“Kirsten,” I called out as I got ready to leave the house, “I’m going to see Ashvial. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
I didn’t wait for her to protest or insist on coming with me. I rode past her shop on the way to Lucifer’s Lair. There was a fair amount of damage to businesses in the area, including to one of the shops next door to hers, but her wards had held, and her place was untouched by the violence.
Chapter 48
Ashvial’s nightclub, likewise, looked pristine in comparison to the damage to the businesses surrounding it. The parking lot was empty, and I didn’t see any demon guards. The rioters obviously knew it was a place to avoid. I wondered if a demon lord projected some kind of aura of power or evil that I couldn’t detect, or maybe it was because he orchestrated the riots.
I pulled around the back and parked. Retrieving a couple of small magitek boxes from my saddlebags, I attached one to the main electrical circuit box, and the other to the controller for the fire suppression system. Even though Ashvial was a fire demon, he still had to conform to building codes and have a working sprinkler system.
I used magik to unlock the back door and entered the building. The club didn’t open until evening, and everything was quiet, but I knew there were demons in the building. At least two dozen were registered as living there, including Ashvial. I had never visited the dungeon in the basement, and if I was lucky, I never would. His office was on the second floor, so I headed in that direction.
The demon guards who always stood at the top of the staircase leading to the office were absent. I cautiously walked down the hall and stopped in front of the closed door. There wasn’t any response to my knock, even after I waited and knocked again. The door was locked, and I didn’t try to open it.
I exited the hallway and turned up the stairs that led to the third above-ground level. I suspected that was where the living quarters were located. The closed door at the top of the stairs was locked, so I unlocked it. I unslung the laser rifle and pushed the door open.
The light was red and, I suspected, went deep into the infrared. The entire floor was open as far as I could see. What looked like furniture, including couches and beds, was spread around, as were tables of various shapes, sizes, and heights. A fountain bubbled off to one side, the water running down a small waterfall to a pool. A demon party room. I wondered if that was how they lived in their own dimension.
Demons walked around, lay or sat on the furniture, and several off to one side were engaged in what I supposed was multi-gender sex. A few humans and vampires were there, all of them objects of demon attentions. None of those present wore clothing. I had been in a demon den before, so I came prepared. I pulled a pair of goggles over my eyes and gave them a burst of magik. The scene in front of me immediately lit up in white light.
No one paid much attention to me as I began scouting around the room, looking for Ashvial. I encountered three demons as large as he was, but they weren’t of the breed I associated with demon lords.
I found him near the fountain, on a chase lounge with two human women. I couldn’t tell if they were breathing or not, but they weren’t conscious. When I first saw him, we were about fifty feet apart, but he was already aware of my presence. He stared at me, and I could almost feel his eyes, glowing red like lasers. He lay on his side, his head propped up on his elbow.
“This is a very dangerous place for you to tread without an invitation,” he rumbled.
“You lied to me. You said Johansson sold Sarah Benning to Akiyama Benjiro. But he hasn’t been in the Mid-Atlantic in at least three years.”
Ashvial sat up. “I did not.”
“I want to know what happened to her. The whole truth.”
“Ah, certainty. Your race is so literal.” I felt him project lust at me, but the distance between us helped me to mute it. “As I told you, Martin took her. He played with her a while in my basement. When he finished with her, I brought her up here. After I enjoyed her for a while, I knew she was one who Benjiro would like. I sent word to his minions, and they came for her the following night. After he viewed her through one of your people’s screens, and watched her perform, he and I agreed to a price. You know, for a human, she was quite satisfying. Almost as enjoyable as you.”
“You ordered Johansson’s death,” I said.
“Oh, no. I did provide the vampire for a price, but it was someone else who wished his death. She felt that Martin had overstepped by taking a mage’s daughter.”
He was trying harder to project lust at me, but Kirsten’s charms were working, and I managed to ignore it.
“Is she still in the country?”
Ashvial shrugged. “I have not been told. She might be. She no longer concerns me.”
“Human trafficking is illegal. We might overlook a lot of your activities, but not that.”
“Of course, you have no proof, and my little tale might be all fiction. I shall consider myself warned. But, as long as you’re here, come join me.” He patted the couch next to him.
Among other things, the two unconscious women already lying there sort of put me off.
“I don’t think so. I think you have enough company already. How about the demon who killed four people at Findlay House? He was an employee of yours. We could hold you accountable.”
“You probably could, but I’m just a businessman. Someone
