Made in Hell Chapter 12

The morning after our fight with the Blessed had started in a regular fashion. We had bathed, bought and enjoyed some more food from a stall, and Ashe had officially stated that the bread was her favorite part. We’d also returned to my troll stash early on, and we snuck back along the alleyways with a whole chest of pieces. Now, we had a small portion of our riches sitting near the bed of the half-elf’s flat, and there was a sense of freedom in our temporary establishment.

This area of the town was much quieter than the other parts of the Shadow Quarters, but that could have been circumstantial. We noticed already that the streets were mostly deserted, what with the banquet for the Church being held this evening, and after speaking with the half-elf when he brought us firewood and bathing water, I understood the situation a little more clearly.

The banquet was a grand affair the Church held every year, and nearly every one of the Holy King’s followers were invited to attend.

Almost.

From what I gathered, it was really the richest and most prominent followers who actually attended, and because Port of Rengfri had a sizable church dwelling and a large harbor inlet, hundreds of nobles traveled here to join in on the celebration.

This was partially why the raids increased in the Shadow Quarters. The higher ups wanted to put on a show and prove the Church was indeed handling the situation of the undesirables in this kingdom.

All of this was good to know, but I had my own dealings to attend to while the rich mortals gallivanted off for the evening.

I had a band of the Blessed to murder.

I wasn’t sure if the angels would have caught wind of the fight that took place the night before, but I didn’t want to take any chances. The more time that passed, the more likely it would be that the Blessed would reveal our specific powers to their superior. They may be more likely to bring up the situation to other local bands of the Blessed, but either way, our position in Rengfri would go from bad to worse if I didn’t handle this quickly and carefully.

We were trying to get set up in the Grimmway, and I’d liked what I saw of the eccentric village so far. It was as close to comfortable as I’d discovered on the surface world yet, and if the four Blessed who fled last night knew we prowled around there, our best option would suddenly be off the table.

So, it was our turn to hunt the four holy hunters down.

As we prepared to leave the flat for the day, I noticed Ashe had slipped her onyx blade underneath the belt that was tied around her waist. She’d also covered her knuckles with the brass weapon that the kobold had given us, and I tucked my flail underneath my jacket so I wouldn’t be caught off guard again like last night.

My pockets were full of fresh pieces when we left the flat and locked the door behind us, and then we headed down the side street the half-elf lived on and came out at the corner of the marketplace.

Ashe and I hid in the shadows as we got an understanding of who, or what, was out there today, and when we were sure the coast was clear, we slipped out from the street and casually strolled down the side of the square marketplace. Our mission was to find out more about the Blessed as quickly as possible, and I needed to make sure we picked the right person who could give us that intel.

There was only one being who I thought I could trust to give us information like that, and it wasn’t exactly the sort of being I ever imagined myself seeking out so regularly.

Sparkles the tinsel fairy was probably our girl for this mission.

The problem was, I had no concrete way of finding her unless she happened to appear like last time.

“I can’t believe we’re already looking for Sparkles again,” Ashe sighed and shook her head. “I’m not ready for those giggles.”

“She’s not so bad,” I chuckled. “And if finding her means we get to murder those Blessed assholes…”

“Shall we ask someone if they know where she could be found?” my demon lover asked, and she seemed to have suddenly perked up.

“Yeah, let’s do that,” I agreed. “I guess keep a lookout for someone who looks like they may know a pyro-fairy.”

We stayed in the general area since this was where we’d found Sparkles before, and we watched every creature that sauntered past us. Some orcs snarled as they caught our eyes and kept walking, and we didn’t bother to ask them. I’d learned years ago that orcs never helped anyone but orcs unless it was for a large sum.

The majority of creatures in this area had taken refuge inside their homes due to the banquet, so this made our job a bit harder, but we kept looking around for nearly an hour while I asked a few passing beings here and there if they knew any tinsel fairies named Sparkles.

Most of them rolled their eyes at the question like they weren’t too fond of the girl, but a few shrugged and recommended I just keep my eyes open for one of her fairy friends.

“What is that song you are humming?” Ashe asked me suddenly.

“Hmmm?”

“You are humming a song. I like the sound of it.” She smiled slightly as she kept her eyes on the crowd.

“I don’t remember,” I said. “Sometimes songs come to my head. It was from my mortal life… I think.”

“Were there words?” She asked.

“I… I remember some here or there. I think this one goes ‘In the name of love…’ or something similar.”

“Oh? That is an interesting lyric. Did you start remembering that recently?” Her smile grew wider.

“Perhaps,” I chuckled. “But let’s focus on our task.”

“There.” Ashe nudged me and pointed to a woman who was across the marketplace and headed this way. She was relatively young, and her hair was long and as pale-white as her skin. The dress she wore was the same color as it brushed off the ground as she walked, and her long cloak was a hazy gray color that matched her oddly light irises. Her pearly nails helped me to identify her as a White Witch, and while I only knew as much as Ashe had told me about this breed, she seemed confident the witch could help us.

“White Witches are always watching,” Ashe whispered as she steered me closer to the end of the alley we were in.

“That’s fucking creepy,” I muttered.

“Not in that way,” she snickered. “They just… can’t help it. Their powers make their minds a little disconnected, and they tend to sit around watching everything go by.”

“Kind of like the older White Witch we saw sitting by the well?” I asked.

“Exactly.” Ashe nodded. “Go ask this one.”

I let a few half-orcs pass before I approached the end of the alley we were in, and I studied the approaching White Witch while her wide pale eyes seemed to rove over everything without really registering it. She looked like she was half-focused on her surroundings, and I cleared my throat when the White Witch drifted toward a nearby stall.

“Hello,” I whispered.

The witch had clearly been in a world of her own, and she didn’t seem to have noticed us in the shadows until I had spoken. Then she startled, and her pale eyes widened like I’d interrupted something incredibly important. When I gestured for her to come a bit closer, though, she did, and she managed to hold my gaze for a few seconds at a time.

“What?” she spat in a breathy voice.

“We’re looking for a fairy called Sparkles,” I explained. “She’s a tinsel fairy. Do you know who she is, and where we might find her?”

It looked as though the spacey witch was about to drift back toward the avenue, but then a look of very brief concentration crossed her face as she thought over my question. For about five seconds, she appeared fully awake and present, and I was surprised when she ended up being incredibly useful.

“I’ve seen the fairy you’re looking for,” the White Witch whispered her response. “The tinsel fairies are hard to find, but they flit in and out all over these trees. Sparkles isn’t usually out this time of day. She’s always getting drunk in the tavern up the street.”

“Which tav--” I tried, but the White Witch already seemed to have checked out of the conversation.

She drifted off into the avenue before I could even thank her for her help, and I shook my head as I watched the pale woman wander nowhere in particular.

“You’re telling me those are dangerous witches?” I muttered to Ashe.

“You know as well as I do it’s the ones you don’t expect who are sometimes the most lethal,” the demon woman pointed out.

“True,” I agreed. “Come on, let's find the taverns on this road. I remember passing a few over the last couple of days, there should only be three in this area.”

The mental map of Rengfri I’d been slowly building up came to good use, and I did manage to find two of the taverns right where I thought they’d be. Neither of them had a pair of white wings in them, but as we neared the third, I already heard a symphony of mischievous giggles inside. I couldn’t tell who was in there exactly, but it sounded promising.

I opened the tavern door for Ashe and allowed her to walk in first before I followed closely behind. The tavern was dark with very little light seeping through the small, round windows, and a layer of multi-colored smoke permanently hung in the air from the pipes everyone appeared to be smoking. The majority of tables and chairs were already taken, and I realized many of the inhabitants of the Shadow Quarters were actually holeing up in establishments like this rather than in their homes right now.

I spotted some half-elves, orcs, dark elves, and even some black fairies who occupied the tables, and I studied the dark elves first, but the few in the establishment wore tattered vests and crumpled top hats that made me doubt they worked for our target syndicate. The orcs I saw snorted with every word they spoke, and the black fairies were constantly seen tracing their hands over the bodies of whoever sat beside them.

Then I spotted a table deeper into the dim tavern with a cluster of delicate white wings around it.

Sparkles was among the wings, and she appeared to be in a joyous conversation with the other tinsel fairies at the table, but her eyes caught onto me almost immediately. Her smile lit up the second she locked eyes with me, and she held up one finger as a way of saying she’d be with us shortly.

“There’s that smile…” Ashe half-groaned.

“Get us a table,” I murmured into her silver-blue hair, and I left a light bite on her earlobe.

Ashe softened up at once and headed into the maze of tables, and I went up to the bar and ordered some drinks so we could blend in as much as possible while we waited for some private time with Sparkles. We hadn’t drawn too many eyes when we first entered, but there were enough side glances coming my way that I figured it’d be even more peculiar if we sat down without any drinks in hand. Plus, the smells wafting from the drinks in here had more than piqued my interest.

“What are you after?” a half-orc behind the bar sneered.

“Two of those,” I said as I pointed to the first drink I saw near me.

I didn’t know the names, or what was in the drinks themselves, but the half-orc didn’t seem to find my order odd. He nodded his large head, proceeded to make the drinks I asked for, and then slid two metal tankards toward me. The tankards were fogged in the smoke that lifted from the liquid inside, and I grinned as I looked down into the curious brew.

“Two dragon’s breaths,” the half-orc snarled. “Four pieces.”

I slapped the coins down onto the bar, took the drinks in each hand, and walked away. I found Ashe lounging as naturally as ever in a corner near a round window, and she had an amused smirk on her lips while she watched a half-goblin hit on a black fairy. Then she arched an eyebrow as I joined her, and she peered at the drinks with a dubious expression.

“What poison is this?” the demon chuckled, and she held the tankard gingerly, almost like she thought the entire thing was going to explode.

“It’s called a dragon’s breath.” I shrugged and grinned. “It might taste like shit, but I’m willing to bet this could be fun.”

“Have they run out of boiled eel blood today?” she asked in a playful tone.

“Unfortunately, it appears as if they have,” I replied with the same comical tone.

I was rather partial to a boiled eel blood down in the Hellscape, especially when it was served hot and straight from the source. The eels down there were immortal and about as large as this entire tavern was long, so they could regenerate enough blood to supply the masses of demons nonstop. The beverage had a spicy tang to it that seemed to satisfy no matter what void we came from, and I decided it might be the only thing I’d miss about the Hellscape.

I couldn’t imagine a tavern on the surface world would serve that sort of thing, but I was willing to experiment and find a new drink of choice up here.

I took the first sip, and I was instantly attacked by the bitterness on my tongue. Once the bitterness had subsided, I was met with a fruity taste that fizzed in my mouth and eventually eased into a flaming heat. The entire thing made my eyes squint closed, but from the surprised look on Ashe’s face, it seemed as though she liked it.

“I didn’t think I’d enjoy something that smokes at the top,” she giggled. “This is good, I could have ten more.”

I chuckled as the fiend proceeded to guzzle down the drink, and she barely stopped to take a breath in between each gulp. Her pink eyes were wide and elated when she finished, so I slid her a few more pieces so she could get herself another round.

I became more used to the brew the more I drank of it, and while it was difficult to stomach at first, once I got past the bitter smoke on the top, the rest of it was alright. It didn’t affect my mind nearly so much as it seemed to inhibit the half-elves at the next table, and Ashe threw back four tankards without even a hint of flushed cheeks.

While we drank, I kept my eyes scanning the dim tavern, and most of the beings seemed to have stopped glancing our way at all. I noticed a few black fairies would occasionally eye me up and down before they’d return their attention to whoever they were seated with, and Ashe snickered when she caught on to this as well.

It wasn’t until Ashe finished her fifth dragon’s breath that Sparkles finally stood from her table, fluttered over to us, and let out a light giggle as she touched down on the window ledge.

“Hi, Atticus,” she cooed, and her voice was light and airy now that she had a few drinks in her.

“Hey, Sparkles,” I replied with a nod of my head.

“And hello again,” Sparkles giggled at Ashe.

“Hello,” the beautiful fiend said as she gave a slight nod.

“Do you think you could help us with something, Sparkles?” I asked the tipsy tinsel fairy.

“Ohhh, it depends what you need help with,” Sparkles sighed happily.

“Well, we need to know about the Blessed,” I replied.

“Why do you need to know about them?” Sparkles squeaked and wrinkled her nose in disgust. “They’re real pieces of shit.”

“I agree,” I chuckled. “But we’re hoping to locate a few of them in particular, and I’m wondering where their headquarters would be in a city this large. It would save me a lot of time tracking them down.”

Sparkles thought for a moment, and she kept her bleary eyes roving over the tavern occupants before she let out a high-pitched hiccup.

“Yes, I can’t be of any help,” she said finally, and Ashe sighed. “My expertise is really centralized on the Shadow Quarters.”

“So… you don’t have any guesses of a general direction?” I queried.

“If it’s outside of the Shadow Quarters, then no,” Sparkles replied. “And the Blessed are certainly outside of the Shadow Quarters. However, I know someone who can probably help you.”

“Who?” Ashe sighed impatiently.

“Black fairies, of course,” the tinsel fairy giggled. “They know allll about what goes on outside the Shadow Quarters. They make it their business to know.”

I cast my eyes across the room and found the same group of black fairies I’d noticed watching me earlier. One of them looked pleased to see me glancing their way, and she sent me a coy smile.

“You sure this isn’t going to cause trouble for me, Sparkles?” I checked.

“Only the fun kind of trouble,” the tinsel fairy giggled.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Ashe growled, and her demon voice rippled in her throat.

Sparkles’ smile dropped as her already huge eyes got bigger, and she seemed to realize how much more serious Ashe took this situation than her.

“Heyyyy, Flaky,” Sparkles finally squeaked. “I know you’re kind of touchy about your master, but you should trust me more than this. I’m so excited to have demons in the Shadow Quarters! I wouldn’t try to get you all in bad trouble. Just good trouble. Like… sexy black fairies who are closer to demon-sized… or shitty elves who might be really fun to murder. That kind of trouble. You know, the fun kind.”

I smirked as the tinsel fairy offered Ashe a drunken wink, and I could tell my demon lover was trying not to grin.

“Fine,” Ashe murmured in a less demonic tone. “But I’ve got my eye on you, fairy.”

“Such pretty eyes, too,” Sparkles sighed. “But go on and ask the black fairies! They all live together under the same Madame’s protection, so it doesn’t much matter which one you pick. As long as you’re good to the black fairies, they’ll be good to you.”

“Understood,” I muttered as I glanced back toward the coy-looking black fairy across the room.

I already knew her kind would do pretty much anything for some attention, so all it took was for me to gesture her over with my hand, and the black fairy jumped up from her seat.

She had on scraps of red leather that left very little of her creamy figure to the imagination, and her midnight-black hair was tied up on top of her head in an elaborate design. Her large wings were pitch-black and gauzy with fraying ends, and she was only a few inches shorter than Ashe, but her gray eyes were still too big for her pixie-like face.

“Well, have fun!” Sparkles said with a peppy hop from her window ledge.

“Yeah, you, too,” I said, and as soon as the tinsel fairy fluttered back toward her friends, the black fairy slid into the one open seat beside me.

Then she angled her body so close to me that she was almost tumbling into my lap, and I caught Ashe’s instant amusement out of the corner of my eye. I was about to clarify to the fairy that I wasn’t seeking any kind of private attention from her, but my demon lover cleared her smoky throat before I could speak.

“You have not earned the right to sit upon my master’s lap.”

“Oh! Sorry!” The black fairy shifted back into her seat.

“Better.” The Infernal Huntress nodded in approval.

“How can I earn the right to sit on his lap?” the black fairy asked Ashe, and her voice was soft and seductive.

“We’re told you might be able to give us some information,” Ashe explained. “About the whereabouts of the Blessed in Rengfri.”

“The Blessed?” She arched a black eyebrow. “Have you got some trouble with them?”

“Maybe.” I shrugged. “Can you help us out?”

The fairy looked between Ashe and I, and then a subtle but wicked smirk crossed over her deep red lips.

“My Madame could,” she replied. “But it’ll cost you to go see her.”

“How much?” I asked.

“It depends on how you intend to pay me,” the fairy purred. “You can meet the price in pieces, or… other ways.”

Her thin finger began to draw a spiral onto my arm to help emphasize her other form of payment.

“You could not handle his cock.” Ashe let out a low growl in warning.

“Ohh, I think I could… and I think you’d love to watch me handle it.” The fairy offered my demon lover another coy smile.

“Maybe I would.” Ashe grinned manically.

“I’ll give you ten pieces,” I said. “We don’t have time for other activities.”

“Make it twenty, and you’ve got yourself a deal,” she replied.

“I’ll give you fifteen if you take me to see this Madame right now,” I countered.

“I can do that,” the black fairy agreed.

I dug in my pocket and slid the coins onto the table, and the black fairy counted out each one and then slipped them into a small velvet bag that she had hung around her wrist.

“Thank you,” she murmured in her same sultry tone. “Now, follow me.”

Ashe and I stood from the table and followed the fairy out of the tavern and into a dark alley. For a moment, I wasn’t sure if she was leading us into a trap, and I was prepared to kill the bitch if she tried any dirty business, but my suspicions died down as the sultry woman continued to walk.

The black fairy took us through the alley and onto the side street that ran behind it, and then she proceeded down another tree-lined avenue I hadn’t noticed yet.

“You’ll want to talk to Madame Nyra,” she told us without turning around. “She knows everything about everyone of note in Rengfri, whether they are good or bad.”

“Where is Madame Nyra?” Ashe asked.

“Just up ahead,” the black fairy answered. “Through the veil.”

Ashe and I exchanged a glance, and I quickened my pace a little to catch up to the sultry fairy in front of us.

“What veil?” I clarified.

The black fairy chuckled in response, and she sent a mischievous smile over her shoulder at me. She only walked another ten or so paces before she slowed to a stop at the end of the avenue, and this area looked mostly vacant. Two ancient stone buildings sat on either side of the lane with a grove between them, and I glanced around at the gnarled trees behind the black fairy as she raised her slender palm.

“This veil,” the fairy said.

Then she waved her hand, and the air behind her suddenly turned a silky gray.

It rolled softly like a curtain had sprang up out of nowhere across the entire dead-end, and beyond the gray veil, I could see a large, black house. It was surrounded by a long, black, iron fence, and it looked like elaborately spun cobwebs decorated nearly all of the windows on the outside.

The fairy crossed through the gray veil and pushed open the iron gate, and I felt like I was passing through a damp cloud as Ashe and I followed after her. When I turned back around, the mist was gone, and while I could see the rest of the avenue perfectly fine, I had a feeling no one could see us anymore.

“Not bad,” Ashe admired. “We should get some of this fairy magic for ourselves.”

“Maybe,” I agreed.

“Follow me, beauties!” The black fairy was already trotting up to the main doors which were painted a deep red, and we hurried to catch up to her. Then she turned the black iron handle on the door and walked inside, but we stood by the door and waited instead. Black fairies were of course known best for being sultry and cunning, but they would often steal from those who fell into their traps of seduction, so I kept my guard up while Ashe kept an eye on the grove behind us.

It wasn’t long before another fairy came to the door, but this one was far older than the one who had led us here. She, too, had gauzy black wings, but hers were more ragged and tattered from age, and long clumps of gossamer almost trailed across the floorboards when she walked. Her dark hair was graying at the roots, and she wore a full, corseted dress, instead of barely-there pieces of material. It looked like this woman had lived a lot in her life, but there was something clearly beautiful about her aged face, and this all gave me the impression she was Madame Nyra.

“I hear you need to speak with me?” she asked in a somewhat gravelly voice. She had one hand balanced on her hip, and she fluttered her dark eyelashes at me while she waited for a response.

“Yes, we were informed that you know a thing or two about the Blessed in Rengfri,” I replied.

“You were informed correctly.” Madame Nyra nodded. “Please, do come in.”

We followed the aged fairy through the corridors of the house, and I noticed a few more black fairies sat on grand, velvet-covered seats, or stood up against the dark purple walls with inviting looks on their faces. The intricate cobwebs on the windows continued through the house, and it appeared as though the building hadn’t been properly cleaned in many years. Instead, more and more decadent layers of furniture and cushions were added in every corner and corridor, and even the wax of the fairies’ candles was left dotting the old floorboards.

Madame Nyra led us into a room that had been divided by a curtain that ran the entire width of the room. The curtain was made of deep-green velvet like the seats in here, and in front of the curtain was a brown, oak table that had one chair behind it and another two in front.

“Take a seat, my dears,” Madame Nyra rasped, and she shot me a wink as she sat down gracefully on the singular seat behind the desk.

Ashe and I did as we were told, and my demon lover’s pink eyes trailed all over the run-down, but decadent, room while she left me to handle our business.

“Tell me about your trouble with the Blessed,” Madame Nyra began with one hand lost in her graying hair. “I’d imagine a pair of demons have plenty of issues with them.”

I ground my teeth as I realized we were once again dealing with a being who could identify us, and I didn’t feel comfortable telling her about the plans that we had, at least not until I knew more about Madame Nyra and the organization that she ran.

“As I’m sure you can guess, we’re not exactly friendly with the Church,” I carefully explained. “They have their gang of mutts after us, and we’d like to know where to find a particular group.”

“I see,” she mumbled, and her weathered lips offered a hint of a smile. “And this is so you can rid the Port of Rengfri of them? Doing your duty to your Dark King, and all of that.”

“There are four of the Blessed.” I shrugged and avoided the topic of the Dark King.

“What did the four look like?” she asked.

I thought back briefly to the fight and pictured the men in my mind, along with their leader.

“Dirty,” I snickered. “They were physically strong men, fought dirty, and it looked like they slum it like a pack of dogs. Their clothes were mostly brown leather and very worn.”

“Hmm…” Madame Nyra paused to take in my description. “They sound like a new band. I haven’t heard that description before.”

“Then, there really is more than one group?” Ashe spoke up from beside me. “Is that true in every city?”

“Oh, yes, dear.” Madame Nyra offered a tired nod. “There are always more being turned by the angels, to make the Church as powerful as possible. They are the counterpart to you war demons, and some can become quite powerful.”

“Do you know where this particular band might live?” I asked.

“Their whereabouts are always a secret that the angels keep well-hidden,” she replied. “However, my fairies adore gathering all manner of secrets in Rengfri. They spend quite a lot of time seducing the nobility of this wretched port. For the right price, I’m sure I could find someone here who could supply the information you’re after.”

I smirked at the cunning old fairy, and it was clear Madame Nyra had been doing this job for a while. She spoke as smooth as honey and clearly knew exactly how to make sure her group got what they needed in exchange for what others wanted, and I had to admire how gracefully she pulled it off.

“How much?” I sighed.

“My usual price is thirty, but for a demon as handsome as you, my dear, I’ll make it twenty-five.” Madame Nyra winked.

I grinned some more and counted out another twenty-five pieces from my pocket, and I handed it over without saying a word. It had been an expensive morning, and at the rate that our money was being spent, we’d burn through my entire troll stash within the month.

“I’ll be right back,” Madame Nyra purred in a husky tone, and she got up, slipped behind the green velvet curtain, and disappeared.

“Let’s hope she can give us what we’re after,” I whispered to Ashe.

“Yes, and let’s hope she does it without more of that winking,” she retorted playfully. “You’re quite popular among these black fairies, you know. I can smell the slick lust wafting off every one of them.”

“So can I,” I laughed softly.

I forced a more serious face when Madame Nyra returned, and this time, she was joined by two other black fairies in plum-colored corsets and black, tattered skirts. Everything about the sexy pair was identical, from the gray of their eyes, to the dark hair that was tied into neat braids to keep it out of the way of their wings. They looked like twins with the same warm brown skin, deep-red lips, and red-painted nails, and even their straight posture and pillowy cleavage were identical.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” Madame Nyra said to me.

“Atticus,” I replied. “And this is Ashe.”

“My darlings,” she spoke to the fairy twins. “Atticus and Ashe, here, have found themselves in a bit of trouble with the Blessed. You’ll help them out of it, won’t you?”

“Of course, Madame Nyra,” the twins said in sync.

“Great!” she rasped and clapped her aging hands once. “Atticus, honey, tell them what it is you need from them.”

“We need to find the whereabouts of a particular band of the Blessed,” I repeated. “We fought a group of ten the other day, and four survived. They were dirty, rugged men with leather jackets, long hair, and it looked like they hadn’t had a wash in a long time.”

The fairy twins both looked instantly impressed to hear we’d killed six of the Blessed, and I was pleased to see both of them smile obligingly for me.

“We know the ones,” one of the twin fairies murmured. “They are not easy to find, but we have our sources.”

“Can you tell us any more than that?” I queried.

“The majority of the Blessed can be found tucked all over the southern quarters of the Port of Rengfri, near the dwelling of the Church,” she explained. “Beyond the church’s viaducts, you’ll find a hidden road.”

“Yes,” the other twin spoke up in the exact same voice. “If someone wanted to accidentally run into four dirty Blessed, then the viaducts would be the best place to do it. You wouldn’t see many other Church officials in that area.”

I had guessed the Blessed would have been found somewhere near the church, but I was grateful that the twins were able to tell us a more exact location. Like Madame Nyra had said, they weren’t easy to be found, and so it could have taken Ashe and I days to track them down.

“What about with this banquet going on?” I asked next. “Surely, the area is crawling with holy eyes.”

“The viaducts won’t be,” the first twin answered. “They’re mostly occupied by middle-class humans who don’t have reason to fear the Blessed. If you work to blend in, you will not be thought of. But the Blessed will attend the banquet.”

“Shit,” Ashe muttered. “How often do they tend to visit the dwelling of the Church?”

“Rarely,” the second twin answered. “The Blessed work and live as their powers demand, but they are required to show their faces for larger gatherings, like the banquet.”

“That’s good news, Atticus,” Ashe said as she looked at me. “Perhaps you were right, and they haven’t had time to make any reports about us.”

I nodded in agreement and turned back to the twins. “Would the viaducts be a good place to catch these assholes on their way to the banquet?”

Both twins smiled with devious delight, and Madame Nyra chuckled raspily behind me.

“Yes, the viaducts would be an excellent place to find what you seek,” the second twin purred.

“If you are there by sun down, you would have plenty of time to prepare,” the other added.

“If you’re going in the direction of the banquet, though,” Madame Nyra added, “you’ll be better off playing the part entirely. There are many main roads on the way to the viaducts, and you’ll be likely to pass plenty of the nobility along the way.”

“What do you recommend?” I asked, and I made sure to give the aged fairy a charming grin.

She smirked as her gray eyes glinted. “I may have just the right thing for you.”

Madame Nyra slipped back through the green curtain, but the twin fairies stayed where they were. One of them winked in my direction and then shared a giggle with her sister, but I ignored them as much as I could. Ashe, on the other hand, snickered quietly to herself, and the twin on the right side of the pair sent her a sultry smile.

“You have lovely lips,” the twin informed my demon lover.

“I do,” Ashe chuckled. “Atticus certainly likes them.”

The two fairies giggled even more at this, and I sighed while the scent of playful arousal suddenly permeated the entire room.

Thankfully, Madame Nyra returned again before the three women could completely distract my focus, and the aged fairy’s arms were full of clothes that she tossed onto the oak table.

“I had these lying around,” she sighed. “They should be your sizes.”

Madame Nyra sent an appraising look up and down both mine and Ashe’s bodies, and my demon lover smiled with pride as she stood up to sort through the bundle of rich fabrics. There was a green satin dress that had intricate black details stitched throughout the corset, and a small velvet coin bag to match. There was also a white dress shirt with a ruffled collar, and a dark, ruby-red, velvet jacket that looked broad enough to accommodate my shoulders.

Although our current clothes were nice enough, I knew we would need something far more glamorous if we were to sneak past the crowd of the banquet unnoticed. The coin bag would also allow Ashe to carry some coins for herself from now on, instead of digging around in my pockets all the time, but I wasn’t sure if that was a perk or not.

I nodded my approval while my demon lover displayed the clothing for me, but I did note that the outfits were far from the scrappy, seductive clothing the black fairies wore.

“Why do you have these?” I asked the aged fairy.

“The owners of the clothes no longer need them.” Madame Nyra shrugged and patted her gray hair down a bit.

“I’m intrigued,” Ashe chuckled while she admired the greet satin dress. “Only if you care to elaborate, of course.”

“Oh, they were murdered by a couple of my fairies,” Madame Nyra replied nonchalantly. “But don’t worry, dear, they weren’t in the clothes when they met their deaths.”

I couldn’t help grinning as I eyed the aged fairy across the desk, and the casual little shrug she offered made me smile even more.

I was liking these black fairies more and more.

“Well, thank you for the clothes, and the information about the Blessed,” I said as I stood from the chair.

“Hold on just one second, young man,” the aging fairy spoke up.

I sat back down again, and Madame Nyra opened up a drawer on her desk.

“I think we should do something with your hair, my darling,” Madame Nyra said as she held a pair of scissors in her hand. “You won’t get past the Church with hair like that. The richest of the nobility keep their hair short in Rengfri. Middle-class and below wear it long.”

My hair fell past my shoulders and was the complete opposite of the bald and horned heads we had in the Hellscape. The long, black strands had been bothering me over the last couple days, so I was quite happy for her to cut it for me, either way.

But from the look Ashe gave me, I guessed she was a fan of the longer hair.

“Human hair grows back,” I told her calmly.

“Thank the Dark King for that.” She rolled her gorgeous pink eyes and crossed her arms.

“Don’t worry, honey, I’ll make sure he’s just as handsome when I’m done with him,” Madame Nyra cooed.

“I’m prepared to tear your throat out if he isn’t,” Ashe said with a wicked smile.

The twin fairies and I were still laughing when Madame Nyra stood behind me and gathered all of my hair in her hand. I then heard the clean slice of metal as the blades of the scissors opened, and the fairy cut through the large amount of hair without an issue. Then she shook the hair in front of Ashe’s face with a teasing chuckle and dropped it to the floor without a care in the world.

“Now, I just need to tidy it up a bit,” she said.

Madame Nyra worked on my hair for the next few minutes, and every so often, she would move to stand in front of me and get a look from that angle. She kept ruffling it all up, too, which made me wonder if it was only getting messier up there, but I did notice a hefty amount of arousal drifting from the ladies in the room while she worked.

Even Ashe seemed to be pleased with the development by the time Madame Nyra gave me one last scruff and stepped back.

“Okay!” she called. “You’re all done, Handsome.”

I automatically ran my hand through my hair, and it was longer at the top and much shorter at the back and on the sides. It was strange not having any hair brush past my neck, but I liked the change, and I decided it was going to be much easier to work and fight in.

Then I caught Ashe nibbling on her lip a bit as she watched me ruffle the choppy black crop of hair.

“Not too bad, right?” I checked.

“Huh?” the demon woman blinked out of her daze. “Oh! It’s… I like it.”

“It’s sexy,” the two twins offered in unison.

“Yeah,” Ashe snickered. “It is sexy.”

“And it’s a rich man’s hair,” Madame Nyra assured her. “That and his charming smile will get you through a lot more doors in the Port of Rengfri. Even with the eyes.”

“Thank you,” I said earnestly and then stood from the seat. “How much do I owe you for all this?”

I gestured to my hair and the glamorous clothing on the desk, but the aged fairy waved me away.

“I like you, demon,” she rasped. “I can tell you’re made for something… interesting, so you just keep the black fairies in mind, alright? We’ll keep you in mind, as well.”

“I’ll certainly do that,” I agreed.

Then I reached out to shake her hand, and when she perched it lightly in mine instead of shaking, I stooped and placed a kiss there. Both her twins giggled at the sight, and Ashe offered the pair a smug grin on our way to the door.

We left the manor without saying another word and headed in the direction of the half-elf’s flat. I paused in the lane to look back for a moment, but as I’d expected, the black house was nowhere to be seen from out here.

Black fairies weren’t often creatures to mess with, and it was sometimes best to stay as far away from them as possible, but Madame Nyra had been of great assistance. She clearly ran some sort of dark organization with her fairies that was more than met the eye, but as long as she continued to give us the intel we needed, I’d happily pay her for more of the same in future.

We entered the flat and then laid out the clothing over the backs of the seats. I could tell from the gleam in Ashe’s bright pink eyes that she was very fond of the new dress she had received. It even came with a slim belt around the middle which would hold her weapons, and when I opened the coin bag, I noticed two more items. These ones were thin pieces of string, but they had a glimmer of gold sewn through the middle. They matched the handle of the velvet bag, and I was about to throw them away when Ashe noticed what I had found. She grabbed one string and peered at it intently.

“What are they?” I frowned.

“It’s string to tie my hair back,” she replied. “I’ve been needing some more of these. Unlike you, apparently.”

I chuckled as she rumpled my choppy hair, but then she gave me a quick kiss and smiled.

“Rich man hair,” I snorted. “That’s a new one.”

“Rich demon hair soon enough,” Ashe purred adoringly. “Madame Nyra was right, you know. You are made for more in this city. And we’re going to take all of it.”

I grinned in wicked approval at the sinful glint in her eyes, and then I began to change into my new outfit as Ashe attempted to do something with her silver-blue hair. She ended up braiding it all together, and the braid started above her forehead and then ran all the way down the center of her head. The braid rested neatly over her left shoulder. She then stripped out of her current blue dress to get a better look at the hair in the mirror without any clothes on.

“There, much better.” She smirked at her reflection.

“I think you look stunning regardless of how your hair sits,” I told her.

Ashe fluttered her silver eyelashes at me, stroked her hands from her bare breasts to her silver hips, and then turned around to get changed into her green satin dress.

“You little tease.” I smirked.

“Perhaps, if you’re well-behaved, you can enjoy some of this later?” Ashe replied.

“Oh, really?” I scoffed jokingly. “Well, the same stands for you, too. If you keep your venomous claws tucked away until I say so, there might be a reward waiting for you when we return.”

“Hmm…” Ashe turned around to face me with eager lust gleaming in her eyes. “And does my reward have anything to do with your enormous cock throbbing inside my mouth?”

I sauntered over to the huntress, and I didn’t bother masking the obvious look of need on my face. Then I cupped her face gently with my hands, and Ashe whimpered with pleasure while I gazed into the eyes.

“You’ll just have to wait and see.” I kissed her lips hungrily, but I pulled away and left her wanting more.

“And you call me a tease?” she whined.

I returned to where I had originally been standing and continued to change into my new shirt and jacket, and I heard Ashe grumble quietly as she slipped her dress over her incredible body, but I knew she wasn’t really angry. She was just sexually frustrated, and she loved it when I teased her.

By the time I finished dressing, Ashe was tucked into the corset of her new dress, and her cleavage swelled above the intricate black stitching and green satin. Her cloak covered the healing black gouges in her arm where her shackle had been, but even with her shoulders covered, she looked good enough to eat.

I had half a mind to tear the whole outfit off her to steal a taste already, but then she dragged me over to the mirror so she could admire how we looked side by side.

I was a little surprised to find I did look a lot like the richer mortals I’d seen in the streets of Rengfri.

I had an infinitely more muscular build, though, and there was still a clearly deviant quality to my face. My jaw was strict and angular above my corded neck, and when I grinned, my gleaming but subtle fangs only added to the devilish impression, but Ashe purred with approval at the sight. Then I straightened my choppy hair so it looked a little less scruffy, and I turned my gaze to the gorgeous demon in the mirror.

Together, the two of us looked like sinful nobles in attire way too nice for Hellscape runaways, and our violet and pink eyes glowed greedily in identical ways.

“Shall we head to the Church, my love?” I growled as smoke seeped through my smile.

“We shall,” Ashe snarled, and her demon voice sent a chill down my spine.