Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
“I didn’t see anyone else outside.”
“Her protectors must have slaughtered them,” he concluded, though he seemed to be speaking to himself. “Any who try to kill her don’t come back.”
Jolene lightly patted his hand in comfort. “Others may not have survived, but you did. You’re a strong one. And you’ll be back on your feet soon enough. Then you can return to your monastery.”
He swallowed, distressed. “The brothers there won’t be pleased that we failed. And he will be angry.”
He being the dark practitioner, Naomi guessed.
“No one will be angry with you,” Jolene assured him.
“Yes, yes, they will,” he insisted. “I was supposed to kill her.”
“Maybe you did.”
A line dented his brow at that. “You’re right. I don’t recall killing her, but I might have.” Hope lit his eyes. “It could be why I survived.”
“Exactly. You’ll return a hero, not a failure.”
He nodded. “I’ll be rewarded, just as promised.”
“I do love rewards. Especially if they involve chocolate.”
“This one isn’t chocolate. It is so much more.” His gaze went out of focus. “He’s so pure and whole. He shines so bright it’s sometimes hard to look at him. But how can we not look at him? Even without wings he is magnificent. And now I will ascend like he promised.”
Naomi sent out a telepathic comment that would reach every demonic mind in the room. Sounds like the dark practitioner has definitely somehow convinced the clerics that he’s an angel.
We need to find out where the monkhood is, Tobe asserted, his fingers flexing. If we don’t take them out, they’ll keep coming.
Relax, we’ll have the information we need soon. Jolene refocused on the cleric. “If you need a ride home, just say so. I’ll drive you wherever you need to go.”
“Are you sure?” he asked. “The monastery isn’t local.”
She flapped a hand. “That’s fine.”
“It’s over an hour’s drive away.”
“Not a problem. I’d feel better dropping you off. That way I’ll know you got home safely.”
A grateful smile graced his face. “Thank you. You’re so nice.”
Naomi barely held back an amused snort. By the looks on her companions’ faces, they were in the same boat.
Jolene raised a hand, as if she’d just remembered something. “Oh, I think I might have found something of yours outside. It was lying beside you. A very impressive sword.”
He gripped her hand, a sense of urgency in his expression. “Do you have it?”
“Yes, I brought it inside. It’s right over there.” She pointed at where it rested against the dresser.
Relief made him release her hand with a long breath. “Thank you. I’ll need to take it back to the monastery with me. It was given to me by someone very special.”
The supposed angel, I’m guessing, said Khloë, to which Naomi nodded.
Jolene bit her lip in contemplation, most likely wondering how she could push him into revealing more. “I’m glad you have someone special in your life,” she said at last. “My children, ah, they’re my world.”
“He’s a whole other kind of special,” Baby Face told her, his expression one of awe and wonder. “If you met him, you would understand. Just looking at him makes me feel closer to God.”
Gag, said Khloë, dramatically hunching forward as if she’d puke.
“How lovely,” said Jolene. “You’re lucky to have met him, then.”
“So lucky,” he agreed, his eyes fairly sheening with happiness. “God sent him to us; gave us these blades. His holiness is channeled through the steel. You don’t even need to deliver a killing blow—you just need to be able to sink it into someone. God’s power will do the rest.”
Naomi rolled her eyes. Magick will do the rest, she corrected. He’s so pitifully delusional I feel kind of sorry for him. Especially when I’m pretty sure he was someone the monkhood abducted as a kid.
We can’t allow him to live, Nome, said Tia. He would keep coming for you. The clerics won’t stop. The dark practitioner wouldn’t permit it if they tried.
She knew that, but it still sucked.
Jolene patted the cleric’s hand again. “Let me know when you feel ready to leave. Now, be warned, I don’t have what you would call a pigeon’s instincts, so I’ll need you to give me very clear directions or we’re apt to get lost.”
His lips hitched up. “I can do that. The monastery is tricky to find unless you know where to look, but it’s not all that far from what is in my opinion the best ghost town in all of Nevada.”
Jolene went still, and then her mouth curved. “I do love ghost towns. The one closest to the Grand Canyon is probably my favorite.”
“My favorite is—”
“Why in the underworld is there a priest in my daughter’s bed?”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Naomi felt her eyes drift shut. Unbelievable. She looked up to see her father standing at the foot of the bed in a ratty tee and stained jeans, a bag of chips in hand. His curious gaze studied the cleric like he was an insect. That gaze then narrowed on her Prime, as if he sensed the use of glamor and was striving to see through it.