[PaulLewisMD:] [William of Brinsford] [William. Please come to the hospital as soon as you can. We’re having problems with Mr. Hitchcock. He was combative when we woke him up. He didn’t use his powers and we don’t want to take chances with what he can do.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [PaulLewisMD] [I’ll be there as soon as I can. Give me 15 to 30 minutes to get dressed and there.]

  [PaulLewisMD:] [William of Brinsford] [Thank you. We sedated him again. He seems to be fighting it.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [PaulLewisMD] [Roger that. I’ll let you know when I’m there.]

  [PaulLewisMD:] [William of Brinsford] [Thank you.]

  Putting the robe and sandals back into my INVENTORY was easy enough. That’s when I realized I didn’t own any STORE-bought socks or underwear. More things for my to-get list, I thought, adding to the mental list that never seemed to shrink.

  I gulped the rest of my coffee, set the mug down on my desk, and headed for the bedroom. Ten minutes later, I was dressed, only missing my sword, hat, and cane. My balance still wasn’t what it should be, and the cane gave me another +1 INTELLIGENCE. I pushed it up to +2 before I left. The familiar weight in my hand made me feel more like an adventurer again.

  The hospital smelled faintly of antiseptic, coffee, and old linoleum wax. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead as I went straight to the front desk. Dr. Lewis was standing there, waiting.

  “What’s the problem with Wild Bill, and how can I help?” I asked. “Another Anti-Magic Ward?”

  “Yes, come with me. He’s on the third floor,” Lewis said, pivoting toward the elevator. His shoes squeaked against the polished tile as we walked. “He was ranting about being damned and unfit to live. Also, that he had to rid the world of others as damned as he was. That included you.”

  “Dr. Serrano, our resident psychiatrist, is with him now,” he added. “He can explain further,”

  “Thank you,” I said, following him into the elevator.

  Wild Bill was in a regular double room, the far bed had been stripped bare. A nurse and two orderlies stood by the wall, uneasy, watching. Restraints bound him to the bed. Clear tubing from an IV led into his left arm, and wires trailed to a monitor that beeped steady vitals.

  Dr. Serrano sat on a rolling stool beside the bed, speaking in a calm, steady voice. Wild Bill stared at the ceiling, unblinking, ignoring him. His jaw twitched once, but he gave no other sign he heard.

  Lewis crossed the room, tapped Serrano on the shoulder, and whispered. Then he waved me forward.

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  “Talk to him,” Serrano said, standing and offering me the stool. “Maybe he’ll respond to you. I can’t help him until I know what he’s thinking, and right now he won’t even acknowledge me.”

  I sat down, the vinyl seat creaking beneath me. “I’ll do what I can, but I already have an idea,” I told them. “He was controlled by the World Boss to attack me. When that failed, he killed himself. You already know that part.”

  Both doctors nodded.

  “What may not make sense is that the World Boss wasn’t just bad…it was Evil. Evil with a Big E. Wild Bill dedicated his life to fighting that. Father Stoddard told me he’s a member of Opus Dei. Honestly, you should have Father Stoddard here, not me.”

  I drew a deep breath and let it out slow, choosing my next words carefully. “Bill probably believes Satan, or some demon, took control of him. When I put a WARD on him, it broke that connection for a while. But he still felt damned beyond saving. So, he sacrificed himself, or maybe just carried out a compulsion to destroy himself if he failed the mission.”

  The room went quiet but for the steady beep of the monitor.

  “Dead. In hell,” Wild Bill muttered. His voice was flat, monotone. “Should be there. Gave in to evil. Deserve it.”

  “William,” I said, leaning closer. “You are not evil. Evil controlled you. Father Stoddard brought you back. God wouldn’t have allowed that if He didn’t still have a reason for you to live.”

  His gaze stayed fixed on the ceiling.

  “Bill. Listen to me. You’re a US Marshal. You swore an oath. If you’d done your job wrong, you’d already be gone from Eddington. Are you giving up on being the officer you were sworn to be? Are you giving up on your faith? Father Stoddard believes in you. He prayed for your soul, and you came back.”

  I pressed harder. “The bible preaches redemption. No sin is beyond it. You may have sinned, but that doesn’t mean you can’t repent and be redeemed.”

  He blinked. Just once, but it was something.

  “I saw you at the Battle of Eddington. You blessed people in the shield wall, gave strength to the police and people on the front line. I think you blessed Chief Brown before he stood down the gangs. You were faster than most when you ran to save the hostages. That’s what a paladin does. That’s what a Holy Paladin is.”

  Another blink. Slower this time. He still said nothing.

  “Are you going to give up on your order? Your faith?” I asked.

  He blinked once, then a slow second time.

  Getting through to him… but not enough.

  I checked his Paladin class progression in the System Rules. After Level 5, he gained HEALing spells. At 11, Revive. TURN UNDEAD was at Level 4 spell. None of that helped me here.

  So, I changed tactics.

  I set my hand on his, feeling the restrained muscles tight beneath the skin. “William. I’m sorry. I’m responsible for what happened to you out at the commune. I told Sheriff Harper to bring you because I sensed the evil out there. I should have left it for him to handle, but I didn’t.”

  “That gave evil a chance to twist you. If Father Stoddard hadn’t been with me at the convention center, it would have taken me, too. If I’d still been at the commune when you arrived, I would’ve let you take the artifacts.”

  His hand stiffened. The veins stood out as his fingers clenched into a fist beneath mine.

  “You wouldn’t,” he rasped. His eyes flicked toward me for the first time. “You’d keep it for your own power.”

  “William,” I said firmly. “I didn’t keep it. I buried it where no one else can find it.”

  “Evil always finds a way.”

  “Maybe it does. But that evil is gone for now. When it returns, it won’t be the same. The book and the knife no longer have power.”

  His lips cracked into the faintest whisper. “Prove it.” His eyes slid toward me, then back to the ceiling.

  I straightened and swiveled on the stool to face the doctors. “I’ll be back in about an hour. I’m contacting Father Stoddard, Shadow, Ingrid, and Bhaarrt. They’ll confirm the box we sealed it in and the items inside.”

  Standing, I left the room, the echo of my footsteps carrying down the sterile corridor. I didn’t look back.

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