Fated

Part VI

"I'm sorry, what?" I balked.

Chuckling lightly, Emmy stifled her laughter quickly." Oh, please don't be mad at me. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to see a reflection of my past self." Wiping at an imagined tear, she continued, "Narcissa's like that, you know? She speaks facts-" Leaning in, she lowered her voice. "And when it turns out that something's not a fact: don't be the one to point it out."

"What the hell are you on about?" I asked, standing from the shared seat.

Emmy's face dropped. "He hasn't told you a thing, has he?"

"That's why I'm here! So somebody will tell me something," I said exasperated.

"Avaron is greed. Your soulmate is the personification of greed. Why do you think he's so possessive of you?"

Shaking my head, my dark blond hair fell across my face as I spoke, "Greed?"

"Yes, greed. God, was I this deaf when I first got here?" the brunette asked rhetorically.

"So what does that make him? He told me he wasn't a demon," I said, more defensively than I liked.

Emmy resumed her relaxed posture as she seemed to look at me more critically. "Well sure, I guess not but I don't know if that's far off. Demon, devil, demigod- I mean, they are otherworldly creatures of some sort... I just don't know if there's a word for it." A small smile graced her otherwise indifferent features. "Well, other than the obvious."

I stared at her expectantly. "And that is?" I pressed.

"Sins," she stated.

Right. Sins. Greed. Seven residences. What?

Sitting back down, I almost missed the seat completely. "So Narcissa..." I trailed off in question.

"Pride," Emmy said without missing a beat. "That's why she's so perfect. Avaron might only be second to her but it's a far fall from... sorry. Rude again." Her smile became apologetic as she remembered my presence through her gushing. "I might be a bit biased."

"There's a hierarchy?" I asked, seizing the opportunity to butt in.

Shrugging, her silky kimono slipped off her left shoulder. Seemingly unbothered, she continued, "Yes; and Narcissa is at the top. The order of the Sins seems to correspond to the order of the temples, hence us being neighbors, but I don't really get how that was all sorted." Yawning, she rested her head against her arm that was draped across the back of the couch. "Honestly, I don't really care."

With a million questions bouncing around in my head, I looked at her incredulously. "How long have you been here?"

"Who knows? Time doesn't work the same here. You'll get used to that real quick though." Something flashed in her eyes then. "Losing your sense of time is the easy part. This place is made to make us lose ourselves completely. We aren't meant to hold onto who we were. You and I have a single purpose now."

Through the silence, my attentive gaze urged her to continue while my heart was hammering in my chest, begging her to stop.

"You will be whatever Avaron needs just as I am here to serve Narcissa. They are more important than we could ever be, even given a hundred lifetimes to try and accomplish a fraction of their influence." Leaning forward and into my space, I suddenly felt claustrophobic as she smiled seductively. "But there truly is no sweeter existence than being the devil's pet."

***

"I need a blank notebook, if you have one."

Avaron jumped slightly at my request. "Of course; whatever you need."