Mob sorcery 5, p.11
Mob Sorcery 5, page 11
No reply was forthcoming after a minute, so he placed his phone on the bar.
“I’ll need a lift early Wednesday morning,” he told Nicki, who did her level best not to look at his phone. “I might bring Nina. Quintus will hate me if I bring her into the meeting, but I might need her advice.”
Plus, after the warning about hit squads, Vince wondered if he should be going anywhere without Nina, Fia, or Pola. The Lionetti enforcers tailing him—and presently enjoying glasses of whisky—wouldn’t be able to tango with a hit squad like what Hatoyama had thrown at them in Kaziern’s HQ.
“Easy enough,” Nicki said. “It’s nice to be relied on. Even if it does mean angry enforcers try to murder me in public. I don’t think the whole ‘I’m a civilian’ thing helps me now.”
“It should,” he said. “At least when you’re not actively helping us on a job. You’re not a registered enforcer, so there’ll be an extra level of shit if anyone hurts you.”
“Like when the Yakuza killed a Wings flier downtown, framed Houou for it, and everyone got off scot-free?”
He winced. So much of what he’d believed to be the norm for Aulfair had been thrown in the shitter lately. No wonder Quintus appeared to be upset.
His phone buzzed. He sighed, preparing to deal with Ashley’s tantrum.
Except he saw Nicki’s wide eyes as she stared down at his phone first. The photo shining up from the screen caused him to snap his phone up.
Girlfriend, huh? Maybe take me out for a fancy fight like the one I hear you got up to with the foxes, then we’ll talk, Ashley messaged. I changed my look, by the way. Korea’s out of season and foxes are in, I’d say.
A photo of a nearly naked, amber-skinned beauty accompanied the message. Long, luscious locks of platinum blonde hair mixed with fiery-red curls. Her tits remained as massive as they’d been in her hellhound form, but he now had an even better look at her impressive abs and thick, muscled thighs. Red eyes with flaming white pupils stared up at the phone.
Topping off her appearance were platinum blonde fox ears atop her head and a single massive fox’s tail so big and thick it could double as a single bed.
For whatever reason, Ashley had seen fit to take the photo while buck-naked. Only her hands and finger covered up her nipples and crotch as the demon stood in front of a floor-to-ceiling mirror.
His first thought was that Ashley was manipulating him. But his mind put a halt to that.
Salome had made it clear that Ashley hated anything sexual. So if she was being so in-his-face about it, something was up.
I’d say you look hot, but I don’t know if you meant to send that to me, he replied.
Several seconds passed. His message switched to “read” status.
Instantly, the photo vanished. A different one came through a few seconds later. Same mirror, but Ashley wore clothes. A tight pair of white pants and a matching jacket, although Vince was pretty sure that wasn’t a lacy shirt peeking out from inside the jacket.
You saw nothing, Ashley said.
An emoji of a demon strangling someone until their head exploded followed.
Vince wished he’d downloaded the earlier image. A shame. He was pretty sure Nina mentioned something about an app that automatically backed up images she received, because of clients trying to delete evidence. Maybe he should ask her about that.
For work purposes, naturally.
My lips are sealed, he messaged back. I’ll see you Wednesday morning to admire your hot new look in person.
If he hadn’t already pressed his luck with the foxy demon, he’d tease her more. But he wanted to live to see Quintus on Wednesday.
“So, are you adding a demon to the pride?” Nicki asked him.
He gave her a look, then focused on his drink.
Lunch flew by, along with the entire day. Fia arrived with Pola to escort Nicki away. Neither wolfgirl appeared suspicious of his actions earlier that morning, or even a meeting with Quintus on Wednesday. They knew he had to return the ring.
He wanted to tell them about his problems with Alessia, and what he was doing about it. Unfortunately, the risk of his boss finding out was too high. She’d ruin everything if she threw a tantrum and tried to bribe him more. Or did something more drastic.
Maybe that would be for the better. Even so, he kept his secret.
But he did tell them that Gaby was interested in fighting Mei. Plus Quintus’s cryptic warnings.
“He’s talking in riddles again, but I think Immanuel is going to act against Houou,” Vince said. “I also suspect he might have a job for me.”
Pola’s ear and tail shot up, but Fia pressed a hand against her friend’s head. A whine escaped Pola.
“Immanuel pressured us to keep you independent. There’d be no point if they never hired you,” Fia said. “I’d say to remember you have a choice, but I doubt Quintus Hierum likes being told no. And we can’t even use our contract as a shield. Alessia ended it and we haven’t signed a new one.”
He winced, but she shook her head.
“It’s fine. You’re still working toward dealing with Mei. Alessia doesn’t have the slightest clue how to construct a contract to deal with her. It might end up being a verbal agreement, like when you dealt with Arnulfo,” Fia explained.
Vince couldn’t complain about that.
“We should put Vince under contract to work with us whenever we want,” Pola whined.
“That’s literally something we can’t do,” Fia said. “Unless you want to contract him to date you.”
Pola’s eyes widened, then she smirked. “Oh, can I bring contracts into this?”
Fia glared at the other wolfgirl, whose silver tail danced behind her, as if doing a victory lap.
“Do not,” Fia muttered. “We just got over the discussion about the ground rules. If you start throwing around piles of cash to get Vince to spend more time with you than Nina, she will flatten you.”
“Yeah, but I’d still win.” Pola stuck her chest out. “So, Viiiiiince—”
“Absolutely not,” he said. “You and Nina really need to work this thing out.”
“If I date you more—”
“Without using me.”
His billionaire girlfriend glowered at him, while Fia laughed and patted her friend on the back.
As Nicki predicted, Pola did not let him leave alone. He’d agreed to spend every second night in the penthouse, although some of those would be with Fia instead of Pola. It got him out of Lionetti Tower and into a better place to stay. But while Nina was more than happy to use the spare bedroom, both Lionetti sisters vetoed the idea.
Ally apparently agreed to stay with him in Lionetti Tower. He wasn’t entirely sure why, and wouldn’t see her again for a few more days.
Monday and Tuesday passed uneventfully. After Quintus’s warning, Vince maintained a low profile. The stares and shady characters following him took on a sinister note in his recollections.
Someone was going to take a shot at him sooner rather than later. No reason to take more risks than he needed to.
But he needed to clear these hits somehow. If Quintus failed to offer anything, it might be time to reach out to the Inaba twins.
Nina said to edge them, but her advice did him no good if he was dead.
“You should ask Kiyoko and Salome for some help,” Nina told him on Wednesday morning. “I bet Kiyo can step on the Yakuza trouble, and Salome knows people. The Golden Path needs willing enforcers, and some subtle and unsubtle threats can scare away anyone dangerous enough to care about.”
“What about the undead problems haunting me?” he asked drily.
“Juliet would have tried to kill you by now if she still had a contract. And Houou already stiffed her, so no chance she’ll work for them so soon. Hamelin… Fucked if I know.” The lioness shrugged.
They waited near the birdfolk landings inside Lionetti Tower. Quite a few hotel and casino patrons used them, either to commute or for meals, so they watched a steady procession of birdgirls go back and forth. Nicki was nearby, prepping for the flight.
“I’ve noticed that all the birdfolk fliers here are girls,” Vince said.
“Most of the casino patrons are old men. The younger ones come with dates or aren’t interested in the eye-candy,” Nina said. “Have some hot birdgirls throw on skintight clothing and everyone is happy.”
Once ready, Nicki flew them downtown. Immanuel’s towering HQ loomed over the harbor, making it hard to miss. Its black and white marble façade formed different Greek letters on each side. Vince didn’t recall which, or why. Especially as they changed the symbols every year.
When he was a teenager, he’d paid attention. One year they’d depicted Norse runes. Conspiracy theories ran amok about some secret message built up over the years if the letters were combined in some pattern. When a major magical accident occurred in Norway, obliterating a sizable portion of the Jotunheim mountains, those conspiracy theories had run wild.
The lobby possessed multiple entrances, and significant passive security around all but the front entrance. Suited demons with Immanuel pins kept watch.
Nicki brought them down on a white marble square to the side of the main entrance. Short, evergreen hedges surrounded them, but they remained in firm view of the guards and surveillance. One particularly beefy demon glared at them as they approached the doors leading inside. Gold gilded the handle and trim of the automatic doors, and the name “Immanuel” was spelled out in several languages above them, most of them ancient tongues.
“Should I leave?” Nicki asked, hunching her shoulders under the attention of security.
“Ashley said she’d slide you into some sort of hidey hole, presumably with drinks,” Vince said. “I think she wants to talk transformatives, given you’re into them.”
The harpy brightened up for a second, before losing her confidence when she met the gaze of a suited demon.
The burly beast stopped them at the doors. “Business?”
Nina smirked at the demon and crossed her arms. Vince knew she’d cause a scene if he let her.
“I’m meeting Quintus Hierum,” Vince said. “Ashley’s waiting for me.”
The second half turned out to be pointless. Speaking Quintus’s name acted like a special password, and the demon practically teleported out of the way.
Another demon, this one slimmer and presumably higher on the totem pole, intervened. “Go through the main lobby. Take the doors with the silver trim on the far right and you’ll find Ashley. It’s a good thing you’re early, as I’ve never seen her look so nervous.”
Vince hid his confusion.
Why the hell would Ashley be nervous? Was that why the demon had freaked out? Did they think Vince was here for some bigshot meeting with Quintus, and Ashley was panicking over it?
The atrium looked no different from that of fancy companies or some of the open halls he’d seen in the Tri Sommet. Loud, clacky tiles, tons of open space, benches in weird shapes, and plenty of hidden security. Most exits lay behind security gates, but three sets of double doors possessed different color trims. Gold, silver, bronze.
The bronze trim surrounded glass doors, and led to a bar or dining area. Presumably for public events. It appeared to be closed.
Following the demon’s instructions, Vince led Nina and Nicki through the silver doors.
Lifts stood to one side when they entered. But the corridor swiftly opened up to a meeting room the size of Alessia’s office. The table could seat sixty people or more. Lounges lay along one side, which somehow opened up to windows that revealed a sunlit garden—an impossibility on the first floor of such a tall skyscraper.
Ashley leaned against the far wall, head first. Vince didn’t recognize her at first, thanks to the gigantic fluffball of a tail on the ground behind her. She’d switched her white pants and jacket out for a black pair.
“Ashley?” he asked.
“Wow. A fox. Looking to get railed?” Nina said at the same time.
The demon spun, teeth bared. “Maybe after I rip your arms off, so you can only watch while I…” Ashley’s face turned bright red. “Make good use of Vince.”
“So close, yet so far. Maybe I’ll rip your arms off for a second time and make you watch as I ride his cock.” Nina winked.
Ashley’s body trembled with barely contained rage. After a few seconds, a chirping sound echoed from her and she paled.
“Fuck. No time to waste in a pissing match.” She shook her head. “Uh, plans have gotten weird. You two girls are going to have to go chill for a bit. They want to chat with Vince. Alone.”
Nina’s eyes turned into slits and her posture shifted. Nicki tilted her head in confusion.
Vince echoed Nicki’s emotions more than Nina’s. “They? You mean I’m meeting more than Quintus?”
Ashley looked away, her fox ears flattened against her head. “Bastet heard something and butted in. I know damn well what it means when the old succuslut wants a meeting with a hotshot enforcer. She steals the best talent. Seems you’re about to get a huge offer from the omega-slut herself to come work for Immanuel.”
Chapter 7
The elevator ride upstairs took place in silence. Ashley had led Nina and Nicki to the bar they spotted earlier in the foyer, before returning and taking the elevator with Vince. She’d typed in a code on a keypad before the doors opened, and the interior only contained emergency buttons and a speaker.
When they juddered to a halt, magic thrummed around Vince. He frowned but kept his cool.
If Immanuel wanted him dead, they wouldn’t do it inside their HQ. Too much evidence pointing right at them.
The doors slid open after ten excruciatingly long seconds. Golden light streamed from the other side, and he blinked at the sight before him.
A colossal chamber ripped right out of Ancient Egypt extended hundreds of feet into the distance. Sandstone pillars rose into darkness above them, while golden statues lined a white marble pathway. A satin red carpet covered the steps to an oversized dais, upon which rested an oval-shaped black marble table as large as an average office.
Tall slits in sandstone walls stood behind the table, opening out to a bird's-eye view of Aulfair and its harbor. But even this view didn’t quite match reality. A sepia tone marred the sky and water, while the buildings shifted like sand. In just the few seconds Vince stared out over the city, he saw entire skyscrapers rise and suburbs transform.
An illusion of the city’s past? He could only assume so.
Two figures sat at the table, but they were distant enough that Vince couldn’t make them out in great detail. He made out Quintus’s horns and bad leg, as well as Bastet’s dark skin and cat ears, however.
“Immanuel’s executives get an entire floor to themselves?” Vince asked. “Or floors, given the size of this place.”
“It’s a pocket dimension,” Ashely said, her tone suggesting he should have realized. “And no, this isn’t the entire floor. These elevators use magic to send visitors directly to some rooms for security reasons. At no point do you ever step foot in the rest of the HQ.”
Every time Vince felt he’d acclimated to the wonders of magic and its capabilities, something new slapped him in the face. He knew the great powers of Aulfair used pocket dimensions—the government included them in property taxes—but the depth of their use never quite occurred to him. Let alone the idea of elevators that could effectively teleport him to them.
The modern era was defined by the union of magic and technology. As a wealthy multinational corporation holding its own in this era, Immanuel sure as hell kept up with the times.
This small sneak peek into the true power of Immanuel reminded him of how tiny his slice of the world was. Sure, Mei’s plans would have allowed her to take over Houou and involved the entirety of Knightsgate and Japan, but he only heard her speak of that. Vince’s only role in those plans was to break into an old facility built by the Sorcerer’s Guild. Zaira had even commented on its age when she’d cracked its security like an egg.
Did Lionetti Tower possess any pocket dimensions like this? Maybe Alessia’s escape room. But the wolffolk lacked the sorcerous capability to match this so easily.
“Don’t gawk at the statues too long,” Ashley chided. “You’ll make Bastet lowball you. Come on.”
She nudged him in the side with her elbow and her gigantic fluffball tail flapped against his back. Ashley began walking forward. He followed.
But gawking at the statues?
He understood why when he actually looked at them. Bastet, being an ancient succubus, filled her office with countless statues of nude women. Many of them performed obscene acts and they came in all shapes and sizes.
“What did I just say?” Ashley muttered.
“There’s no harm in looking,” he said, staring at a statue that appeared to depict a woman attempting to fit another’s head inside her crotch. “I’m not quite sure I’d say these are necessarily attractive.”
“They’re succubi tools. They’re always harmful. At least this is better than when she covers the place in giant cocks.”
The glower on Ashley’s face, as well as the red on her cheeks, reminded him that she hated sexual matters.
Then he replayed her final words in his head.
“I’m sorry, what?” Vince asked.
Bastet’s laugh echoed off the walls and drew his attention to the two figures atop the dais.
Quintus sat to the side of the table in a black and gold suit, as well as his usual dark coat. Silvered hair hung from the ancient demon’s head in a loose ponytail. Gnarled fingers ran along his cane and arcane runes glimmered along his bad leg. A scowl rested on his face as he glared at Bastet.
By contrast, the succubus smiled broadly at Vince. As always, Bastet dressed to seduce, baring a great deal of skin. A golden net of rubies ran across her torso and huge breasts, barely covering her nipples. Vince couldn’t see her lower half from up here, but he doubted she wore anything else down there. Her brown cat ears and tail twitched in amusement as she looked down at him with green eyes.
