The first thing to focus ohe group of priests entered was anything but one specific priest. Anything at all, such as how stra was for all of them to be f an united front in f their way in here.

  Each of the priests, fourteen in total, represented a differey which was shog. Most popur deities in the Anglean empire were of the same pantheon of course. The proper one, not those improper ones like the Keltish gods, the elveies, or worse yet the archdevils and assorted most powerful devils of the hells.

  Even still, disagreements were public, messy, and had ofteed in wars in the past. No longer any public fighting these days, with the Empress making clear that she would not tolerate any flicts caused by disagreements between the faiths. Not even from her twin patroies of Halspus or Maldeura.

  Only one of those were represented here by a wild-haired Kelt, red-hair mixed with the white of encroag old age, just as with eyes affixed oaring with hatred. Symbols on his robes included a spike of pure light being driven into a devil, biseg it in twain. Halspus. Joy.

  o him riestess of Zaviel who moved and looked like she was a young woman, around my age. If you ighe massive number of lines, liver spots, and wrinkles flooding her skin, the white, wizened hair, and ns of aging at odds with the ease she moved.

  Zaviel was the god of the dead, and specifically the restful dead, keeping watch over their souls and proteg from the predations of neancers and their ilk. A bit of a sore spot that neancy could have lises purchased to practice, although manipution of the soul was for most cases forbidden and the lises were rare.

  Must still rahat some held Imperial permission to mess with those Zaviel’s clergy were suppose to protect.

  Most of the rest were a random assortment of deities that seemed odd t together. Daltaran, s, merts, and trade, whose thin, bookish representative seemed bored. Tildae, healing and purification, whose rotund priestess was already looking over the ruiemple, probably pnning a purification. Gallock, the arts. Savareth, the o. Kersov, the wilds. Zavan, a ret transpnt from the dantheon who allowed his worshippers among the empire, uhe other dwarf deities. They’d gone underground with their followers, leaving the god of Tunnels and Mines aloheir priestess was separate from the others, that foot of distance might as well be a mile. Baltaren, the night. Semiv, the god of wat and police, who was exging a pleasant nod with Walston. A sed one, who was hanging baear the entrance, apologizing to the guards. There was a sed Daltaran here as well, writing something in a ledger.

  he back, a thin, smiling elven representative of Larreran was trying to get my attention. I ignored him. The goddess of thieves had been trying to make inroads with the Quarter even before the restris on it had been lifted, but that was hardly a sign of trust. And I wasn’t going to trade one life of crime for another.

  That left Tarver’s representative.

  Gregory Montague looked much the same as when I’d told him to leave my shop or I’d tear out his throat. His arms might be a little thicker, his shoulders a touch more broad.

  It would be pletely improper to inquire if he’d been w out. Also not something I was ied in. If anything, it only made him more of a threat.

  Not that any of this assortment of priests cked in threat value, sidering the arsenal of divine firepower they represented, all of it capable of harming me on tact.

  None so dangerous as the Priest of Halspus in front, who pointed an acg fi me.

  “What are you pnning to do with Father Reginald’s holy body, you Foulhorn?” The Priest of Halspus roared, light gathering in his hand.

  Walston’s face tightened. She might not like me, but having someone under her charge threatened directly would irritate her more, I believed.

  I was right as she snapped and guns were levelled from all sides, aimed directly at the Priest, whose eyes narrowed. Others ie paled, clearly not expeg this escation. The Zaviel priestess at his side closed her eyes, aged and lined face resigned as she began to cast something.

  Mind you, those weren’t eager guns being aimed at the group of priests. Most of these Watch were probably devout worshippers of at least some of these deities, and defending my diabolic hide by shooting priests wouldn’t sit well with them.

  Hells, even ign that, some of them would be thinking how much they wao get involved in a power struggle between the secur and the religous over a single Infernal.

  Time to nip this in the bud as much as I could.

  “I’m taking samples,” I answered. “Skin, hair, a few others that perhaps shouldn’t be mentioned in polite pany. Alchemical analysis for ter.”

  “You are tainting his body with your profane presehe Priest accused, the light gathered in his hand not fading.

  “There’s not too much left to taint,” I said. “But I have not used any diabolism on the body, as anyone here attest. You check it yourself if you wish, the body is quite i now.”

  This did not seem to calm him down, and the strangely aged priestess moved to his side.

  Gregory Montague moved to the other, whispering something in his ear, which at least made the Priest shoot a venom filled gre at someone beside me as he muttered something back.

  The aged priestess of Zaviel whispered something into his other ear, and he seemed to listen to that. The light in his hand dimmed, not going away, but no lohe magical equivalent of a hair trigger.

  She stepped forward, a smile pulling all the wrinkles and sagging skin into something that still mao be friendly. “erhaps gotten off on the wrong foot to start with. My apologies, as it wasn’t our iion to be so hostile.”

  Straalk froup that had forced their ast the Watch to get here, but I turned bay work, trying to fade into the background. My best ces of not causing another fuss was by fading into the background.

  “I am Lilian Derrick, bishop in service to Zaviel, the god of the restful dead,” she said, ining her head slightly. “Apanying me is Bishop Matthew Gallespie of the faith of Halspus, Father Halpert Murroud-”

  I tuned out the introdus of the others, just making a note of who went with each deity and matg faces to names. I did hat Montague was not a Father, but instead a ‘Special Envoy’ from the church of Tarver, whatever that meant. Higher or lower? He’d been introduced st, so probably lower.

  As the introdus finished, Bishop Derrick did smile apologetically.

  “We do apologize for the abruptness of our accusations, but you could see why we might be suspicious, what with the aftermath of a murder doh Diabolism being examined by an Infernal who..well, practices.”

  I bit back a sigh. We’d done our best to hide that little fact after the shape-ge i, but if one had their ear close enough to the ground….well that or Montague had just told them, which was infuriating if that was the case.

  “Miss Harrow is assistih this case,” Voltar said. “And unless I was misinformed, as this is a Diabolism atta the city limits, it falls uhe purview of the City Watch, who are employing me. Captain Waltson, do you cur with Father Gallespie?”

  I kept to my own work, taking a little satisfa in how infuriated the priest looked. Hair samples , finding limp brown strands that had survived, trying to make sure I didn’t grab from the loose clumps of brown fur that had started poking through his irritated and red skin.

  “I do not cur,” Walston rumbled. “The little hellspawn is a pain, but more help than hindrance.”

  “She is spawned from the same forces that did in Father Reginald,” Bishop Galspie noted.

  “There is no evidehat it ecifically an Infernal who did there murders yet, Bishop,” Voltar noted.

  “Their magic. Their profane gifts. The thing that more easily ehis world because of them!”

  “More importantly, this is a crime on property belonging to the Church of Tarver,” Bishop Derrioted. “As is such, the church has a responsibility to iigate on our owails of the crime.”

  Waltson cleared her throat unfortably, seeming more than a little relut to speak up. “To be your pardon, yrace, while this is true all crimes reted to Diabolism do fall uhe purview of the Imperial gover, no matter where they occur and who their victims may be.”

  “And while the unified churches of the Imperial Pantheon uand, we ot let the iigatioirely in Imperial hands,” Bishop Derrick said. “We could perhaps pool our efforts?”

  I couldn’t help but notice what wasn’t beiioned. Namely why so maies had members of their clergy here, or so soon. A respoo a diabolic murder of a priest causing the various churches to close ranks and try to solve this matter? Certainly, that made sense.

  Mere hours after it had occurred? Nonsense. Something was fishy.

  “We would be happy to assist you,” Voltar said. “Although having fourteen people on your iigative team-”

  “More,” Bishop Derrick said apologetically. “Some representatives for other deities were uo e on such short notice.”

  “More than fourteen then, makes for far too many cooks i,” Voltar noted.

  Galspie frowned, apparently deg now was the time to raise his voice again. “Primarily, you would deal with either me or Bishop Derrick. Or young Montague, as it is Tarver’s priest who has been sin by diabolism most foul. Us three will be the voices oher side.”

  That got some angry looks and derisive expressions from his fellow clergy, but no one voiced their dissent.

  “For now cooperation?” Derrick asked, and after a sed, Voltar nodded.

  “Was Father Reginald proo any vices?” Voltar asked while I clipped a nail. Rather crumbly, already pieces were fking off of it to the floor below.

  “Vices? Reginald?” One of the other priests said. Daltaran if the miniature scales on his buttons were any indication. Business and erce. A very wide array of deities indeed.

  The ent caused a wave of wry amusement among the gathered priests.

  “Father Reginald was a devout follower of Tarver, Mr. Vregory Montague said with a sly grin on his face as Gallespie’s already stony expression hardened further. “If you mean the cssical expressions from what is theorized about the Hells, a follower of od would qualify at least for two, maybe three. He was fond of a good nap, so perhaps four that he might be found guilty of by some.”

  By now Father Gallespie might as well be carved from granite, leaving no doubts to one of those ‘some’ being among us.

  “Greed,” I said, Gregory’s expression being forced just a little at my interruption. “We want to know if he was greedy. In any definition of that term.”

  Gallespie caught on first. “Ah. The form he has been corrupted into, you wish to know if that was the effect of his soul?”

  That was not how that worked, but I was hardly going to correct him. He’d finally said a senteo me without a slur or calling me some profane creature. Perhaps we could bond over a shared dislike fory Montague? I doubted it.

  “That or the killer chose it for him based on some personal message or belief,” I said. “The murder was doh a forced version of the rituals used to vert willing souls into devils. In this case, an unwilling host, and a very powerful caster aiming for death. We were w if this might be some kind of judgment?”

  Galspie snorted. “A user of the profane pretending to wield it in service of the divine? Any divine? Judgment? Hah. Only a fool would think that would work.”

  That seemed to ule the priest’s around him, while Derrick signed resignedly before putting on a patient but slightly forced smile.

  “Bishop Galspie’s opinions are his own, but I see your point about how even the most deranged of killers may try to find logid justifications for their as. Father Reginald was not sidered by me to be greedy, but I did not know him the best. Father Montague?”

  Calling Gregory Montague father seemed like a bad joke to me, but I held my tongue as he cleared his throat.

  “Father Reginald was well-respected, almost paradoxically. The man could be both the respected father figure of the church while being the life of the party. And a very skilled piano pyer. He could have had the pick of the litter when it came to postings among our churches, but he came here because he felt this pce could use some livening up.”

  Well, if oook a very dark view of what had happened, he certainly had livehings up.

  “He just wao help his unity, to do some good in the world, help some people find themselves.”

  Montague sounded on the verge of tears, and I was forced to admit, g over this man didn’t sound too unreasonable.

  For Hell’s sake, I’d cried olvar weeks beforehand, I couldn’t throw stones.

  “If we could,” Bishop Derrick asked calmly, “we would like to purify this church? Sanctifying is out of the question, but we rid it of aover Diabolism.”

  ***

  Purifieant going outside until it was over so I didn’t get burned by the divine magic. Wanting to get out of here before the purification bega actally running into a still red in the eyes Gregory Montague.

  “Miss Harrow,” he said, the words awkward in his mouth.

  “Lord Montague,” I replied, and some small part of me took joy in that little wihat he quickly covered up.

  Didn’t like being pared to daddy dearest, did you? Certainly happy to keep living in his manor.

  “I want to talk about details of the case, as well as one private matter by ou-”

  “Take it to Voltar,” I cut him off bluntly. “I have no desire to talk to you, no willingness, and would rather trade theories with Bishop Galspie.”

  “He’ll think you did it,” Montague said. “Even thought you have hooves and those are clearly the imprints of four shoes or boots oemple floor.”

  “Hrrm? That doesn’t mean anything.”

  Montague waited, clearly expeg me to expin that statement, but I said nothing aormed off in a huff.

  The Fme and roups had figured out shoes for hooves to fit into ages ago. Hells, there’d been a time where the citizens of Anglea widely believed Infernals could only have hooves, not normal feet, so if they only found foot or bootprints, clearly an Infernal could not have dohis!

  It only worked on the gullible, and as it had spread, it became less useful. These days, most use them as fashion accessories, although I never could. Made my legs hurt too much.

  I settled in outside the church, shiverie my warm jacket. Snow was starting to fall, not much but enough to add a chill to the air. I kept my warmth as best I could, and waited for them to finish, when my enhanced hearing picked up a versation from two very distinct voices.

  “-we didn’t pool together the resources to hire you to settle for ‘I ’t find him’, Mr. Voltar. Nor do I believe you actually ’t find him!”

  Gregory Montague, irate and loud enough to be heard.

  “Perhaps your brother doesn’t want to be found,” Voltar replied calmly. “Not after certais that took pce. His current state of being. And frankly while I have always been ied in crossing wits with a Drake, I fail to see why they would hide your brother’s presenless he requested it himself.”

  Silen Gregory’s end for a while, and whealked again, it was airely different subject he brought up.

  “Yoing to need a new diabolism expert,” he told Voltar bluntly.

  I held my breath, wanting nothing that could obscure what I heard .

  “Do I?” Voltar replied evenly. “Is there any objeable reason for Miss Harrow? Do you wish to add your voice to Bishop Gallespie’s objes?”

  “Do me the favor of not pario that bigot,” Gregory Montague snapped. “her me, my god, or my superiors in Tarver’s church. My reasons are personal, and based on the fact that not only is w with Miss Harrow going to prove difficult, I am not going to be held responsible if she slips out from under your thumb and decides she o….bite someone’s eye out for information. Carve someone’s soul out for information, as an orphao try and catch a single person hiding in the building. Are you fortable with that?”

  I ched my fist, nails biting into the my skin. That was….well the first was just a good option in the heat of bat and sometimes the threat of it he helped shake some plia of relut informants. Sometimes that meaih on the eyeball. The sed, well it depended on the soul iion, and if they were alive or dead, and there were other factors at py.

  The third I would never do. Not for any target. Although I suppose if Aunt Diwei, Lord Montague or Versalicci were the ones being chased, I might ask about the number of orphans in the building.

  I wasn’t denying these were horrible as, but sometimes horribleness was necessary. And I was not going to be judged by some silver-spooned dandy who’d barely worked a day in his life besides swooning dies alemen. Oh how hard a life must be, spent trying to charm everyo of their skirts and pants.

  I’d been so caught up debating that in my head, I nearly missed Voltar’s reply.

  “Moral objes I think are not so easy to raise given some of the pany in your own group. Holy, when Bishop Galspie is one of the least objeable members of the little group that’s been assembled. What on this p, or I suppose above it, instructed you to make a group out of so many outcasts, power pyers, and a few petent individuals like Lillian Derrick?”

  “They are all faithful, petent priests of their faiths,” Montague replied icily. “I may not agree with their views, or their faults, but I would trust them at my side in every case. More importantly, I would trust them not to bite into an infant if it meaing what they wanted.”

  My mind stopped. I was aware of course. Standing here, in this corridor, a good ways away from the little shit who had just insinuated I ate children.

  How hard, to cover it up? Voltar was there, wait for ter then. Could hardly slit his throat and stay in anyone’s good graces. Did he still live in his father’s mansion? Perhaps two birds with oone, since while he’d not tried to kill me yet, I had no doubts Lord Montague inteo try someday.

  Meanwhile, as I fumed and plotted, the versation tinued.

  “It is a little amusing that when given the long breadth of crimes Malvia Harrow has itted iime since birth, you have chosen to accuse her of the one crime I am quite sure she never would actually do.”

  “You don’t deny the rest then?” Gregory Montague pressed as I forced myself still as much as the urge to sprint down the hallway and bite out his throat took over.

  I bet astes so refined pared to other throats, The Imp ented in my head. Later of course, which I bet you know from your restraining yourself, but once you catch him and kill him however you want, I know the exact way to put his assorted pieces on a spit and roast him over a fme.

  The Imp practically salivating in my head over eating him actually dampehe r fire in my veins just a tad if only because, for both the Imp and Gregory-I did people.

  “Just because she doesn’t live up to your expectations doesn’t means she’s a monster, Lord Montague-”

  “Enough of the lordships! First her and now you with that nonsense. Father has disowned me in all but name-”

  “But you still keep the name, and you are nobility. And to be frank, when I speak of Bishop Galspie being one of the least odious priests you have along with you? The man has driven silver spikes into Infernals back when that was the fashion. Including those not yet adults. And to this day still advocates for the death of all Infernals in the quarter because of the e of them might breach the boundary between here and the Hells and raise a new gate. Of course, non-Infernals do that too, so one wonders about his motives there.”

  A pause, hesitation when Montague spoke again. “I was unaware of some of that, however, Bishop Galspie is only-”

  “-a well-respected member of Halspus’ clergy who has attained high rank and also seems to dislike you personally. A you feel the o defend him while questioning the inclusion of someone who has yet to cause an issue.”

  “Her past as-“

  “Are not any indication of her being an issue now. Quite holy, Malvia Harris is very easy to work with despite any objes to her methods or morals I might have. Any issues with her you might have are not ones I do, and so she will be employed in regards to this case. And that assumes I even have a choi this. By tomorrow I could easily have a letter instrug me that she is to assigo this until it is finished.”

  “A letter from your brregory said bitterly. “How ve.”

  “If you think I manipute my brother into making Imperial Intelligence dao my tune, or that I would risk it if that is the case, is more a sign than anything else. Drop this Gregory. And, no one is asking you to like her, just to co-exist with her.”

  “She won’t talk to me.”

  “She might not o, sidering you have your superiors, she has hers. But perhaps she’ll be willing at some future point. But I am not removing her from this case.”

  Sileer that, the of footsteps heading away. I waited till they faded from my hearing, the up the dder.

  Voltar leaned against a railing in the rafters of the small church, somehow enjoying the cold air blowing in from outside.

  “So, Miss Harrow, did you overhear all of that versation or just a signifit k of it?”

  I cocked my head to the side. “Now how did you know that?”

  “Body nguage,” he replied. “You tend to tense and your foot-no I suppose hoofsteps are just slightly more deyed when you walk.”

  “Hrrm, I’ll have to work on that. A signifit k of it. ‘Easy to work with despite any objes to her methods and morals’, am I?”

  “Am I wrong?” Voltar said. “Besides, I don’t believe I offered the worst insult to your character during that versation.”

  “A lesser offense,” I said mildly “is still an offense.”

  “I’m not going to decre you some moral paragon because we work together,” Voltar replied. “You have done horrible things in the past. I think iure you’ll do some thing I ot stomach, and I’ll request that Intellige assign us to work together again. But for now? We work together. You are rather insightful, sharp, and provide a perspective on issues that I appreciate.”

  “Just not moral ones.”

  “No, those as well, not just the ones people normally expect.”

  I teried to think of a reply as I puzzled that out, and then gave up.

  “I cede and take the pliment,” I said.

  “Not all versations are fights to be won, Malvia.”

  I sighed. “I do not really want to discuss it anymore.”

  Below us, the priests were leaving, marg out into the cold. Snow had started to fall, bing the age outside in a dense white sheet. The Watch had removed the ks of animated statue by now. No one wao deal with the nightmarish possibility of Infernal corruption spreading into the snow.

  The assorted clergy were busy talking amongst themselves in a single knot, while a carriage tried to make its way to them through the snowfall.

  “Something stinks,” I said. “This many clerics of disparate deities ing together, even more we haven’t met, all anized and ready hours after the event they are responding to.”

  “Yes, and with so many faces I personally hoped to never see again.”

  “A very distrustful group of people,” I opined, watg some of them leave via carriage. A few of them stayed behind, presumably to keep watch for the moment daylight would e. And to record our ings and goings of course. Including Gregory, although the two leaders were leaving.

  Either more important busio attend to, or possibly booo old and weary to stay out here all night.

  There were others ihe church itself, including Tildae’s priestess watg over the surviving adept who we still o talk to.

  “Perhaps,” Voltar said. “You are biased against their profession, and especially against any group with a certain priest of Tarver in attendance.”

  The drumming of my fingers stopped.

  “Voltar, do yurly inquire into people’s love lives?”

  “Only when it is crucial to solving a case,” Voltar replied, earning a snort from Dawes.

  The detective’s gaze swung toward his panion, who smiled without humor.

  “You do have a tendency to poke and prod when it is unnecessary, Edmund. And perhaps be a bit blunt about it. And definitely not always for a case.”

  “It is usually for the case,” Voltar said briskly.

  “There’s a reason you aren’t io the wedding,” Dawes told him bluntly. “Quite frankly, I ’t bme her either. Seriously, you had Charlie go to Attia to check her background? Attia?”

  I grinned, happy to have the subject of this versation firmly moved off of me.

  “Isn’t Attia on the far side of two os and a pair of tis from us? oor fool got sent there to check your fiancée’s background Doctor Dawes?”

  “One of our oldest friends, who is still on his way back from having found out that she was pletely i of what Voltar initially suspected.”

  Voltar rolled his eyes. “Yes, because the logical dedu from artwork vanishing from wherever she visited four days after was a living, se curse desigo look exactly like her. We found the true culprit eventually, and-”

  I let the bickering fade into pleasant background noise as we went to interview the adept.