Living Hell

Chapter 20: The Sins: Pride Part 2

I tore my eyes away from Pride and the creepy girls in the mirrors down to Laveda. I saw she had a sneer on her face and her eyes blazed with anger.

Clearly there was history between these two.

"Uh..." I said idiotically and feeling out of place.

Pride's mismatched eyes snapped immediately to me and then the rest of our group. "I see you've brought me others to put in my collection." Pride smiled widely.

"No!" Laveda all but shrieked. "No. They're passing through. To see... Lysander."

"Ha! That doesn't matter here, you should know that. You're all in my realm, therefore you're all mine. Now then, ready to join my collection, pretties?" She said in a sickeningly sweet voice and clapped her hands.

Instantly the mirrors unattached themselves from the walls and formed a loose circle around the whole group. I watched in mild distaste as the 'girls' screeched and stretched their arms through the mirror in attempts to grab us and drag us through the mirrors.

"Dammit, Pride!" Laveda snarled out. "I know it's me you really have a problem with, don't make them suffer!"

The mirrors stopped swirling instantly.

"You know..." Pride's voice chimed out as she stepped in between two mirrors. "You're right. It is you I want. And it's always been youu," she sneered. "I've had a problem with. All because you had to flounce in and take Lust from me. Had you not been in the way, it would've been me instead!"

I stared...open-mouthed. That was why Laveda was so comfortable here. She had...a thing with Lust, whomever he/she was. I didn't really know Laveda's preference, here in Hell it could've been anything, but that definitely explained why she kept leaving, she knew every Sin, and it explained the unusual conversations with them.

"So...you'll let them go in place of me?" Laveda asked a bit breathless because she was still weak and standing on her own.

"Of course!" Pride sang and the mirrors fell away. "They're free to go as long as you stay... Not that it looks like you can escape. Lord, what did you do? Save these lower beings like yourself?"

Laveda gave no answer, but instead turned to Slick. "Take her, make the Familiar and Noctuam follow. Go now, before Pride's pride swells too much," she sneered and Pride gave a thin smile.

"No! Laveda I can't leave you here!" I said, panic pitching my voice a bit higher as Slick approached me and wrapped a spindly hand around my wrist. I wasn't quite sure why I wanted to keep her, but I think it had to do with me seeing her more clearly now; seeing she had a...heart, I guess.

"You have to. It's the only way you can continue," she mumbled and turned away to face Pride.

Slick dragged me away and I watched as Sagiv and Akyra looked torn. They wanted to stay, but yet followed me and eventually the mirrors that slowly began to close back in made up their minds and they scrambled out just before the mirrors slid into place.

"We can't just leave her in there!" I whispered fiercely to Slick who was pulling me to the back of Pride's realm.

"I know we can't," he hissed out and released my arm roughly. "I was trying to get far enough away so Pride wouldn't hear us."

"Oh..." I could've slapped myself. "So what are we going to do now?"

"Well...I don't rightly know. You've been pretty good with ideas and plans." Slick smirked and leaned against the wall.

"Perhaps we should create a distraction?" Sagiv's low rumbling voice echoed in my head.

"You know that isn't a bad idea. What's better is a distraction that'll cause damage to Pride," I turned to Slick. "Do you have anything that'll take care of the mirror girls?"