Page 40 of The Sinner and the Scholar
“We’ll transfer her to another circle,” Zeke suggests. “Until it’s done.”
“Until she’s dead, you mean?” Leila blurts. “How typical of you to give up.”
He frowns at her, confused.
She shoves him. “You might not give a shit about people, but we do.”
Even though he directs it at Leila, I feel the slice of Zeke’s glare. Deep cuts are there, deeper than on the surface, and I have the sense he will never let anyone close enough to find out what they’re from.
Join the club.
I turn back to Wesley. “What else can we do to get it out and keep her alive?”
“We ask someone who knows, who likes talking and dealing with humans. Someone higher up in the food chain. We ask Asmodeus.”
Fourteen
Thea
“Ask Asmodeus,” I repeat. “You mean the prince of hell?ThatAsmodeus?”
Wesley nods. “Some call him a king, and some just call him a demon.”
Zeke pulls a cigarette from his pocket and lights up. Raven goes over and makes the gimme sign. He takes a toke, exhales, and then reluctantly hands it over. Dominic purses his lips at Zeke.
Wes glowers at him, “How do you keep finding that shit?”
“That was my last one,” he sulks, obviously thinking Raven will stub it out. But she puts it to her lips and inhales deeply until the crackling of tobacco fills the gaps between Prue’s wet snarls.
The Rev stomps her cane.
“Do it,” she says, eyes hard. “We must trust God brought us together for a reason. This is the time to try new things. I have faith in you all, and I believe we can do this.”
“Raven?” I ask. Has she seen anything in her visions that can help us?
She meets my stare and nods as she exhales smoke. “I wish I didn’t, but I trust them.”
Of all of us, Raven was the first to pay attention in Wesley’s class. If she has a gut feeling to trust them, and so does the Rev, then I’ll follow their lead.
“Let’s go summon a demon prince,” I say.
Wesley points at Prue. “We need a space big enough to draw an arcane circle twice that size.”
“The archives or the training mat,” Mercy suggests.
“Training,” multiple Sinners say.
Wesley nods. “I’ll meet you there.”
“What about Prue?” I ask.
“Cisco, Dom, and Zeke will keep working and search for the demon’s true name.”
“Cisco?”
“Sorry, Father Francisco Angelotti.” Wesley disappears into his room, shouting over his shoulder, “Someone needs to get salt from the kitchen—as much as you can find. And we need blood.”
“On it,” Leila replies. “Tawny, you go to the kitchen. I’ll take a visit to the coup.”
