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Bruiser sat at the table and took a smaller pasteboard box from inside the loves, and I figured they were intended to keep finger oil off the papers He put on a pair, though they were tight and the fingers too short for his long, slender hands Beautiful hands, ell-shaped knuckles and long phalanges Hands I wanted to touch I gripped thethe papers carefully, he scanned the pages I had left open "Italian," he said, es, has roots in Latin, but Italian is closest to the ancient tongue Its poetic and literary origins became more standardized in the twelfth century, and this ritten much later than that It’s dated the tenth of July, in the year of our Lord, 1593"

I knew a lot of that, but the professorial tone relaxed me, as it was undoubtedly intended to I slid his coffee cup closer to him and Bruiser picked it up, sipped, eyes on the paper "This is a letter, signed Pope Clement VIII" He raised his brows and looked at me over the lip of the cup "This should be in the archives of the Vatican In a ave it to you?" Bruiser s his head "You do have an effect on people, Jane Yellowrock"

Bruiser started reading aloud, in English, translating from the letter as he went It wasn’t a smooth and effortless translation, but it ay better thanto key the letters and words into an online translation site I took a chair across fro to theto do itches Until he read, "‘As to the workers of the ickal, my dear Paulinus, they are a hindrance to the church, and lanced up atabout the Jews The Roman Church declared theious law, even though the Romans themselves actually killed him"

I nodded I knew that

"‘and the Mohaht out with a firs with them must be meticulous to reduce their numbers comprehensively and quickly’"

"That’s horrible," I said "That sounds like genocide"

"It was exactly like genocide Religion as a political entity is always horrible," Bruiser said, his tone final

"But--" I stopped My religion wasn’t supposed to be horrible It was supposed to be based on love and generosity and forgiveness But history had always suggested otherwise And my other spirituality, the Cherokee, had a bloody and violent historical aspect that made the old pope’s comments seem conventional Hoas I supposed to look at the ested that humanity was no better today than it had ever been, that we had learned nothing And ested just the saed on the implications, I said, "Go on"

"That’s all The rest of the pages in this folder appear to be from the same era and written by the sa of property and holdings froh the papers, pausing to read here and there I refreshed his coffee, feeling disturbed for lots of reasons He closed the file and stood, returning it to the box, his fingers es and files He reached deeper in and pulled out a very old book "Ah, this is what you’ve been hoping for, I think Treatise of the Magikal" Bruiser opened the book and paged through the front; looked at me from under his eyebrows "Shall we take this to the other room?"

"Yeah Okay" I started hi rooot up for the day and went to the bathroo me info on Satan’s Three, andwhat I was and doing what I did Bruiser sat on the couch, and after a moment, I curled up on the other end

"This book is from the seventeen hundreds, printed in Gerue is limited, so I’ll read, translate, and then suuages and all I mean, I know you’re old, but--" I stopped myself "I mean you’re not old old, but you’rejust"

"Old?" he asked, that saed uncomfortably, and he asked, "How old are you, Jane?"

I jerkedwarmth from our kiss chased away by the question

"Are you as old as I? I was born in nineteen hundred and three" His eyes were crinkled slightly as he watched rated to the colonies, I had a classical education, learning Latin, Greek, French, mathematics, philosophy, and history Once I entered Leo’s household, I was tutored by a variety of Mithrans in nues, their histories and mutability, the cultures they reference and revive froht lifted from my shoulders when he didn’t react "Found in the woods when I elvish No memories Raised by wolves All that nonsense It ht atsilently for more For no reason I understood, I answered "I was about five on the Trail of Tears"

"The nunahi-duna-dlo-hilu-i," Bruiser said softly, his voice holding no nuance at all

Shock that he pronounced it perfectly went through me and my heart rate sped "Yes"

"The trail lasted from 1831 to 1838, and involved many tribes in the eastern part of the States The Cherokees were the last tribe ht have been born anytihteen thirty-three"

He didn’t look like he was about to freak out so I nodded once, a jerk ofthe cradle, then," he said Huhter burbled out of me, part of it relieved nerves, the other part surprise at the play on words "I’, I added, "I haven’t slept with you yet" A hot blush followed the shock throughwhen I heard that last word come out of my mouth