Page 95 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

“I am canceling ourship. I can deal with that greed demon on my own just fine.”

I turn to leave.

My heart beats wildly in my chest. I should have realized that all my encounters with Mine were not fortuitous. Males are the same everywhere I go. They only want to use females for their own needs, and Mine is no different. Why else would he have been so kind to me from the start if not to make me lower my guard so he can take advantage of me. And with the way he’s messing with my head, it is much better to keep my distance from him.

Alas, he chose the wrong target. I amnottake-advantageable.

“Minnie, wait!” he calls after me.

Don’t look back, Minerva!

Ignoring his thudding steps behind me, I push through the tent entrance.

The chilly night wind immediately hits me in the face, but so does something else. A pungent smell that makes me gag.

THIRTEEN

I scan the area,squinting in the dark. Damn it all. How can humans deal with their feeble sight? I can barely see anything.

Taking a few steps, I look around the corner and make out Holloway—mostly because that damn demon glows in the dark—standing next to some three, four males?

The smoke-like tendrils have a shimmery red hue to them as they swirl in the air until they reach the males, attaching themselves to them.

“Minnie, wait for me,” Mine continues as he comes from behind. “Please.”

I ignore him as I focus on the ensuing scene. Loud shouts erupt in the air and I note more movements.

This time, two of the soldiers who are firmly within the grips of the greed demon are fighting over an object. I cannot make out for sure what it is, but it’s a flat piece of paper. A…record? It’s hard to tell.

The red tendrils glow stronger as the demon feeds on their greed.

“Give it back,” one of the males shouts.

“No. It’smyrecord. Let go of it.”

Their exchanges center around the same words. One claims it’s his, while the other claims it’s actually his.

The demon chuckles darkly as it watches the argument. It doesn’t matter the outcome. The mere fact that they are focusing on the ownership of the item—on the fact that it belongs to them—feeds the demon.

Holloway stands by the side, dazed and confused. He’s no longer in control. The demon is now using him as a puppet to move around until it can gain enough strength to jump to another body.

My lips flatten in consternation. I did not expect this demon to gain strength so quickly. But perhaps it is my mistake to assume it would behave like a normal demon does.

Yet if this continues… We have mere days before the demon takes control of the entire base.

“What are you doing?” another male asks as he joins the altercation. Behind him, a few more males trail behind, their gait suggesting they are intoxicated.

I’m not sure who throws the first punch. But while at first the argument was centered around a record, this time, it’s degenerated into two factions. Some of the intoxicated males are defending one of the males while the rest are taking the side of the other one. From a mere conflict about the ownership of an item, it has now turned into a full-on brawl.

Mine is by my side, his mouth agape as he stares at the ongoing conflict. But while brawls are meant to occur in high testosterone environments, this is far from a usual fight.

Holloway is a few steps away from the fight. He’s with his back against a building, watching the events with a certain apathy. The demon on his shoulder, however, is getting increasingly excited. Its tendrils slither forward, attaching themselves to the other males, too.

“Why is he feeding on them?” Mine frowns. “He is drawn to greed, no?”

“Violence is another form of greed,” I mutter. “The motivations behind the violence must be rooted in some type of greed. Perhaps it’s not the same greed that drove the first two males to fight over the record, but it is a type of greed nonetheless. And it seems our demon is growing stronger by the minute,” I add grimly.

The red tendrils glow and shimmer as the noxious emotion travels from the mortals to the demon. It’s similar to how an amorphous demon might be feeding on a soul’s energy, sucking it dry with every passing moment. But while an amorphous demon requires time to tap into a soul’s energy, especially if it’s a low-level one, this demon seems to be able to channel the greed energy at an alarming rate.

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