Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 7

he was local? Maybe it was standard practice, Corin decided. It wasn't as though he was well versed in how priests were trained.
    "I had a sister," Rafferty said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He was looking at the rug, and the candle on the bureau highlighted the profile of his face. Corin curled his fingers around the edge of the bed, swallowing hard. Had. Rafferty had had a sister. "We were both tapped to come to the monastery the same year, even though I was a year younger than her.
    "It was obvious from the start they wanted me as a priest. I didn't care one way or the other; it was become a priest or go back and work a farm for the rest of my life. Catria encouraged me to go with the priests. She thought I would be happier here, that I'd never have to worry about being fed if we had a bad crop year. So I did."
    "What happened?" Corin asked quietly, almost dreading the answer.
    "She had more spirit energy than I did. I had enough that they decided I would make a good priest, but she had enough to bind the demons," Rafferty said. His voice was hollow and he sat tensely, as though he expected Corin to scold him. "I don't know if they didn't realize she was my sister, but they told me the day after, showed me the secret, told me no one would think twice about the story about her running off."
    "Oh, god," Corin breathed, wondering if the priests had really been that stupid. No wonder they'd sent Rafferty to the city. "Why did they let you live?"
    "I didn't tell them," Rafferty said, his head dropping. "I pitched a fit over them killing her, but they assumed it was only because they'd killed her, not because she was my sister. I don't know how they didn't know or how they never figured it out, but it probably saved me. If they'd known… they probably would have killed me, too, and said Catria and I had run off together."
    "And they won't listen to you now, either," Corin said, connecting the dots. The priests didn't like Rafferty because he was threatening how they did things—and had since the beginning. "I'm sorry."
    "I'm going to fix it," Rafferty said fiercely. "I'm going to make sure they don't do it again. No one believed me when I told them what they do out here. They hide it so well, and no one in the city who is strong enough to realize what they're doing is willing to travel out here to see for themselves."
    "What if they don't listen?" Corin asked, digging his fingers into the mattress. "What if they ignore you and continue to do it their way?"
    "I'll make them listen," Rafferty said darkly. He sat up abruptly, glancing at Corin. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be putting you in the same position they put me."
    "My sister is safe at home," Corin said, shaking his head. "It's not the same thing."
    "It's blackmail. You help me, or both of you die. How is that any better?" Rafferty asked bitterly, his mouth turning down.
    "You're not trying to kill me," Corin said, rolling his eyes. He knew Rafferty didn't see it. It was too dark, and Rafferty wasn't looking at him in any case. "You're trying to keep me from dying, which I do appreciate. I'm sorry I've been… hesitant."
    Rafferty snorted, finally lifting his head to look at Corin. "You've had good reason."
    "I'd help, even if I wouldn't die if I didn't," Corin said. He reached out and set his hand on Rafferty's shoulder, hoping to comfort or reassure Rafferty in some small way. Heat shot down his arm, unsettlingly close to the way Rafferty's touch had seared through him the previous day. Rafferty jumped, and Corin pulled his hand back, his face heating. "Why does that keep happening?"
    "I don't know," Rafferty said, lifting his hand to touch his shoulder where Corin had touched him. "I've never had that happen before."
    "Me neither," Corin said. He needed to keep his hands to himself so it didn't happen again. Crossing his arms, Corin stared at the rug, wondering if the ceremony would be as simple as Rafferty described. Probably. Rafferty did seem to know what he was doing, and Corin believed his story about his sister. It made sense, and Rafferty hadn't been faking his heartbreak.
    "You can share the bed with me," Rafferty said abruptly, and Corin's fading flush flared back to life. Surely Rafferty didn't mean what Corin thought he'd meant. "You can't go back to your room now, and I'm not going to make you sleep on the floor."
    Corin nodded. He didn't feel tired, but Rafferty hadn't slept the afternoon away. He'd probably been working on the casting circle