Greed's Charity (Seven Deadly Sins Book 1)

by R. A. Pollard

  “We’re going for a little trip, just you and me. She belongs to us now, Sin of Sloth. You will not avert the fate of humanity!” The piercing pain swept through her head. Her ears screamed and her nose exploded with blood. She had no protection from his mental assault. The last thing she saw was the floor of her apartment rushing away from her and the sound of shattering glass. A blast of cold air chilled her skin, then blackness rushed over her vision, and she collapsed into the angel’s arms.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “How could you let this happen, Abbadon?” Abbadon watched Lucifer grip the edge of his desk, the wood groaning under the strain. He was breathing hard and deep. Flames of blood red writhed under his flesh. “Without the Seer, we’re on the wrong side of a losing battle. Tell me again what Uriel said to you.”

  Abbadon dropped his gaze from his brother. Despite his sin, he would have done everything in his power to save Isabelle. If her life hadn’t been the price to pay for him fighting, he would have gladly given his own to allow her a chance at escape. He had been careless, thinking she was safe, believing he could protect her. He had never expected to see one of the Malakhim show up in her dorm room, however. Talk about the shock of the century.

  The moment he felt the angel’s presence in the room, he had sent Isabelle’s friend, Natalie, into a deep sleep. He’d filled her mind with dreams of hot steamy sex with some faceless man. No doubt she would have a job explaining the shattered window of the room. Still, he hadn’t been fast enough, and the Seer had been taken. Swallowing down the guilt that threatened to swamp him, he had never felt so useless. Lifting his gaze to his brother, he swore under his breath. He pushed away from the table and began to pace.

  “He told me we wouldn’t avert the fate of humanity. Lu, we have not seen a member of the Malakhim in over a hundred years. I wasn’t prepared. I should have done something, anything.”

  “Enough, Abbadon. You couldn’t risk her life by fighting the angel. It has been a long time since any of us came face to face with one in combat. That’s something we will remedy right away. Training begins in one hour. Gather your brothers—and Abbadon? Send Mammon to me. I should be the one to tell him about the Seer.”

  He nodded and exited his brother’s office. Ze waited for him, leaning against the wall. Silently falling into step beside him, Ze accompanied him to the large game room which housed a full-sized pool table and wrap-around bar. In the far corner, large reclining chairs sat before a huge TV screen, one of the many places he watched his movies. Leaning against the pool table, black and grey flames licked over his flesh, the light in the room darkening around him.

  “Fucking hell! Ze, I just let him take her!” Greed was going to lose what little mind he had left. Reaching out blinding, grabbing two of the pool balls and threw them across the room. The balls shattered against the wall, leaving gaping holes in the drywall.

  Ze raised an eyebrow at the outburst, “You couldn’t have done anything to help her. We would have lost you and then where would we be? Abbadon, you came to us right away. We’ll figure something out. There must be some way to get her back from them. They can’t take her to their realm, so they will be holding her here somewhere.”

  “It doesn’t matter, Ze. Mammon will blame me. I didn’t keep her safe, I didn’t bring her back.”

  “Why did you not bring her back?” Both brothers turned. Greed stood in the doorway, his green gaze glowing. Those eyes locked on Abbadon’s, and he felt a trickle of trepidation. Mammon was shaking. Rage rolled from him, heating the atmosphere. His skin glowed green, the flames barely held in control. “Where is Isabelle?” He sounded like a beast about to strike. The very air around him rolled with power.

  Ze moved to stand between his brothers, his hands up. “Calm down Mammon. It’s going to be okay. We will get her back, I swear it.”

  Greed’s roar shook the room as he charged. Flames exploded from his skin, and he lifted Ze, throwing him to the side like a rag doll, his body crashing against the wall. Fists made contact with Abbadon’s face, but he made no move to defend himself. The scent of blood permeated the room and shouted words were nothing but a haze to his ringing ears. He deserved to let Mammon rage out on him. It was he who had failed to protect the Seer. Suddenly Greed’s weight left his body, and the deafening roar of fury filled the room.

  “I told you to let me tell him! Do you have a death wish, Abbadon?”

  Greed felt bodies piling on him, forcing him to the ground. They were a hindrance, preventing him from getting to his target. Ripping his arms free from the grasp of those who restrained him, he struck flesh, talons now gracing his hands.

  “Hold him down!”

  “Damn it! Mammon, stop fighting!” The voices all blended into one. All Greed knew was someone had taken his female from him. Someone had dared touch her! His wrath knew no bounds.

  “And you all call me a beast.”

  “Tanus, shut the fuck up and help us!”

  It took the combined efforts of five brothers to wrestle the raging demon under control, and still he fought, his skin darkening to emerald green. Lucifer knelt, panting a little as he looked into the madness-filled eyes of his youngest brother.

  “Calm down. We will find her. I swear it.”

  “Get the fuck off me!” Greed wrestled am arm free, his clawed hand closing around his leader’s throat. Lucifer grabbed his wrist, just managing to prevent his brother’s deadly talons from ripping out his throat. “I will kill you if anything happens to her.”

  “Understood, brother. Now I apologize in advance.” Lucifer’s fist made contact with his Greed’s face. A sickening crack filled the room. Greed groaned, looking up through hazy eyes. Lucifer shook his hand, swearing loudly in ancient Greek. He began to pace, opening and closing his fists, fury tinting his skin with hues of red. Looking from his groaning brother to the others, he took a deep breath then let it out slowly. “Someone knock him out before he regains his senses.”

  Greed issued a low growl but didn’t get the chance to move before light exploded behind his eyes and darkness took him.

  Lucifer looked over as Abbadon watched the whole thing from the floor, his eyes dull. He looked fucking pathetic. He knew how he must be feeling right then then—fucking useless. He just lay there, his face bruised and bleeding, one of his eyes swollen shut, thanks to the beating. With a growling sigh, Lucifer faced him pinning him with his blood gaze.

  “Abbadon, get the fuck up. This isn’t over. When he comes to, he’s going to be out of control. We need to have information for him, anything for him to focus on.”

  “And where in the seven hells are we going to get that information? It’s not like there’s a Google search for angel hideouts! Maybe a Wiki page for the best places to stash a kidnapped woman?” Ze winced and rolled his shoulders with a grimace. Lucifer couldn’t help but grin. There had been a time when Ze would have just brushed off being thrown against a wall. Then again, this had been an enraged Mammon who did the throwing. Looked like Ze was started to show his age, fuck what did that mean for him? Demon retirement home? Not fucking likely.

  He pushed the unpleasant thought away with a shudder, “Leave the information gathering to me. Get Mammon up and restrained. Until we know he’s not going to ravage the city, he doesn’t leave the building.” Lucifer rubbed the bleeding wounds on his throat and left his brothers to wrestle the unconscious demon.

  He had to admit, that had been a damn close one. A second later and Mammon could very easily have ripped out his throat without blinking an eye. Fuck, he had only ever seen that kind of rage from Wrath. Is this what happened to you when a woman was involved? Screw that! Not a chance in hell, he never letting a woman get so far under his skin she messed him up like that.

  Father of the Sins he had once been called. He had been warned by Hades more than once—if he lost his control that he could rile up the Sins within his brothers. Setting them all on a downward spiral into darkness. He needed a center, a place within, of cool so
lid ice to keep himself level. Not much scared him, but someone having the power to break that center…fuck that shit.

  Pushing open the door to his office, Lucifer stopped beside his desk and leaned over it. He should have sent her away. Isabelle. She had come into his well-oiled machine and messed it all up. No, he couldn’t blame her. Mammon had been broken long before she came along. He hated to admit it she had, indeed, done more for his scarred brother than he had managed to do. Damnit! He had to find her. He wouldn’t let Mammon descend into madness again. But how did someone find a kidnapped Seer? He needed a literal Seer detector. He needed a god. He needed a fucking miracle.

  Awareness returned to Isabelle slowly, along with a stabbing pain at the front of her head as she lifted it from the ground. Wincing, she expecting to find a physical wound, considering it felt like someone had shoved red hot poker into her eye.

  “I must apologize for that. I am afraid the act of knocking you out caused some damage. It can’t be helped. You are mortal after all.” That voice, cold and heartless. Ice water rushed through her veins. Slowly she opened her eyes, squinting at the pain radiating through her skull.

  “Where am I? What did you do to Abbadon?” Putting her hand to her head, she managed to hold back the whimper of pain, her stomach rolling with it.

  “On a first name basis with a demon? My how low the blood of the Seer has fallen.” His smug tone was like nails on a chalk board.

  Ignoring the pain, Isabelle opened her eyes. It took a few moments for them to adjust to the dim light. She focused on the angel seated before her, light seemingly glowing from within him, emitting an eerie haze out into the room. As terrifying as he was she had to keep her mind on something—anything to push away the throbbing in her brain. He was breathtakingly beautiful, not a single imperfection, and everything about him screamed he didn’t belong in this world. If not for the cold look in his eyes, you could almost call him boyish.

  “That demon showed me more humanity than what I see in you. What did you do to him?” Shouting made the pounding in her head worse. She closed her eyes again, light pulsing behind her lids.

  “Temper, temper. The demon is fine. I did not damage him. Though I cannot speak for his current wellbeing. He has no doubt announced you are lost to them, and Greed is no longer the level-headed demon he once was.” The sound of feathers moving on feathers filled the darkness. Isabelle froze. The lights behind her eyes brightened, almost blinding her.

  “You bastard! Why are you doing this?” Forcing her brain to think, she tried to work out where she was. She strained to hear anything which could give her an idea.

  “Your race has squandered the gift it was given. We have been more than patient. Yet your people continue to turn their backs on those who gave them such wonders.”

  “You’re talking about God?” He was an angel after all. But Isabelle was coming to realize the modern concept of God and the Devil were grossly misinterpreted.

  “The humans created the One God. There have always been many. With enough belief, anything can come into being. The Christian God didn’t give your species life. It wasn’t He who bestowed this world upon you. So many of us have been forgotten to the tomes of history. No longer will we be forced to watch you destroy each other. The purge is coming and with it, a cleansing of the world.”

  He sounded like some religious fanatic. The very idea that killing millions could bring about some kind of new Eden turned her stomach.

  “How can you justify the death of millions and call it anything but murder?”

  His laugh filled the room, rolling over her skin like tar. “Not millions my dear. Billions. Silly human. Billions!”

  Genocide. Whoever this “we” was, they planned on wiping out humanity. The realization cooled her pained head, bringing with it a level of clarity. Turning towards him, she watched as colors danced around his form. An aura of energy pulsed, one color mixing and mingling with another.

  “However you plan to justify your actions? Murder is murder.”

  The angel moved so fast, she could have sworn he didn’t move a damn muscle. But one second he was sitting on a stone box, the next he gripped her face in his hand. He squeezed hard enough she felt her jaw ache from the pressure.

  “This world is poisoned, and only we hold the antidote. You’ll see. Michael will make you watch as the human race tears itself apart. And you, my dear, are the key.”

  In the blink of an eye he vanished plunging the room into pitch darkness, stealing from it the light his body created. Only the retreating sound of beating wings filled the room. Isabelle let out the breath she had been holding, a sob ripping from her as all the panic and pain hit her at once.

  Covering her mouth with her hand, she screamed and sobbed. Tears streamed down her cheeks, dripping to the floor. She didn’t know how long she had been screaming, but a wave of peace eventually settled over. Taking another deep breath, she released the panic. There was nothing she could do about their plan in here. So first step, she needed to find a way out.

  Clearly the angel didn’t believe she would be brave enough to try and escape. He hadn’t restrained her in anyway. Standing, Isabelle ran her hand down her body. She didn’t feel pain anywhere else other than her head. She was, however, strangely annoyed to realize she was still in the damn summer dress she had worn to the frat house party.

  “I am so burning this thing when I am done.” She spoke to the empty room, as if it cared. Still, it made her feel better.

  Her hand touched cold damp stone. Okay, next step. Find the door. They had to get in here somehow. Of course the bastard had vanished into thin air, so she could be anywhere. Taking one small step at a time, she allowed her fingers to search the walls for a hidden latch continuing around the room. It couldn’t be more than ten by six. If she stood on tiptoes, she could feel the ceiling.

  Stumbling about in the darkness what hardly the best plan, but right now she couldn’t see anything. The angel had emitted an inner light so now she was in pitch darkness. Keeping her hands before her, she felt something large and made of rough stone in the middle of the room. She felt around the flat surface—one sharp edge, then another. Pushing down the panic that rushed over her, she breathed in. The air was damp, stale, like old candles and mold.

  The silence was deafening; she couldn’t hear anything from outside. There were no windows, no light whatsoever. Her stomach began to sink. She had a horrible feeling she knew where the angel had stashed her. Underground, in a sealed mausoleum.

  Uriel materialized in the light bathing the Malakhim chamber. After just a few hours in the mortal world, he felt tainted. Dirt and grime had sunken into his skin. Closing his eyes, he let the light wash over him, cleansing him of the filth of humanity.

  “Where is she?” Michael opened his copper eyes, the radiance dimming a little as he spoke.

  “Locked away safe. They will not find her. I will return to give her food and water. She can be kept in that place indefinitely.” Uriel’s voice radiated with pride, he had completed his task. The Seer belonged to them!

  In the next instant, his chest exploded in blood and he fell to his knees clutching the wound that had suddenly appeared. Black blood poured from the wound as he attempted to hold his flesh together. It pooled on the chamber floor, spreading, marring the light which radiated from the chamber. Michael turned to him, brushing his hair behind his shoulder.

  “Do not give into pride, Uriel. We are above that, above it all. We will be gods of our new world. All sin will be purged. We will be pure.” Michael slid the glowing blade under his robes, turning his back on Uriel.

  “Forgive me, Michael. I did not mean to allow such darkness into this hallowed hall.” Uriel’s skin began knitting back together. Any deeper and his heart would have been pierced. There would be no coming back from that.

  “You are forgiven, my brother. Heal and see to the Seer. Ensure she does not die. We need her hands. Only the power of a Seer can be the catalyst for our coming future
.” Michael retreated from the glowing chamber. The five remaining pairs of eyes looking down at the black blood oozing across the once pristine floor. One pair, golden in hue, narrowed, a new wariness forming within.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  It was getting cold. Isabelle could feel the damp sinking into her bones. The damn dress she was wearing provided no protection against the chill. The stone floor was sapping what little heat remained from her body and was terribly hard against her skin. Time had no meaning in this darkness. For all she knew she had been here for hours already. Hell, twenty minutes could feel like a lifetime.

  She had spent a long time checking every wall. At some point, people had been able to come and go, but the entrance had been sealed long ago. She was on the edge of hysteria, her mind playing tricks on her, making her think bugs were crawling over her skin.

  The darkness gave her mind time to think, to play over everything that had happened in the last forty-eight hours. The demon—he had saved her, made her body feel more alive in a few touches then she had ever experienced.

  Now there were the angels. How could anyone believe these beings were pure and perfect? People believed they were the good guys? Shivering, it occurred to her they had no doubt spent hundreds of years cultivating this image of themselves as beings of light and goodness.

  “What a crock of shit. Angelic beings of light and good, my ass.” Yeah, so now she was talking to herself. This did not bode well.

  “I am sure it is a very nice ass, my dear, but let us not dwell in the darkness, hmm?” The silence was interrupted by a voice like flowing chocolate. Deep and rhythmic, it made her hair stand on end in a holy-crap-keep-talking-like-that-or-I-might-die kinda way.

  “How about we shed some light on this macabre scene.” The darkness went from never ending to blindingly bright. Crying out in pain as the bright light sheared into her brain, she covered her eyes and heard the male sigh.