Abnasio regarded him solemnly, letting the silence build before stating, “You see, my brothers, how the seductive wiles of the Dark can affect the weak of mind. This poor man is a servant of the Light, sworn to the cause of Dion, and yet in such a brief span of contact with the beast he has been corrupted, and works to free it, against his better nature. If ever we looked for a reason to take up arms against evil, here it is.”

Lief, who was not pleased at being used as an object lesson in comparative morality, shuffled his feet. “Look, you’ve got it all wrong,” he said without much hope. “Dion’s all over this prophecy business. We need him to make it work.” He cocked his head at Enth’s suffering form. “Seriously, come along with us if you want, the more the holier. We’ll all go kick Darvezian together.”

“You see,” Abnasio said, ever more mournful at the state of Lief’s soul, “how evil twists the minds of those infected with it. This poor sinner still thinks he serves the Light, despite the dreadful act of Darkness he was about to commit. Take heed, my brothers.”

Lief felt that this was a mirror more properly turned to face its owner. “Seriously?” he demanded. “I’ve seen the kit you’ve got laid out there. I’ve known priests of the blood god who would have been oohing and aahing over some of those toys, and asking who your torturer was so they could book him for parties. So honestly, who’s the one doing bad stuff and claiming to be good, exactly?”

“And now the confessions start,” came Abnasio’s inexorable rejoinder. “Already he has fallen from the path enough to become a devotee of vile temples.”

“Hey! Excuse me! I was robbing them at the time!” Lief returned hotly.

“And the sin of larceny, also.”

“Yes, but… look…” The whole situation was starting to feel rather familiar, speaking as a man who’d had to try and explain himself to the authorities—temporal and spiritual—before.

“Do not fear, my son,” Abnasio said, not very reassuringly. “You are safe now. When our ritual is complete, the source of corruption will be removed. I know that you seek the Light. I know that, as all men, you find the path hard to follow. But you will be saved. We will not let you succumb to the Dark.”

Lief was beginning to wish he’d kept the knife. “Come on then,” he challenged vaguely. Even as he said it, he realized that he didn’t know whether he wanted them to come on, or not. “Do it, whatever you’ll do. Come and take me.” He raised his little fists.