“Events … transpired last night that were very conducive to maximising the misery I could harvest … so, I improvised.” I choked the words out, hating myself more and more as each betrayal fell from my lips.

And the fact that I was lying to my sister wasn’t even the betrayal that concerned me.

But Hellen’s eyes had turned greedy and were fixed on the Token. “So much power,” she breathed, her fingers twitching towards it. I snatched my palm closed. She shook herself, blinking up at me as if seeing me with new eyes.

“That’s enough to feed the entire Pit for a month! From just one human!” Her gaze turned covetously to my closed palm once more. “Can I see it again?”

Heart in my throat, I slipped the Token back into my pocket. Her eyes narrowed.

“Stop hoarding all that power for yourself!” she accused, advancing on me. “You want to prove your allegiance? We take that down to the Pit now, and we feed the demons!” She made a swipe for my pocket.

Red seared my vision, and my hand snapped out, gripping her by the throat. “Step back from me, sister.”

She stopped her advance but didn’t make a move to back down, her eyes full of fury. Her wind howled through the open window, creaking the boughs of Deadwood Forest outside, whipping my hair across my forehead and into my eyes.

“Be careful how you speak to me, little brother.”

I forced my voice to remain neutral against her outburst. “We cannot risk drawing the power from the Token until the four tasks are complete,” I reminded her. “It could weaken the hold on her soul.”

The thought of pouring that piece of her into a host, to let the demons feed on it … I thought I might vomit. I clenched my jaw against the bile rising, staring my sister down.

“Well then hurry the process up!”

“It’s not that simple!” I argued, my voice gravelly. “Harvesting misery is a delicate process … I don’t expect you to understand the nuances of it.”

“Fuck nuance! Just find two more ways to make her feel like shit, and be sure the second one she can’t come back from. Simple! We need that Token for the demons downstairs.” She twisted out of my grasp, and the winds died down, leaving an eerie silence in their wake.

“Do you even know what you plan to do with her next time you see her?” Hellen asked, her voice sly. “Because I have a number of suggestions.”

I gritted my teeth, but it did nothing to hold back the imagery flashing through my sick mind. The things I wanted had nothing to do with our tasks.