Malachi didn't seem to notice the boy's urgency in getting farther away from him -- or if he did, he didn't seem to care. As soon as the poor thing ran about and started pulling the cart, he moved to walk alongside it.

At least the youngest one had stopped crying. Taking notice of her little attempts to engage him, Malachi returned her smile and raised a hand to wave at her. Children usually took to him quicker than adults, but given his record with the people of Whitby thus far, he was not counting on even that.

Many of his past parishioners had even trusted him to watch over their children after school most days. He was starting to think that some of his current parish would sooner denounce their faith.

"Sure," he answered. "A priest can go wherever he needs to, if he's doing something important. Why isn't your sister allowed in most of them?"