“What are you wearing under the cassock?”

  The question hits the air so suddenly that Felix flinches and seems to sober up just a little, though not entirely. He lifts a stern gaze toward Elias, brows drawn together. His good mood gives way to unease.

  “Why are you asking me something like that?”

  “What, scared?” Elias bares his teeth in a grin, amused in a way that borders on delighted, propping his head on his fist. “I want to show you something, but for that you’ll have to take the cassock off.”

  “Show me what?”

  “A place,” Elias rises and extends both hands toward the priest, offering to help him up. “You’ll like it, and it’s very dear to me. You do want to know me better, so you can guide me onto the righteous path, right? Your face always gives you away.”

  “You’re right,” Bauer exhales with resignation. “I won’t lie.”

  Felix hesitates, clearly unsure how to answer. On the one hand, it could be anything, and stepping into a predator’s territory was foolish no matter how you looked at it. On the other, it really was a chance to know Elias better. Besides, if something were to happen to him, it would be useful to know where he might be found. Everyone had places they kept close to the heart, even a snob like Bauer, and Felix understood that holding such knowledge would give him leverage. Influence. After all, that was precisely why he had never fully pushed Elias away. Because of Mrs. Huber’s request. After a couple of minutes of thought, he nods.

  “All right.” He tries to stand on his own, but the alcohol sends his head spinning, so he has to clutch the offered hand. “Will a shirt and trousers do?”

  “Not really, but fine. The important thing is to take that cassock off. It’s far too recognizable.”

  “My face is recognizable too,” the priest retorts as they make their unhurried way toward the exit.

  “If that worries you so much, I could just take your face off,” Elias jokes.

  Felix jerks sharply, shaking his head.

  “I’m not serious,” Elias adds quickly. “Don’t worry so much.”

  It does nothing to calm him. Felix barely notices them stepping down from the church porch. Guided by a firm hand, he pauses only for a second to look up at the starry sky stretched out above them. It was… beautiful. Small, bright points scattered across black canvas, forever enchanting and drawing the human eye, yet only now did Felix seem to grasp the full value of this eternal wealth, as everlasting as God Himself. The moonlight tonight was pale, softly outlining rooftops. The moon hung high above the town in a neat crescent, keeping the stars company. And the rare, half-transparent clouds only added to the charm of the night.

  “The moon is beautiful tonight,” Felix says without thinking, transfixed. “I never noticed before.”

  “The moon?” Elias glances at his relaxed face and loses his train of thought. A soft smile touches his lips, unnoticed. “Yes. It really is.”

  Elias’s car smells of leather and cigarettes. And something sweet, betraying the recent presence of women. Felix tries not to think about whether that sweetness belonged to Elias’s sister or to some woman of easy virtue. Meanwhile, Huber drums his fingers on the steering wheel, lost in thought. Unsure what to do with his body, Felix tugs down his slightly ridden-up sleeve and notices his hands are trembling. He cannot name the exact reason for it, even to himself, but blaming the alcohol feels more pleasant than admitting to nerves from sitting in someone else’s car.

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  It wasn’t his first time, after all. He owned a car himself, though he couldn’t drive, and occasionally found himself in the front seats of parishioners kind enough to give the holy father a lift to remote parts of town or houses closer to the forest. On those rides he felt no discomfort, only gratitude. So what was different now?

  After rummaging in the glove compartment for a few seconds, Elias pulls out a pair of small red glasses and hands them to Felix.

  “Put these on.”

  “What for?” Bauer asks, though he takes them.

  “You said it yourself. Everyone knows your face,” Elias shrugs. “We need to cover you somehow.”

  “Thank you.”

  Elias snorts and clamps a cigarette between his teeth, lighting it. The car fills with a sharp, biting smell. At least the sweet perfume is gone now, and that brings a small, unexpected relief. For a moment, Felix doubts his own thoughts. Is it the absence of the perfume that pleases him, or the presence of Elias? He feels an urge to strike himself, but scenes like that in public seemed excessive, even to him. Sleepiness creeps back in.

  Felix grips the glasses in his hand, turning toward the window and trying not to think too hard about where he is being taken. Each new guess feels worse than the last. It’s easier to distract himself and wait for the inevitable. He had never walked through the city at such an indecent hour before, and so the empty streets, dark houses, and lit windows feel unfamiliar, yet fascinating. Deeply fascinating. Visiting the sick, the elderly, the dying, attending dinners by invitation, he knew where almost every townsman lived. That made it all the stranger to look at their windows after midnight and wonder. What were they doing so late? Or why were they already asleep?

  The car slows, and soon they stop far from where respectable, law-abiding citizens lived. Felix finally looks away from the street and turns to Elias, who is adding more jewelry to himself. Chains. Rings.

  “Where are we?”

  “You’ll see,” Elias says, shaking out his hair to give it more volume. “Still worried?”

  Felix shakes his head and steps out of the car first. Elias doesn’t follow immediately. He preens in the small mirror, adjusts his T-shirt, even rolling the edges of its already cut sleeves to bare his arms further, twists his rings, fixes his hair once more. Only then does he step out and catch up to the priest. The scent of the car and cigarettes still clings to him. Felix suddenly realizes they now share that smell, and it makes him flush. Elias looks genuinely beautiful, as though all his exhaustion has been wiped away. He comes closer, and a large hand adorned with a bracelet and a watch settles on the priest’s shoulder.

  “I told you it wasn’t wise to walk like this. You’ll be recognized,” Elias says, fingers sliding lower, sending a swarm of goosebumps racing across Felix’s skin, catching on one of the cassock’s buttons and easily undoing it. “So short-sighted.”

  Felix feels profoundly wrong. At least because no revulsion follows the sensation of being touched. He submits to the quick hands, feels the fabric slide from his shoulders, feels himself being freed from a shell, as if from something too pure for this place. Standing before Elias in a black shirt tucked into strict trousers, fully covered yet feeling obscenely exposed, he wants to freeze in this moment forever.

  “You look better without rings,” Felix murmurs quietly, unsure what else to say.

  “Really?” Elias, folding the cassock and placing it on the back seat beside his bag, stops and looks at his hands. Then he huffs and slips the rings into his pocket.

  After that, he gently presses a hand to the priest’s back, guiding him toward a metal door above which one word glows in green neon.

  Crystal.

  There is something familiar about it.

  Nodding casually to the guard standing nearby, Elias leads his companion inside.

  The moment Felix crosses the threshold, a harsh stench of alcohol, cigarettes, and cheap perfume assaults his senses, neon and bright light burning his eyes. Only now does he remember. Crystal. Of course. That’s where Elias works, according to him. And where else would they go, if not his workplace? Felix immediately steps back, wanting to get out as quickly as possible, but Elias squeezes his shoulder in warning, not letting him retreat.

  “Where are you going, Father Felix?” he asks softly. “Frightened?” He circles him, coming to his left side, nudging the priest into the glow of neon and drunken revelry. “Don’t be so afraid. I’m right here.”

  “Elias, don’t take this sin upon yourself,” Felix murmurs, closing his aching eyes and exhaling slowly. “Do not tempt me.”

  “Oh? You already feel tempted?” Elias mocks openly. “What is your faith worth if a single evening can undo years of righteousness?”

  Felix turns so sharply his neck begins to ache. He wants to argue, to challenge the provocation, but cannot recall a single counterargument from the Bible. Whether it is the pounding music, the overwhelming lights, or the simple fact that Elias is right, he cannot tell. God had always tested His most devoted followers, and it would be arrogant to think Felix would be spared. Still, Bauer has no intention of surrendering so easily.

  “I won’t drink anymore,” he says after a moment. Then adds, “Not even wine. Not even new wine. I’m here only because of you, and you need to understand that.”

  Elias blinks, staring at him in surprise, before covering his mouth with his hand and turning away, hiding an embarrassed smile. His shoulders shake as if he is trying to contain laughter.

  “Almighty God, you’re adorable,” he murmurs into his hand, running his fingers through his hair and exhaling. “For me? Well then… if that’s the case…”

  And together they step into the neon-lit establishment, breathing in drunkenness.