AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He let her go faster than he wanted because talking to her made him paranoid that someone would track something. He couldn't think of what, but itfeltlike a risk. Still, the knowledge that he'd see her in a day helped. Fuck, he was acting like a stupid teenager, yet this was so much bigger than that. This was his chance - and Laird's. Maybe even Brice's.
He couldn't help but wonder if Dahlia knew how many people were counting on her right now.
But his half-formed plan required one more thing. So, instead of heading back to the hunters' area, he turned his feet deeper into the bowels of the church. The walk was long and tedious. Dozens of priests stopped what they were doing to look up at him in confusion. Eventually, Thane reached Laird's door and knocked.
"Come!" his brother yelled from the other side.
Thane eased open the black wood door to find Laird sitting at his desk reading a handwritten letter. The blood had drained from his face, but he still tried to smile. Thane immediately stepped the rest of the way in and closed the door behind him.
"What's going on?" he asked.
Laird had to lick his lips once before he could answer. "I've been offered a promotion."
"Isn't that what you wanted?" Thane asked.
Laird carefully folded the letter back up. "It requires trials. A few of them, over multiple days. I'll be given a list of Words, then I'll have to prove I can master them." He audibly swallowed. "They start easy and get harder, but here's the catch: it's in a room with multiple demons. They're giving me the chance to work with the beasts we capture for indoctrination."
"Shit," Thane breathed. "Then I shouldn't go."
That made Laird's head snap up. "Go where?"
"To meet Valerie. That girl I met online. The Cardinal offered me some time off to get my life in order. I told him I'd met someone, but I wasn't sure if it would work because I'd been somewhat absent. Heofferedme time off, Laird. Time to go meet her."
"Go," Laird said without hesitation.
Thane just thrust a hand at his brother's letter. "I get a vacation, and you getthat? You don't think there's a little message here? We're all playing fucking mental chess, and they're winning!"
Laird pushed himself from his chair and moved closer to grab Thane's shoulders. "Go anyway. Text me, even if I can't respond half the time. Know that anyone could read it, but keep me informed on how things are going with this girl you like so much. They're trying to call our bluff, so double down, Thane."
"And if they kill you in these trials?"
"Then what good will it do to have you here? No, I think they're fishing. Why did they have Brice do the last summoning? Why am I suddenly getting a promotion?"
"I did sorta bring that up when the Cardinal asked me to perform that first summoning," Thane admitted.
"Whythisone?" Laird asked. "Putting me with the demons? No, if they thought we were planning something, there's no way they'd make it so easy. They're looking for something, Thane, and I have no idea what it is, but I intend to find out."
"And I'm supposed to do what?" Thane asked.
Laird glanced at his door, then lowered his voice to a whisper. "You are going to get us a way out. I'm going to get as many Words as I can, and you'll trade your name for their help. Propose. Offer her a real way to change her name so they can't trace her. Get her to agree to this. The only person to ever get away from the Church? It's her. We need her, and she needs you."
"And if this name trick doesn't work?" Thane asked.
"Then I have no idea. Just buy the fucking ring," Laird told him. "Plain gold band, because diamonds are a little too modern. Make it clear this is a trade. Every day, they're getting closer to figuring out that her name is wrong. As soon as they figure that out? They'll have her, and there's no way for her to stop it."
"Are you sure about that?" Thane asked.
"Not unless someone else can counter the pull of her name. I know that an eidolon's Words don't mean as much as an inquisitor's, though." He lifted a brow, making it clear that was a hint at their backup plan. "The power we carry? It adds something to it. That means you might be able to call her back. Maybe it'll cancel the summons. The better chance is that changing her name will make it useless."
"I offer to marry her, and in exchange, she helps us disappear." Thane nodded. "Ok. A ring. I can do that."
"And tell Brice to talk to me," Laird added. "I want to feel him out, because I'm not sure he isn't working for the Church."
"Me either," Thane admitted, "yet if he is, he knows enough to have me staked."
"But they're still letting you go," Laird pointed out.
"Like a homing beacon?" Thane suggested. "If they think I'm running right to her, then won't that mean they can follow me? Isn't this making it too easy?"
