Free Forgiven by Jana Oliver Page A

the Fallen?’ the priest asked, targeting her error.
    If she admitted that Ori had been the one to claim her father’s soul, this questioning would go bad in a hurry. She shrugged. ‘Ori lied about a lot of stuff.’
    ‘This Fallen, what else did he tell you?’
    ‘That he was hunting the Five that killed my dad. That it was rogue and had to be destroyed.’
    Amundson said something to Salvatore in Italian, but the lead hunter shook his head.
    The priest continued. ‘Why did the Fallen target you in particular?’
    Riley didn’t want to get into the whole Hell is after me because of Heaven’s deal thing. ‘I don’t know. I’m just an apprentice trapper.’
    ‘Yet you claim to have captured a Gastro-Fiend on your own.’
    Rosetti’s chiding hit a nerve. ‘I don’t claim anything. I caught it. I . . . got lucky,’ she said. ‘I should have been the thing’s supper that night.’
    More conversation in Italian. Did Stewart understand any of this? He must be. He’s not asking them to translate for him.
    The priest turned back towards her, his brows furrowed. ‘Who destroyed the Geo-Fiend at your master’s home?’
    ‘The angel.’
    ‘Why did you lie to Captain Salvatore and tell him it was Master Harper?’ Rosetti pressed.
    ‘Because Ori asked me not to tell anyone he’d done it.’
    ‘Was Master Harper aware of this arrangement?’
    ‘No. He was knocked out at the time.’
    ‘Why would you do what the Fallen asked of you?’ he asked.
    ‘I’d found out he was an angel by then so I trusted him.’
    Rosetti seemed taken aback. ‘You knew he was a Fallen and yet you continued to have dealings with him?’
    ‘No,’ Riley retorted. ‘I only knew he was an angel, not that he worked for Hell.’ Her throat tightened and she struggled to take a breath. Sensing her distress, Stewart poured her a glass of water and placed it front of her. Murmuring her thanks, Riley picked it up in shaking hands. She took her time sipping the liquid, allowing her to think through what she would say next.
    One wrong word and I’m history.
    She set the glass down with a quaking hand. ‘I was hanging with Ori in Centennial Park and someone bumped into me. It made me feel weird and next thing I know I can see Ori’s got wings.’ She shook her head at the memory. ‘That pretty much told me he wasn’t buying his clothes at Walmart.’
    ‘Pardon?’ Rosetti asked, puzzled.
    The priest had no sense of humour. ‘I didn’t find out he worked for Hell until later.’
    Amundson spoke up. ‘Are you trappers so ignorant you don’t recognize a Fallen when you see one?’
    ‘Would you?’ she shot back. ‘It’s not like there was a big X on his forehead or anything.’
    ‘There are ways to tell who they serve,’ the man replied.
    ‘Well, nobody told me, and I’m certainly not a mind reader,’ Riley replied. ‘He was polite and didn’t treat me like a child, unlike about every other person on this planet.’
    A faint smile curved at the edges of Stewart’s mouth. ‘Apprentice trappers are not taught about the Fallen. It is assumed they will never encounter one until they reach master level. Clearly it’s time ta revise that assumption.’
    The priest nodded gravely. His eyes went back to Riley. ‘Where is your father’s corpse at this moment?’
    Rosetti had unknowingly given her an out by specifying ‘at this moment’. Her dad could be at Mort’s or he might be somewhere else by now.
    ‘I’m not sure.’
    ‘Did you pledge your immortal soul to Hell?’
    Though he frightened her more than any of the other hunters, she glared at Rosetti. ‘No, I did not give up my soul,’ she insisted.
    Leaning forward, the priest rested his elbows on the table. ‘You are the first female in the Atlanta Demon Trappers Guild. I understand that your apprenticeship has been turbulent, to say the least.’ He paused for effect. ‘Perhaps you were angry at how you’ve been treated by the other trappers and saw a means to seek