The Nameless Assassins

Ghosts and Demons

In the midst of all these preoccupations, Beetle stopped me outside Strathmill House right as I was starting to tail Faith. My crewmate had just left wearing her incognito-Spirit-Warden costume, and if she were meeting that Church of Ecstasy acolyte again, I wanted to eavesdrop.

"Miss Yara, Miss Yara," called Beetle, running up and tugging at my arm. "Have you seen Kristov? Locust is looking for him."

Five-year-old Kristov was Locust's best buddy, but he sometimes tagged along after two of the older boys, who treated him like a favorite pet. I'd noticed because those specific teens happened to be Faith's final candidates for infiltrating the Church. "Have you checked with Wester or Brace?" I suggested, keeping one eye on Faith's disappearing back.

Twisting a braid – a nervous tell I hadn't broken her of yet – Beetle frowned. "They haven't seen him either."

In the distance, Faith's cloaked figure rounded a corner. If I didn't hurry, I was going to lose her. "Well, check again," I ordered, reclaiming my arm. "I'm sure he's off playing somewhere. He'll pop up soon. And don't fiddle with your hair when you're nervous."

Beetle bit her lip but obediently dropped her braid and let me go.

And it was a good thing she did too, because Faith had apparently decided to have poor Arilyn practice infiltrating a demonic cult so she wouldn't be shocked and terrified when she discovered that she was already infiltrating a demonic cult. Over reasonable tea but distinctly tough scones, the fake Spirit Warden instructed, "You will pretend to be a member of a demonic cult that used to operate out of an abandoned house in Six Towers. Your cult was recently destroyed, and you want revenge and power."

Arilyn, who was no Slide, fumbled her scone. "But I don't actually have to bind myself to a demon, right?" she checked.

"No," replied Faith at once, making me wonder yet again which persona was her true self and why, if she were capable of normal, direct speech, she insisted on subjecting Ash and me to her alliterative outbursts. "But you will need to gather information on their rituals and uncover their plans. This is how the recruiting process goes." And Faith proceeded to lay out a detailed description of how cult recruiters haunted shady establishments, searching for people interested in the arcane who were also desperate, immoral, hungry for power, and willing to do horrible things to their souls in exchange for said power. (Which sounded suspiciously similar to the type of clergy favored by the Church of Ecstasy, when I thought about it.)

"After you have come to the attention of the recruiter, they will interview you to ensure that your motivations for joining their cult are perfectly pure or – I suppose – impure, and that you possess the necessary willpower and courage. You should develop this personality."

Faith handed Arilyn a dossier. The acolyte opened it and leafed through the pages, frowning in concentration.

In a hard voice, as if to demonstrate the persona for Arilyn, Faith declared, "Your old cult failed, but that's because your old demon was not powerful enough. You need something better."

Still skimming the notes, Arilyn nodded.

Faith passed her a small bundle wrapped in a handkerchief. "Wear these symbols, hang out in the Jumping Fish Pub at the Docks, and someone may approach you."

"The Docks?" Arilyn's head jerked up. The young noblewoman's eyes were wide with alarm.

Faith skewered her with a look, of the variety that I often gave my jumpier agents, especially that archivist at the Sensorium.