Bereft: Demise

1 | Of Dignity's Due

America's most eligible bachelor had been sitting on the sofa across from me for almost an entire hour.

Daniel Fairchild was a handsome charmer of intermediate height with a freshly cropped mop of gelled hair and a stubble covered jawline. He was the front man of a highly successful pop band and had recently been in a summer blockbuster hit. I hadn't seen the film, but I could only imagine he'd appeared half-clothed in front of some sort of explosion, not bothering to look back. 

Of course, if the public knew he was the soul-sucking Sin of Greed and was impervious to explosions, they wouldn't be nearly as impressed. 

Greed made his living duping naïve mortals such as myself. He played upon our hearts, upon our emotions and, in that regard, he was exceptional. It couldn't be an easy task to avoid unwanted scrutiny when he'd placed himself in the spotlight. The first time I'd seen the man in person, I'd been star struck and speechless, unable to believe that Daniel Fairchild was in my home, let alone that he was an arch-demon.

In the eyes of an ignorant human, Daniel was beautiful and awe-inspiring. In reality, when compared to his brethren, he was...less than spectacular.

Among his kinsman was the Sin of Lust, a woman who went by the name Grace Amoroth. The inimical Sin was the CEO of a multi-billion dollar conglomerate called Klau Incorporated, part of Klau Incorporated Industries, or K.I.I. Amoroth had the posture of a monolith and the attitude of a savage wildcat. She could snap her fingers and bury or buyout empires. The world's economy rode upon her coattails and she couldn't care less.

The Sin of Envy was the demon of every person's nightmares and the mere mention of his name caused those of his ilk to flinch. Balthier was an Original Sin, which meant he was the first of his kind and had been alive for more millennia than I could conceive. I'd encountered him twice: the first time in a warehouse where he'd stabbed me after a cult of maniacs had summoned him, and the second time at my workstation in Klau Incorporated. I'd barely escaped the monster with my life.

The last of the other Sins I was acquainted with was the Sin of Pride, and he was...baffling. Terrifying. He didn't have the prestige Daniel wielded, Amoroth's influence, nor Balthier's power—but Darius was an Original Sin who defied death and definition. He was a red-eyed creature who could not be denied.

He was also my Sin.

Compared to them, Daniel's glamour was banal, almost drab, and his superficial exterior belied the weak, relatively young Sin he truly was. Daniel bowed to the authority of his betters, and behind their back he thumbed his nose and pretended he was someone worthy of their respect.

I used to pity him. I'd once told Darius he should show the younger demon more regard—but now I wasn't certain the snobbish millionaire actually deserved Pride's esteem. He bowed when required, but sneered as soon as Darius looked away. His duplicitous nature rankled my intuition.

After trying to eject the creature from my house for an hour, what dregs of sympathy remained had turned to irritation. 

Daniel had appeared on my leaf-strewn porch a few minutes after two in the afternoon. I'd answered his curt knocking and had asked what he wanted, to which Daniel had stated he wished to speak with Darius. When I'd informed him that Darius wasn't here and had tried to shut the door, Daniel had flung it wide and had thrown me into the wall.

The Sin had been sitting on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other ever since. He refused to answer any questions and refused to leave until he spoke with Darius.

I leaned on my fist as I glared and imagined all the reasons why Daniel could possibly be here. The Sin ignored my scrutiny in favor of his phone, swiping his thumb across the polished screen. The afternoon sunlight spilled through the front window to glow upon the champagne blazer thrown over Daniel's blue V-necked shirt. Platinum glittered around his manicured fingers.