“I’m here. How do I get in?” Dante spoke into his phone as he stood across the street from the newly built and opened hostess club. The words ‘Vice & Virtue’ were glowing in crimson, violet and indigo atop the building’s ostentatious entrance.
“The client said that the bouncer at the entrance will let you in if you say, and I quote, ‘The Boss is waiting’.” Kat replied.
With an amused smirk, he made his way across the street. “Sounds fishy, but ok. I’m gonna hang up now.”
“Wait!”
“What?”
“This client seems to have quite a bit of influence, so please try not to make any trouble. The Order could really benefit from this person if they decide to support us.” Kat entreated.
Dante snorted. Without another word, he ended the call. Sorry, Kat. No promises…
Stuffing his phone into the inner pocket of his signature parka, he skipped past the line of waiting patrons and walked up to the largely built bouncer. “There’s a line.” The bouncer frowned and narrowed his eyes as he looked up from his list.
“I know, but I was told that ‘The Boss is waiting’.” Dante ignored the glares of the people waiting in line.
The bouncer immediately stopped his frowning and talked into his communication device. “Hey, did the Madame say anything about a guest?”
“Hold on.” The person on the other end paused. The burly bouncer eyed the raven-haired male as they waited for a reply. “Yeah, hurry up and let him in.”
With a lingering judging look, the bouncer indicated that Dante could get in with a quick flick of his chin towards the building’s entrance. Dante nodded, but before moving on, he tossed a mocking smirk at all the people who were glaring at him throughout the entirety of that exchange.
Stepping through the tall gold embossed doors, Dante found himself in a modern renaissance styled reception area that could easily fit in a five-star hotel with its luxurious crystal chandelier, tall ceiling, terrazzo flooring and a pair of grand staircases leading to the top floor landing. The heavy bass of music could be heard through a pair of Ebony ornate doors on the ground floor of the reception area, and, standing a few feet from those doors, a certain dark-skinned lady in a pearl white bandage dress caught his attention. The woman was tall and gorgeous and didn’t hesitate to approach the raven-haired Nephilim with an iridescent smile. Dante could tell that this ageless looking woman was an important figure in this place.
“Welcome. My name is Circe, also known as the ‘Madame’ of this business. Please follow me, our boss is waiting in their office on the top floor.” The woman greeted with a modulated voice.
Dante raised a brow at her words but nonetheless followed her up the left staircase. She isn’t the client?
Upon reaching the top floor, another pair of ebony doors could be spotted, Dante’s hearing picked up jazz music and the sound of people chattering. Having noticed Dante’s inquisitiveness, Circe spoke.
“The ground floor is the dance area, where the pole dancing and striptease entertainment takes place. The top floor is where the hostess and cabaret-style entertainment happens. The office is, of course, in a private area away from all of this.”
Dante hummed in approval.
Turning left into a long hallway, the sound of dishes clattering and food sizzling could be heard as they passed a kitchen. At the end of the hallway, they arrived before a metal door, with the words ‘STAFF ONLY’ pasted on it in large, capitalized red letters. The raven-haired male wasn’t sure where she brought it out from, but he watched as Circe placed a key card on a card reader that was to the right of the door. With an electronic beep, the door unlocked, and the pair entered a locker room, presumably for the kitchen staff.
Navigating behind a certain set of metal lockers, Circe stepped before another door with a retinal scanner. Dante made note of the blatant use of security as Circe used the scanner. As Dante entered, he was greeted with the sight of various sized screens displaying news, numbers and certain web pages, as well as a number of women, either discussing amongst themselves or analysing whatever is displayed on the screen before them. Judging from the range of provocative outfits, Dante realized that these women were also part of Vice & Virtue’s entertainment staff. The women paused their actions upon sight of Circe entering.
“You girls need to go and get to work in the entertainment areas.” Circe instructed the group of people in the room.
Dante felt the inquisitive gazes directed towards him, but, despite their curiosity, the females wordlessly did as they were told. The raven-haired young man closely observed the procession as the women left through a different door on the other side of the room. Perhaps it was a symbol of being part of the business, but Dante noticed a tattoo, an eight-pointed star, on the bottom abdomen of every woman whose stomach was exposed.
Interrupting Dante’s admiring, Circe directed him towards the back of the room. “The boss is right through here.” She indicated past an open entrance and urged him to walk on through.
With a nod, Dante passed through the entrance. As he entered, he observed an empty black modern office desk and leather swivel chair, but movement on the far right of the room caught his eye and he found himself admiring the stimulating profile of a snow-haired young woman in a scarlet figure-hugging, long-sleeved wrap dress standing before a mini drink bar.
Turning around with a glass cup on each hand, the young woman gave Dante a sultry smile. “Thank you for bringing him, Madame.” Her silvery voice was pleasant to Dante’s ears.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
With a nod, Circe carefully closed the sliding door to the office as she quietly left.
Placing the cups on a glass table, the snow-haired young woman sat down on a brown leather Chesterfield armchair and indicated to another one across from her. “Please have a seat.”
The raven-haired Nephilim leisurely made his way. Eyeing the female before him, he observed the way her wrap dress revealed her torso up to her upper abdomen. If not for her maroon tube bra, he would have had an even better view before him. Her confident and unbothered expression told Dante that she knew exactly what he was thinking.
Shifting her waist-length hair to one shoulder, she introduced herself. “My name is Veya, the proprietor of this business. Thank you in advance for giving me your time.”
“The name’s Dante.” As he spoke, he caught the young woman’s gaze, her metallic eyes bright and steady.
In a well-practised tone, she switched her gaze to the glass cup closest to Dante and spoke. “The drink is a spicy cocktail often served here, it’s called ‘Passione Nera’. I hope it suits your tastes.”
Eyeing the black and violet drink, Dante unhesitatingly took the glass and had a sip. Veya also coolly followed suit as he drank. Interesting… Dante usually drank beer or distilled alcoholic drinks neat, but he found that he quite liked the spiciness and slight sweetness of the cocktail.
“So, Veya, what’s your business?” As much as he was enjoying himself, Dante wasn’t one to beat around the bush.
With a thoughtful expression, Veya placed her glass down and crossed her legs. “As much as I see why you went straight for Mundus after defeating the Succubus, Bob Barbas and his bitch Lilith… You’ve left quite a few loose strings.”
Dante visibly frowned. Mundus aside, he killed those demons only because a certain brother of his directed him to them. “I also managed to get rid of the demon bastard who manipulated basically all of the banks… Besides, how did you even get all this information?”
Veya’s lips curled into a smile, an expression which Dante found stimulating. “A witch has got her ways.”
“You’re a witch?”
“And you’re Nephilim.”
Dante stared at the young woman before him, dumbfounded. The only witches he had come across thus far were of the demon kind. However, remembering Kat and how she had told him she was medium or psychic, he realized that she too might be counted as a witch too.
The sound of Veya’s chuckling suddenly filled Dante’s ears. “It was also not that hard to put together… When that demon news reporter, Bob Barbas, made that huge terrorist fuss about you and the Order, I had my girls gather some intel.” Leaning back in her chair, she made a wry expression. “Following Mundus’ defeat, I was going to contact you about these loose ends, but you weren’t exactly able to kill that bastard in a cleaner way weren’t you.”
The raven-haired Nephilim internally groaned. The sudden release of the demons, his brother’s betrayal and not to mention the half-ruined city that was of course still being rebuilt after these three months… Dante felt a slight headache at the thought of those troubles. The Order also had to regroup after the whole ordeal.
“Kat told me over the phone that there was a potential Demon Lord you wanted me to get rid of, but you keep saying ‘loose ends’. Are you saying that there is more than one problem we’ll have to deal with?” Dante asked as he facepalmed.
Veya reaffirmed Dante’s thoughts. “That ‘demon bastard’ who manipulated the vast majority of the world’s banks is called the Hydra, and let’s just simply say that he lives up to that name.”
Dante felt his expression twitch. “So that son of a bitch is still alive?” He clucked tongue. “Alright. And who’s the potential Demon Lord?”
The snow-haired witch’s eyes visibly flashed with discontent. “The Incubus. After you killed Mundus, the Hydra and Incubus immediately went into hiding. However, seeing the state of the world and its economy, the Hydra couldn’t resist coming out to fuck with humans. The Incubus, on the other hand, is biding his time and I’m not willing to wait till he’s ready to come out voluntarily.”
Dante could see the obvious animosity Veya felt as she talked about the Incubus. “What exactly makes you think that the Incubus is going to turn into a Demon Lord?”
“He has his hands on Mundus’ assets. If we leave him be, he’ll continue to grow in power and we’ll have a repeat of Mundus.”
“How do you know this?” Dante spoke in a sarcastic tone. “And don’t tell me your witch powers told you all of this information.”
Letting out a long sigh, Veya replied as she combed through her hair with her fingers. “On the lower abdomen… Did you notice what looked like tattoos on the girls that work here?”
Dante raised a brow. “Well, yeah… It’s an eight-pointed star, right? What about it?”
“All the girls have one, and it isn’t a tattoo. It’s a mark. A…” Veya grit her teeth “A brand.” She focused her gaze on Dante’s icy blue orbs. “This place may look like an attractive flower garden, but it’s a glorified bird cage… And all the girls in here are birds chained to a demon bastard of an owner.”
The raven-haired Nephilim furrowed his brows. “What...?”
With a pained expression, Veya explained further. “The Incubus marked all of us with a cursed brand that basically suppresses our witch powers, tells him where we are and also causes great pain should he find it fitting to do so.”
“Wait. You too?” Dante was taken aback once again. “And all the women in here are witches?”
“The Incubus collected us specifically because we had witch powers.” The snow-haired female’s face twisted into a sardonic expression. “Despite the fact that Mundus abhorred witches, the Incubus still collected them like trophies. He’s proud of us being his property…”
With narrowed eyes, Dante realized something. “You… Don’t tell me you’re actually pretty close with that demon.”
Veya tossed a mordant smile. “I’m actually his favourite trophy…”
Dante leaned forward with a severe expression, his senses suddenly on edge. “And what makes you think I’ll trust you after admitting that?” He could feel his sword, Rebellion, on his back – ready to be summoned.
“You’ll trust me because I admitted to that. And besides…” Veya looked at the raven-haired Nephilim, her gaze and tone desolate and despondent. “I need you.”
With those words, Dante felt something inside him shake. The snow-haired female before him caused him to feel a sense of heartache as he looked at her expression. Her eyes, which suddenly looked like a frosty blue, reflected the sorrow she felt.
“I’ve been under that demon bastard’s control for at least fifteen years of my life. I want to free these girls… I want to free myself… There’s no one else I know who can help me do this.” Veya bowed her head, her voice pleading. “Please. I’ll do anything.”
Dante let out a shuddering breath. He was no good with conversations like this. After the whole ordeal with his brother, Vergil, his trust issues admittedly resurfaced. Killing demons was the only good he felt he could do and here was someone asking for his help, even if she was under the control of the Incubus, there was still the fact that the demon was a huge concern.
After some silence, Dante finally spoke. “Alright. Fine…” He noticed Veya’s expression brighten, unconsciously, he felt relaxed and relieved seeing that. “Where do we start?”
It’s not like I came here to say no to the job anyway…
With an iridescent smile, the snow-haired witch voiced her thanks. “The Order needs some allies, right? If we can manage to do things without too much fuss, I can also pull some strings so that the government can let you get away and continue on with your demon hunting antics.”
The raven-haired Nephilim suddenly felt like he narrowly avoided making a dangerous enemy out of someone.
----------CHAPTER END----------