Page 153 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

“Now wait a minute,” Mine calls out from behind as I get out of the castle. I’m about to tap into the energy of the pin when he snatches it from me.

“What are you doing?” I thunder at him.

“I am not going anywhere like this.” He points to his clothes that are stained with some of my blood and demon grime. “You are not going anywhere like that either.”

I glance down at my dress and purse my lips. Whereas he only has a few light stains, I am covered from head to toe in disgusting demon bodily fluids. Alas, that comes with the job.

“It’s just blood and demon grime.” I roll my eyes at him.

“Minnie! It’s not just blood and demon grime. It’s disgusting! It smells bad too.”

“So?”

“What do you mean, so? We’re dirty.”

“I’ve had worse.” I shrug.

“I’m well aware,” he adds drily, with a roll of his eyes. “And while you might be fine smelling so foul, I am not. We need to wash and change.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No. Time is of the essence.”

“I’m not going anywhere carrying this stench with me.”

“Good thing I do not need you to come with me.” I humph and turn to go. To think that just a few moments ago I was praising him for being a good male. More like a fussy male. Who’s bothered by a bit of demon grime? Certainly not me. As I told him, I’ve had worse.

“Then I guess you don’t need this too.” He smirks and pockets the pin.

“Mine!” I tackle him to try to get the pin back, but he’s fast, dodging me at every turn.

He hops back a few steps and chuckles at me.

“Wash and you get your pin.”

“Mine! It’s not the time to joke around! The greed demon must have grown stronger already. If we return to base and he senses the energy from the pin, he might realize what we plan and he could try to stop us.”

“We’re not returning to the base.”

I cross my arms over my chest.

“And how do you propose we wash?”

“There’s a river down the hill. We’ll wash there.”

My eyes widen with outrage.

“A r-river? Have you gone mad? It’s cold!”

“You’re a goddess of ice,” he shoots back.

“Whose powers are currently on a leave of absence. I do not like the cold.”

He shrugs. “That makes two of us. But I dislike being dirty more than the cold.”

Pressing my lips together, I debate the matter in my head.

---