Chapter 10:

Growing suspicion

A tense atmosphere hung in the air once the tall spider overlord had left, everyone eyeing the door, the silence so strong, you could hear a pin drop.

That was until a pained, sharp grunt through gritted teeth was heard, and as everyone turned their gaze towards the head of the table, Carmilla Carmine had dropped herself back in her chair, grasping at her right, lower leg as blood trickled from 3 cuts"

"CARMILLA!" Vaggie yelped as she ran towards the angelic arms dealer, who held up a hand "It's….not as deep as Alastor's injuries…I'll be fine"

"Bullshit!" Vaggie barked out as she knelt next to the tall overlord "Let me take a look at that"

At first, Carmilla wanted to insist she was fine, but when she met the fallen exorcist's gaze, she saw concern. Feeling her heart break, she reluctantly complied, slowly lifting her leg, allowing Vaggie to inspect the injuries "Charlie, what can you make of these?"

Approaching the 2 and kneeling beside them, Charlie would inspect the 3 gashes "Hmm….definitely not as bad as Alastor's…. I do however think it's best to get them disinfected…" before she'd exchange a glance with her girlfriend and the weapons dealer "But you will be alright, Carmilla"

Sighing in relief, the tall arms dealer gave a stern glance around the room "I believe it might be best to conclude this meeting, if anything of importance arises, we can reschedule"

..

..

10 minutes later and Charlie and Vaggie found themselves in Carmine's office, Clara having just offered them something to drink while Odette was in the process of disinfecting and bandaging Carmilla's leg, as the angelic arms dealer released a long, deep sigh.

"…que barabaridad….that woman…." She mumbled as she rubbed her temples in frustration "What's gotten into her lately…" just as Clara brought another glass for her mother "Thank you Mija…I could definitely use a drink after…." As she gestured to the door of her office that let to the boardroom "….whatever THAT was…"

Sighing, Charlie took a large sip from her drink before setting it down "We actually wanted to talk to you about that…..we think we might know what's causing her shift in behavior" which peeked the arms dealer's interest.

"5 years ago…" Vaggie began "After our battle with tempest….the high seraphim notified us of a ….disturbing development we were unaware of…." As Carmilla had begun to lean closer in anticipation, leaning her elbows on the armrests of her chair and slotting her fingers together.

"You see…she brought it to our attention….that Ink….isn't alone in that body….she is harboring another soul….the "original" host of that body…." these words from the former exorcist raised Carmine's brow in surprise, before the angel continued "….and I believe she is suspecting that we're catching on….and so, she's becoming more paranoid and is lashing out"

Charlie got up "We think either that she wants to keep this soul all to herself OR that she high-jacked the body and is now keeping her hostage…."

Tapping her chin in deep thought, Carmilla answered "It would explain her shift in mood….before, even tho she's always been disturbing, I always found her to be professional and consistent…..working together with her hardly ever was problematic…..but the shift…..5 years….it does line up eerily well…..mierda….what are you hiding, Ink…."

Vaggie furrowed her brow "There's another thing that doesn't sit well with me…" which caught the attention of the other 2 women in the room, who looked at her in anticipation "….i mean…isn't it weird? Ink's shift in behavior lines up almost PERFECTLY with the return of a certain R. O. A. C. H." spelling it out, as to not trigger the curse "And that one of lucifer's artifacts gets stole THE DAY that little fucker shows up at the hotel? ….i don't know…something is fishy here…."

As Charlie put 1 and 1 together, Carmilla spoke "You don't think that…"

"We finally figured out who he works for? Who owns his soul? I think we do….and it's Ink…." As Vaggie turned to her girlfriend "What was the artifact that was stolen again, Charlie?"

With a snap of her fingers, Charlie summoned her own copy of the rules of hell" I had to get my own copy, for some reason the version we have in the hazbin library has gone missing" as she flipped it open and began looking through the pages "HJere it is….it's called a "amulet of Aramng Kesh", gives the wearer complete dominion over another soul without the need for a soul contract, as long as said soul is of similar power or below OR the wearer shares a familial bond…"

"Charlie, think about it" Vaggie spoke "I think that little fucker stole it, together with the hotel's copy of the rule book"

"But what could he possibly want with those?" Charlie spoke, as Carmilla added "Or ink for that matter, I highly doubt the 2 are family, nor do I think the little ratman is powerful enough to use it on her….he is planning something behind his boss's back…."

To this, Vaggie finished "…that is IF Ink truly is the one who owns him….."

Around this time, Odette was just finishing up the bandaging of her mother's injuries.

Gently putting her foot down, the tall arms dealer tested her weight on the injured limb and breathed a sigh of relief when the pain was present but manageable, at which she slowly got up, approached Vaggie and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I…..want to thank you for your concern earlier….you didn't have to, but you did it anyway….a kind gesture like that is very appreciated" as she gave the fallen angel a warm smile.

Right as Vaggie smiled back, Charlie's phone would buzz to life. Pulling the device out of her pocket, she'd see Lute's name flash on the screen.

Picking up, she would cheerfully sing out "Hiiiii, you girls still got everything hande-"

Her face would drop when the former exorcist lieutenant cut her off "CHARLIE, YOU AND VAGGIE NEED TO COME OVER HERE, NOW! INK IS HERE AND SHE'S TEARING THE PLACE APART!" as the sound of screaming and maniacal laughter could be heard in the background, followed by what the princess could only guess was the sound of bookcases being knocked over and furniture being hurled around.

Rubbernecking towards her girlfriend, Charlie barked out "VAGGIE, WE NEED TO HEAD BACK, NOW!"

Seeing the sheer panic on her girlfriend's face, Vaggie did not waste a second as she ran toward the nearby window and popped it open, after which she unfurled her wings "We'll fly, it's faster, I'll carry you there!"

Carmine too would get up "I'm coming too, I'll catch up with you girls!"

Giving the angelic arms dealer a firm nod, Vaggie would scoop up the princess bridal style and with a strong flap of her wings, the 2 of them took off towards the hotel, after which, Carmine turned to her daughters.

"Clara, Odette, fetch me my sniper rifle! We got ourselves a fight on our hands"