There. Daniel was pushing his way through the growing crowd, but some of the witnesses in the crowd held him back. He tried to shove them off him, but there were too many of them.
“No, you can’t do this!”
“It’s okay.” But it didn’t feel okay. His body trembled, rattling the chains anchoring him to the post.
“What’s going on?” Daniel demanded, looking past Nicolas. “What did hedo?”
Father Conroy circled him, unfurling the leather whip. His beady eyes reminded Nicolas of a snake’s, and his wide mouth stretched into a smile that made him look unhinged.
He crowded against Nicolas’s back, his chuckle a dark and menacing thing. His fingers slipped under the bottom hem of Nicolas’s shirt, making him shudder. “Can’t have this in the way, now can we?” And with a tug, he ripped the shirt up the middle, leaving it to hang from his shoulders and neck. The leather whip grazed his back like a caress, and then Conroy moved away.
The crowd parted, and Sloan appeared like a shepherd amongst the flock. “Let it be known,” he said to the crowd, “that this is what happens when a captain fails his squad.”
Nicolas gripped the chains tight, his face burning. Tears tracked down his cheeks as he closed his eyes, and he pressed his forehead to the warm wood. This was going to hurt, but Daniel had made it through this. So could he. They were cut from the same cloth, and he drew strength from that knowledge.
“We’ll host funeral services for the seven members of Captain Garcia’s squad this afternoon.”
“What?” someone wailed. “Evan is dead?”
“And Jacob?”
“Wait, what happened?” someone else shouted.
“They were attacked by a demon, and their captain let them down,” Sloan said. “But we will not let wickedness find a foothold in the world. We will hunt it down and wipe it out, one failure at a time. And I’m sure after today, after he is cleansed, Captain Nicolas Garcia will never again let a monster take a life.”
Nicolas swore one thing to himself. He swore that these people wouldn’t hear him scream.
And twelve lashes later, he succeeded.
They letDaniel take him after it was over. Leaning heavily on his brother, Nicolas staggered to the medical wing under the crushing weight of the crowd’s stares. He fought to control the fine trembling of his body.
“What the hell happened?” Daniel asked under his breath as they escaped around the corner of the administrative building and out of the crowd’s sight.
His face burned at the question. Daniel knew him well enough to recognize when he was keeping something secret, and he wasn’t ready to admit what had actually happened in that factory. “We saw the demon. The one that’s been killing paladins and leaving their bodies mummified.”
“God in Heaven,” Daniel breathed. “And you’re still alive?”
“I’m the only one.” He glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was close enough now to eavesdrop. “He told methe others had black souls. That they were evil, and he’s something called a sin eater.”
“He’s been going afterevilpaladins?” Daniel asked, then brightened. “And you’re not evil.”
Nicolas huffed. “It doesn’t matter. Sloan thinks it’s the other way around. He thinks the demon killed good men and spared me because I was… like him, maybe. Too cowardly to fight him or toowrongto be eaten like the others.”
“Yeah, well, Sloan’s blown past crazy and gone right into psycho territory.”
“Shh,” Nicolas warned. “No more of that here. Not where someone might hear.”
The cold air of the hallway stung his back as they stepped inside. He pointedly didn’t look at the assistant working the front desk, but she called for Doctor Maxwell right away. Others had come in seeking the same treatment for the same wounds before—hell, Maxwell himself had been cleansed on more than one occasion—but that knowledge didn’t lessen the humiliation.
Maxwell appeared at the mouth of the hallway. He looked just the same as always, wearing a white lab coat and delicate, wire-framed glasses. His short hair was ash gray, and his brown face was lined with wrinkles. The starkest difference between this visit and every other was how defeated Maxwell looked as he met Nicolas’s eyes.
“Right this way, Captain Garcia,” he said grimly.
Nicolas looked at Daniel, who understood immediately, taking his hand and offering him a nod. He was going to be there every step of the way, and for the first time since last night, Nicolas relaxed.
The exam room was like any other, with a paper-covered cot and a small cabinet in the corner for supplies.
“Have a seat,” Maxwell said. “Let’s take a look at the damage. Go ahead and remove the shirt, too, if you would. I have some spares down the hall. I can bring you one in a moment.”
