The Cursed

Chapter Thirty Two

Lilura

I have two days to train the sins before my protections would be broken. I have six soulless creatures from the depths of the underworld, and yet I still did not know the power they held. They knew I could send them back to the underworld with a snap of my fingers if I wished, and they could feel the pain of the journey, for no sin had crossed me since Envy's return. They stayed away through the night, while I cried over lost memories and chances I could have had if the Queen hadn't interfered. Really, it is her fault her son is dead and rotting on a ship drifting in the middle of the sea. She stole my love, my humanity. She forced me to grow into this monster I am now. She, above all, deserves a cruel death.

Which is why, I need to start training the sins immediately. I cannot get sidetracked over what could have been, or my remorse taking over. I did what had to be done. It was unavoidable.

"I summoned you to train under me for two days of your contract. The third day we will attack the Queen of the Iris Kingdom," I say to the remaining sins. They're in a line facing me, Willa's house behind them. Her once colorful door, beginning to chip and peel away. The paint was never meant to last without her magic.

"Naturally," says Sloth.

"We will aid you," says Lust.

"For that Queen," Spurs Wrath, "has wronged us before."

"And she will pay," says Pride.

I smile, and Alepou looks up at me, his tail flicking back and forth.

"Perfect," I purr. "We must begin at once. Show me your strengths."

Lust steps forward, their horns gleaming in the dappled sunlight. The others watched them as Lust held out their hand. In it, a small ball of white flame.

"I am able to conjure flame, I need greater power," I say. Lust bows their head.

"I can perform greater feats," they say. The flame raises higher, and they pour it onto the ground. It pools, before growing taller into a spiral of flame. The fire curls around, then hardens, starting at the ground. It cracks and sounds like branches snapping. The flame turns to coals, and the tower grows into a hardened rock, reaching nearly thirty feet into the air, the tip sharp enough to cut bone.

"I am unable to believe I summoned the darkest beasts of the realms, for you to create a mountain," I yell. The days of their contract are stuck in teaching them skills I can, do rather than create plans and train for a perfect attack.

"Wait, I can perform-"

I hold up a hand, silencing Lust.

"Show me," I snarl. They swing their arm, and the cracked surface of the tower begins to crumble into thousands of beetles. They fall and collapse onto each other. Scampering and clicking their pinchers. Their iridescent shells glimmer, and with the sheer amount of them the ground seems to move and shine too.

Lust created life from fire. A magic I cannot learn in time for the Queen's execution. There is usefulness yet in the sins.

Each of the others step forward and show me their strongest spell. From there I can create the perfect plan.

Pride can convince any soul to do their bidding.

Wrath can create fire from nothing. However, I still am able to do that same feat. Wrath has greater physical strength than me.

Greed can grow vines, from which snakes grow. The leaves of the vines, elongating and thickening into coils of scales serpents. They slither into the undergrowth to join the beetles.

Sloth sends anyone into a deep sleep, once again a spell I know. However, they can manipulate them in their sleep to do their bidding while their dreams play out their deepest fears.

Gluttony can curse one to always want to food and drink, but never be satisfied, an unending hunger.

All magic that I can easily learn, if I had the time. But with the sins on my side, I can torture the Queen endlessly. I may not be able to perform the spells yet, but I can sustain the spells once the sins are gone.

After the display of power, I scan the sins. They nod their head to me. I smile to them.

"I think I can work with this. Follow," I say. I walk past them to Willa's house. They follow me in a line. As we walk to the room where I craft spells, I send Alepou behind the sins. I ant need the sins for my plan, but I do not trust them. Demons of the underworld should never have a back turned on them. They will scheme to break free of their contract.

We reach the room where I sweep my arm over the ground. Chairs raise from the splinters of the floor. The sins sweep to their seats, facing me. Alepou curls around my feet and stares at them. Such a loyal pet.

"Watch them," I whisper to the fox. I turn my back on the sins to brew the first potion of many in preparation of the execution day.

I mix the eye of a newt, scales of a dragon, and sea water together in an iron cauldron that fits into the palm of my hand. The mixture bubbles into a muddy sludge. I set the cauldron onto the table, where I set a flame under it with a flick of my fingers. Once the heat burns, the potion liquified and clears. I levitate the liquid and pour a drop into my eye, then send the remainder into Alepou's eye. We blink once in synchrony.

I open my eye to see the sins above me, even as I face away from them. Now I may always watch them, and my back when facing the Queen. Just as she has eyes everywhere, so shall I.