The Last Sin Eater #ONC 2023

4

Willa sat at the edge of the pool, heedless of the damp stone beneath her. She hugged her legs to her chest, resting her cheek on top of her knees so she could look at me. I settled beside her without any sort of grace, the damp soaking into the frayed cloth that encased my legs. My wings were a painful drag on my spine, but I'd grown used to ignoring them.

Pondering Riley's remark, I wanted to know more about these humans. I never held a full conversation with one before I learned their stories through their memories. This would be another new experience. "What happened to your other children?"

Willa's brows shot up. "Ouch. How old do you think I am, Gus?"

I paused. She didn't seem angry, but I sensed I may have insulted her somehow. Scanning her face, I knew she was more developed than Riley, a full adult, but her skin was smooth and tight. "What happened to your other siblings?"

Her lips pulled in a smile. "Nice recovery, but Riley and I aren't related."

"She is not your young?" I frowned. I knew mothers were highly protective of their offspring, but Willa seemed to care for Riley with a similar level of commitment.

"No, big guy," Willa laughed. The smile fell from her face when she glanced back to the room. "I found Riley at the edge of a settlement right after the feeders arrived."

The weight of her words rolled between us, gaining momentum until it crashed into me. "Did they see her?"

Willa swallowed, picking at her worn shoelaces. "Yes."

The feeders were hunters in a very literal sense. Once they caught a scent, they never forgot it and they never let it go. Age, race, and identity didn't matter to the feeders. They went after the young and the old and everyone in between, devouring whole towns, every human alive until their screams went quiet. Then they would find the ones who hid through the first round.

Not a soul left alive when they finally moved on, ambling for the next cluster of humans hunkered down for the end of the world.

How Riley escaped them was another mystery, but they would come for her eventually. "Did they see you?"

Willa's hazel eyes met mine. "No." Her scarred fingers tap and dance along the length of her leg. "They never see me," she admitted.

"That's not possible," I told her.

"Well, they haven't yet," said Willa. She picked a fleck of mud free from her jeans. "Caesar found her first. Hiding inside the hummer her mom stuffed her in right before the feeders dragged her away. Her mom and her three brothers, she saw it all." She stopped talking, tears gathering in her lashes. "I hotwired the hummer and took off with her in it."

"How long have you been running?" I didn't understand everything she told me, but even evading the feeders in some sort of vehicle with someone they'd scented was a feat.

Willa gave a harsh laugh, wiping at her face. "How long has the world been ending?"

"Thirty-six months by human standards," I said.

She gaped at me. "Specific. If I had to hazard a guess, maybe two years."

The feeders hadn't caught up to them for two years? This made no sense. About as much sense as bringing me into their home.

"Did you lose family too?"

Instead of answering me, Willa nodded to my wings, jutting at awkward angles from the ground. "Why do you think this is your burden?"

"It is my purpose," I told her. "I take in the sins of humanity, and this is the consequence of my mission."

Willa made a face. "Take in the sins? What does that mean?"

"It's what I am, Willa," I said. "A Sin Eater."

Her gaze flicked up at the words. "But you're not like the feeders."

I shook my head, but wasn't sure I could explain it to her, not when my purpose remained impassive in her presence. Perhaps there was some truth to her statement that the feeders didn't see her. Except Riley didn't evoke my purpose either.

"I try to save as many souls as I can from the feeders, but it's been harder to keep ahead of them like this." I winced at the scrape of stone.

The female huffed. "Gus, if your mission is to save every soul you can from the feeders, how does gimping yourself with crusty wings help you complete that goal?"

Half of her words didn't make sense, but enough did to give me the same sour sick feeling from earlier. "I don't understand."

Willa lifted her head, pointing at my wings. "You let it get this bad, so bad you must be in constant pain, to the point where you can barely function, but you keep refusing my help. That's not saving anyone." Her expression darkened with an unexpected flash of anger. "How many people got eaten alive so you could nobly cripple yourself? Your suffering didn't save a single soul."

Her admonishment created another first to the night, an emotion I'd never experienced before but one I recognized well from the sins I'd consumed. Shame burned in my throat, tamping on my censure at her accusation. I'd allowed their sins to stain and tarnish my wings. I'd convinced myself it was a consequence of my purpose. Except by allowing, it to worsen, I'd failed in my mission.

"Do you really think you could help them now?" How long would it take her to tackle such a monumental issue? Did it matter when whatever time I spent here was ultimately in pursuit of my mission?

I'd told myself it was a temptation to let her touch them, but maybe whatever made Willa able to withstand my presence unharmed was exactly what I need to complete my purpose.

"Yes, I do. But not tonight," said Willa. She stood, brushing at her legs. "Sleep on it and tomorrow, let me know if you'll share your burdens."

She left me at the pool's edge, her curious choice of words lingering in my thoughts long after she went to bed. It wasn't until dawn spilled through the opening in the ceiling that I remembered Willa never answered my question about her family.