Hunger (Damnation Book 1)

Chapter 2 - Deal or No Deal

Chase walks up to the doorframe and just stands in the entryway. He is supposed to be this big bad ass and he freezes when he has to talk to my dad? Talk about pathetic.

"Go on," I say giving him a push, trying not to shove him too hard. It's hard to control my strength sometimes. Walking to the other side of the room, I join my brothers and sisters on the couches by the big dormer windows.

My siblings and I are a very eclectic group. We were all born in a two-year window by mostly different women. Gilford, Bartholomew, Edgar, and Portia are all seniors like Chase. Cade, Pogue, and I are just juniors. We all have different mothers except for Gil and me. We have the same mom. Whatever alias Daddy has at the time goes on our birth certificates, but we don't live with him until we are almost out of elementary school. It's how he's done it for decades, ever since having wards went out of practice. None of us really look anything alike, having mostly gotten our looks from our maternal side. The only thing that's similar is our attitudes and many of our powers.

Gilford, Gil, is the oldest and a demon of gluttony. He isn't fat like everyone would believe. He's what most girls would consider gorgeous, but then again, we do share the same genes. He has longish, reddish golden hair, with the same green eyes and flawless skin as I do. Not to mention, he has a body girls would kill over. Girls just love my brother. Gluttony is all about over-indulging in everything, be it food, working out, sex, or even adrenaline. So, his friends, or I should say followers, do the same.

Bart is my oldest half-brother. He's also the perfect example of a trust fund baby. As a demon of greed, Bart must ooze money. He has perfect hair, teeth, skin, and nose; basically, the best money can buy. His dark brown hair and eyes look great with his tan skin. He wears only the best clothing and his group consists of the richest kids in school. He tends to party a lot and I love to crash. His followers make great targets. Chase hangs with him regularly and I can see the anger in his gaze. Too bad, Barty. You snooze, you lose. I don't get to choose my marks often, so this is fun to me.

Sloth is a melancholy sin, but Edgar has it on lock. He hangs with the gothic, coffee house beatniks. He dresses just like them; black hair, guy-liner, black turtleneck on a hot day, and he's skinny. He's kind of funny, but we're not close. I don't know that much about him except that I don't want him to know my secrets. Edgar doesn't have friends, really. He has informants. He's closer to my sister.

Now, she is pure evil. Ever hear the saying, "Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned"? Add teenage PMS to the mix and you get the demon of wrath, Portia. With her black hair and fishnets, she always looks angry. She could walk into a room and the crucifixes would automatically bend. There was a school shooting a couple years back at our school where she talked them into it. Nobody can stop her, or at least they haven't been able to yet. I personally can't stand her, and I know she hates me. We try to steer clear of one another as much as possible because if we don't, we have apocalyptic fights and Daddy frowns on fighting in the house.

The little green monster is controlled by my other half-brother, Cade. He has a flock of followers that just drive me crazy. Envy is easy to stir up in people, especially teenagers. Advertising has really made his job easier. Not to mention that Cade has it easy because everyone envies him with his tall, dark, and handsome features, plus the fact that he has everything he could ever want; cars, phones, watches. What's not to love? Him and Bart are super close and practically do everything together. You would think they were twins instead of half-brothers.

Pride is the hardest sin to keep in check. So, my last brother, Pogue, is always busy. He is very narcissistic, though. With his light features, he's so vain he can't pass a mirror without looking at himself. He is like an entire boy band all rolled into one person with the ego to match, but he's the most fun to hang out with. He's got a band that is pretty popular in the city. He has gigs almost every night of the week. I don't know how he makes it to school every day. Next to Gil, he's definitely my favorite.