Page 4 of Villainous Greed

“No.” Derrick smiled, stepping toward me. “Good girl.” He patted my head, and I fought the urge to jerk away. “Were there others?”

“Just him.”

“Stay here. Don’t let anyone near the kids,” he ordered.

As he opened the door, I faced him. “Wait, don’t I get a reward?”

“Of course. What do you want?”

“Food. For all of us.”

He gripped the door handle until his knuckles whitened. “Food comes when Odin masters the spell.”

“Derrick—”

“Fine.” He waved me off. “But only after I confirm it.”

The second he shut the door, the four of them started squealing. “Food!”

I smiled reluctantly. “All right, all right. He can hear you.” Glancing at the door, I relaxed when Derrick didn’t return. Then I reprimanded them for being loud. “Let’s wait in our home.”

Odin puffed his chest as we passed Derrick’s soldiers. Hundreds of tents surrounded the two cottages. Fires burned, men ate, and my stomach growled at the cooked meat aroma. No one would dare give us food, risking Derrick’s wrath—not that they would, anyway. Most were as mean and disgusting as him.

I didn’t know if he brainwashed them, but I couldn’t imagine so many sacrificing themselves for his conflict with another proxy. I wondered if his enemy commanded demons to die for him. And for what? Why did killing that enemy matter so much to kidnap us as kids?

Derrick taught explosion magic, little by little, so that one day his little proxies could explode like a weapon and destroy everything in their path.

I shuddered, instantly counting their heads as we walked. There was no way any could disappear right before me. I’d die before letting anyone take them. But counting eased my discomfort.

One, two, three, four. All there. All safe.

We survived another day.

“We didn’t get to clean off,” Cloud mumbled sadly, pulling on his filthy, sweat-stained white shirt. “My clothes need washing too.”

“Yeah, but we’re getting food,” Odin cheered, bringing a smile to Cloud’s dirty face.

I sat down on the floor, and Sofia dived into my lap. I tried to be happy with them, but Derrick had a habit of not keeping his promises. What if he decided not to after returning?

Cloud, Odin, and Finn gathered cross-legged before me. “Tell a story while we wait, Nova!” Loud Odin. I feared it would get him in trouble someday.

“Lower your voice, Odin. You know Derrick dislikes yelling.” I always scolded Odin. To keep him protected, I had to dim his voice and thoughts, and that stung. So far, nothing worked.

“How about you, Sofia?” I ran fingers through her black hair as she glanced up.

She beamed and asked, “About the princes and princesses?”

“With dragons and fighting!” Odin yelled.

“And a happy ending,” Finn added quietly.

I’d never been told a story. Until them, I didn’t know about made-up fantasies told to others. I’d been with Derrick as long as I could remember and only knew of true nightmares, never dreams. But after hearing theirs, I imagined similar stories to avoid disappointing them. They had never been dissatisfied, so I considered myself lucky.

“Once upon a time,” Sofia began, and I let my mind drift as she spun their happy tale. I rubbed the bulky concealments on my wrists, hidden beneath my long sleeves—two on each arm, limiting my power, giving Derrick control. Every time I grew stronger, he added more bands.

Trapped. Imprisoned. Unable to fully use the power that was rightfully mine.

If commanded, I’d have no choice but to obey. Despite that, he rarely sent me on his missions. Many proxies came and went—died for him—and yet he hadn’t sacrificed me.

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