“I could ask a sin eater to accompany me to the surface,” Valac suddenly said.
The reaction from the other demons was telling. Talon’s eyes gleamed. Shadrach leaned forward while Malachi and Wolf sat back. Storm’s head tilted, brows rising in consideration. Whatever it was, it was a big deal.
Julian looked between them. “A what now?”
“A type of demon,” Talon said. “One the guild probably knows nothing about, because they usually reside in Hell, feeding on the wrongdoings of human souls. They’re not fans of the surface.”
“And they cannot pass for human,” Valac said. “Any sin eater who ventured to the surface would be confined to the shadows.”
“But they would be able to weed out the rotten fruit,” Talon said.
Valac looked up at Julian. “It feasts on only sinners. They can usually be found in the Pit, gorging themselves on the souls there. But here on the surface, a sin eater would target only the sinful. A sin eater would seek out and destroy any paladins guilty of true wrongdoing and allow the innocent to live. One alone wouldn’t be able to killallthe paladins, but it could certainly help thin their numbers—and help us determine the righteous from the sinful.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Julian said. “What kinds of sins are we talking about here? Are there, like, degrees of sin? Because we’re all sinners, right? We’re human beings. That’s the whole schtick. Everybody sins. Drinking too much, cutting somebody off in line, cheating on a spouse, theft. Where’s the line? If you bring one of these things here, will it killusfor the drinking and—” he tugged his earlobe self-consciously, suddenly awareof everyone’s eyes on him, “—y’know, general debauchery and stuff?”
Malachi’s mouth twitched.
It was Talon who patiently said, “No. Sin eaters go after the most malicious. Those who intentionally hurt others and enjoy it. They don’t care about petty sins like drinking and sex andcutting people off in line.”
“You could say it less scathingly,” Julian muttered, and Angela snorted out a laugh.
“Be less naive, then,” Talon retorted, albeit with good humor.
Alex laughed, then, sitting back and tugging Talon’s hand over to kiss his knuckles. “Be nice.”
“The sin eater will only go after those most deserving,” Valac promised, his thumb stroking Julian’s ankle. “None of you will be in any danger. Neither will your friends nor the other truly good people of the guild.”
“Including children, right?” He thought as much, but he wanted to hear it explicitly stated.
Talon rolled his eyes. “No children will be harmed in the destroying of the hypocritical guild. You have my word.”
“I don’t know how much that’s actually worth,” Julian quipped, and Talon sneered, his eyes twinkling with real mirth. He was prickly and sarcastic, but he seemed to enjoy when people fired back.
Alex looked like he was fighting a smile. “Harming children would upset me.”
Talon gestured toward him as though to say,‘see?’
Right. None of these demons would do anything to upset their people.
Sitting adjacent to him, Ira was quiet, his head tilted thoughtfully as the conversation ebbed and flowed around him. Julian nudged his shoe with his own to get his attention.
“You’ve been quiet,” he said. “What do you think?”
Ira’s brow furrowed. “What does a sin eater look like, exactly?”
Wolf, Malachi, and Storm looked at each other with shrugs. One side of Shadrach’s lip curled, and he bobbed his head from side to side in a so-so manner. Talon looked thoughtful, and it was Valac who actually replied.
“Their skin is black like coal. They’re tall?—”
“As tall as you?” Julian asked.
Valac smiled. “No, but close to Wolf, I think. The ones I’ve seen wear cloaks with deep hoods, and the only thing visible underneath are their glowing eyes. I can’t say for sure what else. I’ve never seen one of their faces.”
Ira’s brows had risen during Valac’s description. “Huh.”
“What?” Julian asked.
Ira blinked, coming back to himself. “Uh, a sin eater would be helpful.”
