You really think I have any interest in working for you right now, after learning all this? I have to get to Father Jerome, warn him. Hell, warn all of them about these crazy SANCTUS people. I don’t see you guys putting out a bulletin anytime soon.” “Then I propose you think a little more broadly.” “Do you now.” I really hated it when Armaeus became sanctimonious. He nodded. “Our interests are not mutually exclusive in this case. As it happens, the greatest amount of assistance you can provide Father Jerome and your compatriots is to assist me in recovering a particular lost item.” “Yeah, somehow I don’t think—” Armaeus continued as if I hadn’t said a word. “One of SANCTUS’s recent acquisitions is an item of great personal value to me, and necessary for the council’s continued work,” he said. “I need you to recover it.” That did catch my attention. The members of the council were collectors in their own right, and they were as avaricious as any client I’d ever had.
