Her weak joke didn't even earn a smile. He just nodded, mulling it over. "So why does the cross hurt so many of the others?"
Gently, she reached over and traced her fingers across the tattoo on his arm. It tingled. "Because when I was alive, that meant nothing. I never formed a fear of it. I didn't know about your god, and I'm not even sure he existed back then. If he did, it wasn't in the same form you think of him now. The ward simply reacts to my touch because of what I am, but only barely."
"So would the symbols of your gods work?"
Her hand froze. Slowly, she looked up at him. "I won't tell you how to hurt me."
"That's a yes." He placed his other hand over hers. "I don't know the sign of whoever you worshiped, Dahlia."
"Probably not too hard to figure out, though. Hello, technology."
"But I'd have to look, and I won't."
She nodded, biting her lips together. "Sounds nice, but you'll look. Knowing when I lived makes it easier, but there were a lot of little gods in those lands. Finding the right one, and the right sign for him or her, could take a lifetime."
"Dahlia, why does the spike work? If you aren't influenced by my God, then why does it make you so afraid?"
"It's a grounding wire. I'm just energy wrapped in a magnetic field, and that discharges all of it. Wood wouldn't, but you use a conductive metal. Silver." She looked up. "It kills us. Not sends us back to the Abyss, but destroys everything we ever were."
His fingers slid over her hand. "So what are you now?"
"Dust." She chuckled, but it wasn't a happy sound. "I think that's what I am, anyway. I mean, your body is made of molecules from the world. So is this one. Mine forms around the image trapped in my essence. Yours was grown as your soul developed. When you die, yours rots. Mine just goes back to dust."
"But it changes. I've seen you attack. I've seen the valkyrie."
She pulled away, but his hand followed. Dahlia wanted to bat his arm back, but resisted the urge. "This body is like a glove." She paused. "Like a surgeon's glove. The latex stretches to cover the hand, letting the wearer feel through it, but it's there. It changes, flexes, and acts almost like skin, right? Yet it's a thin little layer keeping flesh on one side and everything else on the other." She gestured to her torso. "I can see, but the colors are dull like an old movie. I can feel, but it's like touching through cloth. I can hear, but the sounds are never pure. The more vitality I consume, the closer I can get, and the thinner the veil is between my soul and this body."
"So it's not your body?"
"It is for now, and when I need another, I'll make another."
Thane shifted, then cleared his throat. "So, um, when we... I mean, earlier, did you feel it?" He couldn't quite meet her eyes.
She couldn't stop the smile. That was cute. He'd chased her down, done a damned good job of fighting her back, and had now fucked her three different times, but he couldn't just say the word. It was so completely normal that she felt something. She wasn't quite sure what, but it was warm and nice, like a lifeline.
"I think it's kinda like a condom." A little giggle slipped out. "I mean, yes, I can feel it. You're pretty good."
"Right." His head flinched toward the far wall and his body followed, turning his back to her. "Um, thanks, I think. I'm just trying to understand."
She scooted closer and gently caressed his arm. "I know. You're the first one who's listened."
"They made me do that tonight, so you know." He took a long breath. "If I didn't summon you, they'd put a stake in Laird. I'm just trying to take care of the only family I have left. I hoped that you'd kill the priests who came for you. When I saw your body, too newly dead to have even dissolved? I've never felt so relieved."
"I just want to know how you found me. We lived for so long without the Inquisition knowing about us, and then it all just came crashing down so fast."
"It didn't start with you." He looked back, finding her eyes. "It was her. Mei killed that guy in the alley by that club, and a homeless man saw it all. He called the cops. The priests heard. They thought you were just a thrall. When you walked up to me, I was so sure I was going to save you. I'd distract you until they could get her outside, make sure the spell was broken, and have the pretty little woman be so appreciative."
"That wouldn't have worked out like you wanted."
"Yeah, I kinda know that now." His thumb brushed gently across her cheek. "They don't know I brought you back. No one knows I'm here, and they don't even have your name right. You can leave and they won't be able to follow."
"And then what?" She couldn't help it. She leaned into his hand. "I have nothing. I'll need money, a car, ID, and a place to stay. What little I had was lost with my body and Mei's. I'll need to eat. The first time something goes wrong, they'll be after me again." She let her eyes close. "The Inquisition knows I exist now. After thousands of years, you've finally figured out that I'm here. I only have one option."
"What?" His voice was soft and comforting. "How do we keep you safe?"
She lifted her lids and saw the spark deep in his eyes. "I have to destroy them - or die trying. It was Mei's dream, and the last thing I promised her."
He nodded. "How do I help?"