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Hotel Emperador

Chapter 7: My beautiful Doe

By Whitepython

What kind of power does a man has to convince another to do something he had sworn some hours ago that he would never do? Maybe it was part of the secret of leadership that Xaduardo desired to learn with urgency someday.

But he would not be able to comprehend such things tonight.

For his green and brown scaled hands were shaking. They were painted in crimson red blood. He held a ceremonial blade he used on some visceral organs from a feral beast.

"A...Alroc." The Raptor spoke through a hand free device attached to his head. "I finished with the last part a while ago."

"Good. All we have to do now is to wait..." the wolf replied behind the line as he provided the reptile with remote assistance.

Xaduardo hated to be doing this. He hated to paint sacrilegious symbols. He hated the scent of blood in the air. This was the last thing a demon hunter was supposed to do.

Alroc had promised to give the wolf unconditional support within reason for the next ten following cases the raptor had assigned. The canine also promised him access to the private library that his family's clan had built for years on demon hunting. These were quite tempting things for him.

But now that he was in the middle of this situation he was having second thoughts.

All the saurian had to do was to try to get the ritual to work. If this happened, all he had to do was to pull McRue out of there. He tried to excite himself with the idea of becoming a leader and a hero before one of the top demon hunters in the country. He even carried the gun he hated so much, but he promised to himself to use it to scare away any rival. He picked it up from a trash can behind Alroc's apartment building along with the ritualistic items he needed for this.

Besides, if he managed to rescue McRue tonight, this mess would be over. He wouldn't have to face any other hard decision again.

Xaduardo looked around for a moment before taking a deep breath to try to relax. His biggest concern were both the hotel staff and the cult.

"This place is reeking with blood. I don't want to be caught. If Rantego knows that I am here... Everything is going to be your fault!"

"Don't think like that. We will get McRue back on time, and he will consecrate us both a demon hunters."

He picked up a cloth he set aside on purpose to clean his clawed hands. The white cloth got soaked in red from the blood that once was in the bowl. The raptor did his best to remain warm in his long trench coat. He wasn't sure if the temperature in the lobby was dropping or if his body was losing heat.

The Raptor pulled out a small cell phone that looked made of cheap plastic to check the time. He bought it for this mission to keep his own cell phone available in case Rantego called.

He had been there for 15 minutes already, and nothing has happened. In the video Alroc obtained, the Lion spent less than three minutes to see some results.

What could they have done wrong?

"It's not going to work Alroc... I think I better go before Viennomante comes and finds me."

"No Xaduardo! Just please wait a moment." Alroc spoke in desperation.

Did the lion discovered something that he didn't write on his outdated journal? Was there something in the logbook that they failed to notice? There was no way to double check the logbook now. Rantego took it from Alroc already. All they had were the few pictures they took yesterday.

Xaduardo released a soft hiss in disappointment. They have reached a dead end just like the last time they came to this cursed hotel.

"Alroc, let it go already. I did everything you requested. Let the other clan figure this out. I can hear sounds behind the door to the lobby and..."

"No Xaduardo!" the lupine begged "Wait just a bit. I'll re-check McRue's scanned journal. We have come so far to find out the truth. You can't do this to me!"

The Raptor was growing tense with the idea of finding those dark creatures that appeared on the video. Or to be caught by the hotel staff and be sent to jail and be made the new prime suspect instead of Alroc. He had to talk the wolf into letting this go. His nerves were on the edge of breaking down from the pressure.

His hands free device was sending the sounds of sheets of paper being shuffled through along with things being pushed around. The Raptor could image the wolf turning his apartment into a mess.

"I am going to take a seat on the staircase meanwhile y..."

"No! Don't mess with the setup. If you pollute the ceremonial ground with anything, the protection will be ruined. You will be left vulnerable if something comes."

"Well, solve this already!" the raptor groaned through the speaker.

There was silence for a couple more minutes. The Raptor was invaded by the idea to remove the battery off of the cheap phone and pretend the connection was lost so he could escape.

He listened with patience as the wolf was on the other side of the line trying to solve this mystery. Frustration expressed with growls came from the canine every now and then.

The Raptor stretched his right hand into his trench coat and picked up his spare cell phone. His right index claw pulled the lid aside to reveal the battery.

This crazy scheme would be over, and the other clan would be taking this case.

But didn't he promised to God that he would help his friend Alroc until the very end? Rantego had also promised to take charge of this and...

"Xadu! I think I got it! But I'll need your help here."

The reptile almost dropped his extra phone after being spooked with the sudden shout.

"W...what? What is it?"

"Take out your good cell phone. Did you take pictures of page 57?"

The Raptor placed the lid back on the spare phone and tucked it into his clothes. He retrieved his everyday phone to check the requested picture.

The Raptor felt his legs aching and asleep as he struggled for a couple of moments. It took him a while to find out which page was page 57 from all the thumbnails he had to inspect. After a moment, he located the page in question. It described the first days of the investigation the lion spent alone.

"Yeah I have it, but I don't see anything out of common."

"Check the bottom. There's a footnote that I only took the upper half."

"34 is the key. Every three slots is the lock" Xaduardo read through the hands-free device in confusion.

"34 is the key and every three slots is the lock?" the wolf repeated in a reflexive voice. For the Raptor that sounded unrelated to this.

"What are we failing to see here?!" the wolf cried in frustration behind the phone call. The reptile took a deep breath as his mind wrestled with his current choices. He had to choose between helping the wolf or resume with his plan to cut the communication and escape.

He could try to give out his best. That's what McRue would have done for him, isn't it?

"I'm going to recheck the video. Maybe there's something we didn't place on the ritual table..."

The temperature in the room descended further. The sensation that he wasn't alone pierced Xaduardo's mental peace. It was just like a couple of days ago at the presidential suite at the sixth floor.

The Raptor wasn't excited with the idea of repeating the ritual again. But he decided to let the wolf watch the video while he came up with a better reason to escape from this.

Perhaps playing hero wasn't such a good idea. He felt like a fake. He wasn't even a natural born leader. Alroc was the real leader here. He had the responsibility to find a way of fooling Rantego and be here instead of sending him to face all of this alone.

Xaduardo slid his right hand into his pocket to resume with his plan to cut the communication and pry himself off of this before...

"That's the key he's talking about!" a canine voice yelled with excitement. "Xadu! Listen to me. We weren't wrong at all. It was just timing!"

"What?" the confused raptor spoke. He wanted to know why his friend was so excited.

"That '34 is the key, and every three slots is the lock' thing is a riddle for the time that you must make the invocation. The video I stole from Viennomante has the time watermarked on a corner. McRue disappeared at 9:34 PM on the recording!"

The Raptor used his cheap cell phone to check the current time. All the feathers along his head rose up when he noticed that the time was 9:31 PM

There was silence coming from the phone call when the wolf also realized what this meant.

"You will be meeting with 'The Operator' in less than 3 minutes..." Alroc spoke. His voice sounded worried. The Raptor heard bells and sirens going on inside his head. His heart was pounding so hard against his chest that it sounded like a drum in his ear canals.

"I am... I don't want that thing to kill me!"

"Xaduardo! Calm down. McRue is counting on you. I am counting on you too. My freedom depends on you. The whole clan needs you to bring him back. McRue's life depends on you too. You will be consecrated as both a hero and demon hunter before McRue. The God of the holy light has bestowed his blessing on you. The holy light will protect you from The Operator."

There was silence for a moment. Maybe the wolf was right, and he had to think about others and not just in himself.

"Tell me Xaduardo. Do you believe in God?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I do!" the raptor spoke in bewilderment.

"Have faith in the holy light. God has faith in you. McRue believes in you, and I believe in you. Please Xaduardo, don't leave us behind. McRue needs you the most. This is his darkest hour."

This made the saurian remember the last time he had a conversation with his grandmother. She also told him that she would always believe in him.

His hand slid into his shirt to retrieve that violet claw he obtained the first night he went demon hunting, and his leader showed up. This brought back to life the certainty he felt in himself that day when the lion told him that he saw potential in him.

The Raptor felt ashamed for trying to sabotage this. He had to do this. For McRue who was a prime example of demon hunter and a good leader. The lion had suffered more than him. Yet he has risen above all odds. Xaduardo had to live up to that. Besides they had until tomorrow night to rescue the lion.

The reptile pulled the violet memento back around his neck when he noticed that the claw was about to slip down on the floor. He wouldn't have enjoyed having the ritual he casted to be polluted by the demonic power of the claw. The thing itself was strong enough to obliterate holy items.

When Xaduardo focused on his surroundings with a renewed strength, he almost lost his newfound energy as he placed one foot back and suppressed a scream of terror.

Before him stood a pitch dark shadow-like being. It was an anthropomorphic creature twice the height of Xaduardo. It had large arms and legs but no visible feet nor hands.

Its head consisted of one single large reddish-purple eye for face. It had a large and fanged vertical mouth along its neck that leaked a purple ichor. It stalked him from the ceiling like a rabid, feral beast. The Raptor remembered this kind of monsters from the video with McRue. He remembered that this creature would not be able to touch him just like it happened in the video.

The Raptor heard the wolf trying to speak through the cheap phone, but static began to invade the communication. The reptile remembered the video with McRue also picked up static at this point. An idea came to his mind. He picked up his everyday cell phone and set it to recording mode before tucking it inside his trench coat over his left pectoral. He allowed the camera end to poke out so it could record everything that was going to happen.

The wolf kept on trying to speak. The Raptor lifted up his secondary phone with the hopes to get better reception, but it was hard to make sense out of his words.

Alroc sounded worried about something.

The Raptor decided that trying to communicate with Alroc was pointless. He tossed his secondary phone into one of his pockets and focused on what he was doing.

And that was the moment where he almost dropped everything and ran away once more:

Before the raptor manifested a short skeleton standing in two legs. With a large, oval-like skull. It had small eye sockets which were empty and a large nose hole in the middle of its muzzle. It was missing all of its fangs except for the two upper large ones.

The skeleton looked dirty, cracked and yellow. As if it had been unburied after being underground for centuries. He wore some black clothes. They looked from another era. They were in the same bad condition as the bones; ripped with large holes which exposed more of that dirty and cracked skeleton. His clothes were stained with several dark splotches that looked like dried blood. A long dry flower stalk poked out from his breast pocket.

A heavy chain that glowed in a spectral blue light was protruding from behind the undead creature. The opposite end was lost inside the elevator tunnel that consisted of a beam of blue light which descended along the empty vertical tunnel.

The Raptor knew that this creature had the power to kill him in an instant if he were to do something wrong.

The undead entity pointed a bone finger to the reptile before pointing with the same finger towards the blue light coming from the tunnel. Xaduardo was once again shaking in fear thanks to the strange appearance. The single eyed and fanged aberrations had multiplied. They kept on trying to reach the demon hunter, but they were afraid of the blue light coming from the chain and the elevator.

Xaduardo didn't wanted to go, but he knew this creature would kill him if he failed to proceed with the ritual.

His sickle-like clawed feet moved forth. He followed the spectral chain that kept the undead apparition bound to the vertical tunnel.

As soon as the raptor walked into the blue portal of energy, he found himself inside a luxurious wooden elevator box.

The Raptor remembered seeing this same elevator stuck on the last floor. However, this one looked as if had been just installed yesterday: the wooden columns with flowers looked just carved and painted. But instead of the broken mirror he remembered there, there was a wooden panel with hourglasses of all kind of sizes decorating its surface.

Even if it looked like new, the whole thing failed to look sturdy. There was nothing the Raptor could do once the two scissor gates closed behind him, and the demonic entity stood near the button panel.

The clean and luxurious old-fashioned style of the elevator contrasted a lot with the skeleton in dirty and ripped clothes. The elevator shook once The Operator activated the panel. Beyond the gates, there was only that soft blue beam of light.

Once the shaking stopped, a bell rang and the scissor gates opened. The blue light faded away to reveal a hall which looked just as fancy and old fashioned as the elevator did.

Two halls stretched before the saurian. The wood on the floor was so well polished and clean that he could see his own reflection. When he walked out of the elevator, the thing hardly creaked under his weight.

"Fifteen Minutes..."

The undead entity spoke with a deep and harsh voice behind the reptile which made the Raptor jump on his spot. But what was that supposed to mean? Does he has 15 minutes to return? 15 minutes before the entity brings him back? Maybe this was the part that the wolf was trying to warn him about.

The reptile noticed that one of the small hourglasses in the panel at the bottom of the elevator spun upside down. Sand slipped in a slow pace into the empty end of the device.

Xaduardo returned to his mission. The hall on his left had nothing extraordinary. The hall before him displayed those luxurious double doors that has captivated his attention since he first saw them at the abandoned west wing.

The Raptor moved along the fancy hall that made him remember the hotel he was familiar with. His surroundings were almost like he traveled 200 years in time back to the days of glory of hotel Emperador:

Pristine white walls with luxurious decorations. Plant pots with flowers blooming in life and a clean red carpet. These things signaled the way to the presidential suite.

The Raptor stood before the fancy wooden door which was half open.

He remembered there was a small archway which lead to the center of the suite where that old and broken table was. Xaduardo placed his right hand over Alroc's gun. He hated the thing, but he comforted himself knowing that if he handed it over to McRue, the lion would take care of the situation. His left hand pushed the doors open at a slow pace.

The once empty hall was now decorated with the same luxurious objects that he spotted in the hall. He found the potted plants quite useful to remain hidden.

The Raptor moved in silence closer into the suite. He hid his green and brown scaled self next to a pot with a large and bushy plant once he was able to recognize voices talking. The reptile held his breath as his heart beat faster. However, in that moment someone who looked familiar got his attention from the corner of his eye.

The familiar figure stood before the table. The once destroyed furniture now it looked brand new. The figure was standing up. The figure was paying attention to several figures in dark robes while they sat at the table.

"You have made quite the progress. We're surprised to see how devoted you have become to the goddess since she bestowed you with her blessing."

"And I shall continue until I am worthy to stand at her side..."

That voice, and that foreign accent. It was impossible to confuse...

"I am sure your desire will be granted through following the most excellent Tenabochi."

"I can't wait to be worth of meeting in person the most excellent Tenabochi along with the goddess Scaoubohr." The familiar feline voice affirmed with a serious tone.

If this was the leader of the clan of the ascended sun, the raptor couldn't understand why he was saying all those things. There's no way a demon hunter could be so willing to meet a demon and their worshippers. Not the Jantheno McRue he knew.

"Neither can us. I hope you are ready to leave behind and cleanse everything that binds you to the old world so you can join us to where the goddess is."

"That's out of the question" The familiar voice for Xaduardo could be heard replying with excitement.

"Are you really going to murder everyone from the demonic hunting clan you build?" another voice questioned the feline voice "Think about it again. After all, you placed so much effort in getting it running."

"I am ready to return at once and kill them all. Their lives mean nothing to me. Only the will of the goddess does. Eternity won't be enough to thank her for the blessings she gave me."

The reptile found his maw going dry, his breath freezing and his heart missing a beat. It was like he had been punched in the gut with a metal pipe and beaten in the head with a brick at the same time.

The rookie demon hunter wasn't sure what was going on here. Was it really McRue the one speaking such awful words? The Raptor wanted to leave this place right away. The more time he spent in that suite, the darker the conversation went. However, he had to figure out what was happening.

Xaduardo poked his feathery head out from behind the large plant pod. He had to be sure it was McRue the one speaking those unsettling things even if the voice left no doubts about it.

In the moment the Raptor poked his head out, his eyes made contact with the eyes of the lion. Jantheno McRue was turning his head back towards the archway hall the same second the Raptor had chosen to investigate.

At the moment his reptilian eyes confirmed it was his leader the anthro making such comments, the universe froze for Xaduardo. The reptile felt sick to his stomach while his eyes turned watery. The lion limited himself to keep his golden eyes on him.

"Hey, you! Stop right there..." An unknown voice spoke in a demanding tone.

It was time to escape.

The Raptor used his large legs and his bloodstream overfilled with adrenaline to sprint along the hall. He slammed open the fancy double door with his body. He ran without looking back towards the open elevator where the undead figure awaited.

In a couple of seconds, the Raptor had to decide going downstairs or to choose the elevator. The elevator looked like the most uncertain option since the reptile wasn't sure about the method for returning. The operator could kill him, or he could find himself stuck in a non-responsive elevator. However, it was the only path home he knew.

"Go, go, go!" the Raptor commanded the skeleton in worn out clothes as he jumped inside the wooden box.

The next thing the raptor knew was that a blue light enveloped him. After that, he landed on his left arm over the cold and rough floor. He realized that we was back at the abandoned lobby where he casted his bloody ritual.

Xaduardo remained down on the floor. He wished to cry out loud in defeat after the scene he just witnessed. He forced himself back on his feet when he remembered that the wolf was waiting for him.

Upon rising to his feet. The reptile noticed that all of the blood and organs he used for the ritual were gone. The exception was the table that he found at the abandoned lobby and the ceremonial items he borrowed from Alroc's trash can.

* * * * * * *

"I was direct and clear when I told you to not to get near that hotel. Yet you chose to disobey my orders once again!"

It was Saturday morning. Xaduardo was sitting at the same table at the back of the coffee shop with Alroc. It was the same place where he received the Alderocobaladrite

Rantego was yelling through Alroc's cell phone. The Raptor has never heard the avian so angry before.

The video that Xaduardo recorded had no registry of the Operator nor the dark creatures. The scene in the fancy suite with the conversation that McRue had with the cult was now the most important evidence of the Emperador case. The video the raptor captured and sent to his substitute leader proved the wolf right about everything.

"Try anything funny Rantego, and I will send that video to the police, to the Ghost soldiers and my family's clan. I have no idea why McRue is threatening to kill us all, but I am sure the other clans can help us to figure out."

The wolf placed the cell phone down on the table while the avian kept on scolding both rookies through the device. Xaduardo was lost in his own thoughts.

McRue was supposed to be a natural born leader and the perfect role-model for demon hunter. Same with Rantego. Why has the avian lost his head? Why has McRue changed his ways? What kind of gift has he received? Who was that goddess? Was McRue a follower of Tenabochi now?

"Why do you think that McRue is threatening to kill us?" Xaduardo asked in sadness.

"Maybe it's a ruse to earn the trust of the cult and escape" Alroc spoke with a hint of hope in his voice.

The raptor had developed a headache by now. And the more he tried to find the logic behind everything, the greater his headache grew.

"Are you still there you two?" the voice from the cell phone spoke. The wolf rolled his eyes before bringing the device closer to his muzzle.

"We're here. What do you want now?"

"Don't go near that hotel. I know you two will try to go again, and this is not about me. Your lives will be in great danger if you do it. I forbid it! Xaduardo, you must stop Alroc from trying anything. That cult will be waiting for you, and they will kill you both. I will try to get the Ghost Soldiers to come with us as soon as possible."

"I can't go to the Hotel," Alroc spoke. "My work shift will begin soon. And I have to go now. Talk to you later." After that, the wolf ended the call without giving the avian a chance to talk any further.

"I have been investigating, and there is no demon hunting clan known as the Ghost Soldiers," Alroc spoke after leaving his phone on the table. "At least they are not in the official registry. They are either a rogue clan, they have been disbanded already, or duster face is up to something.

Hearing about the avian displaying hidden intentions made Xaduardo feel uneasy. The way the wolf has been behaving during this case has made it clear that Alroc was also up to something.

The wolf pulled from under the table a cardboard box. A small cylinder like item was retrieved from the box and placed on the table.

"Flash bang grenade. It's a leftover from the training we had with Jorul. This and the gun is everything I've got."

The Raptor remembered Jorul the bull and the rest of his demon hunting friends from the clan. He hoped that they were doing well at Viru.

"In any case Xaduardo. We're going to Emperador at 12:34 which is in like 4 hours. I need you t..."

"No!" the Raptor interrupted the lupine.

"What the..." Alroc almost choked down "X...Xaduardo!"

"I refuse to keep on cooperating with you until you explain everything to me." Xaduardo spoke in anger, releasing in his tone of voice all the frustration he has been building up all week long. He was tired of fighting and struggling. But he has waited for so long to find the opportunity to get answers about the strange behavior the wolf had been demonstrating.

It was now or never.

"You know a lot more than what you are telling me Alroc. You have a detrimental obsession with finding McRue since the beginning. Your obsession was big enough to steal from him. To push me into this mission with tricks and make me pledge an oath before God lured with lies. Most of all, you were so close to murder Rantego yesterday. That goes way beyond the duty of being loyal to McRue. I am tired of being lied by everyone. I won't tolerate it any further!"

Alroc froze on his seat. His eyes reflected shock under the demands of the reptile. After a couple of seconds, the wolf released a soft sigh and closed his eyes once he had considered everything.

"I suppose you are right. You deserve an explanation. It pains me to share this with you but you deserve to know it after sticking along this mission with me:

"I worked with McRue on the last case he took against my will before the Emperador case. At first, it was my case. I dropped it, but he got quite interested in it.

"There was this doe who was so deep and close to my heart. I have known her since we were cubs. She had this beautiful and delicate feminine figure from the top of her ears all the way down to her hooves. I still love her very much. She filled my childhood with happy days and beautiful adventures together. She had some sort of six sense to know how to get close to me when I needed her the most and to cheer me up. We were like soul mates. She was an angel.

"We grew even closer when we went together to the same middle school. She was always so sweet and helpful. When we were ready for high school, we were forced to part ways because her family moved out of the city.

"I spent several years without knowing a thing about her until six months ago or so. I learned that she returned to town. At first, I was so happy to continue with the friendship. I wanted to ask her to become my girlfriend if she still had a special place in her heart for me.

"I learned that her family returned because she was diagnosed with a deadly genetic disease. And there was a clinic in this town with the means to help her to somewhat extend her lifespan."

"After Talking with her, she confessed that she was studying demonology. She knew that there were demons that could tip her off towards a way to find an alternative cure for her illness.

"As a demon hunter, I felt shocked to hear that such a sweet and innocent girl was getting involved in such dark acts. I spoke with McRue about this in private. He told me that messing with demons would never lead to anything good. He interrogated me about her situation. He decided to join me in the investigation to make sure she wasn't driven by the demon to do something dangerous.

"I realized that I made a mistake telling McRue about this. I broke all contact with my beloved doe and did my best to mislead McRue. I never expected that he would take everything so serious.

"A month and a half before the Emperador case showed up, McRue asked me to come with him to the graveyard to sort out a last minute case. When I arrived at the graveyard, I found both McRue and Rantego. That stupid bird had tracked her down and investigated everything about her. They told me that we were going to stop her from performing her ritual.

"Of course I was shocked that they achieved what I fought so hard to stop. They forced me to destroy her ritual and her hard work. They said that it was a terrible idea to contact demons regardless of the reasons involved. I... I was told that I would be doing her a great favor and..."

The wolf rammed both of his fists against the table. Alroc's cellphone along with the grenade and the cardboard box fell down. He stood up from the table and walked all the way to the wall on the left. It took him a couple of moments to recover so he could continue with his narration:

"I still remember her face of horror and pain as I destroyed everything she carried to the invocation place. On top of that, I have no idea how but Rantego contacted the graveyard security personnel. He pinned all sort of charges on her and got her arrested. He made it look like everything was my idea even if that was planned by Rantego and supported by McRue.

"I felt so terrible afterward. I was so ashamed of myself and everything that happened to my beloved doe.

"Rantego and McRue forbid me to investigate about benevolent demons when I second guessed them. They insisted it was a demonic trick to lure mortals into dark and corrupted paths. I used the contacts from my family to investigate in the archives of the church. I found out that there has been rare occasions where demons interacted with mortals in peace. I am more than sure that Rantego and McRue knew it!

"I couldn't attend the meetings any longer with McRue after that. I know that he lied to make me do such things. And just when I had gathered the courage to face him and demand an explanation, you told me about his disappearance. I just..." after those words, the wolf slammed both of his fisted hands against the wall as his voice broke down.

"My beautiful doe. I never saw her again; she..."

"Alroc, Stop. I am sorry." The reptile interrupted the canine. He felt his throat closing after hearing the pain the wolf was going through. His anger with the wolf was gone. Just like himself, Alroc had to wrestle down the pain and the disappointment of the lion's betrayal. Along with this, also came the physical exhaustion the investigation has brought upon them. And the tragedy of his friend came to add up to his bad situation. The wolf has had his share of bitter pills to shallow just like he has.

"I'll help you out." Xaduardo stood up and squeezed one of the wolf's shoulders with his hand to comfort his friend who was trying to recover from the memories. Xaduardo was afraid of what the cult might have in store for them, but he had to help his friend out to unload the weight his soul carried.

"We are together in this. Until the very end."