Flesh & Bone (Rot & Ruin, #3)(74)

No one cheered, though it seemed clear to Benny that many of them agreed with what Saint John wanted to do. Confusion and doubt was written on every face except that of Mother Rose and the giant with the hammer.

“But,” said Mother Rose, her voice becoming quieter, almost a whisper, “this is not what our god wants.”

No one even blinked. They stared, stock-still.

“I have had a vision, my beloved children. In a sacred trance, Lord Thanatos himself spoke to me.”

“Oh brother,” growled Nix. “Do you believe this crap?”

“They seem to,” said Benny.

It was true; many of the reapers touched their hands to the angel designs on their chests.

“The lord of the darkness has tested us so many times and in so many ways. Those of you who have been with the Night Church since Wichita remember how many tests have been put before us.”

Several heads nodded.

“There have been failures and setbacks and defeats . . . and yet each time, no matter how devastating each new calamity appeared, we found the holy path through the fire and the smoke. We passed each test, no matter how difficult. We did this. Each of us, serving the will of our god even when God has made the path uncertain and the way forward choked with thorns and fog.”

More heads nodded now.

“And what has this done? All along the way we have seen many of our fellows fall, and while their spirits have gone on into the darkness we have stayed behind, weeping and tearing at our garments, crying out, Why? Why them and not us? Why has the lord of the night punished us so many times when others whose will and whose faith were not as strong as ours were allowed to go into the sacred darkness?”

“Tell us why, Mother!” cried out one of the reapers. It was a thin man with a beaky nose. He fell to his knees and clapped his hands together. “Tell us, please!”

Another reaper dropped to her knees. “What sins have we committed that bar our way to paradise?”

Nix and Benny looked at each other.

“Is it me, or did that look planned?” asked Nix.

“Yeah,” agreed Benny, “I think she seeded the crowd like Mr. Hopewell does when he’s running the Sunday auction.”

Mother Rose stepped forward and touched the bowed head of the kneeling woman.

“Sins, my daughter?” she said. “Did I say that you have sinned?”

She paused a beat and looked at the others.

“Did I say that any of you have sinned?” She drew the kneeling woman to her feet and kissed her on both cheeks. “No, my beloved, we have all passed through that fire together, and in its heat we have been purified.”

The last word hung in the air like the clear note of a church bell. Even Benny felt a chill.

“Each of us here in this sacred place has passed through the fire many times. Each of us has stayed true even when we thought that our god had withdrawn his grace from us. Each of us has proven our faith beyond all doubt. And thus, the lord of the darkness has revealed to me that this—all of this, our struggles, our doubts, our pain, our longing, our faith—has made us the chosen of Thanatos.”

There was another beat.

“Henceforth we will rise to be worthy of that choice. We will sing out in joy for the glory of God’s grace. We will no longer fear life and flee like sheep into the darkness of the grave.” Mother Rose raised her arms in triumph. “We have been reapers at work in the fields of the Lord. This task we have done well and faithfully. The fields are clear of vermin and pests. They are clean, and they welcome us to put down our tools of reaping and set about our new work.”

The woman who had been kissed cried out, “What is our purpose, Mother Rose, beloved of Thanatos?”

Mother Rose turned so that her upraised hands indicated everything. Not just this field, Benny knew . . . but everything.

“The chosen will go out into the world and reclaim it.”

Although Benny didn’t really understand the nature of this church, he thought he had the gist of it. It felt like a weird slant on something Charlie Pink-eye used to say: Kill ’em all and let God sort ’em out.

Except that now this woman seemed to be changing the rules.

“Is she talking about double-crossing Saint John?” asked Nix, once more proving that she was reading his thoughts.

“I think so.”

“Better her than me,” said Nix. “That guy freaked me out.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not having fuzzy puppy love about Mother Nut Job down there.”

“How many sides are there in this fight? I thought it was Eve’s family against these reapers.”


Benny nodded. “Sorry to make a bad joke, but from what we just heard, I think there’s trouble in paradise.”

“Ugh.” Nix looked around the cockpit. “Whose side do you think they were on?”

“I haven’t the slightest idea. The good guys’ side, I hope.”

“Okay, but who are the good guys? Eve’s dad tried to shoot us.”

“Wait, something’s happening,” Benny said.

Down in the clearing, the reapers were arguing among themselves. However, one by one they broke from the group and knelt before Mother Rose.

“Praise be to the mother of us all,” yelled one man. “Praise be to the mother of the chosen!”