The man who had most recently been called Ranger Damion Knox was tired. The signs that the last of his stolen life force was fading were obvious. There were times when he thought about letting it happen. It would be so must simpler to just let everything go, but then the reason he had taken this path burned in his heart. To protect the regular people from supernaturals; that had never changed.
He heard muffled thumping from the trunk. He felt a little guilty about kidnapping a Catholic priest. That had been his religion as a child back in France, but this was a man who was also the rarest type of supernatural. His energy combined with the rest should keep him going decades to come. It felt like proof that he was doing the right thing. He'd never found another Empath that he had a chance of capturing. It had been so simple to meet Father Serrano at the airport, take him to a car, and drive away. The old man hadn't asked for any proof of what Knox claimed.
"Your friend Father McCabe had been in an accident. I'm here to take you to the hospital," he said.
"Oh dear, is he all right. Let's go," the Father said.
He opened the door for the old man and offered his arm, but Serrano slipped into the passenger side on his own and pulled the door shut. Knox reminded himself to remain calm. An empath was only as good as the input he got. As long as Knox didn't become angry or excited, the good father shouldn't suspect anything was wrong.
"Have we met somewhere?" Father Serrano asked. "You look familiar to me."
"I'm told I have that kind of face," Knox said. "I moved here recently."
"Ah, I've been in Italy, but I guess you know that, since you just picked me up at the airport. Maybe I knew one of your relatives. Do you have any family in Seattle or Italy?"
"No, my family are all French. Have you been to New Orleans?"
"Not recently. Perhaps I saw one of your relatives."
He realized the power of the Empath. It was very easy to talk to this man. It had to make him a good priest. Perhaps he should have been looking at priests and therapists for some of his sacrifices. It seemed so easy to just confess to the father. What would he say to all the killing Knox had done? God was supposed to forgive anyone who asked. Wasn't that how it worked? He hadn't confessed in centuries. Since he was going to kill the Serrano anyway maybe confession would be good for the soul.
"Father, do you think there are any sins that can't be forgiven?" he asked.
"That depends on whether you're asking for man's forgiveness of God's. God can forgive anything, if you are truly penitent, but as a police officer you must know that there are things the law can't absolve."