June rolled on with no sign of any visitors.

  Herbert arrived with the regular newspaper delivery, and with some information I had him seek out.

  "You were right, Keeper. That man you described is a priest." He said as he handed me the bag with the issues I was expecting.

  "How did you confirm this?"

  "There is a new priest at one of the churches in Crossway, matching the description you gave me. He arrived a few months back and asked a few of the older families a few questions regarding New Midian."

  Okay, that sounded like the man I told him to find out about. I got the impression there was more to it.

  "What else?"

  "Father Shane, that's his name, has started to talk with Amy about attending the church more." He was frowning slightly now.

  "Protestant or Catholic? Hold on, which are you?"

  I realised with horror that I had no idea which church he attended. It's always the little things that trip you up. I had never asked, as it was not a concern of mine, as I was an atheist. Ironic, I know.

  "I'm Protestant, Protestant while Amy is Catholic. She had all the kids baptised and raised as Catholics as well. Ma is still not happy about that." He was confused by my question.

  Shit! Shit! Shit! I screamed internally but remained outwardly calm.

  "Has he singled her out especially?"

  I needed to get a feel for what was happening here.

  "No, he has asked a few others to help more around the church if they have time. He believes it will do Amy and Mary good to interact with the community more."

  That bastard! This was how they were going to come at me, wasn't it?

  "Herbert, listen very carefully."

  My shift in tone, deadly serious, caught his attention as I wanted.

  "Father Shane is most likely a member of the Order of St Marcus. He is trying to learn all he can about New Midian from her. Maybe even seduce or manipulate her through her faith."

  I watched as understanding swept through him. Confusion led to understanding, then to anger. The Order of St Marcus had learned of my connection to the Driver family and was trying to use it against me. Their first attempt failed; now they were taking the long approach, gathering more information and seeking to isolate me or turn those who work for me to their own ends. That pissed me off, but part of me respected it for the intelligence it showed the group had. That is what I feared most about the group: they are patient and cunning.

  "That bastard!" Herbert's anger was justified but counterproductive. "I'll kill him!"

  Okay. Not the reaction I was expecting, anger, yes, but possible murderous rage, no. What else was there? What was I missing?

  "Herbert, focus!"

  I nearly yell at him. I make sure not to tell him to calm down, as that usually has the opposite effect. My tone draws his focus to me, but he is still angry.

  "Killing a priest will be counterproductive at best and will have you in jail, or killed."

  I had to de-escalate quickly, or this would end badly.

  "Go, speak to Amy and your daughter. Find out what has been said or revealed by accident and report back once we know that we can take action. Until then, we do nothing. And I mean nothing, Herbert!"

  He looked like he was going to refuse, and for the first time, I feared he would. Did I need to call in a Hunter or two to help me?

  "Very well." He said eventually, but through gritted teeth. "I will speak to my wife and daughter. Then return."

  He turned away stiffly and mounted his horse. I watched him ride away.

  This was deeply troubling on many levels.

  Herbert and his wife came back to the gates later that day.

  I instructed them to go to the church. Herbert was armed and triggered the alert.

  [Alert! Intruders are not recognised as Challengers.]

  I informed the Hunters that it was Herbert and that they were not to react. I sent word to Rodriguez, who was a bit energetic at the moment, to hang around near the church but stay hidden. I needed to do this because Amy was now sporting what looked like a nasty black eye in the making. Things might get heated.

  I watched them as they walked to the church, the anger and tension between them clear even to me. I had a good idea of what had gone on when Herbert returned to the Driver residence.

  Amy had never seen the church before and was somewhat confused and awed by it.

  The stained-glass windows were intricate and elaborate. The light from the sun to the west passed through them, creating mini rainbows and pools of light on the stone floor. The stone work is of good quality, and the pews are made from expensive wood. The statue behind the altar was definitely throwing her off. I think she still expected to find a cross or a depiction of Jesus here, on some level. Unfortunately, that was one of the many things my church lacked, as it was dedicated to another purpose.

  They stood before the altar, the angry tension still radiating between them.

  I took a few moments to focus and prepare for the conversation about to take place.

  I summoned my avatar between the statue and altar, facing them.

  "I would welcome you both, but we are in a bit of a tough situation."

  "What are these scandalous things that have been putting in my husband's head!" Amy demanded.

  I walked around the altar as I replied. Scandalous things?

  "What have you been telling your priest in confession?"

  My question was not the one she expected, and the shift was subtle, but I caught it. She had said something.

  "The confession is holy and between God and me." Her tone was still angry, but her body language had turned defensive as she turned slightly away from me and crossed her arms.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "You forgot to add the priest."

  I pointed out. I was watching her and Herbert as best I could as I went around the altar.

  "Priests are bound by oaths not to repeat what they hear." She was adamant in her belief.

  "True. But they can get you to speak the words outside of the confessional through persuasion."

  She snorted at that, but then stopped and began thinking. Doubt was a wonderful thing.

  "Has he been calling on you to publicly speak of New Midian or be seeking to have your daughter do so?"

  I began to chip at her resolve.

  "Mary has been asking more since the priest came to the church," Herbert said. Amy glared at him but said nothing. Interesting.

  "Questions from the young are natural. But has she been asking more pointed ones?"

  I had to lead Amy to the conclusions I wanted. I could not force her. I continued to chip away.

  "She...is young." Amy was thinking and was now worried.

  Herbert was going to speak again, but I held my hand, stopping him. He needs only to witness this.

  "Think about it, Amy. When do these questions come most? I am willing to say Sunday, especially after mass on the way home."

  "She...she is curious. especially after working on the clothes." Amy was looking at the altar but not focusing on it.

  "What has been the change in the questions being asked?"

  Slowly, I was reminding myself. Slowly. I moved a little closer.

  "They...they...Ask more about New Midian." The idea was planted; she was thinking about it.

  I moved closer.

  "When did they change from what is the graveyard to what happens there, and how does it involve our family?"

  She grew increasingly uncomfortable, hugging herself. I've been thinking about every conversation we've ever had, and I think I knew where she had slipped up, and the opening had been presented to the priest.

  I was now just behind her, speaking to her almost in her ear.

  "I understand."

  I kept my tone calm and smooth, even sympathetic.

  "You're afraid. Afraid for your soul and your children's. Especially after Joshua made the deal to follow in his father's footsteps."

  I was so close to a now that it was impossible not to miss her tense at those words.

  "Then came the priest. He told you it was okay and confess everything in the confessional to purify your soul before God. God's love will absolve you of all sins as long as you speak aloud and confess."

  She was shaking now, no longer hugging, gripping herself tightly.

  "This was everything you ever desired. The certain knowledge that you were safe and you will not be going to hell for your actions."

  The head was bowed now, and I could see a tear rolling down the side of her face.

  "But you forgot what I promised you, Amy. I promise that your soul will be safe because you will not take part in any action that will condemn it. You forgot that I always honour my promises. In doing so, you are endangering yourself and your family."

  I quickly glared at Herbert, making sure that he knew not to interfere.

  I reached out and placed my hands on her shoulders as she stiffened up at the contact. I slowly turned her around. She was resistant at first, but eventually did so. She was crying.

  "He is part of the Order of St Marcus. He will not break the confessional, this I'm sure of, but he will manipulate you and your daughter to work against the rest of your family and me."

  She shook her head violently. "We will do that!"

  "Wouldn't you? What have you already spoken to him about?"

  She put her hand to her mouth and was now starting to sob. I had a bad feeling this was going to be hard to hear.

  "Come now, Amy, speak. In a way, confess to me, and you will feel better. The God you follow is not the only one capable of forgiveness."

  She was sobbing violently now, realising what she had done. I had laid out the facts thick and distorted, but my fundamental argument was valid. She had come to realise it too.

  It was not her manipulation that made her realise the danger she had put herself in, but her daughter's. Going after both of them had been a great mistake; it had let me use the other's actions as a mirror to show her what was happening to her.

  "Dear God, I am truly damned!" She exclaimed and collapsed. I was so close to her that I was able to capture her before she hit the ground. Herbert wanted to move forward, but only slightly did, then held back.

  "No, Amy, you are not. You have never lifted your hand against anyone who has come to this place. Remember, I found you as an abused innocent, and I granted you mercy, sending you out into the world. I know you doubt me. All I ask is that you look at my actions towards you and see the truth."

  She had curled up in my arms and was sobbing, gripping me tightly. I stroked her hair as I spoke, as if she were a child.

  "I'm not angry at you, Amy. I know your fears for your children and yourself. Remember God only punishes those who do the deeds, not those who take no part in them."

  I was thankful that I spent one winter reading the Bible. I got so bored that it was one of the few things I could actually sit down and read without finishing in a few days. I was doing my best to remember everything I could from the book and use it to my advantage here.

  "You are repentant. That's all right. I have never asked you to do anything that would leave blood on your hands. You know this. You know I have never asked your husband or son to do anything as well."

  She nodded slightly as I spoke into my chest. I counted this as a good sign and continued.

  "Priests are not always holy men, Amy. This one is lying to you through the confessional's manipulation. He wants you to reveal the secrets of this place so that he can use them against me."

  She was still crying but was listening.

  "I am evil in many ways. Those who come here often die. I have never lied to you about that. But I do so with purpose, not malice. Those who complete the trial, aware of it or not, and leave with the new light of dawn are rewarded, and you know this."

  She is still now.

  "I never forced your son to take up his father's burden. I offered him a way out. He asked if I would offer it to his brother and sister, and I told him, truly, I would. He chose to take up his father's burden upon his death, of his own free will, to spare his siblings the decision."

  I still stroked her hair as she listened, her head buried in my chest.

  "I know you're not happy about that. I still remember everything you said to me. But I have never lied to any of you or given you impossible choices—difficult choices, yes, but once you could walk away from them if you chose to. The priest is lying to you; he's telling you that your model is always in danger and that unless you help him root out the evil, you are headed to hell. Well, I tell you once you die, you will face judgment, but you have never once aided me in taking a life. Stay repentant in your prayers, speak the words."

  I needed something to make fear betray me more. Threatening her family would go against everything I just said, so I need to take a different angle. I sensed Rodriguez outside, and suddenly I realised what it was.

  "They will come again, Amy. Come again to seek to destroy me or banish me."

  She tensed at that.

  "With the knowledge that you give them, they might be able to succeed. They might drive me from this world. But then what? That's the question that the priests never think about. You see, if I am removed, then those who live here are free to leave and return to the world."

  She had stopped crying, and I sensed her confusion.

  "That's right, never thought about it, have you? What the priests never understand is that when an attack is placed like this, yes, I do kill people, but the death toll was far lower than it could have been. Those who live here in my domain are also bound to my will and unable to go out into the world and kill as they desire. Eventually, they might be hunted down, but each of them is a true monster, and how much suffering and pain with a cause before they eventually are stopped?"

  I had her. I just had to drive the point home.

  "I ask you, Amy? How much suffering and pain will you unleash on the world if you help them? I'm sure that several of those who certainly will be killed in the fighting, but maybe not all of them? In your self-righteous certainty, how many sons and daughters of other mothers will you condemn?"

  I said nothing more but simply held her, waiting for her to process everything I had said. I've been chipping away at a resolve, and hopefully, this would be the final strike needed to break it.

  "What have I done?" Amy whispered into my chest.

  I said nothing, waiting for her to speak more. I needed to know where she stood with my words that had gotten through.

  "What do I do?" Came another whisper. I had her.

  "Educate your daughter. Tell her what she needs to know no more. Tell her about the priest and his machinations. Tell her that if this place falls, far worse evils will be unleashed upon the earth."

  She said nothing, but I helped her stand. She stepped away from me, her face blotchy red from crying. The black eye is now fully formed. I would have to address that with Herbert.

  I reached out to Rodriguez and had him come in while she was standing.

  They both now have a good look at what I was containing within my walls, and I feel the fear radiating from both of them. Rodriguez was now far less human and more animalistic. He was becoming the monster he was meant to be, and I think for the first time, both of them understood that I wasn't just having these creatures certainly, but I was containing them as well.

  It was a realisation I had come to over the years. My Hunters would have continued in the world reaping up a tally of blood and suffering. Eventually, they would have been exposed and hunted down for their crimes if they had gotten sloppy. The problem was not that all my Hunters were sloppy. True, in the long run, they probably were going to rack up a much higher kill tally, but far fewer innocents would be harmed.

  Most of those who would come to my Dungeon, whether intentionally or not, were not the finest examples of humanity. There had been a few…. Unpleasant situations, but ultimately, most were not a loss in the long run.

  Seeing what I was trying to tell them was a far better way to learn. Herbert dealt with the Hunters before, but was still unsettled by them. Amy had not seen any of them since her first visit to the Dungeon and the death of her parents. I could see the words I had spoken to her changing her mind and attitude.

  Would she believe in this place? Never.

  But I was okay with that.

  Now that I had convinced her to stay firmly on my side, I had a priest in Crossway to deal with.