Between Two Fires

by Christopher Buehlman

He was about to snap it, but she put her hand on his. “Why? It doesn’t weigh a thing. And it makes me happy.” “Making you happy is not my job.”

“I’d rather He got me another goblet of this.” “No,” the priest said. “You wouldn’t rather a goblet of wine than your honor back. Your joking is pleasant, but it doesn’t hide the hole in you.”

“She was tempted by something stronger than her. Adam was tempted by a weaker creature. Or so we are told. If Eve was his inferior, his sin was greater. You can’t have it both ways.”

intellectually, the boy had something about him of the dog who feared so much to be kicked that kicking it seemed obligatory.

humility demands submission to those who know best.