21
Maggie watchedpanic start to form in Rinnie’s expression.
He reached for his gun. “The snipers—”
“Are unconscious or tied up by now. They aren’t hurt. I promise.” Maggie shrugged. “Same with your guys probably lurking in the alleys nearby. I really don’t want to get a bullet put in my head and be dragged off to the Vatican vaults.” She cringed at the thought of it.
“What did you do, Maggie?” Ally eyed the rows of silently staring people around them.
“Revenants. They aren’t that hard to make. I’ll let them go the moment we’re done here.” She turned her attention back to Rinnie. “Please take your hand off your gun. I just want to talk this through.”
“You—” Rinnie shook his head. “No. Now it is even more imperative that we take you in. The Cardinal—”
“The Cardinal insists all this is not necessary.”
It was Maggie’s turn to jolt in surprise at the unexpected voice. In her dramatic reveal—which she’d worked really hard on—she hadn’t noticed another man walking up to them. He was tall and thin, with long chestnut hair tied back in a ponytail and a splash of gray at the temples. He was looking at her with a warm, friendly smile. He held a coffee in a to-go cup.
“Um…” was all she could muster.
“Hello, Ms. Valard. It is a pleasure to meet you.” He struck his hand out to her. “I am Cardinal Gabriel Moretti. I am the one in charge of the Ordo ut Solis. But you may call me Gabe.”
“I—uh—oh.” She put her hand in his, still stunned and confused. “Call me Maggie.”
“Fantastic. And so we are all met.” Gabe sat at the table next to her, and without hesitation reached over the surface to take one of the confections from the tray. “You may dismiss your creations. I think you will begin to cause a problem with the traffic before long.” The man had a thick Italian accent, and his English, while it was perfectly fine, felt a little stilted.
Right. Yeah. Her revenants. “The moment I send them away, you’ll put a bullet in my head.”
“I have no intention of taking you prisoner, Maggie.” Gabe turned in his seat so he could better face her while he talked. “And I would have no need of bullets.” He lifted his hand out in front of him, palm up, and she watched in shock as a ball of fire formed between his fingers. He clenched his fist, and it went out with a small poof.
“Pyro-priest.” Maggie grunted. “Shit.” She hadn’t planned for a pyro-priest. Dead people were generally pretty flammable.
“Pyro-Cardinal,” Gabe corrected with a grin. “Now, please send your friends away so that we may talk without being stared at.” He glanced over at the rows of the undead who were waiting for her command. “It is hardly the strangest thing I have ever witnessed, but it’s quite discomforting.”
She was now officially outmatched. With a long, heavy sigh, she did as he asked and released them. They all walked away at once, heading back to their respective graves. The illusions that kept them from appearing human—even to Rinnie—would fade the moment they crawled back into the dirt.
“I expect there are some very dismayed park service employees today…” Gabe said thoughtfully, scratching his chin.
That got her to laugh despite herself. His eyes flickered in amusement, happy to see his joke landed. She didn’t trust him—she didn’t know him—but she was starting to believe him. “You’re not what I expected from the Cardinal.”
“I certainly am not what would you have received ten years ago. I am far more open-minded and reasonable than my predecessor.” Gabe gestured across the table at Rinnie and Ally. “I allow these two, a demoness and a priest of my order, to maintain a relationship, do I not?”
“Wait—” Rinnie stammered. “What?”
Gabe blinked, surprised. “Am I mistaken? Are you two not romantically engaged?”
Ally’s face went bright red. Rinnie was getting there. The older priest shook his head frantically. “It is against the rules of the priesthood to—”
“Oh, God above.” Gabe sighed and put his hand over his face. “You really are immensely dense, Father Lenci, aren’t you?”
Shocked at the insult, Rinnie clearly didn’t know what to say, and just made strange noises. Ally, meanwhile, looked like she wanted to slide under the table.
Maggie was just glad she wasn’t the only source of drama for once.
“I paired you two up for a reason, Lenci.” Gabe sounded almost annoyed. No, not annoyed, angry. “Do you honestly believe I did not know how you felt for each other? Or that I did not condone it?” He rattled something off in Italian that sounded like a teacher scolding a student, even though it looked like Rinnie was five years the Cardinal’s elder.
But Rinnie’s shoulders still dropped, his eyes wide, his cheeks crimson. When Gabe was done ranting in Italian, he stared down at his lap like a humiliated child.
Gabe threw up his hand, as if giving up, and turned his attention back to her. “I swear. We mortals can be thick as bricks, and just as thoughtful.”