Well, this was an unfortunate turn of events. Lust twisted to get a better view of her backside and the hot pink scales currently spreading down the curve of her ass and thighs. Was everything that arrived in this house cursed, or what?
“You’ve been in there a solid fifteen minutes, and I don’t hear the goddamned shower!” Lust looked at the door as someone angrily pounded on it. “If you go over your thirty-minute allotment, I will strangle you! With your own entrails!!!”
Wrath really needed to take a chill pill. Lust studied the hot pink sequin bikini she was wearing. Well, not wearing anymore. More like becoming her, transforming her freaking skin into hot pink scales. It was kind of sexy, actually, if you set aside the panic.
More banging. “Seriously! Entrails!!!”
Irritated, Lust turned to glare at the door, but a slight hiss that was way too close for comfort distracted her. While looking for the source, a flash of pink in the mirror had her turning back. What the… where was the infernal red? Her eyes should not be pink! Officially freaked out when she realized that wasn’t the only change. What in Heaven’s name was happening?
Amazed, she watched her red tresses undulate against her shoulders. There was no breeze. No breeze! Completely panicking, Lust burst through the bathroom door, body-checking Wrath into the wall. It wasn’t intentional, but that didn’t stop Wrath from shoving her back into the bathroom.
“I’m going to murder you, stupid little twit!”
The hissing grew louder, but Wrath was too far gone to heed the warning. And it was a warning, of some sort.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Best to placate her . “Besides, the bathroom's free. All the hot water is yours.”
Black claws rushed towards her face, and Lust jerked back as what looked like pink lasers shot out her eyes. Wrath’s reflexes were the only thing that saved her because, when those darts of brilliant pink light struck the door, it turned to stone.
“What the actual fuck?”
Lust blinked rapidly. She agreed—what the actual fuck? “I tried to warn you.”
Wrath looked between her and the door several times before pinching the bridge of her nose. “You are always in some sort of shit. Always. Ar—are those scales?”
“Maybe?” Lust gestured to her body. “It’s hot though, right?”
A growl was her only answer. “Envy! ENVY!”
Ugh, Lust didn’t want Envy involved in this. Ms. Know-It-All. Besides, Greed had blathered on and on about how his precious leather jacket was from Brimstone Outfitters. Everyone knew all their shit was cursed so it could harvest souls. Lust bet her bikini was the same. Although, how giving her extra abilities would harvest her non-existent soul, she didn’t understand.
“Uh-oh.” Envy pushed her hood back so her glowing, verdant eyes were visible. “Kevin never ceases to surprise me, blank lump of clay that he is. Your curse is more invasive than Greed’s, but slightly less than whatever the Heaven is wrong with Kevin. At least you won’t burst into flames like Greed if his activates.”
Wrath was pinching her nose again. “Seriously? This place is like curse central.”
Envy’s eyes narrowed. “Not all of us. But, let’s focus on the current crisis at hand, shall we?”
“Hello, I’m right here, and apparently cursed. Again.” Lust sat on the lip of the tub. The hissing was less combative and more curious now. “My hair is hissing.”
Wrath jerked away while Envy leaned closer. “It's progressing quickly.”
“What is progressing quickly? What is the nature of this curse?” Lust knew she was more a lover than a fighter, but anything that came from Brimstone Outfitters needed to be handled cautiously. Damn those shiny sequins. They seduced her as surely as her powers seduced others.
“Oh, damn. Is this what I think it is? If it is, I’m out. I don’t do snakes.” Wrath retreated from the bathroom.
Snakes? Lust touched the scales that had begun spreading up her chest. Then the ones on her thighs. She was afraid to touch her hair. It was still moving on its own.
“Still afraid of things that slither, I see.” Envy’s eyes brightened, the verdant becoming translucent. “This is Aynaet’s work.”
Lust’s eyes narrowed. Aynaet, that bitch. It wouldn’t surprise her if this bikini wasn’t a trap laid specifically for her. Yes, that sounded paranoid, but Aynaet was a jealous, treacherous demon who had her evil sights set on Death. Never going to happen. Death belonged to Lust. He was hers!
Wait. Death. That was the ticket. “So, Aynaet has to remove the curse.”
Envy jerked back as one of Lust’s red curls struck at her outstretched hand. Just like a viper. “That’s the most expedient way, yes. Fascinating. It seems to have reached some sort of apex and is now rapidly changing you. We’re gonna have to go get a blindfold. Otherwise, you’ll turn us all to stone.”
“You’re going to have to kill me. So I can contact Aynaet.” Lust reached over to plug the tub before turning the hot water on full blast.
“You won’t come back from that. You’ll be stuck in whatever trap Aynaet has set up for her soul collection.” Both Envy and Lust looked over to where Sloth was standing with Kevin of all people. Still on that damn phone of his. At least his hair no longer had Taki dust in it.
Lust just shrugged. “Let me worry about Aynaet. She’s going to get what’s coming to her.”
Envy held up her hands. “As you say. I’m more concerned with the binding. And Kevin’s curse. There’s no telling what this will do to you –or us, for that matter.”
Pink light flickered to life in the room, and Kevin actually looked up. For a second, awareness flowed into his brown eyes. “When’d you turn into a Gorgon?”
They all looked at him in surprise. But then, his apathy curse resumed. “Too many weirdos in the bathroom.” Then he wandered away.
“Oookay. Kevin almost sounded normal. Gorgon is like Medusa, right? Nevermind. Now, who wants to drown me?” Lust climbed into the tub and knelt on her knees. At Envy’s frown, she rolled her eyes. “So I don’t flash one of y’all to stone, duh.”
Sloth hesitantly raised his hand. “I’ll do it.”
Lust squinted at him before shrugging. “Whatever. Let’s get this over with. The neon floral muu-muu is giving me a headache.”
Large hands wrapped around the back of her neck and, with a powerful shove, she was under the hot water. It seemed to take forever before she ran out of air. Then there was all that unfortunate, involuntary, splashing as she struggled. Sloth did a good job though. His resolve never wavered, even if he did dress like an idiot.
Lust hovered in the in-between. Death, magic, curses, bindings: all vying for supremacy over her essence. As she banked on, the first binding took precedence. Magic was orderly that way.
Huh.
Guess it was true the last thing to go was hearing because she swore she heard Sloth curse when the brand hidden under her red hair burned him.
The room was always the same. Rough stone walls. Decadent bed of silk. Black fire burning in the grate. Lust glanced around and finally spotted him. The only being to ever see past the ditz and glamor of who she was. Death.
They exchanged a long glance before Death finally spoke. "You're early.”
Lust gestured to her altered self. The hot pink scales now covered most of her body. Her hair was truly alive, undulating around her head and hissing away. No laser eyes though. “So, a lot has happened.”
He stalked towards her and the hissing turned into croons. “Yes, I see. You’re free from the Hell Stone at last. What’s a little curse compared to stasis? Or seeing you in the flesh.”
Lust grinned when he crowded her against the rough stone of the wall. The skull visage of his office just turned her on. “In the flesh at last. Lose the mask so I can kiss you.”
Death reached up and ran his hand over his face. A gossamer shroud pulled away, dropping to the floor in an iridescent heap. “Idora, my love.”
Only Death called her by her given name. . He had reaped her, after all. Beyond herself, he was the only one that recalled that human life. Their lips met, and soon they were lost in each other. Unfortunately, time was of the essence.
Lust pulled away, shivering when Death ran his nose down her neck. “A quick recap. The stasis crystal worked, it got all of us out. We are with a witch from the bloodline you recommended, and he is powerful, we think. Slight hiccup, as you can see. I have no idea how Kevin got ahold of things from Brimstone Outfitters, though that is the least of our problems, to be honest. The magic has run amok. Kevin is cursed, and we’re somehow bound up with him.”
“Kevin is the Hazel witch? A male Witch?” Death pulled back to study her face and his eyes were narrowed. “What is the nature of his affliction? Wait, how did you get caught up in it?”
Lust didn’t let the smile show, it always amused her that, after hundreds of years, Death still exhibited jealousy. He did have contempt for male Witches. “I’m not sure. It’s not like I can ask him about it. Not if I want an answer. The curse took effect the same moment the stasis broke. Kevin is –apathetic, for want of a better word. The man had Takis in his hair yesterday!”
Death stepped back and pulled her away from the wall. He ran his fingers along the scales of her chest before resting his hand over her heart. “Let’s just take a look-see then.”
Lust closed her eyes as the essence that made Death what he was moved through her. As a being of neutrality, everything dies eventually, his power could supersede others. Suss out things that others couldn’t. Her hair coiled around her head, the transformation from strands to vipers now complete. It was weird, she could sense them as separate, yet the same.
“So many layers of magic. This may be your biggest snafu yet.” Death sounded impressed, which was saying something, as Wrath had been right. Lust was always in some sort of shit.
“There were other witches present, but I think they got booted from the house.” Lust sighed. “Lay it on me.”
Death grinned. “Our bond is the oldest, the magic still strong and pure. The tether to Hell is much weakened, it won’t take much for the Hazel witch to break that. The Apathy, as you call it, is weird. I’ve never really seen something like it before.”
The vipers were listening, as she was, but their curiosity was waning. They wanted–no needed–to serve their purpose. Realization dawned. The vipers were the source of the eye lasers. Providing the ability to turn anything to stone. Well, that made sense.
“So strange. The strands of magic woven, yet frayed. Some strong as steel others weak as toilet paper. Each one a different signature, a different purpose.” Death’s hand moved to the shoulder covered in scales. “It’s wearing off though. Whatever magic the Hazel witch used, the apathy he’s exhibiting is waning.”
A waiting game, something Lust was good at. Some of the others; not so much. “You’re saying that, as long as Kevin is fine, his apathy will wear off? He’ll be able, and willing, to cut our ties to Hell?”
Death’s fingers stroked the scales as he answered. “Yes. I’m not sure what happened, but whatever magic caused it is slowly unraveling. Now, we need to do something about this other predicament. Aynaet has really outdone herself with this. To be honest, parts of the transformation are complete and even beyond me.”
A warm glow began to emanate from his hands as he moved them over the scales. Where they touched, there were flashes, like pink lightning, while the smell of ozone filled the space between them. “What can be done? I came as soon as I could.”
The scales began to recede, slowly. “I know. Soon, my love, we won’t have to hide anymore. While forbidden love adds some spice to our relationship, it is wearying. I cannot wait for the day when the world sees you as I do, and trembles at your feet.”
Such a sweet-talker, that Death. Lust breathed a small sigh when the scales vanished. All that was left was the bikini. The hissing hair. Potential laser vision of transmutation. “What’s the verdict?”
Hands wrapped around her waist and tumbled her into bed. As Death joined her on the silk, he reached up to pull the string holding the top in place. “In addition to dominion over Lust, you’re partially a Gorgon. With practice, these abilities will become part of your usual repertoire. In the meantime, to be safe, close your eyes when you orgasm, won’t you?”