remaining at the mission, the small entrance and what long ago had been the caretaker’s office. He placed her on the cot in the corner, where he sometimes slept when he worked late and the weather was too poor to drive down the mountain.
Father Philip sat next to her and took her hand. “Lily,” he said, smiling. “My name is Philip.”
“Hi.” She swallowed nervously and blinked.
“You’ve been very brave.”
She shook her head. “I’m scared.”
“Being brave doesn’t mean you’re not afraid. I have a few questions for you.”
She glanced at Anthony. “You can trust Father Philip,” he told her. “I’ve known him all my life.”
Father Philip said, “I don’t blame you, Lily, for not trusting me, or Anthony. But-”
She shook her head and sat up on the cot, leaning against the stone wall. “I trust you. Moira told me the truth from the beginning, but I didn’t want to believe her. She told me I could trust Anthony, and I do. I’m okay-I just wish I understood what was going on. My mother-she’s a witch. I don’t understand, but I know what I saw.”
“Did you see your mother on the cliffs when Abby died?”
She shook her head. “But she was there! She told me she was; she knew what happened before I told her.” She looked from Father to Anthony and asked, “Is Jared okay? I haven’t seen or talked to him since yesterday morning, when his dad took me home. My mom took my cell phone, wouldn’t let me talk to him, or go on the computer. When I tried to leave, she locked me in the basement and said-” She paused and bit her lip nervously.
“What did she say?” Father Philip prompted.
“That I was here for a purpose and I should be proud. But Abby died, and my aunt came over last night and I heard them talking-”
“Your aunt? Abby’s mother?”
She nodded. “Aunt Darcy. She’s my mom’s cousin, but I always called her aunt. And she wasn’t crying or anything about Abby. She was actually mad! At me because I’d run away.”
Father nodded. “Abby, I’d like to baptize you. A Christian baptism. I need you to answer the questions I ask truthfully. You are of the age of consent, and if you lie, I can’t help you.”
“I already was baptized.”
Anthony asked, “By Garrett Pennington?”
“Y-yes. How did you know?”
“He’s not a minister.”
“But-I don’t understand.”
“He’s a witch, just like your mother, just like Fiona O’Donnell and the rest of the men and women you saw on the cliffs. He could not have given you a valid baptism,” Anthony explained. “And likely, you were baptized long ago to serve the underworld.”
“Lily,” Father said, “this is important. It’s to protect your soul. I don’t know what’s going to happen tonight, but a valid baptism removes the stain of original sin from your soul, the sin that Adam and Eve brought into the world.”
“It doesn’t seem fair that we all are being punished for things we didn’t do,” Lily said.
“It doesn’t seem fair,” Father agreed. “But we’re human beings, and our faith keeps us strong. Stronger than we think we are. We don’t always see the signs of God in action. We think He hates us, that He allows evil to prosper. Good people die. Bad people live. But truly, is God to blame? Are we not culpable because we are blind to His help and the help of others? Anthony, myself, Moira-we all belong to St. Michael’s Order.”
Anthony’s ears pricked. Moira part of the Order? Never had a woman, let alone a witch, been initiated. He would have known. Yet he’d never known Father to tell a lie. He was torn, not knowing which would be the greater error.
“In the Order,” Father Philip explained, “we are taught to see signs. To interpret them. If the Seven Deadly Sins remain free, humanity is in great jeopardy. But worse still, if Fiona’s coven gains control of them, she can target her enemies. The greatest threat to her power on earth is St. Michael’s Order. If we fail, there is no one stopping the reign of evil on earth until Jesus Christ comes again.”
“How can we-I-any of us-stop it?”
“By following the signs. And the first thing is to purify you so they can’t use you to store the Seven Deadly Sins. Anthony and I will do everything in our power to protect your life; and the first thing is to ensure your body cannot be used by the Seven. Do you understand?”
She nodded.
“Do you want to be baptized into the Catholic Church?”
She nodded. “Y-yes.”
Father Philip began the baptism rite. It was bare-bones, but included ancient traditions. He spoke the sacrament quickly, his hands steady on Lily’s head. He took a small chalice, removed the lid, and with a gold spoon took a teaspoon of salt and fed it to Lily.
The salt was for wisdom and to help prevent the corruption of sin. It was rarely used anymore in modern baptism, but St. Michael’s Order insisted. And in this context, with the pinnacles of sin freed in the Seven, even more appropriate.
“Lily, do you renounce Satan?”
“I do.”
“And all his works?”
“I do.”
“And all his pomps?”
“I do.”
A chill rushed through the room, but if Father felt it, he didn’t let on as he anointed Lily with sacred oil.
But Anthony felt it, and heard the voices that had been silent for weeks.
The same voices he’d heard when he first arrived at the mission ten weeks ago, minutes after the murders. He hadn’t heard them since those first days, had hoped the souls of the dead priests had found peace, all the while fearing that they were still trapped somewhere between heaven and Hell, imprisoned by someone or something.
Anthony stood perfectly still while Father finished asking Lily questions about her belief in the Holy Trinity.
She answered the last question affirmatively.
Father had poured holy water over her head with each of the last three questions, and when he was done, Anthony felt a slight tremor. Father felt it as well, and said to Anthony, “It’s good.”
Anthony didn’t want to argue with Father Philip, but he’d never experienced any physical reaction to a baptism, which was an
Father finished the baptism by handing Lily a candle and lighting it.
“Lily, go in peace and the Lord be with you. Amen.”
Lily was silently crying.
“Child, don’t cry,” Father said, holding her face in his hands.
“I can’t help it. I don’t know why I’m crying.”
“You are humble. Humility is a virtue. Lie down and rest. We have a long night ahead of us.”
She lay on the cot, and Father covered her with a blanket. He turned to Anthony and said, “She will sleep. Let us go to the office and you can tell me everything that has happened. And maybe, together, we can find the answers we need to reverse the evil Fiona O’Donnell has done.”
“First, Father, tell me where Rico is. Why can’t he be here? Why can’t he send someone?”
Father said solemnly, “The Seven Deadly Sins have disbursed. Only one remains in Santa Louisa. Rico and his people have trouble in every-how did he say it? — every
