That in of itself was extremely commonplace as the Divine Ones disappeared all the time. What made this occurrence strange was the absence of a flash of light. Instead, the two just slowly faded away.
He had never seen that before.
Hmmm. He knew from years of being . . . well, of being a creep, that anything that was out of the ordinary held the promise of a windfall if he was smart about it. This situation, however, was different. He wasn’t looking for financial gain . . . he was looking for a chance to get to know a girl.
In any event, he needed time to consider his options. Patience was usually a good thing . . . even though his heart was telling him to hurry.
All in all, it almost made him seem normal.
*****
Meanwhile, after Jax’x’s meeting on the Gracie
She rematerialized in her bedroom, a big grin on her face. The last two hours were probably the most exciting of her life. Then her mind involuntarily leaped to the night she and Jay’gar discovered they were in love . . . and she blushed at the thought of the rest of that intoxicating memory. She nodded to the mental image of her young man – letting him know that, upon further consideration, what she had just experienced only rated a distant second.
Shaking herself out of her reverie, she started to run through all the things that she needed to do . . . but didn’t get very far. First on that list was to contact Po to update her on their plans. She glanced at the clock on the wall and was startled to see that it was two in the morning. She was so energized by all the goings-on that she had completely lost track of time.
As that excitement began to wane, she became aware of how very tired she was. Torn between calling Po or diving under the covers of her bed, she deliberated what to do. Yawning, she decided not to wake her friend at this late hour. Her call could wait till morning.
But she was wrong.
*****
The meeting of the Absolutes had dragged on well into the wee hours of the morning. Grassy Knoll had used all the means at her disposal to postpone this confrontation for almost two months, but in the end, Forest Green had prevailed. But that was her plan all along . . . allowing the delay to raise the temperature of the confrontation.
With Chaos ’mas fast approaching, everyone was bracing for the power struggle that would shape the Assembly, and hence Spell ‘Bound, for the next six years. It was abundantly clear where the battle lines were being drawn . . . between these two Absolutes.
It seemed to all that at this moment, Forest Green had the upper hand. She had told the Assembly about Pond Ripple’s transgressions and how she, Forest Green, had meted out appropriate punishment by banishing the Librarian’s love into the Cell of Transitional Non-Being. The others involuntarily shivered at the thought of the poor man locked in that hell. That Forest Green had conceived and conjured such a device – one that no other had yet duplicated – made her someone to admire and, more importantly, to fear.
She had also told them that she confined Pond Ripple to her room awaiting Grassy Knoll’s disciplinary action. “To date, my esteemed colleague has chosen to do nothing. I ask her now, are you too soft, too biased by friendship, to do what is required? I gladly offer my personal assistance in this matter if you deem such actions too onerous.” The other four Absolutes willed their mouths not to smile.
Grassy Knoll also fought the urge not to smile. Forest Green thought she had the upper hand, just as she – Grassy Knoll – wanted her to think. That is why she kept delaying this confrontation . . . to feign weakness. But it was now time to turn the tables and watch that smug sneer turn into an angry frown.
“You are too kind, my dear friend. Perhaps it’s the lateness of the hour, but I cannot think of a proper course of action. Her behavior was egregious and requires a fitting, and severe punishment. Please, tell me what I should do?”
That got the other five to raise their collective eyebrows. Was Grassy Knoll conceding the contest? Forest Green knew that wasn’t the case. Her opponent was laying some kind of a trap but, she could not see what it was. Time to tread a bit more carefully.
“I sympathize with your inability to deal with such a difficult situation. But, upon further consideration, who am I to judge one of your acolytes . . . and protégées. The girl must be very close to your heart. I am sure we can all commiserate with your lack of certainty. I think this assembly . . .” but Grassy Knoll cut her off.
“Please forgive my rudeness but may I remind you of your offer which I assume was proffered in good faith and without any thought of chicanery”. She waved a finger and Forest Green’s words from a moment ago wafted over the table. “I gladly offer my personal assistance in this matter if you deem such actions too onerous.” So, please tell me . . . tell us . . . what I should do to a fellow Divine One?”
And there was the trap. In all the known history of this world, there had never been an instance where a Divine One was taken to task for wrong behavior. The simple reason was that they all had equal power. Unless the person deemed in the wrong volunteered to accept punishment (like Po had done with her confinement), in theory no one could force them.
A secondary reason was that the Divine Ones didn’t want the citizenry to see any of their own punished. As far as the people were concerned, Divine Ones could do no wrong. It would not serve if they thought otherwise.
So no one ever tried to discipline another of their kind. Chastise, yes. Punish, no. It was an unwritten, sacrosanct law. To willingly break it was an unthinkable breech of custom. It could only mean that the individual who did so deemed themselves very, very powerful . . . more powerful than the combined mental strength of every other Divine One. And that kind of power was unimaginable.
And now Grassy Knoll was forcing her opponent to severely punish Po. The girl had guessed she might become a pawn in a power play . . . and she had been right.
To the other four, the pendulum had quickly swung back. Despite the foolish thing Pond Ripple had done, it did not merit the risk of further punishment. Forest Green was trapped. She could either apologize and back down . . . or do the unthinkable. Either way, the four now knew who they would side with come Chaos ’mas.
But they were only half right in their analysis of the situation.
“Forest Green . . . I am waiting.”
“Well . . . that is to say,” she sputtered. Trying to regain the upper hand she tried a different tack. “I would permanently remove her from her former duties and insist that she never approach the Librarian again. They have obviously become friends . . . though how that is possible, I cannot fathom.”
Lame. Worse yet, everyone knew it.
Grassy Knoll let the ensuing silence linger . . . for every second that passed, Forest Green lost more and more respect . . . and support.
“Well?” demanded Green.
“Well, I think your suggestion is unworthy of an Absolute.” She held up her hand to stop the rejoinder that was about to be spat her way. “What if Pond Ripple was planning something more sinister than just helping out her friend?”
“What are you implying?”
Grassy Knoll actually had no reason to believe any other explanation. However, she needed something more disturbing . . . something that would justify anything she would do. “In these past few weeks, I have delved more deeply into this matter. I now have reason to believe she was conspiring with the Librarian and that young man to overthrow the natural order of things.”
The other five weren’t sure whether to be amused at the absurdity of that statement or horrified. By the looks on their faces, they chose the latter. “What does that mean?”
“They have the childish notion that they can remove the Divine Ones and put ordinary citizens in charge of governing this world. Before you tell me the obvious impossibility of such a thing, that is beside the point. They were planning treason. They were hoping to incite the populace into open rebellion. Laughable, most assuredly . . . but think of the trouble it would cause. At the very least it would put
the idea into the heads of every non-Divine on this world. At worse, we would be forced to . . . to rid ourselves of many otherwise innocent people.”
Again trying to save face, Forest Green tried to take the credit. “And I stopped it. I believe you all owe me a debt of gratitude.”
“You blundered . . . and by pure luck you postponed the uprising. But you did nothing to the Librarian and as far as Pond Ripple, she would have eventually been free to go about her business. All you did was alert them, put them on their guard. Your actions were noteworthy . . . for their ineptness and utter incompetence. You do not belong at this table.”
“How dare you?”
Grassy Knoll narrowed her eyes into snake-like slits. “Let me show you what a capable Absolute would do when faced with such a situation.” She raised a finger and an assistant entered. “Pond Ripple has been confined to her room. Rouse her and bring her here immediately.”
“May I tell her why?”
“You may not. Now go.” When the aide left, Grassy Knoll told the others, “Do and say nothing. Understood?”
Four nodded . . . guess who just glared.
“I will have your word, Green.”
“As you wish,” she snarled.
A few moments later, a tired and dazed Pond Ripple opened the door. “You wish to see me, Mistress?” Realizing that it was a meeting of the six Absolutes, the girl became alarmed . . . summoning all her will power not to show it.
“You have disobeyed protocol. Do not bother me with explanations or excuses. Your confinement is insufficient punishment. Do you agree?”
Po felt trapped. Her mind was still half-asleep and she found it difficult to concentrate. The best she could do was to respond with, “As you say, Mistress.”
Grassy Knoll nodded solemnly. Then in the span of a few heart beats, there was a flash of blinding (and disorienting) light followed by a high pitch sound that was so piercing, painful and debilitating that it knocked Po to the ground. As for the Absolutes, Grassy Knoll had thrown up a protective field around each. However, she let a taste of the light and sound reach them so the others could get a sense of what was happening. For Forest Green, she had let in a little more than was necessary – a petty act but one she could not resist.
Brief seconds later, the light and sound had disappeared and Po staggered to her feet. Though her mind had involuntarily thrown up its own protective field, the phenomena had happened so fast that it did no good.
“Pond Ripple,” continued the woman, “you have been properly chastised. See to it that your behavior conforms to that of a proper Divine. Your confinement is now lifted and you are free to leave.”
Still stunned and not understanding anything that had just happened, Po just nodded and mumbled, “Thank you, Mistress.”
As she turned to leave, Grassy Knoll said, “If you wish, you may visit the Librarian for an hour a day.”
“Mistress?”
“The man, Jay’gar, is still held prisoner by my esteemed colleague. However, I sense that you and the Librarian have become friends. Other than this transgression, you have been a loyal and effective member of my staff. If you wish, you may resume that friendship. Please limit your visits to one hour. And, I will remind you just this once . . . do not remove anything from the Library without my permission.”
Po was now really confused. “I apologize for my behavior and I thank you for this kindness.”
“Leave us.”
Po staggered back to her room confused by what had just transpired but ecstatic that she could see her friend once again.
Chapter 6 – The Spy Who Loved Me
Five Absolutes stared at the sixth - dumbfounded by what had just happened.
“Are you insane? By the Holy Hex, why would you allow the traitor access to her co-conspirator? And as for punishment . . . a bit of harsh sound and an overly bright light pales in comparison to a token slap on the wrist. If the rest of you wish to see incompetence in action, you have just witnessed it.”
“Green, you continue to underwhelm me with your inability to think strategically. It is abundantly clear that you are a follower not a leader.”
“YOU DARE? After this shameful exhibition of ineptitude, I call on my fellow Absolutes to censure you. I would move to throw you out of this august body if it were permissible.”
To everyone’s shock, Grassy Knoll laughed loudly. “You do make these meetings enjoyable, my dear colleague. I will so miss you when you are gone.” She turned her gaze to encompass all five. “First, it is our tradition NEVER to punish a fellow Divine in other than a symbolic way. We all understand why this is. The fact that Green would do more should be condemned by all present.”
“I will not listen to any more of your insults.”
“Then leave.”
Forest Green was only a few degrees away from breathing fire . . . but she said no more. Grassy Knoll continued. “The sound and light were a mere distraction. Coupled with Pond Ripple’s sleep deprived state, she was unable to shield herself in time. During those seconds while she failed to react to my demonstration, I exchanged her robe with one of my own design. We can now track her movements and listen to her every conversation at our convenience. If she really is a co-conspirator to revolution, we will be able to eavesdrop on her plans and foil any attempt at insurrection. When we are sure we have identified all involved, they will be apprehended and disposed of as this august body sees fit. Does anyone wish to challenge my methods? Perhaps someone would like to offer a more clever solution?”
Four of the five Absolutes nodded their acceptance as well as their pleasure at what they had just heard. The fifth stood, gave one of those ‘looks could kill’ glares then stormed out of the room. When the door slammed behind her, Grassy Knoll said to the others, “I do hope I can count on your support.”
*****
Po tossed and turned on her bed, her emotions running wild. On one hand, she was so tired . . . having had her sleep rudely interrupted, coupled with the fear and tension of meeting her Mistress and the other Absolutes. Offsetting that was her excitement of being released from confinement and the totally unexpected pronouncement by Grassy Knoll that she could see her friend once again. Her desire to tell Jax’x the good news was tempered by concern for her friend. She was loath to wake the girl up with news that could just as well wait for morning.
Besides, it would be fun to see Jax’x’s expression when she, Po, materialized inside the Library. With that happy thought playing in her mind, she let sleep take hold and carry her off to a world of blissful, Jay’gar infused dreams.
*****
The next morning Po bounced out of bed, took care of her morning ablutions and hurried out of her room. It felt wondrous to be free to come and go as she pleased. Her plan was to walk out the front door so she could immediately teleport to the Library.
“Pond Ripple.”
She turned to see Lightning Flash, a high-level acolyte of Grassy Knoll, approaching.
“Blessings of the Hex to you, Sister.”
“And you. Our Mistress would like you to resume your duties at the Obelisk immediately.” Grassy Knoll had to continue to carry out what she believed was just a charade . . . uncovering the fictitious rebellion she concocted for the sake of her fellow Absolutes. Since Po had worked the Obelisk in the Corvallis sector for years prior to her confinement, it would be reasonable to assume that any additional fictional co-conspirators would have met her there . . . and might do so again.
Po was disappointed. She would have to postpone her trip to the Library until early evening when her duties at the Obelisk would end. “As our Mistress wishes. I will go immediately.”
*****
While Po was greeting old acquaintances as she helped the citizenry with their food and water needs, Jax’x was busy at the Library. Her focus today was to find out what the Tree had meant by the line “Heart and Hex must combine as one, Directed thru he - born with none.”
It was such a tedious job that she wi
shed she could split herself in two in order to halve the time to do the research. A moment later she let out a laugh, one loud enough that Jagged Peak – the new Divine that supervised the Library for Forest Green – looked up from whatever he was reading. He was brighter, and much more alert and diligent in his duties than his predecessor, Snow Flake.
“Problem, Librarian?”
“No, sorry. I apologize for disturbing you.” Since he was her only company, she had decided it would be mutually beneficial to be nice to the man. He was actually very pleasant and his questions showed real intelligence.
“Quite all right. If I can be of assistance, please let me know.”
“Thank you, I will.” She turned back to the volume she was perusing, a smile still playing with her lips. The reason she had laughed was the knowledge that Serenity was growing her duplicate. Once imprinted with the pattern of her mind, there would be two of her. Obviously she couldn’t use the avatar when she herself was present. Jagged Peak might find that a bit out of the ordinary. However, when she left the Library to take up residence on the Gracie, the avatar could continue the research. And that was a good thing . . . a very good thing.
She exhaled loudly then quickly turned to see if the Divine had heard her. Apparently he hadn’t. Picking up yet another book, she resumed her research. Hour after futile hour, she thumbed through ancient scrolls, tomes and manuscripts. At the suggestion of Jagged Peak, she finally stopped for a late lunch. She invited the young man to join her as she occasionally did. It wasn’t lost on the poor fellow that these invitations seemed to occur when she was most tired . . . and hated to cook her own meal. However, he didn’t care. It came as a complete surprise to him that he enjoyed her company . . . a mere citizen without the Gift.
“Is there something special I can conjure up for you today, Librarian?”
“For the thousandth time, my name is Jax’x.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Then why won’t you use it?”
Box Set #5: Nemesis: [The 4 book 5th adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood] Page 15