Suddenly Niffty began laughing heartily, which distressed them further. She continued for a few moments before stopping and gazing confusingly at Taylor.
"Why aren't you laughing? I missed the laughing. I like laughing." She said energetically.
Taylor was afraid to ask, but they needed to know. Swallowing thickly, they spoke.
"Niffty. H-How much did you see?"
"See? Angel told me to find you while he took care of the not bad boy. I heard a loud crack and whoosh of fire, so I followed it! Then I heard you laughing so I came to laugh too!" She said quickly as she grinned breezily.
Taylor processed the statement for a moment before sitting back and laughing in relief. The cyclops demoness perked up and the both of them chortled together among the havoc going on all around them. When Taylor settled, they waited patiently as Niffty's manic giggles puttered out. They were about to get up to head back to the others when the prone bat demon suddenly sprang up and lunged at Niffty from behind. Taylor's heart jumped into their throat as they started pushing themselves up to intercept.
"Niffty! Behin-! " Taylor couldn't even finish as they stopped, frozen in shock. Without skipping a beat, Niffty had done an about-face, producing a knife from nowhere, and stabbed the bat demon through the heart. She giggled girlishly as the demon went limp and she tossed him to the side as if he weighed nothing. Somehow, she didn't get a spot of blood on her, to Taylor's surprise. They felt like their brain fizzled out as they processed the whole event. Nifty poked the body with her knife curiously as she muttered to herself.
"Hmm. Does Mister Alastor like bat meat? Maybe bring a sample and I'll know for next time!" She shot up and gazed gleefully at Taylor with a wide smile. "I'll just be a minute! You can help me carry it back!"
In the end, Taylor opted to stand nearby and keep watch as Niffty carved up the bat demon, packaging the cuts in butcher paper she conjured from somewhere. They couldn't watch the morbid affair; the idea gave them shivers and flashbacks of their patron marking them. True to form, within a few minutes Taylor was presented a grocery bag filled with slightly bloody wrapped meat cuts. Not looking back at the body, they took the bag carefully while not thinking of the source. Niffty bounced happily as they beckoned Taylor to follow.
"We can give it to Mister Alastor when we get back! He loves fresh meat! Come on, let's go!" Taylor just nodded mutely and accompanied Niffty through the chaos.
Alastor felt ecstatic as he walked back to the hotel with the eggs following close behind. He had two vital pieces of information he could leverage for future use. He wanted to hurry back to the hotel and go through the information Carmilla had distributed on the Dealbreaker Demon so he could begin his hunt. If the deal he was waiting to make with Charlie didn't pan out, he wanted to hedge his bets and find this demon to force them to break the deal that had his wings clipped. Maybe even strike a deal with them so they could depower the other overlords, ensuring he'd stand at the top of the heap. The prospect made his smile grow sinister as he arrived at the hotel.
Right before, Angel, Pentious, Niffty, and Taylor were in the lobby laughing and reminiscing about the battle they waged together against another group of demons in the turf war zone. Taylor laughed and spoke with awe.
"I had no idea you could conjure six guns at once! That was awesome! You just mowed people down like that!" They made a sweeping motion to emphasize.
Angel responded in kind after a chuckle.
"Not as cool as the barrage of fire you rained down on those yahoos! You're packing a lot of firepower, Fuoco!" He looked over at Pentious as he laughed once more. "And then, when that bull guy started beating the shit out of you!"
Pentious seemed excited to be part of the fun and laughed heartily.
"Yes, and with the dismembered arm!" He giggled a bit before he grimaced. "Yes, that was particularly unpleasant."
"I liked that part." Niffty giggled excitedly.
Husk had been hearing the whole discussion from the bar and walked over to the group. He stopped next to Pentious.
"Well… hey, at least you can take a beating like a champ." Husk patted him on the shoulder with mild newfound respect. "You did okay, new kid."
Pentious seemed touched at the kind words. He got animated at the compliment as he congratulated himself.
"Really? Oh, well. I suppose I did get into a little of the old, rough and tumble today." He directed his attention to Angel. "And, uh, thank you for pulling me out of there."
Everyone laughed at the good fun that was had as Niffty started laughing maniacally, causing the group to stop and watch the little demoness with concern.
Taylor heard the front door open and saw Alastor arrive with Pentious's Egg Boiz in tow. Vaggie called out to him from the balcony as she commented that he hadn't gotten rid of the eggs. Taylor felt a chill when Alastor admitted that the eggs had been rather useful. When Vaggie suggested that he give the eggs back to Pentious, the cobra demon couldn't believe what he heard. Vaggie agreed that he could be trusted to have them, but the ban on weapon-making still stood firm. Pentious hugged his Egg Boiz tearfully before ordering them to clean his room.
Alastor shrugged and moved on from the eggs when Niffty produced the bag of meat and gave it to Taylor. Dragging them forward, the two stopped in front of Alastor, whose eyebrow quirked up at them with interest.
"Here, Alastor! Taylor and I got you a little snack while we were out today! It's bat meat, I hope you like it!" Niffty said happily.
Taylor held out the bag to Alastor and said politely.
"Niffty did all the hard work, I just carried the bag. Enjoy."
"Oh ho! How delightful, darling!" He said warmly to the cyclops demoness. He turned his attention to Taylor in a more subdued tone. "And thank you, chum, for helping out!" He took the bag and nodded his thanks before departing upstairs.
'Huh. That's the most cordial he's ever been with me. Guess everyone had a good day.' Taylor mused.
Late into the evening, Taylor, Husk, and Angel enjoyed a nightcap and chatted. Husk had spent the time largely ignoring Angel's flirtation attempts while he tried to teach Taylor some simple sleight of hand card tricks.
"Stop, kid, your grip is too tight, you'll bend the cards. Here, like this." Husk corrected as he took the deck of cards and demonstrated picking up two cards in his palm in a smooth fluid motion before turning his wrist to show them. Taylor looked closer to observe the intricacies of the grip when they both heard a thump next to them. They turned to see Angel had fallen asleep on the bar counter and was snoring away.
Husk huffed as he put away the cards and checked the time. "Guess it's closing time." He shook Angel roughly, but the spider demon was out cold. "Shit, Charlie will pitch a fit if I leave him here."
"Let me. I've been practicing." Taylor piped up, taking a step back. Husk furrowed his brow as he watched the fire demon hold out their hands and close their eyes, frowning as they focused. With a soft whoosh, orange flames engulfed their hands and steadily traveled along their arms to their upper back. The flames began aggregating, twisting in on themselves as the length grew. Before long, they had two orange tendrils that undulated from their back, with a glowing cross-cross pattern like embers. They opened their eyes with a sigh and the tendrils moved toward Angel, picking the sleeping demon up bridal-style. The spider demon snuggled contentedly into the warmth. Taylor grinned at their success. "Perfect. Pretty useful, right?"
Husk grunted and shrugged. Taylor deflated a bit, but tried to stay positive. "I read that I might be able to make some wings eventually. So, I might come looking for you for some flying lessons. I think you'd be a great teacher."
The cat demon gave an annoyed huff.
"Kid, not all of us want to embrace our Hell-forms." Taylor's enthusiasm was cut short as the cat demon spoke in a bitter tone. "Hell, it took me a long time to accept the stuff I can't control about it, like the fucking purring." He started putting away the dirty glasses then stared squarely back with disdain. "So if you want to go ahead and show off your new abilities, be my guest. Just know it won't impress me." He looked away as he began wiping down the counter, effectively ending the conversation.
Taylor didn't know what to say. They hadn't meant to show off, they just wanted to be helpful and reach out. They nodded curtly, a little put out.
"Understood. Good night, Husk." They headed upstairs carrying Angel with them.
Taylor deposited the snoring Angel on their bed and placed his phone on the nightstand. After giving Fat Nuggets some scratches, Taylor laid him next to his owner. Extinguishing the flame tendrils, they lingered at the door and watched their friend sleep for a moment as they ruminated. They couldn't understand Husk; sometimes the two got along great, sharing stories and drinks; then he would shut down and push them away harshly. Sighing, they just hoped they'd figure out his triggers soon so they could reduce the surly times with the cat demon.
They heard Angel's phone buzz and couldn't help but see a notification from Valentino. Taylor's temper flared at the name; many of their clients formerly worked under the abusive overlord and had heard horror stories, not to mention what Angel told them. They were aware Angel was directly under contract with Valentino and some days Angel came back battered and bruised, though he would play it off as nothing serious.
An idea came to them. They closed Angel's door and stood over the slumbering demon. They focused and after a few minutes, a smoky magenta miasma started to come into view around Angel's neck and extend outwards. Their heart started to beat quicker as they squinted, commanding the smoky chain to manifest fully in their mind. Angel squirmed a bit when the collar settled around his neck, but soon went back to sleep. Taylor let go of a breath they didn't realize they were holding. They gently picked up the billowy chain, fascinated that it felt solid despite it swirling in their hands. They decided to place one hand in front of the other and only pull with one hand while keeping the other steady to not jostle Angel awake.
Hands in position, they gripped the chains hard and summoned the silver flames to life as they started to pull back. Gritting their teeth in exertion, they tried to feel for melting under the flames, but the chains were resisting. Suddenly, images of Angel's experiences started to flash in front of their eyes, but in contrast to all the other times, they could feel what was happening in real time. Taylor felt Angel's fear, pain, anger, the abject terror when in Valentino's presence. They started to shake and tear up as the swell of emotions kept hitting them, but they clenched their jaw and crushed the chains in their hands as the silvery flames blazed stronger.
But it wasn't enough. After several minutes of trying, willing, forcing every last bit of energy into the endeavor, Taylor was forced to give up. The chains felt no different than when they started. Breathing heavily, they stingily let go and the smoky chains and the collar dissipated into the ether. Angel remained asleep, unaware of the turmoil going on in the demon beside him.
Taylor stepped back and paced the room, stifling the frustration of their failure and the lingering sensations from the images they saw as they ran their hands through their hair anxiously.
'Why didn't it work? Shit! Angel has it as bad or worse as I do, but I still can't help him! Why? Why wasn't it enough?' They angrily replayed in their mind. They only stopped their spiraling when they felt Fat Nuggets rubbing against their leg in a bid to console them. Feeling terrible that the little demon pig felt their agitation, they picked him up and pet his head until they both calmed down. Placing him back on the bed, Taylor took a final resigned glance at Angel Dust before closing the door and heading to their room.
They laid in bed and stared at the ceiling as they mulled over the day. The dream about angels, the trust exercises, Niffty nearly witnessing them annulling contracts, Husk's words, and their failure to break Angel's contract. The day had had its ups and down and had left them so many lingering emotions. They turned over as they tried to relax, but their mind wouldn't shut down. After tossing and turning for an hour, they succumbed to their exhaustion and fell asleep.
Outside, a shadowy silhouette with a red eyes and grin was furiously trying to approach the underside of the door of a certain fire demon, only to be rebuffed by a fiery barrier when it got too close. Their master had ordered a nightly sweep of the hotel after Vaggie had informed him of the possibility of an undetected intruder, but as of yet nothing was found amiss. Except for this room; something powerful was keeping them out, but for what purpose? After a few more attempts, the shadow retreated and moved on to continue the patrol before it returned to its master in the radio tower with its update.