Sinners' Kingdom #1: The Book of Lust (Complete)

37

Even if I was the only one who understood what they were saying, why was no one else reacting? Sarina and her people had to at least sense the danger they were in. The two Princes stared at each other for another lingering moment as if making sure one last time that the other didn't go back on his word, but this was it. The end. No more time. In seconds, everyone could be dead and this would become a field of red instead of white.

No one should die today. Please, no one die today. Not only because it would take a sociopath to not care about these people's lives, but I owed Sarina, too, big time. Even now, her reaction was more lenient than what I would have ever done in her shoes. Some witch running around with an unregistered demon familiar, too strong to possibly be legal, and freeing another one on top of that from a prison I'd been guarding for who knew how long? Forget restraining me. If I were Sarina, I would have run out, told whatever Coven had jurisdiction in this place to drop a bomb on my head, and called it a day.

But I wasn't Sarina. I was me. And I had to do something.

"Sarina! Run!"

She tensed, and the glowing cord tugged minutely around my arms. Please! If she was quick enough, at least she might get away even if it was too late for the other monks. I had no hope for them. They were as good as dead, being so close to the demons. But Sarina — my mother had helped her before. If I couldn't save at least her, everything my mom had done would be for nothing. Nausea bubbled up in my gut as I strained against the binds. No matter what, I couldn't let Lust get her. Not her. I had to save at least one.

But Sarina refused to go.

"Bind them!" she called out, voice hard as stone. "Hold them fast until the Coven is here! Give it your all!"

"Sarina, no! You can't do anything to them! They're Demon Princes!"

"Yes, the one you freed is a Prince," she snapped as the monks redoubled their efforts and cast even more glowing ropes to strengthen their magical net. "But he's weakened, and we've been able to hold him until now. You just need to call your familiar back. Cooperate, and your nation's Coven may lighten your sentence."

"He's not my familiar! There are limits to what I can make him do, and I already met them. You don't understand!"

"I understand enough. You control him. If he harms any of my acolytes, their blood is on your hands."

There was no time to explain that whatever hold I used to have on Lust was gone. It had vanished earlier when he used me to taunt Mammon. I'd made him obey me before, but maybe he had been pretending all along, what did I know? And now, he was going to massacre these people, and there was nothing I could do to stop him.

I still tried. One last time.

"Lust, don't do it!" I screamed. "Don't hurt them!"

By now, he had sauntered to the edge of the glowing net that entrapped him. With a smile, he ran one sizzling fingertip along a thick strand, making it crackle and jump as steam rose from the point of contact. The monk manifesting that strand let out a panicked cry, shoulders and arms jerking as if he were holding back a massive dog on a leash.

"Oh, Sable, my love," Lust called, his laughter barely hidden in his voice. "I'm afraid I have no choice. But maybe next time, I think, yes?"

"Lust—!"

He grasped the net with no warning, fingertips curving into terrible gray claws as shockwaves blasted through the dome. The brilliant lights of each cord flickered, and several monks staggered as if something had slammed into them. One fell to his knees, and Sarina sucked in an alarmed gasp.