Thomas sat in the waiting room, still covered in Jill’s blood. He didn’t hear the couple approach until her hand rested on his shoulder. He barely brought himself to look up.

  He should have been afraid. Instead, he was just relieved to see Mary and Daniel.

  It was almost comical: a man over 6’5” and three feet across at the shoulders, standing quietly beside a red-haired woman who looked like she could command armies with a glance.

  “Sarah is here, by the way,” Thomas said. “She didn’t do this.”

  “Who’s with her now?” Mary asked.

  “Kim.”

  Mary sat beside him. “What’s going on, old friend?” Her voice was gentle.

  “Sarah and Kim are safe.”

  “If you’re alive, we know Sarah is safe. How is Kim handling things?”

  Thomas stared at the floor. “Honestly, I had concerns. But these last few days… she’s really coming into her own.”

  Mary nodded. “There’s a wendigo in town. It’s caused all sorts of trouble.”

  “We smelled something on the way in,” Mary said. “Daniel will get it.” She put an arm around Thomas. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “I think I have to.” He exhaled. “That woman in there is named Jill. She’s the one who poisoned Sarah. I’m hoping you don’t kill her. I won’t blame you if you do. She used to be a friend. Something else got to her.”

  Mary squeezed his shoulders. “We’re here for the something else, Thomas. We won’t hurt your friend.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You seem defeated. The girls are safe. It’ll take Daniel about twenty minutes to take care of the wendigo. Is your friend not going to live?”

  “I don’t know. She doesn’t want to. But she was my Squire back when the Order was still around. It was hard to see how far she’s fallen.”

  Mary smiled. “You’ve been at this too long alone, Thomas. You can go home. Take your friend when she’s well. Daniel and I will clean things up here.”

  “No. I have to see this through. Whatever went after Sarah is still out there.”

  Daniel laughed lightly. “And what will you do that we can’t?”

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  Thomas was almost shocked to hear Daniel speak in full sentences. They were friends—but friends the way a human is friends with a thousand-pound gorilla.

  “He’s been working on his humanity,” Mary answered the unspoken question.

  “You can join us,” Daniel said to Mary. His tone was gentle but clearly expecting obedience. “But he has to know the truth.”

  “Beloved, I will tell him. But there is a time.”

  “No more time for lies!” Daniel said.

  “I wouldn’t say they were lies. But you’re not wrong.” Mary looked at Thomas.

  “We went to South America chasing a witch. I couldn’t place her at first. But she’s old. As old as me—maybe older. And powerful.”

  “She was posing as a nurse at the camp. She used her magic to charm the staff. That’s why they changed the meat.”

  Thomas looked up. “How did you find out?”

  “We had suspicions when we talked to Tammy. It became clear she was the constant at every turning point. I killed her coven. We almost killed her. Maybe we should have. But at the time it made more sense to follow her.”

  “Long story short… she’s Annie, Thomas. Your Annie.”

  Thomas didn’t think he could sink any deeper. But he found a lower level.

  “How can that be? I put her down myself.”

  “You put something down that looked like Annie,” Mary said. “But this witch has been plotting for years. She serves Inanna—I think Inanna is going to use her to return to life.”

  Thomas stared. “Are you saying it was all a lie? Our marriage? The cancer? Her becoming a vampire? My killing her? How? Why?”

  People in the waiting room were looking. They stopped when Daniel looked back.

  “She wanted into the Knights. She wanted them corrupted. She wanted you destroyed. Mostly, though—if it’s Inanna—she wanted Daniel. I think she was trying to exploit our friendship.”

  Daniel placed a massive hand on Thomas’s shoulder. “She will get Daniel,” he promised.

  “My whole life was a lie. Some witch’s game.”

  “Inanna is an ancient evil, Thomas. She’s hated wolves since the days of Gilgamesh—the real Gilgamesh. Since I was sired.”

  “Honestly, you’re the only human—for better or worse—that Daniel considers a friend. She chose you so she could corrupt the Knights and exploit Daniel.”

  “No wolves. No Knights. She probably sees that as a road paved for her to just walk back to the power she used to have.”

  Daniel’s head snapped to the right. A doctor stood there, looking like a deer caught in headlights. “Ummm… Thomas, is it?” The doctor stammered. “Your friend is awake and wants to speak with you.”

  The three of them stood. “I’m going in with you, Thomas,” Mary insisted.

  She turned to Daniel, placing a hand on his chest. “My love. I know Thomas is your friend. But if you join us, you will terrify that woman by your presence alone. Can you trust us with this? Just for a bit. Maybe find our girls or this wendigo. We won’t be long.”

  “I’m trying,” Daniel said, stroking Mary’s face. “I know, my love. But you haven’t been a monk in a long time. Comforting the sick doesn’t play to your strengths in this moment.” He rubbed his face against hers. She pulled him close and kissed him on the lips. “That is how the humans do it,” she said with a smile.

  Daniel nodded to Mary and Thomas and turned to leave.

  “I’m sorry about all this,” Thomas said.

  “Thomas, you’re sorry about a lot of things. But most of the time you’re the only one doing the right thing. It’s why Daniel values your friendship.”

  “I haven’t been human in a long time. I don’t really grasp how your emotions work. But I know this: right now your friend in there is alive. Our girls are alive. And if you can keep it together, maybe by the end of the night the only dead will be Inanna and her servants.”

  “Can you keep it together?”

  “I will,” he promised.