With the still unconscious Cassandra in their clutches, Father Zein led Sadie into the village below. Some of the townsfolk they walked past, all of them somewhere between tanned by sun exposure or naturally dark-skinned, paused in their actions to examine the three as they went by. Sadie picked up on hushed whispers in a language she didn't know from a few fruit stands, and the discomfort made her skin crawl. Despite what the priest said about people doing as they pleased, she fought the urge to peel her increasingly-sweaty jacket off out of fear of committing some kind of faux pas. Eventually, the bustle started to dissipate as Zein approached a small building formed all of dark stones. The structure had no door, just a wide opening. Above the entrance, two lines of lighter-colored stones formed a sloppily made cross.

With a rueful chuckle, Sadie muttered, "Of course. Another church."

Without a turn to look at her, the priest asked, "What was that?"

She blew a breath up at her face. "Nothing."

"I mean it, you can say what you need to here." Zein spoke as the three crossed through the threshold. "If you want to take it back, that's fine. But if you need to speak, speak."

With a shrug to herself, Sadie peeled off her jacket. "No, don't worry about it." A few other reactions pressed at the forefront of her mind, but the last thing she wanted to appear was ungracious to someone who may well have both of their lives in their hands. "Are you just setting her down in a pew or something? I woke up like that a little while back."

"We have some blankets and such, I'll bring them out." Zein paused at a pew. Before they set Cassandra down, Sadie slipped around them, folded her jacket, and set it down like a pillow. Then the priest set her down with her head atop it. Sadie sat down at her side, held, and rubbed one of her hands. When the priest returned with the blankets, they set them aside.

With her eyes still exclusively on Cassandra, Sadie said, "You're really taking the two of us falling out of the sky in stride."

The priest remained quiet for a few beats before they said, "I have some awareness of things that are to be. Details can become hazy, particularly with regards to the power that is within you. But your coming was foreseen."

With her unused hand, Sadie rubbed at her forehead, eyes shut tight. "All right. Sure. Clairvoyance. Add it to the pile, I guess."

"Are there names I can put to the both of you?"

Before Sadie could even consider falling back to the names from the boat, she said, "Sadie. And she's Cassandra." As soon as she said it her stomach turned, but she knew there was no taking it back.

"Very good. I'll leave the both of you to recover for now," Father Zein said. "But can I bring you anything? Are you hungry?"

"I think so, now that you're asking," Sadie said. "Or maybe the wooziness is coming from something else."

"Something simple for the moment then," the priest said. "I'll go to one of the stalls and be right back."

Sadie nodded and, after a moment's hesitation, said, "Thank you." As the priest departed, she squeezed Cassandra's hand and shut her eyes tight. "Cassie, I'm trying my best not to freak out here but—but I don't know what we're going to do now. I don't know how I got us out of there, and I don't know if they even have electricity around here, let alone a way to get home." Her voice started to crack as she fought back tears. "Our families, our friends—are we ever gonna see them again? This was so much easier when we had a goal, but that's gone now. And, I mean, I saw those guys attack that boat we were on, they know how to get places. I'm scared. Damn it, I'm so scared." Her voice started to shake with those last words.

For a little while, she sat in complete silence save for her sniffles. The church was quiet enough that she perked up and wiped at her eyes when she heard the sound of footsteps. Father Zein returned, two old fashioned waterskins and a few thin rolls of tannour bread in their hands.

"Eat this slowly," they said. "Same for her, when she awakens. The flavor is simple and mild, but eating too quickly after moments of illness is no good."

Sadie nodded as she accepted the parcels. "Thank you again."

"Has she stirred?"

She shook her head. "Not that I've seen."

"If she is still unwell in the afternoon, I will cleanse the wound again," Father Zein said. "For the moment, if you need nothing more of me, I will go and return later."

Sadie's mind whirled as she considered the thought. Being alone so far from home scared her, even when she barely knew this person. "What—where will you be? What do you have to do?"

The priest showed her a gentle smile. "There are always sick and hungry that need tending to," they said. "Others need healing, and I am supposed to help with the stew tonight."

The words made Sadie look down with embarrassment. "I, uh, I can't argue with that. I'm sorry."

"No need to be sorry," the priest said. "You may come with me, if you wish."

"No," Sadie said. "I'm sorry, I'm sure it's good work. But I want to be with Cassie when she wakes up."

"Of course," Zein said. "You should not be disturbed, even if others come in to pray. But if there is trouble, assure them you are here as my guest. You will be shown respect."

Sadie swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay. Okay, thank you. Again."

The priest departed once more. Sadie tore off small pieces of the flatbread and chewed slowly. It didn't taste like much, but that suited her fine in the moment. Between bites she whispered to Cassie, "I don't know what I'd do if this priest was another jerk. She—crap, no, sorry—they. They're the best one we've had since your friend back in Gotham. At least I hope so. This can't just be a big trap, can it?"

For the first time since they'd fallen into Qurac, Cassandra let out a pained groan. Sadie raised the clutched hand to her lips and kissed her knuckles.

"The priest literally left because they had good work to do, making people feel better and helping people who need more to eat. Remember what you said about the Vatican? How disappointed you were with all the statues and fountains and stuff? This place isn't as comfy, but you don't mind the difficult stuff, do you?"

Over the next hour, Sadie saw little movements behind Cassandra's eyelids. The movements turned into a squint and, slowly but surely, Cassandra opened her eyes and raised her free hand to her head. Still clearly disoriented, Cassandra pushed herself upward and looked around.

Sadie felt like she was letting out a long-held breath. "Oh thank God."

Eventually, Cassandra asked, "Where are we?"

"A church in Qurac." Sadie uttered an uncomfortable laugh. "A middle eastern country I couldn't find on a map."

"What?" Cassandra shook her head. "How?"

"This stupid thing again, I guess." Sadie flashed the stigmata. "Why else is anything happening to us right now?" She reached to her side and retrieved half of one of the flatbreads. "You hungry?"

"Thirsty, more, but I'll eat." Cassandra accepted the bread. With the knowledge of someone who'd awoken from unconsciousness plenty of times before, she took the same slow bites Sadie was instructed to. After a few swallows, she asked, "Is this a church?"

"Yeah, a priest brought us here," She said. "Sh—crap, he—no, I'm sorry. Long morning." Sadie rubbed her forehead. "There's this priest. They don't use gendered pronouns, but as a title thing, they're Father Zein. The same Father Zein that Arlington was talking about, I think. They apparently know some more stuff about our current situation, and they're going to explain it when they get back."

Cassandra nodded slowly, then glanced to Sadie's side and confirmed the Sword of Salvation was still with them. She took a few more slow chews of the bread, swallowed hard, and asked, "Think we're safe for the moment?"

"I don't know," Sadie said. "I don't know how long it's going to take without us being attacked again before it sets a new record for the week." She started to speak faster as she pressed on. "I'm scared, I'm restless, everything sucks—we still don't even know what happened to Tim and Steph, I just—" Cassandra laid one of her hands on Sadie's and squeezed. As Sadie squeezed back, she said, "I'm just glad I didn't lose you too."

Unable to come up with a decent response, Cassandra made it a point to remain close. In the dark, humid church, the two just remained near one another. Eventually, steps behind them heralded a third person, and Cassandra got her first look at Father Zein.

"I've made arrangements for the both of you," the priest said. "Let me show you the way."

Cassandra hesitated for a moment, but for once Sadie rose, took the lead, and motioned for her to follow. Together in a line of three, they stepped back out into the afternoon heat and noise. Zein led them only a short walk to a building on the edge of the marketplace, close enough for the clashing smells of perfume and frying meats to waft in their direction. Again, a few shoppers, mostly women in headcoverings and giggling children paused to watch the three, but they were all forgotten as Cassandra and Sadie were led inside. The entrance of the house, a wide, traditional liwan, was furnished minimally, mostly just by a divan that sat opposite the front door where an elderly, tight-faced woman sat, head uncovered, a drink in her trembling hands.

Zein spoke to the old woman in a language Cassandra and Sadie couldn't understand. The woman on the divan looked at the priest and the two younger women with a face that looked as tight as someone who'd bitten into a lemon. By the number of words uttered, it seemed as if they were explaining a number of finer details. Eventually, Zein paused long enough for the elderly one to grunt.

"There are two rooms this way." Zein motioned to a door to their left and a second one on the opposite side of the corner. "You can make yourselves comfortable there."

Sadie spoke quick. "Wait, hang on. She's—she's—you know—my bodyguard. I need her close, I need—"

Father Zein turned to the elderly woman and started to speak. She interrupted with a few grunts, then the priest turned back. "Anne says that is fine."

Surprised, Sadie looked to the old woman. "Thank you, Anne." Then she turned to Zein. "Tell her I say thanks."

The old woman grunted again, Father Zein didn't bother to translate and led the two of them into the first chamber to their left. Beyond the door was another mostly bare room, occupied only by a dresser on one side, a wooden chest nearby, and a large, navy blue Persian rug that covered most of the floor.

"Things are old fashioned here, I'm sure you've noticed," Father Zein said. "Technologically, at least. Qurac has few villages still standing since the attacks years ago, and to use electricity would invite the attention of warlords who have claimed much of the area. We have returned to older ways of living as a matter of safety." When neither woman responded with much more than nods that still might not have fully understood, they continued. "However, I have access to a few amenities. There is a jeep that can be used when travel is necessary, and there is a spot a two hour's drive from here that gets phone signals just strong enough to reach elsewhere. I'm certain you both have families who fear for your safety, I can help you reach them."

Sadie released an exasperated but grateful sigh. Cassandra, who stood in one corner to strip off the topmost layer of her armor, her gloves, and her boots, performed a sign of the cross. One after another, each said, "Thank you."

"But there's still another matter, of course." Father Zein raised their left hand and spread their fingers.

At the gesture, Sadie did likewise to reveal her stigmata again. "Okay, yeah. Sooner or later you're going to need to explain how you know about this. Even better, maybe you can be the first person nice enough to actually bother explaining what the heck this thing is and why those psychopaths are going to all this trouble for it."

The priest nodded. "You sound as if you're speaking from experience. If you are, I'm sorry for that."

"Well, it's kinda nice someone finally said so," Sadie said. "It's like nobody in your religion trusts me with information about the thing currently hanging out in my body." After a dry chuckle, she added, "Biting commentary, I guess. But you wanna finally break the cycle here? One person with a uterus to another?"

"Anything I know I will tell you," Father Zein said. "But if it would be all right, I think it would be best to explain what I know and how I know it. It is a story unto itself, but if you will hear me out, I think we will all be better prepared to proceed together."

Cassandra and Sadie exchanged a short look and nod with one another. Then they turned and did likewise toward Father Zein. The priest cleared their throat and began.