Page 149 of The Infernal Battalion

“Strategy? I’m not sure we have enough information.”

“Not exactly. It’s... complicated.” Sothe shook her head. “Later.”

A bit bemused, Winter went down the steps and to the forward cabin shared by Sothe and Ennika. That took her past her own door, and the noises from within made it abundantly clear what was happening there. There were no secrets on a ship as small as the Swallow. She did her best not to listen and knocked on the door to Ennika’s cabin.

“Come in,” the blind girl said.

The room was much like Winter’s own, with two bunks, one above the other, and a small table in one corner. Everything was fixed in place, as a precaution against rough seas. Ennika sat on the lower bunk, her sightless eyes aimed at the ceiling, running her fingers against the pages of a book.

“It’s me,” Winter said, after a moment. “Sothe said you wanted to talk.”

Ennika nodded. “Sit, if you like.”

Winter did, wedging herself awkwardly sideways on one of the immobile chairs to face the bed. Ennika turned a page, tracing a few more lines, then set the book aside.

“Can you really read that way?” Winter said, fascinated.

“There are special books, with raised letters,” Ennika said. She leaned forward, holding out the book to Winter. “This one is just an ordinary copy of the Wisdoms, though.”

Winter took it and opened it to a random page. It was blank, or nearly so—​the letters that had once been there had been worn away by the passage of Ennika’s fingers, until only traces of ink remained.

She handed it back. “If you can’t read it, then why...?”

“I know the Wisdoms by heart,” Ennika said. “I don’t need to be reminded of the words. But tracing it out is... a comfort.”

“How old were you when they took your eyes?” Winter realized a bit too late that the question might not be polite, but Ennika didn’t seem to mind.

“Five or six, I think. I don’t know my real birthday. It was just after my sister and I spoke the names of our demons and formed our bond. Once they knew we would live, our eyes were put out, so that we would not compromise the security of the Priests of the Black with what we saw.”

“Saints and martyrs,” Winter said. “That’s horrible.”

Ennika shrugged. “Ahdon ivahnt vi, Ignahta Sempria. What’s done to me in this life is only a small taste of what I’ll receive in hell, when my time is up.”

“You really believe that? That you’re damned for eternity because of what they made you do when you were a little girl?”

“I chose to do it,” Ennika said. “I was young, but not unaware.”

“You can’t have understood,” Winter said. “Not really.”

“I understood enough. I wanted to help people.” She shrugged again. “I probably would have ended in hell in any case, you understand. My sister and I were living on the streets before the priests took us. We would have been whores, or worse. This way, I can at least save the souls of others. Or I thought I could.”

The Priests of the Black have a lot to answer for. It was bad enough that they captured, tortured, and killed those who were born with demons through no fault of their own. But to take innocent children and feed them this line of nonsense...

“I have been trying,” Ennika said, “to make sense of what’s happened. The Beast’s return. At first I was in despair. I would have taken my own life, if Sothe hadn’t stopped me.”

“At first? You’ve changed your mind?”

Ennika nodded. “I talked with Janus. If it is Janus who touches my mind, where my sister once was. He asked me if all this was not also part of God’s plan. The Lord tested mankind once before, when the Beast of Judgment first came, and Karis proved equal to the challenge. Now He tests us again, and we have you.”

Winter sat up straighter. “Wait, wait. I’m not a prophet.”

“I know. It may be that you fail and the Beast will bring about the end of man. That, too, would be part of the plan. But my role in it, my purpose, will be fulfilled. It’s not an accident that I’m here, with you.”

“It’s sometimes hard to tell the difference between God’s plans and Janus’,” Winter said dryly. “Is that why you wanted to see me? To talk theology?”

“No. Janus gave me a message for you. He said that the core of the Beast is coming south, toward Vordan City, and that this is where you will have your chance.” She frowned. “He also said that if you fail, you will not get another. If the Beast takes Vordan City, it will grow so fast that it will be unstoppable.”

“If I fail, I’ll probably be dead.”