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

81

Rest? At last?

I wanted to weep. Surely this must be a dream. After everything... Finally? Could it really...

"Reflecti..." I stammered. "We telep...?"

"Yes, love. And look. You've even cleared the skies for us."

Cleared the skies? My gaze floated up, compelled by a vague urge, only to confirm his nonsense claim. A great hole punched straight through the cloud cover, with tattered wisps on the very edges as if something powerful and massive had blasted its way right into outer space. The sun shone down on me in a peaceful array of summer light, making the water sparkle with every lapping wave.

"The sirens are no longer a concern," Lust continued, "and the serpent can only be—ah." He paused. "We will have to move quickly. Endure a little longer, love."

His tone was calm, but there was no misunderstanding the conspicuous about-turn. "What is it," I demanded, my own words slurring now but still saddled with all the authority I could shove into them. "Why?"

"The beast is more resilient than I expected. It's stirring. Mammon! This way!"

Stirring. My emotions were so deadened I couldn't even summon the necessary fear to react. At least my brain wasn't too paralyzed to follow instructions when Lust urged me to unclench my fist and put my hand on his shoulder for leverage. He'd taken his Shard from me already and held it horizontally between his teeth, fangs glimmering over the curved, glass-like surface. But wait! What about the...?

"On your arm, love. It's been depleted and taken on a new form. It won't leave your side in the meantime."

Once again, my sluggish attention obeyed unthinkingly, drooping to my arm. A slender braided length twined about my arm like delicate vines from my fingers to my bicep. The soft leather of it rubbed against my elbow when I twisted my forearm up for a better view. Too bad we didn't have time to gawk. Before I could get a good look, Lust pulled me up into his arms and carried me closer to shore with forceful strides through the water, straining against the resistance.

The quiet grunt of exertion when he climbed the slope into the shallows finally alerted me to the reality of his injuries. His arms—they were scorched so badly that there wasn't a speck of intact color remaining on them, but still he carried me like a knight coming to the rescue of a helpless princess. He was the one who looked like he'd crawled out of an incinerator. What was he doing! How was he going to stay standing like this!

"Lust! Let me d-down. Now!"

"Not yet, love. Mammon, this way. Quickly!"

"Don't ig-ignore me. You're... you're c-comp-completely..."

"You're the one in a dangerous state, my love. My wounds are only of the flesh. Yours run far deeper."

"'m fine!" I mumbled between gritted teeth, struggling to stand my ground. God, I was so tired... My eyes... closing. "Just let m-me down."

"No." His denial was effortless. Whatever strength I'd summoned earlier to Command him was gone now, not a trace left to bend him to my will. "Time is of the essence. Mammon!"

The serpent monster's enormous body lay coiled and tangled, half-in and half-out of the water. The white scales that had seemed almost transparent in their purity before were now blackened in great patches all over. I didn't even recognize it at first, except for the telltale wings all down its great length that dragged and floated atop the lake's surface. Little reverberations of motion made them flutter, and my heart stopped. Oh, God. Lust was right. It was still alive. Not that I'd expected to kill it—and neither did I want to, just in case... but thumping, billowing fear blew through me at the thought of it rising back up and finishing what it started. There wasn't enough room left inside my deflated brain for terror, but that much, I knew would be instant death.