Allure of Sins

Chapter 2

LEON

Find a worthy human, I chuckle. Julius made it too easy this time; I'd win this bet and show his dumbass who the best sibling was. I can't help remembering his stupid smirk, he thought he was going to win this competition. It was amusing really. My younger brother, Golden Boy, thinking that I'd be foolish enough to make a bet I couldn't win. I'm not Asher. I have never been one to lose especially to my least favorite brother, Darling Little Julie.

It's been years since I've been to the Living Realm. The Roaring 20s were fun and all with the speakeasies and gin, but the whole Eliot Ness, Prohibition thing really put a damper on the whole escapade.

I walked down the towering black marble hallway towards the main areas of the mansion. Onyx sconces lined the path every few feet to shed enough light to see the floor clearly. Shadows flickered off the walls and on the shining floor. Hopefully, Serena would be somewhere easy to find. Hide and Seek was always my least favorite game. She can tell me more about these 21st-century humans and where to find the most "worthy" one as Julius put it. I know a little bit of the slang thanks to Asher's many adventures to the Living Realm, but not enough to pass as a mortal.

The dark stained wooden doors of the sitting room swung open on well-oiled hinges despite the millennia they stood like giant guardians to this room. Serena's signature strawberry blonde hair was nowhere to be seen in the sitting room. Unfortunately, some short blond curls were bouncing in the rays of sunlight that battled through the heavy velvet curtained windows. The owner of the golden curls turned from his place on the couch to give me a knowing smirk.

"Leon! My favorite brother! How are you Le-Le?" he said. His white button-down shirt clung to his form causing his tan skin to look darker than it was against the stark white material. Most of the buttons on the shirt were undone to reveal a lean, muscular torso that stayed no matter how many sweets Asher consumed. And here I thought Moira was the sibling that had the most trouble with self-control, but no Asher quite literally takes the cake.

"Asher, where's Serena?" I asked him.

The maroon couch accentuated the golden undertone of Asher's skin. Shag carpet met my booted feet as I rounded the couch to see that Asher for some unknown reason had forgotten to wear pants. Luckily, he was wearing a pair of briefs that from my momentary glance I can safely say were hot pink; the same startling color of his eyes. "So you didn't come to see me Le-Le?" Asher asked with a pouted lip in my direction. His long eyelashes brushed his sharp cheekbones to create the full effect. "Am I not good enough for you?"

"Cut the act, Asher. I'm simply looking for some help about the modern world and Serena has been there the most," I huffed running a hand through my hair. No matter how I messed with my hair it always stayed perfectly coifed, on the top of my head, just another blessing that I earned I guess.

A high pitched scream bolted through the air between Asher and me, I locked eyes with my brother to which he immediately lowered the tone of his scream to a more male octave. "I can help you Le-Le," he said in a resounding timbre that finished in an excited screech. My eardrums popped from the shrill noise.

"No," I said.

"Why not? Just because I'm the youngest doesn't mean I can't help. If anything I can help the most. I'm what the kids call, hip, nowadays," he finished with a dazzling grin and jazz hands. I mentally facepalmed for my little brother. How I got stuck with him for eternity I'll never know.

"No, Asher. Last time I trusted you I was attacked by rabid dogs," I grumbled making my way to the floor-to-ceiling windows that encompassed the sitting room and drawing back the heavy drapes to let more natural light into the stuffy room.

"Please, Le-Le," he said with puppy dog eyes. Bad timing after my reminiscing on the rabid dogs.

"No."

"Yes?"

"No!"

"Okay, so, Yes?"

"No, No, No, Asher!"

"No!" he yelled after me.

"Yes!" I yelled back. Wait! "No, I mean no!"

He rose from the couch and ran to me at the window. "Oh Le-Le, no means no and yes means yes. No take-backs! Yes, it is!" He said and gave me a bone-crushing hug. I, of course, tried to get away but his hold didn't waver. How can I say no to my younger brother? Maybe he'll help me this time.

Five hours later and the only slang I have learned seems impossible to be correct. "Enough Asher. I think I've learned enough to get me by for a few minutes," I said. Frown lines appeared on Asher's otherwise unwrinkled face. "Don't look so disappointed. I'm only going to be up top for a few minutes, so I really don't need to know more than the basic and based on our lessons I'd say I'm well prepared." I had held on this long because even though I hate to admit it sometimes. I loved Asher and this made him happy, but I can only take so much of him at a time otherwise I'd never love him at all.

"I understand," he said quietly. Being the youngest didn't mean Asher had to act like a child, yet he found ways to weasel his way into all of our hearts so when he annoyed or angered us we couldn't get too upset.

I stood up from the loveseat that sat opposite the couch I'd found Asher on earlier and made the long trek back to my room.

Possession isn't a hard practice. The hardest thing is finding the right body to possess. We've had problems in the past. I couldn't care what human I possessed today my goal was to bring back a living mortal to the mansion to compete in my favor against Julius.

Ridges pushed into the pad of my fingers when I grasped the amethyst from its box in my sock drawer. The purple gem was about the size of my fist and was completely uncut. Each sibling had a gemstone that reflected channeled their more elusive gifts. The high-backed chair in the corner would be a good place for my body to rest while my soul went on its own adventure. I held the gem in one hand and rested the other hand on the arm of the chair. 

The incantation whispered breathlessly between my lips. Tingles shot from my fist holding the gem until my whole body grew warm with the feeling and I drifted off to sleep.