Bereft: Demise

28 | Of Guillotines and Their Sway

His eyes were a garish, unnerving crimson—comparable to, and yet nothing like, Darius's. Sethan's eyes were the color of true madness.

Amoroth clutched her crushed limb to her chest. She poured energy into the wound—but Sethan's liminal magic was unusually powerful. All the Originals had powerful, innate liminal magic still lingering in their bodies and souls. As such, their power to heal wounds inflicted by another Original was stronger—but Amoroth wasn't Original. She didn't hold an iota of liminal magic and had no immunity to it.

Gritting her teeth, Lust held her broken arm close as it slowly, agonizingly, healed. Sethan watched her, bored, with his hand slid into the pockets of his slacks—though Amoroth knew the mad creature could move in an instant to block her escape. Balthier steadily approached as he enjoyed her blatant fear.

"He was a loathsome man," Envy stated, tipping his head toward the dead contractor. "You bribed him to cement a few your victims into his projects, didn't you?"

Amoroth glared as she continued to ease back. The wall was inches behind her. She could scale it in an instant—but so could Balthier and Sethan. Who would be faster?

"Of course," she grated in reply. "But I always cover up my kills. Can you say the same, Balthazar?" Amoroth looked at the dead man laid out like some macabre art experiment. "Don't pretend to be innocent. You must be the bloodiest monster of us all, Envy."

His smile grew more sinister. He moved suddenly, increasing his speed, and Amoroth jumped into the Realm, aiming to leap the wall and put just enough distance between herself and the other Sins to allow escape—

Too slow. Sethan pounced and Amoroth lost concentration. She fell from the Realm as Wrath's blow connected with her shoulder. Grunting, Amoroth was thrown from the top of the wall to the floor. The concrete cracked and buckled on impact.

"Oh," Balthier mocked as he perched atop the wall's rugged edge. He was an elegant gargoyle watching a spectacle unfold beneath his lithic roost, the sun painting his front in the deep tones of sunset. "Gently, Sethan. Not before I've spoken to her."

Wrath grumbled something about Balthier wasting Sethan's time, but it was difficult for Amoroth to hear through the ringing in her ears.

Amoroth rose just enough to see the Sin of Wrath pacing the sunbathed floor in smooth, practiced arcs. Dread flooded Amoroth's mind as she watched him and heard Balthier chuckle above.

I'm going to die here, aren't I?

She stumbled upright, taking stock of her injuries. Sethan have broken her shoulder, so the Sin's left arm hung uselessly at her side. The fall had broken several ribs and, judging by the wet, gurgling sound of her breathing, one of those ribs had punctured a lung. The latter of her injuries, having not been directly inflicted by Sethan, were swiftly healing. Amoroth spat blood between her teeth. It ran down her chin and stained her blouse.

"Why are you doing this?" she again demanded of Envy. "You promised to leave me be. You promised to let me live if I sold out Darius and his host and I bloody handed them to you!"

Balthier shrugged, his hands splayed. The light caught on his cufflinks and sparkled. "I lied. But, don't be afraid, little Amoroth. This needn't be your end. Whether you live or die is completely up to you."

"I thought you averse to lying," Amoroth sneered as she dipped her right hand into her jacket's pocket. She palmed the smooth pebble hidden there and removed her hand again. "I thought you were a demon of your word."