Page 84 of Judge of Saints and Sinners

“Nephesh calls them the Corrupted. But you’re not…”

“A borrowed body?” Faye said, her expression still bright and unbothered. My stomach roiled, and I put the pasta down. “Nope.”

“How many here are like you? Or like…them?”

“They don’t really distinguish it. It’s hard for most to see.” Faye shrugged, taking another bite. “I can see before I help move the souls sometimes,” Her eyes were sharp on mine. “I could show you how to look at them, you know, and see which was which.”

I put my fork down, knowing full well that whatever she taught me would be immediately weaponized for the Drude. “No thanks, I’m good. I’ll just consider all of you crazy and know that I'm covered.”

Faye’s lips tipped up in the smallest smile, and she shrugged once more, turning back to her meal. Unsure of what my time here might mean, I tucked back into my food, trying to stomach the grainy texture of the red sauce and the less-than-flavorful vegetable medley, which was really just too much cauliflower and not enough of anything else.

When Faye handed me her roll, watching me holding mine close to my chest as I looked around, she said, “They won’t take it from you, you know.”

“Sorry to be a little untrusting. They were guarding my jail cell just a few hours ago.”

“That was before you were one of us,” Faye said simply, rising and moving to dump the remnants of her food into a bin by the door.

I followed suit, feeling every pair of eyes on me as we passed through the small room. But miraculously, no one said anything to either of us.

“What happens now?” I asked as we began the short walk back to our room. “Do we just sit around?”

“We are supposed to be learning, training, which is what I’ll be doing. But if you choose not to, then I suppose you’ll just be stuck watching.”

I grumbled, looking down at my feet as we moved. I’d borrowed some of Faye’s shoes, and they felt awkward, as everything felt too small, too tight, even the rough fabric of my clothes. Especially walking beside Faye, who floated along, her curls bouncing slightly as we moved down the narrow passageway.

When we stopped by a door, Faye swung it open to reveal the same office as before. I hated this room. With various Corrupted people walking through on their way to do whatever it was their were doing for the Drude, it felt cramped and uncomfortable. My parents weren’t here today and I was surprised by the wave of relief that washed over me.

It was stupid, they were my family. I should be thrilled that I’d found them. But I just felt…nothing. I didn't know what they did for the Drude, but something told me I wouldn’t want to know. Dad had been a high school teacher who coached soccer. My mom had worked as a Realtor. Not exactly nefarious. What possible use, other than their connection to me, could they be to a force of destruction like the Drude?

Once the door to our room swung closed, I found myself asking before I could stop myself, “What do all these people do, anyway?”

Faye looked at me, surprised, “We operate a bit like a business to be honest, with Master at the helm. It’s important that we continue to function here, safely under the guise that we are a strange church that the government has no interest in.”

I stared. “So they are just milling around, waiting to go…what, find more bodies?”

Faye frowned at me. “It’s not like that, Justine.”

“It is, Faye,” I said sarcastically, emphasizing her name. “He’s building an army of the undead with souls he’s stolen, and you are helping him.”

To my surprise, suddenly I was lifted off my feet, shoved backwards until my back was against the bedroom wall, and then slowly I was picked up until I was dangling there midair. Faye stood her ground, her dark curls blowing lightly in a breeze that originated from her steepled fingers, which glowed a soft bluish-green in front of her chest.

“Do not talk about things you don’t understand, sister. You have been here a minute. You know nothing about me, nothing about why I do anything I’m doing.”

My chest ached with the pressure that continued to buffet across my body. “Faye...”

“Do you understand? There is more at play here than you can imagine.”

“Yes, yes, I understand,” I finally gritted out, the words barely a whisper.

Faye’s face relaxed, her fingers slowly going slack as the air that whirled between us softened, now barely a breeze across my panicked face as her power lowered me gently back to the ground.

I half expected her to apologize when I stumbled forward, but instead, her face went serious and she swept her gaze over me. I patted my chest for a second, wondering what she was looking at, and then took a slow step back.

“I’m sorry,” I got out slowly. I observed her closely, for the first time seeing the woman beneath the sunshine exterior and knowing instantly that there was more to her and her story than what first met the eye.

Interesting, I thought as she suddenly brightened and turned to move to the small desk in the corner. My jaw loosened. The fucking girl was humming.

Was I losing my mind? Or had she? Shrugging off the realization that she had obviously decided not to kill me, I moved to sit on my bed, backing up until my spine was flush to the wall and I could watch her. She was carefully reading page by page, and then every once in a while would pull away to mutter something to herself.