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Authors: Amy Bartol
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and Reed. He pauses, his silvery-blond eyebrows drawing together in question. “Do you mean, can they ever be restored to their previous state, before they were changed?” Preben asks. When I nod, he answers, “No.”
“What if they changed their behavior? Would that make them less objectionable?” I probe again, not looking at anyone in particular.
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” Preben replies.
“I was just wondering, what if a Gancanagh chose not to feed on humans, but got her blood from a different source, animal blood or donated human blood—like from a blood bank or something?” I ask. “If she changed her nature, would you still hunt her?”
“Yes,” Preben replies without taking a breath.
I close my eyes. “Why?”
“Because they are evil,” Preben answers without hesitation.
My nose wrinkles. “I’m sketchy on the whole good evil thing, Preben. I thought that deeds are good or evil, but that beings have the ability to choose their own paths, so they have the ability to be good as well as evil,” I say, feeling hostile.
“There is inherent evil, Seraph,” Preben replies. “Evil by its very nature. They have no use for anything they can’t abuse. They destroy all that they touch.”
“That sounds very black and white to me, Power,” I reply. “It must be nice to have been created to the right ascendancy.”
“It is,” he states, “very nice, wouldn’t you agree? You are Seraphim and you have a soul. I would say your ascendancy is nearly absolute.”
“If I am so powerful, then why do I need bodyguards from Dominion?” I counter.
“Your existence has its drawbacks,” he replies and he has the audacity to smile at me. “You are at a serious disadvantage right now. You don’t possess our strength yet. You have no knowledge of Paradise except for human hearsay. You cannot speak our language. I can say anything I want to right in front of you and you won’t know if I’m ordering dinner or plotting your death. When you speak of evil, I can see that you don’t really know what you are talking about. Don’t get me wrong, I know you have seen evil deeds, murder, mayhem, but true evil like what dwells in Sheol? I don’t think so or you wouldn’t be debating the Gancanagh with me. You would be focusing on how we can eradicate them.”
“Did you just call me weak and ignorant?” I ask Preben in a calm voice, feeling a blush creeping into my cheeks.
“No, not weak and I would never call you ignorant. I called you young and half human with a pure heart. You came to us. Remember? You asked for our help,” he says.
“You had something I wanted,” I reply, looking at Reed.
“Yes, but something has changed. You were willing to tell us about the Gancanagh before, but now you ask if they can be saved,” he probes.
“They’ve taken a friend of mine—a human friend. They changed her. I want to know what can be done to save her,” I say, dropping my animosity in order to gain the information I need to save Molly.
“If your friend gave up her soul, we cannot save her,” he replies without even pausing, like she asked for what happened to her.
“No, she didn’t give up her soul, they took it. She was drugged by their touch, unable to make a fair decision,” I retort.
“Did you just say ‘fair?’” he asks, raising his eyebrows. “You don’t expect the Gancanagh to be fair, do you? They are evil killers who never do anything without it being entirely to their advantage. There is no fairness in them. I would have thought you would have learned that during your time with them. Did they ask you if you wanted to be Gancanagh?” he asks me pointedly. I look down, shaking my head. “No, they tried to force you into becoming one of them. The fact that you aren’t one of them speaks volumes for you—it is probably why you are alive now. No one could successfully argue that you are evil after seeing what you endured at their hands and still managed to hold on
“What if they changed their behavior? Would that make them less objectionable?” I probe again, not looking at anyone in particular.
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” Preben replies.
“I was just wondering, what if a Gancanagh chose not to feed on humans, but got her blood from a different source, animal blood or donated human blood—like from a blood bank or something?” I ask. “If she changed her nature, would you still hunt her?”
“Yes,” Preben replies without taking a breath.
I close my eyes. “Why?”
“Because they are evil,” Preben answers without hesitation.
My nose wrinkles. “I’m sketchy on the whole good evil thing, Preben. I thought that deeds are good or evil, but that beings have the ability to choose their own paths, so they have the ability to be good as well as evil,” I say, feeling hostile.
“There is inherent evil, Seraph,” Preben replies. “Evil by its very nature. They have no use for anything they can’t abuse. They destroy all that they touch.”
“That sounds very black and white to me, Power,” I reply. “It must be nice to have been created to the right ascendancy.”
“It is,” he states, “very nice, wouldn’t you agree? You are Seraphim and you have a soul. I would say your ascendancy is nearly absolute.”
“If I am so powerful, then why do I need bodyguards from Dominion?” I counter.
“Your existence has its drawbacks,” he replies and he has the audacity to smile at me. “You are at a serious disadvantage right now. You don’t possess our strength yet. You have no knowledge of Paradise except for human hearsay. You cannot speak our language. I can say anything I want to right in front of you and you won’t know if I’m ordering dinner or plotting your death. When you speak of evil, I can see that you don’t really know what you are talking about. Don’t get me wrong, I know you have seen evil deeds, murder, mayhem, but true evil like what dwells in Sheol? I don’t think so or you wouldn’t be debating the Gancanagh with me. You would be focusing on how we can eradicate them.”
“Did you just call me weak and ignorant?” I ask Preben in a calm voice, feeling a blush creeping into my cheeks.
“No, not weak and I would never call you ignorant. I called you young and half human with a pure heart. You came to us. Remember? You asked for our help,” he says.
“You had something I wanted,” I reply, looking at Reed.
“Yes, but something has changed. You were willing to tell us about the Gancanagh before, but now you ask if they can be saved,” he probes.
“They’ve taken a friend of mine—a human friend. They changed her. I want to know what can be done to save her,” I say, dropping my animosity in order to gain the information I need to save Molly.
“If your friend gave up her soul, we cannot save her,” he replies without even pausing, like she asked for what happened to her.
“No, she didn’t give up her soul, they took it. She was drugged by their touch, unable to make a fair decision,” I retort.
“Did you just say ‘fair?’” he asks, raising his eyebrows. “You don’t expect the Gancanagh to be fair, do you? They are evil killers who never do anything without it being entirely to their advantage. There is no fairness in them. I would have thought you would have learned that during your time with them. Did they ask you if you wanted to be Gancanagh?” he asks me pointedly. I look down, shaking my head. “No, they tried to force you into becoming one of them. The fact that you aren’t one of them speaks volumes for you—it is probably why you are alive now. No one could successfully argue that you are evil after seeing what you endured at their hands and still managed to hold on
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