Page 4 of The Sinner and the Priest: Part 1

The five of us watch the receding pair. The typography and logo on the back of Zeke’s top are still legible. Instead of wearing his usual beat-up band t-shirt, he’s made a new one. The front reads, “The Sinner Sisterhood Official Fan Club.” The back reads, “Enjoy the Ride” and features a grinning devil skull logo, burning in the fiery pits of hell.

“I suppose it could have been worse.” Leila winces. “He was going to make a shirt for us, too.”

“Oh-ooh. Yes, please.” Tawny sticks up her hand and bounces on her toes. “I want a bedazzled, pink skull.”

If she didn’t enjoy napping so much, I’d think she drank from the fountain of youth with her impressive recovery rate.

She swats a fly out of her face, and then her gaze lights up with another idea. “Ooh, and I also want the skull to have headphones on.”

“If he’s taking requests, then I want a dagger embedded into my skull symbol.” Raven mimes stabbing her head at the top. “And bloody tears dripping from each eye socket. And a holy cross branded on my skull’s forehead.”

A branded cross? Like the one Dominic has on the back of his head?

“That’s … oddly specific,” I note, a little concerned.

She flips me the middle finger on both hands. “And I want it to say, ‘Fuck the Saints.’”

“You can’t.” Thea shoves her. “That’s my line.”

“You don’t own it.” Raven steps up to her, a challenge in her eyes.

“Girls, girls.” I raise my palms. “No need to fight. There’s plenty of fucks to go around.”

Leila points at me. “Slogan of your band T-shirt.”

We break out into giggles, and it feels good. I missed my bitches. My babes. I hate feeling like they don’t trust me.

Splashing in the lake draws my attention.

“Shh,” I hiss, and point at the water where something swims in the shallows, displacing mist.

I stupidly left my weapons in my room. The sweat towel will have to do. I’m not the only one rolling it around my fist for protection, eyes narrowing as we creep toward the misty shoreline. But when a small, iridescent, and frilly creature bolts out, I lower my hand.

Jinx, the ex-demon Thea healed with her relic, scampers up to us with a mouthful of flapping carp. She shakes like a shaggy dog. Water sprays all over us. Tawny squeals, shielding her face. In the distance, I see Zeke and Cisco stop on their path. Cisco’s shoulders tense as he scrutinizes the scene, checking our safety.

He thinks I can’t protect my girls. Jaw clenching, I give him my back and return my attention to the slimy ex-demonic pet.

“Jinx!” Thea groans.

For a split second, I glimpse a flash of darkness in the creature’s eyes. Just enough to make me wonder how much of its demon side remains. Then Jinx bites down hard with her mouth of fangs. The flapping fish halts. Blood oozes onto the grass, and then a burst of flies.

A chorus of “Ews,” “disgusting,” and “What the fucks” rings out as we all jump back.

Jinx gives the fish a final, lethal kill shake, but this time, we see the danger coming and shield ourselves from the spray with our gym towels. The next time I look, Jinx is sitting at Thea’s feet, eagerly looking up at her with stubby horns pointed forward and a frilly, serpentine tail thumping.

“Did you … eat the flies?” Thea’s nose scrunches at the dead fish. “You want a reward?”

“She’d better not bring that inside,” I say. “Sister Edith will have a fit.”

“Don’t bring it inside,” Thea tells the ex-demon. But when Jinx lets out a demanding dolphin bark in response, we all exchange concerned looks.

I crouch and inspect the fish. The blood is off. Darker than usual. Almost black.

“Babes, look.” I use a nearby twig to lift the flap of skin where fangs tore through. A putrid smell hits me so hard that I fall back on my ass. “Oof.”

“Bad vibes.” Raven blocks her nose but also squats, getting closer to inspect it. She closes her eyes and hovers her free hand over the corpse. Two seconds, that’s all it takes, and she snatches her hand back as if burned. Then she’s up on her feet, backing away, face slack. “An omen.”

Raven has psychic abilities we’re still trying to understand. Sometimes it manifests as prophetic dreams, sometimes as visions, sometimes as general ‘vibes.’ We all know to trust them in any shape or form.