Greed's hand shot out to my neck. He squeezed his fingers and snarled, but I smirked. He had to do more than that. Wrath and Lust were ready to rip my spine out. Squeezing my neck was nothing. My tongue pressed out between my teeth. "Guess you're not a bitch," I said, my voice strained.

"I should kill you now." Greed turned, so I was in front of him. He moved me closer with one pull, so my nose pressed against his. Any time I got close to any of the other Sins, I'd smell something—Pride and Sloth loved their sweets, Wrath, and Lust had each other with alcohol, and Gluttony needed his full, heavily seasoned meals. But Greed was 'clean.' Smelled like winter fresh gum and mouthwash. Maybe he purposely matched his cold exterior with icy minty scents.

Gritting my teeth, I looked at his burned eyes, blazing with his envious fury. Within them, within their dark void, I saw the hands of his victims, pressing against the black irises for an escape. I felt as if I listened closely, I could hear their cries. That wasn't the energy I needed right now.

"Aren't you supposed to?" I gasped as he squeezed again but didn't drop my grin. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction, I planned to look like the cocky motherfucker he couldn't stand for as long as I could. "It was your one job today. One job, Greed." I coughed.

I was ready to crack another joke to egg him on and add gasoline to his flames. but stopped when I heard Priscilla's whispers. Her voice echoed from the back room, hitting my ears like she was beside me. I slid my gaze in that direction and focused.

Haven't you noticed something, Octavio?

"I need you to get here," Priscilla hissed to someone inside that room. Was she on the phone? She had to be. "I don't know, I was helping someone—yes, yes, I fuckin' know. But he's in trouble, now I'm in trouble, and Gabriel, if you don't get your ass over here, I might die. Yes, die! Shit!"

Oh, the guy she knows. A sense of relief came over me; it was good she had someone to call. In case shit crumbled her and she was left without a place to stay, at least I knew she'd be safe in the arms of another.

Pay attention.

"I'll kill you, then extract her soul," Greed said through clenched teeth. "And I will enjoy every bit of this."

He turned me so my back was to the destroyed front door. He pressed me against the protruding splinters. I hissed as they dug into my back, but this was fine. Like this, I could see into the back of the apartment. Priscilla's door was still closed, but inside, she continued to rummage. Why? And for what?

Greed squeezed his fingers once more, rougher this time, and I found it harder to breathe. Gasping, I glanced at him as the burn lines around his eyes slid down his cheeks, spreading like spilled ink.

You can break free if you try, Octavio.

My arm shook as I tried to lift it. Blood dripped from the tips of my fingers. When did that happen?

'Tis but a flesh wound.

Greed and I locked eyes. I saw the power in his. A black mist swam in circles where the iris should be, obscuring the souls I saw seconds before. I knew that darkness and felt it. Absorbed it; I needed to. It was either fight or die and honestly, after the last century I endured, I didn't want to go out like this. Not with him.

As I sucked in a deep breath, I let the cold of his sin fill my lungs.

Greed grinned. "Anticipating death?"

"No." My hand quickly lifted above his head and came down. My fingers, nails having extended for murder, slashed at the side of his face. Either I moved too fast, or he was so focused on me and how I needed to die, that he didn't block or move away. I struck him, and he dropped me, stumbling back.

So did I.

With his tongue pressed into his cheek, he pressed his hand against the fresh wound on his face. He pulled his fingers back, sticky with blood. "Lucky hit," he whispered.

Looking at my hands, I saw a mist of power, my power, circling my fingertips; dark blue and black swirls of smoke blended with my skin. I grinned. How many years had it been since I physically saw my powers? I'd lived as a mortal for so long, half as strong as I was, able to hear and feel sin but unable to truly inflict it. I was a shell of my Sinful self, and yet, standing in front of Greed, my once partner within the Seven, it was returning to me.

Was he the key to my powers? The other half of my deadly sin? In minutes, I felt a difference I hadn't felt in years.

You're not paying attention, Octavio. You must look at everything, not just what's in front of you.

My eyes slid over to Greed once more. He straightened, arching so his back cracked. The cuts on his face continued to drip blood. I smirked because I did that.

"You're not lucky," Greed hissed, licking his lips. "Not lucky!"

He lunged at me. My feet slid over the ice he'd spread all over the floor. His cold hands pressed against my ribs until his nails found a space between the bandages. The tips of them pushed through the shirt, into the gashes that were already there. I screamed as cold pain shot through my body.

"I can take your soul out through these little wounds." Greed slammed me against the wall. I ground my teeth and clenched my jaw to try and keep the pain in control. But it swam through me, slipping into my muscles, lungs, and heart. The loud, hammering heartbeats echoed in my ears.

"Wrath was having fun with you." Greed lifted me off the ground. My feet dangled. Blood slipped from under my bandages as struggling tears burned in my eyes. "She could've ripped you in two, but these cuts are small. You pissed her off, didn't you?"

"Fuck you," I hissed, pressing my hands against his shoulders in an attempt to push him back. I made him budge, but he didn't let go. He moved against my returning strength, and I trembled. "Fuck. You," I repeated.

His hands pushed deeper into my ribs. I instinctively pushed back against the wall; my brain's desperate attempt to get away.

Pay attention. You're not going to die here.

As much as I appreciated the voices in my head rooting me on and giving me hope, this was a moment I needed them to be honest with me. My tiny glimmers of power weren't enough to fight Greed. And that was fine. I settled on the idea that my sacrifice could give Priscilla another day.

Focus on more than just the day. Focus on the night, the light, and the opportunity.

Tears slid down my cheeks as I looked ahead at the room Priscilla was hiding in.

Either fight to keep her alive or kill her.

Priscilla's face appeared as she pushed the door open. With her phone pressed against her ear, she looked at me wide-eyed. Her bottom lip slipped between her teeth. She was worried. I didn't want her to because I was. I was sure I was going to die.

But that worry faded when I saw the light. Her light. Brightening the space around her like a golden ball of fire, the light spread and dispersed into the air each time she blinked. And that light traveled, swimming in the air toward me. She didn't notice it, but I did. As it got closer, I felt stronger.

Are you paying attention now, Octavio?

"I called my friend!" Priscilla waved her hands over her head as if I couldn't see her. "He's not far. He'll be here in like... five minutes, tops!"

My physical pain mixed with disbelief. I wanted her to call her friend, yes. I needed her to have a way to escape. But to call him now? Here? With Greed's onslaught on my body?

She reminds you of someone, doesn't she?

Greed's head turned as he looked back at Priscilla. His grip on my injuries slipped. In the moment of distraction, I touched his shoulders and pushed.

As he fell back against the floor, I took my chance. I jumped on him, pushing my powers into the tips of my fingers so they glowed black with rage, and shoved them between his shoulder blades. He howled in pain, swinging back at me. I dodged the next hit.

"Shit!" Priscilla slammed the door shut, returning to her barricade. She shouldn't have left to begin with; alerting her friend of this location so soon was reckless. Irresponsible. Dangerous.

Two souls, separated by time and realm, yet so alike.

Greed pushed himself up with his knuckles, and my hands dug deeper into his back. Blood seeped through his shirt. "Get off, filth!" he yelled, trying to shake me off.

"Filth?" I curved my fingers to grab hold of his bones. He screeched. "You don't like this, do you!"

My muscles tensed in a good way. This was different from hunting humans; I hadn't done that for a thrill in so long. And this was different from my fight with Wrath and Lust. They had me cornered, overpowered me, and at the time, I felt nothing. No extra powers, nothing above the slim abilities I carried with me for years.

But now, fighting with Greed, I felt more like my old self; a Sin worth my name. And I wanted to make him pay for thinking so little of me.

I tugged his bones back, lifting him against me. His frost shot up from the wounds to my chest.

You remember this, don't you?

"I'm going to kill you!" Greed reached his arms back. His fingers caught my face. Shards of ice pressed into my skin, making me hiss. But that wasn't enough for him. Of course, it wasn't. He needed me to die, or else Pride would be angry.

"You're going to pay for this!" he screamed.

Are you going to let him talk to you like this?

With his back to my chest, I moved my bloody lips to his ear. I hissed, snaking my tongue out like the serpent swimming through my blood, bringing me my old abilities. "You never liked me." I flicked my tongue against his earlobe. "You wanted me dead the moment Him and Her appointed my seat."

Greed trembled. When I moved my fingers, he cried out slightly.

I shook my head against him as I looked ahead at Priscilla's locked door. I heard her moving inside that room. Focusing my energy, I tried to see her, but when Greed bucked in an attempt to get away, I looked back at him. "Why did you hate me?" I hissed.

He chuckled, but the blood in his mouth muffled the sound. "You weren't dark enough... to become us." He coughed, and red spilled on his chest. "Gluttony's baby bird... That's the only reason why you're here..."

"Hm."

He never respected you, Octavio. Kill him like he planned to kill you. Then grab the girl and run. Run far away like you hoped to do a century ago.

Holding him close, I pulled one hand from his back and looped it around his neck. I thought of the different ways I could snap it, twist it enough that the power of his Sin slipped out of the wound, breaking away from his body and soul. Yes, that was the way. The only way. And as the voices said, I could kill him then grab Priscilla; take her from this place before her friend rescues her. Then we could run. Where? I didn't know. There wasn't enough time to think of it. I was still processing my attacks from earlier.

She'll love you in due time. Just wait. You believe us, don't you, Octavio?

A smirk tugged at my lips. "When I kill you, Paul," I whispered, addressing Greed by the human name he never hears anymore, "find Him and Her and tell them hello for me."

Greed chucked again. He turned his head as much as he could to look into my eyes. "Fuck—"

Rushing steps came toward us. A loud bang followed. A gunshot, but different. The bullet leaving the barrel smelled like sulfur, ash, and, "Hell..." The place where darkness was born slipped past my lips.

The gun blew a hole in Greed's head. It splattered blood over my face and lips; Greed tasted like salt and shame. Pulling my hand free, I dropped him and looked at the gun that fired, at the hand that held it.

A tall man stood in the broken entrance, feet pressed firmly on the ice. He lowered his gun enough for me to see his face. With dark brown skin paired with matching eyes, his mouth was pulled into a snarl. Taking a deep breath, he looked down at Greed's body and shook his head, but when he looked at me, he clicked his teeth. "Demons," he said. "Fuckin' demons."