21. Satan

I decided taking Rellick out of the tower was a bad idea. If Bree wanted to find him, she only had to walk down the stairs. Currently, he and I are on the bottom floor in the ballroom that I've added a wrestling ring to. He was very clear and descriptive of what he wanted. I thought he meant tactical wrestling, but I was wrong. He spoke of Professional Wrestling. I did add a foam mat, though, for when he jumps off ropes because he likes to ‘fly.'

He also told me my wings were not fair, so here I am, as a human, doing ‘wrestling' moves with a child. And, I have to say, I'm really not holding back all that much.

Rellick is fast… almost too fast for a human child. It's subtle. If I hadn't trained myself to notice strengths and weaknesses, I wouldn't have realized.

He's running back and forth between the bottom ropes while I stand in the middle ‘trying' to catch him. And half the time it feels like I'm honestly trying. He's quick and has a good awareness. I can train that to perfection.

"Hey, kid. Let's try something." I wait for him to pause and catch his breath. Getting on my knees, I make myself even with his height. I have to sit on my heels, but I can make eye contact and know he's paying attention. "You like to run?" He nods enthusiastically. "Do you like to kick?" Rellick shrugs his shoulders.

Standing, I move Rellick to the corner of the ring. "Watch." Starting in the middle, I run to one rope, then the opposite, and on my way back I jump, turning my body to the side while extending both of my legs in a kick, falling on my hands and knees. It's a wrestling move, yes, but can also be used in an actual battle.

I look back to Rellick, whose eyes are wide with awe. "Wow! What's that? I wanna do that!"

"It's called a drop kick." He runs to the middle of the ring to meet me. "Let's start with jumping." For the next hour we work on jumping and turning simultaneously, then jumping with legs extended, then doing all the moves together until I feel he knows what he's doing.

"Alright. Now, we need a dummy…"

I move to snap my fingers to conjure a mannequin just as Mammon in human form walks past the entry of our makeshift wrestling arena.

Perfect!

"Mammon!" My yelling grabs his attention. "Come help me."

He turns towards us, stepping closer a few steps. "What are you doing?"

Rellick answers for me. "Wrestling! Come wrestle with us!"

Greed's eyes grow wide. He knows what it means to have a fight of any kind with me. "I'm actually really busy…"

Rellick begins to pout, his eyes watering. "Mommy says busy means no." He turns to me, wrapping his little arms around my waist. "He don't want to play with me."

I lift him up and cuddle him close, turning to glare at Mammon. He looks between me and the sobbing kid in my arms and his shoulders drop in defeat. "I have a little time, I guess."

Within seconds, Rellick's tears stopped and he's cheering. Manipulative little shit. "Yay! You the dummy!"

My laugh is boisterous, which Rellick matches while Mammon cautiously walks to the ring. "I just want it to be known that I was guilt-tripped into this."

"Your participation is appreciated." I move him so he's standing where I want him. My favorite thing is catching my brothers off guard. "I'll go easy, brother. Don't be so paranoid." Mammon's shoulders relax a little, and he nods. He should know me better than this.

Turning, I wink at Rellick before running back at Mammon and perfecting a drop kick that sends him over the ropes and out of the ring.

Rellick claps and cheers while Mammon curses from where he's laid out on the floor. "You said ‘easy,' Motherfucker!" He groans, moving to his hands and knees. "How the fuck was that ‘easy?'"

"That was only fifty percent," I laugh. He looks up at me incredulously, slow to stand. I mumble under my breath, "pussy," low enough for him to hear, but not Rellick.

Mammon flips me off before walking back to where I originally put him. "Is that all I'm here for?"

"My turn!" Rellick yells! Mammon sighs deeply, then lowers himself to kneeling so that he's of even height to the kid.

Rellick gets in position, ready to run when Mammon lifts his arms up. "Wait!" He lifts his shirt over his head leaving him in jeans and a weird rainbow necklace. It doesn't look like his normal jewelry. Honestly, it looks like a child made it and I know Mammon doesn"t have children. He gets back in position and places his hands behind his back. "Let's get this over with."

I nod to Rellick, giving him permission to start. His little legs get in the running position, and he focuses on Mammon, his target, exactly like I taught him. Rage that feels like Bree's fills my power storage. I look around the room but she's not here.

Focusing on the aura, I can feel that the rage is coming from Rellick. Something just pissed him the fuck off. This is about to be hilarious! I use the power just given to me to fuel Rellick's rage. He lets out a warrior cry, then executes a perfect dropkick right to Mammon's chest. The added boost of power sends Mammon flying back into the ropes.

Mammon lies flat on his back, the wind knocked out of him. "What the fuck?! Is he super?" Faster than I expected from a young child, Rellick jumps onto his stomach and proceeds to repeatedly punch Mammon in the chest. I pull my power back, so his blows aren't strong. "Get this kid off me!"

Lifting him off of Mammon, I hold Rellick close to my chest while he fights to be free. "What has gotten into you? Why are you mad?"

"He made Mommy cry!" Rellick wails.

Is he talking about when he dragged her to Hell over a week ago? "That was a while ago. Your mom is not mad about that anymore." Rellick starts to fight against me again. "Hey, kid! Calm down!"

"This day! He made her cry this day!" I spin Rellick around so that we are face to face. His punches and kicks don't stop. "When he took Maw-Maw!"

Now I'm extremely confused. "You kidnapped an old lady?" I ask over Rellick's shoulder.

Mammon is out of the ring and headed towards the door. "No. I didn't kidnap an old fucking lady!" he yells over his shoulder.

Rellick's screams get louder as Mammon walks away. I sit in the middle of the ring and force the kid to look at me. "Deep breaths, kid." As the King of Wrath, I should be fueling fires, not calming them down. "What's going on?"

"Mommy opened the door. Man took Maw-Maw." He can obviously tell that I'm still confused. He points to himself, saying "rainbow treasure."

Rainbow treasure? "The necklace?" Over exaggeratingly, he nods his head. "That was for your mom?"

Wiping his eyes, his rage renews in my chest. "Hetook Maw-Maw!"

I knew Mammon's greed was bad enough for him to be punished for it, making him the Sin of Greed, but to steal a shitty cheap necklace? It's a new low. "Well, let's go get it back."

We both stand up, and I switch back into a devil. I place Rellick on my back, telling him to hold on, and we fly out of the room to meet up with Mammon. He's leaving the towers, shifted into a golden orc. I keep my wings spread, careful not to make a sound as we fly above him, then immediately drop down on top of him. "What the fuck?" I grab his blonde ponytail, the only hair on his otherwise bald head, and slam his face into the ground a few times until he's unconscious.

I set Rellick down for a second, long enough to rip the necklace off Mammon's neck, breaking the chain. I hold it in my hand, fixing it like new, then lift Rellick once again, and fly back to the tower. I don't bother with the main entrance, instead flying straight to the terrace of the third floor where Sloth's room is. The door is closed but I feel her aura.

I knock gently, knowing that Brianna is on the other side with her two mates… but I also feel a faint remnant of Asmodeus.

Did Brianna let Lust fuck her?! They didn't bond, I know that, because I would have seen the light that flashes across Hell. The only reason we know of that light is because there were more punished before the war who bonded. The seven of us are actually young and more cautious with who we choose to bind ourselves to. Figures we would all want the same woman.

Sloth opens the door, blocking our view. "Hey." Why isn't he letting us in? "Getting dressed," he mouths.

After a few moments, Bree comes behind him, gently moving him out of the way. "Hi, sweet boy! Did you have fun?" She reaches her arms out for him, and he happily goes to her.

"Here, Mommy!" Rellick holds out the necklace to her and her eyes immediately start to water.

Why would Mammon take this from her?

Bree holds him close, kissing his forehead. "Thank you so much! Where did you get it?" She places him down so she can put on the necklace.

"Santa showed me a dropkick!" Eyes wide, Brianna shifts her attention to me. Rellick continues, "We called him a ‘dummy' and I kicked him! Then we flyed and dropped on him! Santa pushed him in the dirt. He's dead!"

Brianna's voice is shrill. "He's what?!"

"He's not dead! He's unconscious." Her shoulders relax a bit. "And I did teach the kid how to do a dropkick. He did very well." I hold my hand out to Rellick, who high-fives me with all his might. "You've got a potential wrestler on your hands! I'd love to train him."

Rellick yells out his agreement before my Sin can get a word in. "You wrestle?" Her tone is mocking, and yet… do I detect a bit of flirtation in there?

"Oh, I love to wrestle," my emphasis letting her know that I don't mean wrestling at all. I would love to ‘wrestle' her in a room of her choice, and I make sure my smile tells her so.

Brianna's cheeks flush to a rosy hue, almost as dark as my red skin. "Maybe next time."

Before I could give a response, Rellick speaks. "Can we have pizza?"

"Sure, sweet boy. Anything for my hero!" She lifts him onto her hip which should be a feat as the kid is almost half her size. "You mind?"

I smile, opening a portal to her apartment behind me. "Next time," I say as she walks through. She turns back to me and winks as the portal closes behind her.

Yeah, baby girl. Next time.