The Lamb

3

He's in a chipper mood that morning. I emerge from my sanctum, refreshed and rested to find him standing outside the door.

"Lovely!" He greets me looking down at his wrist for a second. He looks up. "8 hours. Can't fault the punctual! Let us depart!"

Gluttony it appears has its own section. We take a special, unmarked elevator in Greed's building. It's closed no windows so I'm not quite sure how we got there. We walk out after a few minutes of horrific screams laid over elevator music.

My eye twitches. "Really...really strong themes, this place?"

He grins, leaning into me. "Like you wouldn't believe. I told you, I'm a showman, and the Dark is my theater. Ignore my theatrics. I stick to a theme like a dog to a bone." He winks, shuffling off toward his destination.

"Right," I raise a brow. I swallow the line of personal questions forming.

There are no people lining the streets, and no shops like bakeries or butcher shops. All there is are sex shops, clubs, bars, strip clubs, and what look like an abandoned homes. Graffiti lines the walls and needles line the streets. I wince and walk carefully.

"Gluttony, huh?"

He nods. "Welcome to the home of the avarice." He informs me grimly. We walk toward another large building, but stop short of it at a decrepit place a few doors down.

Nyx raps the door with his cane before kicking it down and walking in, clearing his throat. I step in after him, sticking closely.

"Is it safe?"

He just smiles. "Glutton," he calls. "Glutton I need your key! Glutton I know you hear me."

"I do. But your voice is so grating," a slick man emerges, his eyes the color of wine. "I couldn't get enough."

"A glutton for punishment," I murmur.

His attention snaps to me. "And you are?" The horns on his head are also pointed inward until they meet at a pointe. His light glows an orange. His face is a haze, but his eyes are clear and gripping.

"Nina. Luna Nina."

"Another Lamb?" He chuckles and turns to Nyx.

Nyx smiles. "Hm, aren't we all just puzzled? The key, Glutton?"

"Hold on now—"

"The key, Glutton."

Oh. That's his voice with some bass in it. Some power. Glutton offers his hand. Nyx shakes it.

"Lovely doing business with you, Glutton."

Glutton is quiet for a moment. "Always...fulfilling to see you too, Nyx. At least for me."

Nyx puts his hand on the apex of my back, his cane high in his other hand. "Come now dear. We have somewhere despairing to be."

I glance back at Glutton as the door shuts. I could swear I see his face. He's crying.

"The Gluttonous cannot feel full. This is the price the avarice must pay. They may thirst but may not feel sated. They may indulge but will feel no high. They will hunger but feel no satisfaction."

I look at him. "So this is a place to punish people?"

Nyx's eye twitches, his next step hesitant when he takes it. He hates when I ask questions but it only makes me more curious. Why that response?

Every question I'm not supposed to ask leads to another question I'm not supposed to answer. It'll come in time he says.

But the more I learn, the more I'm starting to wonder about why Nyx is so happy to help me—he doesn't seem care for anyone else—and they don't seem to like him either.