Page 107 of The Rut in the Road

Preacher Dale had said as much. They’d all been chosen. They were the children of God—thehumanchildren of God.

The Bible didn’t say nothing about Arcanids. Not in specific words like orc or elf or faun, and not in general. They weren’t created by God, which meant they could only have been created by the devil.

I set down the wallet,which belonged to a man named Walter Amaro, according to Hart and to the man’s driver’s license. I’d also touched several other things that they’d confiscated from his pockets, including keys, some change, a pen, and a rubber band ball.

Most of the objects were a mixture of thoughts from work, impressions of the lunch kitchen where he’d gotten the change, and vitriol directed at Arcanids and Arc-humans. Almost nothing specific about the victim he’d assaulted—an elf woman named Keelie McCauley.

I set the wallet aside, then reached out and wrapped my hand around the crowbar he’d used to beat her.

He didn’t understandwhy no one else saw what he saw. Why no one else realized that the beauty of such creatures was only skin deep. That it was designed to seduce and enthrall, to drag human souls into sin and corruption. What other purpose could such inhuman, otherworldly beauty have?

He was going to take that, at least, away from her.

He didn’t think he’d be able to kill her—he might have been one of God’s chosen, but he couldn’t take someone’s life. Not even a monster’s. But he could take away the beauty that she used to corrupt those around her.

She glanced back, and her silvery eyes skipped over him as though he were nothing. As though she didn’t see him at all.

He would make sure she saw him. Make sure she knew that she had been judged and found wanting. Just like Preacher Dale had said.

I released the bar,then looked up, meeting Hart’s lavender gaze first. “Do you want me to keep going?” I asked. I didn’t really want to go through the assault itself, even though I knew the woman had survived. She was an elf—while he’d done damage to her, she’d ultimately been able to escape.

Hart frowned, but it was Raj who answered. “No. We have what we need.”

I looked over at him, surprised. “What did you need?” I asked.

“Confirmation that the reason they’re doing what they’re doing is Preacher Dale,” Cass answered.

“Ah,” I replied. I’d given them that.

There was a buzz, and Hart pulled his phone out of his pocket, glancing at the screen. He frowned, tapping at it. “I might have something else,” he said.

“What?” Raj asked him.

“This was Dan,” he replied, waggling the phone. “He’s bringing us something for Rayn.”

“Did he say what?” Cass asked.

Instead of answering, Hart shoved his phone into the middle of the table, the messaging app open. Cass was the one who picked it up.

“A couple uniforms pulled over a pickup with a busted headlight and expired registration stickers.” She glanced around the table. “In Dan’s words, ‘some shit went down,” and they’re holding the driver. Dan’s got something for Rayn to check so we know who this guy actually belongs to, the RPD or us.”

I glanced over at Hart, who took his phone back. He was being uncharacteristically quiet, and I frowned. Something was bothering him. I wondered if it had to do with the case, or if it was something else. Not that it was any of my business, but I like Hart, and I didn’t like the idea that he might be unhappy.

“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours, Keebler?” Raj asked, and I turned to look at him, confused about why he was teasing Hart when Hart was so obviously?—

Oh.

Hart’s lavender eyes flicked up, and his upper lip curled slightly. “You’ve got a boyfriend, don’t you, Tony? You into threesomes?”

“Oh myGod, stop.” Cass put her hands over her ears. “We donotneed to think about that, right Drew?”

Drew shrugged, then gestured at Hart.

“Ugh,” Cass replied. “I’m surrounded by people who likemen.”

I assumed from that statement that Cass did not, although I knew that Drew was married to a woman, so he probably wasn’t only interested in men.

“I want to talk to this fucking asshat,” Hart replied. “Because that holier-than-thou shit is the world’s worst fucking excuse to cover the fact that he just wants to hate other people for not being as stupid and ugly as he is.”