Her words scrambled Kinzer’s thoughts. He tossed a glare over his shoulder. “Dedrus,” he whispered. “Where did you find her?”
“Well…”
“She did tricks,” Treycore explained, “over at Cheshire Bridge.”
“Oh.” Kinzer’s eyes returned to the woman. “Um…I’m not going to let you smoke or drink while you’re carrying the Leader’s baby.”
“What? Who? You know who the father is?”
“Yes. That’s actually what I want to tell you. Now, I’m gonna untie you and explain—”
“Don’t fucking untie her!” Treycore exclaimed.
“Yeah,” Dedrus said. “Don’t do that. She’s a biter.”
“Just let me handle this. I think you guys have done a shitty enough job with this as it is.”
He fiddled with the ropes around her wrists, loosening them with care.
The foul look on the woman’s face softened.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Maggie.”
“Maggie, you’re carrying a very important baby.”
As he finished untying the rope, he set it beside him and worked on her ankles.
“Are you a religious person?”
She hesitated but shook her head.
“Good. That’ll make this easier.”
He started his tale of God and Satan, just as he had told it to Kid. He explained the war between Heaven and Hell, allowing her thoughts to reel through the mind-fuck that accompanied the reversal of thousands of years of the Almighty’s religious propaganda.
Kid stood in the doorframe, glancing around uncomfortably.
Kinzer was fairly certain that Kid thought he was insane. He knew he shouldn't have told him as much as he had, but after all that had happened, he didn’t feel like there were any immortals he could trust, and it was nice to have someone to talk to. However, considering Kid’s clear disbelief, he couldn’t figure out why he was still hanging around.
“For a long time,” he said, still attempting to soothe her concern, “the Almighty has planned to have a child—a ruthless, sinister, malicious monster that will bring plague and death to the world, wiping it into oblivion. This child is referred to as the Christ. The Council has restrictions against him creating a Christ. It would be like China deciding to use a nuke. Through our team’s infiltration into the Raze, we learned that God is already in the process of bringing a Christ into the world. The Leader, as we call him, knowing this, has launched his own Antichrist, a child that will take on the Christ. This child will bring peace and love to your world.”
Maggie’s eyes were wide. “Which one am I having?”
“The Antichrist.”
She stared at him blankly.
“That’s the good one,” Dedrus said.
“So…I’m having the devil’s baby. But the devil’s good? And you guys are demons?”
“We prefer the term fallen,” Kinzer corrected.
“Okay. You are fallens, and you’re going to protect my baby so that it can save the world? Am I hearing this right?”
Kinzer sighed, relieved. It was wonderful that she’d been able to absorb all that so fast.
