“They called it obstruction of justice.” Tammi wiped some of the smudged makeup from her cheek. “They’re a freaking cult. I know, because I was raised by crazy fundamentalists. The difference is that my parent’s church had a broken neon sign outside of it, and the Brotherhood have taken over half our country.”
A wave of grief washed over Rosalind, yet something inside her wanted to cling to the gleaming image she had of the Brotherhood. “It’s a war between good and evil. We’re fighting to destroy monsters, like the demon who tried to control my mind not that long ago.” That was the Brotherhood’s explanation when their methods were questioned. In a war between good and evil, they must do whatever it took to win. Only the weak-willed complained.
“Nothing is that simple,” Tammi said. “You can’t divide people neatly into two different categories. I know that better than anyone.”
Something clenched tightly around Rosalind’s heart. “But you can divide humans and demons. Think about everything they’ve done to us. I’ve seen the pictures of the children they murdered—the school in Boston, the vampire attacks in Maine. That’s what evil is.”
Tammi cocked her head. “Demons kill humans. Humans kill demons. It’s the same thing.”
“It’s not the same thing. We’re fighting back. The demons want to use us and control our minds.”
Caine’s eyes flashed. “The only reason Hunters don’t use that particular skill is that they don’t know how. Have you asked Aurora how she got those scars all over her back? They’re from one of the Brotherhood interrogation rooms before she escaped. They used iron and hawthorn wood to carve her up. Fortunately, she’s oddly proud of the scars. Demons are no more evil than humans. Some of them just happen to be a lot more powerful.”
Guilt tightened her chest. “I didn’t know Aurora was in there.”
Tammi placed her hands on her hips. “I’m confused. You told me Caine was helping you, but you also seem to think demons are evil.”
“She did just call me an ‘abomination,’” Caine said morosely.
Rosalind sucked in a sharp breath. “Okay. That was… a little harsh, I admit. I just thought you were being controlling, but you’re not completely evil.”
“I’m sorry, am I interrupting a lover’s quarrel?” Tammi scowled. “Because I was talking about the fact that I’m a fugitive. It’s kind of a big thing for me right now. All I’m saying is, the Brotherhood want to throw me in jail and torture me until I crack. So if that’s not evil, I’m not really clear how we’re defining that particular term.”
Rosalind’s tears threatened to break through the surface. Tammi was right—Rosalind just hadn’t wanted to admit it. She still thought Caine was an arrogant jerk, but she didn’t want him tortured to death, and she definitely didn’t want her closest friend thrown in the Brotherhood’s prisons.
Sorrow welled in her chest. What about all the innocent people who’d gotten caught in the Brotherhood’s crossfire? Or what about people like her, corrupted by magic through no fault of her own, hunted down like she was some kind of murderer? The Brotherhood’s reach had spiraled out of control. Even she could see that now.
Yet she’d been a willing part of this system, refusing to let herself think about the casualties and the collateral damage. After all, in a war between good and evil, anything was justified, right?
“I can see how the Brotherhood’s methods are… problematic.” She glanced at Caine. For once, he was keeping his mouth shut. Maybe he understood that her whole future was collapsing before her. “I suppose my loyalty to the Brotherhood is just another example of my chronic wrongness.”
“It’s really the primary example,” he said.
Grief overwhelmed her, and she fought to keep the tears at bay. She’d been thinking of the Brotherhood as her family for so long. But maybe they were a severely dysfunctional, abusive family—not unlike Mason. And if they were coming after Tammi, it was time to move on. “I won’t go back to the Brotherhood. I still want to protect humans and fight the real monsters.” Suddenly exhausted, she rubbed a hand over her forehead. “Maybe the monsters aren’t as easy to identify as I once thought. Only the really horrible ones, like Bileth, and the mage inside me.”
Tammi crinkled her brow. “The what inside you?”
Rosalind glanced at her friend. “I’m possessed. By the ghost of a crazy lady.”
Tammi narrowed her eyes. “That’s what they told me in the church I used to go to.”
“Yeah, but mine is a real possession. I have access to magic, but I can’t use it without being possessed by a maniac. And not only that, but if I take my ring off, my skin starts burning, like I’m standing in the center of an inferno.”
Tammi’s eyes widened. “Holy shit, Ros.”
“There was one way around that, if I recall,” added Caine.
“I can’t throw myself at you every time…” Flustered, she let her sentence trail off.
Tammi twirled a strand of blonde hair around her finger, eyeing Caine. “That doesn’t sound so bad to me.”