The Prince of Greed looked around the crumbling halls of Congress, seeing the framed photos still clinging to the walls and those that had already fallen to the floor. He recognized a good number of their faces, their souls having been bound to him upon their passing.

“A fitting place for us both, isn’t it?” A voice rang out in the empty halls. The Prince remained unfazed, wiping the dust off the heavy frame of one of the paintings.

“It is. I feel as if we split the souls from these halls fifty-fifty.”

“That is likely. Though most of the presidents belonged to me.” The Prince of Pride chose a form, materializing beside the Prince of Greed.

“Comes with the territory. Though back in their Manifest Destiny days, it was I who won the tally. Short-lived as that may have been,” the Prince of Greed responded. The two stood side by side in silence, maintaining their human forms.

“Why are you here?” the Prince of Pride asked. The Prince of Greed turned to face him, looking his human form up and down and giving a nod of approval,

“Convincing. You know you’ve always been my favorite sibling.” he said.

“Get on with it.”

“Aren’t humans so much easier? No guesswork. But, even after all these millenia, we still remain unable to read each other. It’s almost Babylonian.”

“You’re testing my patience,” the Prince of Pride warned. The Prince of Greed rolled his eyes.

“And yet there is nothing you can do about it. We cannot speak each other’s names which means neither of us can banish or bind the other. And you haven’t reaped enough souls to surpass me since arriving. Nevertheless, I will respect your want for succinct answers. I want to make a deal with you.”

“A deal?” The Prince of Pride seemed intrigued.

“Yes, a deal between brothers. We work together to send back the others. The Princes of Lust, Wrath, Sloth, Envy, and Gluttony won’t ally with each other and they are too shortsighted to utilize humans the way you and I do, to turn their souls into lasting energy rather than an immediate boost. I suspect that, at this moment, Wrath is likely killing anyone around him and could overpower us. However, if we work to collect the souls of those left behind, we can overtake all the remaining Princes without alerting them to our reaping. You are the only other Prince who has ever utilized the same methods as I do.”

“And what do I get in return?”

“A longer time on Earth, less competition, more souls. I have already forged a deal with one human.”

“Really?”

“Corrine is her name. She is quite smart. And now she is my ward and my champion.” The Prince of Greed paused, “For now.”

“Have you encountered any of the Virtues?” At the mention of the Virtues, the Prince of Greed’s human form wavered, nearly fading.

“No.” There was an edge in the Prince’s voice. The Prince of Pride shrugged,

“It’s a fair question, we know that they’re here somewhere.”

“And we’ll kill them as we find them. A Virtue cannot be branded with our mark. Corrine is not a Virtue and we will easily find them with her assistance.”

“Provided we aren’t found by them before they find us. Or worse, each other.”

“The Virtues will not find each other. There is no way of them communicating, much less researching their own abilities. I’d wager that not one of them is aware that they are a Virtue. We need not worry about the power of unification.”

“Unless one of our siblings seeks to unite them for their own purposes.”

“Only the Prince of Lust is smart enough for that. We’ll banish him first.”

“He’s sheltered on holy ground, we may have some difficulty with that.”

“But Corrine will not.”

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“Can you ensure her survival while she is in the Vatican?” There was a long pause.

“Does it matter?”

The Prince of Pride began to laugh, a loud ear splitting noise that filled the empty halls of Congress, ricocheting from every corner. The Prince of Greed waited but as the Prince of Pride continued to laugh, he felt his patience ebbing away.

“That’s enough,” the Prince of Greed said but still the Prince of Pride continued. Reaching his breaking point, the Prince of Greed shed his human form, reverting to his true demonic form and tore the flesh from the bones of the Prince of Pride’s human form. No blood came from the now skinless form and the Prince of Pride frowned, releasing himself from it.

“Well that was unnecessary,” he said.

“Your laughter was unnecessary and grating. We are discussing a deal. And it is of no surprise nor concern to you that I will allow my ward to perish if it accomplishes my goals.”

“It is not surprising, but what is surprising is that you forget that we are still bound by the old laws. You promised her protection, did you not?”

“I did.”

“Should you fail to honor that and she dies an avoidable death, you will be banished from this plane. You would do well to remember that,” the Prince of Pride warned.

“The old ways no longer apply; these are the times of tribulation.”

“We are not unbound until one of us assumes dominion. The old laws remain so long as the Earth could be governed by them.”

“You always were the more educated of us.”

“I am humanity’s oldest sin. I’ve been around longer.”

“I suppose so.”

There was another pause and the two re-assumed their human forms, walking silently through the dilapidated halls. Washington D.C. had become a ghost town following the war. During the war, it was predictably a target and many were killed in the bombings and targeted offensives on the city. Those who survived fled and those who could not afford to leave were left to struggle over the few resources available, leading to further casualties. Now it was a shell of its former self and the two Princes of Hell were accompanied only by the rats and other pests that hid inside the crumbling walls. The pair reached the rotunda, looking up at the painting on the ceiling.

“What would I have to gain from your proposed deal?” the Prince of Pride asked.

“An alliance with me. Removing our siblings from this plane serves us both.”

“Yes, but only one of us can assume dominion. And, dear brother, I am not willing to submit to you.”

“I am aware.”

“I am not naive enough to believe that you will allow me to turn down this offer. I presume that my refusal would make me your first target.”

“You assume correctly. While I may not particularly want to work with our other brethren, I will make a deal that leads to the best possible outcome for me. Some of our siblings can be amenable to a deal like this.”

“Some,” the Prince of Pride emphasized. “This is not a rejection. But again, beyond an alliance, what do I have to gain from this?”

“Protection from the same. And I will utilize my wards to assist in your endeavors as well.”

“Agreeable on its face but you cannot think me that much of a fool. The gift of guile is one that you were given but not one that I am so susceptible to. With full control over the wards, you would not only know exactly what I am doing at all times but also hold the ability to turn them against me at any given time. What are the real benefits?” The Prince of Greed sighed in exasperation,

“What is it that you want? I have offered as much as I can offer.”

“Very well. At the end of our alliance, I want this girl, Corrine, her soul.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No. You cannot have it. I swore her protection from the other Princes, something that must be fulfilled. I cannot make contradictory contracts, even between mortal and Prince.”

“Fine. Then offer something that you can.”

“The first three souls we bind will belong to you entirely.”

“Deal.”

“Swear it.” The Prince of Pride released his human form,

“I, Lucifer, morning-star, hereby swear to this deal between brothers.” The Prince of Greed released into his true form as well,

“I, Mammon, Prince of Greed, affirm.”

The deal was sealed and the earth trembled, sending jagged tears through the floor and raining down lightning upon the roof of the building. As the earth settled, the two Princes took their human forms once more.

“Odd to hear the true name of another spoken,” the Prince of Pride said, stepping to the side to avoid a falling piece of the ceiling.

“Let us hope it is the last time.”

“Have you told your ward how she is able to banish the other Princes?”

“No. She will need to prove herself to me first. I only told her I needed more souls to be stronger than the others.”

“Hmm.”

“Well brother, I must leave. We have much work to do.”

“That we do.” There was a pause as the Prince of Greed turned to leave, “You do know that I intend to betray you?” the Prince of Pride asked.

A smile broke across the Prince of Greed’s face,

“I am counting on it,” he replied and then he vanished, leaving the Prince of Pride standing alone with an equally mischievous grin on his face.