Helluva Time! 9

Where: Stolas’s Office, Stolas’s Estate, Lust Ring, Hell

When: 231 days to next Purge

Who: Stolas

I glanced up from the papers I was working on as the door to the office opened. Ah, it was Blitzy’s Sinner. Talking to Jacques was always something of a treat, not only did he have good insights, it was refreshing to speak to someone that wouldn’t intentionally deceive.

“Good morning, Jacques. Are you here to take Octavia on another date?” I asked as I set my pen in the inkwell and pushed the paper aside.

“No. I wished to speak to you,” Jacques said, something in his tone making me blink.

“Oh? What about?”

“Two days ago on our last date, I stayed the night. Octavia got up at one point and then when she came back there was a cut on her cheek. When I inquired as to who harmed her, she refused to answer.”

My beak ached and threatened to crack from how tightly it was held. There was only one person who could hurt Via and she wouldn’t say a word about who it was. Looking Jacques in the eye, I carefully controlled my rising fury as I spoke, “Thank you for telling me Jacques. I will deal with it. Grateful as I am, I’m going to have to ask that you leave, so as to reduce the chance of alerting the foolish person that hurt Octavia.”

Jacques met my gaze, the restrained rage only barely visible within his golden eyes. For a moment I wondered if he’d refuse, but he slowly stood and gave a sharp nod. The shadows of the room stretched and elongated, sharp and thorny like shattered glass or twisted brambles, covering Jacques before fading, leaving me alone in my office once again. Taking a deep breath to compose myself, I sent a ring for one of the servants.

Hesitantly, Roq stuck his head in, and I told him, “I have a message for my wife. Tell her to come to my office. Now.”

Immediately, the head butler shut the door to do as he was bade. I’d need to remember to add a bonus to his next paycheck, especially given how Stella was likely to react. I’d give her ten minutes, if she wasn’t here by then I’d open a portal under her chair in the garden.

Reaching out with my magic, I began the process of crafting a portal, my senses telling me that Roq had just arrived and was delivering the message. There were three of Stella’s “friends” with her, and from the feeling I was getting it seemed unlikely that Stella was going to come willingly. Sure enough, Roq was soon thrown by his horns, again, and Stella remained seated.

Very well then. I finished the portal process, linking the ground under Stella’s chair with the ceiling of my office and causing her to shriek as she and her chair dropped through the portal. Her chair broke apart as it hit my office floor, and I could just hear the gasps from her friends before closing the portal.

“You fucking disgrace!” Stella shouted as she stood and brushed herself down.

“Sit down, Stella,” I ordered as I stared at her. She scoffed and turned to walk out, but, without getting up from my chair, I let my arm shift to its more demonic form and slammed my taloned hand against the door. “I said, sit. Down.”

Stella looked at me, her gaze now wary. It had been centuries since I’d even come close to utilizing my more demonic form in front of her, so now she realized just how little I was willing to put up with her usual behavior. With measured slowness, not enough I’d lose patience but not so fast she appeared meek, she approached the chairs in front of my desk and sat in one.

As she opened her beak to speak, I cut Stella off, “Don’t speak. Not yet. I have it on good word that you hurt Octavia two days ago. I believe them, as I am more than familiar with how you behave when you are deep in your cups. That will not happen again. Am I clear?”

“So now you show some fucking spine? What a joke,” Stella snapped, glaring at me.

“You misunderstand me, I was not asking. As of now, the staff are under direct orders to deny you when you demand alcohol. If I hear so much as an inkling that you have so much as ruffled a feather on our daughter, I will…”

“You’ll what, kill me? It would be a relief to not have to put up with your embarrassing behavior ever again.”

“No, no I wouldn’t kill you. That would be far too generous. Tell me Stella, how much have you been paying attention to the Pride Ring the last hundred years?”

“There was a Sinner that went on a killing spree and took out several Overlords. Otherwise, it’s Lucifer’s personal playground. That’s all there is to know about it,” she said with a scoff.

“Alastor’s massacre of the previous Overlords opened the way for several new ones beyond himself. One of them, Valentino, owns and operates a wide array of brothels, risque clubs, and other such businesses of a… sexual nature. Let me be perfectly clear Stella,” I pause as I stand from my chair, shifting fully into my demonic form for the first time in millennia to better punctuate my threat. “If you ever so much as raise a hand to hurt Octavia, I will pluck every single feather you have before giving you to Valentino with orders to BREAK you.”

I loomed over Stella, who for her part had gone wide eyed and leaned so far back her chair had toppled over backwards, leaving her scrambling on the floor. I let bits of saliva, loaded with every poison and toxin from as many forms of plant life that I knew of, drip out of my beak onto her fancy dress, the expensive fabric hissing as the droplets landed on it and dissolved it.

“Am I understood?”

“Y-y-yes, s-s-sir,” Stella stammered as I shifted back, glaring down at her.

“Good. Now go ahead and toddle back to your… friends. I’m sure you’ll have a splendid time explaining why you were summoned to my office, and do take a look at what Valentino produces, just to make sure you fully understand what’ll happen if you get it into your head to hurt Octavia to spite me,” I told her as I sat back down.

As Stella crawled to her feet before running out the door, I pulled the paperwork I’d been working on when Jacques arrived back to the center of my desk. I’d need to make some arrangements regarding this year’s Harvest Moon Festival, the usual helpers had taken some losses this last year and replacements needed to be found. The door opening after Stella had, rather predictably, slammed it shut brought my attention up to the door. Roq had made his way back here, and was standing nervously.

“Make sure the staff knows not to let Stella have any of the alcohol. Any who let her will have half their pay deducted for the week. Additionally, can you have Octavia come up here, I’d like to spend some time with her,” I told the imp.

“Yes sir,” Roq said with a bow before scampering away.

Where: Stella’s quarters, Stolas’s Estate, Lust Ring, Hell

When: 229 days to next Purge

Who: Stella

“So you want me to kill your husband? I’ll need some special equipment in order to do so, killing first generation Goetia isn’t exactly the same as butchering a pig,” the almost serpentine voice on the other side of the line said.

“You’ll have it. I want that son of a bitch dead, and if the plebeian hatechild of a hellhound and a wendigo is there at the festival, kill him too. I’ll throw in a bonus if you bring proof of emasculating it as well,” I said with a growl.

“Understood, I’ll send in a report once I’m in position. We can make arrangements for the drop off then.”

I hung up the phone, glaring at the painting of Stolas with Octavia. I’d do what I could to put Octavia back on the right path, maybe setting her up with one of Tiana’s boys, once that peasant she’d slept with was dead. But first that fucking mongrel had to die for having the hubris to lay with a Goetia.

Things were so much simpler before that fuck-up got it into his head to sleep with an imp. Sure, things had never been ideal, but they were bearable. It was understandable for a Goetic Prince to have a mistress or two on the side, she’d done the same, but it needed to be with a demon of a respectable rank, not an imp or a hellhound. Even Sinners were pushing what was acceptable.

It figures that Octavia would lay with a half-hellhound, given her father’s tastes, but once that mongrel was dead, things could go back to how they were supposed to be.