"But I was told she grabbed it."
"Yeah." Thane couldn't keep a civil tone anymore. "And that's when I finally felt something. It itched like mad when I was close to the Asian girl, but it didn't do a single thing around the blonde until she touched the ink."
The reaction on the priest's face wasn't at all what Thane expected. The man's eyes flared wider and his mouth parted. Twice, he blinked before remembering to shut his trap, and not a single word had come out. Clearly, this was not at all normal. On the upside, that made Thane feel a little better.
The priest slowly began to nod, as if he was coming to terms with Thane's story. "I just have one more question."
"Ok?"
"Why didn't she kill you? There are four dead priests in an alley beside the Lizard Lounge, and somehow you're here, safe?" He smiled slyly, as if he'd just figured out the lie.
Thane huffed once. "Because beating them off is what we're trained for. None of your priests got off a single Word. They tried to stake them before stunning them. Bad tactics. I made sure to keep her on the move. Kinda how we ended up here."
His answer seemed to be enough. The priest nodded once, then gestured to the door. "Go help clean up that mess in the alley before the public learns what kind of monsters walk among them. Your team leader should be down there."
Dismissed, Thane strode across the abandoned building to where he'd dropped his clavum. Behind him, the other priests all watched. If Thane had to guess, he'd say these were the higher-ups, but none of them wore any identifying marks. That was why he hadn't used a title, because getting it wrong was often worse than not showing respect. The leaders of his faith were a very touchy bunch about things like that.
Then he hit the stairs and headed down. Thane tried to remember how he'd gotten here, but at the time, he'd just been following Dahlia. Her silver dress had been covered in sequins or something that made it sparkle under the streetlights. That had made it easy. The shape of her ass had made it worthwhile.
The problem was that he couldn't explain why he hadn't killed her. As beautiful as she was, that wasn't it. He'd killed plenty of beautiful demons. No, the thing he couldn't stop thinking about was how she'd felt his ward and still kissed him. Yes, she'd pulled some life from his body, but that was all. She hadn't drained him dry.
The moment she'd stepped around that pillar upstairs, he'd had the perfect chance to put his clavum in her, but he hadn't been able to do it. If anyone asked, he'd claim that she'd pulled some lust trick on him, or maybe that she'd used her vampire speed. Better yet, he simply wouldn't tell anyone else about how he'd hesitated.
Because she'd kissed him instead of killing him. Clearly, it had messed with his mind - which made sense if she was the Devil's weapon. But she'd said that everything he knew was a lie. Did that mean he was the one working for the Devil? Unfortunately, the doubts she'd put in his head made either option sound plausible. His church was far from perfect, but knowing that the demons were worse had been the one thing that kept him going.
Now he wasn't so sure.
People didn't join the Church of the Holy Inquisition because they believed in God. They joined because they feared everything else. If what they wanted was to worship, they'd find a nice Baptist church, or maybe one of the Churches of Christ. Catholics, Lutherans, Protestants, or Presbyterians - Lord knew there were plenty of options around. Nope, they came to the Church because they wanted fire and brimstone, a reason to believe things really were as terrifying as they felt, and maybe even a bit of sand to stick their head in. In Thane's faith, the only way to make it through life and end up in God's grace was if you never ever asked any questions.
Thane had plenty, but he wasn't dumb enough to ask them. At least, not to the leaders of his supposed faith. People who did that disappeared. He'd seen it firsthand - twice - and he'd sworn he wouldn't forget. Oh, he might play the role of the faithful younger brother well enough, but he knew better than to play it too well. The priests wanted him to sin. They expected it. What they didn't know was that he'd just committed the biggest sin of all. He'd fed the Devil, and he didn't regret it for a second.
It was just one more way to pay back the fools who refused to see that their faith wasn't from God. The Church of the Holy Inquisition was a cult, and a sick one. The only question was how he could get out. If he had to guess, he'd say the unstoppable valkyrie might be the one with the answers.
When he finally made it back to the alley where Dahlia and the nu gui had killed four priests, Dale was waiting. Beside him was a priest, and this one was wearing clothes that actually made him look like a man of the cloth. Both men turned to him with relieved expressions. Thane recognized the priest as his brother, Laird.
"Glad to see you survived that," Dale told him.
"The priests stormed the building just when I was sure she had me," Thane said. "Was enough to make her run. Sadly, she got away."
"So did the other vamp," he said. "Harrison's out. Broken leg. The bitch threw him against the wall when he tried to stop her."
"And the rest of the team?" Thane asked.
Dale sighed deeply. "We didn't lose anyone tonight. The priests weren't so lucky."
"Which is why I wanted to talk to you," Laird said. "Have a minute?"
"Pretty sure he won't mind an excuse to get out of cleanup," Dale joked, waving them both away.
Laird pushed his hands into his pockets and tilted his head in an invitation to join him. Thane immediately fell in at his side. Laird might be older by two years, but Thane had two inches on the guy. Laird's hair was simply brown. Thane's was the color of coffee. Besides that, they both had the same dark brown eyes, the same angular features, and there was no question that they'd come from the same family.
"So the lower ranks of the priesthood are buzzing," Laird said once they were far enough away. "You made out with the vamp?"
"The supposed thrall," Thane corrected. "Blonde hair, silver dress. She decided to flirt with me, so I told the team I'd deal with her, and they could get the vamp out. The plan was a go until the woman - thing - put her hand right on my tattoo."
"No warning before that?" Laird asked.
Thane just shook his head. "None. Even when she grabbed it, it was a tingle. I got more from the other one walking six feet away. What the fuck, Laird? What are you people hiding from us?"