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He ended the call, hoping that message would say enough without saying anything the Church could find a problem with. The chances of someone being around when Laird checked his voicemails was just too high. Still, this was a little cover for both of them. Unfortunately, it did nothing at all to help Thane find an answer to their latest problem.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Thane turned to head back inside. At some point, this had to get easier, right?
ChapterTwenty-Two
THANE
Thane didn't even make it to the door before his phone began to ring in his hand. Swiping at the screen, he answered quickly. The voice on the other line was the exact one he hoped to hear: his brother.
"Sorry about the voicemail," Laird said by way of greeting. "I hope you left a good one, because it means I'll have something to show the Cardinal or Bishop if they start asking questions."
"Yeah, I kept it nice and safe because I didn't want to take the chance that someone might overhear it when you listened," Thane agreed. "Hey, are you somewhere you can talk?"
"I'm outside having a smoke," Laird said. "Soon as I saw your name on the screen, I headed out back for a little privacy."
Yeah, there was just one problem with that. "You smoke?" Thane asked.
"No, but I bought a pack so I could let everyone else think I'd started. I light a cigarette and let it burn out so I have an excuse for a little 'me time,'" Laird explained. "Gives me a reason to get away without much notice, and it's not the sort of thing anyone's going to question. So, speaking of questions, I have plenty. How are things going up there?"
"It's done," Thane said. "I asked her at the airport. That was a little touch and go, like I told you in my text. Hopefully, that came across?"
"I got the general idea," Laird assured him. "And that the others might not like you so much."
"Yeah," Thane agreed. "Well, we had a nice little ceremony yesterday. A guy named Roarke has decided he's my babysitter, so he stood in as my supposed family. Had some ribbons tied around my hand, put a ring on her finger, and she took my name. The best part, though, is that it seems that you were right. The new name works. Her old one does too, but the pull isn't strong enough to compel her anymore. Not for either of them."
"Which is a good thing, right?" Laird asked.
Thane murmured his agreement. "I think so. Never mind the fact that I now have a very beautiful wife who can kick my ass. We've been working things out, found out that she can touch the clavum, and she wonders if they'd short out our ability to use Words. Thankfully, she doesn't want to try on me, so I'm calling that relationship success. I also showed her the book of Words, which is actually why I called."
"Ok?" Laird asked.
"Dahlia can use them, but the other two who tried didn't have as much luck. One was drained a bit, and the other was drained enough to pass out. Any idea why?"
From there, Thane proceeded to fill his brother in on everything that had happened so far. He started with vitality and mentioned how many years those three had been living as undead. He told Laird about the different types of eidolon - from witches to ghosts - how they classified themselves, and everything that might be important to this. Most likely, he was leaving something out, but Thane did his best to make sure his brother knew as much as Thane had learned in the last two days. Finally, he finished up with the thing he figured would surprise his brother most of all.
"The guy who's been around for six thousand years? Yeah, his name is Cain. He's the one the Word knocked unconscious."
"Fuck…" Laird breathed, dragging the word out. "The only thing I can think of is that it has to do with how much power they can control. No different than you having more power than Brice, which isn't an age thing. Maybe, like us, there's some natural variance between individuals? Maybe more power makes the Words burn inside them faster? That's all just me pulling shit out of my ass, though. However, I think my trials might give me access to a little more information."
"Have those started yet?" Thane asked.
"The interviews have," Laird explained. "They've been asking a lot of questions about ancestry. Where Dad was from, where Mom was from, and all of that. I have no clue why, but here's the kicker. They said they want to make sure they pick the right demons for my test."
"Therightones?" Thane asked.
"Mhm," Laird agreed. "Which makes me wonder how they're getting them. From what I understand, our hunters don't spend a lot of time capturing 'demons,' do you?"
"No, we stake them," Thane said. "Still, we know they wanted to capture Dahlia. I'm guessing that if they learn their true names, then they hold them for testing or something. It would at least fit the rumors she's heard about experiments."
"Possibly," Laird agreed. "I asked Brice about it, and he said about the same thing."
Which was a clear opening, so Thane took it. "And? Is he still being just a little too helpful?"
"He felt me out before pushing," Laird admitted. "Once he realized that I know where you went, he opened right up, though. He also plays this game a lot better than I expected. Brice stopped me in the halls, with other priests around, to ask if I knew how long you'd be out. Gave us a reason to start talking, and he hasn't stopped yet."
"But do you trust him?" Thane asked.
Laird hummed thoughtfully before answering. "I think so. Not blindly, but I think he honestly wants out. How do you think your friends would feel about him coming north with me?"
