"Because you want to kill us!" Jerking her head, she felt his hand slip. It wasn't much. "What else am I supposed to do?!"
"And the guy in the alley?" he demanded. "He wasn't trying to kill you."
She stilled, her eyes searching his. "No. He tried to rape my girlfriend. He thought she was just some tiny little Chinese girl that he could do with as he wanted. She made sure he'll never do it again."
"There's no way to prove that," he insisted.
Dahlia shrugged as best she could while being pinned. "You asked. I answered. I'm sure that next you'll say it happened because of what we're wearing. The same clothes you liked while we were still in the club, right?" Then she pushed at his arms again, not surprised when he didn't budge. "What more do you want, huh?"
"I want to protect the innocents!" he snarled.
She just laughed. "The priests? Oh, Thane, they're not innocent. Not even to humans. The whole concept of your church was based on an inquisition. I promise that your kind has killed a lot more 'innocents' than mine ever has. Yet another thing we have in common, though. We both think we're justified."
He leaned into her, using his body to keep her from struggling. "You're already dead. I'm not. You feed on evil. I don't. We're nothing alike."
Relaxing, she took a deep breath, letting the fool think she was giving in. "Is that what they told you? Then how do they explain the Words? Why is your magic such a secret if it's really a gift from God? Wouldn't you want everyone to know about how good it is?"
Thane smiled. "Then what is it, little succubus? The Devil's tool?"
"No. It's a sick twist of fate. We were first. You came so much later, but you didn't want to share. The inquisitors thought that if you destroyed everything you don't understand, then you'd become the gods. How's that working for ya?"
"Works great for them. Not so much for me." He turned her head slightly, his eyes dropping to her cheek. "What will you do if I let you go? Kill again?"
"Probably. Eventually." She knew she should lie and tell him what he wanted to hear, but wouldn't. If he was going to judge her based on lies, then let him hate her because of the truth.
Oddly, he didn't look surprised. "Do you fear God?" The glow in his eyes was fading.
"No. I fear His priests."
"Yeah." His fingers relaxed in her hair. "I'm still not a priest." Then he stepped back - but she wasn't an idiot. He'd already caught her three times. "I gave you my word, Dahlia. You didn't really answer the question, but I'm not sure you can. You tried, so I'll keep my end of the deal."
"What?"
She couldn't wrap her mind around what he was saying. This inquisitor was letting her go? The one man with the ability to not only catch her, but also to truly kill her, and he'd just released her? There had to be a trick.
Lifting his hands, he gave her more space. "I promised that if you told me why you could touch the cross, I'd let you go. I keep my promises."
The door was only a few feet to her left. The broken windows were no more than thirty feet before her. The man who was her greatest threat smiled, watching her judging her escape. She peeled herself off the wall. "What's the catch?"
"Don't use the stairs." And he cocked his head toward the door, making her aware of the subtle tromping of feet echoing in the stairwell. "Guess I hear better than you?"
"Yeah. Dying has that effect on us." She spun, hoping to face the threat as she backed toward the windows. This was not how she'd expected the night to end. Thane should have killed her, not let her go. She should have evaded the inquisitors. She was supposed to be making her way home to Mei, not this. She didn't even know what this was!
Not that it mattered. She just wanted to go someplace that no priest could follow. The long crack in the glass sparkled in the sodium vapor lights, making it look like her salvation. Dahlia jogged toward it, keeping her eyes on the man who could have stopped her so easily. He didn't. He also made no move toward the spike he'd discarded on the ground.
"Hey?" She paused, glancing at the door. "Thane, you're the first honest priest I've talked to in a century."
He just shook his head. "And still not a priest. I'm a hunter, Dahlia."
"What?" she asked. "When did the Church separate that duty from priests?"
His eyes narrowed. "About eighty years ago."
She nodded even as she continued to back up. "Good to know."
"Gonna give me any more secrets?" he asked, his voice almost playful.
There was one that immediately sprang to mind. "It's all a lie. Everything you know about vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and more. It's a lie, they know it's a lie, but that doesn't mean we aren't real. We're just not what you think - and they won't tell you the little bit they know because it doesn't follow your Bible verses."