Billy-Ray raised an eyebrow. "See, I don't go 'round killin' in the Lord's name. I'm not even sure how to do that. S'that mean I'm doin' it right?"
He paused. "And I'm not overestimatin' anything," he added, disgruntled. "You ain't seen me at my best, when I don't have a hole in my gut. I could have tunneled to China and back. And I mean the country, not the library."
This was a good change of pace, though. Not shattered and crying on the point of passing out, but not ridiculously calm and stoic either. This was something Gabe got angry over, something that meant a lot to him, and Billy-Ray could use that. Needle him, provoke a response, just for the hell of it. Just for the fun. Maybe not right now, because there were much more important things to do (and he didn't even start thinking about what those things were), but definitely soon. It wasn't like they could ever release a mind-reader who just happened to be friends with Pleasant, after all. Billy-Ray couldn't keep censoring his own thoughts forever.
'Course, theoretically, once Scarab's plan worked, he wouldn't have to.
~~
Father O'Reilly took a sip of the tea that was placed in front of him, already feeling a little out of his depth after just the one explanation. And not even an explanation related to the question he'd asked. What Solomon was describing seemed absurd, impossible, and yet there was no choice but to believe every word.
"I don't understand." Father O'Reilly put the tea down, and looked at the fruitcake without taking any. "Even if I could have my name legally changed by next week, how would that help? Anyone who came only has to ask someone from the church to learn my... given name."
Don't think about it too hard, he advised himself silently. It was easy to say now, of course; but Father O'Reilly knew that he would be more than a little paranoid in the coming weeks, once he'd had time to think things over. And all of the courage the Lord could possibly grant him, which had never been in question before, suddenly didn't feel like it would be enough.
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He paused. "And I'm not overestimatin' anything," he added, disgruntled. "You ain't seen me at my best, when I don't have a hole in my gut. I could have tunneled to China and back. And I mean the country, not the library."
This was a good change of pace, though. Not shattered and crying on the point of passing out, but not ridiculously calm and stoic either. This was something Gabe got angry over, something that meant a lot to him, and Billy-Ray could use that. Needle him, provoke a response, just for the hell of it. Just for the fun. Maybe not right now, because there were much more important things to do (and he didn't even start thinking about what those things were), but definitely soon. It wasn't like they could ever release a mind-reader who just happened to be friends with Pleasant, after all. Billy-Ray couldn't keep censoring his own thoughts forever.
'Course, theoretically, once Scarab's plan worked, he wouldn't have to.
~~
Father O'Reilly took a sip of the tea that was placed in front of him, already feeling a little out of his depth after just the one explanation. And not even an explanation related to the question he'd asked. What Solomon was describing seemed absurd, impossible, and yet there was no choice but to believe every word.
"I don't understand." Father O'Reilly put the tea down, and looked at the fruitcake without taking any. "Even if I could have my name legally changed by next week, how would that help? Anyone who came only has to ask someone from the church to learn my... given name."
Don't think about it too hard, he advised himself silently. It was easy to say now, of course; but Father O'Reilly knew that he would be more than a little paranoid in the coming weeks, once he'd had time to think things over. And all of the courage the Lord could possibly grant him, which had never been in question before, suddenly didn't feel like it would be enough.