Father Serrano moved under Knox's grip. "I'm sure you know that there are ways to cheat an Empath. You say you're going to drop your defenses, which shows that you have them. I'm not a mind reader. Someone your age is certainly going to be good at hiding their emotions."
Knox sighed. "Since you don't trust me, I have another proposal. We will call Father McCabe and you can question him about young Timothy before you tell him what I want you to. Surely you want the chance to help save a young life."
Knox could almost see the wheels turning in the Father's head. The chance to talk to a friend, to say goodbye at the very least. There was no way that he wouldn't take it. Serrano sighed.
"Give me your phone. I will call him," he said.
Knox pulled out one of the phones he bought at a local drugstore. He let the father dial a number. He wasn't sure if he would cheat the good father on this deal. There wasn't all that much to be gained by killing a twelve year old Blood Mage.
The whole virgin sacrifice thing had turned out to be mainly a myth. The theory was that the more life and experiences a person had left to live, the more energy you could get out of them, but he'd found the opposite. The more experience his victims had, the more life he'd gotten out of them. Simply killing Father Serrano might give him decades more life, but he was determined not to let these children get the better of him. The one thing that would help him was sacrificing as many different types of supernaturals as he could. He'd never been able to kill more than three before.
He wasn't going to settle for less than three, but perhaps he could let the one go. If the boy really was in touch with other Blood Mages, it might be worth it to set him free so that he could find the others. Timothy's claim that there was not way Knox could track down the other members of his little group wasn't realistic. He would have all the time he needed.
"Donald, I need to ask you something. Do you know anything about boy named Timothy?" Father Serrano asked.
"No, there's no time for you to ask me questions. Is there a boy named Timothy involved in all of this? There is. All right. You're going to talk with Mr. Knox now. Listen carefully to what he says." He handed the phone over.
"I've told Father Serrano and now I'll tell you," Knox said. "If you two do as I say, the boy will go free, whatever else happens. You're going to come meet us at Berry Fields Cafe in Centralia. Come alone and don't tell anyone. If you do this, I will let the boy go free."
Knox ended the call and pulled out his syringe. He tool just enough blood to make Father Serrano suggestible. Then he turned on the television and did his best to get a short rest before they would drive to meet McCabe.