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The conference roo wall, the kind that could be pulled back to acco The tentacle, h it I skirted two support group -ofwar over a pizza crust, and left the room The door to the next room, the one on the other side of the retractable wall, looked ordinary No tendrils passed underneath it In fact, it was the only door in the hallway clear of tendrils--kind of like a big, flashing neon sign proclai to see here No de" I’d bet my fee the Peccatum was inside

I misted myself with holy water and tried the knob It turned I cracked open the door and slipped inside

The room was dark, but that ht, the constant half-light of the deer stench A huge blob, bulging and distended fro on sins, was sprawled on the conference table The head, which looked like a e tentacles--Gluttony and Sloth, each as fat as a fire hose--and five shriveled ones: one for each of the other deadly sins The head pulsed and shivered as the demon fed on the sins of those it trapped Finally Now to kill this deo home, and dress for dinner

I could douse the Peccatuer Either way, I’d have to get in close

I stood with ainst the wall and inched the door closed There was a soft click as the latch caught I from the Peccatum and wafted toward me The holy water kept me hidden The tendrils felt their way around the door for awith holy water--I’d used up most of the atomizer already--and I stepped forward I loosened the caps of the bottles of holy water in my holster and took another step A few tendrils snaked froray tentacle and swept back and forth across the floor, as though the demon suspected that there was someone in the room but didn’t knohere to look I advanced cautiously, watching the searching tendrils,The holy water’s protection held Whenever a tendril got nearoff an invisible barrier

Halfway across the rooot close enough, I’d duallon of holy water should be enough to dissolve the Peccatuoo

I eased the left bottle froed on the right bottle, but it was tight in the holster I pulled harder The bottle came out, but some water sloshed from its neck I looked down in time to see a drop splash onto a tendril nearof sulfur, hissed and shot upward like a geyser

Iray tentacle I ran toward the Peccaturay net wrapped around round A bottle of holy water flew fro to a far corner of the roo its contents as it went Tendrils wrapped aroundit irip and flung it away It rolled under the conference table

Peccatugestion, but these were like bands of steel I struggled, but the Sloth-woven net weighed ot As it tightened, Sloth clai, I wanted to sleep I was so tired I knew there was so what, exactly, took too much effort Better to rest now, just for a little while, and worry about it later Whatever "it" was My eyelids drifted shut

The tendrils loosened slightly, letting me curl up on my side They didn’t feel like a net any me in coziness Nice The floor, covered with thin, cheap co dug into ger in its sheath How odd that I’d strap on a dagger before taking a nap I adjusted the sheath so it wasn’t directly underThere, that felt better

I let ood, to rest

I wanted to sleep, but I couldn’t A strong, unpleasant smell, like dirty diapers mixed with month-old body odor, wrinkled h the war to my face Tendrils slithered into my nose and down ht, strangely cal me in Sloth--and that here Sloth beca, the demon would ss couldn’t be bothered to draw in air, until ic to beat Yet the realization felt far away and uniray tendrils clogged asp; invading Sloth filled it like dirty cotton I gagged A spark of self-preservation flared into clear the tendrils froht cocoon, I couldn’t ers walked the dagger, inch by inch, from its sheath Each inch felt like aWhen the blade was clear, I angled it upward and poked at the Sloth that ser upward Sloth dissolved around the blade, adding the stench of sulfur and brie, cutting a bigger hole in the cocoon When I er’s hilt, I swept the blade back and forth In a moment, my arm was free, and I sliced away the Sloth that rapped around my head Sloth recoiled, the cocoon loosened, and I pushed er and sliced with both hands, cutting the tightly woven cocoon to shreds