I didn’t know a solution, but we had enough on our plates, so until something official happened, we could set the argument briefly aside.
I walked into our room with a stack of reports in one hand, mind whirling with possibilities and things to discuss with James. He’d retired to the room early, probably to get a break from everyone else. Being a good person made you a popular one as well, and he could barely go five steps without someone wanting his attention. I didn’t mind if he chose to retreatoccasionally and take some time for himself. He’d certainly earned it.
He was on the couch with a plate of cheeses, apple slices, and crackers, a book in hand. Part of what made this man so incredibly attractive to me was how well read he was. James adored listening to me read, of course, but he was just as willing to pick up a book and read on his own. Granted, our tastes in literature were somewhat different, but I was a bibliophile enough to enjoy basically everything.
He glanced up from the book as I approached and gave me his warm smile, which did funny things to my heart region. “Hello, darling. Did you decide to take a break from people too?”
“That and I have a few things to talk over with you.”
“And a report to read me, it seems.” James patted his thigh. “Here, sit, tell me all about it.”
His invitation sounded innocent in a way. It was not. All sorts of desires hid behind his innocent looking face, and he would, absolutely, take advantage of me if I chose to sit there.
I gave him a dry look. “It’s like you think I don’t know you.”
He batted pretty green eyes at me. “Whatever do you mean?”
“You already seem to think of my reading voice as some kind of trigger”—I silently dared him to refute me—“and now you’re trying to convince me reading a reportwhile sitting on your lapisn’t going to end in sex? Puh-lease. Most people get glazed eyes when I’m reporting to them because they’re bored.Youreyes glaze for a very different reason.”
Because he was an entirely unrepentant sort, James just grinned at me. “So no lap?”
I snagged a cracker graced with cheese and sat down next to him. “If you pay attention and say the right things, I might reward you.”
He visibly perked up. “That kind of reward?”
“Are you paying attention, then?”
“Strictest of attention.”
Seeing was believing in this case. James could fake paying attention very well, so I’d have to ask him some questions as we went to make sure he wasn’t just responding for a response’s sake.
“All right. First, a question. You’ve never mentioned cultists when speaking of the first lifetime. Not until the very end, as you had many possessed people. Were they cultists or just victims?”
James made a face as he snagged his wineglass and took a sip. “I don’t know. The thing is, we had no idea to even look for them. Were they there? Quite probably. I can’t confirm one way or another.”
That was more or less the answer I’d expected.
James took another sip of wine, eyes on mine. I could tell his brain was fully focused now. “Why are you asking?”
“Something you said bothered me,” I admitted. “Someone killed me on the eve of battle, and you have no idea who and can only speculate on why. Figuring out who did it is impossible now, of course, but the thing that bothers me ishow. How was it even possible? You were right on the front lines. Everyone must have been on edge and on guard. You were all accustomed to watching for signs of possession, so I doubt some possessed soul was able to infiltrate the camp in order to murder me and then slink back out again without getting caught.”
James opened his mouth and then closed it again, thoughtful now. “A cultist has no outward mark on him or sign showing he’s in league with demons. He looks entirely normal until exposed with a holy relic or oil. You think a cultist must have killed you because no one else could have gotten close.”
“Yes.”
I could tell this conversation disturbed him. I hated to bring it up, truly I did, but I couldn’t ignore the topic either. This mightwell be impacting us even now, and unless we put up the right safeguards, those terrible events might repeat.
Setting the report aside, I shifted to sit on James’s thighs. He immediately wrapped both arms around me, letting out a long, unsteady breath against my shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly against his hair. “I know this is hard for you to talk about.”
“If not for you being right here, alive in my arms, it would be unbearable.” He squeezed me closer.
“Should we talk about this later, then?”
“Time will not help. And it’s time we might not have.” James sat back enough to catch my eyes with his. “You’re right to bring this up. It’s a concern we should look into. If the past few months have shown me anything, it’s that this life isn’t going to play out in exactly the same way. Things might be moved up, happen out of order, or not occur at all. I do not wish to rely upon an old chronological order. It will surely be to our detriment if I try.”
Glad he was being sensible about this. “Then, I’ll order an investigation into the cultists. If they’re active, surely someone knows something.”
