A part of them still didn’t believe he was real. Still didn’t understand the actuality of him. But the rest of them—the desperate, petty, greedy bits—calcified behind their ribs, metastasizing to their vital organs. They pretended not to know the answer. Steeled themself against the inevitable. But they knew what demons made deals for. Everyone did. Eligos traced their jaw with his thumb. “You,” he said. Fire snapped and sizzled in that single, heavy word. “Give me all the faith God ignored and I’ll give you everything.”
