by Shannah Jay
Well, you should just try it. You'd never forget the experience, I promise you. The first thing I'm going to do when I get home is to attend one, to prove to myself that I'm back in civilisation.' She switched her attention to the Exec.
'Davred'll go the same way as she did if you don't watch out, Robler. Can't you do anything to stop him making a fool of himself? Yousupposed to be in charge, after all.'
'You and I both know that he's gone overboard about the Sisterhood, but he's not made enough of a fool of himself for me to do anything. Yet. He's been very careful in his role as Manifestation of their God, and he's only sent down a few simple com-units, not crucial machinery. He went through all the correct official channels before he did even that. Minor Intervention has been allowed here, as he just pointed out to you.'
She was not to be appeased. 'He's getting positively unbalanced about Sunrise.'
'Beautiful probability chart he drew up for sending down the com-units, though,' Robler said, professional admiration temporarily replacing his irritation with Davred. 'It's been incorporated into the Confex Training Manual now.'
He looked around, saw that everyone except himself and Lenlin had left the com-room, and decided to try to offer her some consolation. 'Don't underestimate Davred Hollunby, Lenlin. And don't cry for the impossible. No woman will ever hold him in a relationship.' Robler hesitated, then took the plunge. It was bound to come out eventually, and perhaps now was as good a time as any. 'You see, Davred has the potential to become a Cathartic Agent. He won't waste himself on one planet, not permanently, and if he tries, well, it just won't be allowed. Though he needn’t know that yet.'
Lenlin was shaken out of her self-pity. ' Cathartic Agent! I knew - well, we couldn't help guessing that he was rather special from the way you've babied him, but - a potential Cathartic Agent! Are you sure?'
'Yes. That's why Confex sent me here, asked me to postpone my retirement. And why I agreed to come, though heaven knows, I've had more than enough of planet-watching and I don't need the money. Still, supervising the development of a potential Cathartic Agent is another thing entirely. It's not everyone who gets a chance to do that.'
QUEST Shannah Jay 21
'A Cathartic Agent,' she whispered, still awed at the thought. 'That means genius level plus - if the potential develops.'
'Yes. You can tell the others, if you like, but don't say anything to Davred. It's about time the rest of them knew, so that they can make allowances for him. He's changing rapidly. It can't be long now until he comes into his potential. Only a few years to breakthrough point, I should think, if we're lucky.'
'Yes, but why is he here at all? Why didn't Confex locate him somewhere important? There are enough major trouble spots in the Confederation to develop the talents of a hundred Cathartic Agents. There's an outbreak of interplanetary violence in the next sector, for a start.'
'We can't use him yet in a major crisis situation. It could push him the wrong way. Davred's talent is still immature. As are his emotions, for a man of his age. It often takes Cathartic Agents decades to reach breakthrough point, though I don't think it will in his case. There have been certain signs lately - his growing resentment of my authority is one of them. But some CAs never develop their potential, so we have to be careful.'
'I wondered why a man like you had accepted such an unimportant assignment.'
'It's fairly safe to have him located here, but convenient for the Confederation as well,' said Robler, ignoring her last comment. 'When Davred's ready, they'll transfer him - or he might work out for himself where he'll be needed.
In the meantime, I watch and wait. And I shall continue to protect him - even from himself, if necessary.'
'Will he really be able to do something about the violence in the Confederation?'
'We hope so. It's growing worse. I haven't said anything to the others yet, but another warring frontier planet was barred to traffic only last week in Sector Four, and the trouble is spreading to more advanced worlds. It'll lead to outright interplanetary war, if we don't do something to stop it - war on a major scale.'
'We haven't had a major interplanetary war for hundreds of years. Surely you're wrong.'
'There have been several small outbreaks of interplanetary warfare recently, but luckily they were quickly contained. It's classified information, so don't tell anyone. Only Confex Central knows about most of them.'
Lenlin stared at him in horror for a moment, then managed a twisted smile. 'I see. Well, thank you for telling me about Davred. It does help to know about his potential.'
He patted her shoulder. 'You'll find someone else, Lenlin. After all, Davred hasn't tried to deceive you, has he?
He's never offered you more than a short-term, temporary liaison. I don't think he'll ever form a permanent attachment. You've lasted longer than anyone else, if that's any consolation. I've seen his personal records. He's too engrossed in his work to look for a semi-permanent union, let alone a full term liaison contract with child-bearing rights.'
'He hasn't even mentioned the fact that I'll be leaving soon,' she said in a strained voice. 'He doesn't care for me at all.' She sniffed and rubbed her eyes. 'I'm behaving like a primitive myself. I'll be wanting a ritual wedding and a lifelong union next! Sorry.'
She went across to one of the booths and logged into the library circuit. Shoulders hunched against the world, her long blond hair falling from its clasp to veil her face, she immersed herself in a treatise on oleo-leaf transformation strategies. But her thoughts were far away. If Davred was beyond her reach, maybe his children weren't. She'd persuade him to give her that, at least. He owed it to her. And Confex would approve. The more children a CA had, the better. She'd have enough money when she left the satellite to buy into a good cohabitation group where any children she had could be carefully reared.
Robler watched Lenlin for a moment, then shrugged and went back to his own tasks. As Exec, he was responsible for the day-to-day administration of the satellite, but was not particularly interested in the feelings of its personnel. His responsibility for Davred's development was much more important than Lenlin's troubles. Or his own. But dammit, why had Soo turned against him? He needed a woman. None of the substitutes was half as satisfying as a real body in your arms. He took a deep breath and resolutely turned his thoughts away from that. Best not to think about it. He had an important job to do.
QUEST Shannah Jay 22
The Confederation Planetary Exploration Bureau, Confex to its staff members, had given Robler a very detailed watching brief over Davred Hollunby. In an emergency, Robler had permission to take any steps he considered necessary to foster and preserve Davred's person and his rare talent. That was another thing no one else on the satellite knew.
Once, Robler himself had been tested to see if he were a potential Cathartic Agent, and he had failed the tests by only a very small margin. That thought had never ceased to gall him, and he should have reported his feelings at his medicals, but he hadn’t wanted to expose a weakness like that to others. Although he’d had what most would consider a very successful career, he’d had no chance to do anything of real consequence in the Confederation, no chance to demonstrate how talented he was. Now, however, he was involved in something important, and nothing, absolutely nothing, was going to spoil that.
Today's display of emotion had made him come to an important decision. He must try to guide Davred into taking a more detached view of the Sisterhood. It was necessary to empathise with those over whom you held wardship, but the feeling mustn’t be allowed to dominate your reason.
Lenlin was right. A request from a potential CA to make a Commitment to one planet would never be approved by Confex. However, a refusal would upset Davred, and might even slow down his development. Better that he never faced a refusal. Robler decided to find Davred a few urgent jobs to distract him from spending so much time playing God to that damned Sisterhood. Lenlin wasn't the only one who was beginning to develop a dislike for those silly
women and their tedious rituals.
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Chapter 4: THOSE OF THE SERPENT
When the temple messenger later reported to his master what had happened in Temple Tenebrak, his awe at what he had seen was all too obvious.
'Lord, when the Elder Sister had finished, there was joy everywhere. Even I could feel it.'
'Mass hysteria,' said his master sourly. 'Be careful they don't fool you with their play-acting. The Serpent doesn’t forgive those who betray him. Go on, fool! What happened next?'
The messenger shivered and took care to deliver the rest of his report in a calm, factual manner. 'She - the Elder Sister - spoke the prophecy again to everyone in the hall.' He repeated it to them, word-perfect. The Sisters were not the only ones to train the memories of their followers. 'Then they gathered.'
'A form of meditation. We can all do that. Go on! Was that all?'
The man hesitated. 'No, Lord, not quite all. When the ceremony was over, the Elder Sister clapped her hands again and walked among the women, as if looking for someone. Then she touched a girl on the head - one of the novices -
and named her Sister-Elect.'
'Did you find out who the girl was? Is there something special about her?' The voice came from the shadows, but the messenger knew better than to stare at his master's friends.
'She is no one, Lord. A peasant from Kelandra. Not even a good novice. Always in trouble. We servants hear the gossip about her. I knew who she was and laughed to think of her named Sister-Elect.'
'Never mind some stupid novice, I want to know what's got into those damned women to make them start prophesying.' his master interrupted. Benner, Lord Claimant of Tenebron, was famous for his irascibility. 'Haven't I got trouble enough without that old hag starting another foolish rumour? The poorfolk won't do any work for days now.
They never do after a prophecy. The lazy scum seize any excuse to celebrate. And once they start drinking, they start fighting. The Shambles ran red with blood last time and they set light to one of my warehouses.'
QUEST Shannah Jay 23
The dark-haired man sitting so quietly behind the table leaned forward and murmured something to Benner, who tossed a coin to the messenger. 'You can go now, fellow. You were right to come to me quickly with this. Get a scribe to write that hag's rhyme down before you leave.'
When the two were alone, the stranger said sarcastically, 'The Sisters are not often given to prophecy. A rare treat.'
'Not for me,' said Benner sourly. 'I have to run this city and col ect the taxes. There'll be trouble tomorrow. There always is.'
'Yet never, I think, has one of the Sisterhood's prophecies failed to mean something.'
Benner scowled. 'No. Mind, I can't see what this one means. Can you? It doesn't make sense. And it might be years before we find anything out.' He sat brooding for a moment, then growled, 'I wish we could keep an eye on what goes on in that damned temple of theirs. It's nearly impossible to discover what that demon-spawned Sisterhood is planning to do - that dolt of a messenger is one of the rare people to infiltrate the temple, the Serpent alone knows how. Those whores seem to be able to recognise a spy on sight.'
'Pure chance. They've been lucky.'
'I'm not so sure. Serpent save me, I'd give a year's taxes to find out how they always know what's going on in the other claims before anyone else does. Lately they've been weeks ahead with the knowledge. How do they do it? Even a chain of home-birds couldn't get the information through as quickly as the Sisterhood does. I've tried it and those stupid birds are more trouble than they're worth.' He slammed his fist down on the tabletop, ignoring the silver goblet that splashed its contents across the floor and rolled under his chair. 'Those she-devils! Always those she-devils! All my life, they have . . . ' He broke off and regained control of his temper. 'Have you any idea how they do it, Sen-Sether?'
'No. And I leave such fruitless speculation to those with nothing better to do. Stop worrying about the Sisters and start doing something about them.'
'It's easy for you to talk. You don't have Herra as Elder Sister in Temple Setherak. The trouble that hag has caused us here in the Claim of Tenebron, one way or another! And since before my grandfather's time, too. It's not natural! She should have died years ago.'
'You should have killed her off years ago.'
'Do you think we haven't tried?'
Sen-Sether shrugged. 'You'll find a way, if you work at it for long enough. But don't do anything for the moment.
We must wait in patience, as we decided. Precipitate action could ruin everything. The Serpent is attracting more followers every day, especially among the younger men. If you follow my suggestions, the membership in this claim will soon catch up with that in Setheron. Men are easily led when it comes to their own pleasure, and we've perfected a stronger sort of incense that makes them most amenable to suggestion.' His dark eyes gleamed with a lust that had no relationship to sexual gratification. 'And our Inner Shrine has worked out some new rituals, too. We're bringing pain right out into the everyday rituals now.'
Benner was startled. 'Surely they won't accept that? And the women will kick up a fuss if you treat them like that.'
'The ordinary worshippers are accepting it. I told you. We have a new sort of incense. I've written down the mixture details.' He reached inside his belt pouch and pulled out a roll of paper, which he tossed on to the table. 'There. You'll see how well it works. And as for the women - they're fools when it comes to the men they love. They deserve all they get.'
Sen-Sether rose to his feet and smoothed the rich material of his tunic with one elegant, well-manicured hand. His fierce features softened into a smile which didn’t reach his dark, hooded eyes. 'I must leave now, my friend. I want to get back to Setheron. Are you sure that fool reported what happened accurately?'
'He usually does. He has a few small talents, one of which is his memory. That's why he's employed as a messenger.
But you'll have no trouble checking what he said. The prophecy will be all over the city by tomorrow. Even the beggars will know it by heart. Those stupid bitches never keep anything secret.'
'I shal be far away by then. I intend to travel through the night. The High Lady is due to whelp soon. I must get QUEST Shannah Jay 24
back to make sure no little nephew or niece survives to spoil things for me. If that prophecy was talking about Shiaran's child, I'll make very certain that it doesn't come true!'
'This will be the first child she's carried to term, won't it?' asked Benner, not without a hint of maliciousness.
'Yes. And the last she'll ever carry!' snapped Sen-Sether. 'I don't know how she managed it. I keep her food well laced with a special ingredient.' He shrugged. 'Well, it was only a matter of time before I had to get rid of her. I real y can't have her producing an heir for my dear brother, Danver.'
'Not when you're waiting impatiently to step into his shoes.'
'Oh, not impatiently. I haven't completed my training yet. I intend to become Lord of the Inner Shrine before I become Lord Claimant.' His expression made even Benner shiver, so vicious was the cold light in his eyes. 'And I doubt that my brother will ever wed again, once we've disposed of Shiaran. He dotes on her like some callow, love-sick youth.
A man's happiness should not depend upon a woman. They are there to give us pleasure and sons, nothing more.'
'Especially the pleasure, eh?'
'Especially that, in whatever way we choose. But I shall arrange to have sons in due course. As you have. How is your wife, by the way? And how fares the little Lord Evren?' It was Sen-Sether's turn to be malicious.
Benner scowled. 'As ever. Margarel doesn't change. And she doesn't bear living children easily. For all my efforts, she's only produced a soft-heart of a lad, one who takes after her. If it weren't for her family connections, I'd get rid of her and try again. As it is, I've had to send her to live in the country,' he grinned, 'for her health. That'll stop her from spoiling Evren. I've put a tutor in charge of
him now, someone I can rely on, a full Initiate of the Inner Shrine. We'll soon knock that squeamishness out of him.'
'I pray you succeed.'
'As I pray for your success,' Benner returned smoothly. Sen-Sether might guess how deeply the sickly fancies of his only son galled him, but Benner was admitting nothing. 'I shall look forward, then, to the day when I can drink the health of the first man to be both Lord Claimant and Lord of the Inner Shrine,' he said, and swept Sen-Sether a mocking courtier's bow.
'That day won’t be too long in coming, Benner, my friend.'
By the following morning, as Benner had foretold, Herra's prophecy was humming around the streets of Tenebrak and was already being called the Great Prophecy. And not only in that city. Reports gradually came in that the prophecy had been proclaimed in every large city on the very same day. How did those unnatural whores do it? Benner wondered for the thousandth time. How did they get news to each other so quickly? He'd give a fortune for such a rapid communication system.
The prophecy was still buzzing around Setherak three days later, when Sen-Sether arrived, and that didn’t please him at all. The reference to the babies worried him more than he would admit, even to himself. He had kil ed several mounts in a wild ride back to Setheron, and was not satisfied with what he found at the castle. Was there something just a little shifty-eyed about those who had tended his sister-in-law? Not being a man to neglect details, he sent a servant he trusted to get hold of one of the midwives and wring out of her exactly what had happened to the High Lady the night she died.
As he waited for the fellow's report, Sen-Sether paced up and down his bedchamber, his thin face dark with fury.
Shiaran was dead and the grieving Lord Claimant was vowing eternal celibacy, so that part of the plan at least had worked as it was supposed to. But although Sen-Sether had scotched any possibility of his brother fathering a son and heir, the first words of the prophecy still kept coming back to him: Though spawned of death, redeemed in birth.
'When I have taken claim to Setheron,' he vowed, 'the first thing I shall do, the very first thing, will be to ban the Sisterhood completely, kill all those hel -spawned bitches and pull down their temple stone by stone.'