Sunny shook her head. “It’s never happened before. None of the Protectors know what’s going on, and the Guides aren’t talking. But they’ve called a giant Assembly in three days’ time. We’re all going.”
“Even me?”
“You didn’t get a message about it?” Sunny seemed appalled. “In your room? A paper, tacked to your door… or inside?”
“No,” I said, puzzled. “Like, a letter or a flyer?”
“No, like a scroll.” She was pissed, but I didn’t know why. She took one cheese cube and a berry and stalked over to the door, pushing it open and gesturing for me to hurry. I waved at the others who had taken to sitting with us at meals, and followed her to my room.
“So what’s the big deal?” I asked, chewing slowly. The knife work always made me hungry, and this wasn’t enough for me. Sunny saw my plate and exhaled heavily, handing me her last cube. I thanked her, and waited for her to answer.
“The other Protectors may be coming around, but the Guides are ostracizing you. They don’t care that you’re almost clean. You haven’t been in any of their lectures, so none of them know you. All they know is how much smut you had, and that you confessed to killing. That they haven’t invited you to the meeting means they don’t consider you one of us.”
“Maybe they don’t know how much smut I’ve gotten rid of?”
“Let me see,” she demanded, a plan brewing behind her eyes. She waved at my clothing. “Strip.”
I batted my clean eyelashes, slid off my chair in what I hoped was a sultry fashion, and started humming “Buttons” while I took off my clothing, only stopping once to get my balance when Sanctuary trembled. Once I was naked, Sunny let out a long, low whistle. “Feather, you’re stupidly hot. Small,” she mused aloud, circling me, assessing. “But your skin isn’t like a Novice at all.” She stopped, staring at my chest. “What is that?”
“Oh, my birthmark?” It was still mostly obscured behind a patch of the most persistent staining. “I’ve had that since my very first life on Earth.”
“What. The. Fuck?” Sunny demanded. I met her eyes, ignoring the small freckle that suddenly appeared next to her nose.
Oops.“Um, about that. I should probably tell you some things.”
Her eyes were almost cold as she nodded. “Only if you want to stay my friend.”
Shizz, she was really pissed. “Okay, get on the bed. This is going to take a while.” I took a deep breath. “Four hundred years ago, give or take, I was born in a town outside Rome. I had an older sister, Dina. We both lost our parents when we were young, and were taken in by the Sisters of Charity. That’s where I first discovered I wasn’t like… well, anyone else.”
I spoke until my throat was hoarse. She listened until her jaw was hanging wide.
“Are you telling me you went to Earth right after the catastrophe? And got... lost? And some secret, stupid voice told you to take on a bunch of murderers’ smut, and you did it?”
“Um, yes?” I hadn’t told her about the very first murder, the one I hadn’t been compelled to take on, and had committed in cold blood. No one but Rumple knew about that one.
“And you have no idea who the creepy voice is?” Sunny asked, incensed. I didn’t want to tell her what I suspected, so I just shrugged. “Well, I think he’s a jerk. Why didn’t he take on the smut? Why get a little girl to do it? If I ever meet him, I’m going to kick his butt from here to the Well of Souls, use his stupid head to crack it open, and unmake him.”
I wrapped her in a huge hug. “I love you, Sunny.” She laughed into my embrace, nuzzling into my hair.
“I love y— Feather? You don’t have two birthmarks, do you?” Her voice was very soft. I pulled back, but only a little. She had lifted my hair up and was staring at the nape of my neck.
“No, why?”
“Because you have another feather-shaped one on your neck.” Her voice was trembling.
I ran to my bedside table, grabbed a hand mirror, and tried to hold it up so I could see. “Weird.” It was the spot that always felt warm now, the place I had to be careful of touching in public, since it was still connected by an invisible string to my lady parts.
“Who gave it to you?” Each word was a sharp bullet. I flinched, and she forced a smile. “When did you get that one? On Earth? From the basshole, Rumple, or whatever his real name is?” I almost smiled at her use of my made-up curse. She really was trying to stay freckle-free.
“No, I’ve never noticed it until now. I guess I got enough smut off. It’s like a tattoo, isn’t it?” I held up the mirror and could make out about half of it, a gorgeous feather stretching from one side of my nape to the other. I rubbed my right hand over it gently, and would have sworn I could feel the individual strands that made up the design. It was gorgeous, perfect, and a tiny bit darker than the rest of the golden skin around it. Almost a bronze color. “I don’t know where it came from, but I like it.”
“Youhonestlydon’t know where it came from?” I swear, Sunny sounded almost feral. “You didn’t ask for that?”
I laughed. “You think someone got me drunk and tattooed me?” I rolled my eyes when she just crossed her arms over her chest. “That happened on Earth one time, and I woke up with an eagle that went all the way across my stomach, plus the word Freedom, but spelled with only one E. I was almost glad when I died the next time, so I could start over without that on me… Sunny?”
She had gotten up from the bed while I was talking, and was going through my selection of clothing, flinging it everywhere and snarling things sporadically like, “Find the jerk,” and “Castrate him,” and “Unmake just his dick.” Finally, she raised her head. “Come here and get dressed.” Her expression was equal parts rage, determination, and mischief.
“What are we doing?” I asked. “Because you know I will bury a body for you.”
