Page 82 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

I purse my lips.

The head must be lower, and to offer him relief from this swollen bump, I must find the head filled with liquid and pop it.

As I pull lower on his underpants, my knuckles brush over the base of the lump. Mine’s hips jerk up and he balls his hands into fists.

“Mine? Are you all right?” I ask, fearing I might have hurt him.

“Please… Minnie…” he half groans half moans—from the unbearable pain, I am sure.

“I’ll take care of you, Mine. Look how swollen this lump is. If I don’t drain it, you’ll die,” I tell him gently.

“Oh, I’ll die all right. But it’s not from any lump, tiny darling,” he drawls, his eyes closed shut.

“Huh?”

“Stupid female,” the demon jibes from behind. His laughter echoes in the room.

I swivel and pin him with my gaze. For a moment, I forgot all about that nasty little demon—although now it’s quite a bit bigger. With everyone fighting Holloway and his greed-induced tantrums, the demon is growing stronger by the second.

Taking advantage of my momentary distraction, Mine pushes my hands aside and pulls up his trousers, then buttons them up. He shrugs on what’s left of his torn shirt and swings his long legs over the bed.

“No! Don’t move! I need to drain your lump!” I call out, following after him.

He strides forward, and in a few steps, he’s in front of Holloway—and the demon—who is currently wrestling with the doctor and three nurses.

“Move,” Mine commands them. His voice holds so much authority that the doctor and the nurses immediately comply, letting go of Holloway and moving out of Mine’s way.

“Say one more thing about her and I will personally send you back to hell,” Mine mutters harshly. Before I can blink, his fist flies, connecting with the ugly demon perched on Holloway’s shoulder.

More surprising? His fistactuallyhits the demon, making it sway from side to side as his form becomes distorted. Yet in a few moments, it’s back to his initial form. Its mouth opens on a loud, blaring shrill that only Mine and I can hear.

With an annoyed sigh, Mine punches him again, this time in the mouth, shutting the demon up—if only temporarily.

As a young deity, I can’t say I’ve seentoomuch in my lifetime. But not only have I never seen something like this, I’ve neverheardof a mortal hitting an amorphous demon. Because though this greed demon might now have somewhat of a shape, he is still in his spiritual form—not strong enough to gain a physical form yet.

Mine’s knuckles purposefully skirt by Holloway’s face, hitting him in the temple. It’s not a harsh blow, but it’s enough to knock him out momentarily.

The doctor stares at him in awe.

“Thank you. He was out of control.”

Mine nods.

“I need your nurse to tend to me for the night. I trust that will not be an issue?”

“Erm…” The doctor glances at me. Then at Mine. I can tell he wants to say no since he will need a full staff, but for some reason, he cannot refuse Mine. “Not at all,” he eventually replies.

“Good. Cuff him to the bed and have a few soldiers guard him through the night,” Mine orders before he turns to me, grabs my hand, and pulls me out of the infirmary.

“You’re injured, Mine. We can’t just leave—” I protest.

He doesn’t answer, merely dragging me after him. I don’t know where he’s going. We walk past the cantina and some of the important military buildings. The sky has darkened and the chilly night air hits me in the face as we walk from one end of the base to the other. Shivers erupt all over the surface of my skin.

Damn it! I hate being this powerless.

Yet even with my rather average abilities, I could easily scream and demand he let go of me. People would hear, and someone would help me, no? But it is even more fascinating the fact that I have no inclination to do so. I am simply curiousabout him and what he has in mind. Especially now that I am quite certain he will not die—a fact that causes me an unnatural amount of joy.

He gives you donuts, Minnie!

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