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“That you are an assassin sent by my enemies to kill me.”

I snort back a laugh.

“I don’t know your enemies. Hell, I don’t know you at all.”

“Of course you know my enemies,” he says, and turns to me. “The God of Gods burns in my blood. His enemies will be annihilated.”

I give him a look.

“Right. After all the massacres, I knew you were all about the God of Love.”

“Don’t forget, he is also Lucifer these days. God’s nature has always been multifold, and never more than now. He dances with a dove in one hand and an ax in the other.”

“So, you’re fighting for the nice God and executing helpless slobs for the other. That’s a pretty convenient philosophy.”

“In time, you will see the wisdom.”

“If you say so.”

“Don’t forget. You have the blood of innocents on your hands, too, Mr. Pitts.”

“You sure talk about blood a lot.”

The Magistrate leans back his head and laughs. He looks like a maniac, but I’m sure now that he’s not. He’s something more complicated, but I don’t know what.

I say, “Did we come all the way out here so you could tell me that Daja is gunning for me?”

“Quite the contrary,” says the Magistrate. “She wants you to come deeper into the fold and learn more about our work.”

“Is that what you want?”

“We shall see.”

“What’s under the tarp?”

For the first time, he faces me.

“Do you not know? I thought you got a good look at it last night.”

I shake my head. All innocence.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“An unexplainable explosion. A guard injured, but with no memory of how. And you sleeping in such an uncomfortable, yet highly visible spot. It is all a very good scenario for a lost soul to get up to mischief.”

“I played minigolf once, but the windmill scared me. I try to avoid excitement these days.”

“Naturally,” he says. “Mimir speaks highly of you. She seems to think that you are more than a mere ruffian.”

Dammit, Cherry.

“Mimir might be more than a mere swami,” I say.

“What do you mean?”

I put my hands in my pockets.

“She just seems like an interesting person. Maybe she started the fire.”