Lust
He was angry, and he was ready to kill someone. The only problem was that the demon responsible for almost killing Clare had been banished to hell—all gratitude to Honor for doing her job, which, in other situation, he would've been thankful for, but currently he had a sense of uselessness he had never quite felt before—and the demon in charge, Lust had no idea who she was, if she was even a she or just a projection. What he did know was that it would pay, even if he had to die to accomplish that.
Lust paced the halls, waiting for Clare to exit the room where Chloe recovered from surgery. Her parents were there, having rushed in minutes before Clare did, gripping each other tightly, worry on their faces. This was the first time Luca had seen her mom—he had saw pictures, had even glimpsed her walk into cafe one day as he drove by, but he had never seen her in person. She was… intimidating, even to someone like him, who had about a century and a half of age on her.
Thank God she hadn't been killed was the only thing going through his mind as he waited for her. He felt horrible because the only person he had cared about was Clare. He would be upset if Chloe had died, but if something that had happened to Clare… he swallowed down the feeling, using his rage to take away the panic.
As the nurse had mentioned about fifteen minutes ago, if he kept walking the same path, he would burn a whole through the floor. She had been joking, but Lust hadn't cracked a smile. How could he? When Mother was a mere distant threat, everything had been a lot easier to handle. If the world ended, so be it. He just wanted Clare around anyway, and possibly a friend or two. But now Mother had crossed a line and attacked Clare; things were different. She had to killed. He would make sure no one even knew of her existence when he finished.
The worst part of this was that he hadn't been there for her, hadn't even been able to get to her. He had been asleep, trusting that Mother hadn't, like Clare said, turned her back. The second he had heard her call—terrified, timid—he had shot up. Of course, she was miles away, and she could've been dead by the time he got to her, but Envy and his ever-growing strength had been able to teleport Honor and himself there. Lust hadn't even seen Clare yet, just knew that she was upset about Chloe, scared for her life, and apologetic she had crashed the car.
Damn the car, he thought.
He had three more, and he had honestly forgotten which one she had taken anyway.
He felt a hand on his arm. Honor. She had arrived eight minutes ago, sans her husband, with a bag of food for him and Clare. She had offered it to him with a small, nervous smile. He knew little of Honor, except what Envy had told them in their talk: she was as strong-willed as he was short-tempered. She had two parents who knew what he was and accepted him because he loved her, and she had made the first move on him—walking toward him in a club in the middle of Italy, her dagger tucked away into her pants where only Envy could tell, and a grin on her face. Let me buy you a drink, she had told him, not waiting for an answer. The rest, Envy had told Lust, was history.
Despite what he told Clare, he was a little upset he hadn't been invited to the wedding. It was common courtesy, and they both got married in New Orleans, only a few miles from his house. Even if he and Envy didn't have the best relationship, he still wanted the best for his brother, and Envy actually made some sort of facial expression around Honor, which was more no mere feat, considering his brother never really cracked a smile, just watched them all with mild contempt and jealousy.
Lust looked down at Honor. There were other things about her, too, things he could just tell: she was also kind-hearted and enthusiastic, serious and intense. She took her role as "Guardian" all too seriously, but she worked hard. She was someone Clare needed around, not just to protect her, but as a friend. Bella wasn't someone he enjoyed, especially since he could read her thoughts. "Yes?" he asked, his voice harsh. He didn't mean it. Actually, he did.
Clare could've died, and it was by some divine interference that she didn't, and everybody wanted him to sit down.
"Sit," she commanded, giving him a look. She pushed the bag of food into his hands. "Relax. You won't be any help as tense as you are. Clare is fine." Chloe is not, is what she added in her head.
Lust felt bad for Clare's baby sister, he really did, but it was hard to project anything but a small amount of sympathy for the teen in this state. His only concern was Clare. If she died… well, that wasn't an option, not for another eighty or so years. "But—"
"Clare's under enough stress," Honor interrupted, giving him a serious look. "The last thing she needs is your nervous energy messing with her chi. Fill your mouth with food, take a few deep breaths, whatever. I suspect you have about five minutes before your girl comes out there needing you."
She was making sense, but it wasn't computing. He wouldn't rest until he saw her. As it was, even while deliberately ignoring her shouting thoughts, Lust felt the tension and grief rolling off of her.
Sighing, Honor stood this time, putting her hand on his shoulder and pushing him down in the seat. She was strong, but not strong enough to move him. "When my sister was killed, Elias and his infuriating patience and nonchalance was the only thing that kept me together," she fussed. "Clare is going to blame herself for Chloe being in that hospital bed, and if you're acting like this, it won't do anything but make her more upset. She'll need reassurance and comfort."
Lust frowned. "What happened to your sister?"
Honor's smile was pained. "Demons. The downside to becoming a Guardian is that you protect the rest of the world so often, you're not there for your family. You end up blaming yourself." She grabbed her keys. "Speaking of, Elias and I were chasing a demon, and I can't let him have all the fun. Tell Clare I'll be praying for her."
Lust nodded his head as she left, all but running out of the hospital. Envy had chosen well.
He was in the middle of calming himself down when the door to the waiting room opened. He felt her before he turned his head and saw her. Lust jumped up, the bag of food in his hand. Had he calmed down? No. Did he look like he had calmed down? Not at all. Did everything get pushed to the side in exchange for the relief of just seeing Clare okay and unharmed? Definitely.
Clare didn't enter, just motioned for him to walk out. Her eyes were red, and she had on an oversized sweater and some leggings. She had been checked out as soon as she got here, cleared, and discharged within the hour. They were calling it a miracle that she hadn't been hurt, especially with Chloe's injuries.
With the door closed behind them, Lust wrapped his arms around her waist, tugging her to him. How's Chloe? he asked as he felt something wet against his t-shirt. It was chilly out, and while the weather didn't bother him, it was another icy feeling that was getting to him.
Clare shuddered underneath his touch. Her leg is shattered. She has a long year of therapy ahead of her, and she'll never do gymnastics again. Some internal bleeding. A concussion. I'm glad she's alive.
Poor Chloe. Your parents? he asked, leading himself up for what he really wanted to know. Again, he cared about her family, but Clare was his most important choice at the moment.
They're glad she's alive, too. Clare stepped back, looking up into his face. Let's get out of here so we can talk.
He nodded, grabbing her hand and keeping her close as he led her out of the hospital. How are you doing? He was parked about a hundred feet away from the entrance to hospital.
I'm okay. Her response wasn't convincing. He opened the door for her. She climbed in, arms wrapped around herself, a concentrated look on her face as if she was deep in thought.
He breathed a deep sigh of relief. She was psychically unharmed. He could handle everything else.
"Where do you want to go?" he asked, putting his key in the ignition.
"We can just sit here," she mumbled, leaning her head onto his shoulder. He didn't want to read her thoughts, and she was no longer projecting them, but the silence was nerve-wracking.
Lust rubbed her back in small, slow circles. "What's on your mind?"
She took a deep breath. "I need to get out of New Orleans."
Her words surprised him, but he didn't disagree. They needed to go somewhere and lie low for a while. They needed to plan something. For him, it would be revenge. For Clare, revenge if that was what she wanted, a way to defeat Mother was probably more her style. Clare needed to learn to defend herself, too. Quickly.
"Mother will hurt everyone I love in an attempt to get to me," she explained. "I can't ignore my friends and family with them getting suspicious, so the best thing to do is leave until we figure out a way to kill her."
Her resolute voice relieved him. "I know just the place we can go."
Clare nodded. "Me, too." She pulled away from him, a stormy look in her eyes. "Missouri."
Sloth
Sloth looked inside the room. Athena was fast asleep, her head resting on her arm, chest rising and falling peacefully. The peaceful look on her face, and the way she lay curled—on her sides, knees halfway drawn up to her chest—made him want to climb in next to her. Instead, he looked a few more seconds, glad to see she could sleep with no problem. Gently, he closed the door, making sure not to disturb her.
He took a deep breath as he headed downstairs, where a piece of cake awaited him. Typical for Athena to take care of him and make his birthday special, even when Greed had shown her what he did. What he hadn't shown her, however, was the absolute truth. It had been Sloth, but it also hadn't been Sloth. Not actually.
Still, to hear her defense—and to watch her punch his brother for overstepping his boundaries—warmed his heart. It was much better than the dejected expression she usually carried on her face.
He needed to talk to her. He needed to explain, but the timing didn't seem right. They had a good day yesterday. And with this Mother thing… was his past the best thing to bring up?
Sloth couldn't help her, not like he wanted to. He couldn't reassure her; Athena was entirely too smart for that. She would see right through him, and while she would appreciate the gesture, it would make her feel even more defeated. He could only tell her the facts: she could hold her own in a fight, they would give it all they had, and she was a Guardian, so she had a superpower of some sort. He just didn't know when to tell her or how. His plans were to bring her to London, let her relax and have fun once more before he spring it on her, but now she looked so peaceful… how could he ruin that?
It was through her hard work he had figured it out, looking over her notes and piecing together what he knew. She was so… ignorant of this world. There was so much she didn't know, and they didn't have enough time or her to figure it out.
He pulled the chair out and sat, putting his head between his hands. There were other things on his mind, things that seemed trivial now, like that weird dream and Greed's confession to Sloth in the middle of the night—"I'm in love with her, but I know she's your soulmate," as if Greed knew what loving someone was—had only slightly thrown Sloth off. He didn't feel too troubled about the confession, though. He was positive that Athena would rather eat rocks than kiss Greed.
But the dream—his parents, his family—that bothered him. It wasn't accurate, but it felt real. Cages and bruises, cuts, and fire.
Later, he promised himself. It was so hard to put that on her when she had her own stuff. Harder when he caught her eye and knew he had been staring too long, or when she slapped his arm in excitement and their skin touched, then heat with the intensity of hell's flames licked his skin. Her smile, quirked at the corners, eyes sparkling, and a hint of mischief that made him feel like he was always in on some joke. Her laugh, loud and wild, unbridled and free, as if it was the last laugh she would ever do. Even the way she moved, almost graceful but slightly clumsy back then, but now she was all grace and control.
He lifted his head, grabbing a fork and digging into his cake. The fact that she had made him a cake. There was still red food dye from the homemade batter stained on her apron, her fingers when they were in London, and even a small spot on his counter, which he noticed had been scrubbed with bleach with the will to disappear.
Athena was absolutely perfect, and Sloth was an absolute mess.
And on the topic of his past. It, too, was running circles in his mind. His life had been ruined by one goddamn copycat demon, and it was happening again.
But he couldn't act like it wasn't there to begin with. Copycat demons could only act on feelings and memories that were already there. It was how they became the person they transformed into.
See, despite his family's love and affection, Sloth had always felt this darkness in him. There was a gut-twisting feeling that he was evil like someone had whispered in his ear his whole life that he would never be good. That was disgusting. Unworthy. Unlovable.
His family. There was that, too. This feeling everything wasn't right there. The complete opposite of what had happened. It felt real, though. Real enough that it felt like his brain was attacking him every few minutes with images of abuse.
He could ask Lust to take a look later when he went and talked to him. About an hour ago, his brother had called him, asking if he could meet him at his house in New Orleans. It was important. Even Mother appearing hadn't warranted an 'important' out of Lust. He wouldn't ignore it. If the information was anything about Athena, he owed it to her to help.
Sloth checked the time before digging into his cake. He had about ten minutes before he had to teleport there. He would get there exactly when he said he would—at 9:15. Well, his time. It was later, there. Or earlier. When you teleported through the world, time didn't really matter.
His phone buzzed. He looked down to see Greed was on his way here. Even though Sloth wouldn't admit it to anybody else, he felt the protections around his house getting weaker. He wasn't chancing it by leaving Athena here alone, even if Hillary said she was still safe. He wouldn't and couldn't chance it. As soon as Greed got here, he would leave.
About eight minutes later, Sloth was at the kitchen with another piece of cake when Greed breezed through, a machete in his hands covered in blood. Sloth raised an eyebrow. Greed smirked. "I had a disagreement," he said simply, brushing past him and going upstairs.
Sloth shrugged it off, grabbing his sword from where it was resting against the counter and placing it in the sheath on his back. It felt almost pointless to even use the sword, not when he had the saber. Using the saber unlocked a certain power within him, and then the gift it had—whatever it was, Sloth hadn't used it long enough to find out—while using the sword was practice. It was like going back to a fast-food burger after you had a steak. You still ended up full, but not satisfied.
He closed his eyes, pictured the back door at Lust's house, and felt the Earth move beneath his feet. His skin flushed and tingled, but at the moment it would've become uncomfortable, the ground was solid again, and the Louisiana heat hit him. He also had traded in the silence in his home for the cars driving by in front of Lust's home.
Before he could knock, the door flew open. Clare stood there in some sweats, her eyes rimmed with red, but her mouth set in a determined frown.
The first time Sloth had met Clare, he had messed with her a little, just to get back to Lust. Other than that, he didn't mind her. She wasn't bland, like Greed said, just way different than Athena. Clare was reserved and quiet, smart and head-strong. It didn't make her less interesting, just less likely to stand out.
Then again, from the moment he saw Athena no one else had stood out to him.
"Hey, Sebastian," Clare greeted, stepping to the side as he walked in. "How's Athena?"
Sloth looked down at her. She was tall, even though she was shorter than him, with long, dark brown hair pulled into a bun. It showed off the sharpness of her face and brought attention to the sparkle in her eyes. She was long and skinny, but there was still an essence of curves underneath the sweats. "Asleep," he answered shortly. How else was Athena? Scared. Tired. Worried. "How are you?"
She sighed. "I'm fine," she muttered, which made him think someone else was not fine.
"Is my brother okay?"
She opened her mouth to answer, but instead, Lust turned the corner into the living room and answered. "I'm fine," he said lightly. "I'm surprised you care."
Sloth didn't bother to answer. Instead, he looked at his brother up and down. There was nothing wrong with him, not a strand of hair out of place, just a worried look in his eyes. It almost didn't match the cocky smirk on his face. "Why am I here, Lust?" he demanded. There was always an immediate irritation when he saw his brother.
"I have a favor to ask," he said simply, looking past him to Clare, who was leaning on the wall, arms crossed and staring at him with a decidable stubborn look on her face. "Clare was attacked earlier today by one of Mother's little henchmen. Thankfully, she was okay, but her sister didn't fare well."
Sloth waited for them to tell him where he came. "I'm sorry." He didn't sound a little sorry. He was, though. Clare didn't deserve that, but he was grateful it hadn't been Athena.
Clare shrugged his condolence off. "Thanks." She paused, then added, "I want to come stay with you. In Missouri."
There was a moment in silence. Her admission made him take a step back.
Stay with him? Was she insane? He didn't like people. Again, nothing against Clare, but there was only one spare room, and Athena was—
Lust sighed. "We would like to stay with you. I'm not leaving Clare by herself."
Sloth chuckled. Dealing with Lust every once in a while aggravated him. "Not happening," he told them, feeling like his time had been wasted. Clare would have to find another way to stay safe. He wasn't displacing Athena. His brother and his girlfriend could find a hotel in Missouri, it wasn't like Lust didn't have the money.
Clare stepped in front of him, preventing him from leaving like he was about to do. "There's something Athena and I need to go get in Missouri. Together." Her voice sounded dangerously like a plea.
He shrugged. "Get a hotel room." They weren't staying at his house. It just wasn't going to happen. "Come visit. I only have one spare room, and Athena is using it."
She frowned.
Lust sighed. "Brother, I know this is sudden, and it's a lot to ask, but it's what Clare wants." He gave Sloth a look that told him he wasn't happy with her demands—there was, however, a look in his eyes that also said he agreed with her, despite not liking it.
"And what do you want?"
Lust's answer was not aloud. To keep Clare unharmed and alive. Out loud, he said, "Mother defeated. We can figure this out so much sooner if we have immediate access to each other." He looked over at Sloth and added, I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't important to me. Clare is my Athena. I can't lose her.
Sloth took a deep breath.
He knew he needed to let them stay. He just didn't want to. He would have to give Athena his room and sleep on the sofa, or drag a mattress upstairs. Fine, he thought, rolling his eyes internally. "When will you be moving in?" he asked.
Clare grinned, looking exactly like Athena when she got her way for just a brief moment. "How soon can we move in?"
Hopefully he wouldn't regret this too much.