we’ve only survived in the badlands by robbing Church supply shipments. We can’t do that forever.”
“Nina…,” Maddock began.
“We need them,” I insisted. “We need to know what they can teach us.” I turned to Eli. “And you need
us.
We don’t just release demons back into the world, we vanquish them, which denies them the opportunity to possess any more of your people. And any one exorcist”—I gestured to Reese, Devi, and Maddock in turn—“is faster and stronger than your best five soldiers combined. If you don’t believe me, give us a test.”
“It’s not me you’d have to convince,” Eli said. “I’ve seen you in action. Let me return Tobias and Micah to my family, and then I’ll present your offer to Brother Isaiah. If he says yes, you’ve got a deal.”
I smiled at Melanie, truly hopeful on her baby’s behalf for the first time in weeks.
A s soon as Eli left, Maddock tried to undermine my plan. He wanted to put distance between us and Pandemonia as soon as possible, and he knew we could move faster on our own.
I understood his fear, but
nothing
was more important to me than Mellie and the baby. Fortunately, everyone but Reese agreed with me that we stood to gain as much from the Lord’s Army as they stood to gain from us.
After he was outvoted, Maddock stared out the window, watching both the nomads’ temporary camp and the western horizon closely until Devi shoved an open can of white-meat chicken into his hand. “Hey,” she said. “Remember me?”
When Maddock blinked and struggled to bring her into focus, I realized he was fried. “Why don’t you two go take a nap, or…something,” I said. “I’ll take watch for a while.”
“I’m fine,” Maddy insisted.
Devi rolled her eyes and took the rifle from him. “You’re not fine.” She handed me the gun, then pulled him up by one arm. “You’re gonna rest, and I’m gonna help.”
I didn’t want to know how she planned to help, and for once I didn’t care that she hadn’t thanked me for my offer. My motive wasn’t entirely altruistic.
I took the rifle and Maddock’s metal folding chair—we’d been carrying two of them because so many of the buildings were empty—out onto the courthouse balcony, then went back in for a can of soup and some reading material. Between bites of my cold lunch, I checked to make sure there was no round in the chamber, then propped the rifle up on the balcony railing and stared through the sight at Eli’s camp.
The rifle didn’t have a scope, but the sight was magnified enough to give me a much better look at the Lord’s Army. I couldn’t bring individual faces into focus, but in a span of ten minutes, I counted twelve white-haired individuals, about half of whom walked either hunched over or with a walking stick.
Eli’s group had at least a dozen senior citizens, and each one of them represented a potential lifeline for Melanie’s baby. I’d meant what I’d said about what our two groups could offer each other, but those twelve gray-haired souls were the real reason I’d insisted we stay with the Lord’s Army.
Since I knew how Eli—and presumably his entire society—felt about the concept of donating souls, I had no intention of asking anyone else to make such a huge sacrifice, and though I was still more than willing to do what had to be done myself, if my new plan panned out I wouldn’t have to.
Ironically, I’d gotten the idea from the Unified Church.
For decades, the Church had been peacefully, painlessly inducing death in elderly volunteers, timed to coincide with the birth of each baby because when a child is born the nearest unclaimed soul will be drawn to it. If there is no soul nearby, one will be drawn from the well instead.
But except for the occasional drop or two, the well of souls ran dry long ago.
I wouldn’t schedule someone else’s demise even if I could get away with it, but maybe I
could
schedule Melanie’s labor to coincide with the
“Nina…,” Maddock began.
“We need them,” I insisted. “We need to know what they can teach us.” I turned to Eli. “And you need
us.
We don’t just release demons back into the world, we vanquish them, which denies them the opportunity to possess any more of your people. And any one exorcist”—I gestured to Reese, Devi, and Maddock in turn—“is faster and stronger than your best five soldiers combined. If you don’t believe me, give us a test.”
“It’s not me you’d have to convince,” Eli said. “I’ve seen you in action. Let me return Tobias and Micah to my family, and then I’ll present your offer to Brother Isaiah. If he says yes, you’ve got a deal.”
I smiled at Melanie, truly hopeful on her baby’s behalf for the first time in weeks.
A s soon as Eli left, Maddock tried to undermine my plan. He wanted to put distance between us and Pandemonia as soon as possible, and he knew we could move faster on our own.
I understood his fear, but
nothing
was more important to me than Mellie and the baby. Fortunately, everyone but Reese agreed with me that we stood to gain as much from the Lord’s Army as they stood to gain from us.
After he was outvoted, Maddock stared out the window, watching both the nomads’ temporary camp and the western horizon closely until Devi shoved an open can of white-meat chicken into his hand. “Hey,” she said. “Remember me?”
When Maddock blinked and struggled to bring her into focus, I realized he was fried. “Why don’t you two go take a nap, or…something,” I said. “I’ll take watch for a while.”
“I’m fine,” Maddy insisted.
Devi rolled her eyes and took the rifle from him. “You’re not fine.” She handed me the gun, then pulled him up by one arm. “You’re gonna rest, and I’m gonna help.”
I didn’t want to know how she planned to help, and for once I didn’t care that she hadn’t thanked me for my offer. My motive wasn’t entirely altruistic.
I took the rifle and Maddock’s metal folding chair—we’d been carrying two of them because so many of the buildings were empty—out onto the courthouse balcony, then went back in for a can of soup and some reading material. Between bites of my cold lunch, I checked to make sure there was no round in the chamber, then propped the rifle up on the balcony railing and stared through the sight at Eli’s camp.
The rifle didn’t have a scope, but the sight was magnified enough to give me a much better look at the Lord’s Army. I couldn’t bring individual faces into focus, but in a span of ten minutes, I counted twelve white-haired individuals, about half of whom walked either hunched over or with a walking stick.
Eli’s group had at least a dozen senior citizens, and each one of them represented a potential lifeline for Melanie’s baby. I’d meant what I’d said about what our two groups could offer each other, but those twelve gray-haired souls were the real reason I’d insisted we stay with the Lord’s Army.
Since I knew how Eli—and presumably his entire society—felt about the concept of donating souls, I had no intention of asking anyone else to make such a huge sacrifice, and though I was still more than willing to do what had to be done myself, if my new plan panned out I wouldn’t have to.
Ironically, I’d gotten the idea from the Unified Church.
For decades, the Church had been peacefully, painlessly inducing death in elderly volunteers, timed to coincide with the birth of each baby because when a child is born the nearest unclaimed soul will be drawn to it. If there is no soul nearby, one will be drawn from the well instead.
But except for the occasional drop or two, the well of souls ran dry long ago.
I wouldn’t schedule someone else’s demise even if I could get away with it, but maybe I
could
schedule Melanie’s labor to coincide with the
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