Page 69 of Greed

Jared looked around the room and then back at me. I didn’t think he could look more scared, but I was wrong. The first of the demon centipedes stuck their head up from the register, a small shrill noise drawing Jared’s attention. The nearly seven-inch-long creature with a sharp pincer-like beak would have been intimidating for anyone. But, seeing one while tied…well, that gave it a whole new hellish dynamic.

“What the hell is that?” Jared asked and once more resumed the useless struggling.

“That, my dear boy, is your death. Come my pets, come feast.”

“No, please. Ahhh!”

What started out as one, quickly filled the room, their multiple legs scraping and thumping in time across the floor in a strange unison that only added to the dramatic effect. There was not an empty space in the room as they continued to fill it. They hung from the walls and the ceiling, falling onto one another as they surrounded their meal.

Jared’s tears almost touched me as he continued to beg on a continuous loop of pleas for forgiveness. I stood and dusted off my suit jacket, the evil little pets moving like the parting of the red sea as I walked toward the office door. I reached for the handle and looked back at Jared.

“Oh, and Jared, I know you’ll never hurt Minetta again. I’m going to make sure of it for eternity. You may proceed, my pets,” I said and smiled as the painful shrieks filled the room.

I turned back just before I left and watched as my pets pried open Jared’s mouth, as others crawled under his skin, making it look alive. The screams suddenly stopped, and I tipped my head to Jared as his soul separated from his body. The soul stared at him, blinking, and then looked at his old body, his old life now gone. This only lasted a moment before my soul collector demons rose from the floor, searching for their newest plaything.

I closed the door and took a deep breath as a calmness washed over me. I might have been Mammon, but tonight I was a man protecting what is mine.

Minetta rubbed her eyes and yawned as she wandered down the stairs to the kitchen. She froze as the smell of bacon hit her nose with a tantalizing aroma that made her stomach growl. She rolled her eyes, forgetting that Penny was staying with her. It hadn’t been her idea, it hadn’t even been Penny’s idea either, but apparently, Michael got the final say. So here she was, forced to live with a demon that she didn’t know if she could trust, let alone ever call a friend again.

The fact Michael was trying to keep her alive and said that he believed Penny wanted to keep her safe was a small comfort, but she wasn’t even sure she could trust him at the moment. Among the ever-growing list of things she never thought she’d think about, not being able to trust the archangel Michael was up there.

“I decided to make breakfast. I know it doesn’t make up for what I did, but… hopefully you’ll at least speak to me,” Penny said as she shrugged and held out a plate.

Minetta had to admit the food looked amazing. Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and pancakes—who could refuse?

“Thanks,” she said. Taking the plate, she wandered over to the already-set table and sat down.

“I have good news,” Penny said as Minetta reached for the maple syrup.

“I no longer have a hoard of demons wanting me dead?”

Penny paused, spatula in hand. “Not that good, but that was a really good guess. You left your cell phone down here, and it started to ring. I know, I know…I shouldn’t have snooped, but it’s my nature.”

Minetta stared at Penny and just shook her head. Of all the things that Penny had done, answering her phone was the least of her worries.

“Eric called while you were still asleep, and as of Monday, you can come back to work. I told him we wanted to be on the same shift again, for obvious reasons, and he seemed annoyed but agreed.”

“Huh, I wonder what changed his mind.” She stuffed the first forkful of fluffy goodness into her mouth and let out a little moan. Penny’s pancakes were the best, such a sucker she was for the apparent food bribe.

“All he said was that Jared called and said the charges were dropped.”

Minetta poured a cup of coffee from the pot on the table and took a sip of the dark roast. “I wonder how those demons knew to come and got me, they must have intercepted the original call somehow. Does that even make sense? Otherwise, how would they know I was going to be arrested? You’ve already said Jared isn’t a demon, so….”

Penny leaned against the counter, her brow furrowed in thought. “You know, that is a good question. I’ll look into that. There must be a demon that I don’t know about working at the building with an agenda.”

Minny paused with the next fork full to her mouth. “Wait, does that mean there are more demons at the call center?” Penny’s face reddened as she filled a plate, which Minetta noticed. “Of course, there is. Why wouldn’t there be demons everywhere. There are probably some at the grocery store and the bank, or where I like to shop.”

“The cute little boutique with that amazing sweater you got last month doesn’t have a demon there.” Penny smiled, the sarcasm of my comment going over her head.

“Penny, how am I supposed to stay safe when demons are everywhere, like literally everywhere?”

“Oh, they don’t want you dead. Not every demon wants the apocalypse to happen, and not every demon likes conflict. We’re kind of like people that way. We’re all different. And since many of the lesser demons are like mice that have been mixed in with a bunch of mean alley cats in Hell, they actually prefer Earth as it is. It’s safer for them to live among humans than their own kind.”

Her phone started to vibrate on the counter. The instant fear and then lip-chewing-worried expression on Penny’s face told Minetta it had to be Riker, as Penny held the phone out

“Good Morning,” she said and couldn’t stop the flutter in her chest.

“Hello, my little bird. Did you rest well?” She could picture him sitting in his office behind his desk and looking every bit the deadly sin that he was.