Corrine stared up at the ceiling of her apartment. She watched the ceiling fan blades whirring around. The Prince of Greed hadn’t been lying when he promised her everything she needed. Now her apartment had electricity and running water, luxuries that she hadn’t been able to experience since the war ended. The night before she had taken the first shower she had in years that didn’t consist of dousing herself with water she boiled and let cool. It had been heavenly and it filled her with guilt.

She stood from the couch and walked to the refrigerator, pulling it open to reveal its fully stocked shelves. All of her favorite foods were there and enough canned and bottled drinks to host a party if there was anyone still alive in her vicinity. She shut the fridge door with an agitated groan and began rifling through the cabinets. Each one was filled with even more food. Bags of chips and packets of cookies spilled out of one. Cans of vegetables and fruits were stuffed in another. The level of food in her house was almost obscene.

All of it was obscene. Corrine knew that she had made a deal with the devil in the most literal sense. She was serving as the lackey of a Prince of Hell, one of the seven deadly sins. She looked at the ouroboros on her forearm and let out a scream of exasperation. This wasn’t a mistake that could be easily fixed. She knew that she had entered into this contract with the Prince and the only way out was fulfilling his terms or dying. There was a part of her that wanted to leap from the balcony of her apartment and land on the concrete down below. Yet she knew that when the Prince of Greed said he would claim her soul if she died before the contract was complete, he meant it. And while her current predicament felt hopeless, Corrine had a feeling that eternity bound to the Prince would be even worse.

The worst part about the whole situation is that she had entered into this deal willingly. Sure, she never felt like she could just walk away but she never tried to. She took the demon’s protection and the powers and everything that came with it and ran with it. She took the longest shower of her life the moment she had running water and she relished in it. She fed into the greed and longing of normalcy by stuffing her face with the ill gotten rewards from the Prince. And only now she was considering her own humanity.

“I sold out humankind for a hot shower and potato chips,” Corrine said aloud. There was more truth to the statement than she cared to admit. But at least she was self aware.

She thought through her discussion with Greed in the car as they drove to DC. She thought about the things he had told her and the deep involvement of the Princes in every aspect of life. She knew that he wasn’t lying but she was in disbelief that everyone had been so naive and ignorant to those facts.

“Naive or willfully ignorant?” the Prince of Greed asked, appearing behind Corrine. She whirled around and nearly fell backwards before steadying herself.

“I..uh..” she stammered and Greed shook his head,

“I get it. It’s human and it’s natural. I can appreciate that even amid this whole” Greed waved his hand in a circular motion as he faced Corrine, “conscience crisis, you are willing to fulfill the terms of our agreement.”

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“Well I agreed,” Corrine admitted. Greed nodded emphatically,

“Yes, you did. And it is totally natural to have buyer’s remorse. But I don’t think you’re ready to give up all of this yet. And you have encountered how many Princes of Hell and lived to tell the tale?” he asked.

“Three, including you.”

“Correct, most mortals meet one if they’re lucky. Protection is not a strong suit of the Princes.” Greed said. “But I have come to like you, Corrine. So, I can help with this little setback if you would like.”

“How?” Corrine asked. The room dimmed and Corrine instantly regretted asking.

“Emotions are born of the soul. My current offer still stands if you reject this one. I will protect you and I will not allow harm to come to you so long as you are assisting me. But if you want true power, Corrine. If you want to be able to do things that defy logic and feel zero remorse for any of these things, then I can give you that. I can make you the best version of yourself even in the worst version of reality. All it requires is your soul,” Greed replied.

Corrine stared back at the Prince’s black soulless eyes. She was reminded how sharklike the Prince was with his dark eyes and unending hunger. She felt as though he would consume every part of her being and still need more.

“No,” She said, taking no time to think over the offer. Greed shrugged,

“Okay, enjoy your crisis.”

“I’ll get over it.”

“That’s the spirit. Now I do have some good news and a job for you,” Greed said happily. He strode over to the couch and jumped onto it from behind. He kicked up his feet on the coffee table.

“And that is?” Corrine asked after a minute of waiting. Greed had his hands behind his head and his eyes closed,

“This is nice,” he remarked.

“Greed” Corrine said sternly and the Prince opened his eyes and scowled,

“I can never just enjoy things,” he huffed. He sat up straight and looked at Corrine, “My plan didn’t exactly go the way I wanted it. Sending Wrath’s little witch into the Holy City didn’t trigger Lust but I do think it opened up a rift between Pride and Wrath.”

“Isn’t the Prince of Pride your ally?”

“Alliances don’t mean much between Princes of Hell, Corrine.”

“Clearly.”

“Anyway, like I was saying, I think there’s a little tension between at least two of my siblings which was the plan all along. I need them all gone before I can take over but you already know that. That’s the good news.” Greed finished. Corrine didn’t exactly follow but she didn’t question the Prince any further. He looked at her as if expecting her to ask questions but, once she didn’t, he continued,

“Your job is simple. There’s another mortal nearby that is of interest. She’s in Chicago.”

“Why is she interesting?”

“Everyone around her died. This isn’t exactly unusual now but it could be an indicator that she’s meant to serve a greater purpose, if you know what I mean,” Greed answered.

“You think she might be one of the Virtues?” Corrine asked.

“Exactly and you’re going to confirm or deny that.”

“So I guess that means we’re headed to Chicago.”

“Sure does.” Greed replied and he tossed a set of keys at Corrine. She caught them and the Prince lept from the couch and pointed towards the door,

“Let’s roll, law girl.”