“Shit,” Eclipse muttered once he made eye contact with the man.
“Who is he?” I asked without delay, positive that Eclipse’s reaction meant that he and this looney tune were familiar with one another. “Is he a Demon?”
A dry laugh issued from Eclipse. “He’s a Demon, alright.”
I glanced at him sideways. “Who is he?”
“You know how I don’t get along with some of my Elders?” he prompted gravely. Never taking his eyes off the Demon, Eclipse took off his seatbelt and announced, “Well, here’s one of them.”
My breath hitched at the announcement.
One of Eclipse’s brothers.
In the past, we were the ones who sought out Eclipse’s brothers. For Sloth and Gluttony, their appearances, though intimidating, weren’t unexpected. We were the ones encroaching on their territory so there was a certain comfort in that relationship. However, it was a different experience to be sought out by one of Eclipse’s brothers. It might have been presumptuous of me, but I had a really bad feeling about all of this.
“Wh – which one is it?” I whispered unevenly, watching closely as the Demon came out of his immobile state.
He took several retreating steps from the car. With a sense of authority radiating from his powerful stature, he lifted a lackadaisical hand and motioned for Eclipse to come out.
An arduous sigh escaped Eclipse’s lips before he sulkily answered, “Greed.”
Eclipse twisted around to face the baby Demons with purposeful eyes. Like myself, the baby Demons were drowning in unbridled fear. They may have been familiar with the more “laid-back” Dark Majesties, but Greed was a different breed. Though he had yet to say or do anything, his simple presence scared the living daylights out of me. Just when I thought I couldn’t be more afraid, every brother I met appeared to be scarier than the last.
“Stay in here,” Eclipse commanded them, reaffirming that my uneasiness with Greed’s impromptu appearance was merited. “Don’t come out.”
“What about me?” I asked, staring wide-eyed at him.
Eclipse leveled his gaze onto me. However much I sensed that he would rather have me hiding out in the car, it was clear that Eclipse deduced such actions would do more harm than good. If a Dark Majesty was here, then I had to be introduced. Staying in the car wasn’t an option.
“Come out,” he said carefully, his voice rippling with subtle warning for me to stay close to him.
Shaking internally, I nodded and nervously unbuckled my seatbelt. We stepped out of our respective doors and came together in front of the car. As the wind blew droplets of rain over us, Eclipse and I walked side by side and approached Greed.
Greed remained rooted in his position, smoking his cigar while his black eyes rested on us. Rain was pouring all around him, but in the circle he was standing in, rain did not dare encroach on his territory. Whereas we were drenched like dogs, he was dry from head to toe.
“Eclipse,” he greeted in a deep voice that drummed with prestigious air. The cigar’s smoke flittered like mist from his mouth.
Right away, I noted that he was a much different breed from Sloth and Tony. Sloth and Tony had an air of aristocracy to them, but it was in low dosages; for Greed, he practically radiated aristocracy. From how he stood, how he spoke, and how he acted, there was no doubt that he was created to have others kneel before him.
I knew who he reminded me of now.
His ambiance was exactly like Eclipse’s, and therein laid the problem. I could understand why they didn’t get along. A Kingdom couldn’t have multiple Kings, and Eclipse and Greed were the embodiment of alpha males butting heads. The tension was so thick between them that I could cut it with a knife.
“To what do I owe the honor, Elder?” Eclipse asked diplomatically, though in the subtle inflections of his voice, one could detect his disdain for his brother.
We stepped into the circle with Greed, now being completely sheltered from the weather. Rain continued to deluge like waterfalls, but it simply fell around us, never on us.
Greed smiled, the warmth not reaching his eyes. He tucked one hand into his pocket while his free hand held the cigar. “An older brother cannot visit his baby brother?”
“Not when he’s having fun ruining the economy of the human world,” remarked Eclipse.
Greed chuckled, exhilarated at the mention of his handiwork. Unlike Eclipse’s laughter that made my heart gallop a mile a minute, Greed’s laughter sent ice into the marrow of my bones.
“Oh yes, these humans have certainly gotten greedier as the centuries passed. The break in their economy couldn’t have come sooner.” He surveyed his surroundings, looking proud that he had exterminated the vast majority of pests from their livelihood. “These humans are so weak-willed, always wanting more than they were ever meant to be given.” A dark, sinister shadow veiled over his eyes. “You know what the funny thing is? I’m just getting started. These cockroaches have no idea what else I have in store for them.”
His words sent a ripple of unease over me. The world economy was already bad. I couldn’t imagine how much worse it was going to get.
“Why are you here when you’re so busy, Elder?” Eclipse inquired, his expression maintaining its pleasant features. His voice, however, was a different story. Eclipse was becoming very impatient. We still had a priest to interrogate. Since Greed wasn’t necessarily someone who Eclipse would voluntarily be in the company of, this meeting was more of an inconvenience than anything else.
“I was reminded of your birthday yesterday and I wanted to come and check up on you,” Greed replied with false sincerity. His cool smile remained before a calculating sheen glowed in his obsidian eyes. “I also wanted to come and see how far along you were in terms of accomplishing your task.”
“Complications have arisen,” Eclipse said succinctly, offering no further details.
Greed tried not to show it, but it was obvious this piqued his interest. “Which are?
Eclipse laughed warmly, faking considerateness. “I’d rather not share the burden.”
The twitch in his jaw indicated that Greed was not happy with Eclipse’s dismissive response. Maintaining his cool appearances, Greed tilted his head and instead asked, “Why are you leaving the protective veil of Seoul again?”
Eclipse raised a brow of inquiry as rain continued to fall with vigor. “Again?”
“Oh yes,” Greed said almost tauntingly. He was becoming more impatient with Eclipse as well. “I did hear about your firework show the other day. You were far from subtle, little brother. Careless, if I should say so myself.”
The edge of Eclipse’s mouth curved into a smirk. The air of apathy never eroded from his demeanor. “Then you know that it is best if I do not talk about it. I do not want to continue with my carelessness. I’m sure you understand.”
Though Greed’s face remained indifferent, the atmosphere around us started to become icier. He wasn’t pleased with the direction of the conversation and he was powerful enough to project his distaste into the air. His lips tightening, Greed blinked in irritation before casting his attention to the Rav4 behind us. He wasn’t happy with Eclipse’s cavalier attitude towards him, and if he couldn’t get information out of him, then he would go through other channels of pissing him off.
“If father had a grave, he’d be rolling in it right now to see the state you’ve fallen into.” Greed eyed Eclipse coldly, anger finally lining his facial features upon the mention of his father. “Of course, we all know that you couldn’t care less about upsetting him, seeing as you’ve just come back from a failed war to take over his established monarchy.”
A muscle in Eclipse’s jaw flexed. Through his composed demeanor, I could sense he was trying very hard to maintain his patience.
“I apologized, Elder,” he reminded evenly, the steel behind his voice lethal.
If it was even possible, the air got colder with Eclipse’s anger.
“You came to us with an exchange for your fr
eedom,” Greed corrected spitefully. “That’s not an apology, baby brother. That’s a negotiation.” He smirked before quietly moving out of the protective circle and into the rain to touch the hood of my car. Within the car, Coco and Phix were fearfully avoiding eye contact and staring at the ground. Even OinkOink was out of sight. “How miserable you must be right now to be so . . . pathetic,” Greed murmured, his fingers grazing over my car. “Look at the piece of shit car you’re driving. I’ve never seen anything more pitiful.”
“The car is not a piece of shit,” I muttered without thinking, the instinctive part of me becoming protective of my car. “It’s—”
I stopped talking when I realized what I had done, but it was too late.
“Do not interrupt me when I’m speaking!” Greed growled at me like I was a dog barking out of turn. Finally acknowledging my insignificant and offensive existence, his frigid and unforgiving gaze pinned onto me.
I reeled back like a sledgehammer had hit me. Despite my obvious fear of him and my obvious regret for being careless, his hostility did not subside.
“Better yet, do not talk at all unless you’re addressed, you insufferable cockroach—”
Bam!
It happened so quickly that I didn’t get to see much of it.
One second, Eclipse was beside me, and the next, his hand was corded around Greed’s neck. Displaying incredible strength, he lifted Greed off his feet and slammed him onto the Rav4, tilting the car to one side. Inside the vehicle, the baby Demons and OinkOink were freaking out.
Cold rain poured over the royal Demons, cultivating the heated anger between them.
With Greed, who still had a look of indifference on his face, pinned against the car, Eclipse leaned in with deadly restraint.
“If you speak to her like that again, then I will hand your ass to you.”
Eclipse’s voice was composed, but the fire burning in his eyes was undeniable. He was pissed beyond all reason.
“Eclipse, let him go,” I urged shakily, stepping into the rain and pulling at his dampened shoulders.
It didn’t take a genius to see that Greed was merely uninterested at the moment. If he was truly provoked and fought Eclipse, then World War III would break out. I didn’t want Eclipse to lose his cool, use up his powers, and risk going back into hibernation.
“When I convert her, she will become one of the most powerful Demons in existence,” Eclipse declared tightly, ignoring my calls. His eyes on his brother remained fierce. “She may be human right now, but her lineage surpasses even the rank of our father’s. It may not be wise to insult her when she could be a threat in the future. All that aside . . .” His grip grew stronger, the flesh on Greed’s neck looking like it was about to rip apart as Eclipse punctuated his point. “I’m sure you’re aware she has become my soul mate. She’s an extension of me now, and to put it simply: you fuck with her, you fuck with me. Having said that, I suggest in the near future, you exercise a bit more courtesy because no one fucks with me without getting a piece of my mind. Do we have an understanding, Elder?”
With any other living being, I was certain Eclipse’s warning would scare them shitless. Greed, on the other hand, appeared unaffected. If anything, he looked downright entertained by Eclipse’s outburst.
He began to laugh mockingly as Eclipse loosened his grip. It was apparent that he was purposely trying to get Eclipse riled up.
“You wouldn’t want to bring attention to yourself again, now would you?” Showcasing extreme power, he roughly pushed Eclipse off of him before fixing the collar of his shirt. The Rav4 fell back onto the road with a loud thud, eliciting more damage than Greed, who appeared completely untouched. Eyes swarming with distaste, Greed’s gaze carved into Eclipse’s. “Always so spoiled because you were Pride’s favorite.”
The protectiveness on Eclipse’s visage magnified. Now it wasn’t just over me, but it was also over the brother he respected. “You should show more respect when talking about our eldest brother.”
Greed’s lips lifted into a snarl. He cocked his head, measuring Eclipse with pity in his eyes. He couldn’t believe Eclipse was foolish enough to showcase such respect for their missing brother.
“Still holding out for the powerful Pride to come back down to Hell? Come to your senses, Eclipse. It’s been thousands upon thousands of years. He’s not coming back.”
“You speak of coming to one’s senses, but who is the one holding out for an absent father who has been gone for millions of years?”
Greed’s black eyes pulsed with rage.
The snarl on his face evolved into a sneer of disgust for Eclipse and everything that embodied his existence.
“It is Pride’s fault that you are so arrogant and it’s his fault that the youngest of us became big-headed enough to think that he could overthrow the monarchy.” A smile too demonic to be human surfaced on his face. “Sloth and Gluttony may be apathetic about your ‘mistakes,’ but not all of us are as forgiving. You are lucky Wrath agreed to your little proposal to come up to Earth to convert this”—he eyed me slowly, his black orbs brimming with even more disgust—“waste of space, and to retrieve Genesis’ missing items because if the numbers were reversed, you’d be rotting away in your Kingdom.”
A smug grin touched Eclipse’s lips. “Luckily I was able to convince our Elder to see it my way then.”
“Consider yourself very blessed that you are my brother because if it were anyone else, I would’ve done everything in my power to make their life worse than Hell.”
I knew it took everything within Eclipse to not laugh at that ridiculous statement.
“Yet you have no problem watching me suffer,” Eclipse stated instead, his face unimpressed.
Greed smirked before turning to me, his voice still addressing Eclipse. “I take it you’ve not only come to make peace with your punishment, but you’ve become attached to it as well.”
“Hard not to become attached to such a beautiful little thing,” Eclipse replied without a breath of hesitation.
Leave it to Eclipse to make my heart race even when I was already scared to death of his older brother.
“Yes, the sin you embody is lust,” Greed agreed airily. Once he was done looking me over and finished making me feel like trash, he refocused his attention on Eclipse. “Stupidity is embedded in that indulgence when it comes to women.”
He smiled, this time the warmth finally meeting his black eyes.
I wondered what could cause the sadistic Demon of Greed to smile so genuinely. He answered that question with his next words.
“In any case, you should know that there are Demons on your tail. After your revealing the other day, it has been widely established that a Source is being converted. With the two of you leaving the veil over Seoul, it seems that every other part of the country is fair game. Be careful. I wouldn’t want you to fail and become human in this world. What a travesty that would be.”
An influx of anxiety found me, and I sensed it found Eclipse as well.
“There are Demons on our tail?” Eclipse echoed softly.
Greed nodded casually. “They are actually in the vicinity right now. They can smell her and they are adamant about finding her.” The amusement in his voice was undeniable. “Whatever you’re doing out here, I suggest you do it quickly because they are getting closer and closer.”
“And you just extended our time out here by making your little appearance,” I noted, staring at him in outrage.
That bastard.
He did all this on purpose. He deliberately made an appearance with the goal of slowing us down so those Demons could catch up to us.
Greed chuckled, regarding me with impressed eyes. He turned back to Eclipse, the proud smile of his handiwork never leaving his face. With Sloth and Gluttony, as scary as they were, they were at least helpful. With Greed, there was no denying the hatred he harbored for Eclipse.
“You know that these Demons are looking to overthrow your monarchy?” I incited at once, ho
ping the information would somehow convince him to help us.
“Yes. I am well aware that these rogue Demons are attempting to overthrow the monarchy. However, as of right now, they are not an immediate threat. When they become a higher concern for our Kingdoms, I will take care of them. Until then . . .” His diabolical eyes bore into us. “You can have your fun with them.” His gaze landed solely on Eclipse. “My gift to you is the warning,” Greed went on, knowing that for today, he was the one who got the last attack in.
As more mocking laughter poured from his lips, Eclipse silently seethed. It looked like he was ready to lunge onto Greed and rip his head off.
“Happy birthday, baby brother,” continued Greed. “Let’s hope you’ll still have eternity by your side when this is all over.” Greed turned in my direction, inclining his head at me. For the first time since we had met, he actually appeared civil with me. “Be well, little girl.”
And just like that, he disappeared into thin air, and we were left in nothing but mayhem.
Shit.
“What the hell just happened?” I spluttered, bewildered by the surreal scene I was in. “It’s only been a few minutes and we got screwed over already?”
“That’s a Dark Majesty for you. When we screw someone over, we screw them over fast and we leave them reeling.”
Eclipse wheeled around to face me at once.
“Get in the car,” he commanded, pulling me with him. Urgency was pulsing in his voice.
He opened the door to the passenger seat and helped me in before running to the driver’s seat.
“Does this mean that Greed sent Demons after you?” I asked when the Rav4 lurched forward and we were driving at full power.
Coco and Phix, who were quietly freaking out over Greed’s appearance, were now busy keeping a look out for Demons. Even OinkOink, who was sitting on Phix’s lap, was staring out the window in fear.
The entire car was on high alert.
“Maybe or maybe not.”
Eclipse’s eyes fixed on the road. The windshield wipers swept furiously from side to side, the lights from the dashboard casting a purposeful glow on his features.