Page 95 of Judge of Saints and Sinners

“I don't know what I’m doing,” I said in my mind, hoping Nephesh could hear.

There was a rumbling growl under my palm, and I knew that the soldiers had opted to stay. That they were still facing us with guns loaded.

“You were born for this, little thief,” Nephesh answered. He stepped forward, the extension of my power sizzling down our bond until his silvery fur nearly glowed with it. My muscles shook, and after a quick look back at me, Nephesh’s inhuman arm reached out and picked me up, swinging me over his shoulder, where I could rest against his back.

I dug in, my legs in front of the powerful joint of his shoulders, my hands deep in his scruff as he squared off against these men.

“Are we going to die?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking very, very quietly. So quiet I knew only Nephesh could hear me.

The beast under me shuddered, and then that rasping deep voice spoke in my mind once again. “Close your eyes, little thief.”

I obeyed, my chest heaving with anxiety.

“Look at them. Tell me which are the Corrupted and which are living souls.”

I nodded, my eyes still clamped shut as hard as possible. The pounding of blood in my ears made it nearly impossible to think of anything else. But fraction by fraction, I raised my chin to look out through the magicked film that I felt wrap around my body. I stared at those faded lines of people.

No, not people.

Souls.

And just like Faye had said, just like Nephesh had known, I could see more clearly now which were the living souls and which were more faded, their inner glow tangled in more of that black inked vise.

I must've been translating some of that to Nephesh, because then his front legs were bending. I could feel his breath catch just before he launched forward.

“That one,” I said, jabbing a finger at the one on the left with the mustache that slipped from the ski mask. “He’s corrupted.”

One swipe of Nephesh’s paw, and I saw the inky tendrils disappearing, retreating into the edges of the soul. And without that tie, the human form collapsed straight to the floor. A moment later, a soft glow ignited from there, burning hot and bright before vanishing in a spark of light.

“Oh!”

Nephesh growled. “Focus, Justine. Which one is next?”

I tore my eyes from the rapidly darkening form and stared at the next. Without hesitation, I pointed at another corrupted soul, their forms becoming easier and easier to discern from the living souls that were sprinkled through the room.

One by one, I pointed them out in my mind, Nephesh bringing them down with a combination of teeth and claws and a burning-hot magic that appeared even in my hazed vision.

At some point, the living souls must’ve started to leave, and when my eyes opened into the bloodshed and destruction that we’d brought into this chamber, I could see easily that Gregor wasn't there.

My stomach lurched, a combination of the blood that dotted my skin, Nephesh’s silvery hair, and the idea that the arm of the Drude escaped. My mind wandered as I wondered how many of those people were left. Not just here, but everywhere. Slowly, I slid to the ground, and after a deep rattling sigh, Nephesh’s body curled into smoke, his flesh shifting in a transfixing snap as suddenly the Nephesh I had met all those nights ago in Omaha stood before me. He was dirty now, his skin bruised in several places, although I wasn't sure if that was from the Drude’s soldier or the fact that he’d been tortured before.

I reached out for him. “Are we okay?” I swallowed. “I mean, are you okay?”

Nephesh reached out, one rough thumb tracing the lines of my jaw. “You came for me.”

I choked out a short laugh. “Of course I did.” My voice caught at the look in his amber eyes. “Can we get out of here now? I don’t think I'm ready to fight any more battles today.”

Nephesh nodded, suddenly stiffening and glancing over my shoulder. A growl ripped through his chest, and I turned in time to see Faye standing in the doorway. One look, and I knew something was wrong.

“Faye?”

Her eyes found mine, and for a moment, there was the softest brush against my mind.

“Run.”

“Faye?”

Nephesh’s arms snapped forward and whipped me around as Faye’s hands suddenly surged upwards and out, her magic crackling through the air as she hurled something at us, crystal and shining. It wasn’t until it broke against Nephesh's back and fell around us in a cluster did I recognize she was shooting ice at us, as sharp and deadly as she could make them.