by Lana Kole
She felt small... hopeless, and not only because Hope had been taken. “Why do you want to stop them? Don’t you want to bring… chaos?” Isn’t that the whole reason for the curse?
It was weird not having someone to answer her question in her own head. Instead, she stared at the two of them and waited for a response.
However, at the look on their faces, she wished she’d kept her mouth shut. Truth slumped back into the couch and Misery glared down at his coffee mug.
“Is that it? You think we’re evil?” Truth’s voice was soft, surprised, and Daria hated that she’d put the hurt in his tone.
“No… but I’ve only known you for a week, and the curse has been upheld for thousands of years.” Truth be told, hah, Daria didn’t think they were evil at all. If they were evil, why would they have brought her back to her apartment, cared for her, and waited around for her to… wake up? It made no sense. There had to be more to them than the book led her to believe.
“That’s fair… I guess,” Truth conceded.
“If you’re not evil, or chaos bringers, what’s the point of the curse?”
Truth and Misery shared a glance, and Daria narrowed her eyes. “What was that?”
“What?” Truth turned an innocent look her way.
“That! That look. What’s the point of the curse?” she demanded.
Holding up his hands in a placating gesture, Truth nodded. “Fine. We weren’t always this… nice.” He looked to Misery for guidance, who seemed extremely uncomfortable with the subject at hand. “The curse was obviously created to stop us, because at one time we did want to bring chaos.”
“It hasn’t always been sunshine and rainbows,” Misery drawled, and Daria couldn’t help but smile at his dull tone.
“Misery, no offense, but I can’t imagine you ever being rainbows and sunshine.”
He didn’t even look offended. “You got me there.”
“So you all were once… not good? What happened?”
Truth’s lips tilted at her. “What? Don’t sound so disappointed, Daria. I’m sure there’s enough bad boy to go around.”
Color rushed into her cheeks and she waved off his comment, hopefully before he could notice. “Don’t distract me. I want to know.”
Dropping the act, Truth looked down and sighed, unable to meet her gaze. “We started living. Through humans.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” she inquired.
“Well, before that, we just kind of existed. Looking down, for lack of a better phrase, on humanity. When you’re separated from something, it’s easy to pass judgment, to think you know the truth, to think you understand. It wasn’t until we got up close and personal with humans that we realized…”
He trailed off, seemingly at a loss, but Misery picked up his trail of thought. “How precious life is.”
Daria gulped. “And you all feel this way?”
They nodded.
“Even Betrayal?”
At that, Truth smirked, but still agreed. “Yes, even that asshole.”
A thread of fear tightened her spine and she sat up straight. “So, what’s going to happen when the others don’t do what the cult wants?”
The two of them shared another look and Daria feared the worst.
“We don’t know. But we need to find them as soon as possible.” Truth leveled with her.
“And then what? We put you back? Is that possible?”
At least then my head wouldn’t feel so empty.
Misery sighed. “Can we just… one thing at a time? I think it’s enough that we find them first. We can cross the next bridge when we come to it.”
Daria gulped more of her coffee, determined to fix her mistake. “What can I do?”
But really, what can I do? I couldn’t even uphold the fucking curse. I broke it. What good am I?
“Stop it,” Misery scolded, and her gaze jerked to him, swimming in the darkness of his eyes. “I can sense your misery. What can you do? Save them.”
Her heart thundered against her chest and her breath ran short as she thought of them. Death, Hope, and Betrayal. Misery was right.
They were her fucking demons.
It wasn’t like she didn’t have a horse in this race either. She’d been fucking murdered. She’d be damned if that asshole Andrew could just get away with it. Like she meant nothing, was nothing.
“I think the best thing we can do is let them continue thinking you’re dead. I think at this point we can assume your immortality is part of the curse? And thankfully they don’t know about it, else they would’ve taken you too. That means we need to lie low and work behind the scenes,” Truth suggested, cutting through her internal thoughts.
“Lie low? How low?”
Truth was suddenly in front of her, with that damned apron on, and lifted her chin with a single finger. “I know your job means a lot to you, but this is more important. Just get a few days off, and we’ll go from there.”
It felt stupid to think it, but Daria liked her job. It was hers. “How?”
His lips curled in a sad smile. “Just tell them the truth.”
Daria groaned and leaned her forehead into Truth’s chest. “Dammit.”
“Oh my God, Daria, I’m so sorry.” Dave’s voice was solemn and sweet as he offered his condolences. To give her as much time as she needed to get her mother’s affairs in order.
“Thanks Dave. I’m really sorry that I—”
“Don’t apologize. We don’t have control over things like this. Just let me know when you’re ready to come back. Allegra and I can handle it just fine.”
She breathed a sigh of relief and murmured her appreciation into her cell phone before saying goodbye. Propping the edge of it against her chin, she stared at the two demons on her couch. “There. Happy? No more work.”
Truth groaned before making a move to come to her again, and she shooed him away. “I know you’re independent, and want to make your own way, but you can do that after we save the others.”
She caved, nodded, and motioned for him to sit back down. “First thing we need is clothes for the both of you. You can’t very well wear that damned apron forever.”
“But I look so good in it, don’t you think?” He winked her way before sitting back down on the couch.
Rolling her eyes to the ceiling, she asked for patience, and tried not to think about Truth’s bare ass on her couch cushions.
“Okay. Clothes. I need to get you clothes.” She thought of the bills she’d snagged from her mom’s box and sighed. “Actually, I’ll need more money for clothes and rent. So first, back to the bank.”
“And then?” Truth prompted with a raised eyebrow.
“And then… ” She narrowed her eyes at him. “And then we can save the world. Or something.”
“Or something,” Misery droned from the couch.
DEATH
Clarity came to Death like the first toss of dirt on a grave. Expected, but jarring. Bright lights pierced his eyes when he tried to lift them, and he slammed his eyes closed with a groan. His entire body hurt, but he wasn’t sure if that was due to his return to flesh and blood, or if it was the ass kicking they’d gotten.
Turning his head, he glanced to the side and found Hope staring right at him. Then he glanced at the rest of his body.
“Well, that was fun, huh? Fuck,” Death cursed.
“Ditto,” another voice answered, and Death turned his head to find Betrayal to his left.
They were all strapped down to tables by the wrist and ankles, in a white room with white lights and matching walls and floors.
“The fuck are we?” Betrayal growled.
“Think it’s safe to say we’re at whatever compound the chaos fuck faces run,” Death replied with a grim look on his face. “Truth and Misery got Daria out. That’s all that matters.”
“What’s she gonna do? She’s dead.” Betrayal’s bitterness grated on Death’s nerves. A growl tore from his chest before he could stop it, and h
e gritted his teeth in Betrayal’s direction.
“No, she’s not,” Death admitted, and the shackles rattled as Betrayal jerked his head to stare at him with shock.
“What are you talking about?” he barked.
“I didn’t see her. She didn’t come to me.” The information still puzzled him. Everyone that died, Death got a sense of. Even if it was just a niggling in the back of his head letting him know. For Daria? Nothing.
Which was... strange. With the number of times she’d been stabbed, there was no way she pulled through, especially without medical attention. That left a question he wasn’t quite ready to ask. Death didn’t like change.
The clench of his jaw must have warned Betrayal he wasn’t ready to delve deeper, so the demon grunted before returning to staring at their five-star view.
Death’s chest squeezed tight at the memory of her limp body on that alley ground.
He hated to admit it, but those fuckers had planned it perfectly. They’d attacked the moment him and his brothers had materialized, before they’d even had a chance to adjust to fucking existing again. Smart. He’d known it was only a matter of seconds before they were overpowered. Truth knew it too, and thank fuck he’d followed Death’s command and gotten Misery out of there.
If Daria didn’t, at least Truth and Misery could figure out what the hell was going on. Though he didn’t know why she’d want to help. He hoped she didn’t, honestly. Maybe she’d wash her hands of them and take the money and run.
He wouldn’t exactly blame her.
But even Death knew that was too far from the truth. She might not owe them anything, but she felt she owed her bloodline, her mother. Daria wasn’t the type to just walk away. No, she’d throw herself into the mouth of danger just to prove she was strong enough to do it.
Just like how she had refused to leave even when her mother’s last wish had been to take the money and run. She had to dig herself out of her own financial hole, without the aid of others. That was how Daria’s brain worked—he would know, he’d been in there long enough.
Stupid.
And he wasn’t even there to protect her. His heart pounded at the thought of her getting hurt again. “Hey! Earth to Death. You in there?” Turning his head to face Betrayal, he glared at his brother in answer.
Only then did Betrayal speak. “Truth and Misery will find a way out of this. We just have to put up with whatever shit they’re gonna throw our way.”
He nodded, but Hope was suspiciously quiet, and Death rolled to look at him before his attention was drawn to the door opening behind their heads. He refused to give them the satisfaction of his interest, so he lay still and stared at the bright lights above their heads. It gave him a twist of satisfaction to know this bastard’s time here on earth wouldn’t last much longer.
“Demons. Welcome to chaopadós.”
They ignored him, but he continued, “I think you’ll be very pleased with what we have planned next for you.”
“I do remember you guys used to throw some pretty wicked parties.” Betrayal laughed harshly before tugging at his manacles. “But something tells me we’re past those times, so it’s doubtful.”
The man moved around to their feet so they could see him, but Death barely glanced before he turned his attention elsewhere. It was long enough for a frown to curl the man’s lips down before he recovered with a bright smile. Too bright.
“We’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?”
Death rolled his head to share a look with Hope. Even the bright green in his eyes couldn’t inspire a fuzzy feeling in Death’s chest.
If this was the cult he remembered from so many millennia ago, they didn’t have a leader—instead, they functioned as a democratic group and let chaos decide their course of action.
Whether that meant chaos, the natural imbalance of hectic energy in the universe, or Chaos, the thing that had existed before even Death, he didn’t know.
He sighed and rolled his head to the ceiling, closing his eyes and readying himself for whatever came next.
Who knew what these crazy fuckers had in mind.
DARIA
The storm from the night before had finally departed, leaving the sun shining without cover. As Daria paid the pizza guy for delivery, she glanced at the bright orb above and wished everything was as simple as the clouds parting. As she shut the door, her thoughts kept trailing back to… God, was it really just the night before? That she’d been… murdered.
Shaking her head against the remembered glint of a weapon, she dropped the pizzas on the countertop and lifted the top.
Double pepperoni was her favorite, the smell making her stomach growl, but at the same time, her stomach turned at the thought of food. Closing the lid, she grabbed a bottle of water and went to the couch to sit instead, listening to the running water in the shower as the guys got cleaned up. She’d brought them new clothes and they’d disappeared, eager for the thought of a modern shower.
She felt like screaming.
She just wanted the images, the glint of metal and the pain and fear out of her head. No matter how much she tried to turn her thoughts away, they crept back in and held on with determined fingers. Twisting the bottle cap, she tried anything to block the memories.
Her fucking creepy landlord finally got his money after she’d made a trip to the bank and the closest clothing store. He’d grabbed her money with greedy fingers and she’d waited, stomach swirling as he wrote out a receipt for her, his fingers lingering too long on hers as he’d pushed it into her hand.
At the store, she’d grabbed whatever clothes had been closest, until she could take the guys back to pick out their own.
Speaking of… Truth came down the hallway and clapped his hands together. “I smell pizza. Tell me it’s pizza.”
She smiled at his enthusiasm. “On the bar.”
His gaze traced her figure curled on the couch before he glided to the kitchen. He looked good in his clothes, if the comfortable fit was anything to go by. She had no idea how to shop for men’s clothes, but it seems she’d guessed right, because the light wash jeans looked fantastic on Truth, cupping his ass just right. White shirts had seemed simple enough, and the cotton stretched around his biceps like a second skin.
He turned with a plate in hand and she averted her gaze before he caught her staring. When the couch dipped beside her, she tried to pretend like the bottle cap was the most interesting thing she’d ever discovered, until something nudged her arm. Truth had a second plate of pizza in hand and nudged her with it again.
She grabbed it with a scowl and frowned down at the cheesy goodness. “I’m not hungry.”
“Yes, you are,” he challenged, and she went to argue before he tapped the side of his head. “Truth.” And then he grinned, and her breath got stuck in her throat as his smile reached his eyes and his blue eyes absolutely sparkled in her shitty apartment lighting.
“Fine,” she conceded, and gave into her stomach’s needs, moaning when the top layer of pepperoni crunched under her small bite.
“Are you okay?” he asked, and she knew not to even attempt lying.
But she still frowned, uncomfortable with having to admit the truth. “No. But I’ll get there. It… sucks.”
A dark chuckle came from him and she glanced over to find a shadow blocking the ease from his gaze. “That’s an understatement.”
Misery came out then, and she almost grinned at the sight of him in one of the black shirts she’d thought to grab, and the ripped black jeans she’d found. They were both barefoot, and her lips twitched at the thought of him wearing the men’s sandals she’d grabbed by the checkout.
Even with the money at her disposal, she wasn’t spending eighty dollars on two pairs of tennis shoes that probably wouldn’t fit anyway. The ten-dollar sandals would do until they could pick out their own shit.
He, too, beelined for pizza to grab some before sitting across from them. His dark hair was wet and dripping, and the black shirt do
ing nothing to hide the strength in his lean frame. But the misery wafting off him was enough to make her want to comfort him. She shifted in her seat to resist the urge and pulled her feet up on the couch as they ate in silence.
And more silence.
“So, now what?” she prompted.
“Now… we find our brothers and we take down the cult,” Truth spoke frankly.
Her bite of pizza went down too fast and she coughed, chugging water to wash it down. “Thanks, Captain Obvious. Do we have a plan for that?”
“We’ll get there. One thing at a time.”
“You’re ridiculous.” She focused on her pizza, trying to think of something, anything to help. “Do you have any ideas?” she addressed Misery. When she glanced his way, his stare was already trained on her, a frown painting his lips.
“Are you okay?” she asked suddenly, worried about the intensity in his gaze.
It seemed to shake him out of whatever trance he was in, and he shook his head. “No idea… yet.”
Silence reigned for a while longer before she glanced to their clothes. “I’ll take you guys to pick out some more clothes later, if you promise to behave.” Trying to lighten the mood, she kept her tone teasing.
“Now that’s just no fun.” Truth winked at her from his spot beside her and she blushed.
“What you picked out was good enough,” Misery murmured from his chair.
Truth rolled his eyes at his friend. “You’d be content with that fuckin’ toga. We need more clothes.”
He just shrugged, and Truth growled at him before stabbing the last piece of crust in his mouth.
Daria grinned at their back and forth, thankful for the reprieve from her own thoughts.
“Can I ask you guys a question?” she asked.
Spreading his hands wide, plate balanced in one, Truth gestured to himself. “Open book, babe.”
The ink under his shirtsleeve caught her eye. “How’d you end up with a tattoo? That’s a lot more modern looking than anything I would think capable back in… ” She trailed off, not sure if she wanted to insult his age just yet.
