"And what did you trade in return for all of that?" Laird asked.
Thane shoved a hand across his mouth and turned away. "You. I told her my older brother was the priest, I was a hunter because I'm shooting blanks, and the younger brothers who can breed are expected to produce more inquisitors. But here's the thing. I asked her how old she is, and she told me she doesn't know."
"So she stopped counting?" Laird asked.
"Well, she did know that she's been protecting the Asian girl, Mei, for over six hundred years."
"Holy fuck," Laird breathed.
"Pretty sure that's a Hail Mary or something," Thane teased.
"Whatever," Laird said, crossing the room so he could drop his voice even more. "She was around in the Middle Ages!"
"Sounds like China, not Europe, but yeah," Thane told him. "And while Dahlia fucked me, Mei made it clear she was close enough to break my neck if I tried anything. Needless to say, I took the orgasm."
"And don't sound like you minded much," Laird pointed out.
"She's not a demon," Thane said. "I don't know what she is, but she called it something else. An idle-something. She also said that the Church kills more innocents than her kind do. I'm starting to think she's right. Laird, they don't possess people."
"And you will leave Mom out of this," his brother snapped.
"Mom is at the center of this," Thane insisted. "Our problems started with her. Well, Dad, if you want to put the blame where it really belongs. They staked Mom because she wanted out. They killed Stu because he refused to kill one of these things. Now, I don't know what you went through, but they handed me a stake and turned me loose on a little girl. She was like fourteen, maybe younger. She looked fucking human!"
"Shh," Laird insisted, gesturing for him to keep his voice down. "I had a thirty-year-old man. Made it easier, if I'm honest. I also know that Stu had a girl about his age. He kept reciting the fifth commandment, but they told him she was already dead. He asked them to prove it, and we can't. You know that. The things bleed. They have a pulse. They breathe. We only know what they are because of the wards, and he didn't have one yet!"
"So they put the stake in him for trying to do the right thing," Thane said. "Who is the evil one here? They can't possess us because they have their own bodies. Dahlia said something about mind over matter, and I don't think she meant just the saying."
"And now she's following you," Laird pointed out. "The Bishop knows, Thane. If you see her again, you have to put a stake in her, or at least try your hardest."
"Yeah," Thane agreed, but he wasn't happy about it.
"Look," Laird said, clearly hearing his reluctance, "don't worry about the mess. If you cause a scene, we'll clean it up. They'll be pissed that they need to call in a higher-level priest, but they'll do it to take her out. I just don't want the last member of my family to end up in the basement tombs."
"And I don't want them to put you there," Thane shot back. "Don't you get it, Laird? This is a cult. We're born into the faith, and they'll kill us before they let us out. You're a damned priest, and half the time I'm not sure how much of this shit you buy into."
"As much as I need to," Laird promised. "This is our life. There's no point in fighting against it. The best we can do is climb the ranks and make changes that way. Your demon's right, though. The Inquisition started when the first inquisitor met the second. They 'knew' their power was from God, and that meant the other kind had to be from Satan. Along the way, they found more like themselves, and they made them priests. The power sometimes lies dormant in children until they're about sixteen, and it took a long time to figure that out. That's why the younger brothers are required to stay in the congregation."
"Because we're breeding our own army," Thane realized.
Laird nodded. "And in a few decades, we'll be stronger than the demons. We can debate what's right and wrong, but let's be honest here. This is about who is alive and who isn't. Your girl is already dead. We're not, and I'd like to keep it that way."
"She talks about herself as if she's alive," Thane countered.
"She still died," Laird insisted. "You haven't. Unless she can promise that you'll become a thing like her, then I'm not willing to risk it. If you won't put a stake in her, then I will."
"I'll stake her," Thane promised. "I might tell her to run first, but if she won't, I will stake her, because I know that if the tables were turned, she'd do it to me."
"And the Bishop?" Laird asked. "Did he buy your bullshit story about the date?"
"Story's completely true, and I have the conversation in my Tinder app to prove it," Thane assured him. "I let the Bishop read it. I'm trying to be a good man, Laird, didn't you know? Looking for a nice little church girl to settle down with. One that won't hate the fact that I can't give her babies."
"Well, keep it up," Laird said. "Because while you don't need anything else on your plate, I'm gonna pile on anyway. I got denied another promotion. The reason? Because my family doesn't have strong enough ties to the faith. They meant you."
"I'm busting my balls to prove I do," Thane grumbled.
"And you're hanging out at pubs with demons!" Laird snapped. "You stuck your dick in her... How many times now?"
"Just the two," Thane admitted.