“Is the room warded this time?” Annie asked. Her tone dripped with contempt.

  ?“Oh, as if I'm the one who's been screwing up!” Jill snapped back.

  ?“Nothing has been screwed up!” Annie was there in a kind of projection. Her physical body was elsewhere; her spiritual body stood at the foot of Jill's bed.

  ?“Really? The plan was to pervert Sarah and send her at Daniel. Then have the Wendigo eat him while he was weak. But Sarah goes and attacks the one girl in a million that is actually a potential werewolf! Now instead of two possible pack leaders, we have three!”

  ?Jill kept going, pacing the small room. “Then you say, we will send the Wendigo to the girl's high school. I don't even know how many people it's eaten now. But it should have devoured Kim when she changed. At least solving the third female werewolf problem!”

  ?“But you didn't expect Sarah to come to her rescue. And the very Knight who caused me to betray my vows in the first place! We're lucky they didn't kill the damn Wendigo. We're lucky it's even alive! Oh, and your whole damn coven gets killed by Mary in like, what, ten minutes?”

  ?Annie seemed to force herself to be patient. “These are werewolves, Jill. It was always going to be messy. That's why we have contingencies. The coven may be dead, but their power flowed to me. The Wendigo may be wounded, but it wasn't killed. Now we have the two weakest werewolves alive, alone in a town we basically run!”

  ?Jill shook her head. “The two weakest werewolves? Are you insane? That's like saying the two smallest comets are heading for us!”

  ?“This is how you kill an alpha werewolf, Jill. These are creatures who have plagued the supernatural community since Lilith walked the earth!”

  ?“You've never actually seen them on the hunt. You think what Daniel did to your chapter was terrible? You weren't there for Ragnarok and Fenrir!”

  ?“These things are nightmares incarnate. Pure Chaos walking! I will tell you what Vidar knew. You want to beat them? Hold loosely to your plans!”

  ?Jill looked at Annie. “And who was it that killed Vidar?”

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  ?“You make my point!” Annie practically hissed. “Remember, you called on Inanna. She answered. This isn't the Virgin Mother who answered! This is a Goddess.”

  ?“No,” Jill shot back. “This is a Nephilim, and a half-dead one at that!”

  ?Annie shuddered. “We can split hairs. But you pledged that blade to her. You sought us out. We didn't dig through your burning temple to find you. You came looking for the slayer of Enkidu and Fenrir.”

  ?“It's always chaos when you slay the alpha wolves. But she got it done before. She will again!”

  ?Jill just sighed. “Fine... What's the new plan then?”

  ?“The Wendigo is off the table for now. But he's manipulating things from behind the scenes. Inanna's influence is exerting itself on the town. When it's time for Kim to transform, we will be ready. Our Wendigo will kill Daniel, giving us an Alpha Wolf as an ally no matter who replaces him. Once we have our own, the time of the wolves is over. And the gods will return!”

  Annie's words turned Jill's stomach. ?“Fine. Whatever kills them off. Just remember, I'm not here for a glorious false gods return. I just want the wolves culled! After that, we're back to being enemies.”

  ?“Looking forward to it.” Annie nodded as she shimmered away.

  ?Jill remained on the edge of the bed long after Annie’s projection faded. The silence pressed in like judgment. She sank to her knees on the cold floor, clasped her hands tightly, and bowed her head until her forehead touched her knuckles.

  ?“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

  ?“O Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Sorrows, who stood beneath the Cross and watched your Son die for sins not your own, look down now on a daughter who has wandered far from your Son’s light. I have sinned grievously. I have broken my sacred vows as a Knight. I have turned to witches, to powers that mock God, to a name that is not holy. I have called upon Inanna, may God forgive me, and I have made common cause with those who serve darkness.

  ?“I know this is mortal sin. Idolatry. Betrayal. Hatred that consumes the soul. I feel the weight of it crushing me, and still I will not turn back; not yet. Not until the wolves are dead. Not until Daniel and his kind have paid for what they took from us, from me. I cannot lay down this sword until the abomination is ended.

  ?“But I am afraid, Mother. Afraid that when the blood is spilled and the vengeance is complete, there will be no road back for me. I beg you, hold my place at your Son’s feet. Do not let me be lost forever. Grant me the grace, when this is over, to repent with a contrite heart. Let me return to the Church, to the sacraments, to the mercy I do not deserve. Let the Precious Blood of Jesus wash away what I have done, even if I must walk through fire to reach it.

  ?“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me, a sinner, now and at the hour of my death, whenever that hour may come.

  ?“Through your Immaculate Heart, and through the Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on me. Spare me from the eternal loss I court. Let me finish what I have begun, and then, please, bring me home.

  ?“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

  ?She remained kneeling in the dark, breathing shallow, until the first pale light of dawn touched the window.