“You just mean the degenerates, right?” Reese said. “Because you guys seem to need help with Kastor’s people.”
“My fellow sentinels and I are perfectly capable of taking on any of the lions from the pit, but the oldest among us have already served their purpose and the youngest—like Tobias—are not yet ready. I ask only that the worst of the horde be put inmypath rather than theirs.”
“Sounds reasonable,” I said. I felt the same way about protecting Mellie.
“But do you really think that’s your purpose?” Devi asked around a bite of bread.
“It’s ours, just like it is yours. There is no more noble pursuit, considering the state of the world. Every demon we strike down is felled through the strength the Lord has bestowed upon us, and—”
“Well, then he bestowed it all wrong.” Reese’s voice was so sharp I actually choked on a bite of greens and had to cough it up.
Eli’s spork clattered onto his plate, his meal suddenly forgotten. “Excuse me?”
“You guys are out there impaling degenerates through the eyeball and calling yourselves warriors, but all you’re really doing is setting the demons loose to search for new hosts.That’swhat you did to your brother’s killer. You released him.Wefry the bastards right out of this world.”
“I cannot deny that the Lord has blessed you in ways he has not seen fit to bless me, Reese.” Eli’s glance at Grayson made it clear that he wasn’t just talking about exorcist abilities. “Nor can I presume to understand his reasons. I did what I could for Micah, with the gifts the Lord has given me. I freed his soul so he could find peace, and so that somewhere, a new child can live.”
“I hate to tell you this,” Reese began, though he didn’t look like he really hated it all that much. “But your brother’s soul is gone. Once a demon starts munching on it, there’s no getting it back. On the bright side, that means he’s not in pain. He’s not…anything.”
Eli’s quiet smile was somehow both peaceful and patronizing. “We believe that the souls of the faithful will be returned to the well upon death—clean, whole, and at rest. I’ve released his soul. Micah is at peace.”
“That’s beautiful,” Grayson breathed.
“That’s horseshit,” Reese insisted. “The well is empty. Babies die within minutes of birth. That wouldn’t be happening if you were freeing souls with every kill.”
Eli contemplated him somberly. “Only the souls of thefaithfulcan be restored. The souls of the faithless will be destroyed. The well is empty because there aren’t enough people of faith left to fill it. Which means that disbelievers are just as much of a drain on the well of souls as demons are.”
Devi turned to me with both brows raised. “Is he serious?”
Grayson glanced from face to face across the flickering flames of the campfire. “Souls at peace. I think it sounds…serene.”
“Serenity must be earned,” Eli said, setting his half-eaten dinner down in front of the fire. “We fight evil in this life so that we may find peace when it is over. Such is our burden. Such is our faith.”
Devi rolled her eyes and tossed her thick, dark braid over her shoulder. Anabelle looked…confused.
Reese exhaled heavily. “I’m sorry, Eli, but there is absolutely no evidence of—”
“If there were evidence, it wouldn’t be called faith,” Eli interrupted, and the sharpness in each word said he was finally starting to lose his temper.
“That’s right. It’d be called truth.” Reese leaned so close to the fire his knee almost hit the grill. “What you’re talking about isn’t religion, it’s delusion.”
“Reese!” Grayson gasped. “There’s no need to be rude!”
“Since when is the truth considered rude?” he demanded.
“Okay, everybody calm down.” I set my spork on my plate and held both hands palms out, hoping to deescalate the discussion. “Let’s not—”
Melanie’s piercing scream sliced through my sentence. Everyone stared, and I turned to see my sister clutching her round stomach, firelight flashing over the pain written in every line on her face.
“I think the baby’s coming.”
“The baby?Now?” I said, and when Melanie nodded, I stood up in a panic and suddenly forgot everything I’d learned about childbirth over the past five months. All I could think about was that the baby was on its way and I hadn’t found it a soul.
I would have to say hello and goodbye to my new niece or nephew in the same breath.
“Nina.” Finn stood, and when he took my hands, I knew he recognized the fear in my eyes, if not the true source. “Calm down. Mellie’s scared enough for both of you.”
I couldn’t make my heart stop racing. I hadn’t had time to teach her everything she needed to know. I hadn’t had time to write a letter to the baby. I hadn’t had time to say goodbye to Finn….
