Catalina looks to Mother Ines for approval. After a long moment, the older woman nods. “It is your choice, Sister.”

The girl stands, pushing the chair back. Slowly, as if the movements pain her, she disrobes. Beneath all that heavy wool, she is thin and frail, like a little bird. When her torso is bared, she wraps her arms around her chest and turns around.

When I see the scar carved into her back, my blood runs cold.

Kiki draws in a short, sharp breath when she sees what I do. “That’s—”

“The mark that was carved into Alejandro’s hand the night he was killed.”

“Who is Alejandro?” Mother Ines asks.

“My brother,” Kiki says softly. “He was strung up from a tree. Made to look like a suicide.”

“But he did not take his own life.” It is not a question, but a statement from Mother Ines.

Kiki shakes her head. “No. Someone killed him.”

“The same someone who hurt Sister Catalina,” Mother Ines offers. “We did our own research after Catalina came to us. After she finally opened up.” She rests a firm hand on the girl’s shoulder. Unshed tears balance on the girl’s eyelashes. “From what we could gather, the symbol is related to a demon.”

“A demon?” My question is almost a sputter. “You’re joking.”

Mother Ines fixes me with a hard stare. “Do I look like the kind of woman who jokes?”

“No, ma’am.”

“What demon?” Kiki asks.

“A prince of hell named Asmodeus.” She turns to a shelf of books but instead of plucking one off the shelves, she presses her palm flat against the side of it and pushes. The shelf swings open under her touch, revealing a recessed alcove in the wall. Within it lie even more books, stacked one on top of the other. When she sees our stunned faces, her mouth makes a shape that’s almost a smile. “I trust this will remain between us. The Church would not approve of nuns possessing such books.”

“No,” Kiki says, “they most certainly would not.”

“Yeah,” I add. “I hear they had a whole Inquisition about that sort of thing.”

Kiki elbows me in the ribs.

With a sound that is half scoff, half chuckle, Mother Ines hands Kiki the book. “This is the only book we have that mentions the demon by name. He is a creature of lust and desire, a being who craves power.”

Catalina makes a soft little noise. Mother Ines nods, understanding some language only they share.

“We believe Sister Catalina fell prey to a man who is transfixed by this figure. If he is carving the symbol onto his other victims, I would wager it is something of an obsession for him.”

“Or like some kind of signature,” I say. “Like he’s signing his work.”

Kiki rubs at her temples. “But why kill my brother? He didn’t hunt him for sport or pluck him off the street.”