By The Light Of The Blood Moon

What Goes Around...

"Angel Cakes!" Valentino called out as soon as Angels' four hands came down to rest on his hips. Everyone in the room turned to look towards the pimp, still tightly wound in the shadow tentacles. Angel made a face of pure disgust as he reared back and punched Val right in the face, earning a collective gasp from the onlookers.

"That's for ruining my night, ya jerk!" he spat, still furious with him after last night's events. Then he followed up with a solid, resounding slap to the overlord's face, leaving a dark hand print in its wake. "And that was for the way you treated my friends" he said, his temper getting the better part of him. "I can't believe you made a scene and pulled a goddamn gun on my date!" Angel dropped into the only empty chair in the room, in the corner. He looked up at Charlie "Do you think we can get rid of that guy?" he said, jerking his chin in Val's direction. "He's beginning to stink up the place, and my constitution is a little offended by the stench." He gave a poisonous look to Valentino.

"S-sure thing, Angel." Agreed Charlie, nervously. She gave a nod to Alastor, who walked silently from the room, the securely wrapped pimp being carried along behind him, upside down once again.

"Hey Deer Boy!" complained Val, the hand print on his face even darker now and the bruising from Angels right hook beginning to show as well. "Can you not flip me over?"

Alastor just kept on walking, ignoring the swears and curses of his unwilling passenger. He strolled through the lobby and out the door, Valentino being pulled close behind him. Once outside, he silently continued to walk from the hotel. Val calmed down enough to realize that this was not the way to the studio. This was the quickest way to the red-light district...Val's territory! He didn't want to be seen there like this, a captive to a stronger demon. He knew he would be losing respect from those parasites that worked for him.

"Can't you just turn me loose, already?" he said, exasperated. He was tired of being wrapped up in these things, he was tired of yelling and begging, and he was tired of this damn deer. He just wanted to get to the studio and figure out his next move. Everything had been ruined last night, he needed a new plan. He hadn't noticed that they had arrived in the busiest part of the district, yet, here they were. What the hell was this red bastard planning anyway? "You gonna turn me loose now, Radio Freak?"

Val watched as Alastor stopped walking, then turned slowly towards him. The demon leaned forward, stooping until their eyes were level, noses nearly touching. He then tilted his head and smiled even more widely.

"No" he replied.

Saying nothing else, Alastor laid his right hand in front of his chest and began to lift it, palm up, towards the sky. As he raised the hand, the ground began to shake. Alastor's eyes flashed with static, but he continued, his open hand resembling a claw, he continued to raise it upwards, gradually closing it to a fist. Val watched in amazement as a wooden post came up from the ground, it had what resembled stocks on it. At that moment, the plan became clear to Val. "Don't tell me that you think you're going to use that!" he cried out defiantly, knowing even as the words left his mouth that there wasn't much he could do about it.'m

"Hahahahaha....of course I'm not going to use this," he said, giving the stocks a pat with his free hand. "However, I think these good people could use some entertainment, don't you? " He had leaned back down and was breathing in Valentino's face as he got to the last word. It came out sounding almost like a purr. "So" he said standing back up and grinning down at his captive, "you're going to be using it." With that, Alastor flicked his wrist and then snapped his fingers, and Valentino disappeared from the bundle of shadow tentacles and reappeared already in the stocks, which forced him to lean forward. Alastor looked to Val, his smile still spreading even farther, his face taking on a more sinister appearance. "I trust you are comfortable?" he asked, his voice a mockery of polite discourse. He leaned over to whisper in Valentino's ear "We're going to take care of that, so don't you worry." His smile was still getting creepier by the moment.

"You can't do this!" protested Valentino. "I cooperated, you got all your information." He countered, clearly feeling that he had been cheated. "You have no right!' he accused, his useless hands balled into fists.

"Oh?" Alastor, who had turned towards the crowd of people gathering to see what was going on, spun back around to Valentino. "But I can. Have you forgotten about threatening me in the middle of a public place, and the disgraceful way you treated my date, pawing all over and manhandling Angel as you did? I certainly haven't, my dear, so you may consider this your duly earned comeuppance. You should be thankful," He said, never losing his grin. "There isn't another soul that has ever attempted what you did and lived to tell the tale. I am being very merciful to you, so be a good boy, Valentino, and take your medicine." he said mockingly "Now pay attention, because this concerns you." He turned to face the loosely assembled crowd of onlookers who were brave enough to stop within eyesight of this spectacle.

Alastor raised his microphone and began to address the throng of demons, which was only growing larger by the second. Valentino, immobilized and powerless to escape, looked as though he might pass out from sheer fury. "Ah, my fellow citizens of Pentagram City, I bring to you today a simply splendid respite and most welcome entertainment. Behind me is a demon that I believe most here have had the displeasure of meeting and unfortunately, last night he was a very bad boy." Alastor chuckled as he looked behind himself. The crowd, taking his lead, began to jeer and heckle the pimp. "My my, Val, it doesn't look like you have many friends here. I thought that this was your territory? Oh, my. That is certainly not good for you." Alastor shook his head, exaggerating the motion for the crowd to see.

"In the course of his behavior last night, he attempted to assault my companion for the evening," he paused as the crowd played along, several audible magnified gasps and voices shaming Valentino "then he attempted to threaten myself with a handgun, of all things" his laugh mocking Valentino's actions spurring the crowd on to continue their boo's and jeers. Alastor let them go on for a moment, and then held up his hand to quiet the crowd, who were likely expecting bloodshed at any time; after all, this was the Radio Demon we were talking about! Who would be idiot enough to threaten him?

Alastor cleared his throat to regain control of the crowd before he continued. "So" he said, "I am going to now deal out my judgement upon him." Alastor turned again to face Val, who had faded to several shades more pale than his usual lavender color. "I could pull him apart, or flay his skin from his live body, then cut off all of his limbs, that would be great fun, I admit," Alastor said, his smile only growing more malicious by the second. He trailed a claw down the side of Valentino's cheek, eliciting a shudder and unless his ears deceived him, a whimper from Val. Alastor chuckled darkly, and then turned back to the crowd. "Alas, I have done all of that before and to be honest, it bores me." There was a general murmur from the crowd. "So I want to do things a little differently, I want to put on a grand show for you, the audience." He looked around the crowd, so many faces, and all waiting on edge for him to pronounce sentence upon this slime ball. Alastor smiled even more darkly, realizing that this was the perfect choice.

"I am going to allow you all, the audience, to have your fun with him. As long as you don't mortally wound him, anything is fair game! Hitting, punching, slapping, carnal pleasure, whatever." Alastor proclaimed. There was a hush over the crowd, followed by a great cheer. "Oh my," said Alastor with mock sympathy to Val, "it doesn't look like they care for you at all, darling." He laughed an evil chuckle, Val looking at him as if he could kill him with his eyes. "Oh come now," Alastor chided, "how bad can it be? You get to live, after all."

Alastor picked a fellow from the front of the crowd and pulled him to the post where Valentino was bound and shivering. Alastor could almost smell the fear rolling from him. Alastor gave the man some directions, and then took his leave to return to the hotel. Just before departing he turned to Valentino and bid him farewell, saying "I will be back to release you when I deem that it has been long enough. Don't worry about escape, my dear, that stock is not breakable by any force, physical or magic." He landed a solid smack across Val's ass. "Have fun, my dear!"

"I will kill you for this, you bastard" swore Val

"I do hope you at least try, darling." He called the words over his shoulder and then he was gone, leaving Val alone with the bloodthirsty crowd.