Read 05 - Warrior Priest for Free Online

that he had practically carried her down to the water’s edge. But despite
her terrible ordeal, there was something noble in Anna’s piercing, grey-green
eyes. They had been chatting for a few hours now, and Ratboy had never met
anyone quite like her. There was such intensity in her gaze that he found it
hard to meet her eye. He guessed she was only a few years older than he was—early twenties at most—but he felt childlike in her presence. He wondered how
he must look to her. A ridiculous figure, probably, with his gangly limbs and
tatty clothes. Not the kind of man to turn her head, certainly. He suddenly felt
ashamed of himself for thinking such thoughts about a priestess and looked down
into the palms of his hands, trying not to think about how full and red her lips
were. Anna continued shaving her head, oblivious to his admiring glances. “So,
tell me about Wolff,” she said.
    “Jakob Wolff,” sighed Ratboy. “He’s a bit of mystery to me, I’m afraid. He’s
not what you might call a great talker, so even after three years in his
service, I don’t know too much about him.” As the topic of conversation shifted
onto another person, Ratboy’s confidence grew, and he met Anna’s eye with a
little more surety. “Although, that said, I’ve seen him turn the tide of a whole
battle with nothing more than words.” His face lit up with enthusiasm as he
warmed to his subject. “I’ve seen dying men claw their way up from beneath
mounds of the dead, just to fight by his side.” He shook his head in wonder.
“Despite his hatred of sorcery, there’s a kind of magic in Brother Wolff.”
    “Really?” asked Anna, wiping the knife on her tattered robes and looking at
Ratboy with a bitter expression. “I’ve met many of these Sigmarites. In my
experience their faith seems little more than glorified bloodlust.” She
shuddered. “Is he really so different from the man who tried to burn me
yesterday?”
    “Surman? He’s no priest. He’s just a cheap fraud, exploiting people’s fear to
pursue his own tawdry ends.” Ratboy shuddered at the thought of the man. “He
calls himself a witch hunter, but the title’s just a mask he hides behind. And
he’s certainly no templar. I think he may once have been a catechist—a lay
brother that is—but Wolff told me Surman has no connection with the church at
all now. He’s just a very dangerous man.” He paused and looked around the
valley, to make sure they were alone. “He killed Wolff’s parents,” he whispered.
    Anna’s eyes widened and she handed Ratboy’s knife back to him. “Killed them?”
She shook her head. “That would explain things, I suppose. I thought at first
he’d come to spare me from the flames, but I quickly realised that he had other
priorities.”
    “He did save you, eventually.”
    “Really? It was you I saw fighting through the flames. After that I can’t
really remember too much.” She placed a hand on Ratboy’s arm and smiled. “You
risked your life for me. I won’t forget it. Maybe Wolff played his part, but I’m
not sure I’d still be here if I had relied on the compassion of a warrior
priest.”
    Ratboy blushed and withdrew his arm. “My master’s a devout man. He would’ve
saved you, I’m sure. You must understand though, his thoughts haven’t been clear
of late. He became a wondering mendicant when he was very young, as a kind of
penance. But he was tricked. It’s only very recently that he’s learned the
truth. He’d always believed he had blood on his hands.” Ratboy paused, unsure
whether to continue. “Everyone looks to the priesthood for guidance. When things
seem this hopeless, they’re the only ones we can really trust. We all rely on
them so heavily to revive our faith when it flags, but what if…” his voice
trailed off and he looked awkwardly at Anna.
    She continued his thought for him. “What if a priest begins to know doubt?”
    Ratboy nodded and leaned towards her, speaking in a low