Smiling Keeley took the chance to pack the device up, just in case she had to run with it on the way out. There was no noise from the direction Darla had gone, but that didn't mean anything, she had devices for keeping things silent. It left her at a loose end, standing there next to the wooden chest, waiting. Bente didn't acknowledge her at first, seeing to her friend as she was. It seemed like the right thing to do after all.
"Mirabelle, you should go lie down, lest you collapse again on the catwalk tomorrow. I need you in top form. You are my showcase. After that we need to start feeding you more." The woman didn't seem any the worse for wear and laughed a little, staring at Keeley and rolling off something in smooth Italian that she didn't have time to translate. The language was in her head, somewhere, but not integrated, so she couldn't really speak it yet. Bente had been using English the whole time, probably to make her feel at ease.
Bente caught the look and gave a smile that was just a little sinister.
"She sees you, and fears you come to take her place. You have picked a lovely form. I'd love to get you into one of my gowns sometime..." She waved at the model though and patted her arm gently.
"She is a relative of mine dear, not here to take your place, just to aid me with a few things. Do not let it worry you."
Keeley smiled then and nodded in agreement. It was close enough.
Bente waited for her to leave the room and then grimaced.
"Now for the part I dislike most. I need to punish the one that did this to her. I don't suppose you'd do that for me? I want him alive, since he has his uses, but he must learn that he cannot kill without my orders."
Keeley blinked for a few seconds and then nodded, trying not to seem like the world's most baby Demon. Even though she probably was.
Literally.
"We'll need to talk price first."
Bente smiled and waved her hand toward the hallway behind her.
"But of course! Shall we then?"
Chapter eight
The man in the locked room raged.
Keeley didn't hesitate to open the door, ready to kick him if the guy tried to rush them. He didn't though, just standing with bloodied fists raised as if ready to fight. He looked baffled though, seeing the two women standing there. He avoided making eye contact with Bente, but cast a lascivious look at Keeley and said something in Italian. It took her a half second to understand what it was, searching for the words buried in her head.
"Another treat for me?" He took a step forward as if he was serious about it.
Bente stiffened and looked ready to kill the man herself, spear coming around fast enough the man should have known to be very afraid. He wasn't though. From his build he was some kind of fighter. Unarmed most likely. The knuckles had scars as did the face. It would have looked handsomely rugged if he didn't look just a little deranged at the moment. A guard for the models most likely, but not Bente's slave. In this case it was an oversight.
Keeley put a hand out but didn't make contact with the spear.
She turned as if to let the man attack her from behind, not really worried about him. If he did anything it would require running up Bente's spear and it didn't matter how tough you thought you were, that kind of thing was hard to get yourself to do.
"I have a pet Lesser Demon. Would having this one raped repeatedly serve do you think? Lightly beaten too, until his will is nearly broken? Or is that too much? I could do it myself, but I think that might be fun for him."
Bente clapped a little and made a giddy sound.
"Oh, perfect! Which one do you have hold of? I've never managed to get a Lesser Demon myself. They can be crafty in avoiding us." She looked interested so Keeley told her.
"Balthias."
That got a reaction, which was odd. It was a slightly disbelieving look for some reason. Like she was joking or something.
"Oh? Well for the services in this matter of the Demon Balthias, I would be willing to trade one favor of note, to be agreed by both of us at the time, as well as two treasures. To be selected by me, but agreed upon by yourself. Is that sufficient?" She seemed happy enough again and nodded eagerly as if trying to get Keeley to agree by force of will.
"The Lesser Demon's aid in this, as I instruct him only, one favor as stated, two treasures of value to you, at least in theory and some lubricant so that this man doesn't die this night."
"Done." Bente held out a hand, but Keeley didn't reach for it.
"Um, best not to. I'm not called the Mistress of Souls because I like the music genre. Being bound even for a short time, might ruin your show tomorrow." She smiled though and the other Demon dropped her hand with one of her own.
"Bold words. Still, if you captured the Demon Balthias..." It was clear she didn't think that was real.
Keeley shrugged.
"Balthias, attend me here please." She said it out loud, but sent a tendril of thought to him, to guide the being to her. It took a lot less time for him to get there than it had for her and Darla. Then he didn't have real mass and wasn't carrying a box full of gold.
He entered the space, which actually had enough headroom for him, the ceilings being seventeen feet up or so.
"You called Mistress?"
"I did! I have a treat for you. This man," pointing at the now cowering and gibbering form made the man scuttle away. He might not be afraid of a spear, but a nine foot tall Lesser Demon that looked like a more muscular version of a cartoon Satan got his attention for sure.
"He beat a girl to death after raping her earlier. This inconvenienced the Greater Demon Bente and I remembered you mentioning that you haven't had a chance to have sex in a while and didn't mind if your partner screamed a bit while it happened? Unless you've found someone?" It was just possible after all. Rebekah might do it and eventually Elis probably would break down too.
"Indeed, the Lady Eve has taken matters to hand for me, being of good heart, but I
do
like variety..."
Keeley nearly blanched, but just nodded instead, tightening down her emotions. It was news to her, but made sense. Balthias would be a good being to have as a friend and all that. Still, the idea was weird. The girl was so broken when it came to sex it wasn't even funny.
"Ah? Good then. Bente, that lubricant please? Then if you would explain to this man why this is happening and what exactly will take place?" She turned to Balthias again and nodded.
"Leave him alive. Have your way with him until he knows not to do such things to another again and to not kill without direct orders from Bente. Tell him that if he does, you will come to him again and not be as kind. Bente will call me if that's needed. The goal is to make certain he behaves in the future and knows not to go around disregarding Bente's orders or wishes."
"Of course."
The lube was in a very nice container that reminded Keeley of a blue and silver magic lamp. It was pretty. Overdone, but nice.
Fear spilled into the room from the Lesser Demon, making the man run to the far wall, crying already. Keeley blocked it out and clamped down on everything, knowing that it was about to get pretty bad. She couldn't be seen to wince or have a reaction to what she'd ordered, because that would make her look weak. That was the worst thing a young Demon could ever be. She was claiming enough age to be potentially dangerous, true, but a hundred was an eye blink for most of her kind. Just old enough to be wary of and not instantly try to destroy. She couldn't let anything through her mask or it could end very badly for her.
"Perhaps we should retire from the room? This may take a while." She tried to make it seem like it was just a bit boring to her, like it was a thing she ordered done every day or two.
Bente shook her lovely head, hands clasped delicately in front of her.
"I like to watch. Maybe help?" She giggled and covered her mouth like she was being just a bit naughty.
That got Keeley to shake her head though.
"You're too pretty. If you get involved he may start to imagine it's just kinky sex, rather than torture. Better if we both stand back and make certain it isn't anything he'd ever want repeated."
As if to underscore the point Balthias knocked the man to the ground as he tried to struggle, screaming in panic. His slacks were yanked off with one hand while fear poured from the giant bestial form, the left hand firmly pinning the much smaller person to the floor as Balthias whispered in Italian. Keeley didn't bother trying to translate.
The perfect looking female gave her a tiny bow.
"Oh... A point. Fine then." Bente moved back, watching as the Lesser Demon did something with the oil that Keeley thankfully couldn't see, the view blocked by his giant red-brown back.
The screaming didn't start until nearly a minute later. It was a rhythmic thing, with grunting involved from time to time. It would have been horrible to hear, if she was letting herself feel that kind of thing. It was about survival though and for her that meant seeming hard to the core. Demon ethics said that she was being completely correct, helping out a fellow with an unpleasant task for repayment later.
Plus, no matter how wrong it really was in the human world, Balthias sounded like he was enjoying himself. He'd been being a good boy, at least as far as his kind could be, and deserved a treat. The thing with Eve came to mind again, but she decided not to let it worry her. Eve was Darla's after all. If she didn't want her to do anything for Balthias, she'd handle it. True, probably by asking her to tell Balthias not to do it anymore, but that was easy enough to manage.
They sat in a nice room with a small table, a round thing that was made of very high quality wood. Hand crafted from the look of the irregularities, but very finely so, since they almost didn't show. Bente drank some tea, but didn't offer her any. That was a good sign, since she might have tried if Keeley seemed to be truly young to her. She was treating her as she might an equal.
They chatted a bit, mainly about what was planned for the show the next day, which got the other Demon to show off her dresses. They were incredible, of course. The work was both brilliant and delicate. The stitching...
Slipped into another dimension.
It would allow the clothing to be put on and taken off without the need for a zipper or laces. The work was fine and unbroken in line except when done on purpose to accentuate the form of the wearer.
"These are lovely. Too good for people that won't realize what they're seeing." It was just the truth. Bente beamed but didn't say anything until they left the storage room, locking it behind her.
"You are most kind. Would you like to come to one of my showings sometime? I have another in December. Wonderful gowns and some men's suits. You could bring Balthias with you... I'd like to make his acquaintance I think. Do you think his new lady friend would mind sharing him?" She said it over a sip of tea, the move perfectly smooth.
Keeley was glad she didn't have any as it probably would have shot out her nose. Luckily she didn't have to answer immediately, since Darla walked into the room, her brown clothing white now. With vast patches of drying blood on it.
She smiled and winked at Keeley, but addressed Bente.
"Pristine! How good to see you. I thank you for the information about the Demon Fram and his plan to attack me at my father's Halloween gathering. I believe he's reconsidered making a formal challenge of position at this time. Or that he will, as soon as he reassembles enough of himself to manage it. I figure that will take about ten years. I do hope he wasn't supposed to do anything for you before then?"
Bente waved her hand and took another sip of tea, making direct eye contact with Darla the whole time.
"Oh, just attend the party with me. Bother. Now I'll have to try and find someone else to go with. Well, there has to be someone that doesn't have a date yet. I suppose you two are going together? Or..."
Darla laughed and touched Keeley's hand across the table as she sat down.
"My sister. Which doesn't preclude us dating, but Keeley has already committed to her own party that evening so can do little more than make an appearance at father's. A much more mundane affair for some of our human servants and friends, as well as some others." She stopped as the rhythmic moaning started again, looking over her shoulder.
Bente waved at it.
"A bit of a discipline problem. You know how I hate doing those things myself. It plays havoc with the hair after all. I hired The Mistress of Souls to handle it for me. Quite a bargain I got too. I think your sister likes me." She giggled behind her hand again.
Darla gave her a look, but Keeley just nodded back.
"She's asked if Balthias can come over to play sometime too. If Eve won't mind?"
Her sister looked at where the sound was coming from and flipped a palm up at the cream colored ceiling above them.
"Ask her? I doubt it will be a problem. Eve's a friend of mine, but not tied to me. I haven't cemented things yet, but she's been entertaining Balthias for a few days."
They hashed out the dating arrangements easily enough, though it took constant effort not to react to anything like she wanted to. Bente would call when she wanted to see Balthias and if he wasn't busy on a task and wanted to visit, he could. She couldn't touch him directly, Or vice versa, since he was an energy being and she was a Greater Demon, but she could watch him with others, which was about what she had in mind. It sounded like a fun time for everyone.
Mainly.
They left from the door they came in, going back a lot faster than they came, leaving the Lesser Demon to work. He knew to come back when he was done and while he might try to make sure he did an extra good job he wouldn't milk it too much. He couldn't lie to her about it later after all.
At Darla's she carried the box to her sister's room and then went to the kitchen while it got stored properly. It was made of gold if nothing else and a device that turned back time was worth more than a few billion dollars after all. Even if you did have to have a decent reservoir of magic to use it. There was more than one way to manage that. Enough fear or death could work in a pinch. It would take a hideous amount, but if a person were motivated it could be done.