Sin: Path of Poison

Chapter 30 Part 2

As he walked back outside I took off the soiled clothing and tossed them into a brazier not far from the tub. It was handy to have inside, not only for heating up the house in the cold of winter but for burning unwanted things as well.

My breath caught in my throat, the water was cold. Immediately the glass snakes bit through my skin and burrowed their way inside. Under the water I let go of the pain and began scrubbing at my face and hair, scratching off the layers of death. I welcomed in the punishment Angst inflicted on me, I held my breath silently under the water for the last of the glass snakes to find shelter within me. Angst's twisted obsession was complete.

With twenty glass snakes inside my body I stepped out of the tub, blood trickled down where the snakes entered. I cleaned off with a towel and tapped some clotting powder on the open wounds. The soiled towel followed my soiled clothing, landing in the brazier abd eliminating the evidence of a monster. I quickly emptied the tub and walked to my wardrobe. I wanted to sleep despite it being midday, not fight my way through a gauntlet. I laid out my undergarments and carefully put them on. The silk strap across my chest tied seductively around my neck and was mostly open in the back. The shorts were cut short, barely covering my bottom, and tied together on the sides. On top I put on blood red robes that came to the floor, each layer was nearly transparent showing the black undergarments I wore underneath.

I tried to hide the fresh wounds on my body, I was fully covered, yet remarkably naked. I pulled my hair high up and fastened several clasps, holding it tightly in place. My hair pieces were delicately crafted with gold, a golden hair pin stuck straight through. My makeup was carefully drawn on my eyes. A smokey darkness with a trace of red came out the side, like wings. My long thick eyelashes reflected off the glassy blackness of my pupils. My lips were painted bright red, which matched my nails. I was as ready as I could be for the challenge. I walked outside where Angst waited. I kept him for a short period yet he remained leaning towards the wall of the gate.

I followed him through my gates and up the pathway. Silver's domain, which was across from my own, was silent. Up the pathway were another set of gates that opened up to the main hall. We held meetings here every so often. Nightly Angst held entertaining festivities for whomever he decided to invite. Everything he did seemed to be on a whim, this being no exception. There were many girls from Assassins' City willing to keep him company, it was unnecessary to pull me in.

As I entered the long banquet room several knives were thrown at me, I easily caught them and threw them back at various targets propped throughout the area. Next, arrows shot at me, gracefully I spun, flipped, and twisted, dodging them all. Three disciples of higher rankings came at me next, each armed with a sword. The goal wasn't to kill these three, only throw them back with a pulse of energy. This part was only created to hurt me further. I gathered my energy and channeled it outwards while feeling the glass snakes move towards the source within me.

Angst, who had followed behind some distance away, used his energy to quickly move around me, to the challenger area. I stared pointedly at him, not wanting to play this game. He jumped at me, aggressively attacking with a double punch. Avoiding the direct hit, I spun to the side, and swept a leg under him. He narrowly avoided the kick before throwing himself at me again. Jumping into the air, I spun and kicked. He blocked with a hand before grabbing at me with his other hand.

Channeling his energy, he threw me to the ground. Channeling my energy in pain, I threw him off  then panted from the strain it caused as the glass snakes moved closer to the source. Without using energy I came at him again and managed to hit him hard in the throat which temporarily knocked him back. The punch wasn't enough to cause any permanent damage, I didn't use my energy like I normally would. Angst threw his head back and openly laughed before suddenly channeling energy again. He came at me in a dark flurry of kicks and strikes, I was able to block most of them with much effort. Exerting more energy, I was pushed back by his force until I was pinned on a wall.

I swallowed the creeping anger in my body, it would only bring him more pleasure to see the anger. I put on a fake smile and my body posture changed, no longer looking as if in the middle of a fight. We looked like lovers pressed against a wall. My hand no longer held hostility, I reached up to run it down his face.

"You win." I whispered, a smile crossed his face.

I channeled a small amount of energy to my mouth but showed no outward reaction to the pain it caused inside. I carefully bit the inside of my mouth, a small drop of blood released. I kissed him as if two long time lovers reunited then turned him around to press him against the wall, he accepted my poison.

I left him there, to stand against the wall in a dream of some sort as he completely gave himself over to the poisons. Near the entrance of the hall I saw Emerald seeping with rage, it came from every pore in her body. Silver, who never had any interest in watching these things and who'd never been challenged by Angst or myself, stood some distance away. His eyes were focused on Emerald. As he saw me draw closer his face remained unchanging but his body automatically took a step back. Was he not able to tolerate even this much of my presence?

I made my way to my rooms, I could already hear my four trusted maids delivering hot water. Every time I returned from a challenge like this I requested a tub of hot water, they diligently obeyed every time. As I stepped inside my residence they continued working around me. I pulled a few coins out of a nearby chest as they finished filling the tub. I handed them the coins and dismissed them. They smiled and nodded at me, no words exchanged in the process, they were good at sensing when I was in a bad mood.

I stepped into the tub and submerged myself until all the glass snakes were out. I killed each one as the tub drained then tossed each disgusting thing into the brazier. I tended to the wounds left behind with more clotting powder the dressed in night robes. Although it wasn't even dinner yet, I was done for the day. I walked out the side door and leisurely strolled to the garden. I walked to a flowering tree and laid on the ground for a nap in the fresh air. Despite all the resentment coming from the living beings on this mountain the air remained pure, never staying long enough to become sullied.