Made in Hell 2 Chapter 8

“Your meetings with the priest are still going well, I suppose?” I asked my middleman as I shuffled through the papers that littered my desk.

Bennet had come to the manor today to discuss a few jobs he had coming up this week, but after my conversation with Ashe the night before, I thought it wise to double check that everything was going well with the priest. Although the incubi would be fools to come after us themselves, there was nothing stopping them from taking the easy way out and selling us off to the Church, and it did seem this priest would be the logical man to approach about it.

“They are, sir, yes.” Bennet gave a small nod of his head while he held my gaze. “Quick in and out at the last meet up, and I made sure to sweat profusely while I was there. Don’t much feel the need to sweat bullets over the job lately, now that you’ve taken over things, but… figured I should keep it up for appearances’ sake.”

“Good,” I chuckled at the middleman’s wonky sneer.

“Suppose the priest will carry on thinking nothing’s up for quite a while at this rate, but I’ll keep a sharp eye during this upcoming payment next week,” Bennet assured me.

“Excellent,” I said and pulled some pieces from the cabinet of my desk. “While you’re here, I have your hundred pieces for the week.”

“Thank you, sir,” Bennet replied with one hand on his chest and bowed a bit.

Then the middleman brought out a velvet bag that had been shoved inside his jacket pocket. The bag was just big enough to fit all the pieces inside, and it had a drawstring attached to the top. Bennet filled the bag with the hundred pieces I counted out for him, tightened it the drawstring, and then placed it back into his jacket.

A soft knock came from the door as Bennet tucked the money away,

“Come in,” I called out, and when the door swung open, two imps were standing in the entryway.

“I’m sorry for interrupting you, sir,” one imp said quietly in his squeaky voice.

“You’re not interrupting anything,” I replied. “What is it?”

“I best be off,” Bennet mumbled as he stood from his seat. “Thank you again.”

“I’ll see you next time,” I replied.

Bennet gave me a small grin and then slipped from the room and closed the door behind him. The imps then scurried across the room and both climbed onto the seat that Bennet had just vacated. The two of them sat neatly in the green velvet chair, but they were so short that I doubted Ashe would even notice them in here if she walked into the room right now.

Ashe was currently outside greeting Gyor and paying him for his service. We had struggled to sustain our energy this morning, not forgetting everything that we’d been through the night before, so the new bundle of food received a warm welcome. Ashe had promised to bring me up a plate as soon as she’d finished with Gyor, and my stomach hadn’t stopped rumbling since the second she'd mentioned it.

“We came to tell you that we’ve sensed the silver orb again, but so far, we’re still to find it,” a little imp began. “However, we have put through another order on a different set of orbs, and the buyer will be here tomorrow to collect it.”

“Perfect.” I nodded. “Have you got the order there?”

The imp handed over a rolled-up piece of paper and placed it on my desk. The paper explained everything, including the order which had been placed, and also the time and day that they’d collect it.

According to what I read, this buyer was after fifteen blue orbs, thirty green, twenty-five yellow, and twenty-five red. The blue and green orbs were to be in one crate, and the red and yellow were to be in another. It also said that they’d collect them tomorrow morning at the tenth hour, and the total for the entire amount would be five-thousand pieces. The blue and green orbs were the most expensive, because their abilities were far stronger than the others, but the buyers never argued the price point. People came all over Rengfri desired our magical orbs, so it would often be one man who would collect the payments, place the order with us, and then divide them amongst the group.

“And you have the correct amount of orbs to fill the order?” I asked after I’d rolled the paper back up again.

“Yes, sir.” An imp nodded his tiny head. “We have two imps in the shack as we speak putting them all together.”

“Fantastic,” I replied.

I still had the sack of pieces on the desk after I’d given Bennet his payment for the week, and as I saw the shining gold coins in the corner of my eye, I decided to hand out some more. The imps never asked for anything, and they always had what they needed to go about their business, but after everything that I’d seen with the shack, I thought they deserved a small treat.

“Here,” I said and brought over the sack. “Get yourselves whatever you need. Food, supplies, a few bottles of tonic.”

They may have been small, but I knew the imps enjoyed a drink as much as everyone else in Rengfri. One sip was enough to knock them practically unconscious, which meant that a full bottle was enough for them all to have a few good nights.

“Th-Thank you, sir,” one imp squeaked.

“You are too kind to us,” the other added.

Their large, dark eyes shone with gratitude, and although it was clear that they didn’t want to take the money from me, their kind smiles told me that they appreciated every coin.

“It’s the least I can do for all the work you put in.” I shrugged.

The imps received a payment for their work, but I knew that they put it toward other, more important things, which was exactly why my small offering meant so much to them. The dark elves never paid them anything, so they were far more careful with their extra money than anyone else I’d witnessed before on the surface world.

Once the imps had the extra coins packed away in a spare sack, they thanked me again and then scurried from the room. I cleared away the scattered papers, slipped my onyx blade into my belt, and then left the office and locked the door behind me.

“Aah, my love,” Ashe cooed as I walked into the kitchen. “I was just about to bring you up some food.”

Ashe had all the food from Gyor displayed on the table, and she had organized it into sections. Fruits, vegetables, meats, bread, and cheese. She hadn’t prepared any food just yet, but the knife in her hand and the plate on the side told me that she had been seconds away from doing so.

“Shall we get something later?” I suggested. “I think it’s best that we hit the marketplace before it gets too late, and we can enjoy a feast when we return.”

“I guess it’s best to get the worst out the way,” she snickered. “Especially if they’re going to be as pissed as you expect.”

“I’m also meeting Sveila at five o’clock, so it’s best that we give ourselves as much time as possible,” I added.

I had told the Red Witch to meet me at the tavern on Pixie Lane, and given the time that I’d seen on the clock in the office, I had a few hours to help clear up the marketplace, get some food, and then leave for Pixie Lane to be there on time. Sveila only had a set amount of time before she’d need to return to her hovel within the priest’s estate, so it wouldn’t have been right for me to leave her waiting.

“I wonder if she’ll have completed the mission you gave her,” Ashe muttered as she tied her black cape around her neck.

“I think she has.” I nodded. “It’s obvious that she wants to get away from her current life, and it appears we’re her only option.”

“Well, we’ll find out tonight.” She grinned.

A look of excitement painted over her face, and although we’d spent the evening fighting off a demon yesterday, the fun never stopped, and we were always looking for more adventures to go on.

Ashe and I left the manor while the sun was still high in the sky. The wavering music from the marketplace could be heard faintly in the air, but that wasn’t a sign that everything was okay. The residents always played their music and lit the magical lights in the trees no matter what was going on.

We broke free from the denser trees and arrived on one of the small lanes. Everything appeared perfectly normal at first sight, but as we turned a corner, I noticed the first difference. Ashe and I stood still for a second, but I shouldn’t have been too surprised, given what the creatures of the Grimmway were like.

The banshees had collected two of the Hellhounds’ decapitated heads and mounted them onto two separate sticks. The sticks had been pierced directly into the ground, and a third hound head was attached to the front of the banshee’s house. The heads still dripped with the last remaining blood, and the eyes that used to be bright red had turned black.

“Fucking hell,” Ashe snorted.

“Nice decorations,” I chuckled.

Before we could continue on with our journey, four banshees skipped out from the home and stood facing the decapitated heads with their backs to us. One by one, the banshees began to dance, and they held up the bottom of their flowing, black dresses, and kicked their feet in sync. Their feet crossed over each other in a skillful move, and the banshees bobbed their heads from side to side to make their long dark hair flow along with the movements.

It became slightly hypnotic, like I couldn’t look away no matter how much I wanted to. It seemed as though they were chanting to the dead hounds, but the song they sang was in another language, so I couldn’t understand a word they were saying.

We left them to their little song and dance and followed the alley through toward the marketplace, and several residents were wandering around the open space, but they acted like it was just another normal day in the Grimmway. Like the place wasn’t a bloody warzone. A stone wall had been destroyed, a pile of crates had been demolished, and blood still painted the dusty ground.

But they were items that were easily replaced.

Some parts of the marketplace weren’t as lucky.

Giant, thick claw marks had torn through the ground from the Hellhounds, the front of a house had been smashed through, and three wagons were destroyed beyond repair. Their wheels had disintegrated from the demon’s fireballs, and with the lack of support, the wagons had fallen to the ground and shattered upon impact. I couldn’t tell if someone had been using those wagons for anything, or if they were abandoned in the first place, but I made myself a promise to repay the owner if that had been the case.

“Shit, I’d forgotten about those,” Ashe laughed as she pointed toward a high tree branch.

The eight additional dresses that Ashe collected yesterday had been thrown about the marketplace and decorated the damaged area with bright touches of color. A black one hung from a tree branch, the remains of a blue one coated the dusty ground, and a gold one was trapped underneath a broken crate.

“I’m glad this green dress managed to survive the attack, but these others may not have been as lucky,” I snorted.

“It could have been in the same state if we weren’t in the bathing tub when you attacked me last night,” she said with a coy smile.

“Attacked you?” I smirked. “I remember you quite enjoy it when I attack you.”

Ashe rolled her hips as she closed the gap that separated us, and she snaked her arms around my waist and pulled me closer.

“You know…” she whispered and placed delicate kisses along my jawline. “You’re not the only one with some control around here.”

Her soft breath blew against my ear, and the subtle scent of her arousal drifted around me. I knew I’d never be able to get enough of my demon lover, no matter how many times I took her against every surface in the manor, but her statement did intrigue me.

“Ahh… so you’d like to try your hand at being the master some time?” I growled as Ashe continued laying kisses on me. “Well, then, next time you can show me exactly what you’re made of.”

“I don’t know if you can handle everything I have to offer.” Ashe brought my earlobe between her teeth and then tugged on it gently.

“We’ll see about that,” I said as my hands cupped her ass through the silk of her dress.

“If you want to help the neighbors, you should probably stop groping me in the lane,” she giggled.

“You started it.” I gave her a pointed look, and then my face broke into a smile.

Ashe stood back from me, but she kept her hands on my waist. I could have happily stayed in that position, but I knew that my lover was right. We had plenty of time to enjoy each other once everything else had been dealt with.

We reluctantly stepped away from each other and began the major clean up. I started with the broken wagons, and Ashe went for the smashed crates. I piled all the chunks of wood together and then carried them over to the ancient well where other residents seemed to be leaving debris like this. The wood was free for all to use however they wished, and the witches and banshees would most likely use some to build a fire, whereas other residents would take the larger pieces to help renovate their homes.

The buildings were harder to clear up, and it would take a few witches’ spells to help rebuild them, but I piled all the broken and fallen stones together in a pile so they were no longer cluttering the marketplace.

It wasn’t until I’d finished with the stones that I noticed the eyes on me.

At first, I thought the residents were going to stare at Ashe and I in disdain after this mess, but that was not the look I was receiving right now. The majority of the beings who passed me were smiling lightly, like they were pleased with our efforts to clear up, and perhaps even a little proud of the fight they’d witnessed.

I spoke to the owners of the buildings that were smashed in and offered them enough money to cover the damage, and that helped to clear the air. I would have been pissed if someone threw a fucking Hellhound through my house, but the owners didn’t seem too mad at me specifically. According to one of the shopkeepers, they’d witnessed a lot of crazy shit in the time that they’d lived in the Grimmway, so our battle wasn’t too shocking.

They were shocked to find we were demons, but only mentioned this was a new one for the area, and made for a decent show.

A Black Witch came over to me as I was collecting Ashe’s strewn dresses from branches and underneath a pile of rubble. Even though I’d never seen the witch’s face before that moment, I had a feeling it was the same one who had been enchanting the apples from the vegetable stall. She met my eyes briefly, but then looked down to my chest. That told me that she wasn’t completely pure of heart, but she wasn’t ridden with sin and evil either.

The Black Witch was younger than I imagined, with sky blue eyes, and her silver hair fell in tight ringlets over her shoulders. The witch wore a full black dress that had long sleeves and stopped at her ankles, and unlike the other women I had seen in Rengfri, the dress came right up to the witch’s throat, so only her face and hands were visible.

“That was the first time I’d witnessed a demon fight,” the Black Witch started. Her voice held a delicate tone, which was not something I’d expected either. “I loved it. I didn’t even know demons lived among us.”

“Ashe and I are the first demons to do so,” I explained. “We try to avoid drawing too much attention, but when incidents like this occur, it’s not as easy to hide.”

“Well, if you’re going to fight like that all the time, then I’d be happy for you to stay a while,” she chuckled.

“We won’t make it a regular occurrence,” I snickered in response.

“As long as I’m not in the firing line, then it won’t bother me.” The Black Witch shrugged. “But if you need anything at all, just let me know.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I didn’t know much about the powers that she held, but if she was anything like Sveila, then I’d do anything to have another witch on our side, particularly if she came with even darker powers.

The Black Witch stared up at me once more, gave me a parting smile, and then skipped away in the direction of the trees.

“Making friends with another witch?” Ashe asked as she sauntered over. Her arms were piled with the other dresses I was still to collect. A blue dress looked to have been shredded completely, whereas the others were still fairly intact.

“You can never have too many on your side,” I snickered. “And what happened to your dress?”

“Oh,” Ashe laughed and held up the damaged blue dress. “I had to pry it off two black fairies. Apparently, they were needing some more clothing, so they’d gone for mine instead.”

Ashe grasped the dress at the neckline and held it up to give me the chance to take in the full amount of damage. The cupped sleeves were still in one piece, but the main body of the dress had giant slashes through the middle, and some of the fabric was barely holding on by a thread. Black fairies left very little to the imagination with the clothing they wore, and it had surprised me how three strips of fabric could make up an outfit. Given the scratches through the dress, and Ashe’s brief story, I knew that the fairies had been seconds away from a brand new outfit for each of them.

“At least you still had one more dress to collect from the elf, and I’m sure she wouldn't mind mending these,” I replied.

“And you know I’ll never say no to visiting her.” Ashe smirked.

“Is that for the dresses or the elf?” I chuckled. We’d had so much fun teasing the young elf yesterday, and I knew that she had enjoyed it just as much as we did.

“The dresses,” Ashe snickered, “but she can be a fun plaything, don’t you think? So ripe and innocent, and shy. I’d love to spread her legs open for you and watch your thick cock penetrate her trembling body. She’d blush the whole time, and she’d beg for your seed to fill her fertile womb.”

“Hmmm.” I purred. “That does sound delicious, but speaking of devouring morsels, let’s get some food.”

“Oh, please, I’m fucking starving,” Ashe groaned and wrapped one arm around her stomach.

She slipped her other arm through mine and I took the dresses from her to make her movements easier for her. My stomach had started to rumble loudly, and it almost sounded like my organ was growling at me.

The orc from yesterday had his stall set up as always, and my mouth began to salivate at the sight of the six legs of meat hung on silver hooks. Their juices glistened in the sunlight, and their sweet and salty scent blew toward me in powerful, overwhelming waves.

“Two?” I asked Ashe. “Or could you manage three?”

It took my huntress approximately two seconds to make her decision.

“Three.” she confirmed. “More if he has it.”

There were more legs of meat roasting on an open flame to the side of the stall, but we had just destroyed the marketplace, and I didn’t want to steal everyone’s food at the same time.

“Six legs of meat,” I said to the orc.

The beast looked at us briefly and then proceeded to unhook the meat. As the orc prepared the food for us, I felt around in my pockets for some pieces. I had expected that the orc would probably charge us extra for the food, just to get back at us for the damage to the area, but when he orc brought our food over he shook his head at my handful of pieces.

“No,” the beast grunted.

“Excuse me?” I frowned.

“Today, free,” he replied.

“Free?” Ashe asked. “As in, free of charge?”

“Yes, free.” He pointed a clawed finger behind us. “Fight, thank you.”

I cocked an eyebrow, and the orc sent me a yellow-tooth smile as he looked me right in the eye.

“Good fight,” he grunted.

“I see,” I chuckled and pocketed my coins. “Well, thanks for this.”

The orc nodded again, and I wondered if he’d be as warm and welcoming the next time we bought from him.

Ashe and I took our favorite spot on the stone bench, and no words were shared between us as we tore into the meat. I had the first leg demolished within a matter of minutes, and every time I took a bite I could feel my energy rising, and my body began to restore itself once again. Ashe took a bit more time and effort with her food, and she didn’t throw the bone to the ground until she had picked off every scrap of meat that clung to the leg.

Once the three legs had been destroyed, I sucked my fingers free from the juices and settled back against the bench to soothe the satisfying ache that coated my gut. Ashe copied my movements and she also let out a low groan as she rubbed her stomach.

“Shit, I needed that,” I chuckled.

“I don’t think I can move,” she replied with another groan. “You might need to carry me back to the manor.”

“Anything for you, my love.” I winked.

I stretched out my muscles as we continued to lie across the solid foundation underneath us.

Creatures of all kinds wandered past us as they went about their business, and some peered over at us but then continued walking without a second look. There was a sense of ease in the air, and given how the orc had acted with us, I felt as though the majority of people were thankful for what we had done. Perhaps they were impressed by our bravery, or they were appreciative that we’d saved their home from the demon’s destruction, and had also taken it upon ourselves to clear up the mess as best we could.

Then my attention landed on two young female elves who headed straight for us. They stood close together with their arms interlocked, and they stood at the same height. One had long golden blonde hair, and the other had vibrant red hair, but it was tied up at the back of her head, so I couldn’t work out the length. Both women wore simple dresses that covered their shoulders and stopped just below the knee, but the dresses had different patterns. The blonde-haired elf wore a black dress with white stripes running vertically all over it, and the redhead’s dress was light gray with tiny white and yellow flowers at the bottom.

“Hi…” the redheaded elf mumbled beneath her breath.

“Hey,” I replied.

“We, um…” the blonde elf stuttered. “We saw what you did last night.”

“Yeah, we thought you were both soooo brave,” the redhead added.

Ashe sat up beside me and crossed one leg over the other.

“Thanks.” My demon lover smiled at the elves. “A little thing like that wasn’t going to stop us, though.”

The redhead looked in my direction and fluttered her eyelashes with a coy smile on her lips. Her bright green eyes couldn’t meet mine, but it was clear what she was going for here. It was the first time I had witnessed an elf being blatantly flirty toward us, and if defeating a demon was going to create that sort of reaction, then I couldn’t wait for the Lord Captains to send another.

The two young elves looked delicious, and I caught Ashe licking her full lips as she gazed up and down their lithe bodies. We’d just talked about claiming the pretty dressmaker as ours, but it seemed like we might have two more play things soon.

“I love what you did with your nails,” the blonde elf told Ashe.

“Oh, these?” Ashe made her silver claws spring from the tips of her fingers, and the venom began to pool at the tips. “Did you enjoy watching that miserable piece of shit writhe in pain from my treatment?”

Ashe’s words enticed a tsunami of different scents from the pretty pair of elves. The redhead began to blush even more than before, and the blonde’s timid arousal swirled around in the air.

“C-Could you do it again?” the redhead asked.

“Use my claws on someone?” Ashe clarified.

Both girls nodded their dainty heads, and the arousal increased. They must have been picturing Ashe playing around with her favorite weapons, and that image alone had been enough to turn these elves on more than anything else.

I definitely wanted both of them riding me.

“You know, these are incredibly dangerous,” Ashe purred. She snaked a line along the stone with one finger, and a trail of venom was left in its path. “The tiniest graze across your cheek would send the blistering venom seeping into your tissue. I don’t think you’d want to witness that. Plus, you’re both far too pretty to have your faces ruined in such a way.”

Both elves seemed disappointed with that answer, but their blushes increased when Ashe told them that they were pretty.

“Maybe next time, when you have to use them again, we could watch?” the blonde suggested.

“Sure,” Ashe agreed. “If I’m in the area, and you witness something horrendous taking place, just let me know, and I’ll make sure you get front row seats for the show.”

“Thank you!” the blonde sighed in a shaky voice.

“We, um…” the redhead stuttered, but this time her eyes were solely focused on my lips. “We also would like to see more of what you are capable of… sir.”

“Yes, Atticus can do amazing things with his hands, and… other parts of his body.” Ashe smirked and nestled herself closer to my side. “I’d love to see him… claim both of your sweet little bodies as his.”

“Oh!” The blonde elf cleared her throat with a quick cough, and the redhead’s eyes widened. It seemed my demon lover’s dirty comments were almost too much for their young minds to cope with on the spot, and they both turned a tomato-shade as they glanced at my feet.

“W-We saw the show at the end,” the blonde elf said as she’d recovered from her coughing. “The… the…”

“This?” I asked as I raised one hand and caused the small flames to flicker from my finger tips.

“Wow,” the redhead whispered. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“That’s because there’s never been anyone like Atticus,” Ashe purred and stroked my chest.

“Yes…” the blonde elf sighed, and she seemed to have swooned a bit, because she was bracing most of her weight on her friend’s arm now and inhaling deep ragged breaths as her eyelids half closed.

“You both are adorable.” I let a wicked grin spread across my face. “Perhaps I’ll show you more sometime. Come visit us when you are both brave enough. I’m sure you can figure out where our home is.”

The elves shared a giddy and blushy look between them before the redhead hastily answered for the both of them.

“We look forward to it,” the young elf said airily.

“W-We better be off,” the blonde elf added. “It was nice to meet you. Both of you.”

“You, too,” I murmured, and I took a second to ingrain their small waists and pert breasts in my mind.

“See you around.” Ashe winked.

The two girls skipped away giggling, and it was clear this was definitely a moment they’d never forget.

“We’ve got mortal fans,” Ashe cheered. “I think they will be wandering around outside the manor in the next few days looking to come play with us.”

“Given their reactions, it wouldn’t surprise me, either,” I chuckled.

The two of us continued to laugh for a few more minutes, but the time soon came for me to head off to Pixie Lane. I gave Ashe a long, lingering kiss as I stood from the bench, and I promised to meet her back at the manor. Ashe said that she’d be in the bathing tub waiting for my return, and with that tantalizing image in my head, I turned and headed off toward the outskirts of the Shadow Quarters.

The magical lights that hung in the trees guided me through the streets and alleyways, and the shadows from the fiery beacons were painted over the grassy hill that separated the Grimmway from the rest of the Shadow Quarters.

I ran from the grassy hill to Pixie Lane in only a matter of minutes, and I managed to get to the tavern where we’d agreed to meet just in time. The Red Witch had already arrived when I walked through the main door, and I noticed that she had picked the furthest table at the back, and she had two silver tankards in front of her.

I grinned a bit when I saw her, because it looked like Sveila had put some effort into her appearance this evening. She always looked beautiful, but this evening she had applied some makeup, her purple hair had been styled in neat curls, and her red dress looked much fancier and more expensive than the others I’d seen her wear.

I didn’t have a lot of experience with women who wore makeup, because it wasn’t a thing in the Hellscape, but I was pleasantly surprised by the added effects.

Sveila had added a black product around her amber eyes that made the color more vibrant than it already was. As well as the black product, she’d added some purple sparkly shit in the center of her eyelids, and her lips had been painted a bright red.

“Hi.” She smiled as I took my seat beside her.

“Good evening,” I replied as I let my eyes roam over her tight dress. “You look delicious.”

“Oh, uhhh… thank you.” Sveila blushed and took a sip of her drink.

“What is this?” I asked. “Your favorite, I’m guessing?”

The drink looked blue, or maybe purple, and it had glitter swirling through the liquid, almost like the purple stuff that Sveila had on her eyes.

“Um, I don’t actually know what my favorite is,” the Red Witch laughed. “The man at the bar asked what I wanted, but I’ve never been to a tavern before, so he gave me a list of drinks to choose from. I chose the first one he said and left it at that.”

“Yes,” I said. “I recall that—”

“I don’t get out much,” she curtly cut in. “Would you like a taste?”

“I want more than just a taste,” I said as I met her eyes. “But I’ll take a sip of your drink for now.”

“Ohh.” She somehow blushed a deeper shade of red and then she held her glass out to me.

I took a tentative sip of the drink and hoped it didn’t taste the same as a dragon’s breath, and then I waited for the flavors to kick in. At first, I tasted something fruity, but then it turned sour, and finally acidic at the end. The glitter inside the drink made my tongue fizz, and the sensation carried into the back of my throat, but apart from that, it didn’t taste bad.

“I think he said it was called unicorn blood, but I could be wrong,” Sveila added.

“It’s good, whatever it’s called,” I chuckled.

I wasn’t sure of the prices in this tavern, but I slid a few pieces from my pocket and pushed them across the table toward her.

“I said the drinks were on me,” I reminded her.

“Oh… right.” Sveila nodded a little nervously, but she took the pieces all the same.

The two of us were quiet for a minute as we enjoyed the drinks, but then Sveila brought up the conversation that had been on the tip of my tongue.

“I’ve managed to find out some information for you,” she whispered as her amber eyes met mine. “It’s not a lot, but it could still be of use to you.”

“Then you’ve accepted the job offer?” I asked with a grin.

“Well, as I said I don’t know if my information will be valuable to you, but--”

“It’s valuable, Sveila,” I interrupted, and the pretty witch went quiet. “I assure you I appreciate your willingness to help out here. Tell me what you’ve learned.”

Sveila paused to take another sip of her drink, and I waited while I eyed the pleasing slope between her slender neck and her collar bone.

“For starters,” the Red Witch began, “I believe it would be an enormously huge ordeal if the priest disappeared under obvious circumstances. Some nobles and higher ups are always being murdered around here, of course, but a priest of his reputation… it cannot look like a creature from this district was involved. I cannot stress that enough.”

“Don’t worry, we’re used to that sort of thing by now,” I answered with a smirk. “I’ll make sure it doesn’t link back to anyone in particular.”

“Okay, good, because those in Newhall will quickly hear about it if anything about the deal is sloppy.” Sveila raised a purple eyebrow.

“Newhall?” I frowned.

“The district of the city where the Church resides,” she replied.

“Oh, right,” I muttered.

I knew that the priest lived in Ravenshade, but I’d never found out the name of the other districts that made up the Port of Rengfri. There were still several more to discover, but unless they held anything of importance, then the other districts of Rengfri would probably remain a mystery to me.

“So, obviously, the Bishop has his men constantly checking in on all of his priests,” Sveila continued. “I’d give it a day, maximum, before they noticed that something is amiss.”

“Were you able to find out more about the priest’s influence within the Church?” I asked.

“A little,” Sveila responded. “He’s in line to become a high priest very soon, and the Church is incredibly pleased with everything that he’s done for them.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” I scoffed.

“This means he’s rather untouchable and dangerous at the moment, but the promotion will only make him harder to capture without drawing too much attention,” Sveila explained.

“Harder, but not impossible.” I smirked. “How did you find this all out anyway?”

“I just asked him,” the witch said. “It shouldn’t be a surprise to you that he loves to talk about himself. All I had to do was bring up his role and duties when I was delivering his payments, and he was happy to tell me everything about the high priest promotion, and the added security that came with the role.”

“Added security,” I chuckled. “Perhaps they should reconsider how they run things at the Church if they know their priests require such extensive protection.”

“I agree,” Sveila laughed along with me.

“So, what else did he say?” I asked. “Just stuff about his promotion?”

“Pretty much.” She shrugged. “To be honest, that was a challenge in itself.”

“How so?” I furrowed my brow as I smelled a hint of fear coming from the witch. “I thought you said he loved talking about himself.”

“Oh, he does,” Sveila confirmed. “But I got uncomfortable about the way he was looking at me while we spoke. It was very late at night, as usual, by the time I delivered his payment, and the estate was mostly dark and the servants had gone to bed… I just… I got the impression that my interest in him pleased him a bit too much, if you know what I mean. That he… wanted something else from me.”

“Sex?” I asked as calmly as possible, but anger instantly boiled in my veins as the scene of the Red Witch speaking in the dark to the priest forced itself into my mind. She wasn’t my woman yet, but I intended to make her mine.

“Something along those lines, yes.” She nodded and looked down at her drink. “It’s not the first time he’s been like that, hence the reason why I try to stay as far away from him as possible. I pay him quickly and get on my way, but I wanted to find some sort of information for you. I’m fine, really. I don’t know why I brought it up.”

Sveila’s honesty infuriated me almost as much as how nonchalantly she shrugged off the situation, and I had to take a drink just to do something with my hands. I was still in the process of learning the nuances behind my new hell power, but judging by the tingling heat in my palms, I was seconds from accidentally launching a fireball across the tavern.

It couldn’t have been an easy feat for Sveila to tiptoe around the fucking priest when she lived in the same grounds as him. I doubted there was really anything stopping him from entering the hovel where she lived and raping her if he really wanted to. I guessed he must not have laid a hand on her so far, or Sveila would have spoken a little differently about the situation, and I just hoped the priest’s connections with the Church would ensure he kept his filthy fucking hands to himself.

Still, he had full reign over that estate, and if he wanted something, then he’d probably get it without question one of these days.

I’d already wanted to get Sveila out of her situation there, but this only solidified my resolve.

“I will get you out of there as soon as possible, but I need you to stay in place for now, at least until I have a few things sorted out first,” I told the witch.

“It wouldn’t be a smart move for me to leave just yet, anyway,” she replied quietly. “You see, it’s not just me involved here.”

“What do you mean?” I queried.

Sveila hesitated for a second and looked around the tavern, probably to make sure that no one was in earshot. She hunched over slightly and then brought her face closer toward me so she could whisper without anyone else hearing.

“There’s a group I keep in line for the priest,” Sveila answered. “They’re a group of werewolves, and they hate the priest even more than we do. If I was to disappear, and they were left alone, there would be nothing stopping them from going straight for him.”

“Is that a bad thing?” I snorted.

“It is when he’d expect this to happen.” Sveila nodded. “If I was to leave, or vanish suddenly, the priest would instantly expect the danger heading his way. He’d immediately seek the guards of the Church.”

I nodded as I began to understand the larger issue here.

“The Blessed would be the ones to guard him,” I concluded.

Sveila nodded her head, and her nervousness swirled around me while I noticed her fingers shaking just at the thought.