Devil's Sabbath

Chapter Eight: The Darjeeling Unlimited

Chapter Eight: The Darjeeling Unlimited

"Diamora, I get the feeling you're trying to avoid me." Zain trailed behind me as the two of us strode through the crowded, bustling streets of the Greed Ring. We usually walked side by side, but this time I kept ahead, my tail thrashing back and forth as I pushed my way through the crowds.

"Oh really?" I asked. "Whatever gave you that idea?" Zain had been trying to catch my attention, but I didn't want to even look at the snow-haired vampire. So many volatile emotions burned inside me, and with this new form of mine, I was finding it difficult to bridle my growing wrath.

"I'm sorry, Diamora," Zain said. "I couldn't move at all. I wanted to, I pushed myself as hard as I could, but my body refused to do anything I told it. I couldn't see anything...but I could hear it. I could hear your voice, and your crying...I wish I could have done something to help you."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" I growled. "You almost ate me alive, so I'm sorry if I don't quite feel like being friendly with you."

"It's not just about that," Zain pressed on. "You seem different now. I mean you look different of course, but...it's like you're not the same person anymore. Do you hate me, Diamora?"

I lowered my head to the ground, watching my pointed hooves carry me ahead with each step. "I...don't hate you. It wasn't your fault...but since the beginning I feared that you would turn on me. You slaughtered two full-fledged Sins with barely any effort. I knew I wouldn't stand a chance against you. I was driven so close to the point of death that it forced my body to change. We demons don't handle extreme stress well. Like that sheep demon we saw turn feral back in the Wrath Ring. I could have become a mindless monster like that too, but thankfully I was able to hold onto my sanity...most of it, anyway. I knew that the Sabbath would change me, but now part of me is asking what I'm even doing all this for to start with."

"Can't you just stop now?" Zain asked. "It's not too late, you know."

"Are you crazy?" I snarled. "I've gone too far to quit now. If I came back to my home now, I would have all the residents of the other rings out for my head. I've killed their leaders, you know. They won't let that be forgiven easily. I have to win or die trying. That being said, you came from the Greed Ring, didn't you? Anything familiar?"

Zain's green eyes darted back and forth, surveying the hectic cityscape. "I spent most of my time locked up, so I didn't see much of this place. It smells familiar, though. The smell of pipe smoke and alcohol. It sickens me, my stomach is clenching." Zain was right about that at least. The overpowering aroma of smoke and booze choked the polluted night air.

Unlike the Lust Ring, which was a shambling mess of shacks and sexual depravity, the Greed Ring was a spectacle of opulence and high-class elegance. The streets were coated in speckles of gold dust that glinted in the lurid light of the neon signs dominating the buildings. Unsurprisingly, most of said buildings were casinos, spectacularly decorated with flashy, glittery colored lights and signs to attract greedy patrons to their front doors. The demons of the Greed Ring were done up in glamorous formalwear- sharp suits, flowing dresses, a stark opposite from the rags my people clothed themselves with. Shimmering jewels decorated their horns and tails.

These demons were leagues above any others I had come across so far. Surely they thought themselves so as well. These were the so-called elite, part of the upper class that considered themselves superior to the rest of the demon race. They thought themselves too good to trifle with the problems of the lower, inferior rings. They were bathed in their riches, and were content to remain that way. How could I possibly relate to people like this?