Page 76 of Make Me A Sinner
“Well, it suits him.”
“Yeah. You wouldn’t believe the things he’s done in the past... the things he’s still doing now—just under the radar. Then there’s Ares, the God of War from Greek mythology. The Romans used to call him Mars, but they were worshiping the same person. It’s just a difference of locations and timelines. Then there’s Phro—Aphrodite—or Venus, as the Romans called her. She doesn’t need an introduction. They called her the Goddess of Love, but her main weapon is seduction. She could make any man do whatever she wanted and fall at her feet. Of all the gods, she gets along best with Ares, but they were never romantically involved as you people like to believe.”
“You people?” she asks, like I’m labeling her.
“My bad. But the stories they came up with about us are ridiculous. The human mind gets weird when it faces things it can’t understand. They’d rather invent stories and turn us into horrid creatures, just to scare themselves into believing in the monsters they made up.”
“Maybe we’re just not as decisive as you are. We’re confused because our time here is limited, and we only get so many mistakes. You, on the other hand, can always start from scratch.”
“Yeah, I can feel the wholestarting from scratchthing. This is something completely new to me. Not something I expected. Or even saw coming. Not even something I knew I wanted. But right now... it’s everything. And I’m not letting it go.Ever.”
Her body shifts on top of mine, raising a little higher to kiss me, and I swear it's the sweetest taste in the world. “Tell me more. I want to know more about you, what you lived through,” she says, curious and hungry for answers, maybe even ancient secrets. She needs to understand who I am. Why I’m like this? To know everything about me.
And I’m gonna satisfy that thirst. Not all the way back to the dawn of time—but to when humanity showed up. “Humans were meant as an experiment. A way to entertain two entities whoseexistence exceeds space and time. But shortly after, humans weren’t enough. So, one of the entities created us. His children. His weapons. His protectors. We learned over the centuries, evolving through different timelines. But eternity gets boring, so the evil inside of us started to prevail. We invented games or tricks to play with humans. We were like children with their toys. And soon it wasn’t enough. Torching a village or taking the shape of a creature to scare anyone who wandered into the woods or the desert at night was also becoming boring. So we raised the stakes. We started the wars—even fought in them—just to feel something other than the numbness swallowing us. That kept us satisfied for a while. The thirst for power, respect, even worship was enough to keep us going for a few centuries. Not sure who even started it, but no war scared mortals like a monster could. So we created their deepest fears. Watching them run, watching them hide... it was endlessly entertaining. Until we nearly brought on the apocalypse. That’s when our father intervened. Erased everything we once knew, stripped our powers and made us guardians instead of destroyers.”
“But what do your brothers and sisters guard?”
“Each of us is responsible for a part of the world, or a city, and we rotate every so often so mortals don’t get suspicious about us never aging. These days, it’s easier with all that plastic surgery. You can look twenty for forty years and nobody bats an eye.”
“That’s true,” she chuckles. “For how long have you been in Vegas?”
“I’ve been here nearly ten years now, but I spent the first five ruling from the shadows, so that barely counts. Honestly? I like it best here. I used to rule over a part of Russia, and let’s just say I don’t appreciate the cold.”
She giggles, giving me another kiss, then looking at me, breathlessly, waiting for me to go on.
“Okay, okay, where was I? Oh, right, my siblings. Ares rules over Seattle, maintaining the balance there while Phro and Whiro are exceptions. They’re not exactly balance-keepers, more like chaos specialists. Not even my father has the power to do something about them. Whiro is a loose cannon, while Phro likes to play with men’s minds—and usually ends up messing the whole system. So there’s no way Father can trust her with control over anything. Then there’s Surt, you know him from Norse mythology—the first and last of the fire giants. He’s the second being in existence to be born. Well, that’s almost accurate—he’s our father’s first son, and yeah, he’s pretty massive, but not technically a fire giant. I think people called him that because he used to spit fire from time to time.”
“Well, he sounds like a lot of fun.”
“He’s only funny when he drinks. But back then, they had Viking ale, so he used to drink a lot. Eventually, he ended up spitting fire at his drinking buddies cause they kept accusing him of destroying Asgard. Also not true. Asgard never existed—or if it did, it was just another version of Mount Olympus, or Kunlun, or whatever name humans gave it over time. Now it’s just hell or heaven.”
“You said something about two entities, someone besides your father. Is he...?”
“God, yes, you know him as God or by different names throughout different cultures. He’s supposed to be your good guy. Funny how more crimes have been committed over the centuries in his name than in ours—the crusades, the inquisition, terrorist attacks. Or howthe men of the churchlike shiny coins more than the devil himself. Not going down that rabbit hole, because I feel you’d probably argue with me, and I’m not looking for a fight. Bottom line? Yeah, your God is real. And so are his angels. They just don’t mingle with mortals as often as you think. But we, devils... we’re always here, living among you,making sure you don’t completely self-destruct. Because, trust me, that’s where things are headed if we let you go unsupervised. You don’t need us to start the apocalypse anymore. You’re doing a great job all on your own with the fight for power, drugs, poverty, nukes, corrupt politicians... and I could go on for fucking ever. Things used to be difficult back in the day, but now they’re damn near impossible. We’re devils, and even we can barely keep things on track. You don’t want to know what would happen if we were gone. That’s not something you’d have to worry about, though. You’ll always be safe with me, no matter what it takes.”
I feel her breathing going deeper. I’m not much of a talker. Never put someone to sleep with my voice. Not sure where I lost her along the way. But somehow, I’m glad I did. She’s probably better off not knowing the last part.
Good night, my broken angel.
thirty-eight
-Serena-
My head’s spinning like I’ve been drinking. My body hurts like I got hit by a truck. Scratch that—like I got hit by a truck, then thrown off a building. But… I’ve never felt so fucking good in my entire life.
I should be in some kind of shock, given my chronic inability to make a decision. Instead, things’ve never been clearer.
I somehow managed to fall asleep on top of Set. His scent now clings to my skin, and I’m practically bathing in him. I always wanted to smell like him. Like he’s left his mark on me. Like my body’s forever tainted with a piece of him.
He might be hell-born, but he makes me feel like I’m in heaven, and last night was the peak of that.
Maybe I’ve lost the last ounce of sanity, but I crave his darkness as much as I crave the man beneath me.
“You’re awake,” he observes, even though I haven’t moved a muscle.
Lifting my head, I press my lips to the center of his chest. “Just opened my eyes,” I murmur.
“Are you in… pain?” he asks, concern, edging his voice.
