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"Fuck," Thane breathed, because it was so obvious once Brice said it.
Dahlia was right. They didn't want to kill her. They wanted to summon her into a secured room where they could keep her under control. They were using a hunter to lock her away in a cage. They didn't have a herd of them, just one man. One disposable man, told to refuel her completely - likely at the cost of his life. Why would they want her topped up if they were just going to kill her? Because they weren't. Theyneverwould, so long as they could use her, torturing her to hone their own weapons.
Brice just nodded. "Have fun in your meeting with the Cardinal in the morning. I think of it as a mini-game. Can I lie with a straighter face than he can? So far, I think I'm winning."
"Here's hoping I can do the same," Thane grumbled.
ChapterThree
THANE
At five minutes till nine the next morning, Thane stood outside the door to the Cardinal's borrowed office. Pulling in a deep breath, he knocked. Thane had been to the Bishop's office far too many times, but never the Cardinal's. The simple fact that he'd been given one meant they expected him to be here a while. That in itself was troubling.
"Come!" the man called from the other side.
Thane opened the door and stepped in. Just like the Bishop's office, the walls were filled with books. These weren't as old, and most of them looked like actual biblical literature. Except for one shelf. Placed right behind the man's desk was a line of thick tomes with the old-style binding and gilt lettering Thane was coming to think of as standard for Encyclopedias of Words.
"Sit," the Cardinal offered, gesturing to the chair before his desk.
Thane sat, pleased to see this one was at least soft. The Bishop's had been meant to keep him as uncomfortable as possible. It seemed the Cardinal preferred to use a different method. It was probably a lot more effective.
"You wanted to talk to me, sir?" Thane asked.
"Gerald," the Cardinal told him. "Relax, Thane. This is just a talk between friends, right?"
"Ok... Gerald," Thane agreed, disliking the taste of the man's name in his mouth. He still smiled like he'd been granted a privilege. "I'm guessing this is about Brice not being able to call the demon last night?"
"So you two talked," the Cardinal said, nodding his head. "Good. That makes this easier. How much did he tell you?"
"Mostly that the room was cold, he tried for something like four hours, and he asked how I got her into the cage. He's worried that she'll know the routine and kill him before he can lock her up."
"Ah..." The Cardinal leaned back in his chair. "Well, I can see that. Sounds like things have been rough for the hunters lately."
"Very," Thane agreed. "These guys from Austin don't understand. They're all novices with almost no experience with demons. They're ready to prove themselves, and they can't understand that we aren't incompetent. Any time a suggestion is made, they come back with how our way clearly doesn't work because they weren'tthere.They didn'tseewhat she did!"
The Cardinal patted the air, trying to calm Thane down. "Do you think you can do anything with them?"
"Excuse me?" Thane asked, unsure where he was going with that.
"We need a team leader for the other team. The bishop in Austin has assured me that we can keep these hunters for as long as we need them. Indefinitely. Over the last few weeks, you've proven yourself, and I'd like you to lead that team."
"I have no interest in being a team leader," Thane told him. "No offense, sir, but I'm honestly looking for a little more personal life, and a lot less time at work."
"So is that how you see what you do here?"
"It's God's work," Thane assured him. "It's still a job. Being team lead is stressful, time consuming, and requires more dedication than I feel I have to give. I'm just being honest, Gerald."
The Cardinal sighed. "I was hoping a few days would've changed your mind, but it sounds like morale is at an all-time low, huh?"
"Very," Thane agreed. "We don't know if Lucas is ever going to walk again. We keep coming across things that Scott or Robbie left in the bunk room. Every day, there's a new reminder, and I can't help but think that if I was the one bound in a wheelchair for the rest of my life, I'd like to have someone willing to take care of - " He snapped his mouth shut and looked up quickly, scanning the Cardinal's face to see if his hook had landed.
"A family," the Cardinal said. "Yes, I can see how that would be even more tempting. So then who would you suggest for a team leader instead?"
Thane dropped his eyes to the surface of the desk and honestly thought about that. Brice would be a bad pick. He just wasn't disciplined enough, even if he was a good hunter. Of the people who were still with them, not a lot of names jumped out. Most of the men who'd survived were those who'd been too scared to rush in.
"If Lucas recovers, he'd be great," Thane said. "Otherwise, Diego's your best bet, and that's scraping the bottom of the barrel."
"Which is why we need you," the Cardinal pressed again.
