~Six~Gluttony~
They both sat in silence. Sam, leaning against the podium, carefully watching the form that was once his brother. From the way it clamped his eyes shut and his rough breath, the demon was trying, and failing, to hold back the pain from whatever was going through its blood right now.
"I understand, you know," Sam whispered. He didn't expect the demon to hear him but, while the eyes were still closed, an eyebrow rose in inquiry.
It was almost like an indulgence to days that were long, long past.
Sam cleared his throat and spoke again. "I understand what you're going through; the thirst, the hunger for power."
He smiled and laughed as if there were good memories when they were anything but. "It never just stops. 'Once an addict always an addict'."
The watch beeped again. Sam slowly and stiffly rose up and reached for the syringe on top of the podium. His hand shook so badly that he needed his other hand to steady his limb. He was going to have to be careful drawing blood going forward, and, no, none of this was okay.
"I did wonder...I wondered why I never went back to demon blood when I had no soul...would have had all of the perks...and none of the emotional setbacks."
He took a deep breath and leaned against the podium to steady himself as he filled the syringe.
"Then, the wall came down and I remembered. I did try it soulless. Once. The stuff didn't work. No thirst. No hunger...And no demon powers."
"Addiction is apparently tied to the soul. It's a part of who I am and something I had to struggle with for the rest of my life. Every day I struggle. It'll be a struggle for you too, once we're done."
Sam carefully walked to the demon and watched as it refused to open its eyes.
"It can be done. If you try. I... think I earned my five year chip this year."
"Why are you telling me this?" the demon asked, sounding bored and nonchalant, but still tried to hide the tremors shaking its body.
'Because I might not be able to tell you later,' he never said when he stuck the needle into the demon's throat like an expert.