CH 31: A Twist

Esme hits the ground with a thud, grunting harshly. She picks her head up to see Lucifer standing at the entrance of the hotel, an expression of rage presented across his face. Unbeknownst to her, he had stayed at the hotel overnight to talk with his daughter about the series of events the night before. The two were discussing the possibilities of this plan having any chance of materializing into the results she wanted. Now, seeing such a clear display of disrespect on his daughter's doorstep, the short king was not pleased to say the least. 

Angel pushes past everyone and rushes to her, seeing her lying on the ground. His heart shattered at the sight, knowing that he was partially responsible for her suffering. His hand reaches for hers, but before he makes contact, a force pulls him back. 

"You're going to get yourself killed!" Husk shouts at him.

Angel looks back with frustration, but pulls away from him with tears in his eyes. "Let her go, she didn't do anything!" 

Those words seem to not land well with the television demon, as his screen glitches at the plea, "Oh, but that's exactly my point." Vox sneers, "She gave her soul for you, deal with it." He reaches down and picks up Esme by the hair, "Her blood is on you hands."

There were only two people who were oblivious to this whole ordeal, her beloved and the little housekeeper who was busy piddling around the hotel. Focused on her mission, Niffty scampered through the Radio Tower, looking for the small ring Esme had requested. She was determined to win this game, no matter what it took. Imagine all the bad boys The Siren could prepare for her - she bet they'd taste delicious! 

She went through all of the drawers in the desk, mostly filled with papers and useless information. Nothing she found was her target. Nevertheless, she persisted and tuned out the distant yelling with her own mindless humming. There's a whooshing sound behind her and a staticky voice speaks, "Nifty, my dear, what are you doing?"

Nifty jumps on his office chair and onto the desk, looking up at him, "Esme said she lost her ring, I'm helping her find it!"

He smirks in annoyance, shaking his head from side to side, "I assure you, you won't find it he-" He does a double take when his eye catches a blue light from outside, approaching the window and leaning down. What on earth was going on down there? Such a rachet was becoming quite impossible to ignore. 

To his surprise, he sees Esme being held up by a blue chain around her neck, kicking wildly under Vox's grasp. That egotistical, misogynistic bastard had no right to be trespassing on his territory. Seeing the sight before him, he could now understand why his wife had come to the hotel in the first place. She had flew under the radar, slipped right under his nose. The anger towards himself built within him, the frustration bubbling from making such a illogical error. 

Was he a simpleton? That son of a bitch had become so intertwined with his wife over the last decades within their business that he should have suspected his involvement. He becomes encompassed by static, his eyes shifting to radio dials, and his antlers tapping against the windows. His claws scratch against the glass and mumbles to himself,

Ṡ̷̜͚͗̾͋̕̚͡h̸̨̭̹̥̭̖͖̦̎̈́̔̒́́̿̆̀̄̿̀ȩ̷̢̢̤̝͍͎͚̮͕̝̒ s̷̨̛̟̭̱̜̭̬̞͖̽̆̑̀̄o̷̧̨̧͖̫̟̟͈̤͑͐̂̊͋̔̇̕͡͡͠l̶̡̛͓̯̙̰̦͕̼̂̇̄̄̀̊̋͛̋͗͝d̴̟̱̳̮͉̬͈̬̉ h̶̝͓͎̮͒̊̾͆e̴͉̝̭͚̓͒̂͂̚ŗ̷̡̖̖̤̦͖͖̦̑̀̈́͋̾͘͟͟͠ s̵̫̊̒̃͆o̸̡̖̠̩̟͈̻͎͐̄̋͌̽ȗ̷̧̢͈͎̜̗̮̯͙̀̆̃̉̿͗͠͝ĺ̶̡̨͎̩̒̚ t̵̡͍̘̺́̔̈́͋͋̾̋̐̕o̶̭̜͕̖͋͋̍͗̕͝ t̴̢̛͓̪̣͍̻̫̼͈̘̩̻̅̐͂̑̎̇̅͊͋͊h̸̺͊͟͝â̶̖̩̓̋̽́̒̕͝͝ţ̷͕͋͒̏̌̈́̏͘ ç̷͙͓̘͚͓͙̟̮̩̿͒̈́͆́̈́̍̄̕͜͝ŗ̶̦̺̰̖͍̥̰̹̯̏́̋̅͆̆̒͘ͅé̴̼̪̮͐̈̉̈a̴͖̬̬̺̯̲̪̲̠̟̤̪̿́̇̑͂̈́͑̉t̵̻͍͖͎͇̭͔̀̆͊u̶̧̨̦̜̞̪̘̦̜̽̚͟r̶̨̺̲͇̥͔̮͍̻̃͠e̸̡̡̜̰͗̇̇̌͐̓͊̈̈́͟͡?̴͙̖͍̠̊̿̓́̒̂̽̽!̶̪͊̉́

Why would she possibly do that? Could she be that stupid? This whole time, this whole fucking time, that's what I was feeling around her? She's still that naive girl begging to be saved, isn't she? Disappointing...

Before he has a time to interject on the situation, there's a bright light that shines from the entrance of the building.

"𝕿𝖍𝖆𝖙'𝖘 𝖊𝖓𝖔𝖚𝖌𝖍!"

Was this pest to be her knight in shining armor for the second time in a row within 24 hours? Not if he had anything to do with it. He would have shards of glass scattered about the hill of the building as he wiped the floor with that dullard, relishing in every second of it. Without wasting another moment, he grabs Nifty and sinks into his shadow, reappearing behind the group in the entrance of the building.

"You dare come to my daughters home and do this?" Lucifer growls, taking a step forward.

"I came for what belongs to me." Vox smirks, pushing Esme to the ground and pulling her chain back. She yelps in pain, causing the group to tense up at her sound. "Your power doesn't stand against her contract."

Lucifer smirks, tilting his head, "Does it? That's funny, because I'm the literal devil."

Time was rapidly being wasted, and suddenly Alastor can't contain his rage anymore, taking a step forward and nudging Lucifer out of the way, "Well, old sport, you're really pushing my patience here..." He growls, never budging his eyes from his screen. He didn't need this pitiful man to save his wife, he could do it all on his own.

"Ha, I knew this would get you." Vox crouches down to Esme, running his hand across her face, "What's the matter, you old prick, can't bother to look her in the eyes?" He pushes her to the ground and she grunts, bracing herself up with her hands, "Look at her, go on!"

Alastor's grip on his cane tightens. He shouldn't show any form of weakness, but seeing the woman who bore his daughter to him on the ground being disgraced was beginning to wear him down. If she hadn't been so foolish, this whole thing could have been avoided. It seemed like with her, there was always some sort of chaos unfolding that he had to witness. 

Vox smirks, "What's the matter Esme, no special magic to protect you now?"

Tears threaten to escape her eyes at his taunts, "Stop it." Her voice comes out in a mumble that is desperately trying to hold her composure in this most vulnerable moment. This was entirely her fault. She should have been smarter, should have put herself first, should have never considered trusting a demonic overlord. She should know better than anyone to never hold stock into people. They will always let you down, no matter how much you value them. 

"Your own husband isn't coming for you, is he?" Vox whispers in her ear.

"Stop it!" She shouts, gasping and clawing at the chain around her neck. The protective layer she had built around herself was beginning to crack and collapse, leaving her bare for all to see. She couldn't stand to see their faces of pity, having their eyes on her in judgment. Tears freely stride down her cheeks, the feeling of her throat closing overtaking her.  

Alastor begins to grow in size, towering over the group. He doesn't say a word, he doesn't have to, he's just as intimidating.

What was he waiting for? Was he waiting for an invitation? For the life of all that is holy, the knight in shining white armor couldn't imagine what held the Radio Demon back from demanding respect of his wife. It was obvious, once again, that image and ego were going to always come first to that demon. Lucifer rolls his eyes, his patience running thin, "Alright, that's enough." He taps his cane on the ground, sending a beam of golden light across the floor and shooting up to Esme, snapping her chain.

Before she can steady herself, Esme disappears in a cloud of black smoke almost immediately. When she opens her eyes, she finds herself in a dimly light room overlooking the entire pride ring. There was a low hum of jazz music to welcome her into the space. As she adjusted to the space, it became obvious for her that she was sent up to Alastor's Radio Tower. Upon realizing what had just happened, she reaches for her neck and tears begin to leak from her eyes. Her body trembles as she looks down from the windows, seeing nothing but flashes of golden light, black tentacles, green magic, and blue strikes. She backs away from the window, crying softly. 

There's a bright golden light that shoots up and shines in her eyes, causing her to stumble back. When she looks back down, Vox has disappeared. There was nothing more left of his presence than scattered wires and remanence of aqua blue blood. 

He had been her person for so many years, how could he handle her in such a way? Did their friendship mean nothing to h-

The door flings open with a loud thud. "Have you lost your mind?" Alastor taunts, stepping forward, grabbing her wrist, and pulling her forward. The man's hold was intense, showing no remorse or gentleness in it's touch. He takes her left hand and presents her ring, the gem reflecting the lights back to her eyes. "On the ground outside the entire time, you should be more careful." She exhales as he slips it back on her finger, her eyes glowing instantly. 

"W-What happened?" She whimpers, "Everything ha-happened so fas-"

"That angel got you out." He says, nudging her to the door, "I bet you'll be overjoyed." He groans, not wanting her in his sight longer than he had to be. She turns to him and stares with confusion as she watches him slowly remove himself from her.

Why he is behaving like this? What did i do to him to make him so mad? I just saw him down there, this is a new side to him....

Esme walks back down the hallway to be greeted by Lucifer. He walks over to her with a confident stride, though his eyes reflect sincerity and tenderness. A gloved hand approaches her neck, and his fingertips graze her skin softly, "Are you hurt?" 

"A little, I guess..." She whispers in embarrassment, "Did you really get me out of all that?" 

"Angelic power is no match compared to a mortal soul." 

"But, why?" 

"Why don't we have a little chat?" He pulls her into Charlie's room, closing the door. With a turn of his body, Lucifer sighs and rests his back against the frame. He takes in a long inhale before animatedly wiping his forehead. A few moments pass as he laughs along to the chaos. When he's settled, he speaks, "Esme, is it true you traded your soul for your friend?" 

"I've known him since he was a baby..." Considering all that had transpired, her voice conveyed reverence within the tone, "He's like my own, why wouldn't I?" 

He smiles at her, "I need your help." 

"My help?" 

"I don't trust yo-" He cuts himself off and clears his throat, "Alastor, I don't trust him. I don't trust his intensions with my daughter, as a parent I'm sure you can understand." 

She simply nods. 

"You would protect the ones you love with your life. You're loyal, intense, and compassionate. You're like a mother to some of them.." He pauses, "I need you to watch my daughter, make sure that demon never tricks her into something she shouldn't. Keep an eye on him." 

"This was my original deal..." 

"Yes, but without the chains and torture." He smiles with a prideful gleam, "I like you, there's something about you that I can trust. Can I?" 

She nods once more and he holds out his hand, "No deal, just your word." Esme smiles sweetly at him and shakes his hand, but soon pulls him in an embrace, 

"Thank you..." She whispers. 

I truly hope you find whatever it is you're looking for.  The words echo in his mind to himself as a saddened smile comes across his face. 

The two leave the room and walk downstairs to the lobby, as Lucifer prepares to officially leave the hotel. Charlie walks over to them, "Thank you, Dad." She smiles. 

"Of course, sweetie." He turns to her, "By the way, I was able to schedule your meeting with the court in two days." 

"Seriously?!" She jumps up and down, pulling him into a hug. Esme smiles and steps away to give them privacy. 

Lucifer laughs as she pulls away, pinching her cheek. He pauses and looks back to where Esme is standing, talking to Angel, "Charlie..." 

"Yes, Dad?" 

"Bring that one with you, I have a feeling the court will want to see her..." 

🖤Words: 2062🖤

~ Artemis🦌💗