Briar dragged a breath in.
“He is a creation of the High Harvester. A revenant.”
The old woman nodded, signaling that Briar should go on.
“Seraphina found him, they traveled together, but then she discovered he’d been given her very eyes that were gauged out of her head two years ago, and… well, she took her eyes back and abandoned him.”
The Mother Superior pulled her further along the convent wall, where Sister Magdalena couldn’t hear them.
“This information is worrisome,” she said. “Quite frankly, it is blasphemous. You’re saying the Harvester has the power of God now? That he creates people?”
“Not people. Revenants. No, he doesn’t have God’s power, more like the devil’s. He makes them from dead bodies, chopped parts, bones, and organs that he stitches together and infuses with life. Or something that resembles it. I must confess, I don’t understand it myself. All I know is that these creatures are invulnerable to pain, sickness, wounds of any kind. If hurt, they heal in the blink of an eye. And they are impossibly strong. The things I’ve witnessed Rune do…”
The Mother Superior stopped abruptly and turned to Briar. Her light blue eyes turned hard.
“You brought this abomination to our door?”
“No, I…” Briar joined her hands over the crucifix resting underneath her clothes. “I would never put you and the sisters in danger. The convent is my home. The only true home I’ve ever had. You must believe me, I know Rune, and I know that he is safe. Besides, he doesn’t have eyes anymore. He’s completely dependent on me. He’s invaluable, Mother Superior. The Harvester himself made him, built him to be indestructible, the ultimate weapon for his army, but we have him. He’s on our side. And he has the skills of a master weaver. We could use him. We could win the war…”
The old woman waved her off and started walking again, hands behind her back. She was silent for a long while. Briar knew to let her think and only speak when prompted.
“So, the rumors are true,” she murmured. “Revenants.”
Briar’s eyes went wide.
“You knew?”
“The sisters heard stories on their last raid and brought them to me.” She turned to look at Rune, from a distance. “He is one of them, you say.”
“He is.”
“The accounts I heard were of death and blood. Stitched-up demons that tore men in half. Have I been misled?”
“N-No. He’s just not like the others. I’ve learned there are two kinds: Constructs and Sentinels. The ones used on the battlefield are Sentinels. Rune is a Construct, not built for fighting.”
“Used,” the Mother Superior repeated. “That is what they are. Slaves to be used.”
Briar shuffled on her feet. She didn’t like the way the old woman put it, but wasn’t that the truth? She’d said it herself earlier –“We could use him. We could win the war.”She made a mental note to stop using that verb.
“We cannot have him in our home,” the Mother Superior said firmly. “He will not step foot through the gate.” When Briar opened her mouth to protest, she raised a hand and effectively silenced her with one calm gesture. “I will allow you to put him in the cottage. I will even ask Sister Blandina to set aside food for him. If he eats.” She shot her a questioning look.
Briar nodded. “Of course he eats.”
The old woman shrugged. “I wouldn’t know, child, would I? He isn’t human.”
“He’s made from humans. His body functions like ours.”
The Mother Superior shook her head and crossed herself a few more times.
“God forgive me, I’m allowing the devil’s abomination so close to his blessed sanctuary.” She sighed, then added: “Once he’s settled, I want to talk to you. Come to my quarters. I will ask Sister Magdalena to wait at the gate.”
Briar gritted her teeth.
“Mother Superior, I’m grateful for your permission to use the cottage, but Rune is blind. He can’t manage on his own.”
“You said he is invincible. What could happen to him?”
Briar hesitated. The answer was nothing. No harm could come to him unless he inflicted it on himself.
