Page 49 of The Sinner and the Priest: Part 1

I look to Raven for an answer. “Any visions?”

Glowering, she plucks her unlit cigarette from her lips and tosses it through the bathroom door to the trash can. “Not about this.”

My eyes narrow. “Can we still trust them?”

She flinches. “I’m not sure about anything anymore.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that I assumed because my visions told me Mary’s prophecy is real, that they’re trustworthy. But then Jaz and Hannah returned home and…”

“And what?” I prompt, but she doesn’t answer. “This isn’t the time to hold back, Raven. Have you had visions about Jaz or H?”

“That’s just it,” she mutters. “I’ve seen nothing. Nada. Zip.”

“That’s good, right?” Tawny asks.

“No.” Raven tugs on her rainbow-tipped braid. “Everyone should have an aura.”

A cold feeling creeps up my spine. “Are you saying they don’t?”

“They don’t.” She confirms. “The orphans do. But for a while, I couldn’t see the Rev’s.”

“What does it mean?” I whisper.

She glares daggers at me. “I told you, I don’t know.”

“Babe. Chill.” I raise my brows. “I was just asking. It’s okay if you don’t know everything all the time.”

I’ve never seen her so unsettled before, which means she’s telling the truth. Being able to see the future would come with a certain sense of expectation, until you suddenly don’t know what’s coming next.

Tawny’s complexion has gone white as a sheet. “Is it just them?”

Raven chews her lip, then looks at me and winces. “The priest has always had no aura. I just never thought anything of it before. I mean, they don’t feel evil, right?”

“Don’t worry.” I clamp my hand on her shoulder, and she flinches. “If something’s up, we’ll figure it out.” I take Tawny’s shoulder too and squeeze. “We’ve got this.”

They each nod, but it feels lackluster.

“Do I need to crack your skulls?” I warn, fingers digging into their shoulders.

“Fucking try and I’ll gut you,” Raven snarls, hissing at the pain and darting away.

“No need to be rude.” Tawny shrugs me off.

“That’s better.” I grin.

They grin back.

“Now let’s go and remind these fuckers whose house this is.”

Eighteen

Mercy

“Tawny nods. “Who’s first?”

I cover my eyes, then point at each of the four doors separating us from the men and sing Eeny-Meeny-Miny-Moe.