Page 42 of The Demon Mark

It took half the day for Sloth to answer Envy’s call, and when he did, it wasn’t in the wispy form of someone who answered the call of the crystal. No. His brother tugged at the connection he had with all of them. He wanted to come here. He wanted to actually stand in front of Envy and see him.

So Envy called a portal and allowed Sloth to step into his office.

It was hard to look at his brother in lights like this. Sloth’s kingdom was so awash with sun that it actually bleached out what a person could see. But here, Sloth’s shoulders and arms were dusted with glimmering gold scales, his slitted dragon eyes a little uncomfortable to stare into. But it was the burning light in his chest that was always so captivating for everyone who looked at him.

Not that it was always lit. Sloth only wore that fire breathing chest when he was angry.

Apparently, Envy had angered him.

“You summon me?” Sloth hissed, his tongue flicking out of his mouth like a snake. “You realize that I have a kingdom to run?”

“I was unaware you were interested in running a kingdom. Your form of leadership is usually to suggest that they smoke more.” Envy leaned back in his chair, tilting the legs back until he was balancing on two of them. “Besides, I have need of your thoughts.”

“My thoughts are better suited to the dreaming realm.”

“Yes, sometimes. But not this time.” Envy gestured toward the other chair. “I have whiskey, if you’d like some.”

“Your whiskey is usually lacking. But if you’re offering something to help get me through this conversation, then I will gladly drink it.” Sloth slumped down in the seat, slouched and taking up far too much room with his massive body. “So what is it?”

“I’m having trouble with a woman.”

“I didn’t know you were interested in women,” Sloth grumbled as he reached for the glass Envy poured and then offered.

“I fear I’m having troubles with this woman in the same way that our other three brothers have been having trouble with women.”

Sloth froze at that. His yellow eyed gaze locked on Envy’s face, and his nostrils flared as though he was sniffing the air for a lie. There was no lie, though.

Even Envy hated to admit it. It made him nervous, and nothing made him nervous.

Except her.

She certainly did.

A low grunt from Sloth was the first reaction. Then he swore his brother groaned as he sat back and clutched the whiskey like a lifeline. “Tell me why you think this is similar to their connection.”

That was all he said. Not that he was surprised, or that he was even questioning it. Only that he wanted to know why Envy thought this way.

“I’m not sure,” Envy replied. “I had a plan for her. An oracle, just like I’ve always been searching for. She has the one power that has eluded me all these years, and yet I am very hesitant to kill her. I don’t want to harm her at all, if I’m being honest. Every time I’m around her, I want to listen to what she has to say. I want to hear her concerns and I want to make her life more... comfortable. These feelings are only growing the longer I’m around her.”

Envy knew Sloth very well. They had grown up together, and though he never thought he would understand the other man, they had a good companionship. Together, they had built kingdoms that differed greatly from the other kingdoms. They had always been understanding of each other’s challenges and that was something he honored.

But he’d never seen Sloth react like this. His brother paled to as white as snow, a hard thing to do for a man who lived every day in the sun. The whiskey sloshed in the glass he gripped so tightly it was starting to creak. His brother was clearly horrified by what Envy had said.

“So many of us are falling to this,” Sloth murmured. “I cannot help but feel as though it is my fault.”

“Your fault?” Envy scoffed. “You’ve stayed in your castle this whole time, brother. I don’t think you need to take this guilt on yourself.”

“But I do.”

Narrowing his eyes, Envy tried to see this as his brother was seeing it, but there was no way to understand what Sloth was saying. “Why is this your fault?”

Sloth took a deep, steadying breath and wrapped his hands around the whiskey glass he had yet to drink from. “You think you are changing because of this woman, yes?”

“I don’t think anything could change me.”

“But it changed our other brothers. Whatever power or curse that has been cast upon all of us, it changed them into different spirits. They looked at a woman and fell in love. We were never able to do that before, and yet, suddenly, all of us are falling. Tumbling like towers tilting over and striking the next.”

That troubled expression only grew more worrisome. Envy swallowed hard. “What are you saying, Sloth?”

---