Beside Chauncey, Penelope mouthed the words the patriarch spoke. She’d planned this confrontation for a long time.
Strangely, Lady Marissa remained silent, reserved and slightly apart from this verbal fray. Her son stood just behind her left shoulder, ready to whisper advice or information as needed. Gregor didn’t know which of her twin sons it was. They exchanged place frequently and looked exactly alike.
“It is not our place to question the visions of Laudae Harmony.” Gregor bowed his head. He had to bite his cheeks in vexation. He knew this day would come. Just not quite so soon.
“This aberration of nature cannot continue among us,” Lady Sarah added. She represented a minor family that had made a powerful alliance by having her marrying Penelope’s brother—a dilettante with no priestly calling. That tied her to Marissa as well.
“Sissy cannot be trusted with important rituals,” Sarah continued. “This Lood brings change and disorder to our ancient and respected traditions. You have been negligent in this, Gregor. I call the High Council to remove you and your protégée from office.” She neglected to add a title to Sissy’s name. As severe a breach of protocol as anything they accused Gregor of.
“If found guilty, both of you must face trial as traitors to Harmony,” Nathaniel concluded. That aged but unbowed Noble normally represented compromise on the High Council. “The penalty for treason is death by beheading.”
Everyone in the room shuddered at the thought of the hideous and humiliating punishment.
“Only a full conclave of my caste may remove me from the rank I have earned.” Gregor stood and faced Penelope, his true adversary. The heat of anger flushed his face and hardened his gaze.
“My Lords, My Ladies, Laud and Laudae, you must look at this!” Guilliam burst into the private room. He couldn’t have chosen a more opportune moment. He brushed past Penelope as if she wasn’t there. Their arms touched briefly. She did not react.
Strange.
“You are presumptuous and ill-mannered to burst into the presence of the High Council uninvited,” Penelope snarled, as if she were one of them rather than their puppet master.
Gregor raised his eyebrows. “So are you, Penelope.”
“But you have to see this.” Guilliam waved a handheld computer in his superior’s face. A very expensive instrument loaned to Gregor by the Spacers. He had no intention of returning it.
Gregor grabbed the computer and held it at arm’s length to focus better. He viewed the forecourt from the perspective of a hover cam near the roof. He watched the entire ritual as well as a piece of the skyline. At the moment Sissy broke free of the ritual to begin her dance among the crystal pillars the cam shifted its angle upward. The sky grew blacker with tinges of yellow to the mist. Then a piece of the cloud spun lower and lower, a tornado forming before his eyes.
A second and a third spiral pushed downward. Then five more. An unprecedented storm in a year of unprecedented planetary upheaval.
The swirling winds whipped at clothing and hair, anything loose on the ground, pulling things upward into its voracious maw.
Then the reaching whirlwinds pulled back, withdrew, spat out what they had engulfed and faded back into the rapidly dissipating dark cloud cover.
“What is this?” He handed the computer back to Guilliam.
“She did it, sir.” He pointed to Sissy. “She countered the storm and made it break apart.”
The High Priestess sat up and took the computer into her own hands. She sighed happily and handed it back.
“Let me see that,” Penelope demanded. She grabbed the instrument and stared at it long and hard. “You faked this. You had to. No storm would gather so intensely and then just go away. You are all conspiring to destroy the order of our society by supporting this charlatan. Everyone knows a tornado rotates counterclockwise. She ran the same direction so she couldn’t have countered it.”
“Then you should listen to the latest news reports coming in from all over the city.” Guilliam faced Penelope and the High Council squarely, standing his ground as Gregor had never seen him do before. Usually he whispered compromise while fading into the background. “The tornado touched down in three places just outside the Crystal Temple and caused only minor damage. All the meteorologists are puzzled because the storms circulated clockwise. They only do that in extreme and unusual circumstances. My homage, Laudae Harmony, you saved our city once more from devastation. Every member of every caste in the city is waiting outside the gates for a glimpse of their new High Priestess. They want to express their awe directly to you.” He knelt and bowed his head.
Sissy touched his hair briefly in blessing.
Penelope stormed out of the vestry, lips clamped tightly into a thin line, cheeks flaring red, and eyes smoldering with plans. “I curse the day you came to us, Sissy of the Worker caste.”
The High Council looked back and forth between Penelope’s retreating back and Sissy, not knowing which represented the stronger power.
“I bless the day I found you, Sissy of every caste,” Gregor said loudly and bowed to his priestess. “I had planned to speak to you privately about changing your name to something more appropriate. But I believe you have earned the right to become, Estella—Laudae of the Stars—as well as our own Laudae Harmony.”
The girl blushed and shook her head, eyes wide with bewilderment.
Sissy accepted Laud Gregor’s assistance to sit up. A wave of dizziness made her pause before swinging her legs over the side of the lounge. It passed quickly and she rose, still holding his arm.
“The man who carried me away from the altar?” Sissy had a vague memory of a tall, blond man with kind eyes. She’d said something to him about choices and paths.
“Sergeant Jacob da Jacob pa Law Enforcement HQ H Prime,” Guilliam said.
“I would speak with him.”
“He’s gone,” Guilliam said. “I’ll call him back.”
“Later,” Gregor countered. “Laudae Estella has an empire to greet.”
“I have a wedding to perform.” Sissy paused in her careful steps toward the tunnel. “My brother . . .”
“You are in no condition to perform another ritual,” Gregor insisted. “I shall do the honors for your brother, My Laudae.”
“No. I will.” She shook off his support. Her balance held. The swirling confusion of prophecy had vanished the moment she touched the altar and grounded the storm energy. “Mr. Guilliam, please bring my family to the forecourt.”
“My Laudae,” Gregor protested. “A wedding should be a private, family affair. If you perform the ritual in the forecourt, the entire empire will view it through the hover cams.”
“So be it. I want my first official duty as HPS to be one of joy, invoking Nurture and Unity. Very symbolic. Very important.” Resolutely she walked forward.
At the tunnel exit she found a smile deep within her and flashed it to the waiting throng. Cheers rose up around her.
Then suddenly Mama and Pop were there, gathering her into a hug. More of her family joined the embrace.
The cheers of the waiting empire drowned out all other thoughts. Her heart swelled in gratitude and tears of joy touched her eyes.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
"WHY AM I HERE, GIL?” Penelope asked quietly.
Gil drove a roomy town car. Penelope’s seven acolytes rode in the back, squished together and fully occupied with their own gossipy conversation. He doubted any of them eavesdropped on their elders.
“Because you are the Director of Religious Education.” A more logical pairing than Shanet who welcomed the opportunity to remain in Temple and complete some of her own work.
“I know that.” She rolled her eyes upward. “But why did you insist I visit a public school today? I have meetings and new texts to review.”
“Our new HPS is visiting this school with her acolytes. We need to keep an eye on her.” Sissy rode ahead of them in a much bigger car with a Professional driver. Gil had personally selected the dri
ver, Bertie, for his dedication and hereditary loyalty to the Temple.
Sissy’s acolytes had plenty of room, except they had to share space with the cat, the dog, the lizard, and a newly acquired kitten with only one eye.
Penelope crossed her arms under her magnificent bosom and frowned.
Gil wanted to gaze fondly at her figure. He didn’t dare take his eyes off the road.
Two rapid turns took them around back of a huge factory complex to a smaller building. Bertie parked Sissy’s car in the middle of the street in front of a modest double door.
Fortunately, this district didn’t get much wheeled traffic that would have to inch around it.
Gil politely pulled his car as far to the right as he could manage. He spent several long moments adjusting his position.
Penelope frowned at him. He didn’t bother explaining that he thought it important to disrupt normal lives as little as possible. Sissy’s presence alone would do that. Why add a traffic jam to it?
Frequently craning his head into a new position, he searched for signs of Little Johnny and his ever-present hover cam. There, at the corner, ready to move closer when he could follow unobtrusively.
Penelope and Sissy might not appreciate media presence at this visitation. Gil thought it important.
Bertie exited Sissy’s car and scooted around to the offside door. He paused a moment, took a deep breath, and opened the door for Sissy.
She ignored his proffered hand of assistance and bounced out. Her girls followed in a whirlwind of exuberance. Dog took the opportunity to run around the car three times at top speed before settling at Sissy’s heel. The cat and the lizard remained inside.
Kitten? Gil made a swift survey, automatically counting heads and bodies, just like he did with his own five children—the two youngest, twins, assisted Penelope. Ah, there, one of the middle girls cradled the kitten in her arms.
All present and accounted for.
The hover cam caught it all.
The double doors opened to frame Lady Marissa, her twin sons behind her. She stood with all the majesty and grace bred into her from countless generations of inherited power. A mature woman full of confidence and arrogance. She directed a benevolent smile toward Sissy and held out her hand in greeting.
Gil didn’t believe in her sincerity for one moment. He immediately cast off his jovial family personality of Gil, and became Guilliam, the watchful and wary chief administrative acolyte to the HP of all Harmony.
“What is she doing here?” he asked. “This is Chauncey’s domain.” He didn’t want anyone stealing time in the media coverage away from Sissy.
“I don’t know,” Penelope replied. She smiled and rushed to greet her aunt.
But Marissa’s entire attention was on Sissy. The older woman gathered the HPS into a familial hug. Then arms draped about each other, they ambled inside.
Guilliam hurried to catch up, making sure all of the acolytes preceded him. Interesting how the youngest of the girls in both Sissy’s and Penelope’s gaggle tended to cross to the other group and pair off according to age. Since Penelope’s girls ranged in age from nine to seventeen, and Sissy’s from nine to twelve, the oldest girls kept to themselves.
He had to remind himself that these children had spent a lot of time together during Sissy’s training. And Sissy tended to treat all of them as one big happy family.
A quick look made sure that Little Johnny observed it all.
Just inside the doorway, Penelope grabbed Guilliam’s arm and pulled him aside.
“What is that smell?” she whispered and wrinkled her nose in disgust.
“An old building filled with too many bodies,” he replied.
“Sharper than that. It smells . . . it smells like an over-ripe diaper.” She’d know. She’d changed enough of them over the years, keeping her children close. Balking at her mother’s and her aunt’s insistence that she place every child in the Temple nursery, Penelope had nursed them as long as possible, entrusting them to the nursery only when fully weaned and out of diapers.
Guilliam approved. He’d been raised by his mother along with two sisters and a brother. And they all had the same father. Penelope had confessed to him early on, that she had ached for a mother and close family as a child. Lady Marissa had given her more love and attention than Marilee.
“Old plumbing not maintained,” Guilliam explained.
“But that’s . . . that’s uncivilized. Why don’t these people do something about it?”
“They can’t. Not without Lord Chauncey’s authorization. And he doesn’t release funds for new pipes or plumbers to fix them.”
“We’ll see about that.” Penelope stalked after the retreating backs of Lady Marissa and Sissy.
“I want to visit a classroom,” Sissy said.
“But I’ve arranged with the director for you to meet a few specially selected children who show great promise in advancing to supervisory positions,” Lady Marissa said. She frowned and clenched her teeth.
“Later. First I want to see what has changed since I went to school here.” With that, Sissy marched to the nearest door and flung it open.
Guilliam could just see a mass of small bodies, all dressed in coarse brown coveralls. The subtle sounds of whispers and restless shifting ceased abruptly.
Penelope moved forward to peer over Sissy’s shoulder. She began to shake with anger.
Guilliam hurried to her side and pressed his hand against her back, not caring who witnessed the intimate touch. “Easy. No sense in making a scene in front of the hover cam.”
“How can they survive like this? Twenty, thirty, no, fifty children in a room designed for twenty. Five to a book. And only one teacher who looks totally exhausted.”
“That’s the way it has always been in the Worker caste. They make do with what they have. No one thinks to give them anything better, especially if it costs their lord money.”
“Something has to change. Now. It’s inhuman to treat children like this. They’re just children.” She placed a hand on the shoulder of each of her two youngest girls.
“Change has already started. With Laudae Sissy. You’re the Director of Religious Education. You can follow her lead and correct some terrible wrongs.”
“I intend to. But first I need to talk to the director of this school and make certain they’re at least following prescribed curriculum.”
She turned on her heel and made her way toward a partially open door with the word “Director” painted on it. The once-red paint had faded and chipped to be almost indiscernible.
Lady Marissa scurried after her.
The hover cam followed.
Sissy turned to Guilliam and flashed him one of her charming smiles. “Did it work?”
“She’s beginning to see the light.”
“Good. Now let’s go meet some children.”
“Where are we off to today, Laudae Estella?” Gregor asked as he inserted himself beside his High Priestess in the back seat of her car.
Seven little girls, all dressed in lavender, scooted and rearranged themselves to accommodate him. His knees brushed the shoes of the littlest one sitting across from him. She had to stop swinging those feet to avoid kicking him. A deep frown marred her picture-perfect blonde beauty as she sought another outlet for her restlessness.
“I did not expect you accompany us to the . . . children’s hospital and then some playtime in the park,” Sissy said as she deposited her cat in the little girl’s lap. Instantly, the animal’s purring soothed her squirming.
Dog reached up his muzzle to rest on her purple-clad knee and whined for a pet. She gave it to him, all the while keeping her gaze firmly away from Gregor.
The car moved forward smoothly and picked up speed so gradually that Gregor hardly felt the transition. He’d chosen the right driver for her.
“Visiting the sick is the work of lesser clergy, Laudae Estella.”
She winced. “My name is Sissy. Plain Sissy. I never was a fancy person an
d I don’t need a fancy name.”
“But the people need an elegant High Priestess with an elegant name.”
“The people need comfort and prayers, and I don’t see anyone else at Crystal Temple attending to those duties. So I must. And from what I’ve seen so far, the people like a plain and simple High Priestess they can talk to.”
He nodded to her logic. “They also need someone to inspire awe that they can look up to.”
“Plenty of folks at Crystal Temple pretend to inspire awe. Seems kind of repetitious, um, redundant, for me to try and fail.”
Gregor looked out the window while trying to find his next riposte. As he watched, they sped past the children’s hospital in the Professional neighborhood adjacent to the Crystal Temple.
He leaned forward and tapped the driver’s shoulder. Sissy had left the dividing glass down, inviting familiarity and eavesdropping. “You passed the hospital.”
The driver nodded and kept on going.
“Laudae Estella, where are we going?” Gregor turned a stern countenance upon her.
She gulped and looked away.
“I’m waiting for an answer.”
“I’m going to visit the asylum.” She stuck her chin out in stubborn defiance.
“That is not authorized.” He shuddered with revulsion.
“I’m your High Priestess. I authorize where I go, when I go.”
“But it’s dangerous!”
“Then we will stop and collect a Military escort. But I am going.”
“Why, in the Name of the Seven?”
“Because it is the place I fear most. It is the place where I would have been sent eventually if you had not brought me to Crystal Temple,” she whispered.
“You are safe now, Sissy.” He used her familiar name as he patted her hand. “You are HPS of all Harmony, protected and beloved.” Now maybe they could turn around and go back to the safe confines of Crystal Temple.
“I have to do for the castoffs what everyone would be too afraid to do for me. I need to eliminate the fear of mutations.”
No, you don’t! he wanted to scream. Without that fear, people would view the mutations as natural. Next, a person born out of caste would assume the higher caste. Mixing would follow. A disruption of the orderly process of society. He couldn’t allow that.
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