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"I've always been sensitive to it," he countered. "I'm getting better, though."
"Better enough to burn your hands?" Dahlia asked. "Because I saw the blisters before you and Thane..." She grinned. "Bonded."
"Bonded works," Thane said. "It's a good word."
"Sucked that man dry," Roarke taunted. "Made him squeal like a little piggy."
"I did not!" But everyone else was laughing, so Thane just threw up his hands and gave in. "Yeah, yeah. Glad I can add some levity to this. However, there are still two inquisitors in town, and I'm willing to bet they're here because of a rash of missing people."
"How long will they stay?" Dahlia asked.
"Two weeks if someone's caught. Maybe a month if they're determined."
"And if no one is caught?" Cain asked.
Thane blew out a breath big enough to make his cheeks puff. "Yeah, well, the problem is that I was hoping to get Brice and Laird up here. That's going to be even more tricky with inquisitors running around town." He lifted his arm to show what he meant. "These wards? They're pretty distinctive, meant to mark us as what we are. A priest or hunter would recognize them, and if the three of us are missing? That won't go well."
"That means we need a new plan," Dahlia said, heading to her chair just to drop into it.
Which was when Nikki came out of the kitchen, peeling one of those oranges. "Give 'em the ghost that jumped Roarke."
"We're not sure which one did it," Roarke explained, "and Dahlia torched the phantom who acted guilty. Body death, but still. He's fried dust in the courtyard."
"Which explains the weird feeling in the complex," Nikki said. "Ok. On the upside, this also proves Dahlia right. She said that killing people would bring them. They're here. Cain, how are you on vitality?"
"I'm just fine," he promised.
"And your meals?" she asked.
He shrugged a little too innocently. "Believe it or not, I do know how to fuck. I may despise the modern dating culture, but I can play the game as well as the rest of you."
"Ok," Nikki said. "So the murders need to stop. The guy tonight will be the last one. Thane, you think your brother can hold out for a couple of weeks?"
"Not unless I go back," Thane said. "I'm only supposed to be here for two weeks. The story is that I met a girl online and want to make sure it's real."
"How you gonna explain marrying her that fast?" Roarke asked.
"I'm not," Thane said. "My goal was to have Brice and Laird break out in a few days and head this way. Laird is currently doing some trials for a promotion, and he's hoping that will give him access to encyclopedias of Words. The higher ones that do more."
"And his trials consist of killing eidolon," Dahlia added.
"Knocking them out," Thane corrected. "The part I know about had him knock three of them unconscious, and then he had to feed each a drop of blood. No, he doesn't know why. We aren't told those things."
"They're probably trying to figure out how to control us," Cain said. "Being able to trot a demon out and make us lose control on command? It would convert the masses. The Inquisition has been trying to do something similar since the fourteen hundreds."
"Yeah, but I'm not sure how Laird learning about that can help us," Thane pointed out. "So maybe I need to tell him to bail on that and head up here?"
"Will that pull more inquisitors?" Cain asked.
Thane just pushed out a heavy breath. "Probably. The truth is that they can track our identities. I've been using my credit cards up here, and if they wanted to, they could find that. Same for Laird. I mean, diving into a person's financial records isn't easy. The Church isn't the police, so they don't have the same access, but it only takes a Word to get it. Control a cop - we have a few in the congregation - and they can get what they need."
"Where else is safe?" Dahlia asked. "I mean, it doesn't need to be an entire state, does it?"
"Shit, even if we move to Sioux City or something," Cain pointed out. "It's still big enough for a small group of us to have our meals, but not close to a church."
Dahlia looked around the sparse living room. "And I was just starting to finally feel comfortable," she said softly.
"We'll get it right next time," Thane promised. "This group can keep our heads down."
