Lust
Lust felt, to sum it all up in one word, defeated. With his brother—the real one this time, not the shapeshifter who had infiltrated them the past few weeks—disappearing as soon as he made it up the stairs, Lust felt like a failure.
No, he was a failure. As much as he argued and fought with Sloth, he should have been able to tell it wasn't his brother.
Clare opened the door, a cup of hot chocolate in her hands, a blanket wrapped around her shoulder. "At dawn…. we ride," she announced, a small flicker of a smile ghosting her face. "Literally, though, Griffin said the fight starts at dawn."
He had no idea what she really thought about what would happen in the next few hours. She sounded positive enough, and as much as every cell in his body loved Clare, he knew her optimism had its faults. She truly believed with days of practice she could beat an entire army.
Still, he vowed no mind-reading for him today. He needed to preserve his energy for everything that came in a few hours. In the Underworld, he hoped Athena and Sloth were spending quality time together. They needed that time. No, they deserved that time.
"Penny for your thoughts?" She removed the joking trace out of her tone and gave him her most Clare expression—wide eyes, mouth pressed together in that thin, serious line she got when she had writer's block. He wanted to spill his guts to her right there. He wanted to tell her how his stomach kept clenching and unclenching every time he thought about her being out there, and it didn't matter how much she practiced, he would still be afraid. He wanted to tell her if she received a single cut on her skin, he would find a way to Edom where Lilith stayed, and strangle her with his bare hands.
But, no, Clare would worry, and if she had any semblance of optimism, who was Lust to shred it?
He cupped her cheek in his hands and kissed her softly.
She smiled against his lips. "That wasn't what was on your mind. You never looked that worried when you kiss me."
"Or when I do other things." He kissed her again before pulling away. "Worried about Sloth and Athena, that's all."
Technically not a lie. He had let his brother down, and, in doing so, he let Athena down, too. Now both of them rested in the Underworld, and they had no way to communicate with each other. Lust was a powerful telepath, but his skills didn't transcend planes.
And by letting down Athena, he let down Clare, and that was the worst part.
"Oh." She rested her head against his shoulder. How could she be so at peace? Greed was not to blame; he was inside still pouring over books about Lilith, although they both knew the truth. There was nothing they could do but survive to live another day. "I'm not worried."
"You're not?"
"Nope. Athena can take care of herself. Having actual Sebastian back means she'll have double the protection." Clare took a long sip of her hot chocolate. ���Lilith won't be coming tomorrow because one of us needs to be dead for her to rise. As long as we don't die, everything works out for another day. Simple."
Simple. Right. He almost laughed, but he didn't. "You know we'll be battling no less than a few hundred demons, right?"
She nodded. "We're prepared for it."
How confident she sounded.
They had needed every single second of their three days, but Lilith had lied to Athena. She was coming in a few more hours. Why did they even believe her?
"You know what's crazy?" Clare asked suddenly. "I totally understand Lilith's side. In today's world, I don't think I could submit to a man."
He arched an eyebrow. "You submit to me every night." To further prove his point, he trailed one finger along the back of her neck in one of her more sensitive spots.
She shuddered delicately. "Okay, but that's different. It's a kink. Also, you submit back, so we're equal."
He laughed. "Actually, in the Alphabet of Ben Sira, she didn't want to submit sexually. Adam asked her to lie beneath him for pleasure, and she demanded he lay beneath her because they both came from the Earth. Henceforth, they're equals."
Although Clare said nothing, he saw the 'oh' in her eyes. "What else do you remember about her?"
What he knew about Lilith's story came from the research they had done earlier. So much to read about Lilith, so little time. The result had led to one conclusion: there was no beating Lilith, not alone anyway.
"Not much, if I'm being honest." He wasn't too versed in religious works, being that he was a demon. They all said the same things about him: evil, stay away, life ruining, eternal damnation, blah, blah, blah. "Just what we read, and one other thing…"
Her eyebrows shot up. "Do tell."
He wanted to, he really did, but his mind drew a blank. All of except one thing—a single sentence: Which is why every day, one hundred demons die.
It brought with a memory of the room their teacher taught them in, years before Sloth came to them. He was younger than, not so much into sex as charming people into giving him money, food, and toys. A teacher would stand in front of them, on the edge of a desk, and teach their demon history. Wrath sat next to him, and he remembered her tapping her pencil against the desk, annoying him. Their teacher, whose name he had long since forgotten despite the man being instrumental in his upbringing,
They had learned about Lilith, but the moments had been stolen from him. This one he remembered now, though. Lilith swore to the angels that any baby with an amulet of the angel's name, she had no control over. Henceforth, one of her titles, the one who weakens the children of men.
"I can't remember," he lied. Only because giving her that small amount of information wouldn't do anything. He couldn't even remember what it was important or how it pertained to Lilith. "It's on the tip of my tongue, though."
She smiled. "It'll come to you randomly. In the middle of the battle, probably."
"Yeah, probably." He bent down and kissed the top of her forehead. "Let's get some sleep."
She followed him inside.
While Clare slept, Lust dreamed. He never dreamed; he spent so much time turning his power off, that somehow it translated to his dreams, too. He couldn't remember the last time he dreamed before Clare. Once his eyes closed, he slipped into her mind, and he saw everything she did. Most of the times her dream were random figments of the day: a train she saw earlier carried her and Bella in a bandit-themed storyline, and a conversation about going to the beach ended up with her in a red boat in the middle of the ocean, scared and confused.
Tonight, she slept peacefully. He expected nightmares, but she dreamed about laying down with Eve underneath the sky, sabers at their sides, talking about a future in which they defeated Lilith.
And when they woke up, five hours later, an hour before dawn, she rolled over and smiled at him like they were on the first night of their honeymoon.
If only.
Greed yawned, looking around the empty field with a grimace on his face. "I feel like this is stereotypical."
Clare bounced on her toes next to Lust, a pleasant smile on her face. After waking up, she tucked her hair into a bun, brushed her teeth, and put on some leggings and a sweater. Greed came over with a box of donuts and other sugary sweets. She ate three, and then put on some flimsy boots Lust wanted her change.
Actually, he wanted her to go inside and wait for all this to be over, but she would never do that. The smallest amount of worry came from not knowing if Athena would make it back. She wasn't so much worried that she had been abandoned, but moreso that Athena wouldn't be safe. Clare truly cared about everyone, and it annoyed him because, for once, could she only care about herself and go back inside?
When she looked at him, though, he squeezed her hand and smiled. Minutes until dawn.
Greed continued to grumble on and on, although no one paid attention to him. Clare felt at ease because he took every ounce of panic she had and kept it for himself. Lust thought about his brother's transformation from selfish prick to a caring friend. Years ago, Greed would've added to Clare's panic for shits and giggles. He actually cared now, though, and he could say what he wanted about not wanting to bow to Mother, but Lust knew the truth.
Footsteps sounded behind him. Clare whirled around before all of them, dropping into a fighting position with her saber pulled up defensively. It was just Hillary, though, arriving with a yawn. Clare relaxed.
"Wow, everyone's on edge today," Hillary joked. "It's almost like we're about to fight for our lives."
Lust didn't appreciate her joke. He was so terrified for Clare he could feel his stomach turning. How on Earth could he focus on the fight when she was in this much danger? This many demons, this was suicide. He was marching her to her death. They had to turn around, they had to—
"Don't even think about it, big boy," Hillary told him, putting a hand out, as if that would stop him from fleeing with Clare. He fully intended to do it. "You run now, and the sky will crack open with a thousand demons."
Clare tilted her head up at him. "Yeah, don't think about it, Luca. We will be over if you take me from this fight."
She held so much sincerity in his voice, he believed her.
"Fine," he sighed, even though his stomach twisted with self-loathing at bringing the woman he loved to a damn slaughter-fest. Nothing, absolutely nothing, mattered more than Clare to him. Not even his own life. Yet here was, in the middle of the field behind Sloth's house, bartering with a crazed, evil demon known as the baby-killer who had strung them along the past two months, for his soulmate's life. "I won't bring you back there."
Hillary shrugged. "There's no need. Athena and Sebastian are on their way with a fail-safe. Trust me, your precious Clare won't die today. None of you die today."
Clare smarted for some reason. "Why are you even here? Do you know how to fight?"
Hillary grinned. "Have you ever heard of the archangel Jeremiel, archangel of visions and dreams?" she asked. "He's not one of the Great Eight, but he's still an angel, nonetheless."
Jeremiel? The name rang no bells for him. Not for Clare, either, who simply frowned at Hillary.
"Anyway, he gave my family a little blood to aid and abet with the Guardians. That being said, yes, I know how to fight."
Clare gave her a dirty look and turned away.
Hillary swaggered to the rest of them, a hand on Greed's back. For a brief second, he saw a glimpse into her thoughts. She had broken up with Ricky, ended it officially, and found solace in a bottle. That bottle led her straight to Greed, who had his own feelings buried in a bottle. Apparently, they had sex last night/this morning.
He grinned, just as a figure appeared in the distance.
Sloth.
"The real one wouldn't show up without Athena," Clare stated. Her eyes narrowed.
Don't kill him yet, he instructed her. He could sense her shield building up inside of her, ready to throw in front of them.
"Fine," she muttered, "but let me kill him."
Greed chuckled. "No, let me."
Lust had to be the one. He always protected Sloth.
The fake Sloth looked toward with a smile. "Have you come to sacrifice yourself?" he asked.
This was it. Clare beamed at him. "Nope!" Can I kill him now?
He resisted the urge to sigh at her.
"Then prepare for war."
The ground trembled beneath him. Lust's heart sunk to the bottom of his feet. None of you die today. Sloth and Athena had a fail-safe. Clare would make it out of here alive. So why did he feel so sick? Like something bad was about to happen.
War. War was about to happen, and while he had his fights, he hadn't been in one like this. Everyone feared him and his siblings. He had never been on the losing side of a battle because he never got involved.
In the end, it was neither of the three of them that killed the fake Sloth. It was Hillary, who took a ball of fire and shot it straight at him. He burned immediately, going up into flames as demons filed behind him. In the background, multiple Greeds appeared.
Lust frowned. "When did you learn to do that?"
She lifted a shoulder, the fire still dancing between her hands. "I've always been able to."
Suddenly, their odds seemed a lot better.
Sloth
Sloth pulled Athena's hair back from her face. Outside his house, the fighting had begun. He had mistimed it by a few minutes, simply because he had to kiss her one more time. And then another for good luck.
Someone else had been parading around as him while he stayed hidden in the Underworld, looking for a way to save his soulmate and the rest of the world. When the other Sloth knocked her on his ass, it made him so angry he could've punched a hole through the Underworld that led straight to hell. Never in his life would he be okay with hitting her that hard and that much. Oh, and when the fake him yelled at her, it took everything in him to remember his plan to remain hidden until he figured out who Mother was.
To imply he didn't care if Athena died? It would end him.
Now, though, they were back together. For the rest of their lives. Which, if they didn't get out there soon, might end sooner than they thought.
"You ready?" he asked, spinning her around. She glowed.
"Stay ready." She tucked another knife into her boot, slid a blade into the waistband of her sweatpants, and she kept the saber in her hands. She wore both rings on her fingers, intending on giving Clare hers when they reached the battlefield. In his hand, he held the twin saber, the one that matched hers. Together they could do some damage; although, not as much as the First Blades could do together.
Sloth wrapped his hand around hers and teleported them out there.
The problem fell in that he had expected to be there early. He chose the place Hillary said they would stand. However, now that the battle had already commenced, he realized he had a little problem—teleporting them right there put them right in the path of a charging demon, far away from Clare and the rest of them.
Athena pulled away from his hand and sprinted toward the demon the second her feet hit the ground. The demon stretched his arm forth to get her, but she leaned away from his grasp, slicing her saber through the air and into his midsection. It went halfway through before its bone stopped it, but it was enough to send the demon to her knees by the time she pulled away.
Across the field, the others hadn't noticed them yet. Lust had lost his weapon, and instead swung with his fists. He did a good job with the hand-to-hand combat. Greed, all eight or nine of them running around, swung machetes through the air, hacking body parts off. It was chaotic, though. For every hundred or so demons, there was one of them.
Turning his eyes back to Athena, he saw her shove the saber deep into the heart of another demon. Without looking at him, she stated, "Less sightseeing, more fighting."
"We need to get closer to Clare." The first order of business had to be getting her that ring in case things went wrong. With the state they were in now, things could go wrong quickly. He couldn't even see Clare right now.
Sloth pulled his saber from where he usually kept the sword—in a sheath on his back—and stood with his back to her. They had twenty demons coming at them from all sides it seemed. He raised it, ready to do some damage.
"You take care of your side, and I got mine," she said in response to the oncoming slaughter. For a brief second, she reached behind her and pressed her hand against his. "And don't worry about me."
Yeah, right. Not worrying about her proved to be impossible, even as he went at the demons. He cut his blade through the air like a pro. Of all his siblings, he and Pride were the only ones who fought regularly. Well, less fighting on Sloth's part—he much preferred to delve into torture. Just as fun, but less tiring.
Heads flew around him. Blood sprayed in the air, soaking his clothes. He teleported in and out of short distances, appearing behind them and in front of them. He shoved his saber through one demon, teleporting as he pulled it out to appear behind two more before sliding his saber right through their necks.
In the back of his mind, he listened for his girl. She made no noise, causing him to look back. Instead of being behind him, she had disappeared.
Panic clawed at his throat. If something had happened to her, already, he could no longer fight this battle. He'd lay himself down and shove her saber right through his heart.
Sloth lifted the remaining three demons into the air. They flailed, searching for a way down, but the Underworld had made him stronger.
A knife flew through the air, piercing the first demon in the back. Blood dripped from its mouth as it slumped over, as good as dead. Athena appeared from the side, grinning. "Did you know Hillary can control fire? How cool is that?" Her friendly tone made it seem as if she was at home watching tv and not in the middle of a fight for her life.
The remaining demons shriveled into themselves, leaving the area empty. She collected her knife. "We make a good team."
They did. "Where were you?"
"Finding a path to Clare and the others." She turned around, pointing straight down the middle. "Now, with the way everything is moving, I don't think we should teleport. Not that far anyway."
"Right," he agreed. They only had about twenty seconds to decide, though, if that. Thankfully they were far away enough away most of the demons hadn't noticed them. "I'll teleport us to the back of the stampede."
They would still be out about fifteen feet, but he could work with that. It was better than the hundred-plus feet they were away now.
"Let's do it, boss." She reached for his hand, and he sent them to that spot.
The second they landed, they returned to fighting.
Sloth stabbed a demon through her pretty throat, pulled his saber out, and did it again. Every second he became surrounded by more and more demons. Although no more poured out of the canyon in the ground, the demons still vastly outnumbered them.
Something hit his ankles. He stumbled, and one of the demons grabbed him by his hair. He dropped the saber to reach up and wrap his hands around the wrists. They were bony and frail, easy to break. The demon screamed, pulling away, but more hands reached for him. He felt around for his blade. A big foot stepped on his hand at the same time fangs sunk into his leg, hitting him to the bone.
Sloth screamed in pain.
Demons covered him from all corners. Small sprites picked strings of his hair out one-by-one and none too gently. The fanged demon gnawed on his leg, sending shockwaves of pain through him. Another demon tried to pull his left arm off, while another tried for the right arm. Some demon with a half a dog's head slobbered above his head, a grin like poison on its face.
"Shit," he swore, looking for a way out of this. With everyone attached to him, he couldn't just send them flying through the air or teleport out. They would go where he went, the only downside to his power. He called the only person he knew that could help. "Athena!"
Instead of her help, though, he got Clare.
A flash of brilliant white went off around him like the flash of a camera. The demons pulling at his arms disintegrated, as well as the sprites, but the fanged one stayed where he was, trying to drive his teeth straight through Sloth's bone.
"Sorry," Clare apologized. She drove a small knife through the neck of the demon at his leg. He noticed no demons tried to rush her or come close. That shield power she possessed scared them away. At least something did because her fighting skills were horrendous. "I'm still getting the hang of this."
He never thought he'd even think this, but it was good to see her smile. "Keep it up, it's keeping them off of you."
She stretched her hand out with a smile for him, and he saw she had the ring on her finger. "Barely," she replied, digging her feet into the ground. "Can you walk?"
No. "Barely," he answered, wincing as he applied a small amount of pressure to it. "I just need a few seconds to heal." At least enough that he could continue fighting.
"Well, I can keep this up another minute," she told him. She looked around at the fighting going on, taking an extra second on Lust. "There's just so many."
And all of them clamored for a chance to be the one to take a Walker girl home to Lilith.
Sloth looked for Athena. A few feet away, she dropped her saber and jumped on a demon's back, pummeling him with her fists. He tried to throw her off, but the way her legs wrapped tight around his waist made it near impossible. She whooped, excited, a manic grin on her face as she wrapped her arm around its neck. The demon's tongue flicked out, causing smoke to rise from her arm. She yelled, this time in pain. He saw the blade twist between her fingers, and a second later she jumped from its back as she crashed to the ground. Her saber flew back into her hands immediately.
"We can beat them all, though," Clare said. "I can take out a few dozen at a time. Athena's power is never-ending as long as she—Athena, watch out!"
A demon came from nowhere, a knife aimed at her neck. Athena whirled around at the same time Sloth sent the demon into the air, holding him there with a dark stare.
Too close, Sloth thought. He puzzled over how he would kill him, but a ball of fire hit the demon, turning him to ashes. Hillary looked up from her position a few feet away, grinning.
The warm protection of Clare's shield snapped away from him. She gave him an apologetic look. "How many can you lift into the air like that?" she demanded in a low, quick voice.
He shrugged. "About forty, fifty. Depending."
"Go to Hillary. You two should work together."
As much as he wanted to be side-by-side with Athena, Clare made an excellent point. They had to dwindle the numbers down first. At least he had healed enough to teleport over there to her. Hillary looked at him with a smile on her face. "Let's do this."
With the sun rising behind them, they managed to take down damn near two hundred demons. The system seemed a little fool proof: Clare and Athena worked behind them, protecting their back, allowing them to focus on their tasks. Sloth lifted dozens of running demons into the air, and Hillary sent fireball after fireball after them. While she had a steady hold on the fire, sometimes flames licked out and grabbed a few demons on the ground, too. Some demons ran the other way, but they were met with one of Greed's copies. To the left of them, Lust helped out by controlling their minds to come back toward them.
The battle actually seemed winnable.
At least, from their side it did. When he turned around, he saw Clare and Athena hadn't held the demons off by fighting—Clare had her shield up, preventing them from getting to them. Sighing, Sloth left Hillary, Lust, and Greed to the remaining sixty or so demons. "Put the shield down, Clare, we have to fight them," he commanded.
She rolled her eyes. "Well, duh. The three of you can all use your power from inside of it, so I thought I'd make things a little easier until the two of us had a little more help."
Athena thrummed with excitement, her whole body trembling. The excess demon energy needed to be worn off. The repercussions he was unsure of, but he'd rather not find out. "Fine, then let's take them out."
He kept half an eye out on Athena, even though she could handle herself. He knew when she hit the ground, despite the demons pulling him further and further away from her. Clare kept herself in her shield, but he could tell she was getting more and more tired. The shield snapped back in shorter intervals now.
With no less than four hundred demons left—truly, it felt like it should have been way less than that—Sloth began to rethink how he felt about the battle. As he waved his saber in the air, teasing weary demons who tried to plot their next moves, he heard another scream. Clare.
He turned around to watch the next few scenes play out slowly, knowing he couldn't help.
A demon grabbed Clare around the throat, pulling her down onto the ground. He lifted his clawed hand into the air to rip her heart out. Lust's voice sung through he field as he watched Clare's face turn purple.
Athena stopped mid-swing and turned. When she saw Clare, her mouth dropped open. However, she leaped a few feet across to Clare, throwing her body into the demon. His claw caught the side of Athena instead, sending her flying through the air in ripped clothing. Trespasser thudded against the ground.
Sloth made a beeline for her. No, no, no, no, no, he chanted, urging her to press her ring. She stayed on the ground, unmoving.
The demon, who had been shifted when Athena hit him, stood back up to attack Clare, but she threw her shield up, disintegrating him.
Another demon, though, seeing Athena as the easy target, ran toward her with her own saber. Sloth couldn't make it in time. He watched in slow, agonized moments as Trespasser came down into Athena's chest.
Or, it should've. At the moment it would've pierced her, Hillary came diving in front of it, and the blade went straight through her heart.
Blood bubbled to her lips slowly.
The demon roared, pissed off at missing its target. Athena, who had been stunned but not hurt, screamed. Clare took her saber and stabbed the demon in the throat. A horrified expression settled onto her place.
Hillary's body fell onto Athena, just as the life went out of her eyes.