Envy (Dark Waters Book 1)

Chapter Thirty:

Still dangling in the air, Pride gasped. "We... We wanted to make you proud," he said, his voice raspy and pained.

She looked up at him. "No, you didn't."

"I did, Mistress," he gasped. "You have to believe me. Please."

"Please," She mocked before touching the bottom of his shoe. "Pride, you and your insolence. You're everything your sin was built upon, but not what He and I believe in. You are expendable."

His eyes widened. Lighting struck from the portal once more. Before he could plead his case, before he could say another word, His fingers tightened around Pride's skull, crushing it instantly. Blood spilled onto the floor as He held Pride's body by what was left of his spine.

The Mistress of Darkness faced us all. As she spoke, Priscilla held me tighter.

"This is what has become of the Seven." She shook her head. "You've crumbled and failed because each of you has your selfish desires."

"Octavio." I looked down at Priscilla when she whispered my name. We locked eyes, and I held onto her light. If the Seven were going to be killed like Pride, I needed some goodness in my last moments; I needed Priscilla. Her weak smile gave me a little hope. "I want to say," she whispered, "that I am happy we tried. We got farther than we did before."

Mistress' head snapped in our direction. "And the two of you? Your desires. Please, tell me." She walked in our direction. "What did you think would happen?"

Gluttony hurried in front of us as Pride's body crashed to the floor. The impact made the others gasp, but Gluttony stood firm. He blocked us from Her view. "Please, Mistress."

Her head dipped to one side. "You? Gluttony, are you going to plead for another chance? We've given you more than one, and it looks like all you do is destroy our trust."

"Please." Gluttony raised his hands, then dropped to his knees. "Please," he repeated.

Gabriel walked behind him, holding his pistols, and slowly shook his head. "I can fix this," he said to Her.

"An angel?" His voice roared. "An angel in my temple!"

Gabriel looked up at his hand, a slight smirk on his face. "An angel?" he chuckled, then pointed at Her. "You mean like your mistress here?"

A loud hiss echoes in the air, and I cover my ear. Grimacing, I leaned against Priscilla's but looked at our Mistress.

Gabriel flipped his pistol from one hand to the other. "This whole realm is created because light and dark met, right?" He motions back to Priscilla and me. "If what they want so bad upsets you, then I think you and your giant ass husband need to look in the mirror."

"Gabriel," Gluttony hissed.

"No," Gabriel hissed back, then licked at Her, "our realms have always needed each other in this weird sick shit. We provide, and you slaughter a never-ending circle. There isn't a way around this, and there never will be."

Gluttony's face changed. Clearing his through, Gluttony looked at Her again. "He's right, and we only wanted to meet in the middle."

His voice rumbled throughout the temple. "You and the angel aimed to dismantle the Seven behind our backs."

"No," Gluttony shook his head and pointed at Pride's dead body, "because of him, no one is free here. I am a prisoner to my sin, and my son is, too," he pointed at me and said the word so easily, I bit my lip as he continued to talk, "if anyone here tells you otherwise, they are lying."

No one spoke up, not outright. A slight incoherent mumbling echoed in the air.

Mistress of Darkness sighed and looked down at the floor. Her shadowed foot traced the circle of the Seven. "Well, none of that matters now, does it?" She lifted her head. "Pride is dead. Like the previous Envy, who displayed the same horrid behaviors, we needed to remove him. But without a Pride, the realm will crumble regardless."

"No, Mistress." Sloth crawled forward on his knees. "What if Pride had repented for his sins? What if he had asked for forgiveness."

"Does it matter now? You idiot," Lust hissed. "He's dead."

She shrugged, looking from Lust to Sloth. "He's right. And I may have started as a Holy, but I'm no longer in the business of listening to regrets and desired innocence. He was beyond repentance. The Seven's imbalance lay beyond him, and because of this, the world will fall into disarray before it fails." She turned her head towards Gabriel. "You, angel, might as well pass on the word to the other side."

This was Armageddon, huh? The story everyone knew but couldn't define because it'd never happened. Words passed down for hundreds of years, backed by the ideas of suspicions. To think it happened because Sins couldn't get along. Because one Sin fell for a soul.

"Wait." Priscilla pushed off me, looking at Her. "What do you mean?"

She looked at her. "The end of days," our Mistress said. "This doesn't happen because your God is coming. It happens because the balance between light and dark has shattered."

Slowly, pushing off the floor, Priscilla grabbed my hand and pulled me with her. "And how..." she licked her lip, "how can we stop that?"

Mistress of Darkness shrugged. "We need a new Pride. But to find one on such short notice," her eyes panned to Gluttony, "this isn't as easy as a Sin providing his son for the position. We must scout for one, which could take hundreds if not thousands of years."

His voice rumbled. "The mortals will adjust."

"No." Priscilla stepped forward. She took a deep breath and looked at everyone before glancing back at me. She squeezed my hand as she faced Her once more. "I can become Pride."

Every part of me stopped. Did I hear her right?

"No," I pulled her back against me, "what are you thinking? You can't do that. You can't," I hissed.

"I have to," she whispered. "This is more than you and me. I have friends out there, Octavio. People I care about. I can let them die because we're all selfish in here."

"But..." What could I say?

She smiled. "And if they accept me, maybe," she lifted our hands and linked our fingers, "we'll get the eternity we wanted."

I gulped. It couldn't be that easy. As She said, I was only given the position because Gluttony vouched for me. I was born a half-demon; darkness already existed in my blood. But I didn't ask for this position in life; I only took it to beat death. But Priscilla to take it this way...? To join Sin to save... others?

His voice rumbled once more. "Her determination is... admirable," our Sire said.

She looked up at His hand as it remained hovered above the temple. "It cannot be that easy," she said to Him. "There is more than just admiration when it comes to this. I—"

"There wasn't when He met you, right?" Gabriel bit his lip. "He saw you, fell for you, and that was that. What more is needed in this situation? She's accepting the challenge," he glanced back at Priscilla and sighed, "and as long as I've known her, she's never been the one you can argue with. When her mind's made up, you might as well roll with it."

"I am," Priscilla whispered, agreeing with what Gabriel said, as she looked into my eyes, "it didn't take a lot to think about it. If this saves everyone, saves you, saves him," she pointed at Gluttony, "then I'll do it."

"But what about you?" I whispered. "This... this isn't the life you'd want."

"I wanted it then with you." She gently kissed my lips. "I'd like it now.