She grinned and tucked her leg under her, happy for the distraction away from the memory of her murder at the hands of an angry mob. “So where do we go?”
“No clue. Thousands of years of research has been done on the subject, by humans and others. And we just honestly don’t know.” Ally shrugged. “The soul exists—definitely exists—and it travels. But we have no clue to where.”
“Huh.” Maggie sat back and smiled. “That’s a relief.”
“What?” Ally blinked, surprised.
“I don’t like the idea of somebody knowing the answer and either keeping it a secret or having the whole world not believe them.” She shrugged. “I like the idea of nobody knowing the mystery. Not even impossible creatures like you, or the guys you work for, or whatever.”
“I understand. There is peace to be found in humility.” Rinaldo smiled up at the depiction of Christ on the cross. “We don’t need to have all the answers.”
“Exactly.”
Silence fell over the three of them for a long moment.
Maggie sighed heavily. “Too bad I came here to get answers.”
“Yeah…” Rinaldo rubbed a hand over his short hair and then scratched at his scalp. “Do you want to rest first? We can give you a guest room. Let you get some sleep.”
She pondered the question. Her instinct was to say no, it was fine, she was strong enough to just march up to whatever they had in store for her and deal with it. But her forced remembering always hit hard. She was already shaky and a little lightheaded. Reluctantly, she nodded. “Yeah. And maybe eat something. I’m going to assume whatever I’m here to see isn’t going to be pleasant.”
“No. I don’t think it will be.” Rinaldo stood, straightened his jacket and, folding the bloody hanky into quarters so the squishy bit was on the inside, tucked it into his pocket. He reached down and stroked Ally’s hair tenderly. “Thanks for the rescue, as always.”
The demoness smiled back at him. “You’re welcome, as always.”
Oh, they’re totally a thing.Maggie stifled a grin. The demoness and the priest. How adorable. “Hey, Ally?”
“Yes?” the blonde replied.
“Can we talk for a second in private?”
“Of course.” She shooed Rinaldo away. “We’ll meet you in the hall. Girl talk.”
Rolling his eyes dramatically, Rinaldo mumbled and headed out obediently without any other complaint.
Maggie watched him go and waited until she heard the door to the small chapel click shut before she started talking. The room was probably bugged—she was sure people were listening in to every conversation had in the Vatican. “I need to say one thing and then ask one question.”
Ally waited patiently and didn’t respond.
“Statement first. It’s not that I don’t trust you or Rinnie.” Maggie smirked as Ally snickered at the nickname she’d given the older priest. “I don’t trust the church.”
“Given your situation, that’s perfectly fair and understandable.” Ally paused, a shrewd expression overcoming her suddenly. A glint of an intelligence that Maggie hadn’t expected from her. Not that she thought Ally was stupid—the woman clearly wasn’t—but there was that sudden hint of a deviousness burning beneath the surface once again. “And to answer your question…yes. And I don’t trust the church all the time either.”
It was Maggie’s turn to blink, stunned. She had wanted to ask if Ally had joined the Order because she had fallen in love with Rinaldo. If they were a “thing,” even though it wasn’t allowed in the Catholic Church.
Maybe they had special rules for monster hunters. She didn’t know.
Ally’s meaning was clear. “Don’t talk about it. Not here.” Maggie nodded, smiled, and then mimed zipping her lips shut.
The demoness patted Maggie’s knee. “Come on. Lunch, an afternoon siesta, and then we take you to see what you’ve come for. Besides, if we leave Rin out in the hall on his own for much longer, he’ll be grumpy about it for days.” And with that, Ally was off down the aisle.
Maggie followed her with a smile and a dead rat tucked in her sleeve.
She didn’t trust them. But she didn’t not trust them either. She meant what she’d said—she knew they weren’t going to be the problem. They were part of an organization that was bigger than them and, to quote Ally, was filled with plenty of cruel individuals who wouldn’t be so compassionate to her plight.
Trust no one.
Set us free.