To his credit, Lust lived up to his word and ferried me back the way we came without a single protest. I had fully expected him to at least wheedle me a dozen times no matter how desperate he was to make amends for, you know, blinding me, but it was as if he was... happy? Joyous, even, as he carried me through the sprinkling rain with his lips brushing various parts of my body every so often as we walked. When I made it clear I wasn't amused, he played it off by only doing so whenever the terrain changed unexpectedly, jostling us slightly as he navigated the uneven earth with swift strides. Yeah, right. I was blind, not stupid. He was clearly just trying to rub up on me the entire time. He was fully capable of keeping both of us perfectly and gracefully balanced as he walked.
But I gave up snapping at him after the first try. I was too tired for this. That last burst of fiery determination to get my way no matter what two Princes had to say about it flattened me like a ketchup packet. Done. I couldn't even keep from slouching against Lust and resting my head on top of his, practically passing out on top of him. No one warned me how much harder it was to resist sleep when you were blind and had nothing but emptiness for sight. The ultimate trap. Maybe I should have insisted on walking on my own two feet instead of giving in so easily. Seriously, wasn't it bad sign that I was becoming accustomed to touching Lust so much? Relying on him like this would undermine my Dominance in no time, and the contract...
I jolted awake for the tenth time, then jumped again in short order when Lust's fingers trailed down my back in a soothing stroke.
"Sleep a little longer, love. What has you so worried?"
"... Just had a thought. You're fast. Why are you walking so slowly?" His amused, delighted chuckle confirmed my suspicions. "You—just get us there," I demanded. "This isn't a picnic, Lust. I'm not here for a stroll. What if we're too late! It could disappear because you wanted to take your sweet time getting there. Put me down. I'll get there faster on my own."
I pushed off of his shoulder, shoving away the sleep that gnawed all over my body, but Lust's arms tightened around my waist and dragged me close again.
"For fuck's sake—!"
"It's dangerous to be running around out here," he purred. "Did you know that predators are designed to chase fleeing prey? And proto-sirens have keen vision, like hawks, eagles, falcons. They can spot quick little movements from miles away. It's safer for you to move slowly so as not to tempt their natures, even against this unpleasant weather."
I was about to call him out for making up obvious BS, then vaguely recalled something I saw on National Geographic or the Discovery Channel that slow, creeping retreats were the best way to deal with animals. Some of them, at least. If he was making all of this up, then he was making a convincing show of it, enough to make me sway. Or was that the incubus influence in my veins, nurturing my eagerness to agree with whatever he said? I battled between the polar forces of apparent common sense and defensive spite, wondering if I should object just to demonstrate to myself that I still could, but ended up giving in to the fatigue that wrapped around me like a fur coat. He really was warm. A toasty personal fireplace that made it so I didn't feel the chill of the light rain at all. I hated it.
(... Right? I hated it, right?)
God, if only there was a way to be sure. Like a meter to check my mental stability the way I could check my car's oil health. Maybe there was a spell for that. Not that I could see another witch doctor even under a pseudonym now that I was a criminal.
"Sable? What's wrong?"
"Huh?"
"You're thinking so deeply and I don't know what's on your mind."
"... I was just trying to sleep. Like you told me to."
"Your heartbeat quickened. That's not quite as restful a sleep as I wanted for you."
"You can feel my heartbeat?" I asked, horrified, only to realize — how could he not? I was wrapped around him like a damn parasite. I peeled my chest away from him, all too aware that even if it was through the robe, I'd practically had my breasts pressed to the side of his face while I made myself comfortable dozing on top of his head. For fuck's sake. "All right, that's enough of that. How much farther?"
"Not long. Patience, love."
"And where's Mammon?"
His arm tightened around me. "Close enough," he replied, voice deceptively calm. It was disturbing how easily I could tell it was a pretense just by the too-composed inflection of his tone. Getting a little too familiar with a demon I'd never even spoken to before two days ago.
"Have no choice, do I?" a growling voice rasped from a short distance behind us. "Who knows what you'll do if I don't keep an eye on you while you have the witch."
"My name is Sable. You can stop calling me 'witch' when that's not even what I am."
He snorted, but it was a half-hearted noise that almost made me — feel bad? Wait, why did I suddenly feel guilty? And for what? I clumsily sifted through a pile of fleeting, confusing emotions... and found nothing. If I could only see his face, I might figure out from his expression what exactly it was that bugged me.
Whatever. He was a demon, anyway. No need to get wrapped up in wondering if I'd offended him, unless it was out of fear that he would transform and eat me whole. My, what big teeth you have. The better to eat you with, my dear.
I immediately quashed the quiet, unbidden thought that he had indeed eaten me already, just in a really, really different way from expectations. Huh? What thought? Nothing.
We moved in silence until Mammon spoke again, to my surprise.
"I didn't call you by name because you never gave it to me," he said begrudgingly. "But I'll take that as an invitation now."
I opened and closed my mouth a few times, too taken aback to respond immediately. I mean, it was a general rule to never give your true name carelessly to anyone, much less a demon, but that hardly applied to our situation. Lust had called me by name in front of Mammon so many times already that if he wanted to use it against me, if he had a way to use it against me in the first place, he could have done so easily at any time. What was he going on about? This show of politeness made no sense.
"You already knew it, so what's the difference?" I asked. "If you were going to use a taboo spell to enslave me with my name or something, you would have done it already."
I waited for his answer. When he said nothing, I continued, "Not that it would have worked. Sable isn't my witch name or anything. Never received one. Just a powerless human name. And like I said, I can't use magic anyway. What would you enslave me to do, your laundry?"
"Even false names hold power. Does Asmodeus know your true name? Did you give it to him when you made your contract?"
"I told you, I don't have a true name—"
"I don't need to know it, dear Mammon. Not for what you're thinking." Lust's voice was dangerously silken. I thought I felt the tips of his claws grazing me through the robes.
"What I'm thinking? And you know what that is?"
"The contract is perfectly valid without exchanging names. Your efforts to undermine my claim are futile, because worry not, it runs deeper than any interference you can dream of. Your show of nobility was very appealing, though. Such a gentleman to respect her name, my. Unfortunate that the pretense is so easy to see through."
Mammon snarled, low and deep. Goosebumps raced up my arms as I flinched away from the dark, beastly aura that billowed into me. Consuming fury, frenzied intent, greed. It pierced me through and filled my skin like shadows, even when Lust pulled me down slightly to shield me from it. A sharp exhale slipped between my teeth when his embraced tightened a little too much.
"Go on. Try to keep me from what's mine, Asmodeus. But don't forget. As long as I have your Shard, everything you possess is mine, too, now. You're fighting a losing battle if you go against me." Mammon chuckled, but the sound of it was bitter, aggressive. I steeled myself to keep from shrinking away from it. Lust's coddling was unnecessary. "Don't think I'm the only one changing against my will, either," Mammon added. "Look at you. You got under my skin, but I'm under yours, too. Since when is the starving Asmodeus so eager to share what he thinks is his?"
"Well, I always believed we never got along because we're too similar." Lust shifted. He must be looking over his shoulder at the other demon. "Though it's far more impressive that I made the Prince of Greed share so nicely, than it is the other way around. Wouldn't you agree? I'd even say you were thrilled."
That was all I needed to be certain of what they were talking about, and like hell was I going to sit here on Lust's arm and act like I didn't want to smash their heads in for talking about fucking me like I was some shiny trophy to squabble over. With a burst of anger, I sat up straight, pushing against Lust's shoulder with both hands. "Get over yourselves," I said flatly. "Frankly, I don't care what beef you two have. But seems to me like you'd have a lot better time of fighting each other if we get off this stupid island and back to civilization, where you can handle this Shard bull between yourselves and fight to the death over whatever afterwards. So maybe you two can bookmark this for later and save all that energy you have for arguing — for something a little more useful? Maybe?"
Lust chuckled. He didn't answer aloud, but neither did Mammon, so maybe they were just tacitly agreeing to my proposal. Thank God. More and more, I wondered if it was normal to be in the unwilling company of two Prince of demons, but feel more like I was trying to herd two aggressive billy goats that couldn't stop trying to gore each other. I sighed and slumped, mood sinking ever deeper. This was going to get a lot worse before it got better, wasn't it?
You could give Lust more power, the small voice that I hated so much whispered. You can make sure he's stronger than Mammon. That'll make sure they don't need to fight, and keep Mammon under control.
By what? Letting him fuck me 24/7? Accelerate my corruption and shorten my remaining window? And that wasn't even a guarantee it would make him strong enough to keep Mammon on a leash. His power was limited without his Shards, and there must be a ceiling he couldn't surpass. Besides, Mammon possessed the only one we'd found. If Lust became stronger and they were really bonded through it, wouldn't that just make Mammon stronger, too?
It's only temporary. Just for now.
Except the corruption wouldn't be temporary at all. What then? How to reverse it?
The small voice failed to answer that time. A sinister chill flooded me when I realized it hadn't been a rational thought in the first place — but something else, something that had wormed inside me to sway my sense and coax me. I dug my nails into my wrist, an unconscious flinch in the face of such horrifying proof that I couldn't trust myself after all—
Ouch? I loosened my grip immediately. My left arm was draped around Lust's shoulders, and I'd anchored myself by grasping the forearm, so I almost lost my balance when I yanked my hand away. Lust caught me easily, keeping me perched on his arm.
"Sable? Love, rest. You're too tired."
I let him believe that was the reason I'd nearly toppled. With a subtle shift, I repositioned myself and turned my left wrist over, then gingerly placed my other hand over it in a way that wouldn't be obvious to either demon. No need to alert them to what just happened when I wasn't even sure what it was.
It didn't take long for me to get an inkling of it. Gently pressing the bottom of my palm to the underside of my wrist revealed that the latter was hot and sore, and that it was so inflamed it hurt even to graze it. What was this! I probed it as hard as I dared to without alerting Lust to my movements, but without my sight, there was no way I could play detective well enough to figure it out. All I knew was that this was unmistakably where the contract brand had tattooed itself on me, and that God, it hurt. Badly!
A dim memory resurfaced, rendered too fuzzy to recall in detail — but I was sure it had happened. After Lust found our temporary shelter in the cave and settled me in his lap, he had grabbed my arm... or something. The sleeve had dropped, baring my arm. Then... that aura, full of madness. It was too distinct to have been a dream; that definitely happened. But why? Did he do something to me then? Was that why the contract brand hurt?
Cool dread dripped inside me like a leaking pipe. I shivered. Did I dare to ask...?
I didn't. Instead, I curled my hand around my wrist and concealed it. I'd figure out what to do about that later. My to-do list was too long already, and my head was jumbled with all the things that needed resolving first. The weapon, for instance. I needed that. Maybe more than ever...
After a while, a familiar, whispering noise eased into earshot with a rhythmic hushing and shushing, back and forth. The sound of waves lapping against the sands provided an idyllic backdrop to my darkened world, almost romantic.
"Here we are," Lust announced. "Back to where we came from."