Page 128 of Mortis

One particularly desperate mortal threw himself at Mammon’s feet. “My soul!” he cried. “I pledge my soul to you!”

My master smirked. “I already have it.”

Pop.

I did my best to shield Teddy and Arlo from the carnage. Considering the sheer number of exploding mortals, however, some mess was unavoidable.

Arlo groaned as blood coated his hair and trickled down his face. He looked at his coat and tugged the sodden fabric away from his body. “This is never coming out in the wash.”

Teddy removed his glasses and attempted to wipe away the blood splattered across the lenses with what remained of his shirt. “Hydrogen peroxide won’t even get that out.”

Sebastian screamed. His head whipped from side to side as another member of his congregation burst apart. Then another, and another. He grabbed the lapels of Mammon’s suit, smearing bloody handprints across the only being who had somehow remained perfectly clean.

“Stop!” he roared. “What are you doing?!”

Mammon glanced down at the hands staining his suit before flicking them away. “Tidying up.”

Arlo scoffed and plucked a chunk of something unidentifiable from his shoulder. “His definition of tidy needs some fucking work.”

Eventually, the bloody rain stopped and the cemetery fell silent.

Sebastian was the only cultist left. His entire body trembled. His knees buckled beneath him, sending him crumpling to the ground. He stared up at Mammon in a daze, tears spilling from his mismatched eyes and carving tracks through the blood coating his face.

“H-how could you do this?” He gestured helplessly towards what remained of his congregation. “I s-served you. I . . . I worshipped you.”

Mammon brushed a stray lock of white hair from his face and tucked it behind one pointed ear. “And now you’ve become inconvenient.”

Sebastian held out his hands like a beggar pleading for scraps. “But I . . . I gave you everything.”

His earlier confidence was gone. The malicious spark in his eyes had been extinguished. He had spent his entire life trying to please his idol. His god. A being who understood wickedness far better than Sebastian ever could. And instead of receiving everything he believed he was owed, Sebastian had finally learned what greed truly meant.

Mammon would take everything you gave him and still want more.

For the first time since his arrival, my master smiled.

“Yes. That’s rather the point.”

Snap.

Sebastian exploded.

After everything he had done, everything he had sacrificed and everything he had believed himself destined to become, Sebastian’s entire existence ended with the snap of Mammon’s fingers.

The Beast raised his head and murmured, It is finally over.

And all I could do was nod.

Teddy and Arlo stepped out from behind me. Teddy immediately wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face against my chest. The movement pushed his glasses into his eyes, but he didn’t seem to care. He tipped his head back, resting his chin against my sternum.

“They’re all gone, big guy.” His grin was wide and truly beautiful. “You’re free.”

“Not quite.”

Teddy, Arlo, and I whipped our heads towards Mammon. His hands were once again tucked casually into his trouser pockets, and his attention was fixed entirely on me.

I released Teddy and lowered to one knee, dipping my head. “Master.”

Teddy and Arlo remained on either side of me. Teddy placed a possessive hand on my shoulder, while Arlo shuffled closer until his leg almost brushed my arm. Despite everything, I wanted to smile. But I couldn’t, because I knew what came next.