Chapter 3
“So let me get this straight, you want us to use our insurance money and our found money to fix up hotel hell but…we can’t do that until after we’ve evicted Methuselah.”
“It’s Thesulac, a paranoia demon.” Wesley instinctively corrected. “It whispers to its victims, feeds on their innate insecurities.”
“Uh, don’t care,” Cordelia warned giving Wesley a glare that assured him she would not be in class today. She turned back to Angel, the fast twirl of her body swishing her hair around her face. “Angel?”
“Yea, pretty much.”
“And you wanted to enthrall me with all this money before telling me.”
“Yea, pretty much.” Angel rubbed against the ache at the back of his neck that was quickly escalating to throbbing. The good times with Cordelia were really good but it always seemed to be his fault when they didn’t last.
“OK then. Just didn’t want to be left out of the loop.” Another fast twirl of her body followed by the swish of long hair and Cordelia was back to Wesley. “Alright Einstein, let it rip. I know you’re about to bust a gut, all that research just bustin’ to get out.”
“Well actually Angel did the initial research when he lived at the hotel.” Wesley announced with a smug face.
Like a whirlwind Cordelia was on the move again. Sitting at Angel’s side, she tapped his knees with a few reassuring pats, “Well it’s their own fault you didn’t get a chance to use it. They killed you too soon.”
Catching the arch of Wesley’s brow Angel shifted letting Cordelia’s hand slip from his thigh. “We need to page Gunn, we’re gonna need all the muscle we can get when we raise this thing.”
“Raise it?” Cordelia leaned forward with eyes widening in disbelief. “Why wake it up? Why not just chop its head off while it’s asleep?”
“The Thesulac is not asleep Cordelia,” Wesley gave an exasperated shake of his head. “We have to force it to become corporeal in order to kill it.”
“Oh, well here’s what I was thinking,” Cordelia announced snuggling into her corner of the couch. “While the he-men evict the hotel hell squatter I’ll visit with David; you know, see if he has any suggestions on how to make this move-in less painful, financially anyway.”
“David?” Angel chose to ignore Wesley’s brow arch at the irritation in his voice. Wes can shove his arched brows in one of his books and I’ll slam it shut for him.
“David Nesbit, you know, geek millionaire, likes to play hero games.”
“Yea, I know the kind of games he likes to play. No, I need you at the hotel.” Angel’s tone held a ring of finality, no room for discussion.
“No? Just like that…no? And what do you need me for?”
“Lots of things. I need you to scatter the divining Powder.”
“Yippee,” Cordelia clapped her hands, “Cordy gets to add dust to the house of dust. How ‘bout you guys start without me and I’ll catch up.”
“Angel if The Thesulac is as powerful as you remember, it might be better for Cordelia not to be a the hotel.”
Angel cursed the unfairness of life. If he were human, he wouldn’t have to choice between a man that indulges in demon brothel pleasures and fighting a dangerous paranoid demon. “OK, but I want you at the hotel before dark. We have a lot to do.”
“Yes Dad.”
“Cordelia, don’t call me that.” Angel growled with a carefully placed smile on his tense face.
***
“Where are you guys?” Angel bellowed into the phone scrunched between his ear and shoulder as he worked inside the open fuse box.
“We have purchased the supplies required and are now in route to the hotel.” Wesley yelled above the roar of traffic. Cordelia had insisted they put the top down because the sacred herbs stashed in the backseat smelled like yesterday’s fish heads.
Electrical sparks surged as wires were crossed. “He knows we’re coming for him. The longer we wait the more ready he’s gonna be.” Angel hunched and dodged as more sparks flew from the fuse box, “I want you down here asap,” then gave into a faint smile as the lights flickered becoming a steady glow.
“Right, we’re on our way,” Wesley yelled before clicking off the phone. “Remind me again why you changed your mind.” Wesley glanced over at Cordelia nestled between him and Gunn mentally noting the vacant backseat except for a few supplies and smelly herbs.
“Duh, because you guys need me. You’ll get yourselves killed and then where would I be?”
“Well since you’re worried about us.” Wesley yelled his sarcastic tone above the squall of wind fluttering past his ears.
“Guys,” Gunn shouted from his tight squeeze against the passenger door, “let’s save the bitch slappin’ for… What did you call this place Barbie?”
“Hotel hell.”
“Right hotel hell.” Gunn faced forward letting the wind take the sound of his words. “Why do I keep saying yes to these people?”
Cordelia strolled into the hotel followed by Wesley and Gunn carrying the supplies. Angel couldn’t help but smile a the sight. “Cordy, you’re here.”
“Where else big guy? I asked David to come by tomorrow. I’m hoping if he sees me toiling he’ll send over his maid.”
“OK, let’s do this. Wes you got everything we’ll need?”
“Yes, orb, powder,” and with a teasing grin to Cordelia, “and smelly herbs at the ready.”
Cordelia stuck her tongue out at Wesley then proceeded to sprinkle the divining powder on the first few steps leading upstairs as Wesley began to chant the spell.
“We call thee forth, Thesulac of the netherworld, we command you, leave our minds and join us on this, the physical plane.” Holding out his hand to Gunn still fiddling with his backpack, Wesley urgently snapped his fingers. “Orb of Ramjerin!”
Gunn looked up yelling into the large room. “Orb of Ramjerin, please makes it happen.”
“Now please! And do be careful, ancient conjuring orbs are notoriously fragile.”
Wesley dropped his book releasing an audible yelp as he caught the orb Gunn had lobbed in his direction. “Angel! These spells are most difficult in the best of circumstances.”
“Guys, don’t listen to it, alright? What ever it’s whispering to you, just ignore it.”
“Oh no, that’s not hotel hell or its squatter. They were like this in the car,” Cordelia rolled her eyes in exasperation at her carpoolers, “all the way over here.”
“Oh.”
The orb glowing, Wesley raised his arm bringing it above his head. “We invoke thee by the power of the orb of priests of Ramjerin. What was once in our thoughts, be now in our midst.”
The air above the stair landing began to shiver and bulge as the demon manifested amidst the screams of Cordelia and Wesley.
“Watch his tentacles,” Angel warned.
“Excuse me? His what?”
“Tentacles!”
“Oh right, cause you don’t want to be touching those without permission.”
Recognizing Angel Thesulac turned in his direction. “I don’t remember ordering take-out, but I like what you brung me. Not as delectable as the last one perhaps but full of tasty paranoia just the same.” The demon gave a hearty laugh pointing at Wesley, “especially that one.”
“What did he mean by that?” Wesley looked from the demon to Angel and then back to the demon. “That one?”
“You had your last meal here a long time ago. You should have gotten out when you had the chance.”
Undaunted Thesulac drifted closer to Angel. “Got out? Now, why would I wanna do that? The room service in this hotel is excellent. Paranoia here is like fine wine.”
“Some things get better with age, some just grow stale. Gunn now!”
Gunn fired his crossbow pinning one of Thesulac’s tentacles to the banister of the stairs. Another tentacle lashed out wrapping around Gunn’s hand preventing another shot, before tossing him against the wall.
Cordelia and Wesley took off in different directions allowing Angel to move in under the distraction. Jumping into a forward roll he grabbed one of the demon’s tentacles before rolling back to his feet. “The kitchen is closed.” Angel shoved the end of the tentacle against the wires still exposed in the fuse box. An explosion of sparks and blue electricity traveled up the tentacle wrapping around the demon. Thesulac hung in the air trapped inside the electrical charge before exploding into a white light with a horrifying scream.
“Is everyone OK,” Angel asked immediately heading toward Cordelia.
“Yea man, I’m good.”
“What did he mean, especially that one?”
“Great now we’ll have to listen to Mr. I left My Confidence In My Other Pants psychoanalyze himself.”
“It doesn’t matter, he seems to enjoy the challenge. Are you OK?”
“Yea I’m fine Big Guy.”
Angel brushed the loose strands that had fallen from Cordelia’s pigtail behind her ear. “So I guess you were serious about fighting demons.”
“No…I said I’d fight demons if I had too…and you needed me.”
“Yea, I guess I did. I’m gonna check the upstairs. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Just so you know,” Cordelia called out to Angel halfway up the stairs, “if you find any relatives up there they’re staying and we’re leaving.”
After giving herself a minute to enjoy Angel’s smile Cordelia joined Wesley and Gunn sitting at the bottom of the steps.
“I’ve been accused of a great many things in my time, but paranoid has never been one of them.”
“Wesley we just survived evicting a demon with more tentacles than I ever want to remember, please don’t bore us to death.”
Gunn leaned back shaking his head and looking over at Cordelia. “Give it up Barbie.”
“Unless people have been saying it behind my back.”
Epilogue
Angel stood outside the closed door of room 217. “A vampire slaying a demon to help some grubby humans? I just don’t get it.” “To be honest, I’m not sure I do either.” It had taken the vampire nearly half a century but he was finally beginning to figure it out. Maybe home and family isn’t just a dream.
Pushing the door open Angel stepped inside. The room empty of presence except for his own Angel took his first step away from the past into the present. “There is such a thing as forgiveness, right?” Looking around the room a small smile graced his faced. “Yea Judy, there is.” Angel walked out closing the door behind him. Looking back one last time he headed downstairs to his future.
“You all right man?” Gunn asked seeing Angel descend the stairs.
“Yeah,” Angel nodded, then looking at Cordelia, “ready to move in?”
“A few throw pillows and we’re home. What’s not to love?”
“Angel, surely you more than anyone must appreciate how for the better part of the last century this place has been host not only to a malevolent demonic presence, but the very worst faces of humanity. This is a house of evil.”
Gunn gave a couple of light slaps to Wesley’s shoulder. “No lie, plus it kind of has an odor to it. You notice that?”
Angel looked around the lobby then at his makeshift family. “Not anymore, we’re home.”
Wesley looked around himself then leaned in closer to Angel. “Angel you don’t find me especially paranoid, do you?”
“Not especially.”
“Oh, thank god. I was worried.”