CH 30: Binding Contract

The next morning, The Radio Demon sits comfortably at his table, nuzzled in the bayou, enjoying the savory texture of the venison prepared on the plate before him. All is well in his world, until he is jolted in the middle of his breakfast by the sound of furniture flying and smashing glass. He smirks, knowing exactly what is going on next door.

In the next room, Esme begins to wreak havoc on her space. She throws every article of clothing in the air, flings wooden chairs, and more. Immediately upon waking up she could sense that something was terribly wrong. It didn't take much time throughout her regular routine for her to note the missing jewel from her finger. Never in all these decades did she let down her guard to have a possibility of losing it. More so, the damn thing never came off! So, where exactly did the pesky little thing run off to? 

Where did it go?! She shouts in her mind, frustration causing her hair to puff around her and crimson to leak from her jaws. Without her ring, without her magic, what did she have? Esme knew that her powers were now extremely weakened, and without her source, she was left vulnerable for several demons to seek out. This wasn't a game, nor was it a game, this would affect her very safety and status within the ring. 

Meanwhile, downstairs, one could imagine the shock Angel was met with when he found out who Esme had returned home with in the middle of the night. Everyone was confused as to why she had fled from the hotel in such a state to begin with. It appeared that Lucifer and Charlie were doing a surprisingly good job at keeping a secret to themselves, only speaking about her situation with Alastor amoungst themselves and Vaggie. As the spider demon is preparing his morning coffee, he conversates with Charlie about what exactly to do with the trouble upstairs. 

"I have no idea what crawled up her ass last night, but I've never seen her like that before." Angel shrugs, clicking the espresso button on the machine. The aroma of the beans quickly overtakes the area, earning a deep sigh on content from him, "I can do the best I can, but I can't promise anything to 'ya, dollface." 

"She just seemed really upset last night, like she could use a friend." The Princess adds, tasting her own mixture and deciding it needed more sweetener, "I want everything here to feel at home, and what other way to do that than to shower her with love!" 

"Hunny, you're doing your best. Maybe Esme just needs some time. She is an overlord, they aren't exactly the friendliest." 

"Oh Vaggie, everyone deserves a chance!" Charlie responds, raising her mug to her lips and taking a sip of her sugar milk. 

In the midst of all this, things are not going well upstairs. The Siren's suite was quickly becoming a warzone. If she didn't reel her emotions in soon, she would have this entire building  crumbling to the ground. In a rage of upset, Esme swings her door open, only to see Angel and Charlie on the other side. 

The noise coming from her room had traveled downstairs just as they were preparing to go up and check on her, which resulted in the two of them being a little on edge. 

"Soooo...." Angel begins to nervously speak up, "How ya doinn?" Esme grits her teeth and shoves him aside, wanting to waste no time on chit-chat.

"Where's my fucking ring?" She sneers.

"You lost your ring?" Charlie questions, seeing Esme begin to hurriedly rush down the hall, "I'm sure we could help you find it. D-Do you remember where you had it last?"

"I remember being on the couch with-" Esme's eyes light up as she sees Alastor appear in a thin cloud of smoke in the parlor, "Perfect!" she hurries towards him, "Alastor, by any chance have you seen my ring? Perhaps it slipped off when we were reading last night."

He smiles smugly, "What ring, dear?"

Esme's eyes attempt to glow, but they mostly look like a flame in a weak candle struggling to stay lit, "My ring..." She growls.

"Oh, you mean that little precious gem you wear from your counterpart?" 

"Yes, that one! Have you seen it?" 

"Nope!" 

The flippancy of his tone sends Esme's power demanding to be released from within, her fangs sharpening and her claws elongating. He notes her weakened abilities and hums in satisfaction, "My dear, if it was so important to you, why did you lose it in the first place?"

Esme hisses threateningly as she reaches up to the collar of his coat and pulls him down to her, "Don't play games with me asshole, have you seen it or not?!" Her skin goes ice cold when she makes connection with his eyes. There they were....for the first time...

Radio Dials.

"B̵̲̉̕͝e̶̺͂̀ v̶̝͕͋̂e̵̖͇̓͗r̵̥̾̐̊y̵̺̮͜͝ ċ̵͙̗ă̴͉̞ͅr̷̯͕̟̈́͝ë̸̘͉́̄f̸̨̼͇͛ủ̷̪̦̺̃l̵̲̗̘͆ w̶͉̟̍̎͝ḩ̸̔̈́a̴͛͂͋͜t̸̜̐ͅ y̷͖̱̣͠o̶̰͚̓͡ū̸̥͒̑ s̸͖̊̎̅ä̵̗͇͇́ÿ̸̩̀͝ ǹ̵̦̦̘͌ẹ̶̞̑͆x̴͍̺̝̽̑t̴͖̍,̷͖̤̈ ḍ̸̯͠ã̷̦͌͜͝ͅr̸̤̱̤̎̿ļ̶̨̐́͗i̶̝͑n̵̫͖̺̍͠g̷̟̳͑̀"

Esme eyes widen for a split second in disbelief. He's never spoken to her like that before, never looked at her like that. She narrows her eyes and pushes him away in a huff. He smirks at her and effortlessly disappears into the floor. His behavior had vexed her to great lengths, making her want to hunt him like the proper game that he was. 

"Fine, be like that." She groans. She turns her back and walks away, beginning to remove every pillow from the couches and looking underneath. Maybe he had slipped off when they were by the fire. For some reason, that was the last thing she could remember before she woke up in her bed. Perhaps, the idiotic man had carried her up to her room in the middle of the night. Her thoughts are cut short when she spots Niffty hyperactively cleaning the floor.

"Nifty!" Esme bends down, getting on her knees to her eye level, "Dearest, I have a very important job for you." She reaches for her hands, "Please, I need you to find my ring. It's small and green. Look everywhere you can, every room, every drawer."

Nifty looks excited and jumps up and down, "Ooooh, and what happens if I win?"

Esme pauses for a minute, putting a finger on her chin, "I'll bring you to the shore, let you pick out any bad boy you want~"

Nifty's eye sparkles in excitement and she rushes up the stairs in a cloud of dust. Esme coughs and waves the air in front of her, darting her eyes to the room to continue searching.

As she stands up, she feels an intense static on her neck, stronger than before. Esme gasps and grabs her throat.

"Something the matter?" Charlie asks nervously. Vaggie approaches Esme carefully, looking closely at her neck for something.

"Not at all.." Esme quickly moves back, turning away. She didn't want anyone to view her as weak, she had struggled enough during her lifetime, she didn't want to appear less than in this one. She had to keep her image up. She was The Siren after all.

"Maybe ya dropped it when you and the old man were outside yesterday." Angel says, walking over to the door.

Still having some siren abilities, Esme senses danger and hear the sound of channels flipping in the distance. "No..." She mumbles, pushing past Charlie and Vaggie, "Don't open that d-"

Before she has a chance to object, Angel swings the door open, widening his eyes to see Vox on the other side. "Hello Angel, how are you today?" He smiles.

"What are you doin' here?" Angel mutters in an uneasy tone of voice.

Vaggie stands infront of Charlie in a protective manner, and Husk slowly puts down his clean glasses at the bar. The group stares at the door, in disbelief of their new visitor. The tension within the room was so tense that Nifty could easily cut through it with a knife.

"Esme and I have some business to take care of, don't we doll?" Vox smirks, narrowing his eyes and glaring in her direction.

Esme can feel electricity building in her throat as she struggles to form words. She nods slowly and walks to the door.

"Es, don't go..." Angel begs, holding tight on her wrist. Husk pulls him back, "Get off of me!" He shouts.

"My Angel..." She whispers, but a slight staticky undertone to her voice, "I'll be fine, don't worry." She smiles, trying her best to put a brave front for him. After all, she would be fine. She would hold her own for as long as she could. She was never one to let a man see her crack, to witness her feeling so pathetic. 

The two walk out the door and it slams shut. The other's attempt to open it, but they struggle. It was as if the entire railing of the door had been permanently sealed, forbidding any of them to get in the way of this conversation. 

Once outside, Esme smiles at Vox proudly, still keeping up her usual demeanor. Not a single sound leaves her throat, instead she presents herself to him like a servant happily waiting for an order. 

"What's the matter, don't have any words?" He taunts, "You're coming back to the tower now, your little game is over." He pulls her by the wrist, and Esme pulls it back.

"I get to stay with Angel, that was our deal." She groans, forcing her voice past the electric current in her throat. "I watch Alastor for you, that was it. I have done everything you have asked from me, you have no right to change the game now."

Vox laughs in annoyance at her declaration. Yes, the deal. Did she really think that she was appeasing him by her behavior? Was she that stupid to think there wasn't a chance she was being watched? With one solid yank, he forces her in front of him, "Alastor..." He begins, connecting his eyes with hers soon flooding her mind with tortuous voices, "Did you really uphold your end of your contract, or were you too distracted by your...feelings?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about..." Esme growls, holding her head trying to ignore the screams she hears from within. This was absurd, she had done everything that was required of her! What more did he want? 

"Did you think I wanted you to watch him by spreading your legs for him?" 

"I did no such thing!" 

Without another warning, his screen changes to reflect the recording of her and Alastor down by the docks. Esme's heartrate increases as her throat tenses at the sight. How long were they watching her? That wasn't specified.  The Television's behavior makes more sense now. This was jealousy, this was envy burning with a threatening rage. 

But she still wouldn't submit to him. 

"I've told you several times not to let your emotions blind you..." She struggles, "Now, you're putting on this performance and looking like a damn fool."

"You know, you've been trapped in that place for an awful long time, so allow me to remind you of the terms of your agreement..."

A bright blue chain appears around her neck, sending a painful current of electricity through her body, yanking her to him.

"Fuck!" She screams, falling into a kneeling position on the ground, her hair falling forward in front of her face. He reaches down and picks up her jaw, clawing at her skin. There was no more fondness between the two of them. Whatever feelings, whatever trust was within their dynamic before was shattered. Esme can feel his claws sinking into her chin, the burn intensifying as her blood made contact with the open air.

"Honestly, did you not read through your contract?" He conjures her contract, signed with her name in green script with a little heart at the end of her 'e'. "You are company property. Voxtek's newest addition. You're mine now, and I don't like you going behind my back like some sneaky whore."

"I don't belong to anyone..." Esme groans, narrowing her eyes at him - holding back her own tears. 

"Ah, but you do, being blinded by your affection for Val's little toy. Being so stupid as to trade your soul for his..." 

Meanwhile, from the window, the group pounds on the glass in terror. Angel's eyes water and his hand goes over his mouth, "No..." He whispers. She sold her soul...for me?  His eyes burn with a purple hue and he slams on the glass, "Let her go!" 

He pulls her up by her neck and drags her closer to his screen. Esme grits her teeth and begins to kick her legs wildly to free herself from his grasp.

"You belong to me." He snarls. "Did you really think I would leave you here to live out your little fantasy, using me to get what you really want? I don't care about our history..." His claws trace her face, cutting into the side of her cheek. "You're a succubus, a temptress..." His mouth leaks with blood as he burns his eyes into hers. "You vicious little bitch."

Esme's body shakes with the power surging through her. She can feel every single one of her nerves on fire but she suppresses the pain. Her eyes widen at his words, before dropping to a half-lidded gaze, smirking at him, and parting her lips. "If only you didn't like it so fucking much~" She whispers in a soft sultry voice, snapping the air with her fangs.

Vox's screen begins to glitch out as he sends a sharp shock through her body, this time earning a pained scream.

The doors fly open to the hotel and a venomous shout can be heard from it's doors.

"𝕿𝖍𝖆𝖙'𝖘 𝖊𝖓𝖔𝖚𝖌𝖍!"

~ Author's Note ~

Who do we think it is? 🤔

🖤Words: 2316🖤

~ Artemis 💗🦌