“I know.”
Her eyes darted to Kerry, and I suddenly understood.
Histaint would never fade, nor could anyone heal it. He’d accepted the demon, invited it in, made a conscious decision to do so. No matter how noble or self-sacrificing a gesture it had been, he’d damned himself with it.
Maybe there were others, but I knew only three ways to be free of it.
One, Sin Eaters could devour it, but only in exchange for your Divinity—and only after you were dead.
Two, you could seek absolution, but that required real, heartfelt repentance. Kerry didn’t regret what he did, which took that option off the table.
Three, he could receive a blessing from God or an archangel, and I just didn’t see that happening.
None of the Holy host are outwardly hostile toward us. Most simply ignore us. There are some who can be stirred to pity, and a few are assigned to work with our Council and theelders. They intercede for us and, yes, on occasion bless us, but normally only in recognition of some great sacrifice or service.
Yeah, good luck with that.
“Where do you want us to meet up with you afterward?” Kerry interrupted my thoughts.
“How far away is Mammoth’s?” I didn’t know much about this city, and certainly not the parts that he would have frequented. “Jax, can you bring up a map on your phone? And Mira, you’ve got your new phone, right?”
“Yep!” She held it up.
“Mammoth’s is over by the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel.” Kerry stuffed his hands in his pockets. “After your errand, you can meet us in Hell’s Kitchen.”
“What’s in Hell’s Kitchen?” Jax asked.
“The Witch of Endor, apparently.”
“You never heard of her?” Gigi’s eyebrows flew up in surprise.
“I heard of her.” Kerry rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.
“What?” I asked, narrowing my eyes in suspicion.
“I’m not welcome in the Kitchen.”
“Why not?”
“Long, unpleasant story.” He looked away. “But hey, I’m not supposed to be in Midtown, either, yet here I am.”
Before I could ask who was brave enough to impose boundaries on the Great Kerry Harker, terror of New York, Mira held up a hand.
“Wait a minute. I thought the Bible says that witches shouldn’t be allowed to live. Are we really going to ask one for help?”
“The Old Testament is full of Jewish laws and rituals,” I shared my thoughts, “a lot of which contradict the New Testament. For example, it also says not to deal withnecromancers, yet Jesus himself raised the dead on more than one occasion.”
“But if it’s a sin—”
“Who cares if it is?” Kerry’s face tightened. “I don’t give a f—”
“I’m just saying there might be consequences,” Mira interrupted him.
“If there are consequences, I’ll take them all, so long as it helps get my angel back.”
“We can always ask forgiveness if we need to,” Jax said, playing peacemaker.
Kerry opened his mouth, probably to retort that he didn’t give a rip about forgiveness, either, and I decided to intervene.
