The Riddle Of Magic

Chapter 39: Reversal (Take)

The remaining inhabitants of the Happy Hotel stood numbly for a stunned moment. "What... just happened?" Charlie mumbled as Alastor finally released her.

"Fuckin' Valentino just declared war, that's what!" Cherri snarled, slapping her bat into her hand. "I'm goin' after them!"

"Cherri, wait! Please!" the princess cried, rushing in front of the other demoness before she could rush blindly out the door. Layers of terror were piling in her veins, filling her with dread for her friends at where they'd been taken; and her mind was desperate to claw back some vestige of control. "Alastor, can't you do something?"

There had to be some hope for peace! He might have been the Radio Demon - with one of the bloodiest histories of all her people - but he was also wise and just, considering the code of his magic. Surely, he knew something they could do!

The deer demon was quiet for a moment, maroon eyes flicking toward the door, and then unfocusing for a moment as he considered her request. "He took them fair and square. There's naught for me to do with any dealings, dear," he replied, leaning against the bar, his smile more of a grimace.

Her stomach dropped. "What?"

"Vagatha technically paid for a service. Angel Dust simply wasn't careful with his exchange."

"So you're just gonna let the Vees come here and run off with them two?" Husk roared. "If you ain't gonna do something about it, then I will!" The cat demon stormed off to the front door, but when he tried to pull it open his paw went through the handle.

"I think not," the deer demon replied, his perpetual grin razor-thin.

Cherri's eye bulged so wide it looked almost ready to fly from her face. "What the fuck, Smiles! You hate Vox! Why in the world aren't you rushin' to kick his door down?"

"Unlike Vox, I'm not keen to give away how my arrangements work," he hissed. "Besides, it's fundamentally contrary to this institution, and therefore, my purpose here! I was tasked with helping this hotel - it exists to promote peace, as Charlie so frequently insists."

The princess drew in a breath, her heart racing. "But I have to help them! We're your friends, you can trust us!" she pleaded. "Why can't you help?!"

Despite her racing thoughts, she understood it was some kind of limitation or weakness. It would explain his hesitation, she deduced.

His eyes burned into hers before he let out a breath. "Magical deals," he replied, and she could hear the care in his voice, "Affect causality. It's why certain spells are able to linger after the caster no longer remains, or an effect is able to trigger without the direct efforts of the magician who made the deal."

"So if there was an arrangement with someone like, 'if you do X then Y will happen', the dealmaker wouldn't have to be there to be the reason Y happens," Charlie reasoned, trying to avoid tying Alastor's magic directly to that logic.

"There's quite a lot to that process, and I don't particularly fancy a lesson on that right now, sweetheart," the Radio Demon said, clearly annoyed. "To keep it simple, it binds beings through magic; and can enable greater feats than someone would normally be capable of - even the weakest sorcerer in all the rings could void the strongest Overlord under the right circumstances."

"So when you coulda given me the means to take out Valentino?" Cherri asked. "It woulda given you the strength to void him even if you don't normally have it?"

"No. That deal would have affected your abilities, and I'm not going to revisit that arrangement considering its terms are no longer valid!"

Husk folded his arms as he wandered back to the group. "Wouldn'ta guaranteed she could've voided him, anyway," he grumbled.