Quest

by Shannah Jay

  More incense billowed out. Somewhere a drum began to beat, with a soft, insistent rhythm. A low moan of anticipation came from the spectators.

  The sacrifice was worse than Fiana had expected, far worse. The pain of her lacerated back she was able to tolerate, but the main sacrifice went on for much longer than she had expected and it took her a while to realise that Sen-Sether was working very hard indeed to break down her defences and make her enjoy the experience.

  When he stopped for a moment, she thought it was all over, but he gestured and someone placed a hood over her head. Then it became much more difficult, for she had no warning of when pain would descend upon her back, or Sen-Sether's hands touch her body with great knowledge and skill. He came very close to infecting her with his madness, but somehow she clung to the thought of the God her Brother and found the strength to resist him.

  In the end Sen-Sether was forced to acknowledge defeat. As he stood up, his manhood still proudly erect, his back dripping blood, he ripped the blindfold off her eyes and slapped her face hard. 'I shall keep my word, but I shall not forget you - Sister - Fiana.' Slaps punctuated his words. 'One day you shall make a true sacrifice to my God and he shall become your God. That I vow.'

  'I shall die first,' she said, still quietly, though her body was laced with pain and her head rang with the blows.

  'I have just proved that you can be induced not to die. One day I shall prove the rest. There is always some method to be found.'

  She ignored that. 'Your message, Lord Sen-Sether?'

  'Tell your Sisters that I want the boy whom they took from me delivered to this shrine - alive or dead - within the month, or I shall grow angry. That will give you plenty of time to bring him from his hiding place. I know now that he is not in any of your secret crèches.' He saw puzzlement on her face and said savagely, 'Your Elder Sister will understand which boy, even if you don't.' As he stood back and snapped his fingers, the Servants stepped forward.

  'Take her to the door and let her go.'

  'My robe!' Fiana tried to resist the hard hands that were pulling her along.

  'I'm keeping my promise to release you after the sacrifice. We said nothing about your robe. It shall stay here as an offering to the Serpent. We've often wondered how you make that fabric. Now we shall find out.' As Sen-Sether turned away, chuckling, Fiana shook the Servants' hands off her and followed them to the door, head up proudly.

  The sight of a naked woman with a bloody back being pushed out of the Shrine of the Serpent was too common nowadays in Setherak to excite much attention. And the fear of what might happen to anyone who offered help to a Sister was so strong that the spectators leaving the shrine dared not even look in her direction.

  QUEST Shannah Jay 55

  But before Fiana had gone more than a hundred paces, one of her Sisters appeared from behind a street corner and flung a cloak around her. Stony-faced, the two of them walked to Temple Setherak. Not as massive as the one in Tenebrak, this temple was nonetheless large enough to dominate the buildings around it, and again, it was stone to their wood. The mere sight of it made Fiana want to sob with relief. But she waited until the heavy wooden doors that had once stood open day and night were closed behind her, before she allowed her control to slip. As she stumbled, her Sister put out an arm to support her.

  'Touch me not! I am filthy.'

  'You're still our Sister.'

  'Am I?'

  'Of course. Now and always. Come, let me help you to wash your body and tend your wounds.'

  'First I have - a message to deliver,' Fiana managed after a moment to control the dizziness that swept over her.

  'It's for that reason only that I endured that - that - ' She turned and vomited acid bile at the memory. 'I had to buy the right to bring the message, or he would have taken other Sisters and killed them. I watched Nerrill and Danna die, and submitted only to spare the rest of you.'

  She lapsed into silence until she reached the Hall of the God, where she repeated Sen-Sether's message, word for word, with every intonation exact. When she had finished, she gave way to her body's weakness and sank to the floor, laughing hysterically. 'There! I've delivered the message. And I don't even understand what it means. What boy is he referring to? I hope - I do hope - ' her voice cracked for a moment, 'that the message is worth it, Elder Sister, for the price was very high. They will boast of this for years in the Shrines. And I,' her voice faltered, 'I shall be unclean for as long as I live.'

  'Sister, please - '

  Fiana was clearly not listening. ' One day,' she whispered, ‘ I shall kill Sen-Sether. That is my destiny.'

  The way her voice echoed made her Sisters stare at each other in amazement. Was the God really speaking through her? Was their Brother really sanctioning violence?

  The news of what had happened was relayed immediately to the God and passed on to all the other temples. And after that grim warning of what was to come, the Sisters worked hard to place those who wished to leave the temples in what they hoped would be safe refuges, after training them in the chill Disciplines of Death, Disciplines they had hoped, after the last struggle against Discord, never to need again.

  * * *

  'Disgusting!' said Robler. 'How can anyone stomach such bestialities?'

  'And you still insist, Davred, that the inhabitants of Sunrise have special talents.' Mak had been shaken by what happened to Fiana. 'What can we learn from them?'

  'Have the Sisters not got special talents? Could you kill yourself merely by exercise of will?' Davred had grimly kept the long-distance holo-beam focused on Sen-Sether and watched with sorrow the sufferings of those whom he was, in truth, beginning to regard as his Sisters.

  'Would I need to?' countered Mak. 'We of the Confederation do not kill one other.'

  'Don't we?' asked Davred softly, speaking almost to himself. 'Have you seen the latest bulletins? The interplanetary wars are escalating again. The Age of Discord is not limited to Sunrise. We of the Confederation share the Sisters' problems and have done for several decades.'

  Robler looked at him with concern. Davred was starting to behave strangely at times. The Exec had exaggerated this in his report to Confex, when asked to comment further on Davred's request for approval of Full Commitment.

  Just lately, however, the strangeness seemed to be increasing to such an extent that there was no need for him to exaggerate.

  His lips tightened as he stared at Davred. The Confederation could not afford to lose a potential Cathartic Agent QUEST Shannah Jay 56

  at a time of dire need. They had recently lost a couple of newly-colonised planets, and some very strange things were happening on other worlds - things not published in the staff info-bulletins.

  * * *

  The reply from Confex Central arrived two standard weeks after Fiana's ordeal. Robler let out a sigh of relief at the decision. It had taken years to convince Central, but now he had won the chance to salvage Davred Hollunby's much-needed skills. He put out a call for Davred to come and see him in the admin area, and told the computer not to disturb him for any reason other than a Class 1 Emergency.

  Within minutes Davred was there. 'Well? Has the reply come through?'

  'Sit down, will you, Davred.' Now that he had won, Robler could afford to be generous and sought to cushion the blow.

  Instead of obeying, Davred stood motionless, staring at him. 'How in hell's name did you manage it?' he asked through teeth clenched to hold in the bitterest disappointment of his life. Without realising it, he began to use one of the Disciplines of Self-Control, which he had watched Herra teach Katia several years previously and had practised ever since. 'What lies did you tell in that report of yours? I demand to see it.'

  'I told them the truth. That you've been behaving strangely of late, almost as if you do believe yourself to be the God they call you.'

  'I see.' Davred's voice became expressionless. After watching Robler's triumphant expression for a moment or two, however, he deliberately sat down a
nd covered his face with shaking hands, as if overwhelmed. His brain was racing furiously. He would not accept their decision. He knew what he had to do.

  Robler continued gently, 'That's not all.'

  'Oh?' Davred looked up, his expression bitter. 'Don't keep me in suspense, damn you! What else have you arranged?'

  'You're to be transferred. First back to Confex for a check-up, then to another posting.'

  'Transferred? Leave here?' Davred's shock was not feigned.

  'I'm afraid so. I think it's for the best. You've let yourself become too involved.'

  'How - how soon?'

  'Next week. There's a supply ship due. You'll have to travel in stasis, but I think that might be better for you. It'll stop you worrying. They'll take you to the nearest nexus point and shunt you back to Central from there. Confex has experts in this sort of thing, people who can help you to readjust.'

  Davred's face was white but the outburst Robler had expected didn’t come. After a moment the younger man covered his face again. 'I can't - I just can't take it in,' he stammered, making his voice tremble slightly.

  'It's harsh, I know, but a clean break is best.' Robler looked down at his chrono-implant. 'Look, I have some things to do. Why don't you stay here for a while? I'll see you're not disturbed.' The wretchedness on Davred's face prompted him to add, 'I'll leave the com-serv open. Order yourself a stimulant - alcohol, drugs, hel-gas, whatever you like. Confex will pay.' He pressed some buttons and uttered a low-voiced command to the computer to give Davred Hollunby whatever he asked for.

  'I might do just that.' The words came slowly and Davred's voice sounded strained. 'I've not got drunk for years.'

  'Do you want some company?'

  'No. I'd prefer to be alone. Thank you for the offer, though. Later, perhaps.'

  Robler nodded and quietly left the admin area. He had what he wanted. No need to rub salt in the wound. He was the one who had saved this situation, even if he was not a potential CA.

  #####

  QUEST Shannah Jay 57

  Chapter 10: THE GREAT GATHERING

  As the evening of the Great Gathering approached there was an air of suppressed excitement in Temple Tenebrak. Katia sensed its undercurrents eddying around her all through the day, and didn’t try to teach the novices anything new. She ran through the few Disciplines they had already mastered and concentrated on calming the overwrought girls.

  At the end of the last lesson one of them asked her shyly, ‘What does the Manifestation of the God look like, Katia? Could you - would you tell us what he said to you when you met him?’

  She had refused to discuss it before. It hadn’t seemed right to talk about their Brother as if he were any chance-met acquaintance. However, she gave in now. They needed something to distract them from thoughts of tonight.

  ‘I only saw his image on the side of a box. He isn’t there in person, you know.’ Katia looked at the ring of eager faces. ‘He’s fairly young and - not handsome, but,’ she struggled for words which were respectful, yet did not mask the truth, ‘pleasant in looks. Serious and dependable, perhaps.’ She saw that this meant nothing to her young audience and tried again. ‘He has dark brown hair, worn very short, and he looks a bit like the people from Garshlian. His eyes are blue and his face is pale, as if the sun never touches it.’

  ‘Is he tall?’

  ‘I couldn’t tell. He was sitting down.’

  ‘What was he wearing?’

  ‘The strangest garment I ever saw, very close-fitting over all his limbs, and I could see no way of fastening and unfastening it. It looked soft yet was very shiny, like blue sky reflected in water.’ She laughed at their disappointment.

  ‘That’s all I can tell you.’

  ‘Are you sure he’s not handsome?’ persisted Terilla, a bold-eyed girl from the back country in Setheron.

  Katia couldn’t like her and felt guilty about that.

  ‘How closely did you study him?’ persisted Terilla.

  ‘As closely as was seemly. One doesn’t stare at our Brother’s Manifestation.’ The gong sounded. ‘There! It’s time to eat, then we must all prepare for the Great Gathering. It’s probably the only one that will happen in our lifetimes.

  I hope you’ll remember all that Cheral’s taught you over the past weeks.’

  They were distracted, as she’d hoped they would be, and scattered like a yardful of feather-fluffs. She sighed, then determinedly began a minor Discipline of Relaxation. For some unknown reason, discussing the Manifestation of the God with them had made her feel uneasy. By the time she joined her Sisters for a light, energy-laden meal, she was as cool and collected as ever.

  Later, as everyone began to assemble in the hall, the Sister on watch outside the Chamber of the God came hurrying over to Herra. ‘Our Brother wishes to speak to you - now.’ Her voice was awed.

  Herra stood for a moment, trying to sense what this summons portended, then beckoned to Katia. ‘Come, child.

  Our Brother wishes to speak to me and I feel that you should be present too.’

  ‘He only asked for you,’ the other Sister said anxiously.

  ‘He won’t be displeased, I promise you, Elira.’

  They entered the Chamber and stood before the Manifestation of the God their Brother. The image was different to the usual one, showing him in a chamber Herra had not seen before, a very small chamber indeed.

  QUEST Shannah Jay 58

  ‘I’m here, Brother,’ said Herra quietly. ‘And if it doesn’t displease you, I’ve brought Katia with me. I feel that it’s important for her to be here as well.’

  ‘As you wish, Herra.’ Davred took a deep breath, conscious of his pulse racing. ‘Herra, this is a hard thing to tell you, but - the Age of Discord has reached my people as well as yours. It’s spreading everywhere. There are those who would send me away from your world, away from my Sisters. That would be very wrong. I cannot, must not leave!’

  Katia’s face registered shock at this admission. ‘Discord among the Gods?’ she blurted out.

  ‘No, Katia, Discord among another people similar to yours,’ he corrected gently.

  Herra looked calmly at her Brother. ‘You mustn’t leave our world,’ she agreed. ‘You must leave your own people, instead. You’re a Key Figure in the next stage for us and without your help, we shall not survive this Age of Discord.’

  ‘How do you know that, Herra? How can I be sure that I’m not merely indulging my own wishes?’

  He’s speaking like a novice seeking reassurance from the Elder Sister, thought Katia, shocked again. This was indeed Discord, if even the Manifestation of the God their Brother was unsure what path he should tread.

  ‘I am sure, Brother,’ said Herra, in what Katia thought of as her special voice. ‘Very sure. It’s my Gift to know such things.’

  ‘My people don’t know how to seek the truth within themselves. I don’t know whether we’ve lost the Gift, or whether we never developed it.’ He sounded sad.

  ‘Some of your people once knew, Brother, for it was they who came here from other worlds and their descendants set us on our Quest.’

  Davred’s face registered his astonishment. ‘What did you say?’

  Herra remained calm. ‘I mentioned the Forebears, Brother. We have some meagre knowledge of them. They came here long ago, when the world was young and there were no people living here. This was long before we started to build Temple Tenebrak or to record our history in the Archives.’ A gong sounded from the temple and Herra broke off. ‘Brother, we must speak quickly if I’m to lead my Sisters into a Great Gathering. This is not the time to share our histories.’

  ‘Yes. You’re right. I’m sorry to hold things up, Herra. What I wanted to tell you is that I’m about to leave my people, to escape from those who would send me away from your world for ever. I’m on my way down to join you in a - a flying wagon. I wish to live among you, to learn your Disciplines, to help in the Quest. If you’ll have me?’

  ‘We’ve bee
n waiting many years during these troubled times for another Manifestation of our God to come down among us. How could we not welcome you?’

  ‘Among my own people I’m not a God, Herra. I have no magical powers to share with you. Indeed, none of my people have Gifts like yours. But I am what we call a Cathartic Agent. That means someone special who can help bring about needed change.’ And that change has started, he thought exultantly. I’ve achieved my potential and can see my next steps more clearly. ‘Which is rather like your Key Figures,’ he continued aloud. ‘I may be able to help you in your fight against Discord. I wish to try, anyway. It would be,’ he hesitated, ‘I feel it would be right.’

  Herra bowed her head briefly, seeking to understand the truth of this, then she raised her eyes to meet those of Davred. ‘Yes. The time is right. And more - Katia is a Key Figure too. That’s why I brought her with me to speak to you tonight. I know not how this will all unfold, for I cannot see the path ahead clearly, but I know that in her and in you lie our hopes for the future.’

  Davred glanced briefly at Katia, and as their eyes met he felt a sense of recognition which shocked him. It was a moment or two before he could look back at Herra. ‘We shall pursue the Quest for Wisdom together, then, Elder Sister. But first I need to distribute the stasis cubes to the temples you choose tonight. After I’ve done that, I shall fly to Tenebrak, to bring your cube myself. There’s no question about saving the first temple your Sisterhood ever founded. So as soon as the Gathering is over, use the farspeaker to let me know your choice for the other five QUEST Shannah Jay 59

  temples.’

  Herra smiled. ‘You won’t need that device, Illustrious Brother. You’ll know our choice as soon as we make it, for you will be a part of this Gathering, whether you wish it or not.’

  ‘I will?’

  ‘Did you not know it?’

  ‘No. But Herra, I . . . ‘

  She smiled. ‘You wish to tell me that you are not a God. I’ve always known that, Lord Davred. But you are his Manifestation. So you are our Brother - and therefore a part of us. And you will devote your whole life to our Quest.’