“It… It let me go. I said something. I didn’t mean to, but I think I said, ‘they’re all dead.’ And the demon spoke back. It said they had black souls. That itatetheir sins. That it’s something called a sin eater.” He’d debated even telling Sloan that much, but a small part of him hoped Sloan would hear those words and realize how bad things had gotten in the guild. That he’d take some responsibility for the darkness of those souls.
“And why didn’t it attack you?”
“It pointed at me and said ‘bright soul.’ And then it just disappeared.”
Sloan’s face hardened. “You’re telling me that somedemonclaimed every other man in your squad was, what,evil? And you were somehow the only one it didn’t deem worthy of being eaten?”
Oh. This was the point where Sloan usually just got up and walked out. He hadn’t said that during any of the other interviews. Nicolas straightened, casting about for something to say.
“I-I don’t know, Commander. I’ve never seen anything like that demon before. I don’t know what it?—”
Sloan slammed his fist into the table, and Nicolas startled back in his seat.
“Those were good men!” Sloan roared, getting to his feet and bracing his hands on the table. “Those weremymen! You expect me to believe some demon you’ve never seenbefore killed everyone in your squad butyou? The brother of a dissenter?”
Ice froze down Nicolas’s spine. “Sir…” he croaked. “I’ve been nothing but loyal to the guild.”
“Your father would be ashamed of you.”
The words stole his breath. His father, the first Paladin Garcia, had died for the cause, and he was buried in the plot behind the church with their mother now. He and Daniel grew up listening to battle stories, admiring the scars their father wore like badges of honor. He was a strict man, raising them like soldiers rather than children. Earning his approval had been a lifelong endeavor for both of them. As far as he knew, neither of them had ever been successful. He always wanted them to be stronger, smarter,better.
“For surviving?” he choked out.
“For letting your men die!”
Nicolas crumpled, sliding his fingers into his hair. “Commander, I didn’t! I tried to help them!”
“You should’ve tried harder! You should’ve died trying! You stood there long enough to hear that monster’s lies? Why didn’t you attack it?”
Nicolas opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
Sloan leaned in, each word cutting like a blade. “You either had a crisis of faith and didn’t care enough to, or you were too much of a coward to try.” He pushed off from the table, straightening. “Either way, I know what must be done. Enter!”
Nicolas’s mouth was dry. The door swung open, and two paladins stepped into the room, eyes on their commander.
“Take him to be cleansed. Let Conroy do it.”
Father Kenneth Conroy, their new preacher, was a fan of the cleansings. He particularly liked wielding the whip. He’donce been a Theology teacher to the recruits. Now he had power—or the illusion of it, gifted to him by Sloan—and he took a sinister amount of pleasure in making examples of the sinful.
“No.” Nicolas shot to his feet. “No, you can’t! There was nothing I could do!”
“I find that hard to believe,” Sloan sneered.
The paladins strode toward him, grabbing his arms and hauling him toward the door. He struggled to free himself, shoving into them and twisting, but they held fast.
“Commander, please don’t do this.”
“For some reason, some of you seem to think it’s okay to besofton the enemy!” Sloan roared. “You watched this demon kill your entire squad and let it get away! That is not how my paladins are meant to operate!”
“No! That’s not what happened! Let me go!”
Sloan was implacable, and Nicolas was dragged from the room. Somewhere along the way, he shut down. There was no point in fighting. Others had tried and failed. The sun was bright, and when they strode to the post, everyone on the grounds stopped what they were doing to watch. Silence descended around them. Even the birds failed to chirp. Nicolas was hyperventilating as they secured his wrists to the iron shackles screwed into the post. Words rang like a gong in his mind, over and over:this couldn’t be happening, this couldn’t be happening.
It was surreal to go from pleasure in the dark to this sick fear during the day. He couldn’t believe he’d prefer to be back with the demon.
“Wait, what’s happening?” a familiar voice shouted. “Nic? That’s my brother! No, stop! Stop this!”
“Danny!” Nicolas screamed, casting his eyes about for him. “Stay back!”
