Page 28 of Incarnate

Two days pass.

I haven’t asked her about the Godless, because I’m trying to get into the right headspace for it. I want to ensure, to the best of my ability, that I can trust what she tells me. Or trust myself enough to read between any lines she might create.

During that time, we’ve settled into something resembling a routine. I wake before the moons fully set, help Judica with the morning prep, serve customers with my darkened hair tucked under a cap, and pretend I am a perfectly unremarkable novus named Petra. Judica handles the runes, the wards, and the steady paranoia that has become our background noise.

The city is utterly on edge.

I first notice it when I step out to sweep the front stoop, something Judica permits only in the earliest hours when foot traffic is sparse. A Reaper stands at the corner where there wasn't one before, its blue eyes tracking everybody who passes. Across the street, a woman, a blonde, young, clearly novus, is stopped by two demons in dark leather. They speak to her in low tones, and she produces documents. One of the demons circles her, sniffing. The woman holds so still that I think she might be dead on her feet.

They release her, and she walks away with the measured steps of someone who knows she is still being watched, pulling at her hair as if it were a curse.

"Inside," Judica hisses from behind me.

I back into the bakery without taking my eyes off the street. By afternoon, I can no longer go outside.

A decree has been nailed to every door on the block: all new establishments are to submit a full census of occupants to the nearest Seraph station by sundown. My heart flips with a forbidden desire, aware that Kallúm is probably enticed by my contact a few days ago and by learning my name is Penelope.

I’ve withheld that from Judica.

She reads the decree with the detached air of someone who expected this three days ago. “Not surprised he finally worked out your name,” she says, my pulse hammering in my throat that she might figure out it was from me. “Fortunately, I registered you under a different name and description when we arrived. That will buy us time. Not much, though. I know that demon. If I had to guess, he has spent most of his energy securing any and all borders and is about to turn that inward, into the city soon."

I'm arranging scones in the front display by the end of the afternoon when the door opens, and a woman walks in. Brown hair, modest dress⁠—

Katie! The human from the Devotion.

I head to the back. "Judica," I say through gritted teeth. "Katie is here."

The old witch waves an unconcerned hand. "They don't remember you. I used a magic on those nearby. It only works on the humans, so not too difficult. Act normal. And don’t ruin it, because again, using that much of my energy has severely cost me.”

There’s a hesitation within me, because a part does feel guilty. Not only has Judica clearly gone through great lengths for this, but she also seems to trust me, too.

As if, well, we might have once truly been friends.

I return to the front, my hands a little clammy from nerves, and slide up the sleeves of the cardigan I wear. It’s a unique situation where I’m doing everything within my power to not get caught, and yet I’m also bizarrely excited by the idea of it. Of him. "Sorry about that. What can we do for you?"

"Good morning," she says with a polite, closed-lipped smile. “I’m new to Carden, and when I heard there’s a bakery with pomegranate scones, I had to come here."

“Welcome,” I say, nervously tapping my fingers on the counter. I can’t believe she doesn’t actually recognize me.

She approaches the counter and looks at the display, lowering her head to look at a cake that Judica made yesterday, shaking her head as if she doesn’t need it. "I'll take two pomegranate scones."

"That'll be six tass." I reach for the waxed paper for the baked goods. "Why search for pomegranate?"

"I hear he favors them. He's riding through the streets later, and I plan to leave them at his altar."

My nostrils flare at the idea of him being near, and as I wrap the goods, I notice Katie doesn't move to retrieve her coins. Instead, she watches me with a quiet attention that feels like she's gathering details.

"You're new here," she states.

"Six months."

"You look newer than that. There's a freshness to you." She cants her head, and something in the gesture is familiar in a way I can't place. "You remind me of someone. A woman I was assigned to recently. Very brief assignment. She vanished before I could complete my duty."

My chest tightens, my chin tucking into my neck as I try to understand what that possibly means. I look down at the counter, clumsily adjusting the scones. “That sounds unfortunate."

"It was. I've been thinking about her ever since." She leans in, her voice dropping to something intimate. "She was special. I could tell right away. Not just a normal soul. There was something underneath… something old, and powerful. I never finished reading her, you see. And that haunts me. An incomplete assignment is like an unfinished meal."

Behind me, I can hear Judica in the kitchen. The distance between us feels enormous.