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“This has nothing to do with anyone except my decades of experience. We could all be in danger.”

“The truth about what happened is above everyone’s pay grade but his Holiness. All I know is that there was some kind of incident in Canterbury and the one surviving priest was able to use it to become Pope.”

I had no idea what this man looked like, but I had a read on him, anyway. He was trying to make his bones and become Pope. I didn’t know if that information was only available to the Pope or not, but if this situation got messy enough, an ambitious bishop could use it to their advantage.

Plus, he might not want to tell us, but he gave us a pretty big hint since he didn’t know about the diary. We knew the nun who wrote it ended up in an abbey in Canterbury, mentioned the Yellow King, and the churches there had been rebuilt a few times because of fires.

We might not be able to find a ton of information about Agnes outside her diary, but if someone survived the disaster there and went on to form Venatio Daemonum and become Pope, we could find information about him.

I didn’t say anything, but I gave Caleb a nod so he could wrap up the phone call. I knew where our research should go from here and I had a phone call to make myself.

Ihadn’t tried talking to Saul yet. I was planning on it, but then he decided to rub my belly while he researched and I passed out. Sue me, Hellhounds needed sleep too, and I was very relaxed. That priest had talented hands. I didn’t let just anyone touch my stomach.

I woke up when it was time for gumbo. I’d always wake up for Rainer’s gumbo. It wasn’t technically gumbo weather, but we didn’t care. Thankfully, the priests didn’t have any commentary about me getting a bowl like they did about the beignets I ate. I had very different dietary needs than a dog.

I listened to the call Caleb made. I was making plans to find that bishop and eat him later. He insulted Logan, and he was withholding information. I had no doubt what happened in Canterbury was kept under lock and key, but not that he didn’t know what it said. I would imagine keeping a giant massacre out of view from the people risking their lives would be prudent so people actually took the job, but the people pushing pencils and running things always knew.

Logan was up to something. I knew that look. Maybe she’d tell me I could go eat the bishop now. Then again, that might upset our new priest friends, so she might tell me later.

“First of all, how does that bridge troll know who I am and have any opinions about my sex life?” she demanded.

Caleb cleared his throat.

“Several priests have met you, had impure thoughts, and decided to leave Venatio Daemonum or the priesthood altogether.”

“Because men have never blamed women for their failure because they just aren’t good at something, right?”

“You’re probably right,” Caleb sighed. “It makes a lot more sense seeing monsters every day is a lot more frightening than a foul-mouthed woman who can’t stand you.”

“You take that back! I’m very scary.”

“For the record, I was agreeing with you. I’m not sure why we’re fighting.”

“For the record, she likes arguing,” Rainer said. “I also think your boss is lying and knows exactly what happened that made the Church form Venatio Daemonum.”

I knew he would. I didn’t have to check in with Logan. We were all in agreement. I just didn’t know about our new allies.

“I’m not one of those priests that think the Church is infallible. I know there is corruption now just like there has been throughout history. People join for the wrong reasons, but they’ve convinced themselves their actions are ordained by God.

“Henry wants to be Pope, but he keeps getting passed over for cardinal. I hate to say this but he would lie about not having this information. He’s been wanting to leak the existence of supernaturals since he found out about them, but he’d be excommunicated. It’s in the charter for anyone involved in Venatio Daemonum.

“If supernaturals exposed themselves in a big enough way, that humans found out, it would be doing him a favor. He’s never met one face to face, but he would make himself famous as the leader of the faction of the Church that has been secretly keeping people safe. I believe you when you say it’s not as black and white as we were taught, but if the bad ones cause enough death, it’s not going to matter what the Flame says and we will be called corrupted for backing you up.”

“I figured as much,” Logan said. “He let something slip. We just need to research which Popes came from Canterbury around the time Venatio Daemonum was formed and we might find something. You’re also going to shut up while I make a call since I didn’t rip your bishop a new asshole for calling me a slut. She might not tell me, but I know someone who can tell me some lore about the Yellow King.”

She was going to call Delilah. Delilah had been helping me learn how to be a Hellhound and she treated Logan like a daughter, but there was a lot of stuff she didn’t say. Right now, the Flame was perfectly fine with demons on work visas and even the ones who made deals with humans. They only had a problem with the ones who escaped, forced their way into the first human they saw, and started causing havoc.

It had been this way for a very long time, but there was always the possibility it could change. Delilah told Logan a lot, but not enough to completely wipe out demons. Self preservation. She never lied, she just omitted information sometimes. I didn’t tell her why I asked about the Yellow King. Maybe I should have. I told Logan to explain.

“Hey, sugar. What can I do you for?”

Logan asked about the Yellow King and explained why she was asking. She told Delilah she heard it the night her mother went missing and again the day before.

“Hrm. That’s not right. He’s the boogeyman, at least, in some areas of Hell. Legend is that the second King of Hell after Lucifer abdicated was a right bastard. He took up with a blood fae and she got pregnant. They both did magic to the baby in the womb and the Yellow King was born.

“He consumed his mother from the inside and went from being a baby to an adult almost instantaneously. He then ate his father and got even more powerful. The Yellow King assumed the throne and was much worse than his father.

“He kidnapped a witch and kept her as his slave. When she fell pregnant, he also consumed that child. The witch’s coven managed to get revenge by trapping him. Every time he gets out, they trap him in something else.