Page 4 of The Shadows of Excess

Justice clasped my arm gently. “Sawyer, I have to get back to the PMC with Dr. Gould. We’re going to go through our archives to see if we find anything out on these Demons of the Seven Deadly Sins. I’ll be in touch.”

“We got some serious digging to do, and I ain’t talking about shoveling dirt,” Tim remarked from behind me, his voice carrying a familiar, gruff edge that reminded me so much of a mountain man. “Time to hit the books and figure out what the hell we’re dealing with here.”

“As soon as we find anything out from our archives or patrols, I’ll be in touch.” Justice hiked up onto the golden dragon’s back.

With a powerful leap, the golden dragon unfurled his magnificent wings and soared into the endless cerulean expanse above. Justice’s ebony hair whipped behind him as he gripped tightly onto the dragon’s scaly back, his eyes fierce and determined like a valiant warrior in battle.

Tim stepped through the trees, pausing to rest a hand on an aspen. The wind tousled his white hair and beard, casting a Gandalf-like image. But it was his gravelly, serious voice that brought me back to reality. “We’d better hustle outta here.” He squinted toward the abbey’s rubble. “Something’s stirring in that mess, and it ain’t gonna be happy to see us.”

“Let’s blow this popsicle stand.” Damon’s voice carried urgency and casual bravado as he yanked the car door open.

We piled into the car without a moment’s hesitation. The urgency of the situation lent a frantic energy to our movements. I took the front seat, the familiar fabric beneath me offering no comfort this time, while Dad and Tim settled into the back with mingled relief and deep concern.

Damon revved the engine to life, its familiar growl a stark contrast to the silent foreboding we left behind. With a swift motion, he steered the car from its hidden spot and onto the path, accelerating away from the abbey’s ruins. The tires crunched over the rough, rocky terrain, quickly picking up speed, sending dust flying into the air.

I glanced over my shoulder and caught sight of figures moving in the rubble of St. Marinus Abbey. They were disturbingly normal in appearance, walking through the destruction with an eerie calmness. Their human-like forms made them even more unsettling, a grotesque mimicry of life, blending seamlessly yet sinisterly with their surroundings.

These beings, with their ordinary appearances filled with an undercurrent of malevolence, were unmistakably demons in disguise. Their deceptive normalcy made it difficult to discern which of the Seven Deadly Sins they represented, adding an unnerving layer of unpredictability to their threat.

Could they be Greed, eyeing the chaos around them as an opportunity for their twisted gain? Or perhaps Pride, moving through the devastation with a disturbing air of untouchable superiority? My mind raced as I considered the other possibilities. Wrath, with a hidden fury ready to erupt; Sloth, deceptively passive but perhaps biding their time; Lust, using allure as a weapon; or even Envy, harboring resentment and bitterness.

Each option presented a different kind of danger, a unique malevolent intent that could manifest in unpredictable ways. The uncertainty of it all sent a shiver down my spine, and I glanced back one more time, trying to glean any hint of their true nature. But they remained inscrutable, their true sins concealed behind a façade of eerie normalcy.

Damon gripped the steering wheel, his focus unwavering as he navigated us away from danger. In the rearview mirror, I saw Dad and Tim exchange uneasy glances. The chilling normalcy of these demons was not lost on any of us. Their ability to blend in, to appear almost human, underscored the unpredictable and insidious nature of the threat we faced.

As the distance between us and the abbey grew, the figures became specks in the landscape. Yet the chilling realization of what they were and the potential horrors they represented lingered with us, casting a shadow over our escape.

I swiveled in my seat and met with my father’s intense gaze. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes narrowed in disapproval. It wasn’t only disappointment I saw in his expression. There was a hint of anger and confusion mixed in as well. His rigid posture and folded arms exuded accusation, and his usually warm eyes were now cold and challenging.

“Well, daughter,” he began, his voice laced with stinging bitterness. “Are you going to tell them? Are you going to explain how you miraculously saved my life? Why, against all odds, I’m still sitting here, breathing and alive?”

Damon glanced in the rearview mirror at Dad and looked at me curiously. “What’s he talking about?”

I bit back the truth that practically burned my lips. Suddenly, I wished I was with Justice, flying on a dragon back to the Paranormal Mercenary Corp.

The air in the car was thick with tension, every eye fixed on me. At that moment, the weight of the secret I had been carrying felt heavier than ever. The truth about how Justice had saved him, the forbidden means I had resorted to, would change everything.

“Sawyer?” Damon persisted, his voice taking on an unmistakable edge of impatience. “Spill it. What are you hiding from us?”

My throat tightened as I braced myself for the coming storm. My cheeks flushed with heat, and I wanted nothing more than to disappear into the upholstery. This was more than admitting something. It was going against my family’s sacred oath to kill all vampires. By allowing Justice to use his blood to heal my father, I had crossed a line that Damon and my father would never forgive me for.

As I met my father’s gaze, I knew there was no turning back. The words leaving my lips would alter my relationship not only with him but with Damon forever. It was a bombshell that, once dropped, would leave no room for the life we knew.

CHAPTER THREE

Damon peeled down the dirt road and turned onto the main one, but he kept looking at me for answers. I wasn’t getting out of this. The truth was coming out, and I’d be lucky if he didn’t drop me off on this desolate road.

I turned in my seat, away from my father’s disapproving gaze.

I stared directly ahead, unable to meet my brother’s curious gaze. “He was dying, Damon,” I whispered.

Damon glanced in the rearview mirror, his eyes flicking questionably toward our dad in the backseat.

“She can tell you.” Dad’s voice dripped with menace and disappointment.

Damon’s grip tightened on the steering wheel, a sense of barely contained frustration in his voice. “Don’t dance around it,” he growled. “What the hell happened, Sawyer?”

I lowered my head. “If I didn’t have Justice save him, Dad would now be a corpse.”

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