Seven Sins (1-3)

THIRD SIN'S A CHARM

My vision blurred as the sidewalk faded in and out of sharpness. Spaced-out street lights left long lengths of darkness for me to slink through like a thief in the night.

Budget wasn't an issue. Seattle had more than its share of city money.

Unfortunately, the crime-ridden south side of Seattle, dubbed "White Center," was known more for its bars, p*rn shops, and crime... None of those things enjoyed being in the spotlight.

I wrinkled my nose at a leering pair of men with hairy arms hanging out of their car window like they owned the place. I didn't have time for this. Sister Maxine was where I was heading, not trouble.

Their beady eyes flickered with interest and I sighed. Fine. Let them try and bother me on a night like tonight.

Let's see how that worked out for them. The clicks from my heels echoed out and preceded me down the street. I shouldn't have come down this way, but I'd been preoccupied. I'd lost my girlfriend, stupidly dumped her thinking that would finally allow me to let go and die of starvation.

Dumb.

My aura of temptation must have been strong, strong enough to lure David out and f*ck me right there on the street. And I let him.

I was a f*ck*ng monster.

"Where you off to, sweetheart?" said a burly man who slinked from the beat-up Cadillac. His buddy with a half-showing beer belly shuffled to my side and inhaled.

"Smells like dessert." He grinned, giving me a bird's eye view of his row of yellowing and cracked teeth. Being a succubus didn't mean I was blind. The drunken old man had been spontaneous.

I didn't care how ugly they were when it was spontaneous.

But this?

The burly man stroked his beard, and I could swear there were dried pieces of meat still stuck to it.

Gross. I squeezed my eyes shut and leaned, holding my arms out and letting them drape over each hairy neck like I was hugging mangy dogs.

"Fellas," I breathed in my most seductive voice. I remembered David's lips on my neck and heat swept through my chest. I let the memory engulf me until the yearning returned.

I sighed and pushed it through my palms and into the men's bodies. To control them I needed to feed them. I screwed one eye open and their tongues were already lolling. Their eyelids fluttered and they staggered under my slight weight. Maybe I was laying it on a bit too thick. Then I saw the fresh bloodstains on their boots.

I stumbled back and they toppled over onto the ground, wobblin around like overthrown turtles. While they were drunk and disoriented on my power, I shifted to the car and peered in.

Two women.

Dead.

Once the bastards righted themselves, they crawled to my feet and I forced my lips into a smile, focusing on the lust I tasted on my breath.

A succubus' lust for vengeful death... That was a compulsion I rarely had the chance to use.

"You know what I want?" I asked sweetly. "

A spanking?" the bearded man barked. I huffed a laugh.

"Ah, yes! What a great idea. Except..." I ran my finger across his chin and ignored the nausea rolling in my stomach. "Why don't you spank your friend? With your fist, of course. Over and over again, right in his face. Do it until he stops moving. I would love that." He blinked, and there was a flicker of fight in his eyes.

I pressed in closer and exhaled..

He breathed in the fine dust of my power and trembled.

"And then?" he asked. There wasn't a shred of disobedience left in the man.

"And then, I want you to drag him" I pointed to the belly-man, "to the police station. Tell them what you did, Everything you've ever done. Would you do that for me?" The belly-man clapped his hands together like a bumbling i***t.

"What do I do?" I swept my hand over his face and purred my next words. "You die."

The thumps of fist against flesh matched the steady beat of my heart and clink of my heels as I made my way to the West Seattle Bridge.

Bam.

Bam,

Crunch.

A grin smeared across my face. I didn't mean to enjoy it.

Yet, how I loved the sound of flesh on flesh. A little voice told me just to relish my handiwork. Those two murderers deserved what was coming to them.

I turned my wrist to reset my watch timer. The purple numbers pleasantly glowed as they counted down in a rush. I didn't mind taking of three hours for this.

One hour per man I'd fed enough s****l energy to overcome their will.

Two murderers and one dead-beat dad dealt with Worth it. The thought of Sister Maxine's judgmental frown splattered across m vision.

One violent shake of my head and my thoughts flung her out as quickly as they'd materialized. No sense getting myself riled up.

There was only one thing I needed from Sister Maxine, and then she'd never see, me again. Cars rushed on the wet pavement as I crossed the lower street to the better part of town.

This side had lights all over the place and I squinted This side had lights all over the place and I squinted- no, not lights. The sun was rising.

An orange glow bled above that cathedral's pike and I hurried my gait. The morning's heat and nighttime's events had made me work up a sweat and I looked forward to the cool air of the cathedral.

Whoever came up with that phrase "sweating like a wh*r* in church" clearly didn't realize they had the best air-conditioning in Seattle and the most expensive insulation to keep it in.

None of that cheap crap for God. Even if I was enthusiastic to escape the heat, I couldn't help but slow to a saunter as my gaze was drawn to the bursts of broken reds in the stained glass. I desperately tried not to think of belly-man's face.

Calling upon my skills of suppressing emotion, which were probably extremely unhealthy, I shoved the discomfort deep into my chest and assured myself that I'd feel better once I was inside.

My mother had said it was the only place you could truly come to an understanding with sin, and one day, I'd have to face mine if I wanted to survive, all seven of them.

I'd never paid much attention to her back then, but as I absently rubbed the runes through my shirt, I wondered if she'd been more literal than I'd realized.

My free hand's thumb twirled the small ring on my finger, reminding me my mother was gone, and all I had left of her was this silver band, along with an abandoned mansion I refused to recognize, and far too much pornography she'd promised was just for research.

The church's shadow was already cooler than the humid air drifting in the street. I gratefully took shelter and breathed out a sigh of anticipation. How would Maxine react to seeing me again after all these years?

The massive oak door rimmed with engravings was already cracked open and I slipped inside, expecting to hear the rhythmic chanting of the nuns or a boys' choir practicing their song. Instead, I heard Zack yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Sonya's out there right now fuc" He cleared his throat, remembering he was talking to a nun. "Sonya's killing people! Are you going to let one teensy tiny itty bitty technicality get in the way?" Sister Maxine's unmistakable no-nonsense voice boomed through the foyer.

"Technicality?" she screeched. "That's hardly a technicality."

Tugging off my shoes, I shifted against the wall and peered around the corner. Zack crossed his arms and stared down his nose at Sister Maxine with smoky eyes.

I swear, I wish he'd stop using eyeliner. Though... it did kind. of make him look s*xy. Like some sort of exotic rock star. "Sonya can't just go around killing people.

When she was finding douchebags to feed off of, that was one thing.

At least she was subtle. But now she's after random blokes behind a bar? No.

This is the only solution." Sister Maxine thumped her rosary beads against his chest.

"Does the Lord's word mean nothing to you?" I balked.

Don't tell me he came here to... Zack weighed both hands down on Maxine's tiny frame. "If it held an weight in my heart, do you think my first girlfriend would still be alive?" I buried my face in my hands.

Fornication.

He was talking about fornication, and more importantly, the first fornication I'd ever had.

Sure great conversation with a Nun.