He shrugged a shoulder. It was more nuanced than he could explain here, and honestly, he wasn’t sure he could trust Cyrus. He’d attended some of Daniel’s meetings at one point, but he’d also been one of the first to bow out, according to Daniel. Was that because his opinion changed or because he saw the writing on the wall before the meetings were compromised? It hadn’t mattered in the end. Cyrus was among the first group to be cleansed, along with Daniel, Doctor Maxwell, and others.
“Hm. Come with me.” Cyrus’s shoulder brushed Nicolas’s as he turned on his heel and walked away.
Nicolas watched him go, debating. When he glanced over at Sloan and found him following Maxwell into the medical wing, he threw caution to the wind and strode after Cyrus.
Cyrus opened a door down the hall, meeting Nicolas’s eyes briefly as he stepped inside. Nicolas wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans, searching the hallway to make sure it was deserted before he opened the door and followed Cyrus inside.
It was an empty conference room, with a single, long table in the center and a whiteboard on the wall at one end.
“What the hell are we doing in here?” Nicolas hissed, leaning back against the door to make sure no one could walk in on them.
“Tell me what you know,” Cyrus said. “What kind of demon did this?” He folded his tattooed arms.
Nicolas balked, mouth opening and closing. “I—I don’t know anything. It was just a guess.”
“Then why did Sloan have you cleansed?” Cyrus pressed. His dark eyes were bright with something like anticipation.
Nicolas’s throat clicked on a dry swallow. His nervousness didn’t go amiss. Cyrus uncrossed his arms, stepping back to perch on the edge of the conference table.
“I’m not making any accusations, Nic,” Cyrus promised. “I just want to know what the hell’s going on.”
Nicolas scratched his fingers through his curls, sending them into disarray, then pulled out one of the chairs and fell into it. “It’s called a sin eater.”
“Does it use any kind of fire?”
That was an oddly specific question. “What? No. Why?”
Cyrus shrugged one shoulder, not replying.
Nicolas shook himself. Whatever. “No, the sin eater—eats sinful souls. He only goes after dark souls.”
“How do you know that?”
“He told me.”
Cyrus leaned in. “The demon spoke to you?”
“Yeah. That’s why Sloan had me cleansed. He thought the demon spared me becauseIwas the bad person. But the sin eater told me it only goes after dark, sinful souls. It leaves the good souls alone. That’s why it doesn’t kill everyone itcomes across. That’s why it picks certain people out of each squad and leaves others alive.”
Cyrus leaned in closer, eyes narrowing. “Then why the hell are you playing nice with James and his cronies now?”
Nicolas ground his teeth together. “It’s better if you don’t know, honestly.”
Cyrus sat back, looking satisfied. “So you’re not really marching to their drum.”
This was dangerous territory. If he admitted to the truth, would Cyrus keep his secrets? Could Nicolas trust him that much?
But before he could decide on how to answer, Cyrus stood. “Don’t tell me. You’re right, it’s better if I don’t know. This place has gone nuts; it’s just nice to know there are a few of us left who haven’t gone off the deep end.”
Nicolas blinked up at him. “Why do you stay?”
“Why do you?” Cyrus shot back.
Nicolas gave him a pursed smile.
Cyrus shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. “We all have our reasons, right?”
Nicolas knew his own, but he was endlessly curious about Cyrus’s. He’d always kept to himself, and while he insisted that the images of the demons he’d had tattooed on his arms were trophies of his kills, Nicolas wasn’t so sure. Wouldn’t someone who immortalized their kills like that be more open to Sloan’s hatred of all things remotely demonic?
